Douluo Continent: The Eternal Dawn

Chapter 122 Xingluo's Atonement

After giving them some more instructions, Elder Xuan and Elder Song rushed to Xingluo City overnight.

Elder Xuan's cultivation level is as high as level 98, while Elder Song is slightly inferior, but still possesses level 97 soul power. If these two join forces, they might even be able to briefly contend with a level 99 Limit Douluo.

At least on the side originally belonging to Douluo Continent, apart from the Sect Master of the Body Sect, Du Busi, there is no one else who can threaten them.

Elder Mu sent Elder Xuan and Elder Song to personally over, demonstrating the importance he placed on the events of the evening. Following his instructions, the elders of the Sea God Pavilion also dispersed.

"Xi Xuan, you and Wu Tong, please come in." Elder Mu's gentle voice came from the Sea God Pavilion again, interrupting Ye Xi Xuan's thoughts. He subconsciously took a step, while Tang Wu Tong happily followed.

The interior of the Sea God Pavilion was bathed in a soft golden light, making people feel warm and comfortable.

Having just experienced a thrilling battle, Ye Xixuan felt a warm sensation throughout his body's meridians, his soul power was circulating and recovering on its own, and even his cultivation level showed faint signs of a breakthrough.

With his physique as a child of light, he is even more compatible with the energy of the Golden Tree than a pure light-attribute soul master like Tang Wutong.

The two stood on either side of Elder Mu, and they really did look like a perfect couple.

Before Ye Xixuan could say anything, Tang Wutong had already smiled and started to act coquettishly towards Elder Mu.

"Mr. Mu, you looked really imposing just now."

“Wu Tong, since tonight’s events happened near Shrek City, let the academy handle them. Besides, nothing bad happened to you and Xi Xuan, so there’s no need to disturb your elders in the Haotian Sect, lest they worry.”

"Yes, yes, I'll do whatever you say!" Tang Wutong was exceptionally compliant, enveloped in a feeling of immense happiness. Today was far richer than any of her past experiences, and she was completely captivated by it.

If Tang Wutong had previously descended to the mortal realm to meet Ye Xixuan simply out of a sense of mission entrusted to her by her father, then now she was truly experiencing the pure and beautiful love between a man and a woman, and all her actions were based on her own will.

Elder Mu smiled slightly and then looked at Ye Xixuan on the other side.

"Xi Xuan, just say whatever you want to say."

"Yes, Elder Mu." Ye Xixuan replied solemnly. In front of Elder Mu, he naturally would not hide anything.

"What I'm wondering is, why would the Star Luo Empire bother offending our academy? After all, it's not in their interest unless there's a greater benefit or threat driving them to take such a risk."

"It's good that you can see the deeper meaning behind it. I think you should already have the answer in your heart." Meeting Ye Xixuan's gaze, Elder Mu nodded approvingly.

Ye Xixuan frowned slightly and said five words in a solemn tone.

"The White Tiger Duke's Mansion".

"The conflict between the White Tiger Duke's lineage and the Star Luo Empire's royal family is no secret. The Star Luo Empire's royal family is currently sparsely populated, and the current emperor has no heirs, facing imminent extinction. They feel threatened by the White Tiger Duke's lineage, and their response to maintain national stability is perfectly understandable." Old Mu's tone was low, then he slowly opened his deep blue, dark yellow eyes, which exuded a dignified and imposing aura.

"But they shouldn't have schemed against you. You carry the hopes of the future of the Douluo Continent on your shoulders. Since they disregarded the bigger picture, why should our academy have to compromise?"

Ye Xixuan remained silent, which was taken as tacit agreement with Elder Mu's words.

His gentle nature stems from the fact that he doesn't usually need to show his fierce side.

He was exceptionally talented from a young age, and his cultivation over the years had been smooth sailing, enjoying the best resources on the entire continent. Even when he needed to acquire a spirit ring, Elder Mu would prepare the most suitable spirit beast for him in advance on several occasions.

With the utmost care and protection from his elders and senior sisters, living in such a kind and loving environment, Ye Xixuan naturally wouldn't harbor much resentment. However, from others' perspectives, his seemingly all-encompassing tranquility, upon closer examination, actually harbors a kind of haughty arrogance.

