Douluo Dalu II: The Peerless Tang Sect

Chapter 348 Xu Tianran: Trash is trash!

Sun and Moon Empire, Ming Capital.

As the All-Continent Youth Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament draws near, Mingdu, the undisputed largest city on the continent, becomes bustling with activity. Teams from all corners of the continent flock to Mingdu, and because of this once-in-twenty-years grand event, the people of the Sun Moon Empire also flock to their country's capital, causing a sudden surge in the population of Mingdu.

The slogan and theme of this year's Soul Master Competition is "Return," which literally means that the competition has been restored from a contest between all Soul Master academies on the continent to a contest between all Soul Masters. The return of sect forces has led to a significant increase in the number of participants in this year's competition, making it more exciting than previous competitions.

In fact, the Soul Master Competition has a very long history. For a long time in the past, sects were allowed to participate in the competition. Ten thousand years ago, during the era of the Spirit Hall, there were seven major sects. Among these seven major sects, the upper three sects were irreplaceable because of their martial spirits and sect strength, while the lower four sects were different. At that time, the Soul Master Competition was the main way to select the lower four sects.

However, a thousand years ago, the Soul Master Competition underwent a reform that began to restrict the participation of sects, and eventually completely banned sects from participating. Only then did the Soul Master Competition become a competition between major Soul Master academies.

Now, the Sun Moon Empire, as the organizer, has brought up the old precedent and wants to allow sects to participate again. Although the other three empires have concerns, they cannot directly refuse. After several rounds of negotiations, the Sun Moon Empire's proposal was agreed to, allowing sects to participate.

As a result, this year's Mingdu Soul Master Competition will be the one with the most participating teams and people in nearly a thousand years. This is because sects are one of the most important components of the Soul Master world. The number of Soul Master Academies and Soul Master Instructor Academies on the entire continent is less than half of the number of Soul Master Sects. For the vast majority of Soul Masters, academies are just temporary places, while sects and families are their true home.

Families are naturally another major component of the Soul Master world, on par with sects.

Oh, right, Shrek Academy is an exception. Although it is nominally an academy, in the eyes of most soul master sects and families, it is not much different from the Spirit Hall of ten thousand years ago. At most, it can cultivate talents for them, while the Spirit Hall cannot.

After the reform of this competition was confirmed, almost every sect on the mainland with some ambition or ideas signed up to participate. These sects accounted for about 60% of the total number of sects, including some reclusive sects.

Of course, the reason why only 60% of the sects participated was that, apart from a small number of truly reclusive sects, most of them did not meet the registration requirements stipulated in the competition. The competition stipulates that all members of the participating sect teams must be less than or equal to 20 years old, and the team must have at least five Soul Master level players.

Such rules prevented more than 30% of the smaller sects from coming to participate, and also limited the number of participants to some extent. Otherwise, even though Mingdu is the largest city on the continent, it would probably be difficult to accommodate so many Soul Masters.

Even now, the number of Soul Masters in Mingdu far exceeds the number of people in the past few thousand years. The last time Mingdu welcomed such a large number of Soul Masters was four thousand years ago when the Golden Crow Douluo led the Three Kingdoms Allied Forces to besiege the city.

After the registration deadline, the number of participating teams for this year's competition was finally set at 367, more than double the number of participating teams in the previous Star Luo City Soul Master Competition, with more than 200 of them being sect teams.

The Sun and Moon Empire seemed to have anticipated this scene. As the richest and most powerful nation on the continent, they were more than capable of hosting such a grand competition and entertaining so many guests. The hotels and restaurants in Mingdu were large enough to accommodate all the participating teams and tourists.

Meanwhile, as the country with the most advanced soul guidance technology on the continent, the Sun Moon Empire has spared no expense in hosting this competition. The final reward of the competition is no longer the same old soul bone, but a soul guidance device. The champion team will receive a level nine soul guidance device, the runner-up team will receive a level eight soul guidance device, and the third place team will receive a level seven soul guidance device.

In terms of value, a soul bone comparable to a level nine soul tool must be from a 100,000-year-old soul beast. This shows that the Sun Moon Empire really attaches great importance to this competition. The value of a level nine soul tool lies not only in its high price, but also in the technology and power it contains. If Shrek Academy can obtain this level nine soul tool, it will be an opportunity for the soul tool department.

It's important to know that, to date, there isn't a single level-nine soul tool in the original Douluo Continent region! Not a single one!

With such a generous reward, all the teams were eager to try their luck.

The Imperial Palace, the Imperial Garden.

