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With a grim expression, Ye Lan followed the Head of the Zhu Clan toward the "Star Luo Zhu Family." Some Soul Masters who had been knocked unconscious earlier were gradually waking up; the looks they cast at Ye Lan were filled with both terror and hatred.
Aware of the Star Luo people's reaction, Ye Lan ignored them and continued forward.
Their attitude was only natural. After all, from their perspective:
On the most celebratory day in the Star Luo Imperial City, this Heaven Dou citizen had "killed" a Star Luo Prince in plain sight.
Furthermore, he had summoned dozens of several-hundred-meter-long celestial vines in the Star Luo Palace to slay the Emperor. Now, the ruins of the Star Luo Palace were nothing but terrain he had utterly terraformed.
Earlier, he hadn't intended to kill Gu Yuena because the Sect of Myriad Beasts hadn't moved against Zhuqing.
Likely to accommodate him, the "Son of Soul Beasts," the "Sect of Myriad Beasts" had sought cooperation with the "Star Luo Zhu Family" and hadn't actually forced Zhuqing to become the prospective consort of the Star Luo Emperor.
After all, a truly perfect plan should have involved turning the pretense into reality.
If he had lifted the red bridal veil just now and seen Zhu Zhuqing, he certainly would not have let the "Star Luo Dai Family" go.
To spare his feelings, the Sect of Myriad Beasts had even gone so far as to have the "Dark Devilgod Tiger" sacrifice itself to Zhuqing's second sister to ensure the plan proceeded smoothly.
Most likely, the Star Luo Emperor's marriage to Zhu Zhuye as his consort was not only due to valuing the "Dark Devilgod Tiger" martial soul but also because the "Star Luo Zhu Family" had established a connection with the "Sect of Myriad Beasts."
That was why the Star Luo Emperor had held such a grand wedding, reaching a level of city-wide celebration.
After piecing together the start and end of the Sect of Myriad Beasts' plan, Ye Lan's understanding of the Silver Dragon King and the Sect of Myriad Beasts was refreshed once again.
This group of Soul Beasts were definitely not simple-minded brutes. But things having come to this point, there was nothing he could change; it was a foregone conclusion that he, Spirit Hall, and the Star Luo Empire were now mortal enemies.
Regarding this, all Ye Lan could do was continuously improve his own strength and the strength of Spirit Hall.
Whether the Star Luo Empire initiated war first, or Spirit Hall, or the Heaven Dou Empire.
In the future, a war to unify the continent was destined to occur.
"My worthy son-in-law, I am truly sorry. The ship of the Star Luo Zhu Family is too small to withstand such turbulence."
"The moment the Sect of Myriad Beasts approached me for cooperation, the 'Zhu Family' could not refuse..." the Head of the Zhu Clan said apologetically.
"No need to say more, I understand your situation. Is Zhuqing doing well in the Zhu Family?" Ye Lan waved his hand and inquired.
"Yes, her mother has been accompanying her. It's just that these past few days, Zhuqing has missed you terribly every day," the Head of the Zhu Clan continued.
"The First Consort of Star Luo is dead. How will you handle Zhuqing's eldest sister?" Ye Lan asked.
The Head of the Zhu Clan remained silent for a long time before saying: "The old Emperor's consort was my biological younger sister, but to ensure no rift formed between the Zhu Family and the Sect of Myriad Beasts, I dealt with her personally."
"As for Zhuyun, she has severed all ties with me now. Davis... he died quite swiftly at my hands."
Hearing the calm tone of Zhuqing's father, Ye Lan noticed that his back seemed much more weathered.
In this world, strength reigns supreme. If one is weak, one is at the mercy of others.
If he weren't the Holy Son of Spirit Hall, if he weren't the Azure Emperor, and if he hadn't created the "Artificial Soul Rings"...
Perhaps Zhu Zhuqing's ending would have been different from today.
After a long while, the Head of the Zhu Clan stopped his pace, turned back to look at Ye Lan, and spoke:
"Thank you, son-in-law."
