"Very good, but how much fighting strength will the Holy Cult deploy to wipe out the Su Clan this time? I need to confirm whether the Holy Cult can eliminate every last member of the Su Clan."
"Don't look at me like that. I have to confirm this. The Sun Moon Empire once sent a Titled Douluo to handle something, but after the Titled Douluo subcontracted it several times, the person who actually did the work was merely a Soul Saint."
"Besides, the Su Clan is ultimately a noble clan of our Sun Moon Empire. Some matters don't weigh even two ounces before they're put on the scales, but once they are, even a thousand pounds won't hold them down."
"If you can't uproot everyone in Shanhai City's Su Clan in one fell swoop, and someone discovers that you were behind it, not even my imperial father could easily account for this, let alone me."
"I need to be certain you have enough strength to erase the Su Clan completely without leaving the slightest trace. Otherwise, I'd rather not do this at all."
After the Holy Spirit Cult agreed to eliminate the Su Clan, Xu Tianran continued.
The man from the Holy Spirit Cult was not angered by his words.
After all, they were wiping out an earl's clan of the Sun Moon Empire. It would have been more frightening if Xu Tianran had casually accepted the arrangement without asking a single question.
His questions meant he really did need to account for it, and would need to secretly find a scapegoat afterward to settle the matter.
"Rest assured, Third Prince. I will personally lead my men in this operation. As for whether I can resolve it completely..."
As the old man spoke, two yellow, two purple, and four black Soul Rings appeared around him, eight in total, displaying his Soul Douluo-level cultivation.
Had he been an ordinary Soul Douluo, merely revealing his Soul Douluo cultivation would not have reassured Xu Tianran.
What truly reassured Xu Tianran was the old man's Evil Soul Master presence combined with his Soul Douluo cultivation.
Soul Douluos were recognized across the continent as powerful when it came to challenging opponents above their level.
It was no exaggeration to say that even an ordinary Titled Douluo would not dare claim they could defeat an Eight-Ring Soul Douluo-level Evil Soul Master.
In the original story, Cai Mei'er, a Titled Douluo, had led the two Soul Douluos Zhang Lexuan and Han Ruoruo, yet they had been intimidated by three Soul Douluos. That alone showed how powerful Evil Soul Master Soul Douluos were.
They truly could be treated as Titled Douluos!
"I will take action personally. Besides that, I will bring five Soul Saints and thirty-seven Soul Emperors under my command. Third Prince, you should understand what that means."
Xu Tianran gradually relaxed upon hearing this. One Soul Douluo, five Soul Saints, and thirty-seven Soul Emperors sounded far inferior to the Su Clan in fighting strength, not even half of its high-level forces, but they were Evil Soul Masters.
Considering the fighting strength of Evil Soul Masters, this could be called a force led by a Titled Douluo, with five Soul Douluos and thirty-seven Soul Saints.
The old man before him would not even need to act. He only needed to oversee the situation, and the Evil Soul Masters under him could crush the Su Clan's people.
With such an overwhelming disparity in fighting strength, the Holy Spirit Cult's people could declare without the slightest hesitation: the advantage was theirs!
"I understand. It's just that the Su Clan has existed in Shanhai City for over a thousand years, after all. They may have some defensive Soul Tools within their clan. I'm worried those might cause an unforeseen problem."
Xu Tianran understood what these Evil Soul Masters' fighting strength meant. In principle, this force was enough to crush the Su Clan several times over, but for some reason, whenever wiping out the Su Clan came up, he always felt a little uneasy.
It was as though something unexpected would happen, so he asked another question.
"Nothing unexpected can happen. Their Su Clan has Soul Engineers, but I am a Soul Engineer as well, and a Level 8 Soul Engineer at that."
"Besides, with two Soul Douluos involved, I will naturally request that the higher-ups assign us more Level 8 Soul Tools this time, to prevent those two Soul Douluos from escaping."
"Heh heh heh, the blood of two Soul Douluos. Just thinking about it makes it seem delicious!"
As the old man's laughter rang out, the bloody haze around them thickened, and the source of that thickening haze was what sprayed from his mouth.
"Senior, I don't just want the Soul Douluos unable to escape. I want everyone in the Su Clan unable to escape, along with anyone who sees you act."
Xu Tianran frowned, forcibly suppressing his nausea as he spoke to the old man.
"I understand. Once we reach the Su Clan, I will first have someone activate a Level 8 Concealment Barrier. That thing not only isolates the inside from the outside; before its power runs out, even a Titled Douluo can forget about getting in easily."
Upon hearing about the Concealment Barrier, Xu Tianran finally breathed a sigh of relief.
His father had been able to act so quickly precisely because he had used the Holy Spirit Cult's Level 9 Concealment Barrier, preventing Kong Deming from arriving in time and leaving him no choice but to accept that final outcome as a foregone conclusion.
Although a Level 8 Concealment Barrier could not block someone like Kong Deming, the Titled Douluos in the Sun Moon Empire who could deal with it could at least be counted on one hand.
The chances of those very few Titled Douluos happening to visit the Su Clan and then saving them were simply nonexistent.
"What about the members of their clan hiding in secret? How will you deal with them?"
Having confirmed that the Su Clan's people would be unable to escape, Xu Tianran then asked how they could ensure no one could hide.
The old man from the Holy Spirit Cult smiled at his question.
The Holy Spirit Cult elder closed his eyes, and an eerie red light shone from his forehead.
"A Soul Bone?" The guard behind Xu Tianran immediately recognized the source of the light on the old man's forehead.
"Correct. Blood Perception, from the Soul Bone I obtained while hunting for my Sixth Soul Ring. This ability leans toward spiritual support and doesn't do much to increase my strength, but it's very convenient for finding people."
"Once I activate the Soul Skill, I can sense every creature with flowing blood within a radius of dozens of li. Whether human or Soul Beast, none can escape my perception."
"The Su Clan doesn't have dozens of li of space to hide in."
Hearing about this ability, Xu Tianran narrowed his eyes slightly. With an ability like this, could Xu He really have escaped the Holy Spirit Cult's clutches?
"Heh, don't misunderstand, Third Prince. When Xu Ming was eliminated, I was at a critical point in my breakthrough, so I couldn't carry out that mission. Otherwise, Xu He wouldn't have escaped either."
Seemingly having discerned what Xu Tianran meant, the old man explained.
Xu Tianran did not dwell on the matter any further after hearing this. "Good, then. Since the Holy Cult has made so many preparations, I won't ask any more questions. I'll take my leave."
After confirming that the Holy Spirit Cult could wipe out the entire Su Clan, Xu Tianran rose and took his leave.
He possessed the Third Prince's token and could imitate the Third Prince to some extent, but ultimately, he was not the Third Prince.
With some things, the more one did, the more mistakes one made. The simplest way to avoid exposing his identity was to have as little contact with these people as possible.
Thus, once the discussion was over, it was time for him to prepare to leave.
Only after he had left did the old man look at his retreating figure with some suspicion, then shake his head.
"Forget it. In any case, it's true that I'll get the blood of two Soul Douluos and a group of Soul Saints and Soul Emperors. As for the rest, the more you royals fight among yourselves, the better. What the hell does it have to do with me?"
"Only with more deaths can our Holy Cult flourish. If something this good happened every so often, why would I have to worry about becoming a Titled Douluo!"