Xu Tianran Colludes with the Holy Spirit Cult

[For that child's achievements, I am naturally happy for him. But without a doubt, I absolutely cannot acknowledge him. After all, I am the Holy Spirit Cult Leader, the Evil Soul Master King, while he is the Dean of Shrek Academy's Martial Soul Department—we stand on opposite sides by nature!]

[It's fine, anyway. In this world, besides me, no one knows that Shaozhe's true identity is the descendant of my and Xiaoyao's bloodline. This secret is best kept hidden forever.]

Perhaps because Yan Shaozhe was the descendant of herself and Long Xiaoyao, Ye Xishui still retained a shred of humanity, refraining from harming him and keeping this secret all along.

In the original story, only Long Xiaoyao and the present Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong knew from the start.

But now, things were different. The Heavenly Curtain's monologue had unearthed this earth-shattering secret.

The shock brought by this information, in a sense, far surpassed the love, hate, and entanglements among Mu En, Long Xiaoyao, and Ye Xishui.

After all, those three were relics of a bygone era; most people didn't even know they existed anymore.

But Yan Shaozhe was different. Though a hundred years old, he was still young for a Titled Douluo.

Moreover, as the Dean of Shrek Academy's Martial Soul Department, he remained active in the soul master world.

Thus, there were plenty of people who knew of Yan Shaozhe!

And compared to the serious topic of the Holy Spirit Cult's true situation being exposed and major powers scrambling for countermeasures, this kind of explosive gossip was naturally far more likely to draw the attention of ordinary people.

[Time flew by, and before I knew it, I had stepped down from the position of Holy Spirit Cult Leader, handing it over to my child with Old Ghost Zhongli—Zhong Liwu.]

[That child's martial soul, Death God Demon Puppet, is a mutation from my Blood Soul Demon Puppet; he also carries great fortune and may yet advance to Limit Douluo in the future, so I am very reassured by him.]

[After stepping down, I took the role of Holy Spirit Cult Supreme Leader, overseeing the overall situation!]

[The Holy Spirit Cult's development far exceeded my expectations; it was countless times stronger than when Old Ghost Zhongli was in charge.]

[But even so, I and the Holy Spirit Cult's inner circle were still dissatisfied with the current state of affairs.]

[The cultivation methods of evil soul masters differ from ordinary soul masters—they are extremely evil and cruel, requiring large amounts of corpses, souls, fear, and other negative circumstances as 'resources' for cultivation.]

[But in this relatively peaceful, uneventful era, it was nearly impossible to incite fear through large-scale tragedies, massacres, or even the destruction of cities and nations.]

[After all, any slightly larger move risked discovery by other powers, and then they would inevitably face a joint purge from all forces across the land.]

[Though the Holy Spirit Cult was strong, pitting one cult against all the continent's forces was simply unfeasible. So, even as it grew, the Holy Spirit Cult still had to tread carefully, never revealing itself.]

[To change the Holy Spirit Cult's current predicament, it was necessary to ally with a powerful nation, using their strength and protection to gain legitimate status. Only then could the Holy Spirit Cult act openly, no longer skulking in the shadows.]

[But whether it was the original Douluo Three Kingdoms or the Sun Moon Empire, their attitude toward us evil soul masters was still to avoid us like snakes and scorpions, doing everything to wipe us out.]

[So, in my view at the time, even if the Holy Spirit Cult grew stronger, what of it? The situation remained unchanged. But what I never expected was that a turning point would truly come in this matter:]

[The Sun Moon Empire's Crown Prince, Xu Tianran, was ambitious and capable; but his luck was terrible. Not long after coming of age, he was ambushed by royal brothers scheming for the throne. On the day of the coup, he was severely wounded, his legs completely crippled.]

[Despite enduring the pain, he suppressed all dissent with thunderous force, found the true culprit behind the ambush, and had them executed by slow slicing in his bedchamber.]

[Since then, no one in the Sun Moon Empire's court dared openly question Xu Tianran's disability, and he remained the first in line for the throne. But his physical defect bred extreme insecurity and arrogance in his psyche, driving him to use every force at his disposal.]

[That was when I saw the possibility of the Holy Spirit Cult advancing further!]

[And the result was just as I expected—when the Holy Spirit Cult revealed its formidable strength during contact with Xu Tianran, even an evil soul master organization made his heart stir, and he chose to cooperate with us.]

"The Holy Spirit Cult actually allied with the Sun Moon Empire?!"

Looking at the information on the Heavenly Curtain, Xuan Zi, who had just arrived at the Heaven Spirit Empire, felt his head spinning.

The Sun Moon Empire was an extremely troublesome nation. Though it lacked deep roots, top-tier powerhouses, and overall strong soul master forces.

Its highly developed and devastating Soul Tool Technology allowed it to exert far greater strength in war.

Thousands of years ago, when the Sun Moon Continent collided with the Douluo Continent, the Sun Moon Empire had completely reshaped the continent's landscape with Soul Tool Technology.

The Heaven Dou Empire had split into the Heaven Dou Empire and the Heaven Spirit Empire back then.

If not for the Shrek Academy Dean of that era stepping forward, leading the academy to unite the original Douluo Continent's forces and defeat the Sun Moon Empire.

Then perhaps the entire continent would have been unified by the Sun Moon Empire thousands of years ago.

Now, thousands of years later, Soul Tool Technology had advanced further.

In Soul Tool technology, the Sun Moon Empire was undoubtedly even stronger.

If the Sun Moon Empire now used the Holy Spirit Cult to make up for its lack of high-level soul master combat power, that would truly be a grim situation.

"Earlier, when the Heavenly Curtain showed a glimpse of the future, there were those terribly brutal war scenes... Could it be..."

Suddenly, Xuan Zi thought of something else, his eyes widening.

An ambitious crown prince, backed by the Holy Spirit Cult, once he ascended the throne—combined with the war scenes from the Heavenly Curtain earlier.

Unless one was a fool, the connection was obvious.

At this moment, the royal families of the original Douluo Three Kingdoms began to panic.

After all, none of them wanted to face an offensive from the Sun Moon Empire.

Against that powerful empire, their fate would likely be far worse than it was thousands of years ago.

Inside the Star Luo Imperial Palace, Emperor Xu Jiawei's expression was grim.

He ordered his close minister: "Convey my decree—order the White Tiger Duke Dai Hao's Western Group Army to conscript new soldiers and fully expand a second regular legion!"