Tide After Huo Yuhao and Ye Guyi returned to the academy, countless figures fell from the sky into the former stronghold of the evil soul masters. Upon seeing the half-collapsed building, the middle-aged soul master commander's eyes flickered, and he immediately waved his hand,
"One team, come in and inspect. The rest of you stay outside. If anyone behaves suspiciously, arrest them immediately."
Led by the commander of this soul master patrol team, a dozen men entered the smoking, collapsed, and dilapidated building.
Meanwhile, in the nearby blocks, a large number of soldiers began to gather. Upon seeing the soldiers arrive, the initially panicked people quickly calmed down.
Entering the building, although many parts were collapsed, there were still intact sections.
The hall, littered with rubble, was devoid of any living beings, and due to the damaged soul guide lamps, it was pitch black.
"Whoosh."
When the portable soul guide lamps lit up, the darkness was dispelled, and people could finally see the scene inside.
Strange bloodstains remained on the walls, and active soul energy fluctuations lingered in the air, proving this was the initial site of the explosion.
"Search in groups of three. Report any findings immediately,"
Li Caiyuan, the patrol leader, commanded solemnly.
"Yes, sir!" the group replied in unison, quickly spreading out in groups of three throughout the spacious hall and other dilapidated areas.
Places where evil soul masters had once lived seemed inherently colder; even in their protective armor, a chilling aura swept through them, a very uncomfortable feeling.
However, they were unaware of this yet.
"Sir, there's something here!"
Less than ten seconds later, a shout rang out.
A soul master was crouching on the ground, calling out.
Hearing this, Li Caiyuan hurried over, only then noticing that beneath the pile of rubble in front of the team member was an underground passage.
"Come and move the stones! Remember, don't release your soul energy, lest you cause further damage to the entrance," he shouted.
The scattered team members rushed over, each becoming a stone-moving worker. Being Soul Masters, they quickly cleared away the relatively small pebbles, revealing a dusty passageway.
"Be on guard, follow me." Li Caiyuan's soul power surged, and he gripped a soul-guided sword before stepping inside.
The others followed closely behind.
The passageway wasn't deep, and they soon reached the end. Emerging from it, they found another hall, but its surface was clearly severely damaged by the explosion, especially the floor, which was covered in broken pieces.
However, it wasn't without its rewards. Deep within the hall, on the wall, were several door-like entrances. The doors were broken, but they could enter directly
. The group split into groups of three again, each choosing a room to search. But as they entered, their pupils constricted.
Within those rooms, each no larger than thirty square meters, an extremely foul stench permeated the air, like the stench of rotting corpses. Moss grew rampant in the corners of the walls, perhaps due to excessive dampness.
But this wasn't the most terrifying part. Deep within the rooms lay countless piles of white bones—or rather, piles of broken, dark red bones, including many human skulls.
When the light from a portable soul-guiding lamp shone into the empty eye sockets of these skulls, an eerie, faint glow emanated from them, sending chills down one's spine.
Scattered across the floor were fragments of broken red crystal, radiating an eerie red light, quite similar to the blood-red skulls that appeared in the night sky.
This scene, witnessed by everyone, sent a powerful shockwave through their minds.
In that instant, everyone understood why they had felt a chill upon entering this building.
This was definitely the stronghold of an evil soul master!
"Sir, what should we do?"
a team member shouted, enduring the stench of decay.
Li Caiyuan even held his breath, for inhaling a mouthful of painful stench filled him. His face turned cold, but before he could respond to his team, a rapid beeping sound rang out.
The others instinctively moved away from the doorway and looked towards their commander.
He picked up his communication soul tool and answered. A voice quickly came from the other end, "Commander, His Highness the Second Prince has arrived."
It was a message from the other soul masters guarding outside the building.
The Second Prince has arrived?
The group was somewhat surprised.
"You all stay here for now, I'm going out for a bit." Li Caiyuan's figure flashed, and he quickly left the basement.
In the courtyard, a group of distinguished young talents stood together, a total of ten people, all members of the Royal Guard. Surrounding them were a patrol of soul masters with respectful attitudes.
Standing at the very front of this group of young talents was none other than the Second Prince of the Sun Moon Empire, Xu Tianming.
"Your Highness."
After returning to the courtyard, Li Caiyuan quickly went to Xu Tianming and bowed.
"Forget the formalities, what exactly is going on here?" Xu Tianming asked, frowning. He had brought some noble descendants from the Imperial Guard who were worth trying to win over to a gathering today, but he hadn't expected to encounter this situation.
Originally, the Imperial Guard was only responsible for matters concerning the Imperial City and the Imperial Family, but with the recent reforms, it had expanded to cover the entire Mingdu, which was why he had rushed here with everyone.
