"Your—Your Highness!" Ju Zi shrieked in terror, her sharp voice seemingly coming from the depths of her soul. She was completely distraught; anyone who saw someone next to them have their heart ripped out would undoubtedly feel fear.
"Damn it!" Ye Xishui instantly appeared on the main platform. Her eyes were bloodshot, and a terrifying aura emanated from her. She was incredibly furious, never imagining that someone would dare to kill Xu Tianran right under her nose. This was a blatant mockery of her. So, she raised her hand, gathering gray Power of Death, and struck at the beautiful woman who had pierced Xu Tianran's heart.
The officials of the Sun Moon Empire on the main platform all collapsed to the ground in an instant. What had they seen? A beautiful woman with long black hair and purple hair, appearing from nowhere, suddenly appeared behind the Regent, and then, just as suddenly, ripped out their Regent's heart. How terrifying!
The black-dressed woman showed no fear in the face of Ye Xishui's enraged attack. She squeezed her right hand, which was clutching Xu Tianran's heart. With a "bang," the fresh heart instantly shattered, splattering blood and staining the main platform. At the same time, she raised her left hand, her fair jade hand meeting Ye Xishui's palm. Ye Xishui's expression changed, and she instantly retreated several steps.
"You... you're not human!" Ye Xishui was utterly shocked, not because the woman could easily repel her, but because of the woman's aura. It was a wild aura, full of dominance and unrestrained power. Ye Xishui had only felt such an aura from the Evil Eye Tyrant, known as the Evil Emperor. Therefore, although this strange woman appeared to be a human girl, she was absolutely certain that it was not human, but a Spirit Beast!
"Heh!" The black-dressed woman ignored Ye Xishui. Her task was complete, and there was no need to waste time here with this human. So, she waved her jade hand, let out a soft laugh, and instantly transformed into a wisp of black mist, disappearing from everyone's sight.
Ye Xishui watched the black-dressed woman leave, with no intention of pursuing her. It wasn't that she didn't want to, but that she didn't dare. The woman's strength was at least on the same level as the Evil Emperor, a fierce beast. She was not her opponent. Even if she pursued, it would be a waste of effort, and she might even get herself killed. It wasn't worth it for a dead man.
Her thoughts were extremely muddled now, because what happened today was too bizarre and full of questions, especially regarding that black-dressed woman, who was a fierce beast!
Judging from the woman's aura, she should be a super fierce beast with a dark attribute, with a cultivation of at least 700,000 years. A fierce beast of such strength could not have appeared suddenly. Where did it come from? On the entire Douluo Continent, there was only one fierce beast with a dark attribute and over 700,000 years of cultivation: Beast God Di Tian.
But Di Tian was male, which was common knowledge. Moreover, the woman's aura also contained a hint of Power of Death, which made her even more mysterious and attracted Ye Xishui's attention even more.
Where did she come from? And why did she get involved in human conflicts? Or, how did those assassins manage to persuade such a fierce beast to help them? It's very strange, very peculiar!
"Your Excellency, what should we do...?" Ju Zi held Xu Tianran's corpse, looking at Ye Xishui with some despair, pleading.
"There's no saving him," Ye Xishui said indifferently, without even glancing at Ju Zi. "Since Xu Tianran is dead, our cooperation ends here. Take care of yourselves. Goodbye!"
Ye Xishui had no intention of getting involved in the internal strife of the Sun Moon Royal Family. It was foreseeable that in the coming period, Mingdu, or even the Sun Moon Empire, would fall into chaos. She planned to lie low and wait until the Sun Moon Empire elected a new emperor before discussing cooperation with them. As for now, ha! After understanding the identity of the black-clad woman, she had already given up on the idea of fishing in troubled waters.
"Hateful!" Ju Zi watched the disappearing Ye Xishui, gritting her teeth, but quickly recovered and shouted at the ministers who remained behind her, "Let's go, we're returning to the Imperial Palace to find His Majesty and His Excellency Yin Yue to take charge of the situation!"
"Yes!" The group carried Xu Tianran's corpse and immediately rushed towards the Sun Moon Empire's Imperial Palace.
On the other side, Zhu Ziyang and Ma Xiaotao had a clear view of what happened on the main platform. After seeing the black-dressed woman successfully kill Xu Tianran, the two exchanged glances, both revealing a subtle smile. Afterward, they had no desire to stay there. While the audience was still in a panic, the two quietly left.
When they reappeared, they had already arrived at a mountain range outside Mingdu. Here, they met the Titled Douluo from Xu Tianran's faction who had been chasing the assassins earlier. However, their condition was very poor. Of course, they also saw the people they were chasing.
