"I hereby declare that the Sun Moon Empire declares war on the Star Luo Empire!"
"Declares war on the Heavenly Soul Empire!"
"Declares war on the Dou Ling Empire!"
"Behind us stands the homeland that urgently needs to be protected; before us lies the humiliation that must be washed away."
"Today, I shall seek vengeance for the Sun Moon!"
The sudden news of the outbreak of war left the surrounding citizens somewhat unadapted, but as Xu Tianran's words rang out, the rumors from the time of the Ming City attack seemed to echo once again in everyone's ears.
Looking at Xu Tianran on the high platform, whose tone was impassioned, a loud shout suddenly arose from somewhere unknown.
"Vengeance—"
As the voice fell, even more resounding shouts followed.
"Vengeance— Vengeance—"
Amid the countless shouts ringing in their ears, a squad of neatly equipped troops soon charged into the arena, rushing toward the teams from the other three great empire academies and sects.
In the surrounding rest areas, some participating teams seemed to want to resist, but as an intimidating aura rose from the high platform, no one had the strength to resist any longer.
Some contestants still had traces of confusion on their faces.
They did not know whatsoever about what the three great empires and Shrek Academy had done. They had thought this was merely an elite competition, a great opportunity to make a name for themselves, but they never expected that after finally advancing to the round-robin stage, in the blink of an eye, they would become prisoners of the Sun Moon Empire.
For a moment, various expressions appeared on their faces; no one knew exactly what they were thinking.
On the high platform, Xu Tianran watched the crowd's reaction below, the corners of his mouth curling up ever so slightly, though the expression quickly vanished.
He slightly turned his head; Zhongli Wu, who had been waiting nearby, stepped forward two paces.
"Imperial Preceptor, begin."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Zhongli Wu responded, and soon several figures flew out from Ming City, heading straight toward the border.
In the Holy Spirit Cult's rest area, Lin Xiao and the Abomination Douluo also stood up.
"Elder, we..."
Seeing the elite competition turn into this situation, several disciples gathered over.
"You return to the hotel first; there should be further notifications later."
For some reason, the disciples seemed somewhat hesitant after hearing Lin Xiao's words, but they said nothing more, responded in agreement, and prepared to leave.
"You two, come with me." Just as Lin Xiao also turned to leave, a voice sounded beside his ear. Looking up, he saw Zhongli Wu on the high platform gazing at Lin Xiao and the Abomination Douluo.
He nodded slightly, and in a place unnoticed by others, the two quickly arrived near the high platform. Xu Tianran had already descended from the platform with a group of people.
"Greetings, Your Highness, Cult Master."
"No need for formalities, you two." Xu Tianran said with a smiling face; the indignation from earlier was nowhere to be seen on his face. His gaze lingered on Lin Xiao for a moment before he continued.
"Now that war has begun, the previous arrangements should have already been explained to you by Cult Master Zhongli. From now on, the members of the state religion will act together with the army."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Xu Tianran nodded. "There are matters to attend to in the palace; Cult Master Zhongli will arrange the specific destinations."
"Yes."
Xu Tianran signaled to the palace attendants behind him, then left in his wheelchair. Soon, only the three from the Holy Spirit Cult remained.
"This prince is no ordinary man, possessing nine-ring cultivation yet still appearing like a cripple spending his days in a wheelchair." Zhongli Wu watched Xu Tianran's departing figure and spoke softly.
Lin Xiao said nothing upon hearing this, but he sensed something else in those words.
Ever since the Holy Spirit Cult became the state religion, Zhongli Wu had often stayed in the imperial palace. Lin Xiao did not know what exact deal had been struck between him and Xu Tianran, but from the current tone, it seemed their relationship was not as close as he had imagined.
Zhongli Wu sighed lightly and soon withdrew his gaze. "I heard from Old Three that you blocked Xuanzi last night. Is your body alright?"
As he spoke, Zhongli Wu's gaze fixed intently on Lin Xiao.
He knew Xuanzi; when he had fought Xuanzi himself, he had even lost a bone dragon soul he had nurtured for a long time. For Lin Xiao to block Xuanzi with ninety-first-rank soul power made him take notice to some extent.
Lin Xiao's eyes shifted slightly. He lifted a corner of his cloak, revealing the Embrace of the Nether River underneath.
"Three years ago, when the Body Sect attacked Mingde Hall, Lin Jiayi took me deep into Mingde Hall to help him protect one of their research projects."
"At that time, Jing Hongchen promised me a ninth-level soul tool, which is the one I am wearing now."
Zhongli Wu's gaze swept over Lin Xiao, and his eyes narrowed slightly. Though he was not a soul engineer, he still had some understanding of soul tools within the Sun Moon Empire.
"Is this a humanoid soul tool?"
"Indeed." Lin Xiao nodded. "I am currently researching this soul tool. Once I successfully break through to ninth-level soul engineer and have sufficient materials, I will be able to produce humanoid soul tools belonging to our Holy Cult."
Zhongli Wu's eyes suddenly locked onto Lin Xiao's. "Truly?"
"I dare not deceive the Cult Master."
"Good, good!" Zhongli Wu nodded repeatedly. "Rest assured, the cult will not treat you unfairly."
Zhongli Wu patted Lin Xiao's shoulder as he spoke, then turned to the matter Xu Tianran had just mentioned.
"I hear His Highness has already informed you in advance. Your destination has been decided, you will act together with one of the four beast king-level soul engineer legions, the Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Corps."
"Yes, Cult Master."
"Mm." Zhongli Wu nodded. "The Fire Phoenix Soul Engineer Corps is personally led by the Regent Consort. I will move with the commander, and you should stay by my side."
"As for Old Six..." Zhongli Wu paused.
"Cult Master." The Abomination Douluo cupped his fists upon hearing this.
"You and Old Five are to temporarily refrain from entering the army for now. I need the two of you to lead people in 'clearing' the battlefield. Do you understand?"
The "clearing" Zhongli Wu spoke of was naturally not ordinary cleaning, but the words were already so explicit that the Abomination Douluo could understand perfectly.
"Cult Master, after I fell unconscious last night, I don't know what happened." Seeing that Zhongli Wu had finished assigning tasks, Lin Xiao asked another question.
"Hmph." At this point, Zhongli Wu's expression suddenly changed slightly. "Xuanzi from Shrek Academy used some unknown method to actually contend with Uncle Long for a time. Combined with their other experts, they managed to escape."
"However... their Martial Soul Department dean, Yan Shaozhe, was left behind."
Lin Xiao's eyes shifted slightly upon hearing this.
So it turned out that Feng Die, enduring severe injuries, had stayed behind for Yan Shaozhe. But with this, Shrek Academy would surely be even less willing to let the matter rest. It was just unknown when they would act next.
"Cult Master, will the elite competition continue from here?"
"Probably not." Zhongli Wu shook his head and gave Lin Xiao a meaningful glance. "After entering the army, remember to conserve your strength."
"Yes." Lin Xiao paused for a moment before responding.
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