The Sun and Moon Plaza looked like an open-air "Bird's Nest," surrounded by tiered stands of spectators. Layer after layer rose upward, and in the middle stood a massive high platform.
It seemed as though half the imperial capital had come, the air brimming with festivity.
People wore bright, celebratory clothes. There were street performers, hawkers shouting, and an endless hum of excitement.
The whole place had a distinct exotic flair.
The Dan Heng family stopped at a colorful painting stall. The stall owner didn't just sell glowing paints—he also did vivid body painting. At that moment, a woman was having a lifelike design painted across her snow-white chest.
Many onlookers watched the scene with curious fascination.
Zi Ji covered Longlong's eyes but was watching with great interest herself.
"Bi Ji, you should get one too, otherwise you have no intimidation factor!" Zi Ji said.
Bi Ji shook her head hastily, her face crimson. Seeing the exposed chest, she imagined herself in that position and instantly felt she couldn't handle it. She subconsciously pulled her clothes tighter, not daring to be like that woman.
Zi Ji suddenly snickered and ran up to Dan Heng.
"Brother-in-law…"
Dan Heng glanced at her and, seeing the sly smile on her face, instantly knew she was up to no good.
"What are you trying to do?"
Zi Ji grinned. "Brother-in-law, Zhu Zhuqing listens to you the most. With her… assets, if you tell her to do body paint, you'll get a real bargain—and I bet she'd need more paint than anyone else!"
"…," Dan Heng's mouth twitched hard. Seriously? This girl could find a way to take advantage of that?
"Zi Ji! You little brat!"
Zhu Zhuqing's face flushed red with anger, and she chased after Zi Ji.
Zi Ji giggled like a little hen and darted forward.
"Careful…" Gu Yuena said helplessly.
Suddenly, Zi Ji bumped into a white-haired girl, sending her flying several meters.
"…," everyone looked at Zi Ji with resignation.
This girl really could stir up trouble.
Zi Ji stepped forward and pulled the white-haired girl up. "Why didn't you dodge?"
"???"
The white-haired girl wasn't seriously hurt—just dirtied her clothes and had a little nosebleed. Hearing Zi Ji's words, she froze, dumbfounded.
She'd been knocked flying and she was the one expected to apologize?Where was the justice?The law?
She stared blankly at Zi Ji, at a loss for words.
"Dream! Are you okay?"
Xiao Hongchen ran over anxiously, checking on Meng Hongchen.
Meng Hongchen wiped her nose. Once the blood stopped, she was fine. She shook her head, about to tell Xiao Hongchen not to cause trouble with these people.
"I'm talking to you," Xiao Hongchen said coldly, glaring at Zi Ji.
He wanted to stand up for his little sister.
"What about me? What do you want to say?" Zi Ji narrowed her eyes, glaring back with a threat in her gaze.
Xiao Hongchen froze. He'd expected some burly guy or an ugly woman—not a peerlessly beautiful woman like Zi Ji. He instantly regretted being so stern just now.
"Zi Ji, you were in the wrong—you should apologize to her," Bi Ji said gently, calming Zi Ji and apologizing to the girl on her behalf.
Before Meng Hongchen could reply, Xiao Hongchen's eyes widened at Bi Ji. Another beauty of this caliber?
"Bi Ji, don't you know what kind of person she is?"
A cold voice cut in. Zhu Zhuqing approached with her arms crossed.
She had to keep her arms folded—otherwise there'd be… distracting movement that would draw unwanted stares.
Xiao Hongchen glanced at her and immediately flushed again. "It's nothing. We're fine. Just a bump, right? We're soul engineers—it's not that easy to hurt us."
"???"
Meng Hongchen stared at her brother. "Xiao, are you—"
Just then, Dan Heng and the rest came over.
When Meng Hongchen saw Dan Heng, her eyes lit up. In all her years in the Sun and Moon Empire, she'd never seen such a handsome man!
In an instant, it was as if countless petals and starlight surrounded him—like a god descending to the mortal realm.
"I… I feel a little dizzy…" she murmured, holding her forehead.
"Quit pretending, Meng—you can take a beating. Don't forget our mission," Xiao Hongchen said seriously, trying to look composed.
Meng Hongchen glared at him. "Shut up!"
"I'm Xiao Hongchen. No need to mind us. I'm guessing you're from outside the Empire? If you run into trouble here, you can come to Mingde Hall to find me…" he said warmly.
Faced with this many top-tier beauties, he was feeling dizzy himself.
