The gilded dome reflected the dazzling glow of the crystal chandelier, radiating luxury and majesty. Yet besides Qiangu Dongfeng, the master of the Spirit Pagoda, another chilling figure stood in the room. Had any other Titled Douluo of the Sun Moon Federation been present, they would have been utterly astonished.
Clad in a black cloak, with nothing beneath it but what seemed to be a mass of black mist and a pair of eyes like green ghostfire, he was none other than the Ghost Emperor-the Federation's most wanted fugitive, the notorious public leader of the Holy Spirit Cult, an Evil Soul Master whose cultivation had reached Quasi-God.
Yet Qiangu Dongfeng, the master of the Spirit Pagoda, showed little surprise at his arrival. Instead, they seemed like old acquaintances.
"Heh, heh." The Ghost Emperor chuckled without elaborating.
The talent he spoke of was not the same talent Qiangu Dongfeng meant.
The energy entwined around Xu Qingjia's ink-black chains looked remarkably similar to the energy contained within a friend's Martial Soul.
"I believe this boy might be very well suited to becoming our Holy Cult's Holy Son."
"Oh?" Qiangu Dongfeng shook his head. "The Xu Family of today is not Xu Tianran's family from ten thousand years ago."
"Besides, if we want our upcoming plan to proceed smoothly, we absolutely cannot come into conflict with the Shen and Xu Families."
Their earth-shaking plan-to bombard Shrek City with Class 12 God-Slaying Fixed Soul Cannon Shells.
More precisely, to bombard Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect headquarters.
The Holy Spirit Cult and the Spirit Pagoda had plenty of enemies, but those two were the most loathsome. They were just too damned obnoxious. Both sides also had their own agendas.
Qiangu Dongfeng walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and gazed down over Shrek City. He enjoyed standing high above everything, with all other mountains dwarfed beneath his gaze. "My Qiangu Family has enough resources to cover your people's entry into the city. But if we want to complete the most crucial step of the plan-obtaining the God-Slaying Fixed Soul Cannon Shells-we should not provoke any unnecessary enemies at a time like this."
"The Shen and Xu Families are powerful, and their connections are even more extensive. They cannot directly requisition the God-Slaying Fixed Soul Cannon Shells, but if they do not want anyone else taking them, then no one will."
Unless they seized them by force.
But then again, if the Holy Spirit Cult could simply discover their location, storm the place holding the Federation's most closely guarded secrets, and steal the God-Slaying Fixed Soul Cannon Shells, why would they need to live like rats in a sewer?
Was it because they disliked sunlight?
"I naturally know what takes priority," the Ghost Emperor said.
Adding another powerhouse like Ha Luosa to the Holy Cult would certainly be good. But compared with their grand plan to attain godhood, that would have to take a back seat.
Bombarding Shrek City was naturally about more than merely eliminating Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect. More precisely, those two targets were what Qiangu Dongfeng wanted.
What their Holy Spirit Cult needed more was the city's population-over ten million residents.
They needed a terrifying number of souls to set up the Heaven-Deceiving Grand Formation, evade the suppression of the Douluo Plane's laws, and take that final step toward godhood.
This was their Holy Cult's most closely guarded secret.
Foolish Qiangu Dongfeng.
Once he became a god, everything, including the Spirit Pagoda, would belong to the Holy Cult.
The Ghost Emperor left.
At this stage of the plan, it was not yet time for them to take the stage. They would be the final executors-and the scapegoats.
Qiangu Dongfeng, meanwhile, would have to get the shells and their people into the city when the time came. For now, he also had to work behind the scenes, pulling strings on multiple fronts to persuade people within the Federation.
Qiangu Dongfeng stood alone before the window, gazing at the bustling, prosperous Shrek City. Fierce hatred and ambition erupted in his eyes. "Yun Ming, this time, I will leave you dead without a place to be buried!"
Taking control of the Federation would begin with eliminating those two eyesores, Shrek and the Tang Sect.
Qiangu Dongfeng had ambitions of his own.
Ambitions as vast as the heavens.
