met free Chapter 165: The Curtain Rises
Chapter 165: The Curtain Rises
Chapter 165: The Curtain Rises
After the Soul Master Competition ended, the group rested in Star Luo City for half a day before returning directly to Heaven Dou City.
As for the post-victory gathering, they decided to make arrangements after returning to Tiandou City.
Before leaving, Huo Yuhao and Du Busi both turned back and gave Xingluo City a meaningful look.
The next time I come here, my identity won't be so simple.
Huo Yuhao thought of Dai Luoli in the White Tiger Duke's mansion.
He thought to himself that after the deaths of his two eldest sons, Dai Hao, unless he was stupid, would definitely bring Dai Luoli to his side for close protection.
Regardless of whether he knew that the Duchess was extremely jealous, the very existence of the Duke of Youming's mansion would not put Dai Hao at ease.
Dai Luoli's talent wasn't particularly strong, but it was still better than Huo Yuhao's back then.
Huo Yuhao's affection for Dai Luoli, his younger brother who is only one year younger than him, is a case of loving the house because of the house.
Out of consideration for the help that Baihu Consort had given him in the past, Huo Yuhao had no intention of targeting Dai Luoli.
Du Busi recalled the conversation Xu Jiawei had with him before he left, when Xu Jiawei used his identity as the sect leader of the Xingguan Sect to invite him.
Upon returning to Tiandou City, Xue Heng held a grand victory banquet in the palace, citing his significant contributions.
Those without a title are granted a title, and those with a title are promoted; all titles and benefits are raised by one rank.
Huo Yuhao's official title has finally been elevated to the equivalent title of Azure Dragon Marquis.
As for Long Aotian, who stepped down as the leader of the Heavenly Ring, Xue Heng established the Heavenly Radiance Soul Master Corps.
The Tianyao Soul Master Corps is led by Long Aotian as its leader and Yu Mengdi as its deputy leader. Members are given priority consideration from the two academies of Di'ao and Zhengtian.
The Pure Lotus Soul Guard Team separated from the Celestial Ring and merged into the Heavenly Radiance Soul Master Corps.
The Celestial Ring and the Celestial Radiance Soul Master Corps exchange resources and cooperate with each other.
Just as Huo Yuhao had predicted, Zhu Lu had desperately fled to Tiandou City in the past few days.
At this time, Xue Xin had arranged for her to stay in a hotel in the city, preparing to extract information about the Star Luo Empire and Shrek Academy from her.
Amidst the clinking of glasses and toasts, Xue Heng personally poured wine for Huo Yuhao.
Xue Heng said frankly, "Lord Qinglong, you have made great contributions to this Soul Master Competition."
"Once the matter of the Battle of Spirits is settled, I will bypass the Duke and make you the youngest non-royal king in the history of Heavenly Soul!"
Huo Yuhao raised his glass in gratitude: "Your Majesty's kindness is deeply appreciated; I will certainly do my utmost to live up to your trust."
After the banquet, Huo Yuhao went to Du Busi's side and said that he wanted to return to the far north with Xue Di.
The plan to target Dou Ling cannot be rolled out in a short period of time.
If we want to create friction on the border, we must wait until we have dealt with the matter with the Xuanming Sect before we can proceed.
After hearing Huo Yuhao's words, Du Busi nodded in agreement.
"Go ahead, the young sect leader's succession ceremony can't be prepared in just a day or two."
Huo Yuhao withdrew, and then he and Xue Di left Tiandou City and headed straight for the far north.
Shrek Academy was shrouded in gloom and despair.
By this time, news of the Soul Master Competition had already spread to a small area in Shrek City.
Like wolves and rabbits fleeing, some Shrek City merchants who were originally reluctant to part with their businesses packed up their belongings and moved their entire families to the new economic zone that the Heavenly Soul Empire had prepared long ago.
They had already heard from friends that the Tianhun Economic New Area was offering extremely favorable policies to encourage businesses to move in:
The policy includes a three-year tax exemption, provision of low-priced shops, protection from the Body Sect, access to the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's chamber of commerce, and a reduction of two levels in soul power requirements for children to enroll in various academies of the Heavenly Soul before the implementation of high tax policies.
Shrek City's former prosperity was gone, and it became extremely desolate almost instantly.
Xuanzi Wolf Fox fled back to Shrek Academy, slamming the surviving members of the Shrek team to the ground.
Ling Luochen, Yao Haoxuan, Gongyang Mo, and Xixi Mianmianxiang.
After Xu He revealed his Sun Martial Soul and Ma Xiaotao publicly fell from grace, Shrek Academy's millennia-long glory completely collapsed.
However, this was not the biggest storm.
Because the competition ended prematurely, the Heavenly Soul Empire's high-pressure taxation will not be officially implemented until the day after tomorrow.
The media storm surrounding Long Xiaoyao is about to sweep from Xingluo City to Shrek City.
When these two major crises arrive, Shrek Academy will face a life-or-death situation.
"The incident involving Xu He and Xiao Tao was an accident."
Xuanzi muttered to himself, unsure whether he was reassuring the students or comforting himself: "I will punish Fanyu."
"Shrek isn't over yet. We still have Poseidon Island. Poseidon Island will definitely help us."
"And hasn't Xingluo been secretly funding us all along? From today onwards, Shrek Academy will officially join Xingluo!"
However, Yan Shaozhe, who had not appeared during the chaotic battle of the competition, suddenly showed up at this moment.
"Elder Xuan," Yan Shaozhe said with a sorrowful expression, "cooperation with the Star Luo Empire is no longer possible."
