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"Although the Lion Douluo retains only half of his combat power, he is, after all, a Super Douluo. He remains a formidable enemy, so we must continue to be extra cautious in the future!"
Having said this, Davis changed the subject, his tone turning decisive. "Alright, we need to hurry to Heaven Dou City. We are too close to Spirit City here. If the Lion Douluo retreats into Spirit City and brings out other Titled Douluo, the situation will turn disastrous."
"Yes!"
everyone nodded slightly. Immediately, they advanced toward Heaven Dou City at their fastest possible speed. Ning Wenze even thoughtfully applied a speed amplification buff to everyone, allowing the group's velocity to increase significantly.
"Your Highness, there is one thing this subordinate does not understand." Yang Wudi suddenly frowned, speaking with suspicion. " The appearance of the Lion Douluo was too coincidental. It felt as if he was specifically waiting here for us to arrive!"
"Exactly, I was thinking the same thing!" Zhu Zhuyun nodded in agreement. "That Lion Douluo was clearly lying in ambush for us here!"
"But... how did he know our whereabouts? Could it be that the brat, Xue Beng, betrayed us?"
Zhu Zhuqing also spoke with a tone of skepticism. naturally, he trusted that the people on their own side were loyal to Davis, which meant the only outsider who knew their movements was Xue Beng.
However, Davis shook his head gently and said, "It shouldn't be him. Prince Xue Beng needs my help. Right now, he hopes for my safe return to Heaven Dou City more than anyone else. For the sake of his father, he wouldn't ally with Spirit Hall to move against me.
"Furthermore, with Senior Dugu staying by Xue Beng's side at all times, he wouldn't have the opportunity to send a secret report to Spirit Hall. Compared to Prince Xue Beng, I suspect someone else entirely."
"Who?" Zhu Zhuqing asked, puzzled.
" The Crown Prince of Heaven Dou, Xue Qinghe!"
"Huh? Xue Qinghe?" Zhu Zhuqing looked astonished. "But he is the Crown Prince of Heaven Dou? Even if it's to inherit the throne, there is no need for him to ally with Spirit Hall! After all, once Emperor Xue Ye dies, the throne is rightfully his, isn't it?"
"Who knows? Perhaps he has reached some sort of agreement with Spirit Hall?"
Davis shrugged his shoulders and spoke with indifference. He couldn't simply reveal to everyone that Xue Qinghe was actually Qian Renxue, so he offered a different line of reasoning.
"But don't you find it suspicious? Over the past year in the Heaven Dou Empire, officials who opposed Xue Qinghe have either died, gone missing, or had their families kidnapped... Do you think Xue Qinghe could accomplish all of this relying solely on his own forces?"
"Davis, are you implying that these were all the deeds of Spirit Hall?"
"Nine times out of ten!"
"Hiss..."
Hearing this, everyone couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air. Zhu Zhuyun spoke with terror in her voice, "If Xue Qinghe and Spirit Hall are truly working in perfect harmony, and if Spirit Hall dispatches several Worshippers to intervene, can we really successfully help Xue Beng ascend to the throne on our own?"
Hearing this, the corners of Davis's mouth lifted slightly as he laughed. "Don't misunderstand, Zhuyun. Our goal isn't to help Prince Xue Beng inherit the throne. Our goal is to muddy the waters of the Heaven Dou Empire. We will use this opportunity to weaken Heaven Dou's strength and prepare for the war of annexation in the future.
"We are simply taking advantage of the chaos in Heaven Dou to fish for some benefits. There is no need for us to clash head-on with the people from the Hall of Worship."
"Hehe, so that's how it is..." Zhu Zhuyun grinned broadly. She realized she had been overthinking it. As the Crown Princess of the Star Luo Empire, she didn't need to worry about the fate of the Heaven Dou Empire; she only needed to ensure that the Star Luo Empire benefited.
Upon hearing this explanation, everyone else nodded secretly. Only Ning Wenze gasped in shock. He hadn't expected Davis to harbor such ambition—to want to completely annex the Heaven Dou Empire...
