Chapter 232: The Wind Rises and Clouds Gather (Part 3)

Sun Moon City.

In a secret conference room within the Sun Moon Imperial Palace, a group of high-ranking officials from the Sun Moon Empire with real power had gathered. The importance of this meeting was such that even Ju Zi was not qualified to enter; even though her current status was Regent Consort, she still lacked the qualifications to enter.

For some reason, the old Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire looked quite radiant today. He looked toward Jing Hongchen and asked, "Back when Number One Experimental Subject was stolen, the series of experiments regarding Number One and others were delayed. But it is said that recently, under the Regent's instruction, you have spent several years restarting the experiments. How much longer will it take for the Number Two Experimental Subject project to finish development and be officially put into actual combat?"

Jing Hongchen stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, if it is for actual combat, Number Two could be activated right now. However, we still need some time; it will take about three years to achieve mass production!"

The old Emperor nodded with satisfaction upon hearing this. Ever since he ascended the throne, the Number One experimental project had constantly encountered difficulties. He had even believed that he would not be able to see Number One completed in his lifetime, so when Number One was later stolen and the Soul Beast Embryo was stolen, he had even chosen to abandon the Number One experimental project.

"Although the Number Two experiment has achieved some success, Number One Experimental Subject and the Soul Beast Embryo, which cost a massive amount of wealth, were both stolen, and you must still be held responsible. However, considering that you conducted rescue efforts and that the Number Two experiment is progressing smoothly, I will not pursue your responsibility. If there is a next time, then you can handle it yourself."

The voice of the old Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire was not loud, but everyone could feel the anger in his words.

A bead of cold sweat trickled down Jing Hongchen's forehead. "Your Majesty, Jing Hongchen guarantees to you that such a thing will not happen again in the future."

"Enough. As for whether the research on Number Two is truly as you say, I will personally summon Silver Moon Douluo to inquire about the detailed matters. This matter ends here."

The Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire coughed a few times, then continued to look at Xu Tianran: "Crown Prince, I hear that you have new deployments recently. Why don't you tell us about your plan?"

"Father, in recent days—or more accurately, starting from recent years—the Holy Spirit Cult's infiltration of us has become increasingly severe. Moreover, they have not only infiltrated every industry in our Sun Moon Empire, but they have also learned quite a bit of our Soul Guidance Technology. I think that if we are to attack the Three Great Empires in the future, we must resolve the problem of the Holy Spirit Cult. Otherwise, even if we conquer the Three Great Empires, we will be stabbed in the back by the Holy Spirit Cult, and it is even highly likely that they will take advantage of us while we are both battered and exhausted. Therefore, my meaning is: make preparations and eliminate the Holy Spirit Cult before the Empire goes to war!"

It is true that Xu Tianran is a madman, but do not forget that he is an extremely intelligent madman. His plan is actually very simple: eliminate the Holy Spirit Cult, and then go to war against the Three Great Empires.

The old Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire frowned and asked, "Crown Prince, what is your plan?"

"Use Shrek's hands to eliminate the Holy Spirit Cult! Shrek and the Holy Spirit Cult have always been mortal enemies. Before we go to war, we must provoke a dispute between the Holy Spirit Cult and Shrek. The Holy Spirit Cult naturally knows that we do not have the strength to contend with Shrek; after all, in terms of Title Douluo, we are indeed inferior to Shrek, but this is absolutely a point we can exploit."

Having said this, he used soul power to control his soul guidance wheelchair and arrived at the old Emperor's side, taking out a Spherical Soul Tool. Under his control, the soul tool began to project some images.

In the images were Xuan Lao, the Body Sect Master, and those Elders and team leaders of the various major sects.

The reason Xu Tianran collected these naturally had his own intentions. He only heard himself say, "A considerable number of these people are Title Douluo, and some have even reached the level of Super Douluo or Peak Douluo. At this moment, they are a ticking time bomb inside Mingdu. Even if we want to use their power to reduce the Holy Spirit Cult's strength, it must absolutely not be in Mingdu, but in other places. If these people start a war within Mingdu, it will be a devastating blow to Mingdu!"

"So your meaning is that this tournament must continue, and the real action must absolutely not unfold within Mingdu?" the old Emperor asked with a frown.

Xu Tianran placed the defensive layout of Mingdu on the conference table, and then the Spherical Soul Tool projected it. It clearly recorded the defensive layout of Mingdu and the movements of the various legions.

"Father, I ask you: if we exhaust our efforts to suppress the Title Douluo of the Three Great Empires, will we still be able to spare the strength to protect the Imperial Palace and the various strategic military warehouses of our Sun Moon Empire? If the Sun Moon Empire really wants to make a move against us, can we guarantee that we won't be captured by that Holy Spirit Cult leader, whose strength may have reached Limit Douluo? If even we are captured, will the Sun Moon Empire still be in our hands?"