"Ziyang, Xiaotao, you're here!" One of the pursued was none other than Zhang Lexuan. Upon seeing Zhu Ziyang and Ma Xiaotao, she immediately came forward to greet them.
"Sister Lexuan, Old Zhu, Eldest Senior Sister, Third Senior Brother." Zhu Ziyang greeted them with a smile. Indeed, accompanying Zhang Lexuan were Xian Lin'er, one of the two deans of Shrek Academy, Vice Dean Qian Duoduo, and Old Zhu, one of the elders of Tian Yuan Pavilion. And by their side were Zhu Ziyang's Soul Spirits, Xue Bing Shuang Lu.
Oh, and there was also Jing Hongchen, the tied-up head of Mingde Hall. He was the only survivor among the pursuers; the others had been swiftly dealt with by Zhang Lexuan and the others, in conjunction with Zhu Ziyang's four great Soul Spirits.
Why not kill Jing Hongchen as well? Naturally, it was because of Jing Hongchen's special status. As the head of Mingde Hall and the patriarch of the Hongchen family, a living Jing Hongchen was more valuable than a dead one. If Zhang Lexuan wanted to take control of Mingde Hall in the shortest time and with the least cost, then Jing Hongchen would be a very good breakthrough point.
At this moment, Hall Master Hongchen had his eyes closed, adopting a posture of 'do what you will, I'm at your mercy.' However, Zhu Ziyang and the others had no intention of bothering him.
Zhang Lexuan and the others immediately gathered around, while the Soul Spirits, after greeting Zhu Ziyang, flashed back into his spiritual sea.
"Ziyang, how was it? Is Xu Tianran dead?" Zhang Lexuan asked.
"Dead, cleanly and completely," Zhu Ziyang said with a smile. "With Quan Er's intervention, if he could still be alive, then none of us would need to play anymore; we could just go back and wait for him to come knocking, haha!"
"That's great!" Upon hearing that Xu Tianran was dead, Zhang Lexuan and the others immediately cheered. They all knew Quan Er's identity. As a top fierce beast with 800,000 years of cultivation, when she made a move, there was absolutely no way Xu Tianran could survive!
Meanwhile, Jing Hongchen, who was on the side, opened his eyes, filled with disbelief and sorrow. Although Xu Tianran had a sinister personality, he was still an excellent monarch. He never expected him to die like this before he even had a chance to show his full potential. This was the heavens destroying our Sun Moon Empire! Two lines of tears streamed down Jing Hongchen's face.
"Alright, Sister Lexuan, now is not the time to celebrate," Zhu Ziyang stopped the cheers and said, "It's not too late to celebrate once everything has settled. Sister Lexuan, you all proceed according to the plan!"
"En, no problem!" Zhang Lexuan also reined in her smile, a serious expression on her face, and said, "Great-grand-aunt and Old Song should be ready by now. We'll go find them, and then we can enter Mingdu and take over the Mingdu Military Region."
"Good." Zhu Ziyang nodded and said, "I will leave Quan Er behind to prevent interference from the Holy Spirit Church."
As he spoke, Zhu Ziyang's mind stirred, and a beautiful woman with a black dress and purple hair appeared before everyone. She was Zhu Ziyang's fifth Soul Spirit, Underworld Enchantress, Quan'er, and also the greatest contributor to Xu Tianran's Death.
"Quan Er, you'll stay with Sister Lexuan for this period," Zhu Ziyang said to Quan Er.
"Yes." Quan Er nodded in agreement. Due to Zhu Ziyang's increase in strength, his Soul Spirits could now exist independently from him for a certain period and within a certain space. This period was about one year, and the space was the entire Douluo Continent. In other words, as long as Zhu Ziyang wished, he could let his Soul Spirits stay anywhere on the continent.
"Ziyang, then we'll be going!" Zhang Lexuan took Quan Er's hand and said. Then, she took the lead and flew towards the southwest of Mingdu.
"Ziyang, we're leaving too!" Xian Lin'er and Old Zhu also said.
Qian Duoduo walked at the very back, carrying the feigning-Death Jing Hongchen. He grinned at Zhu Ziyang and said, "Ziyang, bye-bye!"
"Bye-bye!" Zhu Ziyang said with a smile, looking at Jing Hongchen, whom Qian Duoduo was carrying. He couldn't help but sigh with emotion. This Hall Master of Mingde Hall, whose status was comparable to that of the Shrek Academy's Tian Yuan Pavilion Master, after today, he wondered if he would still have the courage to face Shrek Academy?