"If it weren't for you, I'm afraid my Zhu Family's end would be no different from the Dai Family's, right?"
"Because of your existence, the Sect of Myriad Beasts cooperated with the Zhu Family. Otherwise, the Zhu Family would have no utility value at all. After all, aside from my sister, who in the Zhu Family isn't entangled with the Dai Family?"
Looking at the clan head who was slightly shorter than himself with a weathered face, Ye Lan patted his shoulder.
"It's all in the past. I will take good care of Zhuqing."
Looking at his son-in-law Ye Lan's back, the Head of the Zhu Clan felt a strange sense of peace and quickly followed.
Soon, Ye Lan saw Zhu Zhuqing.
The moment Zhu Zhuqing saw Ye Lan, she threw herself into his arms and cried, "Teacher!!"
The Head of the Zhu Clan nearby signaled to Zhuqing's mother with his eyes, and only two people remained in the warm room.
Ye Lan gently patted Zhuqing's back while wiping away her tears, whispering:
"Zhuqing, I'm here."
"No matter where you go, I will find you and bring you back!"
Zhu Zhuqing leaned into Ye Lan's embrace with a face full of happiness, murmuring:
"The commotion in the Star Luo Imperial City just now... was that Teacher's doing for me?"
"Mhm. It took quite a bit of effort, but I didn't expect the bride wouldn't be you," Ye Lan said self-deprecatingly.
"Pfft!"
"But in the eyes of countless people, Teacher stormed the Imperial City alone for my sake!" Zhu Zhuqing said excitedly, hugging Ye Lan tightly.
After all, what girl wouldn't want a knight to disregard everything to rescue her from a castle held by a king?
Although Teacher rescued the wrong person, Zhu Zhuqing understood that Teacher would risk everything for her—not even a mortal emperor could stand in his way!
"No laughing at your Teacher!!" Ye Lan pinched the bridge of Zhuqing's nose.
"I'm not!"
Zhu Zhuqing suddenly pushed Ye Lan down, casting aside all the shyness in her heart. Looking into those orange-gold dragon pupils, she spoke boldly for the first time:
"Teacher, a long time ago, I had something to say to you that I didn't manage to say."
"I wonder if you remember?"
"The time of the farewell banquet in Soto City?" Ye Lan recalled.
"Mhm! I didn't expect you to still remember!" Zhu Zhuqing's face flushed red.
"Yeah, the strangest thing that night was that Rongrong disappeared, yet we ended up sleeping in the same bed," Ye Lan said, puzzled.
Thinking of something, Zhu Zhuqing decisively sold out Ning Rongrong and laughed:
"Actually, it was Rongrong who moved us onto the same bed. I only found out later during a chat with her! At the time, she thought that as long as two people slept together, they would never be separated!!"
Hearing Zhuqing's explanation, the mystery that had troubled Ye Lan for years was finally solved.
"Rongrong was right!" Ye Lan affirmed.
"Huh?" Zhu Zhuqing was confused.
"The two of us will never be separated again," Ye Lan said.
Hearing Ye Lan's confession, Zhu Zhuqing buried herself shyly in Ye Lan's chest. After a long while, she said:
"Teacher, I like you."
"I want you to..."
Outside the small cottage of happiness, unprecedented upheavals were occurring. The Star Luo Dai Family had all met tragic deaths within a single day.
Gu Yuena, the Young Master of the Sect of Myriad Beasts, took over the defenses of Star Luo Imperial City and used "elements" to continuously repair the city's buildings.
After the Star Luo ministers recognized both the reality and the "big stick" held over them, led by the Duke of the Zhu Family, they proposed that Di Tian, the Sect Leader of the Sect of Myriad Beasts, ascend the throne.
At the same time, due to the Holy Son of Spirit Hall's act of regicide.
A wave of anti-Heaven Dou Empire and anti-Spirit Hall sentiment swept across the entire Star Luo Empire.
