Chapter 363: with translation of chapter title

Perhaps seeing Tang Wulin's shocked expression displeased him, the Third Elder let out a cold snort and said:

"Don't listen to that moving talk from Old Ye Yulin; his Sun Moon Divine Needle is decent, but just charging it takes three days, and it can only be charged using sun and moon brilliance. Its attack power is not weak, but after a full charge it can only be used for no more than three attacks, and each use consumes a huge amount of soul power—even if I were to use it, after three uses my soul power would be nearly halved, and my spiritual power would be insufficient, making even a precise strike difficult. Its thirty‑kilometer radius is merely theoretical; however, hovering at an altitude of 1,600 meters is real."

Nangong Wan gave a hehe laugh.

"Old Three, stop being stubborn; in the area of high‑altitude soul devices you are indeed inferior to Ye Yulin. This guy also came representing the imperial family this time, so what's the point of competing with him? Although the Sun Moon Divine Needle is difficult to use, its power is top‑tier among Nine-level Soul Guide Devices—obtaining it brings only benefits, no drawbacks. However, whoever obtains it should still refrain from using it before raising their cultivation to nine rings, otherwise a mishap will trigger a backlash."

Although his last words were directed at "you all," his gaze was entirely focused on Huo Yutong, clearly meant for her to hear.

Huo Yutong nodded lightly; after this period of buffering, the pallor on her face had eased considerably.

After introducing the heads of the three black markets and all the judges, it was now the turn of the several competing players.

Huo Yutong, Huang Zheng, and Mo Ke took the stage one after another; facing off across the arena, Huo Yutong unsurprisingly saw He Caitou's figure—he had successfully advanced in the competition hosted by the Aodu Chamber of Commerce.

Ye Yulin had his hands behind his back; his aged visage was extremely stern—even toward the presidents of the three major underground forces he showed no courtesy, let alone these competing players.

If it weren't for Crown Prince Xu Tianran personally extending the invitation, he would not have shown up here at all, and he only brought out that Sun Moon Divine Needle because Xu Tianran had promised him extremely generous compensation, making it painful to part with.

In his view, a soul engineer should solidly research the manufacture of soul devices; participating in any competition is purely a waste of time, let alone a competition organized by these sordid, dirty underground forces.

Therefore, he could be said to have no fondness whatsoever for these competing players.

Although both are nine‑level soul engineers, compared to the Unbroken Douluo Zheng Zhan, Ye Yulin's status is far higher.

Their research directions differ, so even as nine‑level soul engineers their achievements differ; within the Ri Yue Di Guo's nine‑level soul engineers, Ye Yulin can even rank among the top three.

He swept a gaze filled with menace over the several competitors in the venue, then proceeded to explain the rules of the opening round once again.

After the explanation, with his command, the first match of the Mingdu Soul Engineer Elite Tournament finals officially began.

Watching Huo Yutong begin to bury herself in crafting a soul device on the competition stage, Tang Wulin's attention gradually began to shift.

If I'm not mistaken, the operation tonight is about to begin.

It's a pity this operation is doomed to fail, after all neither Tang Wulin nor Huo Yutong had imagined that the Ri Yue Di Guo possessed not just one Limit Douluo, Ye Xi Shui—even a single Limit Douluo fears not the combined might of Du Bu Si and Xuanzi, let alone two Limit Dou Luo.

All we can hope is that our side suffers no casualties.

Ri Yue Di Guo, imperial palace.

The night‑lit imperial palace shone brightly; Xu Tianran was in the study reading a book, with Juzi attending at his side.

Xu Tianran suddenly lifted his head, smiling as he spoke to Juzi.

"Juzi, would you like to go watch the Soul Device Manufacturing Competition? You're also a soul engineer, so you should be quite interested, right?"

Juzi froze for a moment.

"Your Highness, that's not proper; with your status, how could you appear there?"

Xu Tianran, however, smiled and said:

"It's fine; as long as we don't reveal our identities, there will be a result tonight. Even if rare metals have to be smuggled, the profits must remain firmly in the hands of the imperial family. Moreover, the Holy Spirit Sect's appetite is huge; without this gain, their position there would not be stable. Furthermore, it's not me going to watch the competition—it's you yourself; if you want to go, just go."

