As Long As I'm Alive, As Long As I Can Make It to That Day...

"Every shred of emotion was magnified dozens of times. Any pain and darkness in my heart became impossible to dispel, continuously accumulating within my mind and turning into tangible damage to my spirit."

"It weakened my mental resilience, slowly erased my reason, and lowered the limits of my soul... If this continued, how long could I remain rational? How long could I remain strong? If my former self saw who I was now, he might directly strike and put an end to me completely."

"If I hadn't experienced it firsthand, I would never have believed such a special curse existed in this world. Evil Soul Masters... that group was simply too dangerous."

"Perhaps I should never have cooperated with them from the beginning. These Evil Soul Masters were even more dangerous to the Sun Moon Empire than Shrek. I never should have trusted them back then. Even if I had swallowed my pride and asked Shrek to eliminate those people, it would have been better than this."

The current emperor curled up on his bed in a posture of weakness that his former self could never have imagined, regretting the decisions he had made.

"But now, the relationship between the Sun Moon Empire and the three nations of the Douluo Continent has reached an extreme level of tension. If those Evil Soul Masters continue stirring things up in the shadows and war breaks out between both sides, the Sun Moon Empire has little chance of victory. If the Evil Soul Masters strike when the opportunity arises, the Sun Moon Empire may even relive the humiliation of Four Thousand Years Ago."

"The Humanoid Soul Tool can enter mass production in at most another twenty years, greatly increasing the combat strength of our Sun Moon Empire's Soul Masters."

"The Sun Moon Empire's Soul Masters, who had originally been weaker than Soul Masters of the same level from the Douluo Continent, would even surpass them in combat power. Elder Kong might also be able to unleash strength no weaker than that of a Peerless Douluo. Shrek, the only one capable of threatening us in this regard, would be completely overtaken by us."

"The equipment of the new Soul Tools can make up for the Sun Moon Empire's only weakness. By then, even Shrek will be unable to stop the Sun Moon Empire's unification. Whether it is Shrek or the Holy Spirit Cult, both will inevitably be ground into dust beneath the power of my Sun Moon Empire."

"As long as I'm alive, there is still hope... As long as I can hold on until the Soul Tool research is complete, as long as one of my children can become a qualified heir, then no price is too great..."

Just as the emperor lamented his condition and fantasized about his future heir inheriting all his strengths, sweeping across the continent with thunderous force and settling accounts with the Holy Spirit Cult, an androgynous voice suddenly came from outside the palace.

"Your Majesty, Deputy Commander of the City Guard Xu Baoguo has an urgent matter to report!"

"Has something serious happened?" Upon hearing this, Xu Pingye, who had been lying in bed wallowing in self-pity, abruptly sat up. The confusion in his eyes instantly turned to resolve.

The wooden bed crafted from the body of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast was stored inside a Soul Tool. After Soul Power was injected into the Level 8 Soul Tool garments he wore, they swiftly changed from disheveled back into a magnificent state.

The man's gaze was resolute. The imposing aura belonging to a Titled Douluo and the emperor of an empire rose from him, making him appear incomparably majestic. Not a trace of his earlier weakness could be seen.

"Bring him in!"

The man sat beside the table, took out a memorial that looked important but was actually not important at all, opened it, and placed it on the table. He put on the appearance of reviewing official documents before issuing a cold command toward the outside of the room.

"Yes!"

At the emperor's command, the palace doors opened. A Pale-faced Youth dressed as a eunuch led Xu Baoguo, the Level 8 Soul Master and deputy commander of the City Defense Army, slowly into the palace.

Seeing the emperor still painstakingly considering the empire's great affairs and reviewing memorials even during his rest, Xu Baoguo—six full generations senior to the emperor by rank of kinship—bowed to Xu Pingye with admiration. Xu Pingye then directly used Soul Power to help him up from afar.

Looking at the excited Xu Baoguo, Xu Pingye calmly put away the memorial in his hand.

"What happened in the city? Did a Soul Douluo or stronger expert start fighting within the city? Did something happen to a member of the Imperial Family? Or was some important facility damaged, and a spy stole crucial information?"

"Your Majesty, the Fourth Prince came into conflict with Chen Ming of the Dragon Elephant Sect, as well as the grandson and granddaughter of Hall Master of Mingde Hall Jing Hongchen..."

Xu Baoguo did not know much, because he had been sent to report the matter before even reaching the scene. He only knew who had clashed, where it had happened, and who the strongest combatants on both sides were.

As for why they had started fighting, Xu Baoguo knew nothing at all. He was only responsible for informing the emperor; others were handling everything else.

Upon hearing that his troublesome fourth son had gotten into a conflict with someone, a fierce glint flashed through Xu Pingye's eyes.

Yet the first thought that came to his mind was not whether the dignity of the Imperial Family would be harmed, nor why the two sides had fought. Instead, he considered whether he could use this matter to find a suitable excuse to reasonably deal with his fourth son and the maternal clan behind him.

After all, he had first come into contact with the Holy Spirit Cult through the introduction of those "loyal ministers."

Half an hour later, in a side hall of the Imperial Palace, Emperor Xu Pingye sat upon his throne and began dealing with today's matter.

On the left side of the hall, Chen Ming, Chen Li, Jing Hongchen, Xiao Hongchen, Meng Hongchen, and Qian Hongchen sat in a row. Behind them stood the guards who had been stopped when the incident occurred.

In the row opposite them sat the Fourth Prince, Xu Tianba, who had been healed by the Healing Soul Masters before they could disperse, along with his Black Man uncle, whose aura was still weak.

Behind their side also stood the attendants responsible for stopping the guards on Chen Ming's side when the incident occurred.

Xu Pingye sat upright upon the throne at the top of the steps, sweeping his cold gaze across the people below. The Third Prince, Xu Tianran, stood beside the emperor in a place where he should not have appeared, examining the scene below with an interested gaze.

Chen Ming in particular drew Xu Tianran's extra attention—he looked nothing like a six-year-old and had even thrown a punch at his foolish younger brother.

Yet he did not know that Chen Ming, whom he was watching, was also rather interested in the fact that Xu Tianran still had all three legs intact, though he did not show it.

The androgynous man who had led Xu Baoguo earlier stood below the steps, vigilantly protecting Xu Pingye and Xu Tianran upon the throne. Judging from the faint aura radiating from him, he was actually a Titled Douluo as well.

As for Kong Ping, who was in charge of the City Defense Army, and the City Defense Army's senior officers...

Although they were present, they had no seats of their own. They stood between the three sides as a fourth party, receiving the gazes of all three.

In truth, the fact that Chen Ming, who had struck a prince today, was still able to sit in a seat had already given many people a rough guess as to what the emperor was thinking. Yet before the emperor spoke, no one dared determine which direction this would ultimately take.

Under the emperor's gaze, Kong Ping slowly recounted what he had seen and investigated, truthfully stating that the Fourth Prince had declared that he would destroy the Dragon Elephant Sect and the Hongchen Family...

Then, "incidentally," he mentioned being cursed at, briefly explaining that his Soul Power had become somewhat unstable because of his emotional agitation and might have caused the Fourth Prince some pain.