All "Spirit Hall Sub-branches" within the Star Luo Empire withdrew, and the situation between Star Luo and Heaven Dou grew increasingly tense.
Under such tense circumstances, a romantic tale spread, stirring the hearts of countless maidens across the Douluo Continent:
A wrathful strike for a beauty's sake; alone he slaughtered Star Luo to bring her home.
While Ye Lan was in the Star Luo Empire, the deathly silent atmosphere of Shrek Academy was suddenly broken by a feminine laugh.
"I've done it!! I've done it!!!"
"Hahahaha!! Ye Lan!! Did you ever think I, Yu Xiaogang, would have a day where I cracked your 'Artificial Soul Rings'??!!"
"Your 'Artificial Soul Rings' are really nothing special!!"
"Ahahahaha!!" Yu Xiaogang laughed wildly.
At the same time, Liu Erlong pushed Flender away, acting coyly:
"Alright, alright!! What's happened with Xiaogang? Let's go see!!"
Flender looked at the fiery, tension-filled body before him, suppressed the fire of desire in his heart, yanked up his trousers, and sighed as he watched Liu Erlong's departing back.
Through his day-after-day of wood-chopping to train his physical body, he had successfully attracted Liu Erlong.
But he hadn't expected that Liu Erlong's heart was still with that sissy Yu Xiaogang; she was merely using him as a tool.
"Erlong, wait for me!!" Flender chased after her, his eyes full of love.
When Liu Erlong and Flender arrived, they saw Ma Hongjun continuously questioning Yu Xiaogang.
Flender kept sizing up his "disciple" Yu Xiaogang. He was considering whether to tell Erlong about what had happened between Yu Xiaogang and Ma Hongjun.
But remembering that he himself was nothing more than a despicable adulterer, he instantly lost face.
"Xiaogang, what have you done?! Did you research a new breakthrough for Martial Souls?" Liu Erlong's face was flushed, her eyes full of expectation.
"Teacher, hurry up and say it. You just had to wait for everyone to be here, didn't you!" Ma Hongjun said dissatisfactorily.
"Of course! Once this result of mine is out, it will immediately solve Shrek Academy's predicament of lacking ten-thousand-year soul rings. It might even allow us to become a second Spirit Hall," Yu Xiaogang said proudly.
"By the way, where is Oscar?" Yu Xiaogang asked, puzzled.
"Him? He still hasn't moved on from Boss Dai's death. Plus, being troubled by love, he's probably locked himself in his room again," Ma Hongjun said decisively.
"Forget it, ignore him." Thinking of the image of Dai Mubai's heart exploding, Yu Xiaogang couldn't help but get goosebumps.
At this, everyone present fell into silence.
Just then, a burly figure approached and spoke: "Xiaogang, what kind of tricks could you possibly research?"
Hearing the mockery in Zhao Wuji's voice, Yu Xiaogang said indignantly:
"Looking down on people with those bear eyes. Today, I'll let you see what the number one Theoretical Grandmaster of Douluo truly is!!"
Seeing Yu Xiaogang like this, Zhao Wuji crossed his arms, deciding to see what tricks Yu Xiaogang was going to pull.
"Watch closely!!"
A flash of soul light appeared in Yu Xiaogang's palm, revealing a soul ring that shone deep yellow with a faint hint of purple.
"What's so special about this? Isn't it just an eight or nine-hundred-year artificial soul ring?" Zhao Wuji rolled his eyes.
Liu Erlong hurriedly reached out to touch Yu Xiaogang's forehead, murmuring: "Huh? You don't have a fever?!"
"Go away, go away!!" Yu Xiaogang pushed Liu Erlong away impatiently.
"What if I told you that it was actually a five-hundred-year artificial soul ring originally?" Yu Xiaogang said mysteriously.
"What?! You're saying this is actually a five-hundred-year artificial soul ring?? Isn't it a nine-hundred-year one?" Flender was surprised.
"Xiaogang? Could it be that you can increase the year-limit of artificial soul rings?" Liu Erlong marveled.