That arrogance did not stem from his own personality, but rather from some of his subconscious behaviors and ways of thinking.

Ultimately, he doesn't need to fight for anything to easily obtain everything.

However, today's events truly crossed Ye Xixuan's bottom line, instantly bringing him to his senses.

He couldn't live under someone else's protection forever. Although his cultivation and strength had already surpassed those of his peers, it was far from enough. He had to let go of his arrogance, step out of his comfort zone, and unleash his true edge and assertiveness.

Seeing the change in Ye Xixuan's eyes, Elder Mu smiled with satisfaction.

“Xi Xuan, you are a smart child and have never lacked understanding. But these are all indispensable experiences on your path to growth, which is why I let today’s events go unchecked.”

"So you already knew?" Ye Xixuan blinked, not too surprised.

Tang Wutong finally couldn't help but interrupt the conversation between Ye Xixuan and Elder Mu, asking with a blank expression.

"Old Mu, what kind of riddle are you two playing?"

"You little rascal, do you know that almost everything that happened today was caused by you?" Old Mu shook his head with a smile.

"Do you remember that bet between you and the eldest son of the White Tiger Duke, where you severely injured him?"

"Didn't he recover later? Is he really holding a grudge over such a small matter? This person is too petty!" Tang Wutong gave a charming snort, a hint of disdain and disgust appearing in her pink and blue eyes. Then she froze on the spot, and opened her red lips as if suddenly realizing something.

"The assassins today were hired by him?!"

"This is no small matter." Regarding Tang Wutong's subsequent speculation, Elder Mu remained noncommittal, speaking with a helpless tone.

"That blow of yours crippled his ability to be a man."

"Huh?!" Upon hearing this, Tang Wutong couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, her gaze instinctively falling on Ye Xixuan opposite her, and then slowly moving down.

Under Tang Wutong's gaze, Ye Xixuan felt uneasy and turned slightly to the side, only to find his vision going black.

"What are you looking at?!"

"Why are you being so fierce? It's not like looking at me will take a piece of your flesh away!"

Tang Wutong blushed slightly and pouted, but this princess, who was always arrogant towards outsiders, was now acting like a female hooligan, secretly glancing at him again and muttering to herself.

"Haven't you seen me before?"

"What nonsense are you talking about?!" Noticing the strange expression on Elder Mu's face, Ye Xixuan could no longer maintain his composure and hurriedly tried to clarify. But as soon as he finished speaking, he hesitated and shut his mouth.

He realized that continuing to entangle himself with Tang Wutong would only make things worse, so he simply stopped paying attention to her.

Tang Wutong then brought up the matter of Dai Huabin with Elder Mu again, saying matter-of-factly, "Elder Mu, it was Dai Huabin who wanted to gamble with me. The reason he got injured was because he was not strong enough. What does it have to do with me?"

"Anyway, it's not like Ye Xixuan lost that ability." At this point, she lowered her head slightly shyly and added in a voice so soft it was barely audible, yet Ye Xixuan and Elder Mu could hear it clearly.

Ye Xixuan took a deep breath; he was on the verge of exploding as he faced the shameless Tang Wutong.

In the end, it was Elder Mu who spoke up and calmed him down a bit.

"Alright, you're all tired after what's happened today. Go back and rest. We'll discuss the outcome of this matter once Xuanzi and the others have investigated and returned."

"Yes, Elder Mu." Ye Xixuan replied respectfully, then ignored Tang Wutong beside him and turned to walk deeper into the Sea God Pavilion.

Seeing that Ye Xixuan wasn't waiting for her again, Tang Wutong pouted her red lips in grievance, but remembering her previous promise to Ye Xixuan, she had no choice but to suppress her spoiled princess temper.

"Hmph, you scoundrel! You always make me angry! But I'm a magnanimous young lady, I won't hold it against you, hehe." The Tang princess amused herself in her heart, first bowing to Elder Mu, and then following closely behind with cheerful steps.

Watching Tang Wutong's departing figure, Elder Mu's eyes became profound.

Regardless of the true intentions of the person behind Tang Wutong, their goals are now aligned: both hope that Ye Xixuan can grow up quickly. Therefore, he did not deliberately prevent Ye Xixuan from interacting with Tang Wutong; instead, he wanted to use Tang Wutong's reaction to test the identity of the person behind her.

