Grand Ceremony

"Did Brother Mingguang absorb that Illusion Soul Bone? It suited the control path he followed quite well."

Xu Mingxi thought that with the Star Radiance Bewitchment soul skill, the seventy-thousand-year Illusion Soul Bone, and Shi Nian's soul bone as well, perhaps Xu Mingguang could truly kill without leaving a trace.

It was just that Shi Nian was still hiding in some unknown corner and had not appeared at Canghui Academy.

Seven days later, the Starlight Sect summoned back all its members. Aside from those who truly could not leave, everyone had arrived.

Nearly all the Star Crown Sect members and their families had gathered at the Star Crown Sect Training Field. The Sect Master stood above them, looking at the hundred or so people in the field with boundless pride in his heart.

At last, he had not failed the heavy expectations of the sect's forebears. The Sect Master was still relatively young, only a little over a hundred years old. He could still wait for Xu Mingxi and Xu Mingguang to grow up. By then, the Star Crown Sect would enter a new peak.

Xu Mingguang had also rushed back and stood among the spectators below, eagerly awaiting Xu Mingxi's arrival.

As the Sect Master's grandson, and now a Level 59 control-system Battle Soul King, he would most likely have been the successor if Xu Mingxi had not existed.

Yet the two had grown up together, and the Sect Master had taught Xu Mingguang from a young age to place the Star Crown Sect's greater good first. He would only be happy for Xu Mingxi's achievements.

"Everyone, today is the succession ceremony for our Star Crown Sect's Young Sect Master. Mingxi's talent is obvious to all. He has also honed himself alone in the Star Dou Great Forest for three years and is the foremost member of our sect's younger generation.

"I believe there is no one more suitable within the sect. If no one has any objections, then he shall become the next Sect Master of the Star Crown Sect."

The Sect Master had long since reached a consensus with the Elders. There was no one in the second generation capable of shouldering such a burden, while among the third generation, Xu Mingxi was the finest candidate.

If they had still hesitated between Xu Mingxi and Xu Mingguang three years ago, Xu Mingxi had now proven his worth through his transformation.

The crowd below all looked toward Xu Mingguang. When they saw him shake his head, they knew that the position of Young Sect Master had most likely already been decided. No one else had the ability to contend for it.

Amid everyone's cheers and watchful eyes, Xu Mingxi, dressed in a golden soul master robe, slowly entered the Training Field, his handsome face filled with resolve.

He stepped onto the platform and made a promise to all the Star Crown Sect members.

He would absolutely lead the Star Crown Sect to glory.

The Sect Master sat in the chair at the very top, looking somewhat dazed. In Xu Mingxi, he seemed to see his former self, equally full of ambition.

It was only that his talent had limited him. He was now stuck at Level 96, unable to advance even a step. Given enough time, he might break through to Level 97, but beyond that was most likely impossible.

Yet he believed that for Xu Mingxi, so long as he did not waste his talent, Level 98 would be nothing more than a threshold.

"But before that, old fellows like us still need to light the road ahead for them."

The Sect Master looked approvingly at Xu Mingxi standing proudly on the platform and the sect disciples cheering for him below. Protecting the Star Crown Sect was the only purpose of his life.

After the ceremony ended, the Sect Master called Xu Mingxi into his room and handed him a stack of documents.

"Mingxi, the one on top is intelligence on the Heaven Dou Empire sent by the Blood Blade Pavilion. The one in the middle was sent by several families and sects close to our Star Crown Sect. As for the last one, it contains some of the connections Mingguang has established in the southeastern region of the Star Luo Empire over the past few years."

Brother Mingguang? Xu Mingxi's feelings were somewhat complicated. He had never expected that Xu Mingguang would take to heart his casual remark before leaving about wanting to win over the family powers in the southeast.

It had only been a few words, yet Xu Mingguang had remembered them completely and worked tirelessly on them throughout the time Xu Mingxi had been away.

