Zhongli Wu said to Ye Xishui, "Mother, that Wang Chen is now staying in the heavily guarded and powerful nobles' district. There's no chance to strike."
Ye Xishui's eyes were sharp. "Can he stay in Mingdu for his entire life? Send a strong expert skilled in concealment to watch him. When he reaches a bottleneck and leaves Mingdu to hunt soul beasts and obtain new soul rings, that's when we'll eliminate him."
Ye Xishui's voice was cold and determined. Clearly, she felt an enormous sense of threat from Wang Chen's existence.
As the Supreme Pontiff of the Holy Spirit Cult, she knew all too well how dangerous such a terrifyingly gifted young man could become.
Especially since Wang Chen had already shown the ability to kill a Titled Douluo. If he were allowed to continue growing stronger—
Once the balance of power between the Sun Moon Empire and the Holy Spirit Cult was broken, the Cult would inevitably face a siege and suppression from the Sun Moon Empire.
Ye Xishui knew Xu Jing very well. That man had an extremely strong desire for control. For the Holy Spirit Cult, which was beyond his command and powerful enough to threaten the Empire, he had always harbored secret intentions.
The reason they could coexist peacefully now was not because Xu Jing was unwilling, but because he feared the Holy Spirit Cult's strength and didn't want mutual destruction. Otherwise, he would have long turned his face against them without hesitation.
Two tigers cannot share one mountain. How could anyone sleep soundly beside another's bed?
Ye Xishui sneered. "An emperor—such a thing is useful when he needs you. But when he doesn't, and he considers you a threat, if you lack the strength to resist, that's the day you die."
"Therefore, balance of power must be maintained. Otherwise…"
Ye Xishui looked at Long Xiaoyao, who had remained silent, and asked, "Xiaoyao, what do you think?"
Long Xiaoyao pondered for a moment before replying, "Wang Chen's talent is indeed astonishing. Especially now that he's been conferred the title of duke and entered the Royal Offering Hall—his position is extremely important. If we act against him, it might provoke Xu Jing's full retaliation."
Ye Xishui snorted coldly, her tone filled with disdain. "Retaliation? The Sun Moon Empire may be powerful, but our Holy Spirit Cult is not made of paper.
"With both you and me as Limit Douluo in the Cult, would they dare act rashly?
"As long as Wang Chen dies, even if the Empire wants revenge, they'll have to weigh the costs.
"Do you think Xu Jing and Kong Deming would go to war with us, risking the Empire's vitality, just for a dead man?"
Long Xiaoyao sighed. He could tell Ye Xishui had already made up her mind, so he said nothing more.
Though he regretted that such a talented youth as Wang Chen would die, what could he do? The woman he loved—Ye Xishui—was the Supreme Pontiff of the Holy Spirit Cult, an evil soul master.
Thinking of how he had once ruined Ye Xishui's purity and the harm he'd caused her, Long Xiaoyao no longer felt regret.
Seeing Long Xiaoyao remain silent, Ye Xishui continued giving orders to Zhongli Wu. "Wang Chen's strength is considerable. The elders of the Holy Spirit Cult would find it hard to monitor him, so don't send them.
"I will handle this myself. I'll dispatch offerings from the Offering Hall skilled in stealth, assassination, and surveillance to monitor Wang Chen.
"You just focus on maintaining contact with Xu Tianran and secretly supporting that useless prince to become emperor. Remember—under no circumstances must you show public support.
"If Xu Jing finds out, all your investment will be wasted. Xu Jing's health may be failing, but he can still live for several years. We must remain cautious when acting within Mingdu."
Zhongli Wu nodded respectfully. "Rest assured, Mother, I understand."
Ye Xishui waved her hand, signaling that Zhongli Wu could leave.
After Zhongli Wu left, only Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao remained in the room.
Ye Xishui looked at Long Xiaoyao, her tone softening slightly. "Xiaoyao, send the Dark Spirit Douluo from the Offering Hall to monitor Wang Chen. Once Wang Chen leaves Mingdu, have him contact members of the Xishui Alliance to eliminate him."
In the Holy Spirit Cult, the Offering Hall's soul masters were the most powerful. Long Xiaoyao was the head of the Offering Hall—its leader.
Under him were eleven offerings, six of whom were Super Douluo. (In the original story, the Scorpion Tiger Douluo Zhang Peng, a level 96 Douluo, didn't even rank among the top five of them.)