"Hehe!! It looks like there's hope for my ten-thousand-year soul ring!!" Ma Hongjun said excitedly.
Yu Xiaogang recalled how, while upgrading the "Artificial Soul Ring Seed," he had accidentally condensed too much "Soul Power Mass," leading to the ring having a higher year-limit upon maturation. His old face couldn't help but flush red.
Fortunately, it was a blessing in disguise; he had finally "cracked" the artificial soul ring.
"That's right!! Spirit Hall has actually been deceiving us all along!! The year-limit of 'Artificial Soul Rings' is a complete lie!!
In reality, the year-limit of an 'Artificial Soul Ring' is only related to the quality of the 'Soul Power Mass' we fuse into the 'Artificial Soul Ring Seed'."
"Just now, when I upgraded this 'Man-Faced Demon Spider Artificial Soul Ring Seed,' I used a 'Soul Power Mass' with the quality of nine hundred years. To my surprise, this five-hundred-year Man-Faced Demon Spider soul ring actually became a nine-hundred-year one!!!"
"Hahahaha, from now on, we will never lack ten-thousand-year soul rings. We can even secretly sell 'Artificial Soul Rings' to make a fortune!!" Yu Xiaogang said excitedly.
Liu Erlong picked up Yu Xiaogang and gave him a hard kiss on the cheek, saying excitedly: "I knew it!! Xiaogang, you are the number one Martial Soul Grandmaster of Douluo!!"
"Hehe!!" Yu Xiaogang finally experienced the self-esteem and satisfaction of being the "Number One Grandmaster" once again.
After hearing Yu Xiaogang's discovery, Zhao Wuji couldn't help but be startled.
Had Yu Xiaogang really cracked the "Artificial Soul Ring Seed"?
No, I must report Yu Xiaogang's situation to the Lord Hall Master!!
Just as Zhao Wuji was trying to find an excuse to leave, a powerful surge of soul power fluctuated from behind.
Everyone turned around to see figures they hadn't seen in a long time.
A man in black robes exuding an overbearing aura, a girl in pink with a ponytail, and a taciturn man radiating killing intent.
"Idol!! Little San!!! You've come!!" Yu Xiaogang squeezed through the crowd, sounding agitated.
Tang Hao nodded. Although he wanted to blast this Yu Xiaogang—who had nearly gotten Little San killed—with his hammer, the man was Little San's teacher after all, and it wasn't easy for him to act.
"Teacher." The silent Tang San glanced at Yu Xiaogang and responded flatly. Yu Xiaogang's face stiffened; he didn't know what Little San had gone through.
At that moment, Tang San recalled the notification sound of the Asura God Trial in his mind.
Asura God Trial: Understand killing intent; ignore all taboos.
Understand killing intent? Even after obtaining the Deathgod Domain, did he still not truly understand killing intent?
Ignore all taboos? What did that mean?
While Tang San was still immersed in the thoughts of the Asura God Trial, he felt Xiao Wu's hand tighten around his own.
Tang San looked back and saw Xiao Wu's restless and uneasy expression.
Her eyes revealed a trace of terror. Furthermore, Tang San's perception of killing intent was now stronger than ever; he could sense a deep-seated killing intent within Xiao Wu's heart.
Killing intent?
Who did Xiao Wu want to kill?
Following Xiao Wu's gaze, he saw the burly Zhao Wuji.
Zhao Wuji?
Could it be that Zhao Wuji had bullied Xiao Wu during the time he was away?
Recalling Xiao Wu's initial demeanor when they reunited—how she had been afraid to face him—a bad premonition arose in his heart.
Did Zhao Wuji mistreat Xiao Wu?
A purple hue surfaced in Tang San's pupils. When he observed Zhao Wuji's soul power, Tang San was startled.
"Teacher Wuji? You've broken through to Soul Douluo?"
Zhao Wuji scratched his head and said, "That's right! I broke through recently; I haven't had the chance to tell you all yet!"
