Douluo Continent II: The Peerless Tang Sect: I, Huo Yuhao, join the Sun Moon Sect

Even the dense soul-guided artillery fire did not harm Yan Shaozheqiu. Clearly, the accumulation of various events made Xuanzi certain that these events were definitely not coincidences.

Yan Shaozhe is very likely to be colluding not only with the Sun and Moon Sect, but also with the Holy Spirit Sect.

Perhaps the other party was able to collude with the Sun Moon Empire because of their connection with the Holy Spirit Cult.

In Xuanzi's view, Yan Shaozhe used his Martial Soul True Body to "save" his group simply to clear his name, so he had to do something to prove his innocence.

As for the reason why Huo Yuhao and Yan Shaozhe conspired to harm him, Xuanzi has come to some conclusions after careful consideration.

According to his speculation, the Holy Spirit Cult must now be allied with the Sun Moon Empire. After all, the Holy Spirit Cult's teams are now able to appear in the Soul Fighting Tournament hosted by the Sun Moon Empire, and even though the Holy Spirit Cult teams displayed evil soul master techniques during the competition, the Sun Moon Empire did not send anyone to arrest these guys.

If the two sides hadn't joined forces, how could the Sun Moon Empire have done something like this?

Even if they join forces, it doesn't mean they are of one mind. There are too many factions and forces within the Sun Moon Empire, so it's impossible for them to be a monolithic entity. It's quite normal for some high-ranking members of the Sun Moon Empire to be at odds with the evil soul masters.

Huo Yuhao should be one of the high-ranking members of the Sun Moon Sect who are at odds with evil soul masters. Behind him should be Kong Deming, who once captured him. Although Huo Yuhao set a soul core seal on himself, Kong Deming had also subtly reminded him that Yan Shaozhe and Ye Xishui had the same martial soul.

Today, the other party used the seal on my soul core for the second time, causing me to be injured by Yan Shaozhe. This should be a reminder that Yan Shaozhe is not only a traitor, but also someone who is after me.

He is only injured now due to the clash of his Martial Soul True Body, but Yan Shaozhe will take his life in the future!

After all, the biggest obstacle Yan Shaozhe faces in the Sea God Pavilion is himself. He has wisdom, strength, and experience, making him the perfect candidate to become the next Sea God Pavilion Master.

As for Yan Shaozhe, only after I step down from my position as the head of the Sea God Pavilion can he become the head of the Sea God Pavilion and thus gain more power. But does Yan Shaozhe really have that kind of patience?

Once Elder Mu passes away, Yan Shaozhe will likely make his move against him, which will inevitably lead to a bloodbath. After all, he is one of the obstacles to Yan Shaozhe becoming the master of the Sea God Pavilion, and he is extremely cruel to evil soul masters, making him a nemesis of evil soul masters.

"Elder Xuan, why didn't you dodge my Martial Soul True Body just now? You didn't even use much of your soul power. Otherwise, logically speaking, my Martial Soul True Body shouldn't have injured you." Yan Shaozhe asked Xuanzi with a worried expression, as this was quite unusual.

Xuanzi's thoughts were interrupted. He looked at the worried look on Yan Shaozhe's face and cursed Yan Shaozhe in his heart for being hypocritical. He was indeed a hypocrite. Even at a time like this, he was still pretending to be so convincing.

Once I return to the academy, I must meet with Elder Mu and tell him about some of the events that occurred during this operation, expose Yan Shaozhe's traitorous identity, and save Shrek Academy from its dire straits.

However, in order not to alert the enemy, he forced a smile and made up an excuse, saying, "I was attacked by Kong Deming just now and I haven't recovered yet. This person may be a mental super Douluo. I have too few ways to defend against mental attacks, and the methods I have are not very effective."

Upon hearing this, Yan Shaozhe felt the same way and immediately said, "It's quite a coincidence that I was also attacked by a Super Douluo with a mental attribute using a mental soul skill just now. That feeling was indeed extremely uncomfortable."

Xuanzi nodded perfunctorily, responding to Yan Shaozhe with a few meaningless platitudes. Afterwards, he and the other elders clashed briefly at the border between the Sun and Moon, but under the counterattack of Kong Deming and the others, Xuanzi and his group failed to achieve their goal and could only slink away, leaving behind another corpse of Elder Lin, before choosing a strategic retreat.

After all, the deaths of two powerful elders are a huge loss, even for Shrek Academy.

In order to prevent further losses, and given that Xuanzi wanted to return to the academy as soon as possible, the Shrek Academy elders were forced to make a strategic retreat.

Of course, Xuanzi did not forget Elder Song and the other students who were still in the Sun Moon Empire. During the strategic retreat, he arranged for people to convey to Elder Song the request to abandon the mission and retreat as soon as possible.

......

Sun and Moon Palace.

Xu Tianran looked angry because he had just received news that Shrek Academy had sent elders to attack the border between the Sun and Moon.

"Shrek, what a Shrek! They actually did something as shameless as attacking the border between the Sun and Moon. If it weren't for Elder Kong receiving intelligence in advance and making arrangements, the Soul Master Corps at the Sun and Moon border would have suffered heavy casualties."