Commander Li clearly recounted to Xu Tianming everything he had seen in the basement.
When he learned that there were at least several hundred corpses in the basement, Xu Tianming's expression darkened slightly. He didn't care about the dead; people died every day in the empire. What shocked and angered him was that someone dared to do such things on the very ground of Mingdu, right under the emperor's nose.
Moreover, he had even guessed who these people were, but he couldn't do anything about it.
However, he was also curious about who had taken down this evil spirit master's stronghold.
"Your Highness, these things are definitely..."
Commander Li began solemnly, but was stopped by a look from Xu Tianming.
Commander Li, realizing his mistake, narrowed his eyes and hurriedly lowered his head. If he had revealed the name of the evil spirit master, and the news had leaked, his life would have been in danger.
Although he didn't know everything about the special status of evil spirit masters in Mingdu, he understood a little.
"Seal off this place first. I will go to the palace to see His Majesty immediately," Xu Tianming ordered.
"Yes, sir," Commander Li replied respectfully.
"Let's go." Xu Tianming activated his flying soul tool and flew towards the palace, with the rest of the royal guard's young talents following behind.
"Keep a close eye on things, don't let even a fly in." Li Caiyuan surveyed the area.
The soul masters of the patrol team naturally understood and quickly dispersed to take up their posts.
Unbeknownst to anyone, in the shadows outside this stronghold, pairs of eyes were watching everything unfold.
In Mingdu, while the strongholds of evil spirit masters were generally far apart, today's anomaly was too unusual. Those strongholds closer to this one naturally learned of it quickly, and the evil spirit masters hiding there rushed over. However, before even entering the stronghold, they encountered the Imperial City Defense Army's Soul Master Corps.
...
"No, Mingde Hall is a crucial research site for soul tools in the Empire. If you force your way in, what if the Emperor is enraged and all the powerful figures from the Hall of Worship come out?"
Inside the fireplace, the flames flickered, and a sense of oppression filled the air.
Gui Wujing paced back and forth, while on a sofa, the Demon Emperor sat silently. Upon hearing Gui Wujing's words, her silence broke, and she couldn't help but say, "Am I, as a mother, destined to watch my daughter be trapped? Even worse, to be killed and turned into soul rings and soul bones for absorption?"
"Bang."
With that, the Demon Emperor slammed her palm down, her expression icy cold. The palm struck the coffee table, instantly shattering it into dust. A terrifying surge of soul power spread, and the floor of the hall trembled violently. If one knew where they were, they would have known that this single blow could have caused the entire palace-like building to collapse.
Gui Wujing paused, his eyelids twitching slightly. He said in a deep voice, "I know you're desperate to save your daughter, but don't forget, your old injuries haven't fully healed. Attacking Mingde Hall now and suffering heavy damage will only ruin your plans."
"Besides, it's not even certain whether Mingde Hall took your daughter. What you need to do now is prioritize the bigger picture. As for your daughter, there will be a collaboration between the sect and Mingde Hall next time. I'll have them search inside Mingde Hall. I'll let you know immediately if there's any news."
The Demon Queen's chest heaved, her fists clenched. She had already gone to the Starlight Auction House of the Star Luo Empire and learned the whole story.
Although she couldn't be certain that the one taken by Mingde Hall was her daughter, Lan Fuzi, it was almost certain.
Gradually, she calmed down. Gui Wujing's words made sense. If she recklessly trespassed and attracted countless powerful figures from the Sun Moon Empire, she feared not only wouldn't escape, but her daughter would also die. In that case, she would never be able to avenge her husband.
"By the way, what did the people at the Starlight Auction House tell you about your trip?" Gui Wujing changed the subject.
The Demon Emperor said coldly, "They have some clever methods. They offered a bounty of one hundred million gold soul coins to lure powerful forces from all over the continent into secretly targeting Mingde Hall. But it seems that no one dares to do it."
"No one dares to do it, that's more like it." Gui Wujing sat down on the sofa and said solemnly, "The overall strength of Mingde Hall is not to be underestimated. Even Shrek Academy and our Holy Spirit Cult need to be wary. Which force on the continent dares to deal with them?"
As he spoke, Gui Wujing suddenly paused, his expression turning strange. "Speaking of which, it seems there really is a sect that dares to do this."
Upon hearing this, the Demon Emperor subconsciously looked over, but suddenly the communication soul tool rang in the hall.
Gui Wujing frowned, remotely activating his soul power to draw it over and connect. Soon, an urgent voice came from the other end,
"The Grand Elder is in trouble."
Gui Wujing's face darkened. Can you stop talking for a second? What do you mean the Grand Elder is in trouble?
