Douluo Continent: Starting with a Heavenly Fire Judgment

Chapter 417 Unexpected Disaster

Ji Lin could already imagine how angry the people and powerful figures of the Sun Moon Empire would be. Although this matter had nothing to do with their Free Sect, this anger would definitely spread to them.

This was an utterly undeserved disaster. They lost the championship and had to flee overnight, a truly pathetic situation. This made Ji Lin furious and regretful that he had encouraged Shrek Academy to take advantage of Xu Jiujiu's misfortune in order to help him out.

As for why he suspected Shrek Academy instead of other forces, well, that's a joke. Ji Lin knew very well that Shrek Academy's target was the military warehouse underground in the West City. The explosion that could cause such a violent explosion must have been caused by a level nine soul-guided cannon shell, and more than one of them, otherwise it would not have been able to sweep through a third of Mingdu.

The most suspicious group is undoubtedly Shrek Academy, which went to the Sun Moon Empire's military warehouse to plunder.

With Chi Yuan and Gu Yuena by their side, and with Ji Lin's Word of Power and mental detection, Zizaimen and Dilongmen managed to break through without any major incident and escape from Mingdu.

The Sun Moon Empire's blockade was transparent to Ji Lin and Chi Yuan, making it easy for them to find a gap to escape.

Moreover, due to the explosion in the western district of Mingdu, the Soul Master Corps of the Sun Moon Empire was thrown into disarray, and the blockade zone was no longer airtight, with many gaps appearing.

This is simply the perfect opportunity to break through.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Shrek Academy and Body Sect groups successfully broke through the blockade. After leaving the blockade zone, they parted ways and fled at high speed. They would inevitably face pursuit, so it was best to leave and return to their own base camps for safety. Moreover, after this explosion, the Sun Moon Empire would definitely retaliate at all costs. Even if the explosion delayed the Sun Moon Empire's war, war could not be stopped and was bound to break out.

After parting ways with Du Busi and the others, Xuanzi, with a gloomy face, led the Shrek group and raced towards Shrek Academy.

The elders of the Sea God Pavilion also looked grave. Ma Xiaotao quietly approached Zhang Lexuan, hesitated for a moment, and then whispered, "Sister Lexuan, this explosion, could it really have been your doing?"

Zhang Lexuan bit her lower lip, her face blank. She shook her head and said softly, "I don't know the specifics, but it's probably related to us."

Zhang Lexuan felt heavy-hearted. The explosion and tragedy had caused such a horrific disaster that even the usually composed Zhang Lexuan felt a little panicked. She was afraid that it was really an accident they had caused. If Ji Lin knew that she had caused the deaths of millions of people, she wondered how he would view her. She did not want to shirk responsibility, after all, she was the one leading the team, and as the team leader, she had an inescapable duty.

Beibei and Jiang Nannan also looked confused, but they vaguely guessed that the earth-shattering scene just now was caused by them.

He Caitou, Huo Yuhao, and Xu Sanshi knew best that they were the ones who did it. The three of them were the ones who caused trouble before they left, installing a timed high-explosive soul tool in the military warehouse without Zhang Lexuan's consent.

Before leaving the underground military warehouse, because there were too many soul tools in the warehouse, they could only take a small portion with them. Therefore, He Caitou suggested using timed high-explosive soul tools to destroy all the remaining soul tools, thereby striking at the Sun Moon Empire and delaying the Sun Moon Empire's pace of launching a war.

Because the underground military warehouse was too large, the six of them split into two groups. Xu Sanshi, He Caitou, and Huo Yuhao were in one group, so they did not tell Zhang Lexuan about this and acted on their own. Before leaving, they set up timed high-explosive soul guides.

As they expected, the high-explosive soul tools left behind would at most destroy the warehouse, and would not be able to penetrate the thick ground and pose a threat to the civilians above.

What they didn't expect was that the power of the explosion was far beyond their imagination. According to He Caitou and Huo Yuhao's calculations, the explosion of the high-explosive soul tool, plus the detonation of the fixed soul tool shell, would at most destroy the underground warehouse. Because the underground warehouse was located hundreds of meters underground, its explosion could spread up to one kilometer and cause a major earthquake. At most, some unlucky people would be affected, but there would not be too many casualties.

What they didn't know was that beneath all the military warehouses in Mingdu, in a place even more hidden and heavily guarded than the underground warehouses, lay a dozen or so level-nine fixed-position soul-guided cannon shells. The explosion caused by the timed high-explosive soul-guided device they left behind happened to affect the level-nine fixed-position soul-guided cannon shells beneath the underground warehouses, awakening these deadly weapons.

A dozen or so level-nine fixed-position soul-guided shells, plus tens of thousands of level-five and lower fixed-position soul-guided shells of various kinds, all of this, along with a series of coincidences, have led to the enormous disaster that has befallen Mingdu.

The day when the sun and moon lose their light and are destroyed.

This will be a day that the Sun and Moon Empire will forever remember.