These offerings held extremely high status within the Cult—even Zhongli Wu, the current Cult Master, could not command them.
That was because most of these offerings were not raised by the Cult, nor were they even evil soul masters.
More than half were followers of the Dragon Emperor Douluo, Long Xiaoyao. They only obeyed him. They ignored Ye Xishui's orders and refused to assist in the Cult's atrocities.
Some even despised the evil soul masters and only remained in the Cult because of Long Xiaoyao.
As the Dragon Emperor Douluo and a level 99 Limit Douluo, Long Xiaoyao had roamed the Douluo Continent for many years. Though he hadn't founded a power of his own, he had many followers.
Therefore, if Ye Xishui wanted to command the offerings of the Offering Hall, she had to do so through Long Xiaoyao.
And since Long Xiaoyao's heart belonged entirely to Ye Xishui, he naturally obeyed her completely.
Upon hearing Ye Xishui's request, Long Xiaoyao nodded without hesitation. If it were something cruel or evil, he might have hesitated.
But mere surveillance of Wang Chen was trivial to him, so he didn't refuse.
Seeing that Long Xiaoyao still obeyed her, Ye Xishui's twisted heart leapt with delight.
In her youth, Ye Xishui had been the Holy Maiden of the Holy Spirit Cult. Under the orders of Zhongli Wu's father—the old cult master—she had approached Mu En and Long Xiaoyao, making both of them fall for her.
She pretended to be Mu En's lover, but later seduced Long Xiaoyao, allowing Mu En to catch them in the act.
That betrayal had shattered Mu En and Long Xiaoyao's friendship forever.
Since then, Long Xiaoyao had always felt guilty toward Ye Xishui, believing he had wronged both her and his sworn brother Mu En.
From that moment, he became Ye Xishui's loyal servant and lifelong protector.
Ye Xishui thought to herself, "The Dark Spirit Douluo has reached level 95, and under Xiaoyao's guidance, his strength is formidable. His martial soul is especially skilled in concealment at night. With him monitoring Wang Chen, nothing will go wrong."
Long Xiaoyao immediately left for the Offering Hall.
Moments later, at the Offering Hall of the Holy Spirit Cult, in the great hall of the Fifth Offering—Dark Spirit Douluo Shen Kang.
Shen Kang was a handsome middle-aged man with long black hair, thick brows, and sharp features. His presence exuded quiet power.
He bowed respectfully. "Teacher."
Long Xiaoyao looked at him, sensing his calm and seamless aura that harmonized perfectly with the surrounding heaven and earth. He nodded. "Not bad. You've fully mastered the unity of heaven and man.
"To advance further and break through level 96, aside from accumulating soul power, the key lies in deepening your understanding of your martial soul."
After giving Shen Kang a few more words of guidance, Long Xiaoyao relayed Ye Xishui's order to him.
As Long Xiaoyao departed, Shen Kang's eyes darkened. 'Monitor Wang Chen? Hmph, this must be another one of that vile woman Ye Xishui's schemes.'
Shen Kang's martial soul, Dark Spirit, shared the same dark attribute as Long Xiaoyao's Dark Holy Dragon, which was why Long Xiaoyao had taken notice of him and accepted him as a student.
But Shen Kang could never understand why his teacher was involved with someone as wicked and corrupt as Ye Xishui.
He and others had tried to dissuade Long Xiaoyao before, but to no avail.
Although he detested Ye Xishui and didn't want to get involved in her affairs, this was his teacher's request—he could not refuse.
Sigh… consider it repaying the teacher's kindness.
Shen Kang's figure turned into a streak of black light and vanished.
————————
Evening, in the imperial palace study.
Xu Jing sat in his chair, looking at an elderly man in a black robe. "Have you found which prince is colluding with the Holy Spirit Cult?"
Xu Jing was furious that the Holy Spirit Cult dared to act so brazenly in Mingdu.
If they dared to attack the Wang family in the capital today, what would stop them from attacking the palace tomorrow?
Such treachery had to be crushed with thunderous force, or the Empire's authority would mean nothing.
Over the past two days, Xu Jing had not only targeted the Cult's subordinate faction—the Xishui Alliance—but had also launched an investigation to discover which prince was secretly colluding with them.
The old man with Titled Douluo-level cultivation knelt on one knee. "This minister is incompetent. I could not find evidence that any prince colluded with the Holy Spirit Cult. I await Your Majesty's punishment."
