Douluo Dalu II: The Peerless Tang Sect

Chapter 338 The Last Struggle of the Original Douluo Three Kingdoms!

After the Sea God's Fate Blind Date Event concluded, Tianyuan Pavilion held a meeting.

"Old Lin, tell everyone what happened." Zhu Ziyang sat in the head seat, leaning back in his rocking chair, his hands resting on the armrests. His right hand gently tapped the armrest, making a crisp tapping sound. His face showed no emotion as he spoke.

"Alright!" Elder Lin nodded, and then informed the elders of the requests from the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Star Luo Empire.

It turns out that since Crown Prince Xu Tianran seized power in the Sun Moon Empire half a year ago, the empire had been actively preparing for war. Although they were doing it discreetly, such a major event as war, no matter how well hidden, could not be concealed from those who were interested. Xu Tianran was a warmonger, a consensus among the former rulers of the Douluo Three Kingdoms. Once Xu Tianran ascended the throne, or rather, once he had consolidated the forces within the Sun Moon Empire, he would inevitably launch a war.

However, neither the Heavenly Soul Empire nor the Star Luo Empire was prepared for war. Therefore, they devised a desperate measure—a futile attempt to quench their thirst with poison. In Zhu Ziyang's view, this was indeed a desperate measure, because assassinating Xu Tianran would only delay the Sun Moon Empire's decision to wage war. Once the Sun Moon Empire recovered from the pain of losing its emperor/crown prince, the original Douluo Three Kingdoms would only face even more furious retaliation from the Sun Moon Empire.

This was a terrible move, and also the last struggle of the original Douluo Three Kingdoms!

The assassination of Xu Tianran would not cause any damage to the Sun Moon Empire's national strength; it would only push the people of the Sun Moon Empire, who were originally opposed to the war, to the opposite side, thereby accelerating the Sun Moon Empire's war preparations.

Currently, the participants in this so-called decapitation plan are three major forces: the Star Luo Empire royal family, the Heavenly Soul Empire royal family, and the Body Sect. These three forces are all among the top forces on the Douluo Continent. However, if they want to assassinate the crown prince of the strongest country on the continent, they need even stronger forces to join them.

Shrek Academy.

Therefore, the emperors of both empires sent personal letters to Tianyuan Pavilion, inviting Shrek Academy to join the assassination. This Tianyuan Pavilion meeting was to discuss whether Shrek Academy should join the assassination plan.

"Everyone, please share your thoughts," Zhu Ziyang said, looking down at the elders whose expressions varied. Although he had already made up his mind, he still wanted to respect the elders' opinions.

"I don't think the academy should interfere in this matter," Xian Lin'er said first. "This assassination plan is fundamentally in conflict with the academy's Empress plan. If the academy joins in this plan, regardless of its success or failure, it will damage the academy's image in the eyes of the people of the Sun Moon Empire, which will be detrimental to the actions of Le Xuan and Elder Song!"

"I disagree with Lin'er's opinion," Yan Shaozhe immediately retorted, "because regardless of whether the academy joins in this assassination attempt, as long as the assassination begins, in the eyes of the Sun Moon Empire, the academy will be considered a participant, because our ties with the original Douluo Three Kingdoms have become too deep over the years!"

"Shao Zhe is right. I believe we cannot afford not to participate," Elder Zhuang said. "In the eyes of the people of the original Douluo Three Kingdoms, if such an important operation is not carried out by Shrek Academy, they will be very disappointed in the academy. Regardless of whether the operation succeeds or not, it will deal a huge blow to the academy's reputation."

More importantly, not participating will not earn the trust of the people of the Sun Moon Empire, and will also cause the people of the former Three Kingdoms to doubt the academy. This is a terrible move, but we have no choice but to take it!

"Sigh!" Qian Duoduo sighed and said, "Our ties with the original Douluo Three Kingdoms are too deep, which makes it difficult for us to gain the trust of the people of the Sun Moon Empire. Since it is difficult to gain the trust of the people of the Sun Moon Empire, then it doesn't matter whether it deepens the misunderstanding."

Clearly, Qian Duoduo also agreed to join the plan to assassinate Xu Tianran.

"What about the Empress Project?" Xian Lin'er was somewhat unwilling. After all, the academy had invested a lot in the Empress Project, and it would be a great pity to give up now. "Are we just going to give up? Le Xuan and the others have already taken control of the Imperial Moon Soul Master Corps and the Sun Moon Empire's South Sea Fleet. That's almost two-fifths of the Sun Moon Empire's army. Are we just going to give up like this?"