If the interests of both parties ultimately conflict, he must make a decisive choice.

Not long after Ye Xixuan returned to his room in the Sea God Pavilion, Zhang Lexuan dropped everything and came to find him. In the room, she comforted Ye Xixuan again, and the two talked until late at night.

Zhang Lexuan has been quite busy lately, and was one of the last inner courtyard disciples to learn about tonight's unexpected turn of events.

Besides the inner court students who are not currently at Shrek Academy, Ma Xiaotao is also unaware of the situation.

Having broken through to the Soul Saint realm and fused with the 70,000-year-old Crimson Dragon's torso and soul bone, she has recently gained profound insights and has spent almost all of her time in seclusion cultivating.

As for Ling Luochen, although she wanted to find Ye Xixuan, she did not have the qualifications to enter the Sea God Pavilion.

After a long and eventful night, the tense atmosphere at Shrek Academy gradually calmed down.

Meanwhile, in the Star Luo Empire's imperial palace.

The Star Luo Empire has been passed down to this day, and the imperial palace in Star Luo City has a history of tens of thousands of years, with a magnificent and profound atmosphere.

The entire palace covers a vast area and is brightly lit, looking almost like a bustling small city.

Only the courtyard near the emperor's bedroom was shrouded in darkness and remained silent.

A thunderclap suddenly rang out in the clear night sky, and two figures landed in the courtyard amidst the deafening thunder. They were Elder Xuan and Elder Song.

With their cultivation levels, they could easily traverse the entire continent in a single day. That very night, they arrived at Star Luo City, a journey that took only a few hours.

Old Master Xuan sat on an open-air stone table in the courtyard, casually tossing Koro's corpse in front of him. He then took out a chicken leg and a wine gourd and began to eat and drink, taking bites of meat and sips of wine.

Old Song stood quietly beside Old Xuan, his expression somewhat helpless, but he didn't say anything.

They came here to demand an explanation from the Star Luo Empire. In this situation, Elder Xuan's unreliable behavior only highlighted the Shrek Academy's tough stance.

Emperor Xu Jiawei of the Star Luo Empire, who was resting in his palace, was suddenly awakened. At that moment, an incomparably powerful aura also soared into the sky within the Star Luo Empire's palace.

Old Master Xuan casually spat a chicken bone onto the ground, then took a swig of wine with relish, muttering to himself, "Come on, everyone, it's better to talk when everyone's here."

Before the words were even finished, more than a dozen figures instantly appeared opposite Elder Xuan and Elder Song, none of them being titled Douluo.

The leader was a thin old man with white hair, who looked even older than Elder Xuan, but his eyes were as deep as the night sky, as if thousands of stars were twinkling in them.

"Who dares to trespass into the Star Luo Imperial Palace?!" The old man's tone wasn't particularly forceful, but rather one of surprise and shock. When he saw Elder Xuan's face clearly, his shock deepened, and he spoke with uncertainty.

"You are Xuanzi?!"

"Xingchen, I didn't expect that after so many years, your cultivation level is still stuck at level ninety-six. Judging from your appearance, you should be nearing the end of your life." Elder Xuan's expression was indifferent, but his extremely aggressive words made the old man's expression very ugly.

After all, what Elder Xuan said was tantamount to saying that he was not far from death.

Although the Star Luo Empire was the most powerful of the original three kingdoms of the Douluo Continent, its lack of high-end combat power at the Title Douluo level was a significant weakness. The vast majority of the Title Douluos present only had soul power cultivation levels of around 91 or 92, and those at the Super Douluo level or above were extremely rare.

This Star Douluo, who is the head of the Hall of Worship of the Star Luo Empire, is only level 96.

Faced with Elder Xuan's sarcasm, the Star Douluo dared not retaliate. He looked at the corpse on the ground, frowned slightly, and asked in a deep voice, "Xuanzi, our Star Luo Empire and your Shrek Academy have always kept to themselves. What is the meaning of your actions today?"

