Douluo Continent: The Eternal Order of the Azure Sky.

Xu Tianran closed his eyes again, a relaxed smile even appearing on his face, as if he were just taking a short nap. In this quiet back garden, where birdsong still lingered and flowers were fragrant, the deliberately maintained tranquility was both captivating and chilling.

……

In the far north, the wind and snow never stopped.

"Yuhao, how are you?"

Under Qian Duoduo's expectant gaze, the extreme chill that naturally permeated Huo Yuhao's body due to absorbing the soul ring finally subsided.

Those once bright and lively eyes opened again, devoid of sorrow or joy.

Qian Duoduo's heart skipped a beat.

Huo Yuhao slowly stood up. Without him needing to urge it, the spirit rings behind him automatically appeared.

purple.

紫、

purple, purple,

It's still purple.

Five deep purple spirit rings floated silently. There were no surprises, no miracles. Huo Yuhao's second spirit, the Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion, was unmistakably imbued with four... thousand-year spirit rings.

Even if the Titan Snow Demon's spirit rings are of excellent quality, four thousand-year spirit rings are still just four thousand-year spirit rings. Their overall improvement for a spirit master is absolutely not as good as four genuine ten-thousand-year spirit rings!

Huo Yuhao's originally bright future has undoubtedly been shrouded in a shadow.

However, Qian Duoduo had no time to pay attention to the color of the soul ring at this moment.

Because an even more heartbreaking change is happening to Huo Yuhao!

*Sizzle—* "Sizzle—"

The sound of tearing cloth rang out one after another! Huo Yuhao's limbs began to swell rapidly without warning!

Ice-blue, ancient patterns resembling the veins of a Titan Snow Demon spread rapidly from the skin of his limbs, emanating a violent power that ripped his sleeves and trousers apart, sending fragments flying.

In the blink of an eye, Huo Yuhao's limbs had swelled to be as thick as his torso, the proportions of which were eerily unsettling.

His enormous size forced him to crawl on the ground, like a gorilla, and he let out a humiliating roar.

Qian Duoduo recognized it at a glance; it was the same racial talent ability that the four Titan Snow Demons had used to enhance their physical bodies when they fought against his attack!

But at this moment, none of the five spirit rings behind Huo Yuhao were lit up.

The last glimmer of hope that remained on Qian Duoduo's face vanished instantly.

He stared intently at the icy blue light and intense soul power fluctuations emanating from Huo Yuhao's limbs. His face drained of all color, and his burly body swayed before he collapsed onto the cold snow.

Despite absorbing only four nine-thousand-year soul rings, his soul power and physical body experienced an abnormally massive increase...

Furthermore, this soul skill power was not triggered by the soul ring...

He already knew what had happened to Huo Yuhao.

Left arm bone, right arm bone, left leg bone, right leg bone.

Four soul bones. All of them are thousand-year-old soul bones. And all of them are... main soul bones.

Qian Duoduo's lips trembled, but she couldn't utter a sound.

It’s over.

It's all over.

It's true that soul bones place more emphasis on the bloodline quality of soul beasts, but that applies to individual soul bones of the same level.

Even the most ordinary Title Douluo, or even a Soul Douluo with a bit of foresight, would never add four thousand-year-old soul bones produced by the same kind of soul beast to themselves!

For ordinary Soul Masters, obtaining four thousand-year-old Soul Bones with compatible attributes at the same time might be an immense opportunity for a rapid increase in strength in a short period of time.

However, for a Soul Master who possesses twin Martial Souls, especially since the potential of both Martial Souls is virtually limitless, this is tantamount to draining the pond to catch all the fish, and is overdrawing on the immeasurable growth potential of the future.

It can be said that this truly shook the very foundation of a genius soul master.

"Roar--!!"

Two terrifying roars, seemingly from the ancient wilderness, rolled in from the deeper core of the far north, causing the swirling snow and wind to pause.

Qian Duoduo glared angrily.

At the edge of their line of sight, under the gray-white sky filled with wind and snow, two terrifyingly large shadows, as tall as small mountains, were frantically approaching their direction at an astonishing speed completely disproportionate to their size.

……

Sun and Moon Empire, Ming Capital, Hall of Worship.

"Xu'er, are you sure you want to represent the Holy Spirit Cult in this battle?"

Inside the Moonlit Palace, Kong Deming frowned, looking at Kong Tianxu with worry in his eyes.

"Yes, Grandpa." Kong Tianxu remained calm.

“But, Xu’er,” Kong Deming leaned forward, “if we want to completely control the future direction of the empire, it is best for us to be in the light and the Holy Spirit in the dark. After all, the bloodthirsty and violent nature of evil soul masters, which is hated by the world, is hard to change. Even though Ye Xishui and her group have improved a lot under your control over the years, the evil soul master’s infamy has long been deeply rooted in people’s hearts.”

Chapter 265 A Motion in One Room Decides the Future

“Your standing in the public eye alongside the Holy Spirit Church will severely damage your reputation,” Kong Deming said, clearly worried.

"What if I've already solved the problem of the evil spirit master?"

Kong Tianxu smiled upon hearing this. It was extremely rare to see his usually calm and composed grandfather looking so unsettled.

Of course, the root cause is not the Holy Spirit Church.

"Huh?" Kong Deming was taken aback, then his eyes widened. "Solved the problem of evil spirit masters? Xu'er, you mean... purified the evil martial spirit? You really did it?"

“Yes, the Tang Ya you just saw is her,” Kong Tianxu pointed to the girl who was busy doing something outside the door, “and it was a truly and completely purified one. From now on, they will no longer be troubled by their martial souls.”

