In Douluo Continent, I am the mastermind behind the scenes.

"Huo Yuhao, I've been bullied. Are you going to do anything about it?"

In Huo Yuhao's private studio at the Tang Sect headquarters, Lu Qingshuang slapped Huo Yuhao's worktable angrily, her resentment evident in her expression.

"Senior Sister Chen Yu is the next Sea Goddess, and you are her confidante. Who in the entire Shrek City can bully you? Who dares to bully you? Go away, don't bother me here."

Huo Yuhao didn't even glance at Lu Qingshuang, continuing to carve the soul guidance array in his hands as if he were doing something else. Ever since he obtained the Nine Trials of Emotions, he looked down on everyone except Chen Yu.

If it were before... hmph, he might have even considered recruiting Lu Qingshuang.

"But I must say that there are traitors in the Sea God Pavilion. With the great war imminent, instead of recruiting soldiers and preparing for war, they are thinking about how to send their best bloodline out of Douluo Continent and away from this world-destroying conflict."

As Lu Qingshuang's cold voice rang out again, this time... Huo Yuhao finally couldn't sit still any longer. He subconsciously clenched his left fist, and the unfinished metal in his palm turned into a pile of powder.

"Damn it! These good-for-nothing bastards who just sit around and do nothing! They're the ones who ruined the reputation of the Sea God Pavilion!"

In an instant, Huo Yuhao was furious. He was no longer the naive Huo Yuhao of his previous life. He knew very well that the so-called unity of the Sea God Pavilion was a complete joke.

Even the former dean of the Soul Guidance Department, Martial God Douluo Xian Lin'er, in order to survive, spread rumors throughout the Heavenly Soul Empire about "The Untold Story of Tang Xiao, Tang Hao, and Ah Yin", "The Trio of Flander, Yu Xiaogang, and Liu Erlong", "Shocking! Soft Bone Douluo Xiao Wu Actually Has Tens of Thousands of Descendants", "Liuli Sacrifices Herself to Revitalize the Sect", and so on.

As a senior member of the Sea God Pavilion and the second-in-command of the Azure Flame Dragon and Azure Shadow Divine Eagle families, after being captured, she not only could not die for her country, but in order to survive, she was even willing to give up her own faith and become the one who betrayed her master for personal gain!

When did the Sea God Pavilion people become so spineless? When they were exploiting the three great empires, they were all ruthless, afraid of missing out on the profits. Now that war has broken out, they've all hidden in the back, looking for a way out for themselves, waiting for the gods to descend and sweep away all invading enemies.

Thinking of this, Huo Yuhao stared at Lu Qingshuang in front of him, gritting his teeth as he said, "Speak! Tell me what those old fogies did. If it's true, I'll make those bastards pay the price!"

Lu Qingshuang chuckled, "Great God King Huo, you don't know, do you? Those old bastards are ruthless and even dare to embezzle resources from the new army and the inspection team that are assisting the two empires in defending the city. Without the military rations distributed by the Sea God Pavilion, they can only rely on the two empires' officials to provide food and energy. If this continues, Lingdou City may very well become the second Jialing Pass."

Hearing this, Huo Yuhao frowned and asked with a puzzled look, "But... compared to a business that makes a fortune every day, those resources aren't worth much, are they? They're not pills. If you sold them all, they'd only be worth a hundred or two hundred thousand gold soul coins at most, right?"

Lu Qingshuang said expressionlessly, "In order to make it easier for the troops guarding the city to eat, the relevant personnel specially designed the military rations to be fast food, the kind that can be eaten as soon as you tear open the package. Tang Clan personnel participated in the production of military rations, and you know this better than I do."

"It's filling, it tastes good, it's flavorful—you, Huo Yuhao, have gone to great lengths to ensure the soldiers on the front lines don't suffer. But what good does it do? Those old fogies, afraid their precious grandchildren will suffer overseas, withhold these military rations and hand them over to…"

"Bastard! Bastard! Bastard!"

Huo Yuhao's eyes immediately turned bloodshot, he was panting heavily, and the veins on his forehead bulged with anger. "Why? Why do they dare to do this? Aren't they afraid of losing ground at the front and having the armies of the Ningyun Sect and the Sun Moon Empire besiege the city?"

Lu Qingshuang said nonchalantly, "What's the big deal? If problems arise, the gods will clear the way. Even if the Sea God falls, they'll either have to grovel before the new master or their entire families will die. Anyway, their bloodlines will remain. As long as the Douluo World isn't destroyed, they'll never be losers!"

Lu Qingshuang shrugged, no longer looking at Huo Yuhao's changing expression, and went to sit down on the sofa next to her.

Chen Yu was capable enough, but she was too young and inexperienced, so she was completely unaware of the little tricks those old men were up to.

As for Huo Yuhao, needless to say, even disregarding his cultivation level and judging solely by his abilities, he wouldn't even be qualified for the position of city lord of a small city.

Huo Yuhao's face didn't look good. It turned red and green in less than three minutes, changing seven colors. Anyone who didn't know better would think he had a chameleon martial soul.

"Guards! Guards! Are the Divine Guards here?"

Huo Yuhao was so angry that his face turned red and his neck bulged. He slammed his fist on the table several times.

A woman with long, deep blue hair then walked in from outside the door.

"Young Master Huo, may I ask what your orders are?"

The blue-haired woman bowed slightly, facing Huo Yuhao's position.

Huo Yuhao said in an icy tone, "Investigate. Have the Divine Guards investigate thoroughly. Bring back all the second and third generation direct descendants of the Sea God Pavilion family who are out of town, except for those who are still fighting for the country in the military. No matter what their reasons are, bring them all back."

"In the face of war, everyone is equal. As members of the Sea God Pavilion family, some are risking their lives on the front lines, while others are looking for a way out. If this continues, who will still be willing to serve the Sea God Pavilion?"

Upon hearing this, the blue-haired woman nodded, then bowed deeply and silently walked out of the studio. After speaking with Chen Yu, she mobilized the Divine Guard to capture the Sea God Pavilion family members who had already fled Shrek City.

The Divine Guard Army, as the name suggests, is Huo Yuhao and Chen Yu's personal army, an organization that helped them become gods. Its members are all from the Sea God family, independent of the Sea God Pavilion, and do not need to be responsible to those old, closed-off members.

Even so, before Lu Qingxiang brought it up to Huo Yuhao, the high-ranking officers of the Divine Guard Army already knew about the underhanded tricks that the old bastards of the Sea God Pavilion had been up to in private, but they just didn't say it out loud.

After all... some things are only a few ounces on the scale, but once they are weighed, they can weigh a thousand pounds. Most of the families under the Sea God's command are like that. Who would do something that is thankless and difficult?

Even if they reorganize the Sea God Pavilion and give it a fresh new look, what will they gain?

So much so that... if Lu Qingshuang, that silly deer, hadn't brought it up, Huo Yuhao and Chen Yu probably would never have known the truth. (End of Chapter)