However, considering the current strength of the Star Luo Empire, they certainly seemed to have the qualifications to do so. For the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, having Heaven Dou annexed by Star Luo was still far better than being ruled by Spirit Hall.
With these thoughts in mind, the group accelerated, speeding toward Heaven Dou City.
Meanwhile, the scarred and battered Lion Douluo burned all of his soul power to retreat rapidly back to Spirit City, arriving at the Hall of Worship.
The Lion Douluo's current condition could not be described as good. He was dripping with blood from head to toe, covered in cuts and bruises. Many of the wounds had damaged his bone marrow, and three of his ribs were broken.
Most terrifying was his right arm. After withstanding Lin Qiuyang's heaven-shaking sword strike, his arm had nearly been severed completely!
"Fourth Brother!"
"Old Four!"
Seeing the Lion Douluo heavily injured, the Worshippers in the Hall of Worship immediately showed expressions of panic. Qian Daoliu waved his large hand, hurriedly ordering the healing-type Spirit Masters of Spirit Hall to come and treat the Lion Douluo.
"Lion, what on earth happened?" Qian Daoliu couldn't help but ask. "How did you get hurt like this?"
"Cough, cough... Grand Worshipper..." The Lion Douluo struggled to sit up. He wanted to report what had happened to Qian Daoliu, but he found that his injuries had worsened to the point where he couldn't even speak clearly.
Seeing this, Qian Daoliu softened his tone. "Alright, don't speak for now. The healing Spirit Masters will be here momentarily."
Before long, twenty healing-type Spirit Masters arrived in a rush. These people were all healing-type Spirit Douluo, possessing martial souls with healing effects second only to the Nine Heart Begonia.
As the twenty healing-type Spirit Douluo released their soul skills simultaneously, the Lion Douluo's external wounds began to recover at a speed visible to the naked eye. However, his meridians and internal organs had been severely damaged by Lin Qiuyang's sword intent. Currently, his combat power was only half of what it usually was.
Even with these twenty healing-type Spirit Douluo exerting their full strength simultaneously, it would take a month of sleepless, non-stop effort to completely cure his internal injuries.
"Lion, didn't you take Spirit Hall's Spirit Masters to the Golden City Mountain Range to ambush that Star Luo Crown Prince? How did you end up injured like this? Did the Star Luo Crown Prince do this to you?"
"That's right. I was controlled by that little brat, and then, in my haste, I took the full brunt of Lin Qiuyang's ninth soul skill. That is why I..."
The Lion Douluo quickly recounted the sequence of events. Upon learning that Davis had already broken through to become a Spirit Douluo, and that his eighth soul ring was actually a hundred-thousand-year soul ring, Qian Daoliu was deeply shocked, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
It had to be known that even he, Qian Daoliu, only possessed a hundred-thousand-year soul ring as his ninth ring. Yet Davis, at such a young age, had not only become a Spirit Douluo but also possessed two hundred-thousand-year soul rings. Such talent made even him extremely envious.
"I didn't expect that little brat's strength to become this formidable!"
"Hmph, if I had known earlier, we should have wiped him out at any cost back then. Now look, we've allowed him to grow completely out of control!"
Learning that in just three years Davis had become a Spirit Douluo, the Thousand Striker Douluo (Qianjun) and Dragon Tamer Douluo (Jiangmo) were also astonished.
Thinking of that tyrannical Star Luo Holy Tiger, the Thousand Striker Douluo couldn't help but sigh slightly. Back when Davis was just a Spirit Sage, the Star Luo Holy Tiger he unleashed was barely enough to exchange blows with the two of them.
Now that Davis had become a Spirit Douluo, that Star Luo Holy Tiger would likely be even more terrifying!
"Now that the Star Luo Crown Prince is heading to Heaven Dou City, we must stop him from waking Emperor Xue Ye!" Qian Daoliu's heart turned cold as he issued a command: "Old Six, Old Seven, you two immediately take the Demon Bear Douluo and head to Heaven Dou City to support Little Xue!"
"As you command!"
(End of Chapter)