Inside the Star Luo Empire's palace, night had fallen, but the study was still brightly lit.
The second head of the Yu Family, who is also Yu Longyue's second uncle, is holding an important nighttime meeting with Dai Tianling, the emperor of the Star Luo Empire.
The study was elegantly furnished, with tall bookshelves filled with various ancient books and precious documents, and several portraits of emperors from different dynasties hanging on the walls, adding a solemn and dignified atmosphere to the room.
Behind a large wooden table, the emperor of the Star Luo Empire sat upright, wearing a golden robe and a crown inlaid with jewels, displaying his nobility and authority.
The second head of the Yu Family sat in a chair opposite the emperor. He wore a dark long robe embroidered with the Yu Family's iconic emblem, simple yet luxurious. Although he looked like an ordinary middle-aged man, the sharpness and composure in his eyes showed that he was no ordinary person.
However, Second Uncle's gaze was not on Dai Tianling, but on En Ci, who was standing next to him.
His aura gave him a very familiar feeling, which made him involuntarily raise an eyebrow.
Despite both being at Level 98 in cultivation, this guy was actually able to out-suppress him, which made him somewhat unhappy.
It even felt like their Martial Soul was being suppressed.
It seems the family's guess was correct; no wonder they had to mobilize the entire family for this trip.
The second uncle remained calm, withdrew his gaze, and looked directly at Emperor Dai Tianling before him.
Dai Tianling sized him up, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Didn't we already agree on the cooperation? Why are you so busy discussing it again tonight?"
The second uncle smiled slightly and replied to Dai Tianling, "Your Majesty, the reason we are discussing this again tonight is because we have obtained some new intelligence that may affect our cooperation."
Dai Tianling raised an eyebrow, her expression turning somewhat serious. "You're planning to stop cooperating?"
The internet is crucial; it represents the gap in information. They're already lagging behind the Douluo Federation, and if they don't cooperate now, they'll really be in for a beating.
"Just now, our young sect leader was attacked on Star Luo City's territory," Second Uncle said in a deep voice. "Your Majesty, you say... this security issue is truly worrying."
"If our database server, which we've worked so hard to build, is so easily hacked and its data obtained by others, Your Majesty, it's not that we doubt your abilities, it's just... our enemies are simply too strong. We can't blame you."
Dai Tianling's face turned extremely ugly. He understood the meaning behind his words, of course; he was being sarcastic and mocking.
Moreover, they are prepared to raise the price on the spot and propose a few more conditions that are favorable to them.
Standing beside Dai Tianling, En Ci said calmly:
"Second Master Yu Family, there's no need to worry. The Star Luo Empire's security is even tighter than you imagine."
"Really? Then may I ask, what's the story behind this person?"
The Super Douluo who had attacked Yu Longyue was thrown in front of Dai Tianling like a dog.
Immediately after, the grandfather, holding a cane, walked slowly over.
Dai Tianling was taken aback. He hadn't expected the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon to act so quickly, not only subduing the assassin but also bringing him directly to the palace.
This is completely disadvantageous for them.
Although he was very happy to have eliminated a Super Douluo from the Green Skull organization, he could only suffer in silence afterward.
En Ci was about to step forward when his grandfather glanced at him, forcibly stopping him from doing so.
This caused a huge uproar in En Ci's heart.
Limit Douluo!
"We are perfectly capable of forcing you into a hierarchical cooperation with us, instead of the equal cooperation we're doing now." The grandfather said expressionlessly, his grip on his cane tightening involuntarily. "However, the assassination attempt on my grandson has made me extremely distrustful of you."
"The weak are destined to be beaten. Your national strength is far too weak. If our family were to go all out against you, the Douluo Federation would be nothing at all. Do you understand?"
Dai Tianling frowned. As the ruler of a country, he showed no panic in the face of such a threat, nor did he deny his grandfather's words.
"You may name your terms. We do bear responsibility for the attack on Yu Longyue, and we are able to offer compensation for that."
However, it is still necessary to win over the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, as they are already feeling very nervous. The Douluo Federation is far stronger than them, making them feel very insecure.
"But there is one thing I want to guarantee: if we ever go to war with the Douluo Federation in the future, you will lend our country a helping hand."
"Impossible." Grandpa rejected it outright, scoffing, "You want our family to bear such a terrible crime just to help you? If war breaks out, I won't have a say, so what ability do I have to help you?"