"What a fine 'keeping to ourselves' approach! Let that brat Huang Jinxu get out here first!" Elder Xuan roared, and a terrifying aura swept out from his body, suppressing more than a dozen Title Douluos from the Star Luo Empire with his own strength.

With a swift movement of his right hand, he instantly locked onto a black-haired elder with a black star-shaped mark between his eyebrows among the group of titled Douluo protecting the Star Luo Empire.

The black-haired elder's face showed horror, and his body moved uncontrollably towards the direction where Elder Xuan was, his martial spirit and his powerful soul force completely suppressed. Overwhelmed by guilt and fear, he dared not look Elder Xuan in the eye.

Star Douluo never expected Elder Xuan to be so forceful, attacking without hesitation and leaving no room for maneuver.

His martial spirit possessed similar abilities to Huang Jinxu's Heavenly Fiend Lone Star. Although they weren't master and disciple, he had once guided Huang Jinxu's cultivation. Even if it weren't for this relationship, he couldn't stand idly by just to uphold the dignity of the Star Luo Empire.

Just as Star Douluo made a move, Elder Song silently stepped forward and sealed his aura.

Just then, a cry of surprise rang out from afar.

"stop!"

Elder Xuan ignored him and slapped Huang Jinxu, the Heavenly Fiend Douluo, hard across the face with his large, fan-like hand.

Blood mixed with broken teeth spurted from his mouth. Huang Jinxu had no ability to resist and was sent flying backward by Elder Xuan's slap, crashing heavily into the depths of the courtyard.

Looking in the direction from which the exclamation came, one could see Emperor Xu Jiawei of Xingluo, dressed in plain clothes, walking over from a distance with a stiff upper lip. When he noticed the corpse on the ground, his heart sank to the bottom.

The titled Douluo of the Star Luo Empire immediately bowed to Xu Jiawei.

"His Majesty."

"You are the Star Luo Emperor?" Under Elder Xuan's questioning, one can imagine the immense pressure Xu Jiawei was under.

"Yes, Mr. Xuan."

"Very well, since you dare to scheme against Shrek Academy, then you shall give me an explanation today. If you fail to satisfy me, I will not hesitate to have your Star Luo Empire's royal family change sides." Elder Xuan looked at Xu Jiawei expressionlessly and said calmly.

"Anyway, your Xu family's throne was taken from the Dai family, so it's not a big deal to switch to another family."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of all the Title Douluos from the Star Luo Empire changed. Many of them were unaware of the truth and only felt that Shrek Academy's actions were truly domineering, yet none of them dared to step forward.

Xu Jiawei nodded repeatedly, his head bowed and eyes downcast, not daring to show the slightest dissatisfaction.

"Elder Xuan, I will definitely give you a satisfactory explanation." As he spoke, he turned around and solemnly instructed an old woman among the many titled Douluo of the Star Luo Empire.

"Senior Xingyun, go and find Jiujiu."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Nebula Douluo hurriedly rose to his feet and disappeared from the spot in an instant.

Old Song remained silent, observing coldly. She knew that Old Mu had asked her to come with Old Xuan because he was impulsive and might do something irreversible in the heat of the moment. But judging from today's events, she didn't think Old Xuan had done anything excessive.

However, not wanting to make things too ugly, she gently reminded him, "One of the targets of that assassination was the sole heir to the future Sea God Pavilion Master of our academy. I think Your Majesty should know what this means. We old bones will be replaced by the younger generation sooner or later. When he sits on the throne of the Sea God Pavilion Master, if he harbors hostility towards your Xu family and even the entire Star Luo Empire, then it will probably not be so easy to end things."

"Yes, you're right." Xu Jiawei clenched his fists tightly, his voice trembling slightly, his heart filled with suppressed shock and anger.

Trusting his younger sister Xu Jiujiu, he hadn't inquired about the details beforehand, but he never expected that Xu Jiujiu would deliberately conceal these crucial pieces of information from him.

If he knew that one of the targets was the heir chosen by the Sea God Pavilion, he would never take such a risk, even if he had a thousand lives.

Xu Jiawei knew about his sister's desire for power, and since he had no children, he gradually acquiesced to some of Xu Jiujiu's actions, and even began to gradually relinquish power.

But who knew that Xu Jiujiu would do something so big right from the start.

(End of this chapter)