After settling the young man and woman aside, Wang Nan continued to survey his surroundings. The Qiankun Asking Love Valley, not yet activated, appeared like an ordinary lake, showing no special characteristics.
The Sun Moon Empire and the Holy Spirit Cult would undoubtedly not let go of such a useful natural trap. He had waited for several days, and finally, the people he was expecting arrived.
Evil Soul Masters at the Spirit Douluo cultivation level were no match for him now, easily dealt with in just a single encounter.
However, even though he had rescued the man and woman, he could not leave yet. The people who had come here had not returned, which would surely attract the attention of others in the Holy Spirit Cult, and they might even send more reinforcements. He just didn't know how long he could stall them.
Standing on the hilltop, Wang Nan could even see the general outline of Mingdu in the distance. Since the Holy Spirit Cult had sent people here, the Elite Competition in Mingdu should be nearing its end.
---
Mingdu
Although it was noon, the weather was gloomy, with oppressive dark clouds, and there was even a chill in the air.
On one side of the arena was Shrek Academy, the continent's top academy and multiple consecutive champions of the Soul Duel Tournament, while on the other side was the Holy Spirit Sect, which had only appeared in this Elite Competition.
On the VIP platform, Xu Tianran sat with Ju Zi and a group of Sun Moon Empire ministers, watching the competition while conversing in a low voice with an old man in black robes beside him.
However, just as the competition was underway, several roars erupted from the Sun Moon Empire's Mingde Hall, unleashing a nearly destructive shockwave throughout the hall, with violent explosions occurring simultaneously in several places.
Several enormous, strangely shaped spirit tools burst out from underground, and nearly a hundred Spirit Masters emerged from them, immediately launching an attack on their surroundings.
Their cultivation levels were all above Spirit Douluo, their movements agile, and their strength extremely formidable. No one could stop them wherever they went, leaving a trail of blood and chaos.
The massive roars spread throughout Mingdu. The audience in the surrounding stands no longer watched the competition but instead looked up towards Mingde Hall.
Shrek and the Holy Spirit Cult members, who were clashing in the arena, also stopped simultaneously.
On the VIP platform, Mirror Hongchen's face instantly darkened after just one glance.
"Your Highness…"
"No need to say more." Xu Tianran raised his hand. "Go."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Mirror Hongchen no longer cared about anything else. A pair of golden-glowing wings unfolded behind him, and in the next instant, his figure was already heading towards Mingde Hall.
The Three Great Empires' coordinated action had begun.
Seeing that everyone's attention was drawn to Mingde Hall, and with no other experts beside Xu Tianran except the black-robed Holy Spirit Cult member, two figures soared from the audience stands, each surrounded by nine spirit rings, heading straight for Xu Tianran.
High-level assassination methods often appear extremely simple.
The Sun Moon Empire Imperial City was heavily guarded, and the Three Great Empires had never considered breaking into the Imperial City to assassinate Xu Tianran. The Elite Competition's viewing platform was the perfect place for an assassination.
From the moment the explosion sounded, the Shrek members in the arena gathered together under Huo Yuhao's mental sharing guidance.
Immediately after, the spirit tool protective shield surrounding the arena shattered instantly, and a yellowish-brown light appeared. After several flashes, the arena and the adjacent preparation area no longer showed any trace of the Shrek members.
At this point, who still cared about the Elite Competition results?
Regardless of whether the assassination would succeed, the Sun Moon Empire and the Three Great Empires had already torn off their masks, and war was imminent. Protecting themselves was the most important thing now.
A Dragon's roar echoed from the VIP platform, and a purple-gold giant Dragon soared into the sky.
However, these matters no longer concerned the Shrek members. Xuan Zi also had a flying spirit tool appear behind him, with more than a dozen nozzles simultaneously spraying dazzling white light as he led everyone westward.
---
Wang Nan waited for half a day in Qiankun Asking Love Valley, but it was not the Holy Spirit Cult members who arrived.
Seven "people" appeared before him, four males and three females, each with a unique appearance.
One of them was tall, with black hair flowing behind him, interspersed with a wisp of pale gold. Wang Nan was also familiar with another young girl; it was Di Tian and the Auspicious Beast.
Several years had passed since he first saw the Auspicious Beast in this form, but her appearance had not changed much.
Upon seeing Wang Nan, one of the extremely tall, bald men with a fierce face rubbed his fists, snorted two rough breaths from his nostrils, and was about to move against Wang Nan.
"Xiong Jun," Di Tian raised his hand to stop him. "This is a guest of our Dragon Clan."
At these words, the others also looked Wang Nan up and down.
"I was able to recover entirely thanks to this guest. Do not be rude to him in the future."
"My Lord!" A light voice drifted over. Although the voice was not loud, it still made the several Vicious Beasts bow their heads in unison.
Wang Nan looked over at the sound and saw the Silver Dragon King appear nearby at some point, a light veil covering her face as she floated gracefully towards him.
"What are you all doing…?"
Wang Nan glanced at the "people" in front of him. Although they had all taken human form, it was merely an external change, not a Spirit Beast transforming and training anew. The dense aura of Vicious Beasts on them was completely undisguised.
The Vicious Beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest, except for the tenth one, who had the lowest cultivation but was equally mysterious, were all here.
"The Dragon Tomb is the resting place of our Dragon Clan. I cannot bear to disturb it, so I want to use this place to connect to the God Realm."
As she spoke, nine-colored light flashed in the Silver Dragon King's eyes, and even the teardrop-shaped crystal on Wang Nan's wrist glowed faintly. The Qiankun Asking Love Valley, which clearly had not been activated, even showed faint golden and silver colors simultaneously.
"You should leave here first."
"I…"
Wang Nan was about to speak when his expression suddenly changed. In the distant sky, a black dot appeared in everyone's field of vision, and it was getting larger and larger.
Soon, the dark shadow gradually became clear; it was Xuan Zi and several elders leading the Shrek Academy members.
On the side, several Vicious Beasts already had spirit power fluctuations appearing on their bodies.
"Stop for now." The Silver Dragon King glanced at Wang Nan, then looked at Xuan Zi and the others who were approaching. "You appearing here should be to meet them, right?"
"Yes." Wang Nan nodded.
"We Spirit Beasts already have an agreement with Shrek Academy: you do not actively hunt 100,000-year Spirit Beasts, and we will not actively attack Spirit Masters. You don't need to be in a difficult position."
At Xuan Zi's speed, he had already landed in front of Wang Nan within the time it took for a few sentences. The others could not immediately determine the identities of these strangely shaped people, but with his and the elders' cultivation, they immediately sensed the Spirit Beast aura on them.