Ye Xishui's hand fell lightly upon Xu Tianran's shoulder.
Her voice was soft — but it carried the chill of death.
"Xu Tianran, you really are quite the scheming insect," she said. "Trying to please both sides, are you?
Do you realize what that might cost you? You could very well end up despised by both."
Xu Tianran felt an indescribable wave of killing intent pour from her touch.
At this distance, if Ye Xishui willed it, he would die instantly.
Forcing himself to stay composed, he gave a bitter smile.
"Then tell me, Your Majesty Death God — what other choice do I have, now that I've come this far?"
Ye Xishui narrowed her eyes.
"What if I said I've come to support you?"
"You…"
Xu Tianran froze, momentarily stunned.
In all their previous dealings, Ye Xishui had rarely spoken to him directly.
Back then, it was always the Holy Spirit Church's leader, Zhongli Wu, or the vice leader, Feng Ling, who handled their communications.
But now Ye Xishui herself had come to him — to offer support?
It could only mean one thing:
The Holy Spirit Church had been struggling lately.
Otherwise, why would an Limit Douluo personally stoop to negotiate with him?
"It's not just me," Ye Xishui added. "Long Xiaoyao will support you as well.
With two Limit Douluo behind you, are you still afraid you can't defeat Kong Deming?
"I've studied that man. Unless he completes his tenth-level soul tool, he'll never be our equal.
And that… won't be happening anytime soon."
Her tone brimmed with cold confidence.
Without a tenth-level soul tool, Kong Deming might be able to match her and Long Xiaoyao for a while — but to defeat them both?
Impossible.
And as for creating a tenth-level soul tool…
Ye Xishui didn't believe Kong Deming had that much time left in his life.
His years were already running out.
Xu Tianran's heart quickened at her words. For a brief moment, his ambition flickered to life again.
But he didn't let it cloud his reason.
He drew a slow breath and asked carefully,
"What is it that Your Majesty Death God requires of me? Or rather — what must I give in return?"
Ye Xishui's crimson eyes gleamed faintly.
"I want the Sun–Moon Empire to officially declare the Holy Spirit Church as the Holy Church of the Empire.
Our Church must be free to recruit believers throughout your lands."
Xu Tianran's eyes darkened.
Wasn't this the same as turning the entire Sun–Moon Empire into a kingdom of evil soul masters?
Seeing the flicker of hesitation on his face, Ye Xishui's smile turned razor-sharp.
"What's wrong? You're unwilling?"
Xu Tianran shook his head immediately.
"No — of course not! Not at all!"
He didn't have the luxury of refusal.
If he said no, he'd die right here.
An Limit Douluo could shatter all the defensive ninth-level soul tools he carried as easily as breaking glass.
He wasn't like Jiang Shengyu and Jiang Qingtong, who enjoyed Kong Deming's personal protection and the wealth of triggered defensive soul tools that came with it.
When Xu Tianran finally agreed, Ye Xishui's lips curved into a satisfied smile.
"Long Xiaoyao."
At her call, Long Xiaoyao stepped out from the shadows behind Xu Tianran.
He moved to stand silently on Xu Tianran's other side, saying nothing — merely giving him a brief, unreadable glance.
One stood on his left, the other on his right —as though they were his guardians of death.
On the tournament stage, the Holy Spirit Sect faced an opponent called the Earth Dragon Gate, a sect that inherited the Rouge Dragon martial soul — a lineage imbued with destructive might. Their strength was formidable, and their leader was a Soul Emperor.
Yet the Holy Spirit Sect's fighters were even stronger.
Their leading contestant was a Soul Sage completely shrouded in black flames.
Her power was so overwhelming that even many present Soul Douluo and Titled Douluo felt their hearts tremble.
That dreadful, searing black fire left the Earth Dragon Gate disciples utterly helpless.
Their young master, Nan Qiuqiu, was burned so severely by it that she suffered grave injuries.
Seeing his daughter in that state, the Earth Dragon Gate's master, Nan Shuishui, was filled with rage.
But even she could do nothing — there was no way to demand justice from such an opponent.
Only thanks to Healer Douluo Tianyin's intervention did Nan Qiuqiu manage to recover some of her strength.
This arrangement — having the Sun–Moon Empire provide a healing-type Titled Douluo to assist contestants — won them some measure of praise.
In previous tournaments, the host nation had never provided official healers. Each academy was expected to bring its own medical staff.
Perhaps this time, with sects participating alongside academies, the Empire had decided to make special accommodations — since finding capable healing-type soul masters was far more difficult for independent sects.
Though the Earth Dragon Gate was eliminated, the Sun–Moon Empire's officials still invited them to remain in Mingdu until the tournament's end, promising to hold a formal awards ceremony afterward for all sects and academies.
All expenses during their stay would be covered by the Empire.
Upon hearing that, the eliminated teams — both sects and academies — chose not to leave.
Meanwhile, the Holy Spirit Sect's terrifying performance drew the attention of countless spectators.
The younger competitors might not have realized the truth,
but veterans like Yan Shaozhe and Elder Song immediately sensed something wrong about these people.
Evil soul masters.
Without exception — every last one of them was an evil soul master!
"This is a sect of evil soul masters!"
In Mingdu's Grand Hotel, Yan Shaozhe frowned deeply as he spoke to Elder Song.
"The Holy Spirit Sect — even the name makes it obvious they're connected to the Holy Spirit Church.
But what could those people be after, joining the tournament?"
"Could they be testing our strength?" Elder Song pondered for a moment.
"Or perhaps… this is the Sun–Moon Empire's doing?"
Given her deep distrust of the Empire, it was easy for her to suspect that the Holy Spirit Sect's appearance had been orchestrated by them.
Even the Empire's arrangement to have Tianyin Douluo heal competitors now seemed to her like part of a greater scheme.
"If they end up winning the championship, this entire tournament will become a farce!"
Yan Shaozhe's brow furrowed further.
As much as he would have loved to see the Sun–Moon Empire humiliated,
such an outcome would stain not only the host nation —but every other participant in this tournament.
They would all bear the shameful label of being inferior to evil soul masters.
That was something Yan Shaozhe could never accept.
Elder Song fell silent for a long time before she said,
"All we can do now is place our hopes on Beibei and the others.
Jiang Shengyu and Jiang Qingtong's Martial Soul Fusion Technique — it's powerful enough to defeat even Han Ruoruo and Wu Ming.
"Granted, that might be because those two didn't go all out during practice battles,
but even so, the fusion's potential is immense."
Yan Shaozhe shook his head.
"Relying on a single fusion skill to defeat evil soul masters… it doesn't feel very reliable."
Still, he could think of no better plan.
As the round-robin matches went on, every team that faced the Holy Spirit Sect — whether academy or sect — paid a steep price.
No one died, thanks to Tianyin Douluo's presence,
but injuries were unavoidable.
Some were so grievous that competitors had to have limbs severed just to survive.
With each victory, the Holy Spirit Sect's reputation only grew.
Their momentum surged — and before long, it seemed inevitable that they would seize the championship.
At last, the next round's draw was announced:
The Holy Spirit Sect would face Shrek Academy.
In that moment, the hopes of all the remaining competitors — and the pride of the entire tournament — rested upon Shrek Academy's shoulders.
Everyone prayed that Shrek could defeat this terrifying sect.