Chapter 210: Aftermath Reactions
Xu Jiawei forced a smile. "Elder Zhao, do you think there's still a chance for Star Luo to continue cooperating with the Ontology Sect? Although this intelligence failure was unfortunate, it was never my intention. Clearly, someone was manipulating things behind the scenes, which led to this outcome."
No matter what, the Ontology Sect was an incredibly powerful faction, and Xu Jiawei was determined to keep them aligned with the Star Luo Empire.
Elder Zhao shook his head. "Xu Jiawei, the sect master's distrust in your intelligence network has reached its limit. My advice is that you thoroughly investigate your internal intelligence agencies to figure out exactly where things went wrong."
With that, Elder Zhao swiftly departed.
Xu Jiawei watched him leave with a hint of helplessness, his gaze lingering until the elder exited the palace.
At that moment, Xu Jiujiu approached and asked, "Brother, why did our intelligence fail? Judging by Elder Zhao's expression, he didn't seem to be lying to us."
Xu Jiawei sighed. "Jiujiu, you already know that I have contacts within the Sun Moon Empire, including a Level 9 soul engineer. Whether it was the Sealed God Platform, the ten thousand year soul beast embryo, or even certain soul tool technologies, all of it came from him. I trust him completely. If he were willing to openly betray the Sun Moon Empire, I'd even consider giving him the title of Imperial Advisor.
"The foundation of our plan to attack Mingde Hall was largely built on the intelligence provided by that soul engineer. Without his information and the supposed soul beast embryo, this operation would never have been feasible."
Xu Jiujiu frowned. "Brother, I believe we should cultivate our own intelligence sources to reduce our dependence on this soul engineer. No matter what, he is still a citizen of the Sun Moon Empire. If he is providing us with information, he must have his own agenda.
"This time, a mere intelligence error ruined our cooperation with the Ontology Sect. What if he feeds us false information again in the future? Wouldn't Star Luo suffer yet another loss?"
"You're right, Jiujiu," Xu Jiawei admitted, nodding in agreement. "That Level 9 soul engineer is quite old, and human soul masters have limited lifespans. He won't last much longer. We'll have to allocate more resources to infiltrate the Sun Moon Empire's leadership after all, no empire's ruling class is truly united."
Sun Moon Empire, Imperial Palace
Xu Tianran sat in his wheelchair, gazing out the window at the scenery. "So, the Ontology Sect attempted to raid Mingde Hall. It makes sense that they knew about Jing Hongchen purchasing the ten thousand year soul beast embryo. After all, the entire Starlight Auction House witnessed the transaction.
"But outsiders shouldn't have known the exact storage location. This means there's a high ranking traitor within the empire."
Nearby, Juzi nodded. "Your Highness, this traitor poses a serious threat to the empire. I strongly recommend launching a thorough investigation. Leaving such a spy unchecked would be a grave risk."
Xu Tianran agreed. "Indeed, this matter must be fully investigated.
"Once I ascend the throne, a war between the Sun Moon Empire and Star Luo Empire is inevitable. If a high ranking official betrays us at a critical moment, it could cause significant disruption within our military."
Xu Tianran despised traitors. In his eyes, the empire's future belonged to him alone. No matter how high their status, any traitor was damaging his interests.
"Juzi, I will assign you personnel to conduct this investigation. Make sure you handle it thoroughly. The moment you identify this traitor, report directly to me and Elder Kong. This will also be an excellent opportunity to gain Elder Kong's favor."
"Understood, Your Highness," Juzi replied.
Though she had technically 'betrayed' Xu Tianran, in her mind, it was simply because he never saw her as anything more than a tool.
No matter how much she had done for him, she remained nothing but a useful, disposable pawn in his eyes.
"By the way, how is your progress with Huo Yuhao?"
"Reporting to Your Highness, things are proceeding steadily. Due to my senior status at the academy, Huo Yuhao trusts me a great deal and has even asked me to help him purchase some personal items," Juzi lied without hesitation.
Xu Tianran's expression turned satisfied. "Juzi, you're doing well. Huo Yuhao is highly valued by Elder Kong. If we want to improve our relations with him, getting close to those he cares about is the best strategy.
"Don't worry once Huo Yuhao has outlived his usefulness, you won't have to endure this humiliation any longer."
Humiliation? Juzi didn't feel that way at all.
Huo Yuhao's cooking reminded her of her father, which naturally made her fond of him.
Of course, she kept this to herself. She was an expert at deception.
Looking at Xu Tianran, she forced a grateful smile. "Thank you, Your Highness."
"As long as you continue to serve me well, I guarantee that one day, Dai Hao will die by your hand, and you will have your revenge," Xu Tianran promised, feeding her a vision of vengeance.
Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy
Huo Yuhao sat cross legged on the floor, reading a book titled The Secrets of the Ontology Sect.
This book had been given to him by Du Busi, and it contained information on how to trigger a secondary awakening for Body Martial Souls.
It was considered the Ontology Sect's most "classified technology" a secret passed down by their predecessors and a major reason why they could continue attracting Body Martial Soul users.
After all, outside of the Ontology Sect, no other faction knew how to awaken a Body Martial Soul a second time.
For those born with such martial souls, refusing to join the Ontology Sect meant forfeiting their chance at a second awakening something that most simply could not accept.
The allure of secondary awakening was too great. Even if the enhancement was at the lowest level, the Iron Tier Awakening, it still increased a martial soul's combat potential by 30%.
In Ultimate Douluo, secondary awakening was divided into four tiers: Iron, Bronze, Silver, and Gold.
The higher the tier, the harder it was to achieve. Even in the original storyline, Huo Yuhao had only managed to awaken his Spirit Eyes to the Gold tier after facing a near death crisis in battle against the Mermaid Princess.
"Hmm… The general content aligns with the secondary awakening process from Soul Land III. Seems like there aren't any errors. There are also recorded experiences from past Ontology Sect members who underwent awakening, which might be useful in avoiding unnecessary mistakes.
"Essentially, secondary awakening is about unlocking latent potential and evolving the martial soul.
"But… it seems like the Ontology Sect hasn't even begun researching body strengthening cultivation methods?"
(End of chapter.)
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