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

"What?"

Upon hearing this, Yue Zhengyin and Chen Ning's expressions changed instantly. If... the situation was really as Ning Peiya described, then the problem would be huge.

The Sea God Pavilion was not defeated; rather, Ning Peiya was defeated in the internal strife within the Sea God Pavilion!

Thinking of this, Yue Zhengyin couldn't help but ask, "Xiaoya, in the illusion, the Sea God Pavilion reaped the final victory, but ultimately failed in the internal struggle within the Sea God Pavilion. Was the one who defeated you Yue Zhengyin?"

"You're wrong, completely wrong. It's not what you imagine at all." Ning Peiya said expressionlessly, "I can tell you clearly that there is no you, Yue Zhengyin, in the other world, and I... due to certain limitations, I am unable to create the Tower Fighting Technique. Even though I demonstrated extremely high physical skills, the Sea God Pavilion still rejected my proposal to obtain a Martial Soul Immortal Herb that was sufficient to evolve my Martial Soul."

"That's all I can say. I can't reveal anything else. Of course, you can report the whole story to the Sea God Pavilion. I don't care."

After saying that, Ning Peiya hurriedly stood up, not even glancing at the two of them, and walked straight out of the private room.

……

Time flies, and before we knew it, it was dusk.

After what happened, everyone was extremely curious about Ning Peiya's experiences, and had no mood for sightseeing at all. Even the most fun games and activities became boring.

Back at the seaside hotel, the siblings Yue Zhengyin and Yue Zhengyu had barely returned to their room, not even having taken off their shoes, when their soul communication device received a message from Jade Shadow Douluo, instructing them to go to his room immediately.

Left with no other choice, the two dragged their listless bodies to Jade Shadow Douluo's room.

"Huh? Why are there only the two of you? Where's Ning Peiya?"

Jade Shadow Douluo stood with his hands on his hips, scrutinizing the brother and sister in front of him.

Yue Zhengyin said somewhat impatiently, "Something happened, and Xiaoya is quite exhausted, so she went back to her room to rest."

Despite Yu Ying Douluo being her nominal elder, Yue Zhengyin didn't give him a friendly look. Normally it would be fine, but she was especially busy and exhausted. She finally had time to rest, and then he woke her up to report on her work.

Jade Shadow Douluo said expressionlessly, "After playing all day, how many entertainment projects in Tianhai City have you seen that are beyond your comprehension...?"

"There are too many," Yue Zhengyin pondered. "Among them... the most surprising one is that holographic experience center, which has the same technology as the Spirit Ascension Platform, but it's used for entertainment projects."

"Also, that haunted house in Tianhai City, so haunted that even gods would cry... I guess it contains a rather advanced device that can create illusions and amplify the fears of Soul Masters. Even Xiaoya was scared to tears."

"Think about it carefully. If the Sun Moon Empire officially possessed this technology that is ahead of its time... their army would probably have already stormed into the Sea God Pavilion. There would be no need for them to argue with us here."

Yue Zhengyin's words came to an abrupt halt. As a qualified intelligence agent, she had only expressed her observations and some personal understandings, with the main principle being to avoid meddling in other people's business and not to add extra tasks to her own life.

"I see."

Yu Ying Douluo hurriedly took out paper and pen, wrote down everything that Yue Zhengyin had just described, then got up and left the room, knocking on the door of Bing Muxue's room.

"Senior Ice Emperor, I apologize for disturbing your rest with my visit so late at night."

Even though Yu Ying Douluo held the position of head of the Shrek Academy delegation, she still dared not be arrogant in front of Bing Muxue. This was because the other party was a four-word battle armor master, whose status was on par with that of Leng Yaozhu, the deputy tower master of the Spirit Pagoda.

"Just say what you want to say. I don't like beating around the bush," Bing Muxue said irritably. "If you just want to ask for a cup of tea, you'd better leave now. I don't have any tea for you here."

Bing Muxue said with a smile, "Senior Binghuang, today I sent my students out under the guise of sightseeing, but in reality, they were conducting a covert investigation of the industries in Tianhai City. Here, this is the information I compiled from my students' reports. Please take a look, Senior."

As he spoke, Jade Shadow Douluo respectfully handed the intelligence he had just compiled to Bing Muxue.

Bing Muxue glanced at it briefly, her expression remaining icy and unchanged. "I've heard about this information."

Have you heard about it?

Jade Shadow Douluo frowned and said, "Then... Senior Ice Emperor, what do the higher-ups of your Sun Moon Empire mean? And what does His Majesty the Emperor mean? Do you know that such technology, comparable to... even surpassing the Spirit Ascension Platform, is actually being used in entertainment facilities? And those top-tier Soul Masters are willing to stay in a small place like Tianhai City, developing so-called entertainment projects..."

"So what?" Bing Muxue said expressionlessly, "They didn't train a large-scale private army, they didn't violate the laws of the Sun Moon Federation... or even the Sun Moon Empire, and they didn't use their advanced soul guidance technology for military purposes. They just wanted to make money and created some entertainment projects. Hmph, does that mean... your Sea God Pavilion can't even tolerate a bunch of people making games?"

Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!

Jade Shadow Douluo: "..."

This is so damn annoying!

That's not what I meant!

Jade Shadow Douluo gritted his teeth and said, "Senior Ice Emperor, they clearly possess such superb soul guidance technology, yet they choose to stay in Tianhai City making entertainment projects that don't earn much money. Haven't you ever suspected that they're up to something shady?"

Bing Muxue scoffed, "What's the use of suspicion? Without concrete evidence, our authorities can't possibly conduct any searches of properties in Tianhai City. Don't forget... this is all the mess created by your Sea God Pavilion. If we had any stronger control over the local area, this situation wouldn't have happened."

Ah this...

Yu Ying Douluo was about to lose his composure. As a member of the Sea God Pavilion's upper echelons, he knew all too well that in order to limit the development of the five major families, his family, together with the Tang Sect, the Body Sect, and some forces close to the Sea God Pavilion and Shrek Academy, had forced the five major families to create a parliamentary system, allowing the Sea God Pavilion to legally possess its own Soul Master Legion.

With the emergence of the parliamentary system, the five major families gradually lost their absolute control over the localities, and forces similar to duchies, such as the Tianhai Alliance, sprang up like mushrooms after rain.

All the trouble was caused by the Sea God Pavilion, and the bitter fruit has ultimately fallen on their own shoulders! (End of Chapter)