Soul Master Tournament

"Ha ha ha! Shrek Academy really is a bunch of idiots!"

Xu Feng arrived in the Star Luo Empire ahead of schedule with the reserve team, preparing for the upcoming Soul Master Tournament. Who would have thought that, after losing Huo Yuhao, Shrek Academy's casualties this time would be even worse than before?

Only three main team members survived, and all of them were severely injured. Every reserve member was wounded as well, and one had even died. Moreover, according to the intelligence his subordinates had gathered, their strongest Spirit King, the Death Envoy, had escaped alive.

If Xuan Zi was not a complete mole, then he was utterly useless. He had actually let a Spirit King slaughter so many people and still escape. The Death Envoy's status within the Holy Spirit Cult would rise dramatically after this.

Shrek Academy's injuries not only made the Sun Moon Team burst into laughter, but also allowed the Star Luo Empire and the other empires to breathe a sigh of relief.

After all, they all knew that if Xu Feng lost, he would absolutely find an excuse to start a war. They still had no way to face the Sun Moon Empire's invasion. The likely outcome would be defeat anyway, but they at least needed to secure enough value from it.

Thus, they had collectively assumed that they would certainly lose to the Sun Moon Team this time. Yet there was one exception in their plans.

That was Shrek Academy. They had neither emotional intelligence nor actual intelligence, and they were used to doing whatever they pleased. If this problem was not resolved, then they would have to deal with the coming war instead.

However, Shrek Academy had actually managed to get its own team killed off. No one had expected that, but they deserved it. Shrek Academy claimed every day that it was merely an academy, yet casually interfered in the internal affairs of their nations.

And there was that war years ago. Several empires could not even use Shrek Academy graduates. They had given them status, wealth, and everything else, yet after accepting it all, those graduates bore no responsibility whatsoever. So long as Shrek Academy did not tell them to act, they could watch the flames of war sweep all the way to their doorsteps.

It could be said that among the four great empires of Douluo Continent, not one wished for it to survive. Before this, however, the Sea God Pavilion's existence had prevented them from doing anything. But now, things had clearly taken a turn.

Inside the Star Luo Empire's royal palace

"Sorry, but I need you to receive Xu Feng, Jiujiu."

Xu Jiawei did not want to send his beloved younger sister either, but he had no choice. His daughter was still too young. For the Star Crown Sect to continue, someone had to go, and Xu Jiujiu naturally became the most suitable choice.

"I do not really mind, but will this method truly work?"

Xu Jiujiu had long known that, as royalty, she had no say in her own marriage. Being used as a tool for political marriage was, in a sense, every princess's fate.

But did Xu Feng really lack women? Although she was extremely confident in her appearance, there were simply too many women around him.

On the surface, there was only Meng Hongchen, the crown princess consort. Yet there was also the maid Jiang Nannan, while Huo Yutong and Wang Dong'er in his team clearly liked him as well. That was already four women.

"Uh, as the saying goes, a harem has three thousand beauties. Although I have never seen anyone with a harem of three thousand, four is not that many."

Xu Jiawei felt that number was rather low. His own harem currently had ten women. The current emperor of the Sun Moon Empire, Xu Feng's father, had more than twenty, while the other two emperors each had at least ten. By comparison, Xu Feng was actually the relatively pure-hearted type.

"I feel like he pursues quality. Meng Hongchen, Jiang Nannan, Huo Yutong, Wang Dong'er—any one of them could crush all of yours."

Xu Jiujiu immediately guessed the main reason Xu Feng had so few women in his harem. His personal strength was too high, so he had no need to consider the influence of other clans.

That was why no one had been forcibly pushed onto him. The ones who remained were all high-quality women he liked himself.

The Heaven Dou Empire shared the Star Luo Empire's thoughts. Though it had not participated in the Soul Master Tournament for years, it had specially brought a team this time, led by Princess Weina. What it was plotting was obvious to everyone.

Sun Moon Team lounge

"Brother Feng, um... I've reached level twenty."

Huo Yutong excitedly came to find Xu Feng. Despite eating so many good things, she had still taken this long to reach level twenty. She remained the member with the lowest Soul Power in the team, which made her feel rather upset.

"Then I'll take you to hunt a soul beast. The Star Dou Great Forest is not far from here."

Xu Feng rubbed Huo Yutong's head. Indeed, compared with the original Huo Yuhao, Yu Tong's cultivation speed was more than twice as slow.

After Huo Yutong joined the Sun Moon Empire, the first thing she underwent was the restoration of her meridians. The Sun Moon Empire originated from Soul Tools, and the pills it produced all had side effects, making them unusable.

As a result, restoring Huo Yutong's meridians was especially slow, which in turn made her Soul Power cultivation relatively slow as well.

There was also a problem with her cheats. The original Huo Yuhao had first tempered himself to the limit, then relied on the Mysterious Heaven Skill, the Mystic Water Pill, and the Ice Empress's Spirit Bone to forcibly fuse them, fully entering the state expected of a child of fate.

But Huo Yutong now had no Mysterious Heaven Skill. Although she had also taken the Mystic Water Pill, its effects were far less apparent, and the restoration process focused on gentleness.

After all, anyone with eyes could see that Xu Feng doted on her greatly, and that the emperor and empress liked her as well. Huo Yutong's status in the Sun Moon Empire was already equivalent to that of a future secondary consort.

Any slightly more aggressive treatment plan would be rejected outright. That was why her recovery was so slow. Furthermore, Huo Yutong no longer had the two cheats, Sky Dream Ice Silkworm and Elder Yi.

Although having Kong Deming as her teacher somewhat made up for it, in essence, she had completely diverged from the original Huo Yuhao.

"Sorry for the trouble. I'm leaving Wang Yiheng and the others' safety in your hands."

Xu Feng made a simple arrangement for Wang Yiheng, leaving him behind to protect everyone else, before setting out for the Star Dou Great Forest with Huo Yutong.

Moreover, this trip's main objective was not merely Yu Tong's Spirit Ring. Another important reason was to use the child of fate to successfully lure out the Imperial Auspicious Beast.

Di Tian really was something else. It was not as though Xu Feng would do anything to the Auspicious Beast; even Di Tian's lord was already his.

Yet Di Tian had hidden the Auspicious Beast so thoroughly that Xu Feng could not even see her. He was truly stingy. This time, using fate's guidance, there was a high chance Xu Feng would finally meet the Auspicious Beast he had been longing for.