The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's destruction! The Sun Moon Sect recruits disciples far and wide! Preparing for war!

"What is this?"

Emperor Xue Ye looked puzzled.

Li Chen stepped forward with a cold sneer. "This is a death warrior secretly trained by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. On Ning Fengzhi's orders, he took a Thunder Hand Cannon to Spirit City, intending to expose the cooperation between our Sun Moon Sect and Your Majesty and get Spirit Hall to strike a killing blow against us!"

"What?!"

Emperor Xue Ye was shocked and furious.

If Emperor Xue Ye could still stand apart as an impartial judge in the earlier burning of the Sun Moon Sect's warehouse,

then,

this death warrior's attempt to expose the Thunder Hand Cannon had now implicated him-and the entire Heaven Dou Empire!

After all,

the Heaven Dou Empire's possession of the Sun Moon Sect's Thunder Hand Cannons was covered by an exclusive confidentiality agreement. If Ning Fengzhi exposed it, there was no telling whether Spirit Hall would launch a war outright!

"Ning Fengzhi, did you really do this?"

Panic appeared on Ning Fengzhi's face. "This... Your Majesty, this is all... all nonsense from Li Chen and Huo Yuhao!"

"Nonsense?"

Li Chen nudged the death warrior on the floor with his foot.

The Sun Moon Divine Needle had pierced the death warrior's cerebellum, leaving his head as the only part of his body he could move.

When Li Chen kicked him, he shook his head desperately. He was a death warrior of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, after all. No matter what happened, he would never implicate his sect master.

Seeing this,

Ning Fengzhi finally felt his heart settle a little.

Li Chen stepped forward. "Your Majesty, I have a soul skill called Necromancy, which can search a person's soul and uncover their memories. Let me search this death warrior's soul, and we'll know whether this is nonsense!"

Emperor Xue Ye stared at Li Chen in shock.

Ning Fengzhi and Bone Douluo also stared at Li Chen in shock.

What the hell? Searching souls and digging out memories?

That damned soul skill hardly seemed like something a respectable soul master would use.

"Very well. Then... give it a try."

Emperor Xue Ye nodded. This was no time to quibble over such things.

Li Chen stepped forward, gray energy surging from his hand as he clamped it onto the death warrior's head!

"Aaaah!"

The death warrior let out a piercing scream as Thought Manifestation unfolded above his head!

"Everyone, whether our great undertaking succeeds will depend on your performance..."

An image appeared of Ning Fengzhi issuing orders in the Castle's Secret Chamber, accompanied by his voice.

Next came scenes of the death warrior traveling with his group, racing toward Spirit City through the night.

Li Chen released his hand without showing the scene involving Ye Yulin's Sun Moon Divine Needle.

Once it was over,

the death warrior foamed at the mouth, the corners of his lips twitching.

He had clearly endured tremendous agony.

Li Chen and Huo Yuhao turned toward Ning Fengzhi. "Sect Master Ning, what do you and Bone Douluo have left to say?!"

Emperor Xue Ye's face was livid as he, too, looked at Ning Fengzhi.

"This... this..."

Ning Fengzhi struggled for words. "It's fake! Your Majesty, Li Chen must have fabricated it! Who... who knows whether his soul skill can actually reveal memories clearly!"

Bone Douluo Gu Rong was also breaking out in a cold sweat.

No wonder.

No wonder he had felt so uneasy these past few days. He had never expected their plan to be exposed almost as soon as it began!

At that moment,

enormous doubts surged through Ning Fengzhi's mind. How could this be?!

His death warriors' plan had been so meticulous. How had they been caught so quickly?

Could it be

that there was a mole in his Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?

At that thought, Ning Fengzhi immediately remembered Sword Douluo Chen Xin. Only he, Uncle Gu, and Uncle Jian knew about this plan. Uncle Jian had been absent for so long now-could he have already sold them out?!

"Fabricated?"

Li Chen scoffed, then suddenly pressed a hand against the top of his own head!

Necromancy activated,

and Li Chen's own memories manifested as well!

They showed his initial discussion with Emperor Xue Ye about the Thunder Hand Cannons.

Ning Fengzhi watched it all with wide eyes.

Li Chen withdrew his Necromancy. "Well? Sect Master Ning, didn't you say I fabricated it? Would you like me to search your soul right now and see whether your memories match this death warrior's?"

Emperor Xue Ye narrowed his eyes and looked at the two men.

"Fengzhi, Bone Douluo, what else do you have to say?"

Ning Fengzhi panted heavily, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

The entire hall fell silent, like a powder keg on the verge of exploding.

Just then,

a guard suddenly entered from outside to report.

"Your Majesty, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's forces are gathering to attack Heaven Dou City! The City Defense Army has already engaged them!"

Emperor Xue Ye turned toward Ning Fengzhi in shock.

