Inside the Star Luo Empire palace, the current emperor Xu Jiawei, and the eldest princess Xu Jiujiu, were having a conversation.
Xu Jiawei said, " Jiujiu, how's the information we're gathering on Shrek? There's definitely something fishy about the Shrek Team."
Xu Jiujiu took out the information and handed it to Xu Jiawei: "Big brother, we've found it. Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao are all new Shrek Academy, meaning they're only twelve and a half years old. As for Xu Sanshi, Bei Bei, Jiang Nannan, He Caitou, they are all third- and fourth-year students, not inner court students."
Xu Jiawei asked, his face full of doubt, "What exactly is Shrek trying to do? Do they really intend to send some thirteen or fourteen-year-old kids to decide the outcome? Don't they care about winning this Soul Master Tournament?"
"For thousands of years, their championship title has never been relinquished. If they were to lose to us and the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, it would be a disgrace to their academy's history."
"Moreover, given Shrek's situation, their inner court definitely has a large number of geniuses. For example, isn't Dai Yueheng, the son of White Tiger Duke, a famous genius? He should have the cultivation level of Soul King or even Soul Emperor."
Xu Jiujiu nodded. "I also find this strange. We can confirm that Dai Yueheng did come to Star Luo City, and we also found out that he is in the Shrek team, but we don't know why he didn't appear. Perhaps the Shrek Team has other plans."
"However, four matches have already been played, and all the Shrek Academy players are outer court disciples. I suspect something's wrong within their ranks, otherwise they wouldn't have given up such an honor so easily."
Xu Jiawei remained silent for a moment before speaking, " Shrek definitely has a trump card. They would never give up the championship so easily. They are probably doing this to cultivate young talents. I'm afraid that when the crucial moment comes, Dai Yueheng and the others will still step in."
"No matter what, even if we can't win the championship, we can't let the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy win it. Recently, the Sun Moon Empire has become increasingly restless, and war seems imminent. Our Douluo Continent cannot lose its momentum."
"By the way, how's the investigation into the Sun Moon Team going?"
Xu Zhengyang Xu Jiujiu his head. " The Sun Moon Team has also played four matches, and won them all. However, the team members have not changed. It has always been two substitutes and five main players. Moreover, apart from the Soul Ancestor Soul Ring, only the captain Ma Rulong has never played a match among the main players. The other four substitutes have also not played."
"Judging from the Sun Moon Team's performance in the battles, they were basically dominating, ending the fights within three minutes. However, I noticed that Xu Zhengyang seems to be their only Control Department Soul Master, and his combat instincts are excellent."
"As for the substitute, Xiao Hongchen, he is indeed incredibly talented and extremely strong. Moreover, he cultivates both Martial Soul and Soul Tool Department, and will definitely be a formidable enemy for us in the future."
Xu Jiawei pondered, "That's strange. It's just a round-robin tournament now, so one win or loss isn't that important. All the teams are hiding their true strength. It's impossible for the Sun Moon Team to only be hiding their captain. Could this Ma Rulong really be Soul Emperor?"
"It seems the Sun Moon Team really wants to cultivate Xiao Hongchen and Xu Zhengyang. Xiao Hongchen is already Soul King at such a young age, and his combat power is extremely outstanding. He will probably be the successor of the Illustrious Virtue Hall in the future. Although Xu Zhengyang's Martial Soul is not the Sun, if I'm not mistaken, he should come from the Xu family of the Sun Moon Imperial Family Xu Clan. Otherwise, the Sun Moon Team would not only use these two substitutes. It is obvious that they are giving them an opportunity to gain experience."
The Soul Master Tournament has gone through four rounds, and basically all the teams have shown their strength. The Sun Moon Team and the Shrek Team can be said to be two extremes. The Shrek Team consists entirely of young people and does not have a single Soul King. The Sun Moon Team is the opposite. Except for one Soul Ancestor, all the members are Soul King.
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, both teams should at least make it to the quarterfinals, and perhaps even the semifinals. They'll probably only reveal their true strength then.
Xu Jiawei seemed to have thought of something, "By the way, Jiujiu, how's our plan going?"
Xu Jiujiu said, "It's already begun. They're gradually releasing information, and if nothing unexpected happens, it'll fetch an astronomical price. Moreover, according to our observations, several major empires have experts in Star Luo City, and even several major sects—"
There were also quite a few people in Star Luo City, after all, the Soul Master Tournament showcased all the geniuses of the entire continent.
"Brother, are you sure you really want to do this? This thing is far too precious. If it falls into the hands of the Sun Moon Empire and they manage to crack it, they could actually cultivate truly top-tier experts."
A resolute glint appeared in Xu Jiawei's eyes. "It's not a question of whether we're willing or not now, but rather that the Sun Moon Empire has been preparing for war for so many years, and its ambitions are becoming increasingly undisguised. Meanwhile, our Star Luo Empire, Heaven Soul Empire, and Dou Ling Empire have had very poor relations for many years, and it's impossible for the three kingdoms to trust each other. If things go wrong, we might easily be defeated one by one by the Sun Moon Empire."