"Your Majesty, please calm down. The Shrek Elders' group is fleeing in panic like stray dogs because they lost two elders. This is actually good news for us. After all, we only lost soul tools and some tents, while the enemy lost two powerful elders. This is undoubtedly a worthwhile deal," Orange comforted her from the side.

Xu Tianran took a deep breath, his anger subsiding slightly: "Indeed, in a sense, this is good news. However, since Shrek Academy has launched an attack, I cannot remain indifferent; I must retaliate."

Chapter 504 Aftermath

"I will summon Zhongli Wu to the palace for a meeting later. Since Shrek Academy dared to send a group of powerful elders to attack the border between the Sun and Moon, I will make Shrek Academy pay the price they deserve!"

A look of confusion immediately appeared on Orange's face. She asked, "Your Majesty, do you intend to allow the Holy Spirit Cult to attack Shrek City?"

“How could that be!” Xu Tianran shook his head, a helpless look on his face. “Regardless of how difficult it is to attack Shrek City, based on the intelligence I’ve gathered from Zhongli Wu, given the personalities of Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao, neither of them would help me attack Shrek City.”

After all, these two had a bond with Mu En. According to Zhong Liwu, even though his mother was sharp-tongued, she was actually quite sentimental, just like Long Xiaoyao.

Of course, if the Sun and Moon armies were to reach Shrek City in the future, the situation would be much better, and Zhongli Wu might be willing to help attack Shrek City. But right now, we simply cannot bring our troops to Shrek City.

"Your Majesty, what do you mean?" Ju Zi continued to press, with a hint of wanting to get to the bottom of things.

Xu Tianran stretched out his right hand and tapped the table lightly with one finger, making a tapping sound.

He said, "To take revenge on Shrek Academy, it is not necessary to have Shrek City besieged or attacked."

As far as I know, Shrek Academy gives its students a long break every now and then to allow them to rest. And on their way home, the evil spirit masters of the Holy Spirit Cult naturally have an opportunity to take advantage of them.

"By the way, I always felt that there was a reason why Shrek Academy sent a group of elders to the Sun and Moon Border. I wonder what Shrek Academy's purpose was in doing this."

"Purpose?" Orange paused, her brows furrowing. After a moment, she responded, "Your Majesty, in my opinion, Shrek Academy's actions are most likely aimed at putting pressure on the Sun Moon Empire and forcing them to release the prisoners."

After all, the Empire and the Holy Spirit Cult had joined forces to capture a large number of participating teams that had come from afar, and among those teams were many geniuses.

It's fair to say that these teams are crucial to the Douluo Three Kingdoms; they represent its future. Shrek Academy and the Douluo Three Kingdoms are closely allied, so naturally, Shrek Academy wants these people back to strengthen both the two kingdoms. I estimate that this group will likely put pressure on the Sun Moon border again. Your Majesty, the Empire needs to make plans as soon as possible.”

Xu Tianran felt that what the orange said made a lot of sense.

He said, "It's impossible to release them. If we release them, they will inevitably oppose the war launched by the Sun and Moon Empire in the future. Once the war breaks out, these guys will join the armies of the three empires without hesitation to fight against the Sun and Moon Empire together."

Therefore, it would be better to keep these people around as hostages, so that the people of Douluo Three Kingdoms would be wary of them. Moreover, in future wars, these people could be used as bargaining chips to threaten their relatives and friends, making them serve the Sun Moon Empire.

As for the potentially escalating border pressure, for now, we can only leave Elder Kong to handle it. After all, border security is extremely important for the stability of the empire. If these Shrek elders choose to make a comeback, Elder Kong will be needed to lead the troops to deal with them.

Xu Tianran was not worried about getting into trouble in Mingdu because he didn't have Kong Deming's protection. After all, there were other people who could protect him, such as the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Corps, which was the strongest Soul Master Corps among the guardians of the country. Even the ninth-level Soul Masters numbered three!

With the addition of other worshippers in Mingdu and some subordinates he had gathered, his current protective force was actually quite abundant.

........

Empire of the Sun and Moon.

Sunrise outside the city.

Song Lao and his group had not yet received news of the Shrek Elders' failed attack on the Sun-Moon border.

They were standing in line outside the city gates, waiting to enter Sunrise.

Through their investigation, they were able to confirm that Sunrise City now has multiple Soul Master Corps stationed there, as well as a large number of Soul Detection Devices, which can detect not only Soul Power fluctuations but also Soul Power levels.

Anyone who tries to force their way in will be immediately discovered.

The prerequisite for a successful rescue operation is entering the city. Old Song and his group can only enter through the city gate, since it is the easiest way to enter the city. They can't possibly enter Sunrise City from the sky; with so many high-altitude soul-guided detection devices, no one can hide.

Of course, even entering through the city gate carries risks, only the risks are slightly smaller.

After all, there were soul-detecting devices at the city gate, so after internal discussions, Elder Song and his group finalized a plan to successfully infiltrate the city.

As time passed and the group moved, Old Song and his party got closer and closer to the city gate. Soon, Wang Dong, who was standing at the front of the group, was questioned by the captain of the guards at the city gate.