"Is your Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect planning to rebel?!"

The Top Three Sects enjoyed an exalted status, and the Heaven Dou Empire had always honored them as retainers. But Emperor Xue Ye would never allow an open attack on the imperial capital!

Hearing this news, Ning Fengzhi was so frightened that he began gasping even harder.

Beside him,

Bone Douluo saw that the situation had turned dire. He grabbed Ning Fengzhi and smashed through the door to escape!

At that very moment,

Kong Deming's Silver Bowl descended upside down, trapping them both.

Nearby, Ji Juechen and Jing Hongchen hovered in midair. Three Titled Douluos surrounded Bone Douluo!

"Trying to run? From the moment you stepped into this hall, escape was no longer an option!"

Kong Deming spoke coldly.

Ning Fengzhi's vicious scheme had given both him and Jing Hongchen quite a fright.

He had meant to force their Sun Moon Sect into an early war with Spirit Hall!

"You!"

Ning Fengzhi's face twisted. "Uncle Gu, hurry! Use Spatial Traversal to escape!"

Bone Douluo Gu Rong gritted his teeth and shook his head. "I can't, Fengzhi. The space within this old fellow's Silver Barrier is strange. His mastery of spatial attributes far surpasses mine. I'm afraid we've fallen into a trap this time!"

Emperor Xue Ye's hands shook with rage. "I ask the three elders of the Sun Moon Sect and our retainer, Poison Douluo, to make certain these two traitors are captured!"

"Furthermore, convey my decree: destroy the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect at once!"

As his words fell,

Dugu Bo instantly joined the battle.

Four Titled Douluos besieged Bone Douluo alone. Even with Ning Fengzhi desperately supporting and strengthening him from the sidelines, Ji Juechen soon grievously wounded Bone Douluo with a single sword strike!

Outside Heaven Dou City,

large numbers of the City Defense Army quickly assembled. With Meng Hongchen and Xiao Hongchen of the Sun Moon Sect joining them, they immediately launched a counterattack against the assembled forces of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect!

Before long,

Ji Juechen beheaded Bone Douluo with a single stroke, ending both his life and his cultivation!

Ning Fengzhi was also gravely wounded.

He clutched his chest, blood spilling from his mouth, his eyes filled with despair.

"How could this happen?! How could this happen!"

"Uncle Jian! Uncle Jian, where are you? Our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is about to perish!"

Ning Fengzhi threw back his head and wailed.

Li Chen approached, bent down, and whispered softly in his ear:

"Sect Master Ning, your Uncle Jian has already gone on ahead of you. There's no need to worry about him."

"Oh, right. We burned down the Sun Moon Sect's warehouse ourselves, just to delay delivery to Emperor Xue Ye."

Ning Fengzhi's eyes widened. He opened his mouth to say something, only for Li Chen to seize him by the throat.

Ning Fengzhi grabbed Li Chen's hand with both of his, struggling to pry it loose, but he could not break free.

"Ning Fengzhi, you've committed every wicked deed imaginable. Today, our Sun Moon Sect will carry out justice on Heaven's behalf!"

Li Chen twisted his right hand hard. Ning Fengzhi's neck snapped, and he died on the spot!

Li Chen released him, and Ning Fengzhi's corpse fell to the floor, its eyes still wide open.

Emperor Xue Ye stepped forward with a cold snort. "Well done, retainers of the Sun Moon Sect! I shall award your sect half the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's assets as a reward and compensation. The empire will continue to need your assistance!"

Kong Deming and the other three laughed, cupping their fists in thanks to Emperor Xue Ye.

Li Chen and Huo Yuhao exchanged a glance and sneered.

Nearby, Qian Renxue, disguised as Xue Qinghe, stepped forward to confirm that Ning Fengzhi and Bone Douluo were truly dead. She, too, could not help laughing inwardly with delight.

In the entire hall,

Emperor Xue Ye was actually the only person on the Heaven Dou Empire's side. Every damned one of the others was an undercover agent.

Li Chen and his companions soon left Heaven Dou City.

Huo Yuhao asked:

"Li Chen, I never expected the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to fall so quickly. What do we do next?"

Li Chen looked up at the sky. Night was nearing its end, and a streak of fish-belly white had risen along the horizon.

"Recruit. Starting today, our Sun Moon Sect will take the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's place. We'll recruit disciples far and wide and train an army!"

Li Chen had already decided.

They needed to immediately train a corps of modern Political Cadres equipped with enlightened ideas.

They would spread the conviction that kings, nobles, generals, and ministers were not born a breed apart. They would stir the continent's people into hatred of the Three Great Empires' nobility at the very roots, thereby undermining those people's will to resist.

And by then,

the Sun Moon Sect would have almost finished gathering its resources. That would be the day they launched the war to unify the continent!