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After the conclusion of the Tian Dou tournament zone, Emperor Xue Ye delivered another impassioned speech.
Though it was utterly useless.
As the emperor of a nation, he naturally couldn't leave his own territory to party in the core regions of other major factions. Thus, the responsibility for overseeing the Soul Master Tournament's evaluations was handed over entirely to Crown Prince Xue Qinghe.
Of course, the tournament participants weren't leaving immediately after the Tian Dou zone concluded. Since the next destination was Spirit City, which was quite far away, the tournament organizers gave each team three days to adjust and prepare.
However, one thing puzzled Ye Wen: why were five hundred members of the Royal Knights being mobilized as escorts for this journey?
Even the lowest-ranking soldiers of the Royal Knights weren't ordinary people—they were all soul masters. With over a thousand soul masters now marching toward Spirit City in a grand procession, was this really a competition or some kind of battle preparation?
Could it be that Emperor Xue Ye had truly lost his mind and decided to tear off the mask of diplomacy prematurely? Or was he using this as a test against the Spirit Hall?
Testing the Spirit Hall with this?
Ye Wen couldn't help but feel that Emperor Xue Ye's brain might have a serious problem.
The Spirit Hall would've acted directly if they wanted to—it wasn't like they hadn't been passive for over two thousand years. Did Xue Ye really think the Spirit Hall shared his mental instability?
And as for protecting the students' safety—what nonsense!
Every participating team was accompanied by their mentors and academy principals. Even the weakest principal of an advanced academy was at least a Soul Emperor-level powerhouse. And among the teams that made it to the finals, every academy had deep roots, with their principals being at least Soul Sages!
Moreover, with hundreds of people dressed in clothing that screamed wealth and power, what faction in their right mind would dare attack such a group?
But soon, Ye Wen was left flabbergasted.
Because the Spirit Hall had actually sent two Title Douluos, several Soul Douluos, and a horde of soul masters to ambush them.
Ye Wen was baffled.
What on earth were they thinking? The Spirit Hall's team already had three Soul Kings. Wasn't that enough? Why send assassins to attack the Tian Dou teams? What was their goal? Didn't the Spirit Hall plan to wait another five years before tearing off the diplomatic facade?
And if they were going to launch an ambush, why not send more people? Sending only Ju Douluo and Gui Douluo—did they really think Tian Dou didn't have any Super Douluos on their side?
After much deliberation, Ye Wen could only conclude one thing: the Spirit Hall, originally portrayed as noble and righteous, was being gradually pushed toward an evil image by the author at this point in the story.
This plotline was a complete mess, riddled with illogical decisions. The closest explanation Ye Wen could come up with was that Bibi Dong might have genuinely lost her mind and sent two Title Douluos to ambush Yu Xiaogang's disciple just to prove something.
To which Ye Wen could only respond: 'Are you kidding me?'
At this moment, under the beautiful starry sky, Ye Wen relaxed in a pavilion, enjoying the evening breeze while waiting for the departure scheduled in three days.
Looking across the three major powers of the Douluo Continent:
The Tian Dou Empire was already a decaying corpse, a sinking ship. In the future, without Tang San's protection, it would disintegrate into two separate empires. By ten thousand years later, it would become even worse—a continuous legacy of failure.
The Xing Luo Empire wasn't described much in the first half of the series, but based on the fact that its imperial family possessed abundant resources and spirit fusion techniques, even without any publicly known Title Douluos, their spirit fusion abilities effectively granted them significant combat strength equivalent to multiple Title Douluos. Yet, during the final battle, this faction played almost no role. Clearly, the rulers of Xing Luo understood the broader trends and realized this war was beyond their control, choosing instead to bide their time.
It had to be said that the current ruler of Xing Luo had remarkable foresight. This decision allowed the Dai family's rule to continue for over six thousand years until the collision with the Ri Yue Continent severely weakened the family, leading to the loss of the imperial throne. Even then, the Dai family didn't completely perish. Four thousand years later, during the era of Peerless Tang Sect, the male protagonist helped the Dai family make a stunning comeback, restoring them to the throne.
In Ye Wen's opinion, the Xing Luo Dai family still had some substance.
However, in the face of absolute power, all these schemes ultimately boiled down to fate.
As for the Spirit Hall…
Sigh. Their true supreme leader was always ready to sacrifice themselves so their granddaughter could ascend to godhood.
Their nominal leader, on the other hand, was a deranged woman who founded the Spirit Empire with the intention of destroying everything the Spirit Hall stood for—a true ultimate white-eyed wolf (ungrateful person but extremely ungrateful).
And the next heir…
The mere thought of Qian Renxue left Ye Wen speechless.
What normal person would think about falling in love while harboring a grudge over their mother's murder? What kind of twisted romantic mindset was this?
However, considering that the Angel God Trials produced golden liquid, Ye Wen speculated that Qian Renxue's mind had likely been manipulated and distorted. Otherwise, how could she repeatedly spare Tang San, even wanting to recruit him and fall in love with him?
Thinking about these three major powers—one completely rotten, another set to decline in the future, and the last an utter mess—left Ye Wen deeply troubled.
If he didn't want the continent to descend into ruin and harm the people on his side, it seemed he'd have to rely on himself.
Just as Ye Wen was planning how to ascend to godhood within the next ten years, a servant suddenly reported that Dugu Bo was calling for him. This surprised Ye Wen.
"It's already this late—what does he want from me? Oh well, I'll go see what's up."
With that thought, Ye Wen headed to the main hall.
Upon entering the hall, Ye Wen caught sight of a familiar flash of white.
"What's Qian Renxue doing here at this hour?" Ye Wen wondered.
After exchanging brief greetings with Dugu Bo and Qian Renxue, Ye Wen asked, "Teacher, may I ask why you've summoned me at such a late hour?"
Dugu Bo simply gestured toward Qian Renxue, saying, "It's the crown prince who has business with you, not me."
Hearing this, a flicker of annoyance passed through Ye Wen's eyes.
Ever since the establishment of the Medical Alliance, though Ye Wen continued to send Qian Renxue her share of the profits, he had deliberately avoided visiting her again. This silent gesture clearly signaled to the people of the Tian Dou Empire and other factions that he was distancing himself from Qian Renxue, solidifying the Medical Alliance's status as a truly neutral force.
Ye Wen was certain Qian Renxue wasn't blind to this, yet here she was, disturbing him again. Though he didn't know what she wanted, her disruption of his carefully laid plans irritated him.
Thus, with a somewhat distant tone, Ye Wen said, "It's already late. May I ask what brings Your Highness to seek out this humble citizen?"
Qian Renxue naturally picked up on Ye Wen's cold attitude, but who was she? She was Qian Renxue—completely unfazed!
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