Yan Shaozhe's heart skipped a beat.
The people who had once belonged to the Three Kingdoms of the Douluo Continent immediately began whispering among themselves when they heard that voice, a ripple of commotion spreading through the crowd.
Jiang Qingtong raised her hand slightly and pressed down.
"Quiet, quiet! Listen to what my brother has to say."
"Cough, cough…"
Jiang Shengyu cleared his throat before speaking again.
"Secondly! I hereby issue a solemn invitation to all major sects and academies—join our Sun Moon Empire! Let us work together for the future of the entire Douluo Continent and of humankind itself!"
When those words left Jiang Shengyu's mouth, Yan Shaozhe's expression changed drastically. He immediately turned toward Xue Di and cried out, "Teacher Xue! We—"
Xue Di lifted a hand to stop him. "Let him finish."
"I believe that during your month or so here in Mingdu, you have already witnessed its prosperity! You've seen the current state of our Sun Moon Empire! You must be very clear that, compared to us, the Three Kingdoms of the original Douluo Continent have absolutely no chance of victory."
Huo Yuhao's right hand covered the Ice Emperor's Claw as he switched to his Ice Jade Emperor Scorpion martial soul. One red, four black—five soul rings flared into view, and an aura of chilling frost swept across everyone present.
A hundred-thousand-year soul ring!
Another one—another hundred-thousand-year soul ring!
How could there be so many hundred-thousand-year rings? Were they even human anymore?
Looking up at Jiang Shengyu, Huo Yuhao, and the others standing on the stage, the people below were stunned beyond thought.
Since when had hundred-thousand-year soul rings become as common as cabbages by the roadside?
"Ah! This Huo Yuhao is quite the genius. Your Highness, why haven't you ever mentioned him to us?" asked Ye Xishui softly, glancing sideways at Xu Tiannan after seeing the distribution of Huo Yuhao's rings.
Xu Tiannan gave a bitter smile. "He's been buried in research at the Mingde Hall, developing soul tools all this time. He rarely appears in academy tournaments—I had no opportunity to learn about him."
"The Sun Moon Empire truly has an abundance of geniuses."
Ye Xishui sighed, and in her heart, to her longing for Jiang Shengyu and Jiang Qingtong, she now added another name—Huo Yuhao.
Tang Ya stood up, stepped onto the platform, and said firmly, "The Tang Sect is willing to cooperate with the Sun Moon Empire!"
Ning Tian watched all of this, bit her lip, and turned to look at Ning Haoyu and the others among the crowd. Seeing Ning Haoyu nod slightly, she rose to her feet and declared, "The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect as well—we are willing to cooperate with the Sun Moon Empire!"
At this moment, the first to pledge allegiance would, in the new order to come, gain the greatest advantages.
The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was wagering everything—betting on a future!
Their declaration was like a splash of water thrown into boiling oil, sending the side of the original Three Kingdoms into utter turmoil.
"Ning Sect Master, even you…" Yan Shaozhe was aghast. What was happening? How had everything changed so suddenly?
Jiang Qingtong lifted the Mirror Lotus in her hand, and five rings appeared—four black, one red. Behind her, the Purple Radiance Extinguishing Heavenly Dragon martial soul shone brilliantly.
Kong Deming had arranged for her to take in a royal collateral descendant as her partner—a six-ring Soul Emperor. This meant that her Purple Radiance Extinguishing Heavenly Dragon possessed only six soul skills, but with ten-thousand-year-level and even hundred-thousand-year rings supporting them, that was more than enough.
Seeing the crimson hundred-thousand-year ring gleaming beneath her, Yan Shaozhe was utterly stunned. Her soul ring… it's at the hundred-thousand-year level? Wasn't the one she added supposed to be a ten-thousand-year ring?
Had Jiang Shengyu and Jiang Qingtong been deceiving the academy all along?
How… how could this be!
