The afterglow of the setting sun spilled onto the wide streets of Mingdu, and the buildings, a blend of metal and Soul Tool, gleamed with a cold luster.
The Soul Guidance Lamp on both sides of the street were not yet lit, but patrol taxis had already marched past in formation.
Toji walked confidently down the middle of the street with his hands in his pockets, completely ignoring the patrolling soldiers who cast wary glances his way.
Di Qiu'er walked beside him, her eyes sweeping indifferently over the surroundings, seemingly oblivious to the soldiers' vigilance.
After the two of them reached a secluded spot, Di Qiu'er said:
"You want to kill Xu Tianran?"
"Even if we kill Xu Tianran, there will be another Xu Tianran. The unification of the Douluo Continent by the Sun Moon Empire is an inevitable trend."
Toji replied.
"You are a mythical Auspicious Beast that controls destiny, so naturally you can see the destiny of the Sun Moon Empire, right?"
"That's right." Di Qiu'er raised her chin. "Even at the very end, when the gods descended to obstruct the Sun Moon Empire's unification of the Douluo Continent, it only delayed things by a few hundred or a few thousand years. Ten thousand years later, the Douluo Continent was still ruled by the Sun Moon Empire."
"That's right. Killing Xu Tianran would only make the plot more unpredictable, and another Xu Tianran we don't know might appear. Wouldn't that be a waste of our advantage in controlling the plot?"
Toji shook his head and continued:
"You don't need to come along for the rest of the operation. I need to meet with Xu Tianran. If Xu Tianran sees you, he'll probably be determined to take you down."
" Xu Tianran is ruthless. Even if he can't have you, he'll destroy you. I don't want to invite such trouble for no reason."
Di Qiu'er nodded obediently:
"Good."
Following the address given by Shanggong Wei'er, Toji arrived at the destination and successfully found several Soul Master dressed in black robes.
They exuded Toji chilling aura, clearly indicating they were Evil Soul Master.
"The information is correct, please double-check."
Toji that Shanggong Wei'er might have given false information, he did not rush forward, but instead cautiously looked around.
And they confirmed the identities of these Evil Soul Master one by one.
The three Evil Soul Master leading the group were none other than the Zhongli Tian, Di, and Ren. Their Soul Power fluctuations were approximately at the level of Level 80 Soul Douluo.
"It has to be said, Xu Tianran is truly skilled and daring. He is also the first person to choose to use Evil Soul Master to ascend the throne." Toji Er was a little apprehensive, after all, the overall combat power of Evil Soul Master was simply too strong.
Xu Tianran has let a wolf into his house.
After confirming that there were no traps, Toji's gaze locked onto a black-robed figure at the end of the Evil Soul Master's group.
"You're the one."
Toji silently landed behind him, raised his hand to cover the other's mouth, and with his other hand, the Blade of Life's Watch slashed across his throat.
The moment the blade touched the panel, a flash of emerald green light appeared, and strangely, not a single drop of blood splattered from the wound. Instead, it seemed as if some kind of Life energy had directly devoured its vitality.
Before the man in black could even struggle, his pupils completely dilated.
Toji deftly stripped off his robe and draped it over his own body, his bones making a series of soft "crackling" sounds, and his figure suddenly shrank by three inches.
When the hood is pulled down, Toji perfectly disguises him as the original Evil Soul Master.
At least from an appearance standpoint.
"Hurry up, what are you dawdling for?" came an impatient shout from ahead.
Toji coughed a few times, lowered his voice, and imitated the dead man's hoarse voice, mumbling indistinctly:
"They've arrived."
He quickly caught up with the group, seamlessly integrating himself into this team of Evil Soul Master.
No one noticed.
The night was as dark as ink. In an abandoned Soul Tool factory on the outskirts of Mingdu, vines climbed the mottled metal walls, and moonlight streamed through the broken skylight, cutting out scattered silvery-white spots on the ground.
Xu Tianran stood at the boundary between shadow and light, his simple white clothes fluttering slightly in the night breeze.
He looked no more than seventeen or eighteen years old, with dark skin and a face that could not be described as handsome, but exuded a calm and dignified air.
Those piercing eyes remained sharp as knives even in the dim light.
Soon, a team of Evil Soul Master emerged from the shadows and appeared before Xu Tianran.
"I've long admired Xu Tianran's name, and seeing him today, I can confirm it lives up to its reputation," said Zhongli Tian, who was at the front.
A night breeze suddenly rose, fluttering Xu Tianran's white robes. As if unaffected by the pressure, he took a step forward, the moonlight illuminating half of his face.
"Friend, you've come from afar, thank you for your hard work." His voice was gentle and warm, and he lightly touched his left chest with his right hand in a standard gesture of respect.
"You're too kind." Zhongli Tian returned the greeting, lifting a corner of his black robe. "Having summoned us here, the plan must be almost complete?"
"Exactly."
Xu Tianran smiled calmly.
"Tonight is the night of the emperor's family's demise."
"He has no right to sit on the throne. What's the point of upholding that agreement? Our advantage lies in Soul Tool, yet he's unwilling to vigorously develop Soul Tool, to turn our experimental results into weapons, and unwilling to wage war to reclaim what belongs to our Sun Moon Empire!"
The more he spoke, the more ferocious Xu Tianran's expression became.
"As we agreed, we will assist you in ascending the throne, and then you will make our Holy Spirit Cult the guardian deity of the Sun Moon Empire." Zhongli Tian spoke up appropriately, suppressing Xu Tianran's emotions.
"Hmph, this time it wasn't me who ascended the throne, but my father."
Xu Tianran said coldly.
"Only when he sits on the throne will I be truly qualified to be the Crown Prince, and only then will I be qualified to be the Emperor."
"Enough with the nonsense, the plan has been laid out. If it weren't for that Heavenly Fiend ' Soul Engineer Killer ' ruining our plans, why would we have waited another year or two to make our move?"
"It's not just you who resents him, we do too." Zhongli Tian's gaze turned icy cold at the mention of that name.
Toji, who was in the group, remained silent and tried to minimize his presence.
The next second, a masked man in black came to Xu Tianran's side and whispered a few words in his ear.
Xu Tianran nodded in satisfaction, then looked at Zhongli Tian and the others:
"Alright, our route is all set, let's go."
"Cover your face completely," Zhongli Tian whispered, and took the lead in pulling up a black cloth to cover his face.
The others followed suit, and a team of high-level Soul Master quickly headed for the palace.
Under the cover of night, the palace was brightly lit. They silently passed through every corner of the palace and finally arrived at the emperor's bedroom.
Xu Tianran's father was already in place at the door.
Looking at the group of Soul Master behind his son, he said calmly:
"Is everyone here?"
Xu Tianran nodded.
"Tomorrow will be the day I ascend the throne, and they should all die then," Xu Tianran's father said in a low voice, his tone filled with barely suppressed excitement and anticipation.
"Remember, our target is the Emperor's family."
"Understood." Xu Tianran nodded, a hint of killing intent flashing in his eyes.
"Do it!"