The others looked at Zhao Wuji in surprise. He had reached the rank of Soul Douluo?
"Father! Zhao Wuji is a spy! Do it now!" Tang San immediately sent a message via Soul Power transmission.
He discovered that the flow of soul power within Zhao Wuji's body was very strange; the soul power in his body had a tendency to rotate toward his dantian.
This was a trend he had seen five years ago within the body of the Chrysanthemum Douluo.
Furthermore, when passing through the Platinum Cathedral in Heaven Dou City, he had seen the same thing from the Platinum Bishop.
Clearly, this was some kind of new cultivation method from Spirit Hall.
Coupled with Xiao Wu's killing intent and fear toward Zhao Wuji...
Tang San was absolutely certain: Zhao Wuji had betrayed them.
BOOM!!
Catching him off guard, Tang Hao sent Zhao Wuji flying with a single strike of his hammer!
"What are you doing?!! Why are you attacking Wuji!!" Flender roared in anger.
"Zhao Wuji is a spy for Spirit Hall!!" Tang San said with absolute conviction.
Everyone was shocked and turned their gaze toward Zhao Wuji, who was dozens of meters away.
"Cough, cough, cough!!" Zhao Wuji coughed up mouthfuls of blood. Sensing that his dantian was shattered and soul power was leaking out, he thought of his one-year-old son in Spirit City. He instantly felt that this life had been worth it. He gave a cruel smile: "Ahahaha!! So what if I am!!?"
"What I have done... the day you learn the truth, you will surely suffer in agony!!!"
"Ahahahaha!!"
In a fit of rage, Tang San flickered forward and stomped his foot heavily onto Zhao Wuji's body, roaring:
"What exactly did you do to Xiao Wu!!?"
"Hahaha, do you think I'll tell you?!"
"You father and son are the most hypocritical, thick-skinned, and bullying people I've ever met. I was truly blind back then to work for you!!"
"Do you see this empty sleeve where my arm used to be!?"
"How ridiculous that back then, to help you obtain Lord Ye Lan's soul bone, I worked diligently only to be sold out by you and humiliated by Tang the Rat. In the end, to help you cover up your crime, I lost an arm."
"And how did you repay me??! When our Shrek Academy was trapped!!"
"How did you ungrateful wolf and Tang the Rat treat me!! You clearly had three slots, yet you chose Liu Erlong, and ignored me, who had sacrificed so much for you father and son!!!"
Zhao Wuji glared at Tang San, manically venting the resentment in his heart. If it weren't for this pair of ungrateful wolves chilling his heart, would he have sought refuge with Lord Ye Lan?
The surrounding Shrek members looked at Tang San and Tang Hao in surprise; they hadn't expected such a history between Zhao Wuji and the Tang father and son.
The looks they cast at Tang San and his father faintly revealed a sense of disdain.
Tang San's expression grew uglier. In his humiliation and rage, he kicked Zhao Wuji's wounds savagely.
Zhao Wuji continued to laugh loudly, as if mocking Tang San's incompetence.
"Hahaha, Lord Ye Lan will avenge me!! Tang San, you will definitely die a more miserable death than I did!!!!"
Gradually, Zhao Wuji's laughter lowered. Seeing this, Tang San still felt unsatisfied.
He directly used his "Black Blue Silver Grass" to entwine Zhao Wuji's neck. With a forceful pull of his claw-like grip, the Blue Silver Grass instantly erupted with power, beheading Zhao Wuji.
Tang Hao watched Tang San, who was radiating endless killing intent, and did not stop him.
Because of Ye Lan, Yuehua was already dead.
Tang Hao could only let Tang San vent his anger and killing intent. He looked at Xiao Wu beside him and asked in a low voice:
"Xiao Wu, what did Zhao Wuji do to you?"
Xiao Wu forced a smile: "Zhao Wuji didn't do anything to me."
She hadn't expected Zhao Wuji to face retribution so quickly.
But she didn't dare tell Tang San the truth. She didn't know how to face him, and Ye Lan still held leverage over her.
