Chapter 352.3. Sacrifical Offering

Wang Dong’er walked discreetly beside Wang Qiu’er and whispered, “Can I discuss something with you, Qiu’er?”

“What?” Wang Qiu’er replied coldly.

Wang Dong’er continued, “Huo Yuhao is too exhausted today. Furthermore, he’ll have reconnaissance duties when dawn comes, so he has to recover his energy as quickly as possible. We can both fuse our martial souls with him, so will he recover faster if the three of us cultivate together? Therefore, I’m asking that you…”

Wang Qiu’er’s eyes undulated for a single moment as she gave Wang Dong’er a deep stare. Wang Dong’er was also staring at her, and their gazes met as Wang Qiu’er saw the clarity in Wang Dong’er’s eyes. She finally nodded.

Wang Dong’er was elated as she hurriedly said, “Thank you, Qiu’er.”

The two girls arrived beside Huo Yuhao. Wang Dong’er sat opposite him, while Wang Qiu’er sat behind him. Wang Qiu’er raised her palms and placed them on Huo Yuhao’s back as Wang Dong’er carefully placed her hands on Huo Yuhao’s. She channeled their Haodong power before she raised his palms and placed hers against them.

Huo Yuhao was too familiar with cultivating with Wang Dong’er. Even though he was already in meditation, he immediately felt it when their Haodong power began to circulate, and he naturally started to cooperate. His recovery would undoubtedly be a lot faster and more efficient with Wang Dong’er’s help.

However, a wave of powerful soul power flowed in from his back at this moment. In the beginning, this soul power seemed a little violent as it barged around, but the three different soul powers quivered when this third soul power interacted with Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong’er’s Haodong power before all three strands began to interact and intertwine.

There were three different entities intertwined together, but they could also be counted as two, because the Haodong power was one body in itself. Wang Qiu’er’s soul power came afterwards.

Wang Qiu’er’s soul power was still overbearing and felt a little forceful, but this forcefulness didn’t carry any impact. Instead, it began to circulate and rotate once it interacted with the Haodong power, and its color also began to change.

Huo Yuhao sensed, to his surprise, that the purplish-golden hues that had reigned supreme on the competition stage and defeated the Bone Dragon, Yan Feng, appeared once more.

This wasn’t a martial soul fusion skill. Instead, it was a direction fusion between their soul powers. That purplish-golden soul power began to flow through Huo Yuhao’s body, and every passageway felt smooth, as if it had been warmed and ironed. Hu Yuhao’s spiritual power seemed like it was being encompassed and boosted within all those purplish-golden colors.

Huo Yuhao’s entire body felt transparent, and his circulation was smooth and unobstructed. That sensation was just fantastic, and it didn’t take long before Huo Yuhao’s passageways became entirely purplish-golden in color, and even his spiritual sea was blanketed with a faint layer of purplish-golden light.

Huo Yuhao wasn’t the only person who enjoyed this pleasant and comfortable feeling – Wang Dong’er and Wang Qiu’er shared the same sensations.

Wang Dong’er discovered to her surprise that their cultivation didn’t just sublimate when Wang Qiu’er added her soul power into the mix. Furthermore, her soul power fusion with Huo Yuhao seemed a lot tighter and more intimate than before. Their soul power circulated more rapidly when it flowed into her body, and it even expanded her passageways as it boosted her qi and blood.

Wang Dong’er had light-type abilities, while Huo Yuhao’s main martial soul was spiritual-type. Wang Qiu’er’s forte was strength, and this strength represented the body and the body’s blood vessels. These three entities complemented each other as mysterious lights flickered on their faces amidst the emanating purplish-golden colors.

Elder Xuan quickly noticed their transformations, and walked over at once.

On the surface, Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong’er, and Wang Qiu’er’s faces undulated with a faint and elegant but mysterious purple color, while this purple color became stronger as they continued to cultivate before it gradually turned purplish-gold. This purplish-golden light cocooned them, and the three of them seemed like they had integrated into one body. Elder Xuan could even feel their sublimation through their cultivation from the outside.

Elder Xuan exhaled deeply and nodded in approval inside. A three-way martial soul fusion skill could only be described as miraculous in the world of soul masters. Even though there were many question and doubts in his mind that he wanted to ask Huo Yuhao, especially about his necromantic abilities and his battle against the Angel, Ye Guyi, now clearly wasn’t the time to pose these questions. I’ll bring them up in the morning.

One of the most important reasons why Elder Xuan had held Huo Yuhao accountable for the great explosion inside Radiant City before this was because his faith in Huo Yuhao had been shaken, and that was due to Huo Yuhao’s display of abilities that only evil soul masters could possess. However, Elder Xuan could feel the vast, righteous, and pleasant soul power undulations from the three of them, and he felt a little ashamed. Could somebody with a heart towards evil possess soul power like this?

Elder Xuan shook his head self-mockingly as he sat down close to the three of them with his legs crossed and personally stood guard for them.

The Martial God Douluo, Xian Lin’er, watched over Shrek Academy’s other soul masters. She was the Soul Tool Department’s Dean, and she glanced at Huo Yuhao from time to time. That was a human-shaped soul tool, and she would have contended with Elder Xuan if now had been the right time.

