Conspiracy Theory

Because of Haiyuan City's location, Lu Jingming could either head out to sea to hunt Sea Soul Beasts or go to the Mingdou Mountain Range.

However, Sea Soul Beasts were not suitable for Lu Jingming. The attributes of the vast majority of Sea Soul Beasts were concentrated in water and ice, which did not align with the characteristics of his Twin Martial Souls, Black Abyss White Flower.

As for the Mingdou Mountain Range, it had originally been a good choice, as it was not too far from Haiyuan City.

But recently, tensions along the border between the Star Luo Empire and the Sun Moon Empire had escalated, and small-scale clashes had broken out.

Duke White Tiger Dai Hao led a portion of his elite forces in a single thrust into a small border city of the Sun Moon Empire.

At present, both sides were fiercely battling around the Mingdou Mountain Range. Such a chaotic situation was clearly unsuitable for hunting Soul Beasts.

When Lu Jingming received this intelligence, he was genuinely surprised. He had not expected the Sun Moon Empire to be so weak at this stage, allowing a border city to be taken so easily. What puzzled him even more was that the Sun Moon Empire had not deployed any of its powerful Soul Tools.

Only after Chang Li's detailed analysis did he suddenly understand. The one currently ruling the Sun Moon Empire was He Caitou's father from the original story, while He Caitou was still Crown Prince Xu He.

He Caitou's father belonged to the conservative faction. Under his rule, although the Sun Moon Empire possessed advanced Soul Tool Technology, most Soul Tools capable of playing a decisive role in war were explicitly forbidden from use.

Moreover, Duke White Tiger Dai Hao had led his personal guards, the White Tiger Army. This force possessed exceptionally formidable combat strength. Within the Star Luo Empire, aside from the ten great Soul Master legions composed of Soul Masters, the White Tiger Army stood out as the strongest.

Because the Sun Moon Empire had been conservative in its military strategy and failed to fully exploit the advantages of Soul Tools, its army had become relatively weak. That was how Duke White Tiger had managed to successfully break into a Sun Moon Empire border city.

Lu Jingming did not comment much on He Caitou's father's decision, but he guessed that this might be why the Sun Moon Empire underwent major changes a few years later in the original story without causing too much unrest.

After all, the Sun Moon Empire had deep foundations. Its Five Great State Protectors, Imperial Worship Hall, and Mingde Hall were not to be trifled with.

Without the support of those forces, even if Xu Tianran's father had colluded with the Holy Spirit Cult in the original story, seizing power so easily would have been far from simple.

In this world of extraordinary power, top-tier strength could, to a certain extent, determine the succession of the throne.

Without the tacit approval of the powerful Silver Moon Douluo Kong Deming, no matter how Xu Tianran's father plotted, he could never have succeeded in seizing the throne.

Clearly, the Sun Moon Empire's current condition had aroused the dissatisfaction of many high-ranking figures within the country. They longed to install a more forceful emperor to change the present situation.

Although Jing Liu, the Peerless Sword Immortal, was there to protect him, so Lu Jingming did not need to worry about his safety, he still adhered to the principle of avoiding trouble whenever possible. In the end, he decided to head to the Star Dou Great Forest to obtain his first Soul Ring.

After all, he did not come from any academy, and he did not agree with the so-called claim that those who dared not cause trouble were mediocre.

In his view, such words were merely an example of bullying the weak while fearing the strong. Once they encountered a truly powerful opponent, would they not still have to obediently bow their heads?

At that moment, Lu Jingming and Jing Liu were flying rapidly several thousand meters above the ground. Fierce gale winds howled against them, yet they could never break through the Soul Power barrier glowing with icy blue light.

Lu Jingming lay against Jing Liu's chest. Although he could smell the wafting fragrance from her body, the experience was far from pleasant.

Jing Liu wore light armor, turning what should have been a soft touch into something cold and hard.

The Star Dou Great Forest lay east of Haiyuan City. Traveling from Haiyuan City to the Star Dou Great Forest required passing through Star Luo City.

However, Jing Liu flew more than three thousand meters above the ground. The Star Luo Empire's existing air-defense measures could not detect activity even a thousand meters overhead.

Thus, Jing Liu did not even need to take a detour and flew directly toward their destination.

As they flew over Star Luo City, a powerful presence within the city sensed the Soul Power fluctuations Jing Liu emitted during flight.

But after making a brief judgment, that person chose to ignore it. After all, anyone capable of flying freely at an altitude of three thousand meters was certainly no ordinary Soul Master. Jing Liu was merely passing by, and he truly had no need to invite trouble for himself.

After passing Star Luo City, they flew over the White Tiger Duke's Mansion. Looking down, Lu Jingming naturally thought of this world's protagonist, Huo Yuhao.

As fellow nobles of the Star Luo Empire, it was not difficult to inquire about the White Tiger Duke's Mansion so long as the information did not involve state secrets.

After investigating, Lu Jingming had not heard the name "Dai Yuhao," but he had learned of Dai Yueheng and Dai Huabin.

Dai Yueheng was five years older than Lu Jingming and had just joined Shrek Academy. Dai Huabin was only four years old, two years younger than Lu Jingming. From this, Lu Jingming knew that he was the same age as Beibei and Xu Sanshi.

It was through learning these details about the White Tiger Duke's Mansion that Lu Jingming finally confirmed the timeline he was in.

Huo Yuhao was still very young at present. Even his Martial Soul had yet to awaken, and his mother was still alive.

But Lu Jingming was utterly certain that the God King of the Divine Realm had long since set his sights on Huo Yuhao, the Child of Destiny who carried the fate of the Douluo Continent.

After all, at the very moment Huo Yuhao's mother passed away, that God King had precisely taken her soul and brought it to the Divine Realm.

It was not difficult to infer that perhaps, at the moment Huo Yuhao was born, when the fate of the Douluo Continent underwent a subtle shift because of him, that God King had already keenly noticed the extraordinary nature of this Child of Destiny and begun watching him closely.

At this stage, Lu Jingming had absolutely no intention of exposing himself to that God King's notice, and naturally had no desire to make contact with Huo Yuhao.

One had to know that this God King was by no means broad-minded. Terms such as "vengeful over the slightest grievance," "ruthless," and "unscrupulous" were more than fitting for him. After all, he had originally come from an assassin sect.

In that God King's eyes, Lu Jingming was undoubtedly an unstable factor. Having long regarded the Douluo Continent as his personal possession, the God King would never tolerate an unexpected variable like Lu Jingming existing beyond his control.

The endings before Lu Jingming were either to be meticulously plotted against and completely erased by the God King, or, like Huo Yuhao, to be fitted with invisible chains and turned into an obedient "dog."

Therefore, before he possessed sufficient strength and confidence, Lu Jingming was firmly determined not to expose himself within that God King's field of vision.