Furthermore, once Ye Lan learned of Zhao Wuji's death, what would she do...
After beheading Zhao Wuji and venting his fury, Tang San turned back to look at Yu Xiaogang.
Seeing eyes filled with killing intent, Yu Xiaogang swallowed hard and said slowly:
"Little San, what... what's wrong?"
"...What were you celebrating earlier?" Tang San retracted his killing intent and asked curiously.
Seeing the killing intent vanish from Tang San's eyes, Yu Xiaogang quickly said excitedly:
"Little San!! I've truly discovered an incredible Martial Soul theory!! Our Shrek Academy is truly going to prosper!!!"
"What theory?!" Tang Hao asked hurriedly, fearing Yu Xiaogang would harm Little San again.
Yu Xiaogang chuckled: "I successfully cracked the 'Artificial Soul Ring'!! In the future, we can even create thousand-year, ten-thousand-year, or even hundred-thousand-year artificial soul rings!!!"
Tang Hao's eyes lit up. Just as he was about to ask more, Tang San spoke:
"Artificial Soul Rings??"
"Little San, you haven't been in touch with the outside world for these years, so you aren't clear on the situation. Nowadays, besides the 'Soul Spirit System,' the 'Artificial Soul Ring' is the mainstream, invented by Ye Lan. Artificial soul rings have a limit on absorption but come in many varieties. Except for only being able to increase one level, they are superior to 'Natural Soul Rings'," Tang Hao explained.
"Ye Lan!! Ye Lan!!! Ye Lan again!!!" Killing intent erupted from Tang San's entire body once more!!
"Little San, calm down!!" Tang Hao shouted sternly.
"Yes, Father." Tang San gradually regained his composure.
Seeing Tang San improve, Yu Xiaogang continued: "The Clear Sky Idol is right. Artificial soul rings are almost the first choice for all Heaven Dou soul masters today. However, Spirit Hall has monopolized all rings over ten thousand years, only opening sales for those below that level."
"It is extremely difficult to obtain an artificial soul ring over ten thousand years. One must pay a steep price to get one from Spirit Hall, and you know the relationship between our Shrek Academy and Spirit Hall."
"To get a ten-thousand-year ring, one can only trade with other factions, but other factions don't even have enough for themselves. How could they resell them to Shrek?"
"Then what do you mean by cracking the artificial soul ring?" Tang Hao asked, puzzled.
"Idol, I presume you're familiar with the 'Artificial Soul Ring Seed'? The seed is cheaper, but it requires the soul master to condense a non-attributed soul power mass to fuse into it to obtain a complete ring!"
"I discovered that the 'Artificial Soul Ring Seed' actually has no year-limit distinction!! The 'five-hundred-year seeds' sold in Spirit Hall's shops can actually use high-quality soul power masses to condense into thousand-year, ten-thousand-year, or even hundred-thousand-year rings!!"
Tang San didn't quite understand Yu Xiaogang's technical babbling, but he saw the excitement on his father's face.
"If that's the case!! Then Little San's sixth soul ring is sorted!!!" Tang Hao said excitedly.
"What, Little San is already Rank 60!!!" Yu Xiaogang grabbed Tang San's hands in excitement.
Listening to that feminine, androgynous voice of excitement, Tang San's lip twitched slightly.
Yu Xiaogang, why has your voice turned into this ghostly mess?
"Xiaogang, do you have an artificial soul ring seed for a poison-attribute soul beast?" Tang Hao asked.
"I do, I do!!!" Yu Xiaogang was incredibly excited. He had researched the artificial soul rings so frantically for the sake of his disciple, Little San.
He hadn't expected to actually succeed!!
"This is a two-thousand-year Man-Faced Demon Spider artificial soul ring seed. Idol, I'll have to trouble you to condense it into a ring that Little San can absorb!!" Yu Xiaogang said quickly.
Tang Hao nodded. Whether Yu Xiaogang was telling the truth would be known with a single try.
(End of Chapter)