South of Heaven Dou City, in a secret chamber beneath a luxurious manor.
The atmosphere within the chamber felt exceptionally stagnant, as if shrouded in a heavy silence. In the vast space, the faint light flickered unsteadily, as if even time itself had been frozen for Eternity here.
In the center of the chamber stood a long conference table made of Dragon Sandalwood. At the head of the table, a figure in white robes with their face obscured by shadows was listening to a report from an elderly man in ink-colored robes who appeared to be a butler.
"Chairman, Martial Soul Hall has already discovered the remnants we left behind. They are currently organizing personnel to investigate, and the Saint Abyss has been placed under their strict surveillance."
Hearing that Martial Soul Hall had taken the bait and was targeting the Saint Abyss—the Dead Realm that Yun Ming had accidentally created—a low, melodic male voice drifted from the head of the table.
"Is that so? In that case, notify Wu Hun and the others to proceed according to the predetermined plan."
"Yes, Chairman." The old butler received the order and withdrew to pass it on.
Once the old butler left, the white-robed figure stood up, picked up a Soul Guidance Lamp, and walked deep into the chamber to a mural on the wall.
Looking at the pattern on the mural, which was of unknown origin, the white-robed figure whispered to himself.
"Don't be impatient, we shall meet very soon."
The mural was large and somewhat abstract; the faint light was nowhere near enough to reveal its full appearance. However, through the glow of the lamp, one could see a boundless fanaticism in the white-robed figure's eyes that was quite unlike his previous tone.
Five days later, at the Clan Land of the Breaking Clan.
Yun Ming was listening to Yang Teng report the latest intelligence regarding the investigation into the Dead Realm incident.
"According to our investigation, most of the Soul Beast remains from the Young Master's notes came from the Sunset Forest near Heaven Dou City. A small number of Soul Beasts not native to the Sunset Forest came from all over, but the primary source for the bulk of them is the Soul Hunting Forest in the Buffalo Kingdom, east of the Star Luo Empire."
"As for the Soul Masters, we have also conducted an in-depth investigation. Unlike Soul Beasts, which have distinct skeletal characteristics, it is very difficult to trace the origins of most Soul Masters, so we haven't gained much."
Yun Ming had anticipated this. The essence inside the bones he had examined had been drained, and even he could not determine the specific attributes or martial souls of those individuals. However, there were only so many high-level Soul Masters; surely there would be some gains.
As if hearing Yun Ming's inner thoughts, Yang Teng's next report was exactly about that.
"However, it was not entirely fruitless. After categorizing the investigation by the source of the Soul Beasts, we did manage to identify the possible identities of three of them."
"The first is a Soul Saint squadron leader from the Holy Tribunal Soul Master Team of Martial Soul Hall, Ye Zhun, whose martial soul is the Dark Magic Eagle. Half a year ago, while executing a mission, Ye Zhun lost contact at the border of the Ni Li, Buffalo, and Star Luo kingdoms. Martial Soul Hall had been searching for him but could never find his whereabouts, until now."
"The other two are members of the Star Luo Zhu Family, Zhu Qinglong and Zhu Qiming. Both of them died in the internal power struggles of the Star Luo Royal Power over a year ago."
Yun Ming had some impression of these two from the Zhu Family. More than half a year ago, their remains had been stolen, causing the Zhu Family to fly into a rage. They had issued a massive bounty of one million Gold Soul Coins in the underground world, swearing to find the grave robbers, but after searching for several months with no results, the matter eventually faded away.
Yang Teng continued.
"As for the incomplete array map, there have been no gains so far."
It was a pity there were no gains on the map, but with the information about the Buffalo Kingdom's Soul Hunting Forest, the disappearance of Ye Zhun at the border, and the Zhu family members, Yun Ming found their common thread and spoke up.
"Is the primary target people or beasts possessing shadow attributes?"
Yang Teng nodded in agreement.
"Yes! And that has already been confirmed."
As he spoke, Yang Teng pulled a note from his robe and handed it to Yun Ming.
Yun Ming opened it, his pupils constricting as he read the content.
"They really did come prepared!"
The note read: 'One day ago, the Magic Goose Xu Family and the King Snake Yin Family were wiped out by a mysterious Soul Douluo. The remains of the entire clan are gone. (Based on the abilities inferred from the scene, the perpetrators are all ice-attribute Soul Masters; it should be the same group.)'
These two mid-sized Soul Master families resided in the south of Star Luo, and their ancestral martial souls were both of the dark attribute.
Being wiped out the day before Yun Ming received the news, and by ice-attribute powerhouses—who, due to their cultivation environment and Spirit Rings, mostly resided near the Icy Sealed Forest in the north of Heaven Dou—Yun Ming did not believe this was a coincidence. No, it was definitely not a coincidence. Such a major event as the extermination of a clan could not be hidden from Martial Soul Hall, so they were indeed prepared! This was likely intended as a message to Martial Soul Hall.
Yun Ming asked Yang Teng.
"What does Martial Soul Hall say? They must be furious that the other side is playing such a big game!"
Yang Teng nodded.
"Yes, Martial Soul Hall has already dispatched two full Holy Tribunal Soul Master teams to Star Luo. It seems they will not let the matter rest until they find those people."
Two full Holy Tribunal Soul Master teams—this included two Title Douluo and six Soul Saints. With Title Douluo not appearing, their combat power was already very strong. It seemed Martial Soul Hall was truly getting serious this time.
Yun Ming asked Yang Teng.
"Uncle Teng, what do you think those people will do next?"
Yang Teng pondered for a moment before replying.
"Their objective is not yet clear, but based on the fact that they transported all the remains to our old clan land, they require the environment there. Now that they have acquired a large number of shadow-attribute remains, they should still return."
"But in this situation, they still provoked Martial Soul Hall first. It seems they still need Martial Soul Hall to help them accomplish something."
Yun Ming agreed with Yang Teng's view. Judging by the changes in the Dead Realm, the group behind this was not using the Dead Realm as a diversion to attack elsewhere. As for Martial Soul Hall, that was something they had provoked themselves, so he said.
"Indeed! They are playing an open game. So, have our people withdraw. Don't let them die in vain. Now, I just need to wait for the rabbit to come to the tree."
"Yes, Young Master."
Yang Teng received the order and withdrew.
Yun Ming stood up and looked toward Heaven Dou, calculating in his heart.
What he could see, Martial Soul Hall would not miss. Two teams of Holy Tribunal Soul Masters had gone to Star Luo, and Martial Soul Hall powerhouses had likely arrived in secret in Heaven Dou City as well. Add to that Dugu Bo, who lived in Heaven Dou City, and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect not far outside the city. The person behind this incident was quite bold! Even excluding Yun Ming and Yang Wudi, who were three hundred miles away from Heaven Dou City, they would have to face at least three or four Title Douluo this time, and possibly more. What was their reliance?
Yun Ming did not know what their reliance was, but it was true that things were becoming increasingly interesting. With a flash of silver light, Yun Ming vanished from his residence.
On the other side, just as Yun Ming had suspected, people from Martial Soul Hall had also arrived in Heaven Dou City.
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Translated by: randomtranslator.com
Proofread by: DaoistReader