Volume 44, Chapter 599.1: Xu Tianran's Decision

“Your Majesty, it’s my fault for not managing the army well. I am willing to accept any punishment.” Ju Zi whispered to Xu Tianran.

However, Xu Tianran shook his head and turned to look at her. Compared to when she had just left, she had become a lot more frail. Her radiant skin had become a little duller. It was clear that she had suffered from a lot of stress during the war. Even Xu Tianran would not deny that Shrek Academy was extremely hard to deal with.

Afterward, Ju Zi had also had to manage the conflict between her commanders and the Holy Ghost Church. One could only imagine the stress she had been under. It was telling how she had opted to return the Commander’s Seal right after she had led the troops back to the capital.

“My dear Empress, why are you returning the seal?” Xu Tianran asked Ju Zi.

Ju Zi lowered her head and answered, “There’s no way I can return the trust Your Majesty has placed in me. Even though I am very willing to fight for Your Majesty, I am but a woman. At the end of the day, a woman will experience moments of fragility at times. Even though I am confident of taking down our enemies in war no matter how strong they are, I am powerless when it comes to some of the pressure coming from within our empire. I really want to be responsible for the hundreds of thousands of troops under me. But I am starting to doubt my ability to protect them. This responsibility is simply too heavy for me. It’s not that I want to push it away, but I really recognize the limits of my abilities. Hence, I urge Your Majesty to look for someone else who is more capable. I only wish to be by Your Majesty’s side, and spend time with Your Majesty and Little Yunhan.”

Tears immediately welled up in Ju Zi’s eyes the moment she mentioned her son. Xu Tianran could even feel that her hands were trembling.

That’s true! Even though she is exceptionally capable, she is but a woman—a lady who simply wants to stay by her husband and child’s side. It’s so unfortunate that the kid is not my own son. If not…

It pained Xu Tianran to see Ju Zi like this. He consoled her and replied, “It’s okay. You have already done very well. It is definitely time for us to settle some of the things you have mentioned. You can rest assured that I will definitely fight for the justice you deserve. You are definitely the person I can trust the most, and also the person who is closest to me. It’s time for you to rest up properly now that you have returned. The army also needs to rest and be resupplied. We need to consolidate our control over the Heavenly Soul Empire. After all, I am still decently young; we are not in a hurry to conquer the entire continent. I will make sure that you will not have any other worries the next time you set off on campaign. As of now, no one is more deserving to be the Commander of the Three Armies. I want you to remain as the Marshal.”

After returning to the Palace, Xu Tianran immediately announced the rewards that the army and the commanders would get. Even though he did not seem to give many rewards to Ju Zi, it was clear that he still placed a lot of trust in his War God Empress. He was definitely going to end his relationship with the Holy Ghost Church. That would be the biggest reward she could get.

After the Three Armies received their rewards, Ju Zi immediately took off her human-shaped soul tool. She dashed to the back of the Palace to look for her son!

Following which, she stayed away from the main hall of the Palace for the next three days. In fact, she did not even contact any of the commanders she had brought back. She simply spent all her time with her son as she tried to be the best mother possible for Little Yunhan.

Xu Tianran was naturally very pleased to see this. She definitely fit his idea of a good wife. She was capable, loyal and deserving of trust. Most importantly, she did not seem to possess any unwelcome ambitions.

Even though he was still unable to get over the fact that he could not have his own child, he believed that this was probably the next best thing. In his eyes, Ju Zi would not be able to betray him, even if it were for her son. This meant that he could hand over his troops to her without any worries.

In the Holy Ghost Church’s headquarters.

“Mother, even though Xu Tianran has rewarded the army, he did not even mention how they tried to kill us. It seems like he has already decided to give up on us.” Zhong Liwu’s face was extremely pale as he spoke to Ye Xishui.

Ye Xishui was sitting in a seat as she listened to her son with an expressionless face. She said, “Have you finished transporting our resources?”

“Most of them have already been shifted to the Heavenly Soul Empire’s land. Even though the Sun Moon Empire has taken over their land, it should take a while before they fully understand the situation over there. By then, we should be able to anchor down over there.”

Ye Xishui replied, “This time, we have really suffered a lot from this war. Without resting for a hundred years, it will be impossible for us to regain the strength that we have lost. I still can’t believe that Xu Tianran would actually cut us off after using us. I will not let this matter rest just like this. Once our resources have been completely moved away, I will make sure they pay for this!”

“Yes!” Zhong Liwu’s eyes were full of hatred.

After fighting with Huo Yuhao, he had hurt his martial soul and sustained several injuries which were extremely damaging to his body. Following which, he was bugged by the matters at the front line. Even now, the Titled Douluo under him were still unable to explain why the army had suddenly attacked them. In fact, he believed that the Evileye Tyrant Soul Engineer Legion’s talk about how they and the Imperial Dragon Soul Engineer Legion had been attacked by evil soul masters was a complete joke. However, they were somehow able to produce a fairly persuasive argument.

