Star Luo Imperial Palace, in the magnificent main hall.
Many high-ranking officials of the Star Luo Empire, along with several Venerables, had gathered there.
Xu Jiawei sat high upon the throne.
His expression was extremely grim as he stared at the people below.
The other officials were all equally solemn.
A moment later, a dashing female general hurried into the hall. She cupped her hands toward Xu Jiawei and reported, "Your Majesty, I searched the palace inside and out, but found no trace of any outsiders..."
As soon as she spoke, the hall fell silent.
The atmosphere grew unbearably oppressive.
"I understand. You may leave. Continue the investigation I assigned you earlier," Xu Jiawei said, waving a hand.
At those words, Luo Yun, the Imperial Guard commander among the officials, immediately felt uneasy.
"Your Majesty, tonight's incident was my fault. The soldiers and I let our guard down, giving those damned Evil Soul Masters a chance to strike..."
After the female general left, Luo Yun couldn't help stepping forward first. His face full of remorse, he said, "I am willing to resign as commander of the Imperial Guard to atone for my mistake!"
"I am also willing to resign as deputy commander of the Imperial Guard to atone for my mistake!"
Right after him, Jiang Hao, the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard, hurriedly spoke up.
Jiang Hao felt terribly wronged. Nothing had happened during the previous stretch of time, yet this had to happen on the one day he was off duty.
Wasn't this just screwing him over?
Being deputy commander of the Imperial Guard was no easy job. Even though he hadn't been on duty that day, he still bore considerable responsibility.
And his direct superior, who was also his sworn rival, was shrewd enough to step forward at the first opportunity.
At this, Xu Jiawei's gaze flickered.
Tonight's attack had made him realize that a deeply entrenched traitor was hiding at his side.
Two people were under suspicion: Luo Yun, commander of the Imperial Guard, and Jiang Hao, its deputy commander.
Which of them was the traitor?
Both men had been appointed to lead the Imperial Guard and could be considered his trusted confidants.
If one of them had betrayed him, he didn't know whom he could still trust in the entire Star Luo court!
That was precisely why Xu Jiawei had temporarily entrusted the palace's Imperial Guard to a member of the Xu Clan—the female general who had just left.
Luo Yun and Jiang Hao both understood this perfectly. That was why they had made this show of offering to resign.
"Luo Yun, Jiang Hao, do you understand that your negligence nearly brought disaster upon the future hope of our Star Luo Empire?"
Heavenly Fiend Douluo Huang Jinxu said coldly, "You've also brought shame upon our empire."
This was the first time the imperial palace had been so easily infiltrated by Evil Soul Masters.
What a disgrace!
Other countries would laugh at them if word got out.
"Venerable Huang, we did indeed fail in our duty."
Luo Yun glanced at Jiang Hao, intending to drag him down with him and muddy the waters, in the hope of securing a chance to escape blame. "We are willing to accept any punishment."
"..."
Jiang Hao opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but after hesitating for a moment, he decided to hold his tongue.
His years of experience in the court had taught him that the more he said at a time like this, the more likely he was to say something wrong.
Besides, the targets of the assassination had come to no harm. No matter how serious the consequences, he would at most be punished for dereliction of duty.
He was already prepared to lose his post as deputy commander of the Imperial Guard. It wasn't as if his whole family would be executed!
Just then, hurried footsteps sounded outside the hall.
The female general from earlier came in once more.
She bowed to Xu Jiawei on the throne, then said, "Your Majesty, it has been confirmed that Luo Yun, commander of the Imperial Guard, was secretly colluding with the Sun Moon Empire."
"Guards, seize Luo Yun and interrogate him thoroughly," Xu Jiawei ordered without changing his expression.
"..."
Seeing this, Luo Yun offered no resistance and accepted his fate.
It wasn't that Luo Yun hadn't considered escaping. But with several Titled Douluos present, he had no chance. Otherwise, he would have fled long ago instead of waiting until now.
Jiang Hao was utterly dumbfounded by what he saw.
His sworn rival was actually a spy for the Sun Moon Empire—and now he'd fallen just like that? It was all so absurd!
The next day.
News of the attack on the Star Luo Imperial Palace the previous night spread across the world.
In an instant, the entire continent was shaken.
The major sects, as well as the Douhun and Tianling Empires, were all stunned.
They had never imagined that the Evil Soul Masters, usually treated like rats in the street, would dare to infiltrate the Star Luo Imperial Palace and carry out an assassination.
Only a handful of clever people understood that this was bound to happen sooner or later.
After all, the Holy Spirit Cult of the future, as shown in the Sky Curtain, would fall at that person's hands.
The two sides had an irreconcilable conflict.
In other words, one side had to die for the other to live.
To conceal the secret of the Ultimate Emperor Armor, the Star Luo Empire deliberately spread the news.
The five Evil Soul Masters who carried out the assassination were Titled Douluos. In the end, one died and four were wounded.
Those who fought them were the Star Luo Empire's Venerables.
To make the story more convincing, the Star Luo Empire openly and discreetly claimed that Azure Luan Douluo and Shattered Star Douluo, the strongest of the Venerables, had also been seriously injured.
The sun and the coiling divine dragon were supposedly the result of a secret technique unleashed by two Venerables, who had paid with their lives to use it.
Only with the other Venerables' help had they managed to repel the attacking Evil Soul Masters.
The explanation sounded a little far-fetched, but if the Star Luo Empire stuck to its story, who could dispute it?
This left all nine Venerables feeling rather awkward. It was the first time they had ever taken credit for something they hadn't done.
Once the news came out, undercurrents swept across the entire continent.
Not a single force was surprised by the formidable strength of the Holy Spirit Cult.
For just one assassination, it had sent five Evil Soul Masters of Titled Douluo rank. The Star Luo Empire, meanwhile, had needed all nine of its Titled Douluos to barely drive them off.
Evil Soul Masters were indeed far stronger than ordinary Soul Masters, but surely they weren't that outrageous.
In other words, all five Evil Soul Masters sent to assassinate their targets must have been terrifyingly powerful. There had to be at least one Super Douluo of rank 98 among them.
And those had only been the vanguard. No one knew what kind of assassination force the cult might send next.
Of course, the major forces weren't about to believe everything they heard from inside the Star Luo Empire.
They used every means at their disposal to verify the reliability of the report.
Unfortunately, only the Star Luo Empire's nine Venerables, Xu Jiawei, Xu Jiujiu, and Gu Tian knew the details of the assassination.
The only others who knew were Zhongli Wu and the three Holy Spirit Cult members who had escaped.
The Star Luo Empire's side went without saying: they certainly wouldn't let anything slip.
As for the Holy Spirit Cult, its members were all deranged Evil Soul Masters. Who would believe a word they said?
Besides, who would believe that a Soul Grandmaster without even three rings had made five Titled Douluos suffer one death and four escapes?
Even Xu Jiawei and the others wouldn't have believed it if they hadn't seen it with their own eyes.
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