Thinking about the soul power aura of Tang Ya and the others after their martial souls were purified and they accepted his seed of faith, a cold gray current suddenly appeared in Kong Tianxu's palm.

When that eerie and chilling aura appeared, Kong Deming probably would have attacked if it weren't for his grandson standing in front of him.

"Currently, within the Holy Spirit Cult, these kinds of Soul Masters are referred to externally as—"

"Saint Soul Master".

With a thought, Kong Tianxu's extremely evil energy suddenly transformed into a holy golden-white light.

A holy light flowed quietly in his palm, forming the most extreme contrast with the chilling evil aura from before, yet they coexisted harmoniously under his control.

"The transformation between the holy and the evil!" Kong Deming suddenly stood up from his seat, his usually calm eyes now filled with unparalleled shock.

He had just met the young girls who had entered the Hall of Worship with Kong Tianxu. Each of them had a calm and clear demeanor. Although they had a slightly gloomy aura, they did not have any sense of evil or chaos. In fact, they were all of the light attribute.

At the time, Kong Deming was still wondering where Kong Tianxu had found so many talented young soul masters with the light attribute.

To my utter surprise, it was purified by an evil spirit master!

"Xu'er, you...you've really done something big." Kong Deming was so shocked that it took him a long time to find his voice, and he let out a long sigh of pent-up frustration.

Purifying evil spirit masters completely reverses the essence of their martial spirits. This is a groundbreaking achievement that overturns the deep-rooted understanding of the spirit master world for millennia, surpassing even divine miracles.

Kong Deming knew that, based on this one thing alone, Kong Tianxu's achievements had already surpassed those of countless brilliant predecessors.

Kong Tianxu nodded. "Yes, Grandpa, otherwise I wouldn't have the confidence to discuss this matter with you. So what is your opinion...?"

After calming his slightly rapid breathing, Kong Deming paced back and forth, seemingly engaged in some intense internal struggle.

Kong Tianxu seemed completely unhurried, calmly picking up the slightly cooled teacup beside him and gently stirring the surface of the water.

Clearly, the conversation between the grandfather and grandson had been going on for quite some time.

Finally, Kong Deming stopped and said in a deep voice, "Tianxu, is it really necessary to go to this extent? Using outsiders... After all, the Xu family did us a favor back then."

"Of course it's necessary." Kong Tianxu's expression also became serious.

He stepped forward, his gaze intense:

"Only in this way can the Empire and the Holy Spirit Cult truly unite as one, and your groundbreaking research on soul tools, Grandpa, and your grand plans that require the support of the entire nation's resources, can truly break free from constraints and be implemented without any hindrance!"

Kong Deming's body trembled slightly, a complex light flashing in his eyes. He recalled the various restrictions and prejudices imposed on the development of soul tools by previous emperors, and the seemingly humble but actually sinister and suspicious nature of Xu Tianran... Many images flashed through his mind.

Kong Tianxu's voice gradually lowered, yet became increasingly penetrating:

“Grandpa, haven’t you had enough of the shortsightedness and stupidity of the previous emperors? Xu Tianran is even more ambitious and narrow-minded. If he ascends the throne smoothly, once the empire truly begins the continental war, given his personality, the first thing he will eliminate will definitely be the Holy Spirit Cult, and the second… will probably be you, whose achievements have overshadowed the emperor and made the Xu family constantly uneasy.”

"Even if by then we will have the power to ignore those petty scheming people, why should we wait until that day? We have already endured for too long for the promise of our ancestors that the Silver Moon would forever honor the Sun Corona, haven't we?"

A long silence fell over the study.

“Besides, I know that you, Grandpa, have always been a man of high principles,” Kong Tianxu stood up, “so we will not truly break our promise.”

Kong Deming turned his head, a look of surprise on his face; "Xu'er, didn't you say you were going to give all the direct descendants of the royal family..."

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly seemed to remember something, and his eyes widened instantly.

"Innocent?"

"Innocent."

Kong Tianxu met Kong Deming's gaze directly and frankly, his eyes revealing a determination as firm as a rock.

In this competition, he will completely eliminate all obstacles within the Sun Moon Empire and begin the inevitable war.

Kong Deming slowly closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the last trace of hesitation in his eyes had disappeared, replaced by a decisiveness and sharpness born of experience.

He didn't ask Xu Tianzhen's attitude, because since Kong Tianxu had formally brought up the matter to him, it meant that all the preconditions were in place.

Now, all that's missing is this opportune moment.

“Alright! Since you’ve made up your mind, your old bones will naturally give you my full support.” Kong Deming said decisively without further hesitation.

"You don't need to worry about the military and the Hall of Worship. Although Xu Tianran controls the Mingdu Garrison, I still have absolute control over the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Corps. One-third of the elite troops are also under my direct control. You only need to keep a close eye on the movements of a few important figures."

After a moment's thought, Kong Deming quickly named several people, some famous and some lowly but powerful, all of whom were key figures at crucial junctures.

"Also, you need to keep an eye on Xu Tianran. He seems to be planning something through this competition as well."

“I’ve already sent Zhongli Wu to keep him calm,” Kong Tianxu said with a hint of amusement in his eyes. “I just wonder what kind of interesting expression our Regent will have when he discovers that the Holy Spirit Sect has been transformed and may even become the sharpest holy sword in the empire.”

Kong Deming gazed at his grandson, who had become capable of handling things independently in just a few short years, and was filled with emotion.

This child has brought him so many surprises and shocks.