Intelligence Network

[Author's note: Characters with names are destined to have storylines. Barus's third sister, fourth brother, and fifth brother aren't named just for show; I have an outline, so don't rush. Their time to shine is still to come.]

"Has the Star Luo Empire made no moves at all on the Star Luo Continent?"

By rights, after moving the political center here, the emperor should have made some major moves by now. Two years had passed, after all.

Isn't he going to take back some of the local nobles' autonomy? Doesn't he have a half-sister, Dai Ruoheng, who's a Soul Douluo at level 97?

"No, my lord. They have, and there's been a lot of activity at the intelligence level. Messages from our intelligence network on the Star Luo Continent indicate that they seem to be investigating the Shrek members of the Spirit Pagoda."

Ulides shook his head at Rus Wang.

"Ah, I remember that. Last year, you sent word that the Indigenous People and the Shrek members of the Spirit Pagoda had a secret trading base at Black Sea Cliff. They traded captured Soul Beasts for Soul Tools. When I personally destroyed the place, I rescued over ten thousand Soul Beasts, including fifty-four Heavenly Sun Dragons and three Aurora Dragons."

Rus Wang nodded.

Although the military leadership of the Elf Kingdom and the Spirit Race Committee agreed that keeping the Indigenous People and the Star Luo People at odds would prevent them from expanding the areas of human activity on the Star Luo Continent for nearly a century, and thus threatening the military garrison in Dragon Valley Forest,

they could never tolerate humans capturing Soul Beasts and members of the Dragon Race for trade.

"Looks like the Shrek humans are in a panic after I destroyed such a large base?"

Rus Wang laughed.

"Has Irwin recently condensed a Soul Core and become a Titled Douluo?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. Should we assign her to Dragon Valley Forest? I'll go drag her out right now."

"No, that's not what I meant, Ulides. Toriya told me she seems to be in contact with the Holy Dragon Church, a civilian organization. They proclaimed me a Holy Dragon and my granddaughter a demigoddess?"

"That's true, Your Majesty. But I've already dealt with that Church and shown her how its members used faith to embezzle funds. She's shut herself away now, and probably won't come around for a while."

Ulides said,

"True faith in you means selflessly giving of oneself for the community in times of crisis, and quietly following the path you hoped we would take in ordinary times: helping others, building, integrating, correcting, and understanding. It doesn't mean founding a sect. Personal faith can certainly keep someone honest, but once it becomes a group, every Elf is different. No Elf is without selfish desires. When Elves gather together, corruption inevitably arises."

My name is Venicia. Ever since I helped a group of workers petition Princess Toriya, and the country urgently introduced an internship program, a lot of strangers had mysteriously started turning up at my house. They kept giving gifts to my parents and the rest of my family. My parents were so pleased with themselves that they kept asking me to introduce them to Toriya. It was even affecting my studies at home.

That forced me to ask Toriya for help. She was already troubled by even more people, including the media.

"Really? That's happening?"

Toriya froze for a moment, then glanced at the students in the school corridors and whispered, "Your parents are really short-sighted."

"That's what's troubling me, too. Now, whenever I'm on my way home, there are Elves everywhere trying to get close to me and curry favor with you, Toriya. I don't know what to do, and they're so strong I can't even break free when they grab me."

Elves awakened their Soul Power at twelve, but schools wouldn't teach them the Meditation Technique, lest they break through level 30 before adulthood and damage their meridians. Instead, they constantly warned them about the dangers of breaking through level 30 before the age of forty-five.

"Tsk. Those good-for-nothings aren't even as useful as Ten-Year Soul Beasts, yet they dare to dream of anything."

As she thought this, Toriya took the Soul Communication Device from her school uniform pocket and made a call.

"Hello? Aunt Irwin? If you think you've failed my grandfather's principles, then get out of your house and investigate the backgrounds of certain people for me... Yes... Go now."

After hanging up, Toriya turned to Venicia.

"Venicia, pay close attention to the features of the Elves who approach you over the next few days. I have a feeling some of them have been letting their imaginations run wild because I've started spending time with my grandfather these past few years."

Toriya paused.

"From now on, other Elves won't see you as an ordinary family's child, a high school student who got in through the entrance exam. They'll see you as a close aide and follower of Princess Toriya, the King's granddaughter."

"...Maybe I shouldn't have become friends with you, Toriya. If I hadn't, I might still be studying with Professor Wu Li, giving my full attention to physics."

Watching her friend, who had gone from middle school to high school alongside her and had never held back from speaking her mind—even after Toriya had revealed her identity—Toriya smiled.

"Ha! Listen to yourself, Venicia. There aren't many classmates who can talk to me like that. But there's no going back. Even if I know you don't want this, other people will only think you don't appreciate how lucky you are. You can only get used to how outsiders see you now."

Inside the Star Luo intelligence agency building.

"Sir, this is what we detected on the Black Water River front: a group of long-eared humans concealed by disguises. We can confirm they're neither Indigenous People nor Sun-Moon People from Douluo Continent, and they're definitely not Shrek. They're a new faction, and they seem to be able to coexist with Soul Beasts."

A Star Luo intelligence agent summarized the information gathered from the front lines in a report and handed it to his superior, who sat on a leather sofa.

"We've also confirmed why the army has never been able to cross that damn river in the Black Water River Battles over the past few years, or even decades. These humans and the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in Dragon Valley Forest keep wreaking havoc on the supply lines whenever the Star Luo army and the Indigenous People's army are locked in critical battles."

His Soul Douluo superior studied the report carefully for a full eight minutes, then looked grave.

"This intelligence is extremely useful. But right now, the Empire needs to focus on the secret channels supplying weapons to the Indigenous People's Kingdom through Shrek members of the Spirit Pagoda. We'll set aside these unknown humans who are disrupting supply lines and conducting military surveillance for the time being. Once we've shut down every last one of those damn Soul Tool smuggling routes, we'll turn our attention to investigating these Pointy-Ears. I'll submit this report to General Kallen myself."

"Yes, sir."

That evening, the intelligence agency of the Grey Feather Division stationed in Dragon Valley Forest received a message.

[The Star Luo People have started noticing us Elves.]