After their conversation with Ho Yuhao, the seven ordinary students left the reception hall, visibly inspired and full of admiration.
"Truly worthy of being the Chief Architect. He doesn't act like those arrogant noble lords at all."
"Exactly. Just thinking about those pompous bastards makes me want to punch something. I've lost count of how many years I had to swallow my anger every time the tax collectors came around."
"Endure it a little longer. As long as we keep learning, and gain real knowledge, those so-called noble lords won't matter anymore. The Chief Architect said it himself—this is the age of knowledge. Whoever holds knowledge, holds status."
"Grateful to the Chief Architect!"
As they walked toward their dormitory at the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, the seven students buzzed with conversation, all praising Ho Yuhao and the education reform he spearheaded.
Zhao Yuan didn't say much, but his heart was full. How could he not admire Ho Yuhao? The opportunity to change his fate, to finally rise up—this was the gift that education reform had given him and the others, who had once been powerless and insignificant.
The ideals and selflessness of Ho Yuhao, striving to improve the lives of the Empire's citizens, moved and inspired them deeply.
"So I must study soul tool theory with everything I have. I must repay the Chief Architect, the Empire, and the countless ordinary people like me."
With that firm belief in his heart, Zhao Yuan's steps grew more determined.
Meanwhile, on the eastern border of the Sun Moon Empire, in Wangyue City, within the Earl's mansion, change was stirring.
The Earl's grand study had long since been repurposed as the strategic operations room for the Third Prince. A massive map of the entire Sun Moon Empire hung on the wall, and the prince himself sat comfortably on a leather sofa, his eyes glinting with satisfaction as he gazed at the colored territories.
"It's clear now… the advantage is on our side."
Standing beneath the map was Xu Rong, his trusted aide, who could barely suppress his own excitement.
"Yes, exactly!" he exclaimed, picking up a pointer and tapping at various regions on the map.
"Let's not even talk about the northern grand duke and the eastern border marquises who were already with us. Now even the nobles from the south, the west, and even central territories are joining our ranks."
He began listing names and regions as if counting treasures.
"The Southern Island Noble Alliance, one of the Western grand dukes—this man alone controls nearly half the western landmass. The mineral-rich desert he rules over is a goldmine. And we also have several marquises from the southern region."
If one were to highlight the areas under the Third Prince's influence in yellow on the map, nearly half the empire would be covered in that color.
His power had grown so vast, his influence so grand, that the Third Prince now commanded the kind of authority that made even the capital tremble. But the key factor wasn't just numbers—it was the defection of powerful families from within Mingdu itself.
"Han, Li, Sun, and Wang families—all central to the soul engineer aristocracy in the capital—have joined our cause. Can you even imagine? In the past, this would've been unthinkable."
The prince nodded, barely hiding his glee.
These families alone possessed more military potential than the combined forces of the outer nobles. Their soul tool stockpiles, both in quality and quantity, were beyond compare.
It was important to remember—although Mingde Hall was the Empire's official soul tool research hub, these powerful families controlled the capital's soul engineer circles and even its underground black markets. They had their own secret research divisions for soul tools.
With this technological might combined with the military forces provided by the border nobles, the Third Prince felt nearly invincible.
"The advantage is ours!"
Xu Rong punctuated the thought by smacking the pointer onto the table.
The Third Prince stood and began pacing, a sinister smirk tugging at his lips.
"Xu Tiannan, Xu Tiannan… you really thought you could get away with that kind of radical education reform? Teaching commoners? Letting them learn how to use soul tools? What a joke! You're alienating the nobility, destroying the foundations of the empire. All of this is your fault. Now… the throne is mine."
He laughed loudly, the sound echoing through the war room.
With reinforcements already promised by the Douluo Federation's three major kingdoms, the prince could hardly imagine how he could possibly lose.
But even with all that confidence, a shadow of doubt remained in his heart.
Could this be some grand scheme laid by Xu Tiannan? After all, the reform had come swiftly and unexpectedly. Something about it didn't sit right.
But no matter how he thought about it, the prince couldn't see what trick Xu Tiannan could possibly be hiding. The defections were real. His army was real. His supplies and territory were real.
So what was the Crown Prince plotting? Helping him on purpose?
It didn't make sense. And so, the Third Prince cast his doubts aside.
He would never know that Xu Tiannan was already several moves ahead. The Crown Prince was fully aware of the risks and had absolute faith in his own strength and the loyalty of his supporters.
More than that, Xu Tiannan was someone who sought not just to win the throne, but to reshape the very structure of the Sun Moon Empire. His goal was to eliminate the aristocratic old guard and replace the current system with a new, centralized government under his control.
Xu Rong looked toward the prince, his excitement restrained by a sense of caution.
"Your Highness, the nobles have prepared their forces. Our allies from the Douluo Federation are already en route. Should we… proceed?"
The Third Prince didn't respond immediately. He walked slowly toward the map, picked up the pointer again, and tapped hard on Mingdu.
"Go to war."
Civil war had begun.
Exactly one month after the launch of the education reform, the discontent of the nobility finally erupted. In a single day, nobles across the western, eastern, southern, and northern territories raised the Third Prince's banner. They declared war on Xu Tiannan, accusing him of controlling the aged emperor and dragging the empire toward ruin.
Claiming the need to "honor the king and slay the traitor," they called upon others to take arms.
An overwhelming wave of declarations surged across the empire. The western Grand Duke marched on a neighboring duchy, bringing all of the west under the Third Prince's control in mere days.
The south followed suit. Its nobles, selfish and quick to flee from trouble, offered no resistance. They had long harbored discontent with Xu Tiannan's reforms.
In just a few days, the majority of the empire's land—save for the capital, some eastern loyalist armies, and a handful of neutral factions—fell under the Third Prince's influence.
The chessboard had been flipped. War had begun.
(End of Chapter)
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