"Sect Master Ning, since you knew so much, why didn't you give us a heads-up sooner? Why wait until today to tell us?"
"Before Spirit Hall bared its fangs, would you have believed me if I'd told you? You probably would have thought I was plotting something." Ning Fengzhi rolled his eyes at Prince Dai Zhao of the Star Luo Empire and replied irritably.
The people in the private room were none other than the representatives of the Four Great Powers who had left Spirit City.
Ning Fengzhi, sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, and Sword Douluo Chen Xin.
Yu Yuanzhen, head of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and the clan's sole remaining Titled Douluo.
Prince Xue Xing of the Heaven Dou Empire, Prince Dai Zhao of the Star Luo Empire, and the Soul Douluo bodyguards each prince had brought.
Prince Xue Xing sighed and waved a hand. "Stop arguing about that. What matters most now is figuring out how to deal with Spirit Hall. That madwoman Bibi Dong has already laid her cards on the table. Who knows when she'll make her move? Have you forgotten the commotion that Ninth Elder caused when he used his Soul Skill today? Could you stop him?"
At those words, everyone fell silent.
Indeed, who could stop that monster?
He used skills like basic attacks, and even a casual strike packed as much power as a Titled Douluo's ultimate move.
And who could withstand that terrifying pressure, which could rob even a Super Douluo of the ability to fight? They certainly couldn't.
Prince Dai Zhao said, "We can form a defensive alliance. If Spirit Hall strikes first, we'll resist together. With our armies' numerical advantage, we may well be able to hold them off. If Spirit Hall causes too many casualties, its reputation will suffer as well. If they want to unify the continent, they absolutely cannot afford to ignore public opinion."
"Our forces are all so far apart that even a defensive alliance wouldn't be much use. With so many powerful Titled Douluo, they could easily pick us off one by one through decapitation strikes."
Yu Yuanzhen's face was clouded with worry, his brows tightly furrowed. After all, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was the weakest of their forces.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had two powerful Super Douluo, one specializing in offense and the other in defense. Combined with the support abilities of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, their strength was terrifying.
Although the two empires had no powerful Titled Douluo, each possessed an army numbering over a million.
Their Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, however, had only around two thousand people, even counting the elderly, the weak, women, and children. Although most were Soul Masters, they were low-ranked, with limited combat strength.
"Then what do we do? Strike first?" Prince Xue Xing asked, raising an eyebrow.
"They've only given us a verbal warning, and we're supposed to go straight to war? That would only put us at a moral disadvantage and cost us all public support." Ning Fengzhi shook his head, analyzing the situation calmly.
"This won't work, that won't work-then what do you suggest? Sect Master Ning, surely you're the wisest person here? Hurry up and think of something," Prince Xue Xing said helplessly.
At those words that put him on a pedestal, a concealed flicker of disgust passed through Ning Fengzhi's eyes. Outwardly, however, he betrayed nothing and merely said lightly, "You jest, Prince Xue Xing. In terms of wisdom, we're all six of one and half a dozen of the other. If none of you can come up with a good idea, what solution could I possibly have?"
"So no one has a solution? Then we can only go back to our own homes and our own mothers. Let's head home and prepare for war." Seeing that even Ning Fengzhi had no answer, Prince Xue Xing leaned back, looking as though he had given up thinking altogether.
Ning Fengzhi and Prince Dai Zhao showed little reaction to his attitude, but Yu Yuanzhen of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan grew anxious.
"Easy for you to say! Your Martial Souls pose little threat to Spirit Hall. Even if you lose, your families might still survive. But our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's Martial Soul is known as the number one beast Martial Soul under heaven. If we lose, we'll definitely be purged. We might not even be able to preserve our clan's legacy!" Yu Yuanzhen slammed his fist angrily on the table, a trace of killing intent even entering his gaze as he looked at Prince Xue Xing.
If this man caused them to disperse and fight alone, he would kill him on the road first and send him on his final journey ahead of everyone else!
Sensing Yu Yuanzhen's killing intent, Prince Xue Xing's heart jolted. He no longer dared to give up and hurriedly sat upright, smiling awkwardly. "Let's keep thinking of a solution. After all, we're grasshoppers tied to the same rope right now, haha..."
Just then, Ning Fengzhi felt the special Soul Tool inside his robes vibrate. Stirred by a thought, he quickly took it out and channeled Soul Power into it.
Moments later, a knock sounded at the door.
Having already confirmed the visitor's identity through the Soul Tool in his hand, Ning Fengzhi said, "Come in."
As his words fell, a very ordinary-looking middle-aged man in plain clothes pushed the door open under everyone's curious gazes. He walked straight to Ning Fengzhi and respectfully handed him a sheet of paper.
"Sect master, this is all we could find."
"Mm. You may leave."
"Yes."
With that, the man left the room and gently closed the door behind him.
Everyone exchanged glances, seeing curiosity reflected in one another's eyes.
"Sect Master Ning, what is this?" Yu Yuanzhen asked eagerly, as though he had guessed something.
"Hehe, this is some information our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect gathered on Liu Hao."
"Oh?"
At that, everyone immediately perked up.
After all, this Ninth Elder had appeared far too abruptly. Finding information about him was no easy task.
"Huh? Sect Master Ning, why is this just a string of incomprehensible characters?" Yu Yuanzhen, the most impatient of them, leaned over, only to discover that he could not understand the letter's contents at all.
"Hehe, it's our sect's private cipher. I'll translate it," Ning Fengzhi said with a smile.
"Liu Hao, twelve years old, rank ninety-nine Limit Douluo. Appeared out of thin air three days ago and asked to join Spirit Hall. His reason for joining was reportedly to pursue Bibi Dong's disciple, Hu Liena. There is an eleven-year-old Soul Grandmaster at Spirit Hall Academy named Liu Yao, who is suspected to be related to Liu Hao by blood."
As his words fell, shock flashed through everyone's eyes.
Clearly, they all found the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's intelligence-gathering capabilities unbelievable.
They had managed to dig up such private information about a terrifying expert like Liu Hao. What about information on the rest of them?
Wouldn't every last detail have been laid bare?
"If Liu Hao joined Spirit Hall because of Hu Liena, doesn't that mean we can work from that angle?" After hearing the report, Yu Yuanzhen felt he had seized upon a crucial breakthrough and grew immensely excited.
"Do you know Hu Liena? How are we supposed to approach this through her?" Prince Xue Xing asked in confusion.
Yu Yuanzhen rolled his eyes at him. "His pursuit of Hu Liena clearly shows that Liu Hao is interested in beautiful women. We can absolutely use a beauty trap and try to draw Liu Hao over to our side."
"So that's it. I didn't expect you to be quite so clever." Prince Xue Xing suddenly understood. "A beauty trap should be easy enough. With the vast territories of our two empires, surely we can find a girl prettier than Hu Liena?"
Yu Yuanzhen glanced at him as though looking at an idiot. "Is it really that simple? Hu Liena isn't merely beautiful. As the personal disciple of Spirit Hall's Supreme Pontiff, which of her qualities isn't top-tier-her looks, bearing, talent, cultivation, and everything else?"
Before you continue