In the City Lord's Mansion of Mingdu, capital of the Sun Moon Empire, the Holy Spirit Cult's Second Elder, Centipede Douluo Nangong Wan, sat with a gloomy expression before the anxious City Lord, Xu Chengye.
"Lord Xu Chengye, are you telling me that after I personally came here, the only explanation you can give us is... that you've found nothing?"
Nangong Wan's voice was laced with fury. His outrage made it clear just how serious the destruction of all the Holy Spirit Cult's branches in Mingdu truly was—it was enough to alarm even the Cult's Second Elder.
As the leader of Xishui Alliance and the man in charge of the Holy Spirit Cult's underground network in Mingdu, Nangong Wan had taken a scathing reprimand from the Cult Master, Zhongli Wu, for the disaster. His mood, naturally, could not be worse.
Cold sweat streamed down Xu Chengye's back. As a Soul Saint, how could he feel at ease sitting across from a furious Titled Douluo-level evil soul master?
"Lord Nangong, please calm your anger. On behalf of all officials in Mingdu who maintain cooperation with the Cult, I promise that we will eventually give you an answer the Holy Spirit Cult can accept. Even the Crown Prince is deeply concerned about this matter."
Nangong Wan gripped the armrest of his chair, his knuckles whitening. He was on the verge of cursing again but managed to restrain himself. He didn't care about giving face to this useless little city lord who had accomplished nothing—but for the Crown Prince Xu Tiannan, he had to show some restraint.
"Hmph. See that you do. You'd best take care of yourselves."
Leaving behind that cold warning, Nangong Wan stood and vanished from the mansion in the blink of an eye. Only then did Xu Chengye finally breathe a sigh of relief.
'If not for the immense wealth and restricted rare metals I've been able to amass through the Cult's underground operations, I'd never have partnered with these lunatics,' he thought bitterly.
Returning to his private study from the guest hall, Xu Chengye sank into his chair behind the desk and sighed deeply.
'The total annihilation of all Holy Spirit Cult branches in Mingdu… this isn't simple. Even with my authority as city lord, I've found no clues. Whoever did this is no one I can afford to provoke—even as a royal. If not for Xu Tiannan backing me, I'd have already packed my bags and fled.'
A knock came at the study door.
"Come in."
A man in black entered silently—one of Xu Chengye's trusted scouts.
"Report, my lord. We've found a lead."
Xu Chengye raised his brows, a glimmer of hope flickering across his face.
"Speak."
The man hesitated for a moment, clearly deliberating how to explain. After a pause, he spoke.
"My lord, at every site where a Holy Spirit Cult branch was destroyed, we discovered something… a message, left behind by whoever acted."
He handed Xu Chengye a small slip of paper. Frowning, Xu Chengye took it and narrowed his eyes as he read the words:
Those who bring calamity upon the nation shall die.
His hand trembled violently, and his expression darkened to the point of dripping with malice. At first, it was fear and dread that gripped him—then rage took over.
With a snarl, Xu Chengye crushed the note into dust and slammed his palm onto the table.
"Investigate! Keep investigating! I want to see who dares be this bold!"
Though the message hadn't named him directly, Xu Chengye had instinctively taken it to heart. At least he had some self-awareness.
"Understood, City Lord."
The black-clad man withdrew silently, leaving Xu Chengye scowling and breathless.
'I want to see which hidden powerhouse within the empire dares clean house like this! Let him try touching Crown Prince Xu Tiannan—I dare him!'
At the same time, within the Hongchen residence, Huo Yuhao sat around a table with Jing Hongchen and Meng Hongchen, enjoying a rare meal together.
Jing Hongchen took a sip of wine and chuckled.
"Yuhao, your contribution to this purge of the evil soul masters was immense."
He was right. If not for the map of the Holy Spirit Cult's strongholds provided by Huo Yuhao, and the intelligence gathered by Tang Si and his nine Death Servants from inside the branches, the Mingde Hall would never have executed such a clean and lightning-fast operation.
The Holy Spirit Cult's branches were highly interconnected. It was common for spirit servants to visit other branches, creating the perfect cover for infiltration by Tang Si's forces.
"This is nothing, Master. Evil soul masters are enemies of all decent soul masters. Helping eliminate them is simply my duty."
Jing Hongchen nodded with satisfaction. He'd once harbored concerns about the undead magic Yuhao used—its similarity to evil soul master techniques—but his disciple's sense of righteousness put him at ease.
Scooping food into Meng Hongchen's bowl with a chuckle, he sneered.
"Hmph. If not for you, Yuhao, I wouldn't have realized just how many corrupt officials within Mingde Hall and Mingdu's leadership were tangled up with the Holy Spirit Cult. It's a pity—I could clean out the rats within the Hall, but not those throughout the city. Even Elder Kong may be powerless to deal with them."
This frustration was why Jing Hongchen had left those chilling notes at the destroyed branch sites. He wanted those corrupt officials to feel hunted—uncomfortable in their seats of power. Only then would his anger be appeased.
Huo Yuhao's face turned solemn at those words.
"If not for Crown Prince Xu Tiannan's insistence on cooperating with the Cult—and the empire's need for their assistance—none of this would've happened. The lack of high-level combat power is the Sun Moon Empire's greatest weakness."
Jing Hongchen glanced at Yuhao and sighed heavily.
Meng Hongchen, confused, set down her chopsticks and asked after swallowing her food:
"But relying on the Holy Spirit Cult is like bargaining with tigers. Surely the Crown Prince and the court don't truly trust them? Aren't they afraid of being betrayed?"
Jing Hongchen shook his head.
"Meng, of course they don't truly trust the Cult. But they're not afraid of betrayal, either. Because in the end… no one knows who will betray who first."
Meng Hongchen nodded thoughtfully. Indeed, if Xu Tiannan and the empire had confidence in their ability to destroy the Cult once they were no longer useful, then the only real consequence would be damage to the royal family's reputation—and harm to the people.
The room fell silent. The reality that their nation was forced to ally with such evil forces cast a shadow over their meal.
"...Yuhao, how is your other body doing?"
Jing Hongchen suddenly recalled something and poured himself another drink as he asked.
(End of Chapter)
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