Meanwhile, Dragon Turtle Douluo—also known as Tang Zhen—had arrived at the palace and met with Porcupine Douluo, Serpent Spear Douluo, and Qian Renxue.
Tang Zhen was quite familiar with Serpent Spear and Porcupine. Previously, they had cooperated in the Hurricane Forest, but two hundred-thousand-year soul beasts had escaped. That operation had been a regret. If they had prepared more thoroughly and brought Porcupine along, they might have captured the two Crimson Flame Roaring Tiger Kings alive—or at the very least obtained two hundred-thousand-year soul bones. Fortunately, they later discovered the Xuanwu Secret Realm and gained enormous benefits from it.
Tang Zhen's soul power was now very close to Rank 93. Compared to Porcupine and Serpent Spear, who had only recently advanced to Rank 92, the difference was already apparent. What was more notable was that Tang Zhen had taken several fewer years than them to reach the Titled Douluo realm.
Porcupine and Serpent Spear both knew that Tang Zhen's rapid cultivation was due to a great opportunity he had encountered in the Hurricane Forest, allowing him to surge ahead. During his time guarding Qian Renxue, Tang Zhen usually cultivated in seclusion and rarely interacted with others. It was only in the past few months—when the operation expanded and the undercover phase neared its end—that they had begun communicating with her more frequently.
"Elder Tang, did Grandfather send you this time for the matter of seizing power?" Qian Renxue immediately recognized Tang Zhen. After all, she had met him several years ago during the previous Elite Tournament.
Tang Zhen nodded calmly.
"Yes, Miss. The High Priest sent me with over a hundred experts—ranging from Soul Kings and Soul Saints to several Soul Douluos—to assist you. This operation must not fail."
Qian Renxue was deeply moved. "Grandfather truly lives up to his reputation. Even from thousands of miles away in Spirit Hall, he still grasps everything happening on the continent."
"Elder Tang, since you're here as well, that's perfect. I've already sent someone to summon Elder Poison. With the four of you elders present, even if Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School come personally, I'll have nothing to fear!"
Tang Zhen felt slightly awkward. If those three truly arrived together, the outcome would be hard to predict. Porcupine and Serpent Spear exchanged a glance and could only laugh dryly. Miss still underestimated the terrifying combined combat strength of Sword Douluo Chen Xin, Bone Douluo Gu Rong, and Ning Fengzhi's support.
Qian Renxue continued decisively,
"All four elders are Rank 92 Titled Douluos. Each of you will lead a team from Spirit Hall to take control of the major legions. Any marshal who refuses to cooperate—kill them or detain them temporarily. No rumors are to spread. I'll have people handle the aftermath."
"Yes!" everyone replied in unison.
At the same time, Yin Zhang was contemplating how to deal with the Star Luo Empire.
During the Elite Tournament, he had become acquainted with Dai Yuqing and Zhu Mengran of the Star Luo Royal Academy. His initial intention had been to use them as leverage to indirectly influence Star Luo. Later, he infiltrated Heaven Dou alongside Qian Renxue, aiming to bring Star Luo under control in the most efficient way possible.
"It's been several years since I last saw Dai Yuqing and Zhu Mengran. I wonder how they're doing now," Yin Zhang thought. "Once we return to Spirit Hall and settle matters here, we can send someone to contact them."
"The situation in Star Luo is completely different from Heaven Dou. Heaven Dou's royal bloodline was thin, and Qian Renxue wiped it out cleanly. But Star Luo's royal family is massive, and every emperor is exceptionally prolific. Using the same methods won't work there."
As Yin Zhang pondered this, he gently held Hu Liena, who was leaning against him.
"We could send people to eliminate the Star Luo Emperor's sons and then place Dai Yuqing on the throne," he murmured. "In the original story, Dai Mubai should be around ten years old now, while Dai Zhu—no, Dai Yuqing—is about my age. Once I take control and mobilize Spirit Hall's full power, Star Luo won't be able to resist. At that point, putting Dai Yuqing on the throne should be easy."
Seeing that Yin Zhang seemed lost in thought, Hu Liena asked curiously,
"Brother Zhang, what are you thinking about?"
Yin Zhang paused, then shared his thoughts with her. Hu Liena suddenly understood.
"Oh, I see. As for the Star Luo Empire… I actually know about a major incident there. It was extremely secretive. I only learned about it from my teacher when I kept pestering her."
"A major incident?" Yin Zhang's interest was instantly piqued.
"Nana, don't keep me in suspense. What is it? Tell me—maybe it can help."
Hu Liena lowered her voice, her expression turning mysterious.
"As you know, the current Star Luo Emperor has many sons. The second prince supposedly died young. But in truth, that second prince was not the Emperor's child at all—he was the son of the Empress and a guest elder of Soul Douluo rank."
"In order to prevent the truth from being exposed once the child grew up, that guest elder persuaded the Empress to secretly kill the second prince, leaving no trace. Unfortunately for them, the elder had a habit of keeping a diary."
"At the time, Spirit Hall had operatives within Star Luo. They infiltrated his residence while he was away and discovered the diary. Everything was written clearly inside."
"My teacher saw it and felt extremely conflicted. Perhaps she was moved by how cruelly others could treat their own children."
Yin Zhang was stunned.
"I really didn't expect something like this to exist in the original story!"
If the second prince had survived, the one competing with Davis—and engaged to Zhu Zhuqing—wouldn't have been the third prince, Dai Mubai, but that second prince who had died young.
Hu Liena continued,
"Spirit Hall then used this as leverage to turn that guest elder into our spy. As for the Empress, she didn't cooperate—but that didn't matter. With this evidence in hand, obtaining key information was easy. At critical moments, we could force both the elder and the Empress to act for us."
Yin Zhang's eyes lit up. He had been worrying about how to deal with the Star Luo Empire—
and now, a perfect opening had appeared.
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