Evidence of Treason

A lavish manor stood before them. Anyone could tell from the outside that its owner was rich and powerful. Of course, ordinary people could rarely reach this place. It was the Rich District, as everyone called it, and commoners had no chance of entering. If one tried, the Shrek Guard would deal with them. Most were sent to prison to work; no one was taken in just to enjoy free meals and lodging.

Still, compared with the brutal laws of other top families, that was merciful. Some would simply kill intruders outright. After all, how could these lowly commoners be allowed into their living spaces? Even breathing their air for a second polluted it.

This manor was the White Tiger Family's residence in Shrek. It allowed them to get in touch quickly in an emergency. Every family of any standing had a base here. You could have a poor relationship with Shrek Academy, but you couldn't cut off communication with it. If some major event happened and you had no way to get word, you'd be finished—cast out of Douluo Continent and left to perish. The other families certainly wouldn't help. The resources freed up when a family fell were far too tempting.

The only reason a large-scale war hadn't broken out was that Shrek Academy was keeping a lid on things. Even so, small skirmishes continued in secret. The fight Huo Yuhao had witnessed between two candidates was part of this larger conflict. Everyone was itching to act, but no one wanted to make the first move. The Sun Moon Empire was an obvious target for venting their frustrations, except that two empires bordered it. Would the other one really stay out of it?

Relations between nations were all about interests. These great families shared some blood ties, of course; ten thousand years had been plenty of time for intermarriage. But what did that matter? Family interests came first, and national interests were the combined will of these families. A few small sacrifices meant nothing. Or perhaps they simply didn't consider you human. Once you married out, you no longer counted as part of the family. There was always an excuse.

Shrek opposed war for its own benefit, too. Otherwise, why hadn't it intervened when the Heaven Dou Empire split apart or the Star Luo Empire fell into internal strife? The Sun Moon Empire's existence truly threatened Shrek Academy's standing. Its Soul Engineer training system was entirely different and didn't depend on Shrek at all. The top academies in the Three Great Empires all had ties to Shrek. Though Shrek didn't directly manage them, it had established their Soul Master training system and standards, so there was no need to worry about losing control.

Soul Engineers were different. Their standards had almost nothing in common with Shrek's, yet they could achieve comparable combat strength. They lagged behind in the very highest tier, but held a clear advantage in the middle ranks—not to mention the Soul Engineers' absolute dominance on the battlefield. In recent years, Soul Engineers had grown stronger in team competitions between Soul Masters, and their results had steadily improved. They could now go toe-to-toe with Shrek Academy—not win outright, but put up a real fight, and even gain a slight advantage in some areas.

That had given certain people ideas. Shrek was used to either sweeping through the competition or losing. Its absolute dominance was the foundation of its status. Anyone who threatened that was Shrek's enemy, and absolutely unforgivable. Shrek had gone from refusing to interfere in the continent's affairs to stepping in and disrupting the Sun Moon Empire's promising offensive. The decisive factor behind it all was the Soul Tool.

Shrek had no Soul Tools. That was its fatal weakness. During peacetime, both sides developed what the other had mastered. Shrek established a Soul Guidance Department, while the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Academy made Soul Master combat its top priority. The difference was that the Sun Moon Empire already had a foundation. No matter how much Soul Engineers relied on Soul Tools, they couldn't give up fighting altogether. What if they got separated from their Soul Tools? Shrek, on the other hand, had no foundation to speak of. Naturally, it couldn't catch up with the Sun Moon Empire quickly. And Shrek faced considerable resistance: the Martial Soul Department would never agree to shift substantial resources to the Soul Guidance Department. The Sun Moon Empire could bring the power of its entire nation to bear, while Shrek depended on funding from the Three Great Empires. That was also why those empires allowed Shrek to exist. Its complete dependence on their finances offered some assurance, but it also limited Shrek's ability to truly grow stronger.

Only this year had Shrek's leadership finally resolved to develop the Soul Guidance Department with all their might. And after all this time, could they catch up and overtake the Sun Moon Empire? No one knew. What was certain was that war would break out soon—it was right around the corner. Still, no one could say exactly when. One spark could set it off without warning; or things might remain calm. There were people on both sides who didn't want war, since their interests would suffer if fighting began. They would surely try to stop it. The question was how long they could hold it back. Or perhaps one person, or a small group, would exploit some seemingly minor incident to push things toward war. Who could say? Anything was possible.

But what Wang Yi and Tian Meng had discovered might really push the war forward. The White Tiger Family had ties to the Sun Moon Empire!

Calling them ties was putting it mildly. This was outright collusion and treason.

Wang Yi hadn't expected to uncover anything this serious. He'd only been investigating Dai Huabin's plan to assassinate Huo Yuhao after discovering him, then dispose of him in secret. How had this turned up?

Wang Yi and Tian Meng had crept in cautiously, still shaken by what had happened. They'd just been assured that nobody could see them, only to be exposed immediately. Tian Meng, already timid, had frozen in place. It wasn't his fault; it was in his nature. Fortunately, Wang Yi was shameless enough and steady enough to turn and run. Once they'd calmed down and thought it over, they realized there wasn't really anyone in this world who could kill them. What was there to fear? And yet, even though they could have walked through the front door, they'd climbed over the wall instead.

They hadn't caught them at a good time. They missed the meeting about how to kill Huo Yuhao, so all they could do was rummage through the documents in the rooms.

What they found was astonishing: the White Tiger Family had committed treason. They'd begun working with the Sun Moon Empire. The Nether Civet Family, practically one with the White Tiger Family, must have done the same. At first, it seemed hard to believe. But on reflection, it made perfect sense.

What had the White Tiger Family's standing been ten thousand years ago? They were the imperial family, while the Spirit Cat Family was the royal consort's clan. And now? They were merely a first-rate family. Who would be satisfied with that? Besides, how exactly had the White Tiger Family been dethroned?

The imperial family's forces had been badly weakened in a war. Then a relief force, composed entirely of one family's troops and still at full strength, had conveniently defeated the Sun Moon Empire and gone on to seize the throne. Did they think anyone was a child? What a far-fetched tale.

And so Wang Yi had the letter—or rather, the evidence—in his hands. The two sides would join forces to attack the Sun Moon Empire, while the Sun Moon Empire would help eliminate Huo Yuhao, the family traitor.

There was no need to ask why they'd left a letter behind. It was a guarantee for both sides. They had to divide up the responsibilities to get the job done. Besides, did they really think the Star Luo Imperial Family knew nothing? Treason like this was as obvious as the emperor's new clothes. They might not let everyone know, but the people at the very top were certainly aware.

So where was the obstacle? Right here. Why had the weakened White Tiger Family been allowed to survive? Wiping out the remnants of the previous dynasty should have been only natural. But the family had another distinction: their ancestor was one of the original Shrek Seven Devils and had ascended to godhood alongside Sea God Tang San. A god wasn't someone to be trifled with. Better to leave things as they were.

Now, though, things were different. The family had committed treason. Once they took an actual treasonous action, they could be eliminated as a matter of course. The only question was whether Shrek Academy knew—or, rather, whether they could say aloud that it knew.

What to do with this information was now a difficult problem. There was no issue with carrying out the assassination. Don't be fooled by how often Tian Meng was belittled: with Electrolux and Tian Meng together, their strength could stand against a god. Even if that old man from Shrek stepped in, the best outcome would be for them to take each other down. How this was handled would affect Huo Yuhao's development. That was the most important thing. Even if Huo Yuhao lived like a wild man in the forest, he could still become a top-tier powerhouse. Becoming a god, though, would be difficult.