"The moment Xu He's identity was exposed, Xu Jiawei ordered all the Star Luo students at Shrek Academy to withdraw from the school."
"The storm of public opinion against them hasn't subsided yet, so they don't dare to get involved in anything related to the academy now."
"A wave of withdrawals has swept through the academy, and it's almost empty except for people from the Douling Empire and orphans."
Upon hearing this, Xuanzi's vision went black, and he collapsed to the ground.
What use is he in the Douling Empire?
In the Star Luo Empire, Xu Jiawei sat at his desk with a gloomy expression.
The public opinion surrounding Dai Hao was already giving him a headache, but this intelligence in his hands made him even angrier.
The intelligence report stated that the young man, whom he regarded as the future military genius of the Northern Army Group, was found dead in his own tent on the third day after his fierce conflict with Durei.
His team had mutinied and even had a serious physical altercation with the White Tiger Guards.
Throughout the Northern Army Group, hostility towards the White Tiger Guards has risen sharply, and there is even a hint of hostility towards the Western Army Group.
The reason is simple: thanks to Xu Jiawei's extensive publicity and bestowal of a title, the young man named Zhang Er has been regarded by the Northern Army Group as the hope to surpass the Western Army Group and become the first legion of the Star Luo Army.
But now Zhang Er has been poisoned in his own tent. This not only cuts off the Northern Army Group's hopes for a rise, but also slaps the Northern Army Group in the face in front of the Southern Army of the Heavenly Soul Empire.
"Pass down the order," Xu Jiawei said, his face dark, "tell Dai Hao to stop staying at the White Tiger Duke's mansion."
"Now, throughout the Star Luo Empire, no one pities him for losing his two sons."
"If he wants the White Tiger lineage to maintain its position as duke, he should hurry up and send him to fight the Spirit Realm with Delori!"
"Dou Ling has always wanted to form an alliance with us, so Xing Luo will form one with them!"
"As the Star Luo Special Envoy, Dai Hao personally led the White Tiger Guards to the border of Douling to forge a military alliance!"
A fierce glint flashed in Xu Jiawei's eyes.
He knew that the only way to quell public opinion now was to shift the blame.
The Douling Empire is the best entry point.
"Your Majesty—" the eunuch beside him hesitated, "Duke Baihu has just lost his son. Sending him to war at this time, I'm afraid—"
"What are you afraid of?"
Xu Jiawei said, "Dai Hao has caused me such a huge mess. Anyone with a brain should know that this is the Dai family's last chance to salvage their reputation in Xingluo!"
"If Duke White Tiger isn't stationed over the Mingdou Mountains—"
"The Sun and Moon Empire can't afford to care about us right now."
Xu Jiawei sneered, "Tianhun has given Riyue a great gift: the two crown princes are now in the same court. They're probably busy with an internal reshuffle right now."
Sun and Moon Empire, Ming Capital.
Upon hearing the news that Xu He was still alive, the old emperor on his sickbed had his pupils shrink to almost a vertical line.
He thought Zhang Peng had wiped them all out, but he didn't expect that there were still some who escaped.
And it's a giant fish of the deep-sea whale king level!
Xu He's married sisters and their families have been subjected to brutal suppression in recent years at his behest, with some even losing their official positions.
However, the old emperor dared not exterminate them all.
Otherwise, if the previous dynasty had suffered food poisoning and the families of the princesses who were to marry also died suddenly, anyone would be able to see the shady dealings involved.
Fortunately, these families are sensible and dare not cause trouble.
Now that Xu He is still alive and has even displayed his Sun Martial Soul in the Soul Master Competition, this is undoubtedly a serious challenge to the legitimacy of his lineage!
The old emperor coughed violently, his handkerchief already stained red with blood.
He could already foresee the bloodshed that Xu He, still at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, would bring to the Sun Moon Empire.
In the past, the rebel armies within the Sun Moon Empire were considered by the authorities to be nothing more than scattered soldiers, who posed no threat whatsoever except for causing headaches.
However, Xu He's appearance now undoubtedly provides these opposing forces with a clear banner.
A rebel army with a leader and one without a leader are two completely different things!
The more the old emperor thought about it, the more terrified he became. He couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood and fainted.
He fainted and never opened his eyes again.
With the news of the old emperor's death, the power structure of the Sun Moon Empire was instantly overturned.
Xu He has been secretly and closely protected by Xu Tianran's princely brothers.
They wanted to use Xu He to compete against Xu Tianran.
The two crown princes were vying for power, and only by stirring up trouble could they hope to ascend the throne in the future.
However, they certainly couldn't openly support Xu He. Instead, they decided to take advantage of the frequent uprisings within their territory to secretly provide Xu He with resources and assistance, making him a pawn in their fight against Xu Tianran.
Xu Tianran is now acting as regent, and his power and influence are too great.
If Xu He had arrived even a moment later, allowing him to ascend the throne after the old emperor's death, then Xu could naturally have kept Xu He like a pig in the deep palace.
But now, everything is different.
Former Crown Prince Xu He returned before the old emperor's death.
Both were crown princes, and both were the legitimate heirs in name only.
One was the former crown prince of the previous dynasty, who had an excellent reputation.
One is the ruthless crown prince.
One's reputation is known in the martial arts world, while the other's methods are known in the imperial court.
But Xu He's previous "cause of death" was too clean, making it hard to believe.
The crown prince, who had suffered food poisoning, returned to court and died immediately. What do people think about that?
The far northern periphery.
One of the assassins tightened his collar: "It's almost time for the finals to begin."
"It's time to go into the core area and deliver the Sun and Moon Empire's gift to the Snow Empress."
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