What was going on?How could all of them be so beautiful?
Dan Heng gave a slight nod, not caring about the siblings. Since they weren't hurt, there was no need to linger.
Meng Hongchen tried to follow, but Xiao Hongchen grabbed her. "We have to take the Shrek group around first. Don't wander. Since we're in Mingdu, we'll find them eventually—if it's meant to be, you won't be separated."
Meng Hongchen reluctantly agreed, following him to find the Shrek people.
…
Moments later, fate played its hand—they ran into each other again at a fruit drink stand.
This time, Xiao Hongchen and Meng Hongchen were with Mu En and the others.
Meng Hongchen jumped up from her seat, eager to greet Dan Heng.
But Xiao Hongchen was even quicker, clearing his throat. "Meng, watch your manners—we represent the new generation of the Sun and Moon Empire. And the guests are right here…"
He was trying to play the mature, composed role, not wanting the Shrek people to look down on them.
Shrek's group had come to the Sun and Moon Empire, but they hadn't agreed to join yet. Mingde Hall didn't want to scare them off with too forward an approach, so they had the siblings make first contact.
Meng Hongchen turned to look—and froze.
The Shrek people were even more worked up than she was, all standing at once!
"Uh…"
She was dumbfounded. What on earth was going on?
Mu En and the others were just as panicked at the sight of Dan Heng's group.
Were they here to hunt them down?They'd done everything as told…And still couldn't avoid them even in the Sun and Moon Empire?
Wasn't that too uncanny?
Dan Heng's group didn't react at all, not even bothering to speak to the Shrek people. They just sat down and minded their own business, as if they hadn't seen them.
Gu Yuena glanced at a nearby couple, then followed suit—taking off her shoes and placing her white-socked feet on Dan Heng's lap.
Blinking playfully, she said, "Husband, massage me—I'm tired from walking."
Dan Heng naturally agreed, massaging her gently.
On the other side, the Shrek people all breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down—but each with strange expressions, sitting uneasily as if on pins and needles.
Meng Hongchen stared in shock.
In that instant, her love-at-first-sight crush shattered into pieces!
Xiao Hongchen patted her shoulder. "Meng, you have to learn to accept things."
"…," Meng Hongchen sat down in a daze, looking as if all color had drained from her world.
Xiao Hongchen, on the other hand, wasn't too bothered. Sure, the most beautiful one had a husband, but the others were just as stunning!No way they were all with that man… right?
At that moment, the ceremony began on the central stage. A dance troupe came out, and the whole Sun and Moon Plaza erupted in celebration as energetic music filled the air.
"Wow…!"
The music surged like waves, rolling in from all directions.
Dan Heng's family watched the performance. The platform was an exact octagon, with each side holding a giant screen perfectly projecting the performance.
Dan Heng didn't particularly enjoy it, but watching with his family wasn't boring.
Suddenly, he raised an eyebrow, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.
Gu Yuena withdrew her legs from his lap, put her shoes back on, and smiled. "What a coincidence, husband. Looks like we can take care of this all at once."
Dan Heng nodded, glancing at Zi Ji who was trying to sneak off.
"Zi Ji, come back," Gu Yuena called.
Zi Ji trotted back.
"Sis, what's—"
Before she could finish, a burst of light erupted from the outer walls, forming a dome that sealed the entire Sun and Moon Plaza!
Onstage, just as the Sun and Moon Emperor stepped forward, chaos broke out!The Crown Prince, Xu Tianran, was pushed onto the platform by Ju Zi, and he shouted:
"Father! I cannot bear to watch you be deceived by the Holy Spirit Cult! Today, I will expose their crimes here and… cleanse the court! I beg your forgiveness!"
The Emperor roared in fury. "Outrageous! Seize him!"
Guards from both sides moved in—but Xu Tianran had planned for this and took them down in an instant.
The Emperor turned to have his court soul masters escort him away—but they pressed their hands on his shoulders and shook their heads.
They'd all been bought by Xu Tianran!
The Emperor's cause was lost.
At the same time, Kong Deming and other top experts launched a sudden attack on the Holy Spirit Cult members.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions erupted outside as well.
"Today, for the innocent citizens of the Sun and Moon Empire who died, we will slay you sinners!" Kong Deming roared.
He clashed fiercely with the Imperial Preceptor, Ye Xishui.
Meanwhile, every giant screen began broadcasting bloody scenes of the Holy Spirit Cult's slaughter.
The crowd exploded in rage, shouting their fury.
