The Explosions in Ming Capital
The competition has ended, followed by the awards ceremony and the final closing remarks.
In the center of the huge arena, on the slowly rising podium, the seven members of the Spirit Pagoda Team stood side by side.
Sun Moon Regent Xu Tianran personally presented trophies and medals to the champion, runner-up, and third-place winners. He wore a kind smile and shook hands with each winner with just the right amount of gentleness, showing no trace of the gloomy expression that had appeared just moments before.
Finally, when Jing Hongchen announced that "the All-Continent Youth Soul Master Tournament has officially ended," this grand event, which lasted for several weeks and captivated the attention of the entire continent, officially came to a close.
When the audience left, the vast majority of them had an expression of lingering enjoyment.
There were just too many "unexpected" events in this competition: Evil Soul Master participated, Shrek Academy lost its millennia-long championship, and the newly established Spirit Pagoda won the title...
These topics are destined to become the subject of their conversations for a long time to come.
On the carriage back to the palace, the kind smile on Xu Tianran's face finally vanished completely.
He leaned back in his seat, closed his eyes, and remained silent for a long while, creating a somewhat somber and oppressive atmosphere inside the car.
Ju Zi sat opposite him, observing his unprecedentedly solemn expression, and softly called out, "Your Highness?"
Xu Tianran slowly opened his eyes, his gaze filled with a weariness and melancholy rarely shown to outsiders.
He trusted Ju Zi quite a bit. This regent had been by his side for many years, and he didn't need to deliberately hide many of his emotions from outsiders in front of her.
He spoke in a slightly hoarse voice, "The Spirit Pagoda has truly given me a pleasant surprise."
He paused, then turned to Ju Zi and asked, "Soul Tool that can increase Soul Power by twenty levels, Ju Zi, do you know what that means?"
Ju Zi looked respectful. She understood the weight of Xu Tianran's words. The appearance of the Battle Armor meant that the Spirit Pagoda no longer only possessed Spirit Soul as a resource, but also a technology that could change the nature of warfare.
She then slowly said, "This means that if the Spirit Pagoda provides this technology to the original Three Douluo Kingdoms, their strength will experience a qualitative leap."
When she mentioned the phrase "a qualitative leap," Ju Zi's tone involuntarily became somewhat solemn.
Her goal was to destroy the Star Luo Empire, and the appearance of the Battle Armor gave her an unprecedented sense of urgency.
If that suit of armor were to be issued in batches to the Star Luo Empire army, everything she planned would become much more difficult.
Xu Tianran slowly clenched his fists, his voice lower than before, yet carrying a heavier, more suppressed tone. "That's right, this is an unexpected turn of events."
"Huo Yuhao is Star Luo Empire person, and the first Spirit Pagoda was built with the support of the Star Luo Imperial Family."
"His relationship with the Star Luo Empire is far closer than it appears on the surface."
He paused, his tone so certain it was as if he could already foresee that day. "As long as we attack Star Luo Empire, the Spirit Pagoda will definitely come to our aid."
He then gave a cold snort, his voice tinged with icy intent. "The plan cannot fail. Contact the Holy Spirit Cult and tell them to prepare to act!"
Ju Zi's gaze sharpened slightly upon hearing this. She understood the implications of those words and respectfully replied, "Yes."
Huo Yuhao's face involuntarily appeared in her mind; that young and composed Tower Master was the most talented Soul Master she had ever seen.
But she quickly banished that image from her mind, and her gaze returned to calm.
Driven by revenge, she no longer cared about anyone else.
As night falls, Ming Capital, the most prosperous city on the continent, lights up with thousands of lights.
Neatly arranged streetlights lined both sides of the street, illuminating the wide road brightly.
In the distance, tall buildings are adorned with flowing ribbons of light, outlining a staggered skyline against the night sky.
The people's nightlife was just beginning; laughter and chatter filled the pubs, street vendors were still busy, and the air was filled with the aroma of food and the uniquely lazy liveliness of the night.
The Sun Moon Spirit Pagoda was exceptionally lively tonight, as they had just won the championship of the All-Continent Youth Soul Master Tournament, and the entire Branch Tower was immersed in joy.
Not only those who came from the Star Luo Empire to participate in the competition, but even the local people of the Sun Moon Branch Tower were very excited.
After all, they are also members of the Spirit Pagoda, and this honor belongs to them as well.
The restaurant on the fourth floor was meticulously decorated, with red and gold decorative ribbons hanging from the ceiling and brand-new tablecloths covering the tables.
At the very front center of the restaurant, the championship trophy was placed neatly on a table covered with velvet, gleaming softly with golden light under the warm glow of the lamps.
The group sat around several large round tables, eating and chatting, with people occasionally standing up to raise their glasses, creating a lively and cheerful atmosphere.
However, in this moment of clinking glasses and beaming laughter...
