Douluo Continent: Starting with the Tiger Emperor Template

Lu Ren's eyes narrowed slightly.

Nana's speech quickened, clearly indicating that the situation was more serious than she had anticipated:

"Recently, the Xishui Alliance has mobilized a large number of people to search the entire city for Soul Masters with Divine Attribute Martial Souls."

"Moreover, we are also in conflict with the other two major forces, the Aodu Chamber of Commerce and the Pingfan Alliance. Our people have reported that the Aodu Chamber of Commerce is no match for the Xishui Alliance and has been completely overwhelmed. The Pingfan Alliance is in slightly better shape, but it is also suffering setbacks."

"The situation in Mingdu is very chaotic right now. The people of the Xishui Alliance are searching everywhere like madmen. Those of us who went to gather information have to return here to hide and dare not go out easily anymore."

She looked up, her beautiful eyes filled with worry.

"Master, look at this..."

Lu Ren was stunned for a moment after hearing this.

Then he turned his head and met Ji Juechen's gaze.

A rare, subtle expression appeared on Ji Juechen's perpetually expressionless face.

He was silent for a moment, then spoke softly:

"It seems we've made too much of a commotion."

Lu Ren rubbed his temples, feeling a bit of a headache.

"Indeed, it must have been my display of the ability to subdue evil spirit masters that attracted the attention of the Holy Spirit Cult, causing them to start searching for me at all costs."

His thoughts raced.

The Xishui Alliance is one of the Holy Spirit Cult's open forces in Mingdu, a fact he knew in the original work.

However, the Holy Spirit Cult has always acted in secrecy and rarely operates in such a high-profile manner.

The fact that the Xishui Alliance is now going to war with both the Aodu Chamber of Commerce and the Pingfan Alliance at the same time, searching the entire city for Soul Masters with the Holy Attribute, can only mean one thing.

When he used the Reversal Technique to purify the evil spirit masters in the branch altar that day, the higher-ups of the Holy Spirit Cult interpreted it as a message that made them extremely uneasy.

In their eyes, there was a mysterious powerhouse with "divine attributes" who could easily purify the power of evil soul masters and wiped out eight of their strongholds overnight.

This power is too terrifying in its ability to restrain evil spirit masters, and has already crossed the bottom line of the Holy Spirit Cult.

They must find this mysterious and powerful figure before he grows up and nip him in the bud.

Ye Guyi happens to be the owner of the Holy Angel Martial Soul.

In the fight against evil spirit masters, there is probably no one more professional than her in the entire Mingdu and even the entire Douluo Continent.

Her angelic martial spirit is naturally able to suppress all evil and darkness, making it one of the most feared powers by evil spirit masters.

If she is found by the Holy Spirit Cult, being tortured to death is the only possible outcome.

If he wants to create the Spirit Pagoda in the future, he cannot do it alone.

A power needs a core group of people and allies who are both promising and loyal enough.

Ye Guyi is undoubtedly one of the most ideal targets at this stage. She is still young, her cultivation level is not very high, and she is in a stage where she needs resources and protection.

Her Angelic Martial Soul has enormous potential; once it matures, it will be a devastating weapon against evil spirit masters.

Not to mention, if Ye Guyi could be won over, she could provide support when dealing with the Holy Spirit Cult, using the holy power of the Angelic Martial Soul to suppress the evil aura of the evil soul masters...

From now on, the Holy Spirit Church will probably become a walking encyclopedia of experience in his eyes.

"No, Ye Guyi can't be harmed."

Lu Ren made a quick decision and turned to look at Ji Juechen.

"Old Ji, let's go out for a trip. We have to take the risk."

"Anyway, the Holy Spirit Cult doesn't know it was us who did it. Our martial spirits, one controls blood and the other wields a sword, have absolutely nothing to do with the holy attribute."

"They're looking for a Soul Master with the Divine attribute, what does that have to do with us?"

Ji Juechen remained silent for a second.

"oh."

He never questioned Lu Ren's decisions.

This sword fanatic's trust in Lu Ren had reached the point of near-blind obedience.

Lu Ren turned his head and looked at Nana.

"Take good care of this place. If anything goes wrong, channel your soul power into the soul tool I gave you earlier, and I'll come back immediately."

"Yes, Master."

Nana bowed in greeting.

……

The streets of Mingdu were much less crowded than usual.

The Xishui Alliance's reckless actions have cast a subtle atmosphere of tension over the entire city.

Lu Ren walked ahead, his pace leisurely, as if he were strolling in his own backyard.

Ji Juechen lagged behind him by half a step, his right hand always resting on the hilt of his sword, his eyes scanning the surroundings warily.

I'm not good at finding people.

Ji Juechen suddenly spoke, his voice as calm as if he were stating a fact.

Why did you drag me into this?