Everything seemed quiet and peaceful. However, what Shrek Academy’s group of powerful individuals didn’t know was that a thick fog was starting to permeate the Western Mountains. The entire mountain range seemed to come alive as peculiar transformations began to take place.

……

“How’s the situation looking?” The Sun Moon Empire’s crown prince, Xu Tianran, was dressed in mourning clothes as he asked with a solemn look on his face.

The empire’s defense minister was on one knee in front of him as he lowered his voice and said, “The situation has been stabilized, but we have sustained heavy losses, especially in our structures and buildings. The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy has been completely destroyed, and the Illustrious Virtue Hall’s underground structures are probably…”

Xu Tianran waved him away and said, “I don’t want to hear about our losses. I’m asking you about the citizens’ feelings and what they’re thinking.”

The defense minister replied, “The citizens’ emotions are highly unstable, especially so for the families whose members have died or are injured. Many people have no homes to return to. There are many outsiders who came to spectate the tournament that have died or been injured as well.”

Xu Tianran nodded and said, “Pass the order – muster our resources in nearby cities and immediately begin providing aid for the victims as much as possible. Assemble our armies and bring them into the city to maintain order. Kill those who dare to cause trouble and take advantage of the chaos. Kill those naysayers and those who try to turn the people against the empire. Kill those who dare to plunder or rape. We have to stabilize the situation as quickly as possible. Mark this day as National Funeral Day, and make sure that the news of the emperor’s passing doesn’t leak out. You will personally publicize and push the blame for this explosion on the Star Luo and Heavenly Soul Empires.”

“Yes.” The defense minister acknowledged respectfully. He admired the Prince Regent for settling down as quickly as possible, and Xu Tianran was still able to handle things properly and react accordingly even though so many things had happened one after another. This was the mark of a true ruler!

“How about Shrek Academy, your highness? This matter is likely to be connected to them. When we are announcing to the public…”

Xu Tianran shook his head and said, “Don’t mention them. Shrek Academy is just an academy after all, and they are considered spiritual leaders for many soul masters at the same time. Dragging them into the fray will affect our strategy. I have my own plans to deal with them.”

“Yes. I’ll take my leave, then.”

“Go. Providing aid for the victims is our priority, and we have to stabilize them as soon as possible.” Xu Tianran reiterated once more.

The defense minister departed, and the mysterious Imperial Tutor dressed in black quickly walked in without announcing his arrival. He seemed to be in a good mood.

“How’s the situation looking, Imperial Tutor?” Xu Tianran asked with a concerned look on his face.

The mysterious Imperial Tutor replied, “This incident has been greatly beneficial for my sect, and multiple powerful individuals from my sect have taken this opportunity to break through their bottlenecks. However, there’s one issue that hasn’t been dealt with properly – the Heavenly Soul Empire, the Star Luo Empire, and the Body Sect have all escaped. They actually prepared large amounts of drilling soul tools, and they used them to send their main members away. According to the holes that we’ve discovered, they managed to send out hundreds of people. Those that remain are scattered amongst the citizens, and it will be difficult to seek them out.”

Xu Tianran’s expression became a little contorted as he smacked his left palm heavily with his right fist. “Shit! I should have considered that. Those irritating rodents ambushed the Illustrious Virtue Hall before. When Hallmaster Hongchen wakes up, we have to enhance the entire city’s underground monitoring and surveying mechanisms. They must have been the ones who triggered the explosion in the underground warehouses – there’s no way to break into those warehouses besides drilling through the ground.”

What happened at those underground warehouses had become a mystery after the explosion, and nobody knew exactly how things had played out. Xu Tianran could only push the blame on the Star Luo Empire and the Heavenly Soul Empire because that was most beneficial for him, and so that he could have more reason to launch an invasion against them in the future.

The Imperial Tutor sounded solemn as he said, “You have sustained severe losses this time. Your Highness – oh, no, I should address you as ‘Your Majesty’ now. Your Majesty, when are you going to mobilize your armies?”

He was the Holy Ghost Sect’s founder, and he was the one who controlled those evil soul masters. Nobody was more eager for this war than he was, since the arrival of this war meant there would be uncountable spirits for the Holy Ghost Sect to make use of.

Xu Tianran contemplated momentarily, then said, “This incident was too sudden. Stabilizing the citizens and the city has top priority at the moment. Furthermore, the destruction of the underground warehouses and the Illustrious Virtue Hall was too damaging for us, and most of our soul tools that had been prepared for the war were destroyed. If you are willing to give your sect’s full strength, Imperial Tutor, we might be able to launch an invasion earlier. But…”

The Imperial Tutor shook his head decisively and interrupted him. “We can only aid you from the shadows, and we cannot give our full strength. The world of soul masters has never accepted us. Even though we have enough strength to protect ourselves, openly participating in this war will undoubtedly draw out the other sects that have been hiding from the world. If that happens, it will be very difficult for you to execute your strategy and your plan. I think the war can be delayed, but we have to take this opportunity to intensify the citizens’ hate for those two empires. We have to continue adding more soldiers and training them, and we have to build soul tools with everything we have so that we can make sufficient preparations for the war. Since we’ve already antagonized them openly, we have to make sure that our armies are equipped and prepared as early as possible. It’s alright if nothing happens, but once we unleash our armies, we have to take them all down in one heavy and fatal blow.