"Come here for a moment, I need to test your soul power!" the captain of the guards at the door said with a smile.

He was wearing chainmail and had a long sword at his waist. He looked young, around twenty years old. As for the so-called soul power test, it naturally referred to the soul power detector at the city gate, which was used to detect whether those entering the city possessed soul power and what their soul power level was.

Today, with martial law in the city, anyone with a slightly higher soul power level will be taken away and subjected to more rigorous questioning once they enter the city.

In an effort to conceal her beauty and prevent trouble, Wang Dong'er smeared some dust on her face and wore tattered clothes. However, her beauty and charm could not be completely hidden, naturally attracting the attention of the guard captain.

Wang Dong'er hesitated for a moment, then turned to look at the richly dressed He Caitou behind her, as if seeking his opinion, as if He Caitou was the pillar of support.

He Caitou's face darkened. He strode forward and said, "There are too many of us. It's too much trouble for each of us to go through the inspection one by one. There are six of us in total, so let's go through the inspection together."

The captain of the guard glanced at He Caitou's disguised, fierce face and dark skin, and his heart skipped a beat.

He knew he had no choice but to accept the offer, after all, the man's dark complexion suggested he was a member of the nobility.

Although the Sun and Moon Nobles are divided into major and minor nobles, even the minor nobles are not to be offended, after all, he is just a captain of the guards.

So he respectfully replied, "Yes."

Then, He Caitou and the others arrived in front of the soul power detector. Of course, the soul power detector has a fixed detection range. It will only trigger the soul power detector to react if they step into the detection range.

At this moment, they were still two meters away from entering the detection range.

Chapter 505 Sunrise City

Once they truly enter the detection range, Song Lao and his group will be exposed. Therefore, it is necessary to make some preparations before entering the detection range.

In fact, He Caitou, as the only Soul Master in the team, had already made all the arrangements. He had set up Soul Guidance Bombs in a forest outside the city. However, these Soul Guidance Bombs would explode with a delay, and judging by the time, it was now time for the Soul Guidance Bombs to explode.

Bang bang bang!

A huge explosion rang out in a forest near the city gate. Flames flickered and thick smoke billowed into the air, immediately attracting the attention of many people, including the guards at the city gate.

The captain of the guards' expression changed drastically, sensing that something was very wrong. As a captain of the guards, he naturally did not know why Sunrise City was under martial law, or even why the empire had sent multiple Soul Master Corps to be stationed here.

However, he knew very well that he had to respond to this matter, otherwise he would not be able to bear the blame from his superiors afterward.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack! Close the city gates immediately!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.

Soon, the guards at the city gates, under the command of their captain, began to close the gates. Some of the guards following the captain carried their soul-guided detectors and ran into the city.

Those who hadn't entered the city immediately showed expressions of fear, since no one knew what the enemy might do next.

The captain of the guards gave He Caitou a fawning smile: "Please bring your men and come into the city with me."

He stopped mentioning the soul power test. The situation was urgent, and there was no need to rigidly continue the test.

Moreover, judging from this man's complexion and his luxurious clothes, he must be a true member of the Sun and Moon nobility. As for the others beside him, they are probably slaves who were recently purchased and have not yet been cleaned.

He Caitou's face showed approval. He nodded and said, "Good."

Then, the captain of the guard led He Caitou and his party into the city, and the city gates were closed at that moment.

Some Soul Masters belonging to the Sun Moon Empire also began to fly into the air to investigate the location of the explosion, trying to determine whether an enemy had launched an attack.

After entering the city, the captain of the guard breathed a sigh of relief. He looked at He Caitou with expectant eyes. After all, he had done something to help this nobleman of the Sun and Moon. If this nobleman was not a heartless person, he would probably give him some benefits.

He Caitou also noticed the captain of the guards' gaze. As a former crown prince, he had some understanding of people's hearts and naturally realized the other party's intentions. So he took out twenty gold soul coins from his storage soul tool and handed them to the captain of the guards: "Take these gold soul coins and buy some good wine and food with the other guards!"

The captain of the guards, with an excited expression, accepted the twenty gold soul coins.

Twenty gold soul coins are quite a lot. Although the people of Sun Moon are generally wealthier than those of Douluo Three Kingdoms, the income gap between the two is not as vast as heaven and earth.

You should know that even in the reserve army of the Western Group Army under Duke Dai Hao of the White Tiger, a private first class only receives six silver soul coins a month!

But after the initial excitement, he realized that twenty gold soul coins from the other party seemed excessive if it was just to thank him. The other party probably wanted him to do something for them.

So he spoke up, "What would you like me to do?"

He stared at He Caitou, knowing that if the other party made any outrageous demands, then these twenty gold soul coins would be a hot potato.

He Caitou deliberately showed a worried look: "I am a Soul Master. I am planning to live in Sunrise City for a while to do some Soul Tool business. Although I collected some information about Sunrise City before I came, I did not expect that so many Soul Master groups would be arranged near Sunrise City."

Therefore, I would like to understand the current situation in Sunrise City in order to avoid disputes with people I cannot afford to offend when doing business.