The Holy Spirit Cult's Second Worship, Yun Ming!
Even though the Sun Moon Empire is the richest country on the continent, it took them three months to prepare for this All-Continent Youth Soul Master Tournament.
The Sun Moon Empire attaches great importance to this, as it is the first time they have opened the competition to sects and forces across the continent. If it is done well, it will be an excellent political and cultural export.
Now, preparations are finally coming to an end, and the opening day of the competition is just around the corner.
All eyes on the continent were focused on Ming Capital, and major Soul Master Academy and sects sent their most outstanding young disciples to participate in the competition.
With the addition of sects, the number of participating teams in this competition reached 168, nearly double that of the previous competition.
Both the length of the race and the intensity of the competition will far exceed those of previous years.
The Imperial Palace's Back Garden in the Sun Moon Empire.
The afternoon sun was warm and gentle, casting dappled shadows on the neatly trimmed shrubs and flowerbeds in the garden.
The bluestone pavement was slightly warmed by the sun, and a wheelchair moved slowly on it, the wheels making a regular and soft sound as they rolled over the seams of the stones.
Xu Tianran sat in a wheelchair with his eyes closed and a thin blanket covering his legs.
His expression was calm, revealing no extra emotional fluctuations, except that his slightly lowered eyelashes occasionally trembled slightly, as if he were thinking about something.
After a moment, he slowly asked, "How is Father?"
The woman pushing the wheelchair behind her was none other than the current Regent's wife, Ju Zi. She wore a pale yellow long dress, the hem of which fluttered gently in the breeze.
Her fair skin glowed with a dewy sheen, her face was gentle and beautiful, and she pushed the wheelchair with light and steady movements, as if she had done it countless times before.
Hearing Xu Tianran's question, she lowered her head slightly and softened her voice. "His Majesty's health may not be able to hold up. The imperial physician said that His Majesty has been frequently unconscious these past few days, and the time he is awake is getting shorter and shorter."
Xu Tianran kept his eyes closed, his face showing no surprise or sadness, as if the person about to reach the end of his Life God was not his father.
He remained silent for a moment, then softly hummed in agreement.
After a while, he asked again, "How are the preparations for the competition going?"
Ju Zi, her hands firmly gripping the handles as she pushed the wheelchair, said softly, "Everything is ready, everything has been implemented according to plan, and we are just waiting for the opening."
Xu Tianran nodded in satisfaction, a faint smile even curving his lips, as if he had heard something pleasant. "Very good, the plan can begin after the competition."
Upon hearing this, Ju Zi's hands, which were pushing the wheelchair, trembled slightly involuntarily, a testament to her excitement.
As Xu Tianran's most trusted "subordinate," Ju Zi naturally knew that the "plan" he mentioned referred to was launching a war against the original Three Douluo Kingdoms.
During the struggle for the throne, Xu Tianran lost both legs, which twisted his mindset to the point of madness.
However, it cannot be denied that he was a true hero, decisive in his methods and deep in thought, whose ultimate goal from beginning to end was to unify the entire continent.
His physical disability did not diminish his ambition; on the contrary, it made that ambition grow even sharper in the darkness.
Ju Zi and the Star Luo Empire have a blood feud, and that hatred is like a brand engraved in their bones, which has never faded in the slightest with the passage of time.
Therefore, she was Xu Tianran's most steadfast and loyal supporter of the war, and she was equally looking forward to the upcoming great battle.
The wheelchair moved forward a little further, and Xu Tianran's voice rang out again. "How is the Spirit Pagoda lately?"
When he uttered the words "Spirit Pagoda," his tone became noticeably more serious, showing his high regard for this emerging force.
The image of Huo Yuhao flashed through Ju Zi's mind. The last time he came to the Sun Moon Empire, she had a brief encounter with him as a disciple of Xuan Ziwen.
The young man left a deep impression on her; he was calm, composed, and his eyes held something unfathomable.
However, the two didn't have much interaction, and those impressions were fleeting.
She immediately dispelled the figure and replied earnestly, "The Spirit Pagoda has been developing extremely rapidly recently. Based on its unique Spirit Soul Technology and combined with its Soul Tool research and development capabilities that are no weaker than those of the Mingde Hall, it is foreseeable that it will become a powerful force that cannot be ignored on the continent in the future."
Xu Tianran suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze sharp and distinct from his previous calm.
He tilted his head slightly, a chill creeping into his voice. "The rise of this Spirit Pagoda is rather unexpected."
"However, in my plan, such a force cannot be allowed to exist."
"Is the Spirit Cult ready?"
Just as Ju Zi was about to answer, her voice suddenly caught in her throat.