Lu Ren didn't even turn his head:

"I can't go alone, at least two people can help each other. Besides..."

He turned his head and gave Ji Juechen a meaningful smile.

"There might even be a fight."

Ji Juechen's eyes lit up instantly.

That radiance was like a sword that had been sealed away for a long time finally sensing the scent of the battlefield.

He didn't ask any more questions, but simply gripped the hilt of his sword tighter.

Then he saw Lu Ren stop in front of a restaurant.

This is a small, long-established restaurant with a wooden signboard blackened by cooking fumes, but it still has a lot of customers coming and going.

It was lunchtime, and the restaurant was bustling with noise. Waiters carried trays and moved between tables and chairs, and the air was filled with the aroma of roasted soul beast meat and the strong smell of alcohol.

Ji Juechen followed Lu Ren into the restaurant with a puzzled look on his face. He watched as Lu Ren sat down in a corner window seat and even had the leisure to call over a waiter, flip through the menu, and order a few dishes.

"On another note..."

Ji Juechen finally couldn't hold back any longer and asked in a low voice.

"Why would you eat here when you're looking for someone?"

Lu Ren picked up his teacup, took a slow sip, and moistened his throat.

The tea was ordinary coarse tea, with a strong astringent taste, but he drank it with great relish.

"Because I need to use my mental power to cover the entire restaurant and eavesdrop on what they're saying. This is currently the easiest way for us to understand the current situation in Mingdu."

He put down his teacup and said matter-of-factly:

"We don't know any intelligence brokers, and we don't have any connections to gather information. At this stage, we can only rely on this clumsy method. Do you know anyone who can provide us with intelligence?"

Ji Juechen fell silent again.

Socializing has never been his forte.

He knows only a handful of people.

The dishes were served quickly, all of them being the most common home-style dishes. As Lu Ren picked up food and ate rice, he subtly spread his mental energy outwards.

His spiritual power had reached the Spirit Abyss Realm, more than enough to cover the entire restaurant.

Most of the diners present were low-level Soul Masters with very low mental strength, so they had no way of noticing that someone was eavesdropping on their conversation.

A series of sounds flowed into his senses like a gentle stream.

He filtered out a large amount of useless information, including everyday family matters, business dealings, and gossip, leaving only snippets of information related to the current situation in Mingdu.

Soon, useful information began to emerge.

"Have you heard? The Ordinary Alliance suffered heavy losses at the hands of the Evening Water Alliance. Alliance Leader Shangguan Wei'er has already gathered powerful figures from all sides to prepare for a counterattack."

"Shangguan Wei'er? That woman who's famous for her wide network and shrewd methods? If she were to step in, she should be able to bring in quite a few experts."

"That's right, they have the royal family backing them. But the Audu Chamber of Commerce is in a terrible state. They had no power to resist at all, and several of their strongholds were wiped out by the Xishui Alliance overnight."

"Tsk tsk, who would have thought that the strongest of the three major underground forces is actually the usually low-profile Xishui Alliance?"

"There must be someone behind the Xishui Alliance, otherwise how could they be so arrogant? I heard that someone from the royal family has already taken action. After all, it has caused such a big commotion, if it is not dealt with, the entire Ming capital will be in chaos."

"What good is the royal family's intervention? The Xi Shui Alliance dares to do this; aren't they afraid of the royal family? There's more to this than meets the eye..."

Lu Ren ate his rice while inwardly sneering.

The Xi Shui Alliance is certainly strong. It is backed by the Holy Spirit Cult, a powerful evil spirit master organization that even the royal family of the Sun Moon Empire has to be wary of. It would be strange if it weren't strong.

As for the royal family taking action to rectify the situation, it was mostly just Xu Tianran's people going through the motions. The relationship between the Holy Spirit Cult and the Crown Prince is intricate, and the so-called rectification is nothing more than a show for outsiders.

Or perhaps, at most, it will only make the Xishui Alliance less arrogant and disruptive to the order of Mingdu.

He put down his chopsticks and shook his head with some regret.

"Oh, what a pity."

Ji Juechen raised his head:

"Didn't find the Leaf Bone Robe you were looking for?"

"Yes." Lu Ren picked up his bowl again and lowered his head to eat. "I was afraid she had already been killed by the Xi Shui Alliance. After all, she was also a member of the Pingfan Alliance. If the Xi Shui Alliance really made a move against the Pingfan Alliance, she, as the owner of the Holy Angel Martial Soul, would definitely be a key target..."

Before he could finish speaking, his chopsticks paused slightly.

Because in his mental perception, a black-robed man sitting directly behind him suddenly trembled.

The movement was extremely subtle, as if someone had been suddenly startled by something and was forcibly suppressing their fear.

Lu Ren continued eating, making no rash moves, and his expression remained unchanged.

But his mental energy had already quietly locked onto the man in black.