Zhu Ziyang looked in the direction Zhang Lexuan had left, his heart filled with mixed emotions. What direction the events would take next depended on whether Zhang Lexuan and the others could make the right choices at critical moments. Killing Xu Tianran was only the first step for her to ascend the throne and control the Sun Moon Empire. She still had many things to do, and Zhu Ziyang could not help her with any of them.
If she couldn't even handle these matters, then even if she ascended the throne, she probably wouldn't be able to control the entire Sun Moon Empire!
I hope Sister Lexuan has good luck, Zhu Ziyang thought to himself.
Ma Xiaotao, standing behind Zhu Ziyang, watched his actions and couldn't help but step forward, hugging Zhu Ziyang's arm, and said, "Ziyang, let's go too. Sister Lexuan and the others will definitely be fine."
"I hope so!" Zhu Ziyang first nodded in agreement with Ma Xiaotao, then shook his head and said, "No rush to leave. We'll wait for news from the Body Sect and the Star Luo Enshrinement Hall."
Before long, Du Busi arrived with several Titled Douluo from the Body Sect, and Xu Luo arrived with several Titled Douluo from the Star Luo Enshrinement Hall. After meeting with Zhu Ziyang, they briefly reported the results of their actions. Everyone on that list had been dealt with. The Mingdu Military Region was now in chaos, leaderless. If no high-level intervention occurred soon, a mutiny was very likely.
Du Busi and Xu Luo and the others were all very happy, believing that this way, the Sun Moon Empire would be unable to regain stability for at least a year, which was an incredibly valuable time for both the Star Luo Empire and the Tianhun Empire.
This assassination mission was considered a perfect success. All parties involved achieved their desired results. As for who would be the ultimate winner, only time would tell.
Zhu Ziyang parted ways with Du Busi, Xu Luo, and the others. He and Ma Xiaotao sped north across the continent. He planned to enter the Tianhun Empire from the northern border of the Sun Moon Empire, then visit his parents in Anyang City, and finally return to Shrek Academy. For the next year, he intended to seclude himself for cultivation, aiming to break through his spirit power to rank 95 and reach the Super Douluo realm.
Just as Zhu Ziyang and Ma Xiaotao were less than a hundred li away from Mingdu, a shocking burst of energy erupted from a mountain range named Sun Moon, located directly west of Mingdu City. This energy immediately attracted Zhu Ziyang and Ma Xiaotao's attention.
"It's divine force!" The two exchanged glances, looking at each other in dismay. They immediately sensed the origin of that energy, and it was precisely because of this that they were so surprised, because that divine force was clearly not something that people like them, who were undergoing God Position assessment, could release.
Something's wrong!
"Let's go, let's go check it out!" Zhu Ziyang said decisively, "There might be a divine miracle over there!"
"En! Let's go!" Ma Xiaotao also had no intention of backing down, so the two immediately changed direction and sped towards the Sun Moon Mountain Range.
However, they had not yet left the area when they felt an inexplicable pressure assailing them from all directions. Neither of them were greenhorns, so they naturally realized that someone was ambushing them.
Without hesitation, both released their Spirits simultaneously, and the pressure they felt immediately lessened considerably.
"Come out," Zhu Ziyang said, his expression slightly cold, his voice icy, as he held the Pacifying Life-Reaping Scythe.
"Very sharp!" A voice appeared, and synchronizing with it, was a tall, long-haired strong man standing in front of the two. The strong man's hair was green, his figure slender, and his entire body exuded a chilling aura. His face was expressionless, and he showed no concern for Zhu Ziyang's exaggerated spirit ring configuration. His voice was full of indifference, as if he were speaking to ants.
"Who are you? How dare you ambush us alone?" Ma Xiaotao was furious and shouted at the strong man.
"Sister Xiaotao, this person is not simple, be careful." The strong man in front of him gave Zhu Ziyang a profound feeling, coupled with his behavior, which made Zhu Ziyang have to be cautious. He pulled Ma Xiaotao to his side, ready to send her into the Saint Law Demiplane at any time.
"Alas!" The strong man sighed, muttering to himself, "I originally didn't want to trouble you, but you angered him, so you must die today."
"Him?" Zhu Ziyang keenly caught the hidden meaning in the strong man's words and immediately asked, "Who is he? And who are you, Your Excellency?"
"Alright, I'll let you die with understanding," the strong man said with a helpless expression, "My name is Niu Tian!"
As the strong man named Niu Tian finished speaking, a powerful shockwave emanated from his body. Then, behind him, spirit rings rose, astonishing both Zhu Ziyang and Ma Xiaotao.
Black, black, black, black, red, red, red, red, red, red!
Ten spirit rings!
Divine Level!