Apprehension from All Factions

"Yes, Your Majesty." The close minister replied respectfully, and then his figure vanished from within the palace.

'I hope war won't come so soon...' Xu Jiawei looked up at the Heavenly Curtain in the sky and couldn't help but pray.

If it were possible, he truly did not wish to see a full-scale war break out with the Sun Moon Empire.

Because Xu Jiawei was well aware of just how far ahead the Sun Moon Empire's Soul Tool Technology was compared to theirs.

Among the current original Douluo Three Kingdoms, the only emperor with both capability and foresight was Xu Jiawei, the emperor of the Star Luo Empire.

Several thousand years ago, their Xu family had played a massive role in resisting the Sun Moon Empire's invasion, and in the end, they successfully replaced the Dai family to ascend the imperial throne.

Even with all this diligent governance, the sense of crisis had never diminished.

Over these thousands of years, the border region between their Star Luo Empire and the Sun Moon Empire had been a constant source of friction and warfare.

That place was precisely the Ming Dou Mountain Range, an area formed over four thousand years ago when the two continental plates collided.

Because the mineral resources there were extremely abundant, yielding over a dozen types of incredibly rare ores, it led to endless conflict between Star Luo and the Sun Moon Empire, with battles raging year after year.

It was precisely for this reason that the Western Group Army stationed there by the Star Luo Empire had become a battle-hardened, powerful force; but it also made the Star Luo Empire realize just how formidable the Sun Moon Empire's Soul Tool Technology truly was.

Unless absolutely necessary, the Star Luo Empire certainly did not wish to engage in a full-scale war with the Sun Moon Empire.

But now, through the information exposed by the Heavenly Curtain, they had learned that the Holy Spirit Cult had formed a cooperative alliance with the Crown Prince of the Sun Moon Empire.

Just imagine—if the Sun Moon Empire made up for its lack of high-level Soul Masters, it would be like an empire with aggressive intentions having no weaknesses left.

For their original Douluo Three Kingdoms, that situation would be far too terrifying.

"I hope that Jiu Jiu, on her visit to Shrek Academy, can bring back some good news." Xu Jiawei thought of his sister, who had set off for Shrek Academy.

Originally, he had wanted to use this opportunity to win over that child named Shao Zhuang, but now it seemed the goal was no longer just that.

Under the current circumstances, if a full-scale war broke out, their original Douluo Three Kingdoms would have no choice but to rely on Shrek Academy's help to resist.

···

Du Busi, who was hurrying back toward the Heaven Dou Empire, stared at the information on the Heavenly Curtain, his expression turning extremely grave.

He couldn't help but curse under his breath, "That pack of mongrels from the Holy Spirit Cult sure know how to find themselves a master!"

Everyone could understand the calculations the Holy Spirit Cult was making.

A sense of crisis that had never existed before now surged in Du Busi's heart.

At the very beginning, no matter what, the Holy Spirit Cult was just an organization of Evil Soul Masters.

Even if it had grown that large, as long as all the continent's forces united, they could still wipe it out cleanly.

But now, with the Sun Moon Empire as such a special backing, the situation had completely flipped.

With the high-level Soul Masters of the Holy Spirit Cult filling the gap, it was like adding wings to a tiger for the Sun Moon Empire!

Although Du Busi was a very traditional Soul Master who looked down on Soul Tools, he had to admit that the Sun Moon Empire was truly powerful.

Therefore, it was no longer about them taking the initiative to wipe out the Holy Spirit Cult; instead, they had to start guarding against the Sun Moon Empire launching a war against them.

"Seventh, pass the order down—immediately halt all operations against the Holy Spirit Cult."

Even though he was extremely reluctant, Du Bisi still issued the new command with a sense of 'frustration.'

After all, with the sudden involvement of such a massive force, his Body Sect had to exercise caution to avoid becoming a sinner if a full-scale war truly broke out!

Don't be fooled by Du Busi's arrogant and stubborn nature—he was also a man of his word and had a certain sense of the bigger picture.

"Yes, Sect Master." The Seventh Elder, who had been traveling back to the Heaven Dou Empire with Du Busi, immediately left the area.

He prepared to use a special communication method to urgently halt this operation.

Meanwhile, the emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire immediately summoned his ministers for a court meeting to discuss countermeasures.

Even the Heaven Spirit Empire, the farthest from the Sun Moon Empire, began making its own preparations.

"Senior Tianyang, I'm sorry to trouble you to go in person this time." The emperor of the Heaven Spirit Empire said respectfully to an elderly man.

This man was none other than the Guardian Douluo of the Heaven Spirit Empire, a Super Douluo with a Soul Power Level of ninety-seven—Qingyang Douluo.

Among the original Douluo Three Kingdoms, the Heaven Spirit Empire had the fewest Titled Douluo and the lowest ceiling for their strongest.

This time, the Heaven Spirit Empire had sent Senior Qingyang to use his reputation to seek aid and facilitate future cooperation.

When the nest overturns, no egg remains intact—the original Douluo Three Kingdoms all understood this principle.

Even without prior discussion, they had all begun their own preparations for a rainy day.

For now, they had a common enemy: the Sun Moon Empire, which had allied with the Holy Spirit Cult.

As for trying to persuade the Sun Moon Empire to abandon its cooperation with the Holy Spirit Cult—anyone with such thoughts should just go to bed and dream on.

Any clear-eyed person could see that the alliance between the Sun Moon Empire's Crown Prince, Xu Tianran, and the Holy Spirit Cult was based on mutual benefit, each taking what they needed.

Xu Tianran had held the position of Crown Prince for so many years—who knew how deep his cooperation with the Holy Spirit Cult had gone?

This was truly not a situation that could be resolved through bribery.

Moreover, with such powerful combat strength joining their side, how could the Sun Moon Empire, with its ambition to unify the continent, possibly resist the temptation?

Just as the various powers of the former Douluo Three Kingdoms grew deeply wary of the Sun Moon Empire's alliance with the Holy Spirit Cult and urgently began devising countermeasures...

A quiet coup had already taken place within the Sun Moon Empire's imperial palace!

The instigator of this coup was, naturally, the current Crown Prince—Xu Tianran.

Seeing that his cooperation with the Holy Spirit Cult had been exposed by the Heavenly Curtain, and the entire continent now knew of it, Xu Tianran had no choice but to contact the Holy Spirit Cult immediately. Relying on their power, he launched a coup directly within the palace, forcibly seizing control of the Emperor and the court officials and generals.

If he could have avoided it, Xu Tianran certainly would not have chosen this path.

After all, his position as the first in line to inherit the Sun Moon Empire's throne was solid.

Given the current Emperor's physical condition, Xu Tianran could afford to wait—there was no need for haste.

That way, he could continue to quietly amass power in the shadows, ascend the throne legitimately without any stigma, and earn a favorable reputation.

But now, everything had changed. Although the Sun Moon Empire was not originally a nation of the Douluo Continent, its stance toward Evil Soul Masters was equally unanimous.

To prevent any unforeseen complications, Xu Tianran had no choice but to carry out this coup, striving to stabilize the overall situation.