The Holy Spirit Cult's leader, Zhongli Wu, a Super Douluo-level evil soul master, maintained secret one-to-one contact with Xu Tianran and had never provided him with the Cult's resources. Naturally, no evidence could be found.
Xu Jing leaned back in his chair and said calmly, "Rise."
"Yes, Your Majesty." The old man stood quietly, awaiting further orders.
Xu Jing waved his hand, signaling him to leave. The old man bowed and exited.
Xu Jing's eyes deepened. He already had his suspicions—it had to be either the First Prince, Xu Tianran, or the Third Prince, Xu Tianshi. Both were possible.
Originally, he had planned to have it investigated, but he was surprised to find that both were hiding it well—no direct evidence.
Since that was the case, there was no need to investigate further. He would simply remove both from succession and appoint the Second Prince, Xu Tianyu, as Crown Prince.
As emperor, Xu Jing held absolute authority. Suspicion alone was enough.
Evidence was for subordinates to provide—to prove their innocence and avoid punishment.
It was never the emperor's duty to find proof of their guilt or innocence.
No one had found evidence, so he wouldn't waste any more time. The earlier investigation had only been to spare any innocent sons undue suffering.
If they must suffer injustice, so be it.
Xu Jing thought, It's time to settle the matter of the crown prince. The Wang family supports the Second Prince, Xu Tianyu—their relations are close. Wang Chen is naturally aligned with him as well.
After Wang Chen and Tianzhen's marriage, their ties will deepen even further…
If another prince ascends to the throne, it could create conflict with the Wang family's faction, which would be undesirable.
After weighing the pros and cons, Xu Jing decided to make Xu Tianyu crown prince and heir.
Having made his decision, Xu Jing said, "Someone, draft a decree."
His voice echoed through the study. Young eunuchs quickly brought paper, ink, and brush.
After a pause, Xu Jing dictated, "The Second Prince, Xu Tianyu—virtuous, talented, and upright—has long been favored by Us. Today, We appoint him Crown Prince, heir to the imperial throne. Let him govern diligently and not fail Our trust. So decreed."
The chief eunuch swiftly transcribed the edict. Xu Jing reviewed it carefully, confirmed it, and sealed it with the imperial jade seal.
He handed it to the attendant in the robes of the Royal Offering Hall. "Announce it to the Empire. Three days from now, hold the grand ceremony."
"Yes, Your Majesty." The attendant respectfully accepted the decree and turned to leave.
Just then—
Cough, cough! Xu Jing's face flushed red as he covered his mouth, coughing violently.
"Your Majesty!!" His two attendants rushed to support him, panic on their faces.
Slowly, Xu Jing opened his hand, staring at the blood in his palm. His gaze turned icy.
His body… was failing faster and faster.
One attendant rushed to summon the imperial physician, while the other took out a pill to feed him.
Around them, every eunuch and maid dropped to their knees, trembling, not daring to breathe.
They all knew—the emperor's health was a state secret. Having witnessed him cough blood, they would likely be silenced.
At such a moment, who wouldn't be afraid for their lives?
Xu Jing's cold gaze swept over them. "Deal with them."
"Your Majesty, spare us!!"
"Your Majesty, have mercy!!"
The Titled Douluo-level attendant's eyes hardened. In an instant, every eunuch and maid vanished—without even a trace of blood left behind.
Xu Jing sat back in his chair, eyes dark and deep. There was still time—enough time to arrange everything.
He ordered his attendant, "Invite Elder Kong."
————————
Meanwhile, at the Wang family estate—
Wang Chen sat on the sofa, with two stunning beauties, Juzi and Ye Guyi, massaging his shoulders and legs. Feeling utterly relaxed, he closed his eyes in contentment.
Earlier that day, he had met with Ye Yulin and several other Offerings, familiarizing himself with the Royal Offering Hall.
He discovered that the Hall was divided into two parts.
One consisted of the Empire's top-tier Rank Nine Soul Engineer researchers. Their main duty was to work alongside Kong Deming on the Empire's most advanced technological projects.
They usually didn't attend court and were seldom disturbed by the emperor.
The other part served the emperor directly, acting upon his orders.
Wang Chen thought to himself, Joining the Royal Offering Hall and gaining Kong Deming's guidance… I really wonder what powerful techniques Kong Deming possesses…
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