Douluo Jueshi: I Don't Want to Be an Evil Soul Master

Chapter 343 Good news comes frequently
"More than two months have passed, and you still haven't found those members of the Holy Spirit Cult who escaped?"

Inside the palace, Xu Tianran looked at Xu Tianyuan standing in front of the table with a gloomy expression, and slammed the intelligence report in his hand onto the table with great dissatisfaction.

"Your Highness, please forgive me." Xu Tianyuan immediately knelt down and buried his head deeply.

“Your Highness.” Kong Deming stood up. “Back then, Ye Xishui was seriously injured by Mu En. I didn’t expect that she had other means to break through our encirclement. In a way, I also bear some responsibility.”

Upon hearing Kong Deming's words, Xu Tianran's tone softened somewhat. Even if he was deeply dissatisfied, he couldn't possibly openly criticize Kong Deming.

"Ye Xishui is already a Limit Douluo, so it's not surprising that she has such methods. It's just that back at the Holy Spirit Cult headquarters... I talked with Zhongli Wu, and we had never heard of the Holy Spirit Cult having such an expert."

"Your Highness, I dare not lie. All the Soul Masters of the Imperial Dragon Soul Master Corps witnessed that scene that day—"

"Alright," Xu Tianran said lightly, interrupting Xu Tianyuan, "If everyone didn't have the same story, do you think you could still remain in the position of legion commander?"

“Natural disaster…natural disaster…” Xu Tianran repeated, then looked down at the report on the table.

“Your Highness, although Commander Xu encountered such a powerful opponent, it doesn’t necessarily mean that he was from the Holy Spirit Cult. The fact that he would release the Imperial Dragon Soul Master Corps could mean either that he wasn’t as strong as he appeared, or that his hostility towards us wasn’t that great.”

Kong Deming stood up as he spoke, “No matter which possibility it is, it’s not bad news for us. The real thing we need to be careful about is Ye Xishui, who escaped back then.”

"We destroyed the Holy Spirit Cult, which might invite her retaliation. We should be careful."

"I am aware of that." Xu Tianran nodded slightly, then looked at Xu Tianyuan again. "What about Shrek Academy?"

"Your Highness, ever since Zhongli Wu revealed Yan Shaozhe's identity in front of Tiandou City, news about Shrek Academy has spread throughout the entire continent in the past two months."

"Has our message been spread?"

"It has been successfully spread. Now, whether within the Empire or in the other three great empires, everyone is talking about the fact that the Evil Soul Master Saintess is a student of Shrek Academy."

"According to reports from our spies, there are some dissenting voices within the three great empires. Shrek Academy has not offered any explanation, and their experts seem to be appearing less frequently."

"Okay." Xu Tianran finally heard some good news, and his expression softened a bit.

Although Shrek Academy fought against the Sun Moon Empire alongside the three great empires, Shrek Academy, which did not belong to the three great empires, was not of one mind with everyone.

Even though Shrek Academy graduates can be found everywhere in the three great empires, there are still some dissenting voices.

"Since it's an academy, it should focus on doing its job well. When the continent is unified, it might be possible to preserve Shrek Academy."

Xu Tianran seemed to have thought of something, and a slight smile appeared on his face.

"Report——"

Just as Xu Tianran was thinking about unifying the continent in the future, the voice of a guard suddenly came from outside.

"pass."

As soon as the voice fell, a figure rushed into the room and immediately knelt down after taking only two steps. "Your Highness, good news has come from the front lines! The surprise attacking army has broken through the Douling Empire's defenses and entered Douling territory."

"According to the Marshal's plan, the entire northern territory of the Douling Empire can be occupied in less than half a month."

"Good!" If the previous words had only slightly eased Xu Tianran's expression, now his face was filled with uncontrollable joy. He gestured to the palace servant beside him to bring over the intelligence report from the guard, and Xu Tianran eagerly opened the soul tool that had sealed the battle report.

"Your Highness, what is the situation at the front?"

Kong Deming looked over with some curiosity upon hearing this.

"Haha, as expected of Ju Zi." Xu Tianran said as he handed the battle report to Kong Deming.

"The battle of Tiandou City has attracted too much attention, especially since the Sun Moon Empire is concentrated under Tiandou City, forcing the Heavenly Soul Empire to defend it with all its might."

"Unexpectedly, Ju Zi resorted to the same old trick, sending troops to launch a surprise attack on the Douling Empire and opening up a third battlefield."

"The Douling Empire is vulnerable internally, and the army is moving through undefended territory. It shouldn't be long before they can directly approach their capital, Lingdou City."

Kong Deming frowned slightly after reading the battle report, but didn't say anything more. He simply put the report down and said, "Congratulations, Your Highness."

"I spoke with the Princess when I was at the front lines, and she is indeed very talented. Your Highness is truly blessed to have such assistance."

"Yes." Xu Tianran nodded, not hesitating to praise the oranges.

"Your Highness," Xu Tianyuan, who had remained silent until now, spoke up at this moment, "His Majesty has been ill for a long time and is unable to recover. You should be thinking about the most important matters of state. Without a solid foundation for the country, I'm afraid the ministers in the court will not be at ease."

Upon hearing this, Xu Tianran's expression changed drastically.

The foundation of the nation, the very essence of the state—Xu Tianyuan was naturally referring to the issue of Xu Tianran's offspring. Although Xu Tianran was nominally the regent, it was clear to anyone with discerning eyes that he was no different from the emperor.

Xu Tianran is not interested in women and has no one else by his side except for the Regent's wife, Ju Zi. Now that Ju Zi is commanding the battle on the front line, she is unable to give birth to an heir for a long time.

For others, having children later in life might not be a big deal, but it's different for royalty. After all, he has a throne to inherit, and having children means that he's not the only one who can feel at ease.

Of course, Xu Tianyuan wasn't entirely without other thoughts in his mind.

Xu Tianran has no concubines other than Ju Zi, and if he wants to have an heir, he must bring Ju Zi back to the palace.

At that time, the frontline army will need someone Xu Tianran can trust to command. And that person will most likely be Xu Tianyuan himself, Xu Tianran's confidant.

With just two simple feints, Ju Zi caused the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Fighting Spirit Empire to lose half of their territories, while Xu Tianyuan himself couldn't even handle something as simple as dealing with the Holy Spirit Cult.

Seeing that the Sun Moon Empire was overwhelming the three great empires, he naturally wanted to get some credit as well.

He knelt on the ground, unaware of Xu Tianran's increasingly grim expression.

"Alright, let's discuss this later." Xu Tianran slapped the table, not wanting to continue on this topic. "Contact Mingde Hall and make sure to find Ye Xishui's whereabouts throughout the entire empire."

"Yes."

Xu Tianyuan accepted the order and left. Seeing this, Kong Deming spoke softly, "His Highness has already sent people to eliminate most of the evil spirit master strongholds within the empire. They are now rootless and there is no need to worry too much."

"That may be true, but as long as Ye Xishui lives, I cannot rest easy..."

(End of this chapter)