He wanted to emulate the Spirit Hall of twenty thousand years ago, using the power of a single organization to control the entire Federation.
He, too, could command all the Soul Masters under heaven.
In his eyes, the Spirit Pagoda was fully capable of this-and ought to be.
After all, with land-dwelling Soul Beasts nearly extinct, almost every Soul Master now used the Spirit Pagoda's Soul Spirits. Given the Spirit Pagoda's monopoly over Soul Spirits, he ought to hold such a position.
Yet in reality, he could not even bring the Spirit Pagoda completely under his control.
That was because no Soul Master faction in the world would ever allow any organization to establish a monopoly over Soul Spirits-unless it was their own.
Anyone who dared do such a thing would make an enemy of the entire world.
They might drag their feet when it came to cracking down on the Holy Spirit Cult, but against someone encroaching on their own interests, they had to strike hard immediately, right away, this very instant!
Don't ask. If anyone did, the answer was that the other party was secretly colluding with the Holy Spirit Cult. Everyone hated evil with a burning passion; personal interests had absolutely nothing to do with it.
Meanwhile, Xu Qingjia was Punching Mingdu Nursing Home with his two girls.
Ink-black chains hurtled forward like giant pythons, while a brilliant point of silver light surged unstoppably like a roaming dragon bursting from the sea. Starlight glittered amid the interweaving sword flashes.
Yet when all of it struck the protective Soul Power of the old man before them, it failed to stir even the slightest ripple.
"Good, very good, excellent!" Elder Shen clapped his hands and laughed, his eyes full of gratification.
Especially when it came to his eldest grandson and his honorary granddaughter.
Xu Qingjia's Spiritual Power of over 3,600 had truly given him a tremendous surprise.
At his rate of growth, he would likely reach the threshold of Spirit Abyss within two or three years.
And then there was this honorary granddaughter of mysterious origins.
After hearing what Xi had told him back then, he had mobilized considerable resources to investigate the other two continents, yet still found nothing.
She had displayed spear intent shortly after her Martial Soul Awakening, and now her Spiritual Power had reached an astonishing level of nearly 2,000. At times, it made one wonder whether the girl had a spiritual-type Martial Soul or a tool Martial Soul. Her rank 26 Soul Power far surpassed her peers. He truly had no idea what brilliant fool had sent such an unparalleled genius their way.
Ye Xinglan was outstanding as well. Her rank 23 Soul Power and Spirit Sea Realm Spiritual Power far exceeded those of her peers. That unusual spiritual cultivation technique was indeed effective, but turning the technique and her own talent into strength still required considerable sweat and effort.
Still, sometimes the gap between geniuses was no smaller than the gap between an ordinary person and a genius.
On a test worth a hundred points, some scored a hundred because that was all the test offered, while others scored a hundred because that was the limit of their abilities.
Xu Qingjia and Na'er undoubtedly belonged to the former group.
The three generations of the family spent some time together, chatting about everyday matters.
As for the matter involving Cai Yue'er, adult affairs...
Would be handled by adults.
Xu Qingjia did not ask much about it. He was waiting to enjoy the show. The Book of Life and Death had already recorded Cai Yue'er within it, so whenever he wished, he could learn her whereabouts at any time. That would make it easier to eliminate any hidden danger without missing the best opportunity.
As for a reward for bringing honor to the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy...
Xu Qingjia did not need one. At present, only high-quality Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones and Immortal Herbs could catch his eye. His family already had everything else, such as hundred-year or thousand-year spiritual treasures, rare metals, and powerful Soul Tools. Besides, his family already owned a share of the academy. Why take something out of his left pocket only to put it into his right?
It was growing late.
Xu Qingjia and the others prepared to head home.
"Mom, you all go on ahead," Xu Qingjia suddenly said. "There's something about cultivation I still want to ask Grandpa."
Shen Xi smiled knowingly and asked no further questions, leaving with the puzzled Na'er and Ye Xinglan.
Elder Shen looked at his eldest grandson.
"Grandpa," Xu Qingjia said mysteriously, like a charlatan, "do you want to live forever?"
"I have a connection in the Netherworld. Low risk, high returns."