"Hehe!" Zhu Ziyang listened to everyone's thoughts and finally revealed his own. He said, "Of course we can't give up the Empress Plan, and similarly, we can't ignore the assassination of Xu Tianran. No matter which angle we look at it from, Xu Tianran is an obstacle we must eliminate."

"Without killing Xu Tianran, how can Sister Le Xuan ascend the throne? Without assassinating Xu Tianran, how can the Sun Moon Empire have a legitimate reason to launch a war of unification? Without launching a war of unification, how can Sister Le Xuan consolidate her authority? Without launching a war of unification, how can the continent be unified? Without a unified continent, how can the academy legitimately carry out the Cloud Sky Project?"

Zhu Ziyang's eyes flashed, radiating a terrifying light.

The elders looked into Zhu Ziyang's eyes, all deeply shaken. Xuanzi asked, "Ziyang, do you mean we should join this operation?"

"No!" Zhu Ziyang chuckled and said, "We're not participating, we're leading! Shrek Academy has always been the rule-maker and leader. How can we let others command us? Elder Lin, write back to the two royal families and tell them our determination, and inform them that this operation should be led by the academy. I think they'll be very happy."

"Okay!" Old Lin nodded in reply.

"Ziyang, let this old man go!" Elder Xuan volunteered, his face showing an eager expression.

"No problem." Zhu Ziyang immediately agreed with a smile. "At that time, Elder Xuan will go with us to Mingdu to participate in the Soul Master Competition. Senior Sister and Third Senior Brother will go to support Sister Le Xuan and Elder Song, and inform them of our plan. Elder Lin, Elder Zhuang, Senior Brother, and Junior Sister, you will be responsible for overseeing the academy!"

"Yes!" The elders all nodded in agreement, their faces radiating fervor and anticipation. Everyone knew that after this Soul Master Competition, the situation on the continent would undergo earth-shattering changes, and the only force driving these changes would be Shrek Academy!

After the Tianyuan Pavilion meeting ended, Zhu Ziyang sat alone in the hall, lost in thought.

The current situation in the Sun Moon Empire is quite clear. Crown Prince Xu Tianran controls three-fifths of the empire's army and holds the legitimacy, while being supported by the behemoths Mingde Hall and Holy Spirit Sect. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, his succession to the throne seems to be a foregone conclusion.

Besides Xu Tianran, there is another force within the Sun Moon Empire. On the surface, it is the prince faction led by the third prince, Xu Tianci. However, after the third prince was placed under house arrest by Xu Tianran, this force was actually led by Princess Tianxuan of the Moon Vein, Xu Tianxuan (Zhang Lexuan). They have a very high level of influence in several southern provinces of the Sun Moon Empire, which is the source of Zhu Ziyang's confidence in calling Zhang Lexuan the Sun Moon Emperor.

However, in order for Zhang Lexuan to successfully ascend the throne, besides Xu Tianran, who is the biggest obstacle, there are some smaller obstacles as well.

First, although Xu Tianran killed all his brothers, he still has a younger sister who also has the right to inherit the throne. This princess of the Sun Vein is also on the list for this assassination mission. Even if he can't kill her, he must make her disappear.

Secondly, the Sun Vein still enjoys considerable prestige among the people of the Sun and Moon Empire. As a member of the Moon Vein, Zhang Lexuan needs to eliminate the Sun Vein's prestige among the Ming people if she wants to ascend the throne. This task, which should be the most difficult, will become very simple with the help of He Caitou.

Finally, there are the neutral forces within the Sun Moon Empire. The most prominent is naturally the Mingde Hall. Although the Mingde Hall's leader, Jing Hongchen, is Crown Prince Tie Gan, the true power behind the Mingde Hall isn't Jing Hongchen, but a Super Douluo named Kong Deming. Coincidentally, Kong Deming's title is Silver Moon, and his martial soul is the moon! Kong Deming isn't a member of the Moon Vein, but his mother is, meaning he can't remain uninvolved. Whether or not he can be subdued is crucial to Zhang Lexuan's ability to successfully control the Mingde Hall, the core institution of soul guidance technology on the Douluo Continent.

These obstacles are not something Shrek Academy and Zhang Lexuan need to confront directly for the time being. Only by dealing with Xu Tianran can they have a chance to solve these problems. And dealing with Xu Tianran is the most difficult task. In Zhu Ziyang's view, it is impossible to achieve anything with just that bunch of idiots from the original Douluo Three Kingdoms.

It still requires Shrek Academy, or rather, it requires him to take action himself!

(End of this chapter)