Xu Tianxi was struck by sudden realization—now he finally understood why the former emperor of the Sun Moon Empire, also known as He Caitou's father, had been slaughtered along with his entire household by an evil soul master right inside the imperial palace, while Kong Deming, the Nine-Tiered Soul Tool Master of the Hall of Worship, and the Royal Soul Engineer Legion, who were supposed to guard the emperor, sat back and watched.
Based on the level of protection later afforded to Xu Tianran, even if Ye Xishui had acted personally, it would have been near-impossible to carry out a silent massacre. The only explanation was this: everyone chose to stand by and do nothing.
If even one of the Hall of Worship, the imperial clan, or the military had chosen to act, the former emperor wouldn't have been wiped out in a single night.
He was an emperor who surrendered national authority, disgraced the country, insisted on appeasement, and exiled an entire faction of pro-war military officials. He even drove several military giants to their deaths. Could the military—who already harbored deep resentment against the original Three Kingdoms—not hate him to the bone?
He forced a Royal Soul Engineer with deep roots in the military to die in front of the palace gates. That was a slap in the face to the entire imperial clan—and how many people's interests were undermined by that? Only a fool would continue to support that dog emperor.
What's that? The emperor's younger brother couldn't stand it anymore and wanted to stage a coup?
Perfect!
Let him!
The sooner this "Wanyan Gou" dies, the better!
Even replacing him with a tyrant wouldn't be worse!
As for Kong Deming, the Sun Moon Empire's "Guardian Deity"? He was also from the pro-war faction. So when the time came for someone to remove this appeasement-loving bastard, he just washed his hands of it. "I only care about soul tool research—nothing else concerns me."
Let's be real, even in the real world, if the nation was about to go to war and the guy on the throne was all about "negotiations" and "peace," he'd still be forced to step down—or worse.
"So based on what you're saying… my mother's family were loyal officials who were destroyed by the previous emperor. That makes this whole thing revenge on behalf of my mother, right? So me going to the Sun Moon Empire now… is actually rightful?"
Xu Tianxi mulled over his identity.
And the more he thought about it, the more it became clear: he wasn't defecting from the Three Kingdoms at all—he was returning to his maternal homeland. His mother's birthright.
Old Yue wiped his tears and rasped,
"Exactly. After the new emperor took the throne, to gain military support, he issued a full pardon to all families who'd been exiled under the last regime. He even restored their reputations—including your grandfather's."
He then pulled out a violet-gold token from his storage ring—clearly aged, with a dragon sigil etched into it—and handed it to Xu Tianxi with utmost reverence.
"This was left behind by your grandfather—the command token of the Royal Dragon Soul Engineer Legion. Your mother wanted to keep it for remembrance… But now, I give it to you."
Xu Tianxi took the token carefully. The dragon carved on it matched the Purple Radiance Extinguishing Dragon—a martial soul unique to the imperial family.
"Don't worry, Old Yue. Since this is an heirloom, I'll protect it well."
Yue's emotions surged again, and after offering a polite farewell, he left quietly.
By now, the sun had risen high in the sky.
"Let's go eat," said Xiao Changfeng with a smile. "After we eat, I'll tell you a bit about my own past. It's not as tragic as your mother's, but still quite unusual."
"I'd love to hear it, Master Uncle," Xu Tianxi replied with interest.
Inside the dining hall, the table was filled with an array of oceanic delicacies—most of which Xu Tianxi had never seen before.
"The sect's alchemy work requires lots of water-type spirit beast essence, so we based the Xuanwu Merchant Association's headquarters right here in Hanhai City. Don't hold back—eat your fill."
Xiao Changfeng even pointed out some specific dishes: shark oil refined from thousand-year-old Demon Soul Great White Sharks, brain jelly from thousand-year Demon Tiger Whales, and a collagen-rich turtle soup—all known for boosting spiritual power and physical health.
Although the effects weren't as pronounced now after two years of eating them, the nutrients were still top-notch, and Xu Tianxi never skimped on nutrition.
He focused on eating as if it were cultivation—and made a mental note to write a letter to Xu Sanshi that night to share the joy.
Xu Sanshi had broken through to Soul Ancestor over a year ago and was now living it up in Shrek, known as the Outer Court's number one defense-type soul master. Tianxi figured it was time to raise the bar—just to keep the pressure on.
After they were full, Xiao Changfeng began his story.
Like Kong Xiyue, he too hailed from a royal cadet line—but of the Heaven Dou Empire.