Xu Tianran's words were concise and to the point. He knew that if the Holy Spirit Cult turned against them, combined with the Title Douluo of the Three Great Empires pouring out in full force to engage in a chaotic battle within Mingdu, even if they could withstand the attacks from both sides, the final result would be heavy losses, and it might even allow the Holy Spirit Cult to reap the rewards.

"Your Majesty, I believe His Highness the Crown Prince is right. Although there are numerous defensive fortifications within Mingdu, and there are numerous Title Douluo and Level 9 Soul Engineer sitting in command, we need a large amount of manpower and time to mobilize legions, protect the citizens, and guard the Imperial Palace. Even if we have numerous Level 9 Soul Guidance Device, it is impossible to use them within Mingdu; once used, Mingdu would be completely destroyed."

As a representative of the military, Wang Yiheng also agreed with Xu Tianran's opinion.

"Very well, this operation against the Holy Spirit Cult will be left to the Crown Prince to take charge of. However, what is the opinion of the Holy Spirit Cult side?" The old Emperor waved his hand to move on to the next question.

"The answer given by the Holy Spirit Cult side remains ambiguous, and negotiations with them have not been smooth. Their opinion is that once we go to war with Shrek, they will take action to help us. As for the rest, they have yet to give an answer." Ye Yulin and Jing Hongchen looked at each other, then nodded toward Jing Hongchen.

"The Holy Spirit Cult clearly does not want to join us, and they have shirked responsibility several times. Last time they said Shrek had an existence not inferior to the Dark Sacred Dragon—this point we have confirmed, that is the Sea God Pavilion Pavilion Master of Shrek, Dragon God Douluo Mu En—but this time, after Mu En passed away, the answer they gave remains ambiguous. This makes one have to suspect whether they have ulterior motives."

Having said this, the old Emperor sighed; clearly, he also understood the subtext of Wang Yiheng and Ye Yulin's words.

"Mirror Hall Master, state your opinion. Regarding the Holy Spirit Cult, how do you intend to deal with them?"

The old Emperor knew deeply that if it weren't for his lack of high-end combat power, he would not have proactively invited the evil wolf that is the Holy Spirit Cult into his own backyard. But there was no other way, because without the help of the Holy Spirit Cult, the Sun Moon Empire simply would not have been able to survive that period of weakness.

Jing Hongchen said, "Your Majesty, in the past, we had no choice but to introduce the Holy Spirit Cult as our ally to resist the Three Great Empires and Shrek Academy. But now, in the development of Soul Guidance Technology, we are at least several hundred years ahead of the Three Great Empires. For our Empire's legions, this means our combat power has almost comprehensively surpassed the armies of the Three Great Empires."

"However, we must know that what we still need is our own Title Douluo. Back then, when the Star Dou Great Forest Beast Tide erupted, Shrek and the Body Sect relied on their powerful combat strength to forcibly block the Beast Tide. This undoubtedly shows that even if our legion's combat power is strong, once the opponent's Title Douluo, Super Douluo, and Peak Douluo take action, we will undoubtedly suffer heavy losses!"

"We need to cultivate our own Title Douluo and Super Douluo. In the past, in order to compete for first place in the tournament, we made the team members make too many sacrifices, but now we do not need such sacrifices. Because we have already passed that period of weakness from back then, now we need to accumulate strength and cultivate our own high-end combat power."

Jing Hongchen had been in contact with the Holy Spirit Cult and had an extremely profound understanding of them. Moreover, he himself was a Level 9 Soul Engineer and had a profound understanding of the soul guidance levels of Shrek and the Sun Moon Empire, so he was very clear about what was needed at the moment.

"Then your meaning is that we still cannot go to war with the Three Great Empires in the short term, is that correct?" the old Emperor asked.

"That is correct. Even if the Holy Spirit Cult agrees to join us, we cannot completely occupy the Three Great Empires in the short term. We can defeat the armies of the Three Great Empires, but we cannot occupy the Three Great Empires. Once Shrek gathers all the Title Douluo of the continent again, I think the war will once again fall into a white-hot stage. If the Holy Spirit Cult turns against us at this time, the consequences will be unimaginable," the commander of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Legion said.

The commander of the Huanglong Soul Engineer Legion, Xu Tianyuan, continued to add, "It is not that we cannot win, but that we cannot achieve final victory in a short period of time. If the Holy Spirit Cult does not turn against us, we can indeed rely on our powerful Soul Guidance Technology to achieve final victory, but who can guarantee whether the Holy Spirit Cult will really listen obediently?"

The old Emperor's brow furrowed even deeper. He looked at the crowd and remained silent for a long time.

Just as the meeting fell into a deathly silence, the arrival of a figure attracted everyone's gaze, and even the eyes of the old Emperor of the Sun Moon Empire shone with a different light.

"Your Majesty need not worry. What we lack is only time. If given enough time, the Holy Spirit Cult is not enough to make us so wary."

The person who arrived was dressed in the attire of a Soul Engineer, and on his chest were ten dazzling stars. When he took his seat, everyone's gaze could not help but gather on him.