"Lord Darius, as per your instructions, the news about the soul bone auction in Notting City being staged by the city lord himself has already been spread. In the next few months, the arrival of soul masters in Notting City will cause significant unrest."
Soul masters possess power and often consider themselves superior. When so many of them gather in a small city, it's inevitable that conflicts will arise between them and the local patrol forces.
When that time comes, with them fanning the flames and stirring up trouble in secret, Notting City is bound to fall into chaos.
As for creating a war…
It may not be possible in the short term, but by continually sowing discord and chaos, attracting attention from the upper echelons of the Star Luo Empire, and receiving orders for all the border cities between the Star Luo and Heaven Dou Empires to act in a similar manner—
If the tensions are intensified continuously like this, how could war not eventually erupt?
Sometimes, to start a war, all it takes is a loud enough slogan to justify it.
And once tensions have built to a critical point, what reason would the Spirit Hall have to stop the outbreak of war?
Exactly!
Spirit Hall does have many Title Douluos—those terrifying individuals who can fight entire armies alone!
But strength alone cannot win people's hearts.
Once the conflict between the two empires reaches a breaking point, if Spirit Hall dares to intervene, it will become the first target for both empires.
The reason is simple.
Spirit Hall is considered a transcendent power, claiming to stand for justice, righteousness, and the will to protect.
At least, that's their public image.
So once the conflict between the two great empires becomes irreconcilable, Spirit Hall, for the sake of appearances, can only watch without getting involved.
Only then can they maintain the image of fairness.
If Spirit Hall were to openly take part in the war, it would mean the leadership had lost their minds—abandoning the reputation they had spent years cultivating, and giving up their identity as a neutral, transcendent force.
However—
Darius hadn't thought that far ahead. His only current goal was to draw the attention of Star Luo's higher-ups through this method and thereby gain more wealth, glory, and status.
"Very well, let it be so. No need to rush. Take it slow. Let Notting City descend into chaos," Darius instructed his subordinate. "Also, spread the news about the soul bone to even farther places. Exaggerate the age—say it's a thousand-year or ten-thousand-year soul bone. And as for its origin, claim it's a family heirloom rather than something from a mere hundred-year-old Moo Spring Ox."
"Understood."
The subordinate who had come to report immediately went off to make preparations.
"Lord Darius!"
Another subordinate hurried in and reported, "A distinguished guest will be arriving in Falling Star City in three days. You'll need to personally receive them."
"A distinguished guest?" Darius frowned. In Star Luo City, he was a fallen noble, sidelined because Davis had been chosen over him in favor of Dai Mubai, causing him to be ostracized by other nobles... There shouldn't be any high officials visiting a small place like Falling Star City, should there?
"It's a member—or rather, members—of the Star Luo Royal Battle Team, including a preparatory member, the First Prince, and the Third Prince," the subordinate explained.
Third Prince?
Dai Mubai?!
Darius was shocked. Why would Dai Mubai come to the border region between the Star Luo and Heaven Dou Empires instead of staying at the Royal Academy in Star Luo City to train?
"Do we know the specific reason?"
"According to what your steward was able to gather... it seems—"
"Stop rambling. Spit it out!" Darius was visibly impatient.
"It seems Prince Dai Mubai feels he can't compete with Prince Davis and has thoughts of giving up. But since the struggle for the throne is so brutal, he's considering retreating to the Heaven Dou Empire side... Possibly using the upcoming exchange trip between the Royal Academies of the two empires to scout out potential escape routes..." the subordinate stammered.
In Star Luo City, the rumor that Dai Mubai was trying to avoid the struggle with Davis wasn't exactly common knowledge, but among nobles and officials, it had spread widely in private.
After all, Dai Mubai was still a child. He didn't know how to hide his emotions well—or even if he tried, his true thoughts were easy for seasoned officials and nobles to read.
So guessing that he had thoughts of retreat wasn't hard.
But!
Darius never expected Dai Mubai to actually put those thoughts into action and personally scout out an escape route.
Wouldn't that kind of courage be better used in fighting against Davis?
"But why are they coming to Falling Star City?" Darius was still puzzled.
"Because they heard about the soul bone. So the elder leading the Star Luo Royal Academy team decided to use this as a teaching moment—to let the students witness the harsh reality of the soul master world," the subordinate explained truthfully. "The elder asked that we don't reveal their identities right away. They'll be keeping them hidden while investigating in Notting City and will make decisions afterward."
Darius: "...So it's all my fault!"
But he quickly regained his composure.
He had indeed been marginalized for supporting Dai Mubai and sent to a backwater like Falling Star City—but if he now switched sides and supported Davis again after earning merit, so what?
At most, he'd just be seen as a lamb returning to the fold.
And if Prince Dai Mubai really did plan to travel from Falling Star City to Notting City in the future... he could open the door for him—and just as easily report this to Prince Davis.
Even though Dai Mubai had already lost the will to fight, it was still good to keep his options open... just in case.
"Let's go. Back to Falling Star City."
Darius waved his hand, preparing to leave Notting City. As long as the soul bone remained there, chaos was only a matter of time. And as long as soul masters believed the soul bone was at the ten-thousand-year level, more would flood in from all around to investigate.
The trouble it would cause would be enough to give City Lord Xiao a serious headache.
And Darius would be happy to fan the flames further.
What a pity about Sisi, though—
Sisi's softness had certainly left a lasting impression, but compared to future power and status, Darius knew how to prioritize.
A beauty trap?
That wouldn't work on him!
That very night after Darius left Notting City, Xiao Manor was attacked by three masked soul masters.
Three servants and four guards were killed.
City Lord Xiao, who had been in the middle of a back-and-forth with Sisi, was so startled by the intruders that he nearly suffered a physical reaction of shock.
Thankfully, being a Grand Soul Master himself, he quickly recovered, grabbed Sisi to use as a human shield, and—at the cost of losing an arm and sacrificing Sisi's life—managed to kill the three nearly level-20 soul masters and survive.
Naturally, the truth of the incident was covered up. Officially, it was simply said that there had been a night raid on Xiao Manor. The entire city was placed under martial law, and patrols became stricter than ever. Even those entering and leaving the city were now subjected to much more rigorous checks...