If Ji Lin knew, he would definitely complain that the Sun Moon Empire's royal family was a complete mess. Who would be so idle as to bury such powerful weapons underground in their own capital, planting world-destroying bombs right under their feet?

The poor people of Mingdu had no idea that they had been living on bombs all along, and that one wrong move could send them flying into the sky, just like the western part of Mingdu today.

The idiotic actions of the Sun and Moon Empire's royal family are also inextricably linked to this massive explosion. How could they possibly place such a devastating weapon at their feet? It's placed in the imperial capital where the people live! If someone with ulterior motives had discovered this, a simple maneuver could have instantly blasted the entire capital into the sky, sending them flying into space to stand shoulder to shoulder with the sun.

Finally, the Shrek Academy students escaped into a mountain range, but everyone felt weak in the knees. They couldn't imagine who could have survived in the terrifying core of the explosion.

Besides, if they remember correctly, there were more than a million people gathered in the West District at that time!

"Everyone, take a break," Elder Xuan ordered with a stern face.

Old Master Xuan pulled the lifeless He Caitou aside and said in a deep voice, "Le Xuan, Bei Bei, Xu Sanshi, you guys come here."

Hearing Elder Xuan's gloomy voice, Bei Bei and the others lowered their heads and quickly walked over.

The other powerful figures in the academy and Dai Huabin and others couldn't help but have a thought: Could it be that the huge explosion in Mingdu was really...!

When this thought appeared uncontrollably, everyone's gaze froze.

Elder Xuan looked at the six people before him, his face grave, and said, "Speak, who will tell me what happened?"

He Caitou's dazed gaze gradually focused. He raised his head and said with a bitter smile, "Elder Xuan, it was my fault. It was my suggestion to bury timed high-explosive soul tools that destroyed a large number of soul tools and fixed-position soul-guided shells stored by the Sun Moon Empire."

Zhang Lexuan and Elder Xuan couldn't help but gasp at the same time. Although they had some guesses, when He Caitou actually said it, they were still shocked by the truth.

It was indeed they who caused the explosion, the disaster that killed millions of people in Mingdu. Thinking of this, Zhang Lexuan staggered two steps and almost fell, but no one paid attention to her anymore. Bei Bei and Jiang Nannan had the same expression. The most innocent people at the scene were Bei Bei, Jiang Nannan and Zhang Lexuan. They made a big mistake without knowing the truth.

Although strictly speaking, this matter had nothing to do with the three of them, they were involved after all and could be considered accomplices.

Xuanzi closed his eyes in grief, and after a long while opened them, saying in a deep voice, "Do you know how many civilians will be killed or injured, what kind of devastation this will cause! We are to be the observers of the continent, but we are definitely not executioners, you... you..."

He Caitou lowered his head, his fists clenched. "Elder Xuan, all of this is my fault. I will not shirk responsibility. I will explain any punishment."

"Elder Xuan, this can't be entirely blamed on Senior Brother Caitou." Huo Yuhao couldn't help but stand up and said emotionally, "I was also involved in installing the timed high-explosive soul tool. Senior Brother Caitou did this to cause enough damage to the Sun Moon Empire and affect their future war plans."

"Moreover, we had calculated that the explosion would only destroy the underground warehouse. We didn't know why the explosion's power suddenly became so terrifying. This was completely beyond our expectations, and it was very abnormal."

As the saying goes, true friendship is revealed in times of adversity. He Caitou usually takes great care of his junior brother Huo Yuhao, and Huo Yuhao completely regards He Caitou as family, making up for his longing for kinship. He stood up for He Caitou immediately.

Xu Sanshi also stepped forward and said, "Elder Xuan, I was partly responsible for installing those timed high-explosive soul tools, and I am guilty. I will not evade this sin. What's done is done, and there's no point in saying anything more. I have no complaints about how I should be punished."

He Caitou smiled bitterly and said, "You don't need to do this. A mistake is a mistake. Although it wasn't intentional, it was indeed caused by me. I was the one who suggested detonating the warehouse. Now that I think about it, there should be other things under that warehouse, most likely level nine fixed-position soul-guided cannon shells. I was too eager for quick success. I should have thought of this earlier. I am guilty."

Thinking of this, He Caitou couldn't help but purse his lips. Although he did hate the current royal family of the Sun Moon Empire, this hatred had even spread throughout the entire Sun Moon Empire.

His real name is Xu He. He is the nephew of the current emperor of the Sun Moon Empire. His father was the previous emperor of the Sun Moon Empire. He had seven older sisters.

When he was nine years old, his father, mother, and three unmarried sisters all died suddenly overnight due to "food poisoning." His uncle, who had been vying with his father for the throne, suddenly led his army into the capital and purged his father's confidants in the palace, killing all the eunuchs, claiming it was to be a sacrifice for his father. After a series of purges, his uncle, as the sole heir to the throne, seized the throne with an iron fist.

He Caitou escaped from the Sun Moon Empire, but the former crown prince became a refugee worse than a beggar. He fled into the Heavenly Soul Empire and was later rescued by Teacher Fan Yu, who took him in as his first personal disciple.

(End of this chapter)