Her gaze passed over the flowerbeds and bushes ahead, landing on the shady tree where the bluestone path stretched into the distance, and she froze as if a pause button had been pressed.
Feeling the wheelchair stop, Xu Tianran looked into the distance and saw a figure appear at the end of the garden path.
The person was completely shrouded in a large black cloak, his figure concealed at the boundary between the shadows and the light, as if he had grown out of thin air from the shadows.
The figure flashed and instantly appeared in front of Xu Tianran from a distance, revealing a pair of purple eyes beneath the hood.
The man looked at Xu Tianran and said in a low, hoarse voice, "The Holy Spirit Cult is ready and will not disappoint Your Highness."
A fleeting hint of displeasure flashed in Xu Tianran's eyes at the man's uninvited arrival.
But that displeasure only lingered in his eyes for a moment before he suppressed it.
He leaned back in his wheelchair and spoke in a calm tone, "The Cult Master the Zhongli Sect has actually come in person."
The "cloaked figure" who suddenly appeared was none other than Zhongli Wu, the current Cult Master of the Holy Spirit Cult.
His purple eyes revealed little emotion; he simply replied calmly, "There are some matters I need to discuss with Your Highness."
Most of the other participating teams stayed in hotels arranged by the Sun Moon Empire, but the Spirit Pagoda teams were different; they stayed directly in the Sun Moon Spirit Pagoda Branch Tower in Ming Capital.
At this moment, in Huo Yuhao's room, a figure completely shrouded in a black cloak stood quietly by the window.
The light from outside the window shone through the glass, casting a dim, yellowish glow on the edges of the figure.
He raised his hand and slowly removed the black hood from his head.
He turned his head, and two golden Soul Fire burned slowly within them, flickering and carrying a chilling aura that did not belong to the living.
Looking at the familiar face, Huo Yuhao said, "It seems Elder Yun has succeeded in infiltrating the Holy Spirit Cult."
The person standing before him at that moment was none other than Yun Ming.
After receiving news that Huo Yuhao had arrived in Ming Capital, he secretly rushed over and sneaked into the Sun Moon Spirit Pagoda under the cover of night.
Upon hearing this, Yun Ming chuckled self-deprecatingly, "Looking at me now, anyone would think I'm an Evil Soul Master. Joining the Holy Spirit Cult wouldn't be difficult for me."
It is naturally extremely difficult for ordinary people to join the Holy Spirit Cult, but the Holy Spirit Cult has always welcomed any true Evil Soul Master.
Since returning to the Holy Spirit Cult with Zhang Peng, Yun Ming encountered almost no resistance and was accepted by the cult's higher-ups.
With his strength, he has now risen to the position of the Second Worship in the sect, second only to the first elder Limit Douluo Long Xiaoyao!
Yun Ming's expression then turned serious. He took two steps forward and lowered his voice slightly. "The Holy Spirit Cult's power in this era should not be underestimated. Besides the leader and deputy Cult Master, there are eight elders and twelve elders. All of these people are Evil Soul Master at the Titled Douluo level, and there are even some Super Douluo level beings among them..."
He spoke in a heavy tone about what he had learned about the Holy Spirit Cult in recent days, and Huo Yuhao's expression gradually became serious.
Although history records from ten thousand years later mentions the many powerful figures of the Holy Spirit Cult during this era, those texts are ultimately just general descriptions, far less tangible than the specific numbers heard from Yun Ming at this moment.
He silently memorized these details, then asked, "Elder Yun, since the Holy Spirit Cult has taken the initiative to participate in the competition this time, they probably won't just be going through the motions, right? They should have other plans."
Yun Ming nodded. In the past few months, he had gone deep into the Holy Spirit Cult and had access to far more complete information than what could be glimpsed by outsiders.
"That's right, the Holy Spirit Cult has secretly colluded with Xu Tianran, the regent of the Sun and Sun Moon Empire Sect."
"They have already begun preparations for attacking the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Dou Ling Empire; troop deployments and intelligence infiltration are proceeding in an orderly manner."
He paused here, his gaze falling on Huo Yuhao, his tone carrying a hint of warning. "I've been dispatched to the Heavenly Soul Empire on a mission this time, so I'm afraid I won't be able to send you messages in time."
"Therefore, you must be extra careful during this period of the Sun Moon Empire; the Holy Spirit Cult will definitely take action."
Upon hearing this, Huo Yuhao's expression remained largely unchanged. "Don't worry, Elder Yun, I have my own means of self-protection."
Yun Ming nodded and said nothing more.
He knew about the existence of the Undead Plane and that Huo Yuhao possessed far more power than it appeared, so there was indeed no need to worry too much.