"The Purple Radiance Extinguishing Heavenly Dragon? How does she possess a martial soul of the royal lineage?" The ministers seated upon the dais stared at the radiant dragon behind Jiang Qingtong, eyes wide with disbelief.
That martial soul—wasn't it supposed to be exclusive to the imperial bloodline?
Xu Tiannan's expression darkened slightly, his brows knitting. Ye Xishui leaned forward a bit, her gaze full of fascination as she murmured, "Now this is the one I've been interested in. I'd love to see how beautiful she would look when tainted by darkness."
Jiang Qingtong plucked a single petal from the Mirror Lotus in her hand and said softly, "Now, it's time for your answers."
"I refuse!"
Before anyone else could speak, Yan Shaozhe shouted his reply. He glared fiercely at the figures upon the platform. Xu Sanshi and Beibei immediately withdrew, with Xu Sanshi grabbing Xiao Xiao by the arm as he went.
"Sister Nan Nan—"
Xiao Xiao only managed to call out once before being dragged away.
When the three of them returned to Yan Shaozhe's side, his eyes were blazing as he stared up at Jiang Shengyu and the others.
"As expected, you people of the Sun Moon Empire have harbored malicious ambitions all along! You were willing to act out this charade for so many years, just for this day!"
"Not that many," Jiang Qingtong replied with a bright, charming smile. "Only about three years."
She looked down at Yan Shaozhe and asked sweetly, "Dean Yan, even now—do you still intend to oppose us?"
"As the Dean of the Martial Soul Department of Shrek Academy, it is my duty to lead the people of this continent in resisting the Sun Moon Empire's vile ambitions!"
Yan Shaozhe's voice was solemn, filled with a tragic sense of righteousness—as if he alone would bear the burden of the world.
His words indeed stirred the hearts of many of the sects and academies from the Three Kingdoms' side.
They began to recall the tales of their ancestors—those who had fought valiantly against the Sun Moon Empire's invasions—and their blood boiled once more.
Blood-hot fervor?
Emotion?
Patriotism?
Jiang Shengyu's gaze rested on the impassioned Yan Shaozhe, and the corners of his lips curled slightly, forming a mocking smile.
He raised his hand, sighed softly, and shook his head. "That truly is a pity, everyone."
As his words fell, another crimson soul ring rose from beneath his feet. The blood-red glow illuminated every face present.
Before their stunned eyes, Jiang Shengyu's smile vanished.
"We shall unify the continent," he declared coldly.
"The Soul Palace shall unify the continent!"
High above the arena, the Body Douluo—Poison Undying (Du Busi)—hovered in the sky alongside the other Golden-Body Douluo and members of the Body Sect. A hint of helplessness could be seen on his face.
"The Body Douluo?" Yan Shaozhe's pupils contracted sharply as he saw Poison Undying in the air. The Body Sect, which the Heavenly Soul Empire searched for in vain—why is it here, in the Sun Moon Empire? How… how could this be!
But at that very moment, a brilliant light erupted from the direction of the imperial palace.
A gigantic mushroom cloud soared into the sky. The windows of nearby high-rises shattered instantly, and entire buildings collapsed!
The shockwave thundered across the city, sweeping through the entire tournament grounds!
The fireball's mushroom cloud blotted out the heavens, and all of Mingdu was cast beneath its shadow.
The earth trembled beneath their feet.
Staring at the blazing mushroom cloud rising in the distance, Mingdu's air-raid sirens began to wail.
On the main dais, Xu Tiannan pressed a hand to his mouth and immediately shouted, "Quickly—investigate! Find out what happened!"
Xu Tianyuan's Royal Dragon Soul Engineer Corps swiftly entered the arena, securing the entire venue and taking control of everyone present.
In the sky, Poison Undying gazed toward the palace with shock. From his vantage point, he could see that the magnificent palace and the surrounding districts had been reduced to ruins—nothing but smoking rubble.
At least a hundred thousand lives… gone in an instant.
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