Juzi suddenly had something she wanted to say but held back, then she restrained herself.

"How so? Are you worried that my cooperation with the Holy Spirit Sect is like dealing with a tiger for its skin?"

Xu Tianran immediately saw through her doubt.

Juzi gave a slight nod.

"Evil Soul Masters are mostly ruthless by nature; even setting aside their terrible reputation among the populace, one cannot guarantee they won't secretly trip us up during cooperation—I fear Your Highness may fall victim to their covert scheming." Xu Tianran waved his hand and said, "How could I not know that cooperating with them is like dealing with a tiger for its skin? But now I have no choice but to do so."

"Although on the front lines, given enough time our nine‑level soul engineers are certainly no inferior to ordinary Honored Douluo—and can even surpass them—but put another way, once a skirmish erupts, under equal conditions our people have almost no chance of survival; any nine‑level soul engineer is a huge and important asset to our Ri Yue Di Guo, and I cannot allow them to suffer serious losses."

"The Holy Spirit Sect is the means I employ to solve this problem; their soul masters' strength is unquestionable—even if placed in the original Three Kingdoms, no force could rival them, and I intend to rely on them to counterbalance the enemy's high‑level combat power."

"As for how to deal with them should they become our enemies…… you can rest assured on that point; since I am cooperating with them, I naturally have confidence in being able to dispose of them."

As he spoke those final words, a cold glint flashed in Xu Tianran's eyes and a sharp aura rose from his body.

Juzi's heart jolted, and suddenly she recalled that rumor.

"Could it be… Elder Kong?"

Xu Tianran gave a faint smile, did not answer her question, but instead said:

"If you intend to go watch the Soul Engineer Grand Competition, if you don't go now you'll be late."

Juzi hurriedly shook her head.

"No, I intend to stay by Your Highness's side."

"Is that so…" Xu Tianran's tone softened somewhat, his expression full of feeling, "Being with you is what lets me relax most easily; but since you don't want to go watch, you'll need to stay closer to me later—absolutely no fidgeting."

"What—"

Juzi hadn't finished speaking when an aged voice suddenly rang out from the sky.

"Since you've come, don't hide—show yourselves."

As lights flared up, a black‑clad elder's silhouette appeared above the Ri Yue imperial palace—none other than the Dragon King Douluo Long Xiaoyao, who had recently been with Tang Wulin.

He was not accompanied by Ye Xi Shui at the moment, and no one knew where she had run off to.

Upon hearing his voice, dozens of figures rose into the high sky.

Leading them were precisely the Taotie Douluo Xuanzi and the Corporeal Douluo Du Bu Si.

The two gazed at Long Xiaoyao, their faces turning ashen to the extreme.

Du Bu Si exclaimed angrily:

"Long Xiaoyao, you actually defected to the Ri Yue Di Guo and became a traitor?! You're utterly unworthy of being a person of the Tian Hun Empire!"

Upon hearing Du Bu Si mention the Tian Hun Empire, Long Xiaoyao's expression shifted slightly.

"Has your Corporeal Sect truly defected to the Tian Hun Empire?"

"Pah!" Du Bu Si snarled, "What defection? This is cooperation! Our Corporeal Sect is now the state religion of the Tian Hun Empire; if you have even a shred of patriotism, step aside."

Long Xiaoyao's expression shifted several times, then finally returned to calm.

"Understood. Since you've chosen to cooperate with the Tian Hun Empire, we'll spare your lives—no point in further talk; you two, come at me together."

After speaking, he placed his hands behind his back, and a surging aura burst forth from his body.

Du Bu Si said nervously to Xuanzi: "Xuanzi, this old-timer ranks higher than us, so even if we two fight one, it won't matter—come on, let's go up together."

Xuanzi's eyes wavered for a moment, but in the end he still nodded.

Immediately afterward, this rare clash of powerhouses erupted right above Mingdu.

(End of chapter)