"Especially Xu Tianran, the Crown Prince of the Sun Moon Empire. Although his personal strength is average, he is not only extremely patient but also extremely ambitious. He has been secretly making preparations for a long time. Now he is probably just waiting for an opportunity to start a war. In less than ten years, the Sun Moon Empire will definitely launch a war. If we are still in the same situation as we are now, we will have no power to resist at all."
Compared to Xu Jiawei, Xu Jiujiu looked somewhat conflicted, even a little confused.
Xu Jiawei asked, " Jiujiu, is there something else?"
After thinking for Xu Jiujiu, he finally spoke, "Recently, some abnormalities have occurred in Star Luo City. A considerable number of Soul Tool have suddenly appeared throughout the Star Luo City. These Soul Tool are exquisitely crafted, ranging from low-level to high-level, with the lowest Level 4 Soul Tool and the highest being Level 8 Soul Tool. They have appeared not only at the Starlight Auction House but also in the black market."
Xu Jiawei looked puzzled. "That shouldn't be the case. We've only released the news so far. How could there be so many Soul Tool for sale? They shouldn't know what we've prepared yet, and they don't need to start raising money so quickly, do they?"
Xu Jiujiu shook his head. "After the Soul Master Tournament started, a large number of Soul Tool appeared in Star Luo City. It doesn't seem like we received the news in advance. Moreover, after my confirmation, these Soul Tool are well-made and have excellent effects. Logically speaking, how could such strategic items appear on the market in large quantities? Especially since some of them are top-tier Soul Tool that cause serious injury. Are these things being sold to us? Is there a problem within the Sun Moon Empire?"
Xu Jiawei was also completely bewildered upon hearing this. "How is this possible? Are you sure these Soul Tool were sold by people from the Sun Moon Empire? Are there many buyers?"
Xu Jiujiu nodded. "These Soul Tool don't have the specific names of the makers, but judging from the manufacturing process, the Soul Engineer of our Douluo Continent shouldn't be able to make so many high-level Soul Tool. Moreover, these Soul Tool are extremely cheap, at least 30% cheaper than the market price."
"Furthermore, it's currently the Soul Master Tournament period, and people from all sides have gathered in Star Luo City. The population of Star Luo City has exceeded 20 million, so there's absolutely no worry about selling these Soul Tool. The Starlight Auction House has even held several days of special sales for high-end Soul Tool ----"
Xu Jiawei was utterly shocked. According to his plan, he originally intended to release a bombshell announcement to force the Sun Moon Empire to sell off its high-end Soul Tool at a bargain price in order to raise money. However, judging from the current situation, it seems that the Sun Moon Empire Sun Moon Empire has a large amount of funds in the hands of the people in Star Luo City and does not need to raise any more money.
Even so, Xu Jiawei's gaze remained resolute. "In that case, the auction must continue. The Sun Moon Empire has an unimaginable obsession with high-level Soul Engineer, and we are equally obsessed with Soul Engineer."
"Try to acquire some of the Soul Tool that have entered the market, especially the high-level Soul Tool, so that our Soul Tool can conduct research on them. In any case, our Star Luo Empire cannot afford to fall behind any longer, or we will truly be finished."
What Xu Zhengyang didn't know was that his small suggestion had triggered a huge storm.
All eyes in Star Luo City were focused on the Soul Master Tournament, especially the major powers, such as the royal families of the three great empires and even the military of the three great empires. They all needed to recruit geniuses and select the geniuses they needed through the Soul Master Tournament.
Meanwhile, those high-ranking personnel also began to pay attention to the increasing number of Soul Tool on the market. For these sects or major forces, having a level seven or even Level 8 Soul Tool would not only create a certain deterrent effect, but also greatly boost the combat power of the holder. After all, anyone can use Soul Tool, but advanced Soul Master are not so easy to cultivate and control.
Of course, news also circulated from the Starlight Auction House that a priceless treasure would be auctioned at this weekend's lavish event. Any faction that acquired it would gain immense power, and might even change the Soul Master.
The global landscape.
When this news first broke, it attracted a frenzy of attention, with everyone eager to see what this priceless item was. Especially since it was something that the Starlight Auction House valued so highly, it must be an extremely rare treasure.
At this moment, Xu Zhengyang and Xiao Hongchen Meng Hongchen also in the Starlight Auction House, looking at the auction items one by one, their lips twitching slightly, especially since the auction prices of these items were very good.
Xu Zhengyang had also wondered if he had enough money to bid on the Godsealing Altar released by the Star Luo Empire, which contained the Snow Empress.
However, Xu Zhengyang immediately rejected this idea. The Godsealing Altar was Level 9 Soul Tool, which he couldn't open with his own strength. It would take at least several Level 9 Soul Engineer to open it, and opening it would come at a great cost.
Not to mention, this thing is extremely valuable, worth 150 million Gold Soul Coin. I simply don't have that much money, unless I sell the Dragon-Patterned Black Gold. But the Dragon-Patterned Black Gold is very important to me. It will definitely be of great use when I forge the Tiger-Head Zhan Gold Spear in the future.
To be able to seize the Godsealing Altar in full view of everyone requires a powerful force; if I were to obtain it rashly, I might not even be able to save my life.