Chapter 224: Prepare! Assault on the Demon Plane!
Chen Xinjie waved his hand calmly. "The Douluo Federation has no taste for violence. We didn't destroy Shrek Academy completely, but their increasingly reckless actions left the Federation with no choice but to act."
"However, if the Yuanen Clan wishes to relocate, the Federation will not interfere."
Now that Shrek Academy had departed for the Xingluo Federation—taking with it many affiliated families—the Federation had simply let them go.
Sure, it lost a few martial soul heritage clans and some fighting power, but honestly? Those families were always devoted to Shrek anyway. Better to cut them loose—like removing rotten flesh to heal the bone.
The Federation's foundations remained unshaken.
After all, why feed families that secretly supported its rivals? The resources granted to them each year were practically funding the enemy.
Thankfully, Shrek's "departure" took plenty of dead weight with it.
And that, in fact, had been part of the plan. Those who stayed would reap the Federation's riches; those who left… well, let Xingluo try to sustain them.
Xingluo's coffers could never rival Douluo's.
And more important—the Federation had the only remaining divine craftsman capable of creating four-word battle armor. That fact alone forced every major clan to think twice before defecting.
A Limit Douluo with four-word armor could crush those without—hundreds of years of cultivation leveled in one stroke.
Even the Ghost Emperor of the Holy Spirit Cult, a quasi-god who had honed his might for centuries, had been utterly suppressed by Qian Gu Qingfeng, a newly advanced quasi-god wearing four-word armor.
That difference in equipment erased lifetimes of effort.
At this, Yuanen Zhentian frowned slightly, then forced a polite smile. "Our clan has never been a mere vassal of Shrek Academy."
Though their two ancestral soul beasts might favor Shrek, tying their entire future to the academy was unacceptable.
Chen Xinjie's tone sharpened faintly. "And yet, your granddaughter studies at Shrek—and not just that. She's one of the new Shrek Seven Devils. Does that not concern you? What if Shrek brands her an evil soul master someday?"
Yuanen Zhentian's expression tightened in discomfort.
He sighed. "I wasn't aware of that…"
Still, given Shrek's puritanical traditions, if they discovered that Yuanen Yèhuī carried the Fallen Angel martial soul, they'd likely treat her as a disgrace.
After all, even the direct disciple of Elder Zuo Shi—a Sea God Pavilion heir—had been expelled simply for associating with evil soul masters.
The memory weighed heavily.
He sighed again. Perhaps when the time comes, I'll visit Shrek myself. They won't dare refuse me, surely.
"I don't believe the grudges of one generation should burden the next. Let the child live freely."
Back then, when Yuanen Tiandang brought home a beautiful, powerful woman, the clan had actually approved.
A talented daughter-in-law who strengthened their bloodline—who wouldn't celebrate that?
Evil soul master or not, just avoid using that martial soul, and there'd be no issue.
But no one had expected that when she broke through rank ninety, she'd spawn her own spirit ring—without any beast or spirit soul—and open the Gate of Demons herself.
The Demon Plane had unleashed its nightmare.
Had their two ancestral soul beasts not intervened, the Yuanen Clan would have been annihilated that very night.
Many still died, and Yèhuī became the target of their hatred.
To calm his people's fury, the patriarch had no choice but to cripple his own son's cultivation, strip him of his inheritance, and hand him to Federation trials.
Yèhuī never learned the truth.
To her, her grandfather was the murderer of her parents—and that hatred became her reason to grow stronger.
Yuanen Zhentian never corrected her. Let her hate him—better her than the clan.
"I'll handle it," he said quietly.
Chen Xinjie nodded. That wasn't his concern today.
"Let's focus on business. You're sure you want to open the Demon Plane from your clan's territory?"
"It might be safer elsewhere."
Yuanen Zhentian shook his head. "This must happen here. Only by opening it within our ancestral grounds can we summon our two soul beast ancestors. And the rage of my clan must be answered by our own hands. Otherwise, our people will never forgive them."
Chen Xinjie didn't argue.
"Very well. May I at least pay my respects to your elders?"
As one who had once followed the Sea God himself, who had seen the ascent of the Spirit Ice Douluo, the chance to meet true god-ranked soul beasts was something he had long desired.
He'd tried once before, but they had refused, reminding him that the Divine Realm was gone—that their kind could no longer wield divine power within this world.
This time, though, was different.
They weren't calling on divine force within a world. They'd be traveling beyond it.
If the plane collapsed in the process… so be it.
"Patriarch!"
Outside, preparations were already complete.
Among the assembled forces stood:
The Yuanen Clan's five Titled Douluo,Three from the Spirit Transmission Tower,Five from the Hall of War Gods,And eight elite Federation Douluo.
Twenty-one Titled Douluo in total—the might of the Federation's finest combined.
Though Huo Tianluo wasn't the strongest of them (only Rank 98), his status placed him nearly equal to an emperor of the old Douluo Empire.
The others were surprised, though.
Why bring children?
Huo Tianluo smiled faintly. "This is my kinsman, Jiang Chen—and this young lady is the disciple of Yun Ming, the Master of the Sea God Pavilion."
That announcement drew a wave of sidelong glances.
The first name, they could understand—another member of the Huo family lineage.
Given their ancient connections with soul beasts, seeing a human-soul-beast hybrid wasn't shocking.
But the second name?
Yun Ming's personal disciple? Joining a classified operation sanctioned by the Federation?
Even among Douluo's powerhouses, that was unexpected.
Huo Tianluo added simply, "The Hanhai Douluo himself approved it."
Ah—well then.
No one argued further, but their looks toward Na'er turned complex.
Some carried respect—these two were "their own." Others were skeptical.
After all, word of Yun Ming's rampage through the Sea God Pavilion had already spread.
Many secretly pitied him.
To think that the strongest man on the continent—the Master of Shrek's Sea God Pavilion—had no real authority.
In any other faction, the top powerhouse called the shots.
But not at Shrek.
Their Pavilion Master had his hands tied by a council of elders, ever since Mu En's death millennia ago, when the system was deliberately altered to weaken the next leader's authority.
And now?
Shrek's own elders were strangling their master's will.
Poetic justice, perhaps. The cycle of karma completes itself.
(END CHAPTER)
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