Douluo Continent: Chrysanthemum and Demon Twins, Forced Marriage to Meng Hongchen

Mingdu.

On top of a tall tower in the central area.

Xu Mochen, the captain of the Sun and Moon Royal Guard, looked down at the billowing smoke in the southern region caused by the massive explosion, his eyes flashing with unease and worry.

"Your Highness, are we really sure this is alright? Isn't it too risky? After all, Xia Yu's identity..."

After watching for a while, Xu Mochen turned around with a slight hesitation and looked at the Third Prince Xu Tianchen, who was sitting upright on the sofa.

Yes, the attack Xia Yu is currently facing was orchestrated and planned by the Third Prince's faction.

As for the reason, it's nothing more than the power struggle within the royal family.

"Mo Chen, do you think I still have a choice at this point?"

The Third Prince, Xu Tianchen, did not answer Xu Mochen, but instead squinted at the palace not far away.

"My eldest brother, the Crown Prince, has his sword at my throat. If I don't fight now, won't I be following in my second brother's footsteps?"

As he spoke, a deep gloom settled in the eyes of the Third Prince, Xu Tianchen.

"Your Highness, we... still have a chance, after all, the Crown Prince's health..."

Xu Mochen naturally knew that what the Third Prince said was true.

Originally, with the support of his father, who controlled the royal family, the Third Prince could have resisted Crown Prince Xu Tianran, who had the support of the Hall of Imperial Sacrifices, and maintained a relative balance.

Unfortunately, this so-called balance collapsed completely when Jing Hongchen led Mingdetang to fully side with Crown Prince Xu Tianran.

With the help of Mingde Hall, Crown Prince Xu Tianran's faction began to expand rapidly.

Before long, they kicked the Third Prince Xu Tianchen's forces to the ground like stray dogs on the roadside.

Okay, he's not dead yet, but he's half-dead.

With the Third Prince no longer an obstacle, Crown Prince Xu Tianran quickly seized the opportunity of the Emperor's serious illness to ascend to the position of Regent.

Now, he controls two-fifths of the imperial army.

It should be noted that as many as two-fifths of the empire's military forces are completely loyal to the empire and the emperor and do not participate in partisan competition.

In other words, two-thirds of the troops that the princes of the Sun Moon Empire could win over had already fallen into the hands of Crown Prince Xu Tianran.

The remaining third did not all belong to the Third Prince; other princes or certain fence-sitters also occupied a considerable portion.

It can be said that, based on the apparent balance of power, the Third Prince has completely lost and has no chance of turning the tide.

That's why this guy took a risky move, setting his sights on Xia Yu and planning this ambush attack.

Of course, the Third Prince wasn't so audacious as to kill Xia Yu; rather, he wanted to control him with evil poison.

Once Xia Yu is under control, there will be many more opportunities to manipulate things.

Jin could use Xiayu as a springboard to connect the ancestral hall with the Duke Xia family.

If they retreat, they can secretly use Xia Yu's identity to cause trouble, completely disrupt the situation, and fish in troubled waters.

No matter how you look at it, controlling Xia Yu would be entirely beneficial and not harmful, making it well worth the risk.

Even if they fail, it's okay. They were fully prepared and had completely erased all clues and traces before the operation even began.

No matter how Xia Yu and the others investigated, they couldn't find anything on them.

The Third Prince Xu Tianchen was extremely familiar with this kind of thing; he had become so skilled at it that he could do it with ease.

……

"Tsk, I really didn't expect that I would be attacked in Mingdu."

In a secluded street in the southern part of Mingdu, Xia Yu stood on the rubble of the explosion, arms crossed, eyes slightly narrowed as he sized up the people surrounding him.

Because of preconceived notions, he wasn't very vigilant when he was relaxing.

Despite their careful planning, they were caught off guard and their sneaky attack backfired, taking the brunt of the explosion from a level 9 fixed-position soul-guided cannon shell and numerous level 8 ones.

Fortunately, he had enough defensive soul tools on him, and he activated them in time, so he didn't suffer any damage.

However, this also served as a wake-up call for Xia Yu, reminding him that it is always necessary to remain vigilant.

I must never make this mistake again.

After silently admonishing himself, Xia Yu unleashed all his mental energy to investigate the situation at the scene.

"what?"

When Xia Yu's mental energy swept over the elderly figure at the head of the group, he was surprised to find that he recognized the person.

"Isn't this the ghost fox that the teacher mentioned? I didn't expect him to still be alive."

Ghost Fox, whose original name is no longer known, appeared out of nowhere decades ago and became famous in the Sun Moon Empire as a level nine Soul Master with real control abilities.

However, this guy is extremely arrogant. Even though he needs a Soul Master to create the various Soul Tools he needs, he looks down on Soul Masters.

He even fantasized about enslaving the Soul Masters, using them as tools to constantly create Soul Guidance Devices for him.

This is utterly upside down!

It's important to understand that the cornerstone of the Sun Moon Empire isn't some rubbish Control-type Soul Master, but rather a normal Soul Master.

The so-called "actual control system soul master" is just someone who holds the title of soul master.

But in reality, it's still the traditional Soul Master system, only using Soul Tools as a means of combat.

Finally, this fox spirit was also wanted by the Sun and Moon Empire for its actions.

He was personally pursued and killed by Kong Deming, who was then working at Mingdetang. He was seriously injured and fled, after which he disappeared without a trace.

Kong Deming originally thought that Guihu was dead, so he used this guy as a negative example when teaching Xia Yu.

But what no one could have imagined was that this guy was a scourge that would live on for a thousand years, managing to survive such a severe injury.

They're practically indestructible cockroaches now.

"Oh, who do we have here?"

Xia Yu looked at the ghost fox with disdain, his tone full of undisguised sarcasm.

"Isn't this the famous Ninth-Level Soul Master Guihu from decades ago? How come he's so pathetic now, like a rat in a gutter."

"But then again, rotten fish and shrimp are rotten fish and shrimp, it's normal for them to live in the gutter."

"Aaaah, you brat Xia Yu, how dare you insult this old man like this! Die!"

Xia Yu's words immediately enraged Ghost Fox, who flew into a rage.

He immediately abandoned any pretense of concealing his identity and summoned his martial spirit to possess him without saying a word.

Suddenly, a gigantic, dark fox phantom, exuding a sinister aura, appeared in the void behind the ghost fox, roaring and howling at Xia Yu with a ferocious expression.

That wasn't all. After summoning his martial spirit, Ghost Fox then summoned a level nine soul tool in the form of a soul cannon.

In an instant, they took their positions, aiming all the cannons at Xia Yu's location.

"Even your teacher Kong Deming didn't dare to speak to me like this back then. You're quite arrogant."

"Now let this old man test your abilities as a disciple and see how much of Kong Deming's true teachings you have truly inherited."

After preparing for battle, Ghost Fox didn't forget to retort.

Sure enough, he put pressure on Xia Yushang with his words.

It has to be said that this Ghost Fox is quite skilled. Not only is his combat strength comparable to that of a traditional Soul Master, but he is also very adept at using Soul Tools.

He lived up to his reputation as a level nine Soul Master with practical control abilities.