Douluo: Peerless Black Tortoise Moon God

Chapter 54: Secret Talk at Xingluo Palace, Departure for the Duke of White Tiger's Mansion (Happy New Year)
"I understand this matter. Jiujiu will stay here. You should all go back and cultivate well. Don't overthink it. You are all the best talents in the empire. I look forward to you bringing glory to the country."

In the Xingluo Palace, Xu Jiawei turned his back and gently waved to Huang Xingyun and the other four, his voice deep and calm.

However, Xu Jiujiu, who was one step away from Xu Jiawei, clearly saw that a look of anger appeared on Xu Jiawei's handsome face, but disappeared in an instant, and his lips were pursed uncomfortably again and again.

Xu Jiujiu, who was familiar with Xu Jiawei's habits, immediately understood that his brother was forcing himself to suppress his anger.

"Yes, we thank your Majesty."

Huang Xingyun and the other four bowed to Xu Jiawei and respectfully left the palace.

In the huge palace, only Xu Jiawei and Xu Jiujiu were left at this time. All the palace servants had been dispersed in advance, and the atmosphere fell into an eerie calm.

"Ugh……"

Xu Jiawei sighed deeply and spoke first:

"Jiujiu... Tell me, what are your thoughts on this matter? We are just siblings here, and we can talk freely about anything."

Xu Jiujiu was silent for a long time, then looked up at Xu Jiawei and asked a seemingly unrelated question: "Royal brother, how is the old man, the Lord of the Worship Hall, doing?"

"very bad."

Xu Jiawei had no intention of hiding anything from this imperial sister. He closed his eyes, shook his head, and answered truthfully:
"His Majesty the Medical Immortal told me privately that the Palace Master's life span will be exhausted in three years at most. He is already over 280 years old. He is truly at the end of his life."

The lifespan of a Titled Douluo far exceeds that of an ordinary person; living to a hundred years old is not a problem. The lifespan of a Super Douluo or even an Ultimate Douluo is even longer.

But even for an Extreme Douluo, being close to 300 years old is considered old, not to mention a Level 98 Super Douluo. Moreover, most soul masters suffer hidden injuries from battles when they were young, which will invisibly reduce their lifespan.

After getting the answer, Xu Jiawei remained silent for a long time. He stared at his sister and sighed:

"Although intelligence indicates that Shrek's Dragon God Douluo may not be long for this life, they still have a level 98 Taotie Douluo who can easily protect Shrek for decades.

Taotie Douluo is old, Shrek still has the ninety-seventh-level Qingying Douluo Song Lao, and the younger Mingfeng Douluo Yan Shaozhe is already a Super Douluo, so he should have grown up by then..."

"After I ascended the throne, I also thought about weakening Shrek's influence in our country. However, I looked around the court and saw that everyone knew about Shrek. I didn't know where to start..."

"And Jiujiu, if we want to resist the invasion of the Sun-Moon Empire, we can't do without Shrek. Although I don't want to admit it, in the eyes of the Sun-Moon Empire, Shrek is the biggest obstacle to their unification of the continent..."

Xu Jiawei whispered about Shrek's echelon of strong men, his voice revealing a deep sense of powerlessness.

As the emperor of a country, he had to pin his hopes of resisting foreign invaders on an academy, which was undoubtedly a huge pressure for the ambitious Xu Jiawei.

However, the Xu family's ability to sit firmly on the throne was the result of a unanimous compromise among all forces. The Palace Master was about to die. If the balance was rashly broken, the consequences would likely be out of control, and his and the Xu family's position and safety would be no longer guaranteed.

For Shrek, the Xu family's artifact, which is not guarded by a level 98 strongman, may not be impossible to replace. Wouldn't it be better to replace it with a more obedient Dai family?
"Jiujiu understands, so Jiujiu doesn't dare to ask the emperor to do anything for Jiujiu about Shrek. I just have two requests and one suggestion. Please think carefully about it."

He folded his hands for a long time and performed a deep court etiquette.

"Tell me, I will seriously consider it."

"For the next two years, I would like to put aside everything I'm doing and focus on my cultivation in seclusion, aiming to reach the Soul Emperor realm. I ask my royal brother to gather enough resources for me."

Xu Jiawei smiled lightly upon hearing this and said calmly, "Why take this matter so seriously? You are the princess of my Xingluo Empire."

"I'll make the decision. All the natural treasures in the national treasury are at your disposal. You can choose three top-tier, ten-thousand-year soul bones. You can enter the Worship Hall at any time to ask Shattered Star Douluo, Tiansha... Forget Tiansha Douluo, you can also ask other worshippers for advice on your cultivation difficulties. If the Hall Master is willing to guide you, that would be even better."

Xu Jiawei, who was speaking smoothly, suddenly realized that Tiansha Guxing should not be approached closely, and quickly stopped talking and changed his words, adding:

"Of course, my cultivation is quite good. If you ask me, I will definitely know everything."

"Royal brother, what if I still want a hundred thousand year soul bone?" Xu Jiujiu suddenly asked.

Xu Jiawei's smile froze, and he frowned and said, "The hundred thousand year soul bone is of great importance. Jiujiu, you are making things difficult for me."

Of course, the Xingluo Empire and the Xingguan Sect have accumulated some hundred thousand year soul bones over the years of history, but hundred thousand year soul bones have always been the highest level of scarce resources, so Xu Jiawei cannot help but be cautious.

According to convention, only the emperors of all dynasties, the top cultivation geniuses of the Star Crown lineage, or the top powerhouses of the Worship Hall can fuse and inherit the 100,000-year soul bone.

"In the competition two years from now, I will definitely lead the Xingluo team into the finals!"

Xu Jiujiu said this in a decisive tone, and then said:

"I know my brother is in a difficult situation. I have vowed to reach the level of Titled Douluo within twenty years! If I fail, I will be willing to sacrifice my limbs for my bones!"

Xu Jiawei raised his eyebrows: "Do you want to inherit the position of Palace Master in the future?"

"I'm willing to give it a try! I won't regret it even if I die!" Xu Jiawei stared at his sister for a while and sighed softly:

"Since you have such a heart, I will grant your wish. If you can get second place in the competition two years from now, I will help you convince those people. This honor is barely enough."

"What about the other request? What do you suggest?"

"Another request is for Jiujiu's classmates. They suffered a great humiliation this time. They may not be as talented as the top geniuses, but they are loyal to my royal family.

Therefore, I have long wanted to ask for a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone for each of Huang Xingyun and Dugu Shangshan, the two most outstanding cultivators, as an incentive."

Xu Jiujiu said with a calm look.

Xu Jiawei nodded without hesitation: "This is easy to handle. Just give them the choice. The same goes for other resources. If one of them can break through to the Soul Emperor level in two years, that would be great."

Xu Jiawei didn't care about the ten thousand year old soul bone at all. He just left it there anyway and considered it as a favor to the two future priests.

Xu Jiujiu thanked him and continued, "My suggestion is to relax exchanges with the Sun-Moon Empire at the academy level and speed up our catch-up in the field of soul guide technology."

"Jiujiu, what do you mean by this? Did I hear it correctly?"

Xu Jiawei's face changed drastically when he talked about his soul bone that had lasted for 100,000 years. His eyes, which were full of spirit, stared at him for a long time, revealing the natural pressure of a superior.

"I don't mean anything else. I just want to strengthen my strength. As you know, my royal brother, our empire's soul guidance technology is conservatively estimated to be hundreds of years behind the Sun-Moon Empire. It's impossible to catch up with them. The best way is to send people to learn from them."

"If we want to compete with Shrek, perhaps this is the only way to do it, because we have more resources to equip the Soul Guidance Corps."

Xu Jiujiu faced Xu Jiawei's scrutiny and responded calmly. Then, his eyes fixed, he said in a deep voice:
"Brother, we are not as good as Shrek in terms of soul masters, nor as good as Sun and Moon in terms of soul mentors. We have been lagging behind for too long. Fortunately, we are stronger than the Sun and Moon Empire in terms of soul masters. Jiujiu believes that this is feasible."

"We've received information that the Sun-Moon Empire is researching a light-focusing soul guide. If we can acquire this soul guide, perhaps we can overcome the problem that our Star Crown lineage can only practice at night! It will greatly improve our practice efficiency!"

"I've personally witnessed the power of fixed-type soul guide shells. Aunt Zhu's cultivation isn't much weaker than those two Soul Saints, but with their combined strength, she was taken down in less than a minute."

"Moreover, as far as we know, the Sun Moon Royal Soul Instructor Academy has long invited Shrek to exchange and study, but the Shrek Martial Soul Department has always refused."

Hearing this, Xu Jiawei pressed his eyebrows, paced around the hall with his hands behind his back for a while, and finally smiled wryly at Xu Jiujiu:

"Even if you're right, Sun and Moon might not be interested in us, right?"

"So, I will prove our strength to the Sun-Moon Empire in the competition two years from now, forcing them to take us seriously."

Xu Jiujiu clenched his fist and nodded, his eyes moving as he spoke, like a deep, dark spring.

"That person once told me that respect is earned through fighting. Even if the Sun Moon Royal Soul Guidance Academy is unwilling to communicate, we can always find a second best option, such as the Mingdu Soul Guidance Academy. That way, we can always be on equal terms."

"...I have to admit, Jiujiu, what you said is quite attractive. In that case, let's prepare well."

……

Half a month later, at night, somewhere in the outer area of ​​Mingdou Forest.

Xu Tianxi, who was sitting cross-legged beside the campfire, opened his eyes, stood up, a glimmer of joy flashed across his eyes, his soul power was restrained, and there was no murderous aura.

"Young Master, have you made a breakthrough?" Yue Lao, who was in charge of keeping watch, was surprised to notice the change in Xu Tianxi and asked tentatively.

"It was just luck." Xu Tianxi shook his forehead, and a look of reminiscence appeared in his eyes.

The battle with the Messenger of Abomination was his first life-and-death battle since coming to this world. The latter's strength was somewhat beyond his expectations.

Although that guy's hatred spirit was disgusting, his defense was impeccable. His fat body could even greatly delay his mental attack. It took a lot of bombing and beating to kill him, and both sides were almost injured.

The "evil" of the evil soul master is evident. We must be extremely cautious in future battles...

After gathering his thoughts, Xu Tianxi smiled and asked Yue Lao, "Yue Lao, how is the prisoner that Senior Zhisen brought back earlier? How is the situation at the White Tiger Duke's Mansion?"

"That prisoner has already surrendered. At the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, the third young master, Dai Yuhao, whom you're concerned about, is in a very bad situation. His mother is dying."

Yue Lao answered Xu Tianxi's questions one by one. Considering that Xu Xiaoyun had done this twice before, he was not surprised by Xu Tianxi's attention to Dai Yuhao. He just whispered a reminder:
"Young Master, Dai Yuhao's innate spirit power is very low. I'm afraid he won't be able to follow the path that His Majesty the Ice Phoenix and the young lady did in the past."

"It's okay. I didn't intend to bring him into the Xuanming Sect. We can't afford this person."

Xu Tianxi smiled nonchalantly and said, "Tomorrow morning, let's disguise ourselves and go to Xingluo Imperial Capital. I'll also teach the prisoner how to speak."

(End of this chapter)