Huo Yuhao heard this and raised his eyebrows slightly, not expecting Princess Xu Jiujiu to have come with this purpose.
He leaned back against the sofa, his gaze lingering for a moment on Princess Xu Jiujiu's solemn and earnest face, and a thought involuntarily floated into his mind.
Shrek Academy, which had always touted "merely an academy and not intervening in the continent's affairs", had indeed stepped into the arena once again.
As for Princess Xu Jiujiu's invitation, Huo Yuhao did not rush to accept or refuse.
He merely leaned forward slightly, picked up the teacup on the coffee table, took a sip, and then asked unhurriedly: "Does Sister Jiujiu think that getting rid of Xu Tianran can stop the Sun Moon Empire from launching a war?"
He had seen the historical trajectory of Ten Thousand Years later and clearly knew that after the death of Xu Tianran, the war did not end.
Princess Xu Jiujiu had obviously also thought about this question, and she replied with a serious expression: "I cannot give you an exact answer to this question. But at least we currently believe that getting rid of Xu Tianran can slow down the pace of the war and buy more time for the Douluo Three Kingdoms to prepare."
However, Huo Yuhao slowly shook his head, put the teacup back on the table, and said calmly: "If Sister Jiujiu has a deep understanding of the interior of the Sun Moon Empire, you will know that the hawks occupy an overwhelming majority in the court."
"The reason why a war was not launched before is simply because the old emperor of the Sun Moon Empire has always been suppressing that force."
"If you assassinate Xu Tianran, I am afraid that not only will it fail to stop the war, but it will instead just send the Sun Moon Empire a justified excuse to start a war."
Princess Xu Jiujiu's brows gradually furrowed. She was silent for a moment, and finally raised her eyes to ask directly: "Yuhao, are you not planning to accept the invitation?"
Huo Yuhao met her gaze with a calm expression and said calmly: "Evil Soul Masters deserve to be punished by everyone; on this point, the stance of the Spirit Pagoda and the Star Luo Empire is consistent."
"But assassinating a Crown Prince of a country..." He paused for a moment, "The Spirit Pagoda will not participate in such matters."
Regarding Huo Yuhao's answer, there was not much surprise on Princess Xu Jiujiu's face, as if she had long anticipated this result.
In fact, from the moment Huo Yuhao ordered the construction of the Sun Moon Spirit Pagoda, she knew that Huo Yuhao probably did not have much hostility towards the Sun Moon Empire.
But she obviously did not plan to give up just like that.
"The Sun Moon Empire harbors wild ambitions; this is a clear fact." Princess Xu Jiujiu looked at Huo Yuhao earnestly, "Once they launch a war, the entire continent will be dragged into it, and even the Spirit Pagoda cannot stay out of it."
She paused for a moment, and then her tone deepened a bit: "Yuhao, you are a Star Luo person, this point is undeniable."
Huo Yuhao shook his head upon hearing this: "Sister Jiujiu has perhaps misunderstood me. I have never denied that I am a Star Luo person, nor do I think there is anything wrong with your guard against the Sun Moon Empire."
"I just feel that the method you are using is wrong. Assassinating Xu Tianran is not a good idea in my view, and assassinating the regent of the Sun Moon Empire in the capital of the Sun Moon Empire is even less of a good choice."
"That is not solving the problem, but rather issuing a provocation to the entire Sun Moon Empire."
Princess Xu Jiujiu did not persuade Huo Yuhao, and Huo Yuhao obviously could not persuade Princess Xu Jiujiu either.
This short dialogue was destined from the beginning to be a confrontation clarifying their respective stances, and neither could persuade the other.
Things that the Douluo Three Kingdoms had already discussed and agreed upon would naturally not stop because of a few words from Huo Yuhao.
Princess Xu Jiujiu opened her mouth, as if she wanted to say something more, but ultimately did not continue speaking.
Looking at Huo Yuhao's calm and steady face, she finally just asked one sentence: "You won't tell the people of the Sun Moon Empire about this matter, right?"
Huo Yuhao shook his head: "Naturally not."