His father was a retired prince and the emperor's uncle. His mother, however, was just a lowly kitchen maid. Her surname was Xiao, and he was born from a drunken one-night stand.
The main consort wasn't jealous—but she looked down on this "low-blood" bastard, relegating him and his mother to the kitchen quarters.
Xiao Changfeng's only hope was to awaken a strong martial soul to earn resources and improve their fate.
Enter: Xu Xiaoyun—his master.
Xu Xiaoyun had snuck into the royal kitchens as a "food thief," and after tasting a few dishes, found them to his liking. He then found Xiao Changfeng and his mother.
Learning their story, he took them both away and brought them back to the Xuanming Sect.
Xiao Changfeng didn't disappoint. At age six, he awakened a mutated Ice Crystal Phoenix martial soul with innate full soul power. Xu Xiaoyun was so impressed that he took him in as a disciple on the spot.
Nine years later, Xiao was sent to train at Star Luo Royal Academy, and before age 20, he had already reached high-rank Soul Emperor.
He led a team that crushed all Heaven Dou Empire teams—that tournament was hosted right in Heaven Dou City.
Later, he returned to Xuanming Sect to cultivate in seclusion, reached Rank 96, and secretly ruined the old princess consort who had tormented him and his mother. Then he took over as president of the Xuanwu Merchant Association.
A true revenge-arc protagonist—he was like the original Huo Yuhao with plot armor and all.
Apparently, Xu Xiaoyun had a type: he liked rescuing royal bastards, raising them in enemy territory, and watching them dominate later.
No overpowered disciples? No problem. Just go raid a royal bloodline. Excluding Dou Ling's deadweight, the other three empires always produced results.
"So you must be the most outstanding genius in Star Luo Academy's history, right? Didn't the empire try to keep you?" Xu Tianxi joked.
"They did offer quite a bit. But I wasn't interested," Xiao said with a calm sip of tea.
"What they could offer, my teacher could match. What they couldn't offer—my teacher could still provide. And with his power, they wouldn't dare try to keep me by force."
He went on to explain the true power dynamics between the empires.
"Star Luo has the strongest military and soul tool tech. But in terms of soul master strength, Heaven Dou is actually stronger. They may have similar numbers of Titled Douluo, but they fall behind at the Super Douluo level."
"Really? But doesn't Star Luo have the Hall of Worship? They've got the Medical Immortal Douluo, right?" Xu Tianxi asked.
"That's true. But not even she could save the Hall Master's life," Xiao replied coldly.
"The current Hall Master is a Rank 98 old ancestor with the Star Crown Martial Soul—said to surpass most top-tier martial souls. But he's even older than Elder Mu. Rumor is, he's been in closed-door seclusion for years, or already dead. Star Luo may just be keeping up appearances."
Xu Tianxi couldn't help but shake his head.
No wonder in the original story, Xuanzi dared to threaten all of Star Luo with,
"If anything happens to a Shrek disciple, I'll go mad right here!"
and no one could stop him.
No top-tier power = no voice.
"Other than the Star Crown Elder and Medical Immortal, Star Luo's Hall of Worship doesn't have many others worth mentioning. Even at the Super Douluo level, they may not outmatch our Xuanming Sect," Xiao concluded with confident detachment.
"Well yeah," Xu Tianxi grinned.
"You're a Rank 96 Super Douluo with the Ice Crystal Phoenix Martial Soul and elite spirit rings. Even a Rank 97 might not beat you."
Xiao tapped his fingers thoughtfully.
"Only two widely known Rank 97s exist: the Sunlight Douluo of Dou Ling and Qingying Douluo of Shrek. I've never fought them, but their martial souls aren't as good as mine, and their vitality is weaker."
Xu Tianxi's eyebrow twitched.
Yeah no kidding, they're older than you by decades.
"Maybe you should worry less about them and more about advancing yourself," he quipped.
"If you reach Rank 97, they're already history."
Xiao shook his head.
"Even ten more years isn't a guarantee. Unless I drop everything and go into closed-door training… but that's impossible."
"You really…" Xu Tianxi was speechless.
Xiao laughed, breaking the awkwardness.
"No need to envy me. Your Ultimate Martial Soul will slow down past Rank 30, but we'll support you all the way. Once you reach Titled Douluo and start training your second martial soul, that'll be your true takeoff. You'll surpass me in no time."
"I've had some new ideas since entering deep meditation," Xu Tianxi said seriously.
"Would you be willing to give me some pointers?"
"Of course," Xiao smiled.
"Come on. Show me."
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin