Douluo Jueshi: Picking up Firefly at the Beginning

Zhongli Wu walked briskly, as if carrying a gust of wind, his face was filled with unconcealable joy, and his mood seemed particularly high.

"Master, how is the current situation going?" Xu Tianran stood up to greet him with a look of concern and asked impatiently.

Zhongli Wu bowed slightly, a smug smile on his face. He said, "This incident has brought great benefits to our sect. Many of our powerful members have successfully achieved breakthroughs and their strength has been significantly improved. However, there is a less optimistic situation at the moment. The people from the Tianhun Empire, Xingluo Empire, and the Benti Sect have all escaped. According to our investigation, they prepared a large number of earth-drilling soul guides in advance, and used them to safely transport all their key personnel. Judging from the drilling traces we have detected, they took at least hundreds of people with them."

Upon hearing the news, Xu Tianran's facial expression twisted instantly and anger surged in his heart.

He slammed his right fist into his left palm, swearing through gritted teeth, "Bastards! I should have expected them to do this. They've raided Mingde Hall before. These damn guys are nothing but cunning rats! After this incident, we must focus on strengthening the empire's underground defense system. We must never let something like this happen again."

Originally, Xu Tianran simply wanted to shift the blame for the Mingdu explosion onto the Benti Sect, Xingluo, and Tianhun Empires in order to divert people's attention and create an excuse for future wars.

But now it seems that they do have the conditions to carry out the explosion because they have the earth-drilling soul guide.

After all, the underground warehouse where the explosion occurred was located a hundred meters underground, and ordinary people could not enter at all. But with the ground-drilling soul guide, everything became possible.

Therefore, no matter what, they have to take the blame, because Xu Tianran urgently needs them to bear the infamy and guilt in order to stabilize the domestic situation and pave the way for subsequent strategic layout.

Zhongli Wu nodded solemnly and said, "The losses this time are indeed extremely heavy. Your Highness, oh no, I should address you as Your Majesty now. Your Majesty, when do you plan to dispatch your troops?"

As the leader of the Holy Spirit Cult and the actual controller of the evil soul masters, Zhongli Wu was extremely looking forward to the outbreak of war.

Because in his eyes, war means countless lives, which means that a huge amount of soul power will be continuously available to them. This is undoubtedly a great opportunity for the development and growth of the Holy Spirit Church.

Xu Tianran's face was solemn, and he spoke in a low voice, "This incident was too sudden. A military warehouse of the empire was destroyed, and a large number of innocent people were killed or injured. The losses are devastating. Even the Mingde Hall, with its profound history, was completely wiped out in this disaster. Imperial Master, if you are willing to go all out and use the power of the Holy Spirit Church to help, I will immediately mobilize the imperial army and attack the Tianhun Empire and the Xingluo Empire with lightning speed."

Zhongli Wu shook his head decisively without hesitation. They, the Holy Spirit Church, only wanted to reap the benefits in the chaos of war and enjoy a sumptuous buffet, but they definitely did not want to act as the vanguard and become cannon fodder to die in vain.

"Your Majesty, you are well aware that we have always been ostracized and suppressed in the spirit master community. Normally, we've been cautious even in assisting the Empire. If we were to become fully involved in a war, it would very likely cause those ancient sects that had been hidden from the world to emerge. In my opinion, we should delay the war and bide our time. This way, we can buy more time to make thorough preparations. We can use this incident to incite hatred among the people towards those two countries, making it even more intense. At the same time, we should continuously increase our forces, intensify military training, and concentrate all resources on the production of spirit guides, fully preparing for the future war. Now that the two sides have completely torn their relations, the arms race must begin early. Once our army launches the war, it must be unstoppable like a thunderbolt, striving for immediate victory."

Xu Tianran had not originally held high expectations for the Holy Spirit Church to fully participate in the war, and he himself had no plans to start a war immediately.

After all, he has not yet officially ascended the throne, and Mingdu is now riddled with holes and severely damaged.

In his opinion, the best time to launch a war would be when he had complete control over the situation in the empire and the capital of Ming had regained its former vitality.

"In that case, we must first focus on stabilizing the current situation. At the same time, we must also take this opportunity to thoroughly clean up those who are betraying the Empire."

At this point, a strong murderous intent suddenly flashed in Xu Tianran's eyes, which made people shudder.

He knew very well that there must be spies from other forces infiltrating the Sun-Moon Empire, otherwise, how could his position be easily exposed during the assassination attempt in the palace?

Furthermore, who secretly assisted the Body Sect and the Xingluo Empire to escape so smoothly and safely from the heavily guarded Mingdu?

Even with a ground-drilling soul guide, it wouldn't be that smooth, so it was inevitable that someone would betray the company.

Zhongli Wu's expression remained calm, and he nodded calmly, "Your Majesty is absolutely right. Some people are indeed responsible for this major incident. As for those who were not involved, we might as well announce to the public that they tragically died in this devastating explosion. Your Majesty, should we still use the same list you gave me last time?"

"Well, I'll have to trouble the Imperial Master to take care of this matter." Xu Tianran nodded slightly.

Zhongli Wu smiled slightly and said, "I would like to congratulate Your Majesty in advance on your successful ascension to the throne and your reign over the world."

Xu Tianran said earnestly, his face sincere, "When the Sun-Moon Empire unifies the continent, the Holy Spirit Church will surely become the Empire's unique national guardian cult. At that time, I will honor you as the national guardian god, allowing you to enjoy the supreme honor of being revered by all the people. I will do my utmost to help you achieve deity status and become a god."

"That's all for the future. For now, we need to take one step at a time and proceed steadily."

Zhongli Wu said this, but he was not easily tempted by the promise Xu Tianran made.

He nodded at Xu Tianran, then turned around and walked out the door with steady steps.

When he reached the door, Zhongli Wu suddenly stopped, as if he remembered something important, and slowly turned around.

"Your Majesty, I have one more thing to report to you. West Mountain has revived after our continuous sacrifices. The people from Shrek Academy are now deeply trapped. Judging from the current situation, they will not be able to escape in a short time. They may even be wiped out. We only need to send some people to guard them closely outside to ensure that they cannot escape."

"That's good. But... can they really be trapped there?" Xu Tianran frowned slightly. Although he knew that the place was extremely strange and had unknown mysterious powers, the strength of the people who came from Shrek Academy this time should not be underestimated.

Especially Xuanzi, who is already infinitely close to the realm of Extreme Douluo. If they are allowed to escape successfully, they will definitely become a major threat to the Sun-Moon Empire in the future.

Zhongli Wu's expression was solemn, and he spoke in a low voice, "Your Majesty, there's no need to worry. The mystery and power of that place far exceeds the imagination of ordinary people. Back then, my grandfather was trapped there for a hundred years. Back then, my grandfather's cultivation was three times stronger than Uncle Long's today. Uncle Long, you know how powerful he was. Even with my grandfather's strength, he spent a full hundred years there, overcoming countless hardships and dangers, before finally passing the test and escaping with some precious items."

He paused slightly, then added emphatically, "Once that place revives, its internal rules will take effect. Even powerful Titled Douluo will not be able to leave at will after entering. They must pass a series of extremely rigorous tests. These tests are interconnected, and the slightest mistake will result in being trapped for ten years at the very least. If the mistake is serious, they may even be trapped there forever, unable to escape."

At this point, Zhongli Wu's face showed a hint of confidence. "Furthermore, I have specially arranged for Xiao Feng to lead the four elders to guard the western exit. As long as the Shrek Academy people escape from there, they will definitely take action at the first moment and capture them in one fell swoop. They will never give them any chance to escape."

Hearing this, Xu Tianran was suddenly shocked.

He was well aware of the terrifying power of Dragon Emperor Douluo Long Xiaoyao, but he never expected that that mysterious place could trap even a strong man of Long Xiaoyao's level for a hundred years.

This shows how powerful the power of that place is. It seems that the Holy Spirit Church knows much more about that place than their Sun-Moon Empire.

"That should be it, right? Why is the fog so thick?"

Dozens of kilometers away from Xishan, Liuxing stared at the image projected by the soul guide, frowning and a trace of doubt in his heart.

The scene before him was very different from what he had expected. The originally clear outline of the West Mountain was now completely swallowed up by a thick white fog.

"That's not right. When I came here to investigate, everything was fine. There was no fog at all."

Gui Naifen's face was filled with shock, as if she had seen a ghost. Her eyes were wide open and she muttered to herself in disbelief.

At this time, Xishan seemed to be covered by a mysterious curtain, completely shrouded by this sudden thick fog.

What is even more strange is that this thick fog seems to be bound by some force and is confined to the West Mountain. There is no sign of spreading outward. It is as if there is an invisible barrier that traps the fog firmly in the West Mountain.

"Forget it, never mind all that. Aunt, I'll leave the installation of the ninth-level fixed-type soul guide device entirely to you."

Meteor turned his head slightly and looked at Luanyu, then handed the six ninth-level fixed-type soul-guided shells emitting powerful energy fluctuations to Luanyu.

You know, accurately launching a ninth-level fixed-type soul-guided artillery shell at a distance of dozens of kilometers is not an easy task. It requires the installation of a special ninth-level fixed-type soul-guided launcher. Among their group, only Luan Yu has such superb skills and abilities.

"Oh! Leave it to me."

Luan Yu sighed softly and took the shell helplessly.

In fact, deep down in her heart, she did not agree with Meteor's revenge on Shrek Academy.

After all, Shrek Academy is well-known in the world of soul masters, with strong strength and profound foundation. Once what happened today is accidentally exposed, Shrek Academy will definitely regard their Nevernight Palace as its mortal enemy, and the two sides will be caught in an endless battle to the death, with unimaginable consequences.

However, Luan Yu also witnessed with his own eyes the miserable scene of Mingdu today, and witnessed that the Sun and Moon Royal Soul Instructor Academy, which carried countless glories, completely disappeared in the disaster, leaving only nothingness.

Meteor and Firefly spent several years at the academy, forming bonds with their teachers and classmates.

Even if we treat animals without any spirituality, we will develop feelings for them after spending a long time with them. What’s more, what about classmates who accompany us day and night and teachers who teach us with care?
She understood Meteor's anger and why he was so determined to carry out this act of revenge.

Therefore, she really couldn't find a suitable reason or position to stop Liu Xing, and could only choose to support him silently and do her best to help him accomplish this task.

"Are you sure they are inside? Installing the ninth-level fixed-type soul guide transmitter will take at least an hour."

Luan Yu confirmed again.

"They must be inside. The people from the Holy Spirit Church are still guarding outside."

Gui Naifen confirmed. (End of this chapter)