The wheelchair moved slowly along the wide bluestone path in the back garden. Plants of all shapes and sizes were neatly scattered throughout the garden. In the wheelchair was a handsome young man dressed in fine clothes. He had a faint smile on his face and his eyes were looking at the various exotic flowers and plants in the garden. He seemed to have not lost hope in life because of his disability. However, the gloom in the depths of his eyes could not be completely hidden.

The woman pushing the wheelchair was beautiful. She wore a pale yellow dress that accentuated her fair and delicate skin, making her look elegant and refined, while also adding a touch of composure. Her beautiful eyes occasionally flashed with a captivating wisdom, as if she were always thinking about something.

They are the actual rulers of the Sun Moon Empire: Crown Prince Xu Tianran and Crown Princess Ju Zi.

"How is Father?" Xu Tianran, sitting in a wheelchair, closed his eyes, a thin blanket covering his legs, exuding a faint sense of ease.

"The imperial physician said that His Majesty's body is probably not going to hold on much longer. In the past few days, His Majesty has often fainted and lost consciousness," Ju Zi said softly.

"My father worked diligently his entire life, seeking only to avoid mistakes and not to achieve anything, thus missing many opportunities! In future history books, he will only be remembered as a mediocre emperor. What is the military's reaction?"

"Our army is operating normally. Of the other three-fifths, two-thirds are still observing, and only one-third are clearly on the Second Prince's side," Orange paused and said, "that is, the Royal Moon Soul Master Legion and the South China Sea Fleet in the south. Under the leadership of Xu Tianxuan, they have a great presence, and many nobles are contacting them."

"Ha! Clowns jumping around!" Xu Tianran sneered upon hearing this, saying, "With that good-for-nothing Second Brother, and that remnant of the Moon Vein who appeared out of nowhere? Oh, and those ungrateful wretches from the Imperial Moon Soul Instructor Legion and those traitorous dogs from the South China Sea Fleet, they're not worthy to fight me!"

"Even so, they still control one-fifth of the army," Orange said with some concern. "Moreover, according to the intelligence that came back, Xu Tianxuan seems to have sidelined the Second Prince and has even put forward a slogan."

"Oh? What slogan?" Xu Tianran asked casually.

"..." Orange hesitated, her eyes weighing the pros and cons, but she still said, "They say that the Sun Vein produced nine emperors in four generations, who then slaughtered each other...and their descendants died out. The Moon Vein pitied the people of the empire, and their sins were absolved by returning the treasures to their rightful owners!"

"..." Xu Tianran remained silent, but Ju Zi clearly noticed that his hand clenched into a fist, but quickly relaxed. Obviously, his heart was not as calm as it appeared. "Heh, a piece of trash is a piece of trash. That idiot second brother was actually managed to be sidelined by the bastard child of the Moon Vein. Trash!"

Ju Zi's body trembled, because Xu Tianran's last tone was filled with icy killing intent, and even she, as someone "close" to him, was intimidated by this murderous aura.

"Have you found out where this Xu Tianxuan came from? Also, has Kong Deming made any unusual moves?" Xu Tianran asked, his tone becoming calm again after calming down.

"According to our investigation, Xu Tianxuan first appeared in the Yin clan of the Yue Nan Islands. She is said to be the great-great-granddaughter of Xu Yidong, the former false king. Her great-grandfather was Xu Yidong's youngest son. After fleeing Mingdu, he hid on the Yue Nan Islands and remained well-behaved for nearly a hundred years until Xu Tianxuan appeared. There seems to be a mysterious force behind Xu Tianxuan. It is currently impossible to determine whether this force comes from within the country or from abroad. However, it is certain that Kong Deming has no contact with them," Orange said.

"I see. The Yin clan of the Moon South Islands, huh, they really are born rebellious!" Xu Tianran sighed after hearing this, "Our Ancestor was too merciful. Families like this, with such intricate connections to the Moon lineage, should have been wiped out!"

"Yes!" Orange felt a chill, but still agreed, "By the way, the intelligence also said that Xu Tianxuan has a titled Douluo behind her, who seems to be the princess of the former pseudo-emperor, named Xu Jianwei."

"Oh? Really?" Xu Tianran was somewhat surprised, then laughed, "So, she's my great-aunt, huh? Hehe, when I ascend the throne, I'll definitely invite her to the ceremony, haha!"

The orange did not speak.

At this moment, a team stopped more than 100 kilometers away from Mingdu. They landed from the air and then walked to Mingdu. They were the Shrek Academy team led by Zhu Ziyang!

(End of this chapter)