High above, fierce battles raged—Mingde Hall and the Worship Hall's top soul engineers attacked the Cult's powerhouses.
The Cult members present were almost all Titled Douluo, and the fight was at a stalemate.
Soul power raged overhead, and whenever a soul skill struck the ground, countless people were killed or injured.
"Friends from Shrek! The Holy Spirit Cult has attacked Shrek Academy many times! We hope you will lend us your aid—it will be vengeance for your fallen comrades!"
Kong Deming shouted toward the Shrek group.
The Shrek group exchanged glances, and finally, all eyes turned to Mu En.
If they stood on the side of the Sun Moon Empire, the battle would end quickly.
But…
A few people knew about the tangled grievances between Mu En and Ye Xishui—could he really put that aside and take action against the Holy Spirit Cult?
Mu En glanced in the direction of Dan Heng's family, stood up, and sighed:"Forget it, let's all go. Think of it as making one last contribution to the Douluo Continent."
Once his words fell, the Shrek group all shot into the sky, joining the battle against the Holy Spirit Cult's evil soul masters.
The tide of the fight began to tilt in one direction.
Outside, a Dark Holy Dragon was ramming into the protective barrier, but for the moment, it couldn't break through.
"Boom…!!!"
A shell came blasting in.
A burst of white light erupted—it was like the sun had fallen into the mortal world.
Infinite radiance swallowed the Dark Holy Dragon whole.
The violent tremor even shattered the protective barrier over Sun Moon Square, like glass breaking.
To think—just moments ago, even with the Dark Holy Dragon unleashing its full power, it couldn't break the barrier, and now a single soul tool shell had blown it apart!
As for the Dark Holy Dragon at the center of the explosion…
A few seconds later, it fell from the sky, its body disintegrating into a human form—life or death unknown!
"Ahhhh…!!!"
Ye Xishui suddenly transformed her martial soul into a phoenix, bursting into flames to force Mu En back, then rushed straight toward the falling figure.
"Xiaoyao…!!!"
Below, the collateral damage from their battle had already killed and injured over a thousand innocents—and the number was still climbing!
Dan Heng's family, however, remained calm, simply sensing the presence of the remaining evil soul masters.
Gu Yuena smiled and said,"The Sun Moon Empire is showing some decisiveness. Right now, there are fewer than twenty evil soul masters left in Mingdu… The Holy Spirit Cult is finished."
Dan Heng nodded slightly, releasing the power of life to restore the vitality of the innocent casualties.
This way, no bystanders would die from being caught in the crossfire.
Aside from that, they did nothing—just quietly watched the scene unfold.
Up in the sky, Kong Deming laughed, watching the Holy Spirit Cult vanish rapidly:"Today marks the Sun Moon Empire's cleansing of corruption—"
Before he could finish, countless Blue Silver Grass vines suddenly shot out from above, whipping toward him to strangle!
A wave of evil aura erupted, and even the light in the sky seemed to be swallowed.
"A bunch of ants… and you dare to resist?"
At the end of the Blue Silver Grass stood a figure holding a Clear Sky Hammer, staring coldly at the crowd.
His vines split into countless strands, shooting toward both the soul engineers in the sky and the ordinary people on the ground.
He was going to devour their life force!
"Stop! Xiaosan…!"
A cry of shock rang out.
It was Ah Yin!
Now at god-level herself, she instantly summoned countless golden-blue Blue Silver Grass from the ground to clash against Tang San's dark blue-silver vines, blocking his assault on the others.
Tang San looked at her and sneered,"So it's you—the treacherous slut who betrayed the cult master!"
He immediately abandoned all others and lunged toward Ah Yin.
Ah Yin sighed mournfully,"Xiaosan…"
At the same time, she unleashed her divine power to battle Tang San head-on.
In the shadows—
The Holy Spirit Cult's master was watching the fight, his face ashen.
Beside him was only Bibi Dong—his sole remaining subordinate. Other than her, he was now a lone commander without an army.
"A bunch of useless trash!!!"
The cult master was nearly driven to madness with rage.
The top combat strength he'd built up over ten thousand years had been wiped out in one strike by Dan Heng.
Now the Sun Moon Empire had come to "clean the royal court" and taken away all the lesser members too!
Was he supposed to just keep hiding?
Bibi Dong sneered,
"I told you long ago—those wastes were not worth relying on. Let's run."
"No need. Dan Heng and the others can't find me…"
The cult master said with confidence.
(End of chapter)