Princess Xu Jiujiu believed Huo Yuhao's promise. Hearing this, she stood up, tidied her hemline, and said: "We will proceed according to plan. If the operation fails..."
She paused, her gaze falling on Huo Yuhao's face: "If the people of the Star Luo Team find you, I hope you can help them."
Huo Yuhao looked at Princess Xu Jiujiu's stubborn and firm gaze, was silent for a moment, and finally sighed slightly.
He did not directly answer the request, but instead changed perspective and said: "The cooperation between the Spirit Pagoda and the Star Luo Empire has always been effective. Many Spirit Tools of the Spirit Pagoda are supplied exclusively to Star Luo."
Hearing this sentence, Princess Xu Jiujiu finally wore a trace of heartfelt smile on her face.
She nodded, her tone a bit lighter than before: "This is enough."
Having said that, she turned around and walked towards the door.
Huo Yuhao sat on the sofa, watching silently as her figure crossed the room and pulled open the door.
The door was gently closed, making a faint closing sound, and the room became quiet again.
Huo Yuhao got up and walked to the window, overlooking the scenery outside from high above, not knowing what he was thinking in his heart.
...
After resting for a day, the flames of war of the All-Continent Youth Soul Master Tournament reignited.
The top eight teams were all ready, and the atmosphere in the arena was even more solemn and intense than any previous round.
Once the matchup list for the opening match was announced, it was like a huge boulder thrown into a lake, stirring up layers of ripples inside and outside the entire arena.
The first match of the top eight to top four was the Shrek Team against the Holy Ghost Team.
The Holy Ghost Team had already left a deep impression on everyone in the previous matches. Their methods were sharp and vicious, and they showed no mercy when striking. After playing a few matches, their opponents almost all withdrew due to heavy injuries.
Therefore, many spectators were very resistant to their nearly cruel fighting style, but they also had to admit that the strength of this team was indeed terrifying.
The lineup configuration of two Spirit Saints plus five Spirit Emperors was almost peerless among all heroes in this tournament.
As for the Shrek Team, their highest combat power was merely Spirit Emperor, and there were only three of them, while the other four were all Spirit King level.
The paper gap in the lineup was visible to the naked eye, and the audience could not help but give birth to some complicated emotions in their hearts.
They both expected Shrek Academy to defeat this group of Evil Soul Masters, and vaguely felt that Shrek Academy's road to the championship might really come to an end this time.
The match was divided into two rounds: individual matches and team matches. The individual matches were carried out first. Both sides sent players to take turns on stage, and the winner stayed on the field to continue challenging until one side had no one left to fight.
The first Spirit Emperor to appear from the Holy Spirit Cult was named Gu Yu, a rank 68 agility-attack system Spirit Emperor.
As soon as he struck, he showed strong suppressive power, and every move carried a strong intent of slaughter, as if he were not in a match, but executing some life-or-death mission.
Jiang Nannan, who appeared first for Shrek, was also not weak in strength, but in the end, both sides fought to mutual destruction and ended in a draw.
When Jiang Nannan was helped off the stage, several wounds on her body were deep to the bone, and her complexion was as pale as paper.
Xu Sanshi, sitting in the preparation area, looked at her heavily injured appearance, his fists clenching so hard they creaked, his eyes bloodred, almost spitting fire.
On the other side of the preparation area, Huo Yuhao watched this scene, and some guesses could not help rising in his heart.
He did not know if this was the result of deliberate arrangement by Shrek Academy. After all, everyone in the academy knew that Xu Sanshi regarded Jiang Nannan as more important than anything else; with Jiang Nannan heavily injured, Xu Sanshi would definitely go crazy.
Sure enough, after Xu Sanshi stepped onto the ring, his Bloodline boiled in anger, and the Xuanwu Bloodline directly underwent Awakening.
With the power of one person, he successively beheaded two Spirit Emperors of the Holy Ghost Team, accomplishing the feat of sweeping two people.
Deafening cheers erupted from the spectator stands, as if Shrek's glory was reignited at this moment.
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A/N:
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1 Review = 1 Bonus Chapter
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