"Yuhao, what do you think of Princess Jiujiu's suggestion?"
In Mingdu, at the site of the All-Continent Advanced Spirit Master Elite Competition, as the champions of the previous Soul Duel Tournament, the Shrek Academy members were seated in the most luxurious lounge area.
Beibei and Huo Yuhao sat side-by-side in the front row.
Huo Yuhao heard the question, scanned his surroundings with his mental force, and after detecting no abnormalities, enveloped himself and Beibei.
"A feint against Mingde Hall, with the actual goal of assassinating Crown Prince Xu Tianran of the Sun Moon Empire. While the plan is quite ruthless, it's still a bit fanciful. Mingde Hall, the Holy Spirit Cult, and Xu Tianran himself are certainly not ordinary individuals; assassinating him won't be easy."
"Furthermore, the Sun Moon Empire's spirit tools are far more advanced than ours. Grandmaster once said that there are already spirit tools capable of threatening his safety, so their defenses certainly won't be poor. Even a master like Old Xuan taking action might not be effective."
During the competition breaks, Princess Xu Jiujiu of the Star Luo Empire had approached Shrek Academy more than once. According to her, the Star Luo Empire had made some preparations to delay the Sun Moon Empire's advance and hoped Shrek Academy could cooperate with them to cause disruption in Mingdu.
However, the plan seemed too simplistic.
"Shrek Academy, after all, does not side with any single great Empire, so they certainly won't disclose their specific plans. However, the continental war a thousand years ago was led by Shrek, which repelled the Sun Moon Empire at that time. Once the Sun Moon Empire starts a war, it will be difficult for us to stay out of it."
Beibei said, deep in thought, "Moreover, whether we agree or not, the Star Luo Empire will likely not abandon their plan. When the time comes, the entire Mingdu will fall into chaos, and it won't be so easy for us to leave."
Huo Yuhao glanced at the audience who had come to watch the Elite Competition; some ordinary people were sitting in the stands, cheering for the matches on stage.
"And even if this matter were feasible, I wouldn't agree."
Beibei looked at Huo Yuhao with surprise.
"If facing an Evil Soul Master, I would certainly not hold back. Standing on the battlefield against the soldiers of the Sun Moon Empire, they are all prepared to die. But these commoners, I cannot bring myself to harm them."
"Although that princess didn't mention it, if we proceed with her plan, the consequences would be uncontrollable."
As Huo Yuhao spoke, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he thought of his mother, whom he had already brought to the Tang Sect.
She was also just an ordinary person.
Although he now possessed the cultivation of a Spirit King, he didn't know when it started, but his eyes had also begun to see those ordinary people without cultivation.
Perhaps it began when he prostrated himself in the Duke's Mansion, begging for medicinal pills for his mother.
If a Spirit Master, because of his own cultivation, refused to look down on ordinary people, then he might not have obtained the medicinal pill that could save his mother.
What would he have become after that?
Having understood the vastness of the universe, he still pitied the tender green grass.
Before Huo Yuhao's eyes, someone had already set an example for him.
"Yuhao..." Beibei looked at Huo Yuhao, who was lost in thought.
"I'm fine, Senior Brother." Huo Yuhao snapped out of it. "Let's continue watching the competition. We won't participate in the Star Luo Empire's plan."
"Alright, I'll go speak with Senior Sister about it later." Beibei nodded. "However, the news Xu Jiujiu brought is probably true. This competition is far from as simple as it appears on the surface."
Huo Yuhao also glanced around upon hearing this.
A Level 9 spirit tool blockade, with only the west side as a passage...
...
Mountains surrounded, sun and moon without light.
At the center of the Sun Moon Empire's Western Mountains, a huge valley spanning more than ten li was filled with lake water, its surface shimmering.
Just then, several figures broke the tranquility here.
There were four people in total, two of whom were completely veiled in black. Each of them carried a person, a young man and a young woman.
The young man and woman struggled fiercely, but under the control of these two figures, they could not move at all.
"You, what do you want to do?!" The young man screamed piercingly, his voice trembling.
"We are going to hold a grand ritual," the black figure carrying him slowly spoke, his voice hoarse. "We need a living person as a sacrifice. We just happened to catch the two of you. Tell us, which of you is willing to be the sacrifice, and we can release the other."
"No, don't!" The young woman's voice was full of pleading. "Please, let us go."
The young man had long since been scared out of his wits and suddenly shrieked loudly, "I don't want to die! If you want a sacrifice, use her, use her as the sacrifice!"
"Hmph, as expected, when disaster strikes, everyone fends for themselves. Where are all those vows of eternal love? See, isn't this always accurate when tested?" One of the black-clothed figures boasted to the person beside him.
However, he did not hear any response from the person next to him for a long time, and he could not even hear the cries of the two "sacrifices" in his hands.
The black-clothed figure was surprised and tried to raise his hand, but he couldn't exert any strength. His body seemed to have become much lighter?
The black body was about to fall into the lake when a figure suddenly flashed out from the side, stepping on golden light, and took his body away.
The newcomer was naturally Wang Nan. With his current cultivation, he could easily bypass Mingdu and arrive at the Qiankun Wenqing Valley in the Western Mountains, if he wished to conceal his tracks.
Although he had arrived on the Sun Moon Empire's side, he had no intention of confronting the Level 9 spirit tools head-on. Instead, he decided to turn this western path into a true thoroughfare.
Meanwhile, an endless fear had already risen in the heart of the other black-clothed figure.
He could walk through the air, and his cultivation was at the Spirit Douluo level, yet he had not noticed when someone else had appeared beside him and had even silently taken his companion's life.
Looking closely, he realized that the golden light that had just flashed before his eyes was a long staff with a coiled Dragon.
The next moment, this long staff grew larger and larger before his eyes. His body wanted to resist, wanted to do something, but he only felt that the spirit power within him had never been so heavy. As soon as he tried to summon it, his head and body had already landed in different places.
His first spirit ring lit up, and Wang Nan's figure flashed repeatedly, collecting the Evil Soul Master's corpse.
This was the Qiankun Wenqing Valley. Although it was said to require the blood of men and women who had betrayed love to activate it, it was, after all, related to a god. Wang Nan did not want to experiment with what would happen if the bodies of these two Evil Soul Masters fell in.
The young man and woman in Wang Nan's hands had already fallen into a deep sleep. Under his mental force, ordinary people had no resistance whatsoever.
After what had just happened, once they woke up, there was no telling what kind of commotion they would make, so it was better to let them sleep soundly.