Xu Mingxi first looked through the documents at the bottom. Aside from East Peak City, which he had visited before, Xu Mingguang had left his mark in each of the other four important cities.

Compared to the pleasant surprise Xu Mingguang had given him, the other two intelligence reports were rather unremarkable. Only one piece of information caught Xu Mingxi's attention.

A mysterious woman had appeared beside the Clear Sky Sect Twin Stars, and her origins were unknown.

The gears of fate had begun to turn. Xu Mingxi sighed and handed the documents back to the Sect Master.

"Sect Master, what should our Star Crown Sect do next?"

"Mingxi, rather than asking me that question, why not ask yourself? If it were you, what would you do next?"

As the Sect Master sorted through the documents, he smiled at Xu Mingxi. As the Young Sect Master and the future leader of the Star Crown Sect, he was already qualified to offer his own opinions regarding the sect's future development.

Xu Mingxi was briefly stunned. He had spent three years isolated from the world in the Star Dou Great Forest, and even after reading the intelligence reports, he truly could not think of what to say at once.

His knowledge of Douluo Continent consisted of the general education he had received over the past twenty-odd years, along with the original novel he had read in his previous life.

Moreover, in his previous life, Xu Mingxi had merely been an unemployed young man who had not even had the chance to start working. Anything about management was just empty theory to him.

Seeing the expectation in the Sect Master's eyes, he had no choice but to brace himself and speak.

"Sect Master, since the Continental Situation is so complicated, how about we remain safely in Fallen Star Mountain to cultivate and watch how things unfold?

"Of course, we cannot cut off contact with the outside world. Brother Mingguang's efforts cannot be wasted. And in the future, perhaps the sect's focus can be placed on the Heaven Dou Empire."

The Sect Master understood everything Xu Mingxi had said before that, but he was truly puzzled by the final point about shifting their focus to the Heaven Dou Empire.

Since its establishment, the Star Crown Sect had always been in the Star Luo Empire and had cultivated its foundations there for many years. How could it simply relocate whenever it wished?

"Sect Master, the Star Luo Empire's power is basically controlled by the imperial Dai Family. If we wish to develop, we cannot avoid that obstacle.

"The Heaven Dou Empire has enfeoffed four great kingdoms and one grand duchy. Its imperial family is weak, making it fertile ground for sect development.

"Moreover, I am not saying we should do it now. We can proceed gradually with the Heaven Dou Empire. Perhaps we can begin with the Star Luo Kingdom and the Blood Blade Pavilion."

Xu Mingxi racked his brains and barely came up with a reason that managed to persuade the Sect Master.

Could he possibly say outright that in twenty or thirty years, among the Upper Three Sects that the Heaven Dou Empire relied on for survival, one would go into seclusion, one would be destroyed, and one would be crippled?

Then the kingdoms would rebel, and Xue Ye's line would be reduced to a single useless Xue Beng. Would the Sect Master believe him if he said that?

The current Heaven Dou Empire was a mighty empire that stood on equal footing with the Star Luo Empire.

Above, it maintained good relations with the Upper Three Sects; in the middle, its major soul master academies cultivated talent; below, Marshal Ge Long commanded its armies. The several kingdoms under its rule did not dare defy it at all.

No one could imagine just how weak the Heaven Dou Empire would become in the future.

The Sect Master accepted Xu Mingxi's suggestion and promised to use the Blood Blade Pavilion's channels to arrange for Star Crown Sect forces to enter the Heaven Dou Empire. However, they would not invest too much. The Star Luo Empire remained the sect's foundation.

That was enough. Xu Mingxi did not expect the Sect Master to follow his every word completely. This was already a good beginning.

There was still plenty of time. Tang Hao was currently thirty-four years old, with a full ten years remaining before he became a Titled Douluo. That was enough time for Xu Mingxi to grow into an Elder and gain a certain degree of influence within the Star Crown Sect.