I'm perfectly fine.
...
The Imperial Palace.
"Father, the Holy Spirit Cult is becoming increasingly arrogant and domineering. Just one stronghold has concealed hundreds of corpses, and that's only what we've seen. There are likely many more we haven't seen, and we have no idea how many such strongholds exist in Mingdu."
"Your Majesty, I believe it's time to prepare for a purge of the Holy Spirit Cult. Otherwise, if the events that occurred tonight over Mingdu happen a few more times, what will the people of Mingdu think? What will the people of the rest of the empire think?"
Inside the vast study, Xu Tianming stood respectfully to the side, his expression unusually serious.
The Sun and Moon Emperor was writing something, seemingly oblivious to Xu Tianming's words.
Xu Tianming dared not disturb him and waited silently.
After a full minute, the emperor finally put down his pen, looked up at his second son, and calmly asked, "If I agree with your idea, what do you plan to do?"
Xu Tianming's eyes lit up, but he hesitated for a moment before replying steadily, "The Holy Spirit Cult is powerful. Taking action against them rashly is not the best choice. Therefore, I plan to first incite public anger and ignite public opinion. Then we can use the pressure of public opinion as an excuse to attack the Holy Spirit Cult." "
The hundreds of remains found in the stronghold we discovered today are the perfect catalyst. At the same time, we will only target the Holy Spirit Cult strongholds within Mingdu; we will ignore other cities and minimize the hostility between the two sides."
"Although tonight's events were most likely not caused by the Holy Spirit Cult's evil spirit masters, the person who destroyed the evil spirit master's stronghold was probably trying to lure us into doing these things. We might as well play along; after all, this person's idea aligns with our interests."
"So, Father, what do you think?"
The Emperor's expression remained calm. "Your idea is not bad, but we can't be too hasty in dealing with the Holy Spirit Cult. After all, even a rabbit will bite when cornered... Go ahead and do it. I will have several elders from the Hall of Worship guard you, so you don't need to worry about the Holy Spirit Cult's retaliation. Consider this a warning to the Holy Spirit Cult. They have caused quite a few massacres throughout the empire over the years. As the Emperor, it's time for me to do something for my people."
"Thank you, Father." Xu Tianming was excited, but his face remained unchanged.
"Don't rush to thank me," the Emperor said solemnly. "Your father is old, and his energy is not what it used to be
. The court is now filled with powerful figures, each fiercely protecting their own interests. If the new emperor wants to ascend the throne, he cannot afford to lose their support. If you understand this, then give them some benefits." "When the time is right, we'll take them all back. Whatever they've taken, they'll have to pay ten times the price."
"The Crown Prince is often ill. As his younger brother, you should help him as much as possible."
Xu Tianming's body trembled, his gaze unconsciously meeting the Emperor's. The soft lamplight seemed to flicker, startling Xu Tianming awake, and his breath quickened.
His father's words were almost a direct instruction.
"Your subject obeys," Xu Tianming knelt on one knee, head bowed, bowing respectfully.
"I'm tired. You may leave now," the Emperor said gently. "If you have the chance, investigate who is the one who orchestrated all this."
"Yes," Xu Tianming bowed again and quietly withdrew.
As the door closed, the emperor quickly raised his head, his gaze deep and unfathomable.
His agreement to this wasn't merely to weaken the Holy Spirit Church, but also to see if his second son could use this opportunity to mature.
The crown prince was ruthless and decisive, possessing an imperial aura, but his physical disability made him unsuitable to be emperor, as it would harm the empire's fate. Power couldn't be entrusted to him unless absolutely necessary.
The second son lacks decisiveness in ruthlessness and expansion, but is more than capable of maintaining the status quo. If he ascends the throne, he should be able to keep the empire running, and with the help of the Hall of Offerings, he should be able to revive the empire's economy. He is currently the most reliable heir apparent.
The third son dislikes politics, preferring to associate with powerful figures and travel, making him unsuitable for important tasks.
The emperor withdrew his gaze and picked up his brush again, writing with vigorous strokes, but the pressure was too great, causing some distortion.
He was also somewhat nervous.
Outside the imperial study,
Xu Tianming took a deep breath, trying to calm his inner turmoil.
Gazing at the bright moon, he clenched his fist slightly, then relaxed it after a few seconds.
"Eldest brother, oh eldest brother, the Holy Spirit Sect's way of doing things suits you quite well. They might even seek your cooperation. I want to see whether I, with my alliance of various noble forces, will win, or you, with the Holy Spirit Sect's secret support, will prevail."
With a cold laugh, Xu Tianming strode out of the palace.
....................
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