The Stage Is Set

Steward Zhao was highly efficient. Less than two hours after Xu Tianming finished giving his instructions, word that Prince Yan's Palace was looking to recruit several new maidservants had spread throughout Mingdu.

However, Xu Tianming had not been idle either.

While Steward Zhao was out handling the matter, he took the opportunity to ask Dai Yueheng a few more questions.

After last night's experience, Dai Yueheng was much more obedient today. He answered nearly every question Xu Tianming asked.

From him, Xu Tianming learned that another teammate had come to Mingdu with him to carry out the mission. Her name was Ma Xiaotao, and her soul power was somewhat stronger than Dai Yueheng's. Her martial soul was the Evil Fire Phoenix, possessed of ultimate fire.

To be honest, Xu Tianming had nearly lost his composure when he heard that name.

Ma Xiaotao?

Wasn't she Huo Yuhao's older sister?

In his memories, Huo Yuhao from the original story had called Ma Xiaotao "Sister" at every turn. They had been incredibly close; anyone unaware of the truth might have thought they were actual siblings.

He had never expected her to be in Mingdu as well!

"Then there's an eighty or ninety percent chance that Ma Xiaotao was behind the disappearance of those maidservants. I wonder whether she'll do as I expect and use this chance to infiltrate the prince's palace and fish in troubled waters."

Xu Tianming very much hoped Ma Xiaotao would make that choice.

After all, he had already set the stage for her. If she refused to take the bait and step onstage, wouldn't that make things far less entertaining?

Still, he could not put all his eggs in one basket. Even though Xu Tianming was completely confident in this matter, he still needed to make another preparation in advance.

To be safe, he personally went to the Eastern Palace to meet his second brother, Xu Tianran.

"Fourth Brother? What brings you to me today? Have you run into some trouble?"

Xu Tianran was cold and ruthless toward outsiders, but he still retained a trace of tenderness deep down for family members he trusted.

"Second Brother, since you've already guessed it, I'll get straight to the point..."

Before coming, Xu Tianming had carefully considered what he would say. In brief, concise terms, he gave a simple account of Ma Xiaotao's situation and asked Xu Tianran to order tighter restrictions by the city guard on Mingdu, especially regarding the movements of high-level soul masters.

After hearing Xu Tianming out, Xu Tianran furrowed his brow slightly.

"Fourth Brother, there's clearly a simpler way to resolve this. Why must you make it so troublesome?"

The moment Xu Tianming heard Xu Tianran's tone, he had already guessed what he was thinking.

"Second Brother, do you mean to publicly use the captive in my hands as a hostage, forcing Ma Xiaotao to come out and walk into our trap?"

Xu Tianran was visibly stunned for a moment. Then, as though pleased that his pupil had learned well, he nodded.

"That's right. Don't you understand it already, Fourth Brother? If so, why insist on making things so complicated?"

Xu Tianming shook his head.

"I admit that method is simple and direct. One could even say that once we use it, there would basically be no chance of failure... But Second Brother, have you considered what the Sun Moon Empire's image would become if we really did that?"

"If we keep things within a certain scope, we can still hold the moral high ground. No matter how powerful Shrek Academy is, they can only sit down and reason with us. But if we openly make threats, we might provoke Shrek Academy into flipping the table on the Sun Moon Empire."

After Xu Tianming finished speaking, Xu Tianran remained silent for quite a while. Once he had digested those words, the look he gave his fourth brother became far more profound than before.

"Fourth Brother, you make sense. Your second brother did not think this through carefully enough. We truly do not yet have the qualifications to flip the table with Shrek Academy..."

As he spoke, Xu Tianran unconsciously tightened his grip on the armrest of his wheelchair. The force gradually increased, until the armrest, forged entirely from rare metal, began to creak beneath his fingers.

"Second Brother... what is this?"

"Sorry. I lost my composure for a moment... We'll proceed according to your plan, Fourth Brother. I will arrange for the Evil Lord Soul Engineer Corps to take over the city's defenses. We absolutely will not let Shrek's people leave easily."

Xu Tianming could not help but feel shocked by Xu Tianran's answer.

The Sun Moon Empire possessed four beast-king-class soul engineer corps, along with the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Corps directly commanded by the emperor. Together, these five soul engineer legions were known as the Hand of Protecting the Nation.

The Evil Lord Soul Engineer Corps was one of the four beast-king-class soul engineer corps.

It had an establishment of three hundred members, and the minimum requirement for joining was soul power above Rank 40. Its commander, Mad Bull Douluo Wang Yiheng, was also one of the few Class 9 soul engineers in the Sun Moon Empire.

Any one of the Sun Moon Empire's five ace soul engineer legions could destroy a small nation on its own.

Yet they were deploying such a terrifying ace soul engineer corps merely to deal with Ma Xiaotao, who currently possessed only five rings of strength. Wasn't that overkill?

Seeing the confusion in Xu Tianming's eyes, Xu Tianran, whose composure had returned, smiled once more.

"Fourth Brother, let your second brother teach you something today. Never underestimate any enemy, especially people from Shrek Academy. Even a lion gives its all when hunting a rabbit. Since we are planning ahead, naturally we must ensure that nothing can go wrong!"

Xu Tianming thought it over carefully and realized that it really was true.

Previously, he had only considered how to catch Ma Xiaotao like a turtle in a jar. He had not considered whether she might have even stronger helpers at her side.

Although the intelligence Dai Yueheng had provided was probably genuine, circumstances were constantly changing. Using intelligence from several days ago to plan for events several days later had always been somewhat unreliable.

"Thank you for your guidance, Second Brother. Tianming has learned from it."

"We are brothers. Why be so formal? If anyone should be giving thanks, it is your second brother who should thank you, Fourth Brother!"

"Thank me? Why do you say that, Second Brother?"

Xu Tianran did not answer that question immediately. Instead, he posed another one.

"Fourth Brother, do you know how long it has been since the Sun Moon Empire produced a Super Douluo?"

"Perhaps... several hundred years?"

Hearing Xu Tianming's casual guess, Xu Tianran sighed.

"Yes. Restricted by both talent and resources, the Sun Moon Empire has not produced a Super Douluo-level soul master for several hundred years. If our forebears had not found another path and developed soul tools to their fullest, the Sun Moon Empire would likely have been swallowed up long ago by the other three nations working together."

By this point, Xu Tianming had roughly guessed what Xu Tianran wanted to say next.

"I understand. Don't worry, Second Brother. I will work hard to grow stronger. One day, I will become the backbone of the Sun Moon Empire and make everyone on the continent never dare look down on us again!"