Helping your own country's enemy fight your own country? That's outrageous.
"Then let's take a step back and not help the Douluo Federation, okay?" Dai Tianling quickly said.
Grandpa was silent for a moment before giving his answer, "This is not something I can decide. You can change your terms again. We will only be responsible for the internet aspect and will remain neutral, not taking sides. If Your Majesty insists on this, then this cooperation is off the table. I urge Your Majesty to think carefully before proceeding."
"Okay, okay, I'll change my terms." Dai Tianling sighed, as if he had aged several years.
Seeing this, the second uncle couldn't help but think to himself, "As expected, the old fox is shrewder. If it were his nephew or him personally negotiating, who knows how long it would have dragged on."
After the conversation, Yu Longyue also learned the outcome of the matter.
"You agree?"
The Star Luo Empire was willing to pay a high price to strongly support their network cooperation and most of their business and trade.
"Yes, with your grandfather handling things, it'll be easily resolved," Uncle said cheerfully. "Now you don't have to worry about it."
"That's great! Having an elder in the family is truly a treasure."
"I'm hanging up now. You have a competition tomorrow, haha. Good luck and show the Star Luo Empire the strength of the people from the Douluo Continent."
"Second Uncle, what are you saying? I'm wondering if there's anyone in this competition who can truly be my opponent?"
After a brief chat, my second uncle hung up the call.
"That person... is he really the Martial Soul of the Radiant Sacred Dragon? Has his bloodline been passed down to him?"
His grandfather, who was standing next to him, nodded slightly.
"Should we take him back to acknowledge his ancestors and be recognized by his family?"
"He's at most a collateral branch, a kind of ancestral martial Martial Soul. In reality, there are other people on the Douluo Continent with the Light Sacred Dragon Martial Soul. Their bloodline inheritance has been rampant for who knows how long, and we can't control it. We can only barely maintain it by controlling our desires. Besides, he's lived here for so long that he's already a citizen of the Star Luo Continent. I suppose he doesn't want to go back with us."
"That's really a shame."
The competition was incredibly boring for Yu Longyue.
If we can find an opponent that can rival Yu Longyue, that would be quite good.
The problem is, there isn't one at all.
Therefore, throughout the entire competition, Yu Longyue almost completely overwhelmed his opponents, without moving an inch, relying entirely on his Soul Spirit to defeat them.
This led to a significant dissatisfaction among viewers who once cherished the spirit of skill and the passionate, intense 1v1 duels between real men with Yu Longyue. This even resulted in a collective outburst of insults, as if Yu Longyue's attitude had offended them.
The conflict became even more pronounced when he accidentally eliminated one of the eight most famous Eight Heavenly Kings of the Monster Academy.
At this moment, Yu Longyue only wanted to quickly comprehend the abilities related to time.
If he had the chance, he really wanted to skip this boring competition process and wait until after the competition to see the mission that the Tang Sect 'Soul Fighting Hall would carry out for Dragon Valley, so that he could sneak into Dragon Valley along the route.
Later in the competition, Yu Longyue, who had already returned home with the design blueprints for the Three-Word Battle Armor, finally received the badge that Huo Yuhao had given him.
The two sat in the audience, Huo Yuhao handed him a badge.
"Here you go. This badge can receive all signals sent out by the Tang Sect's Soul Fighting Hall. Hopefully, it won't miss what you're looking for."
"Thanks, you've worked hard. I'll treat you to something nice another day, to improve your meals." Yu Longyue breathed a sigh of relief after taking the money.
Everything is ready; now we just need to wait to go to Dragon Valley.
However, just after he finished thanking them, he heard the announcement on the stage that the individual competition would be between number 666 and number 99.
The two were taken aback, then exchanged a glance and fell silent.
Number 666 is Yu Longyue, and number 99, coincidentally, is Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao was on the verge of tears. "I only participated in this competition to hone my skills and speed up my recovery, but I didn't want to run into a cheat code like you and get humiliated!"
"Stop talking, let's go on stage. I've been wanting to play against you for a while now." Yu Longyue patted his shoulder and said earnestly, "Don't be so discouraged. What if you have a chance to beat me? Remember to go all out, otherwise I'll think you're looking down on me, and I'll make things difficult for you."
Huo Yuhao lowered his head. "Actually, if you want to beat me up, you can just say so. There's no need to beat around the bush like this."