"Boom!"
A deafening roar suddenly pierced through the walls and windows, like a heavy hammer blow to everyone's eardrums.
The sound came so suddenly, with an impact that shook the ground; even the cups and plates on the table seemed to tremble slightly.
The people in the restaurant who were chatting and laughing with their wine glasses in hand suddenly froze, as if someone had pressed the pause button.
Before they could react...
"Boom boom boom!"
Several more explosions followed, more frequent and violent than the first one, causing the windowpanes to shatter with a soft buzzing sound.
A moment later, almost everyone did the same thing: they all turned their heads to look out the window.
Through the restaurant's huge floor-to-ceiling windows, one could see the night sky over Ming Capital in the distance tinged with a dark red glow from a towering blaze of fire.
The flames rose extremely high, particularly dazzling in the night, with thick smoke billowing and rising in the firelight.
The explosion was clearly of enormous scale, far beyond what could have been caused by an ordinary accident.
After a brief silence, a local Ming Capital employee of the Spirit Pagoda was the first to come to his senses.
His eyes widened as he stared at the flames, his face turning deathly pale, his voice trembling slightly with shock. "That's... the direction of the palace?!"
These words shocked everyone present.
Such a violent explosion occurred at that place, which symbolized the power center of the Sun Moon Empire.
Has something serious happened in the palace?
The crowd exchanged bewildered glances. The previously lively banquet atmosphere had been instantly dampened, as if doused with cold water. Laughter and conversation vanished without a trace.
Huo Yuhao calmly looked out the window at the night sky reddened by the firelight, and had already roughly guessed what had happened.
He frowned slightly, not expecting them to make a move today.
The "they" that Huo Yuhao was thinking of naturally referred to the forces that had secretly united from the original Three Douluo Kingdoms for Xu Jiujiu.
Previously, Xu Jiujiu had personally visited Huo Yuhao to invite the Spirit Pagoda to participate in the assassination of Xu Tianran, but Huo Yuhao did not agree.
In retrospect, the explosion that shook the night of Ming Capital was most likely their "masterpiece," otherwise how could such a sudden change have occurred in the Sun Moon Imperial Palace without any reason?
Thinking of this, Huo Yuhao stood up.
He scanned the room, his voice carrying clearly to every corner of the restaurant. "Now that everyone has eaten and drunk their fill, let's end the banquet here. There may be other unexpected events tonight, so everyone stay alert."
Upon hearing this, everyone felt a chill run down their spines. The excitement and joy that had surged up because of winning the championship were replaced by a heavy sense of vigilance.
No one said much; they got up one after another and quietly left the restaurant.
The footsteps faded into the distance in the corridor, and the once bustling restaurant quickly became deserted.
Huo Yuhao walked to the window, his gaze falling on the still-rising flames in the direction of the palace in the distance.
Although the explosions were less frequent than before, the red halo in the distance still flickered in the night sky.
He stood there in silence for a long time, his brows furrowed with a rare solemnity.
Wang Dong'er walked up to him without him noticing, gently reached out, and grasped his slightly cool right hand.
Her palms were warm and dry, carrying a reassuring temperature.
She didn't say much, just stood quietly beside him.
After a moment, she spoke softly, "The attack on the Sun Moon Imperial Palace was carried out by people who originally belonged to the Three Douluo Kingdoms, wasn't it?"
Given the commotion they caused in the Ming Capital Imperial Palace, Wang Dong'er could easily deduce who had made the move.
Huo Yuhao turned his head and glanced at her, without denying it.
He didn't really know how to evaluate the operation, because it was as obvious as a louse on a monk's head.
This is practically like having the word "murderer" etched on their foreheads. It's obvious, something even Wang Dong'er could tell at a glance, so the people of the Sun Moon Empire are certainly not fools.
He sighed softly, a complex meaning in his voice. "And Shrek Academy too."
Wang Donger was stunned for a moment when he heard this, and then shook his head, with a complex tone that could not be said to be helpless or emotional, "Nosy, this is the style of Shrek Academy."
She paused for a moment, then asked, "So what do we do now?"
Although the Spirit Pagoda has established Branch Tower in the Sun Moon Empire and has a cooperative relationship with it, Huo Yuhao is a citizen of the Sun Moon Empire Star Luo Empire and a graduate of the Shrek Academy.
Now that the original Three Douluo Kingdoms and Shrek Academy have joined forces to cause such a commotion in Ming Capital, she is worried that this matter will implicate the Spirit Pagoda, which is why she asked this question.
Huo Yuhao turned his gaze back to the window, and after a moment of silence, he slowly spoke, "Let's observe the situation and wait."
He had promised Xu Jiujiu that if anyone from the Star Luo Empire came to him for help, he would lend a hand.
Otherwise, he should have already led everyone from the Spirit Pagoda away from Ming Capital, this place of trouble.