It was then that Ye Xishui had sensed that things were turning bad. The reason why she had chosen to attack the Sun Moon Empire’s army was because she had wanted to see how Xu Tianran would react to it. It was important for her to determine his attitude towards the Holy Ghost Church.

She knew that Xu Tianran had not pursued the matter with Ju Zi. Hence, she wanted to increase the pressure on him and see how he would react.

However, she did not expect him to not do anything about it. In fact, he simply allowed the Sun Moon Empire’s army to return without saying anything.

After seeing that things were turning for the worse, Ye Xishui immediately ordered her people within the Holy Ghost Church to transport the supplies and resources they had gained from the Sun Moon Empire to their secret lair within the land of the Heavenly Soul Empire.

Ye Xishui definitely knew what kind of person Xu Tianran was. He would definitely destroy whoever tried to stop him at all costs.

The Holy Ghost Church would definitely not be exempted from this rule. Now, only she and Long Xiaoyao could deter him from destroying the Holy Ghost Church. Once both of them were gone, Xu Tianran would definitely snuff them out.

Hence, Ye Xishui had already made up her mind to move the Holy Ghost Church’s headquarters elsewhere. This would give them precious time to recuperate while they waited for an opportunity to strike back.

She was not too concerned about whether Xu Tianran planned to take down the Holy Ghost Church. After all, she had eyes and ears planted everywhere within the Sun Moon Empire. The Holy Ghost Church’s dominance in the Sun Moon Empire over the past few years had allowed her to build up an extensive network. She would definitely get hold of any news before he launched an attack on the Holy Ghost Church. After all, she also knew how to use communication soul tools.

“Mother, how do you plan to get back at the Sun Moon Empire? I must say that Ju Zi is a really formidable woman. We should definitely kill her when the first opportunity arises. After we take her down, we will have nothing to fear from Xu Tianran. Even though I don’t like that woman, I must say that she’s really the best Marshal in our generation. She is definitely more capable than the White Tiger Duke of the Star Luo Empire.” Zhong Liwu said.

Ye Xishui nodded and said, “I had already planned to kill her back in the valley. However, she was well-prepared back then. This time, Xu Tianran had also sent a hundred soul engineers from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion to protect her. Because they were all around her, it would be hard for me to kill her with a single blow. The Sun Moon Empire has really developed too quickly over the past few years. Soul masters are becoming more and more worthless. No wonder they could destroy the Heavenly Soul Empire with ease. Liwu, I need you to gather all the people we have. I need you to take all the supplies and disciples who are seven-ringed and below with you. Even though I don’t think Xu Tianran dares to turn on us yet, we need to prepare for the worst. I will now go and look for him. I need to know what he plans to do with the Holy Ghost Church, and how he plans to answer my questions.”

As she spoke, Ye Xishui stood up and left the room.

Zhong Liwu was startled by his mother’s words. “Mother, are you sure you won’t be in danger?”

“There’s no place in this world that is truly life-threatening for me,” Ye Xishui replied arrogantly, “you must remember that your mother is already an Ultimate Douluo. Besides, Long Xiaoyao is also around. The Sun Moon Empire would definitely have to think twice before meddling with two Ultimate Douluo.”

“Yes. I will now go and prepare the things you have told me to do. However, please be careful. Don’t let your anger hurt your body.” Zhong Liwu was showing care and concern for his mother.

“Alright, you may leave now.”

After Zhong Liwu had left, Ye Xishui was the only person left in this dark room. She seemed to cut a lonely figure as she lowered her head and gazed into the distance.

“Is it really worth it? You should know that your goal is impossible to attain. Even if I were to support you fully, it would still be impossible.” A low, resigned voice echoed within the room.

“Have you even once tried your best to help me?” Ye Xishui asked coldly.

A towering figure stepped out of the darkness. He was none other than the Dragon Emperor Douluo, Long Xiaoyao.

Long Xiaoyao walked towards Ye Xishui and said, “Xishui, stop while you still can. It is impossible for the Holy Ghost Church, a group of evil soul masters, to survive in the long run. No matter where you set up your headquarters, there will still be people who will go after you and try to destroy you. You should know how ambitious Xu Tianran is. Once he has accomplished some of his objectives, he will definitely cut off all ties with the Holy Ghost Church. And it all boils down to the problem of evil soul masters. From the look of things, the Sun Moon Empire will definitely be able to conquer the entire continent in the near future. When that happens, that will be the end for the Holy Ghost Church. They will definitely emulate what happened back then and try to cleanse the continent of all evil soul masters.”

“Shut up!” Ye Xishui suddenly exploded with rage.

Long Xiaoyao kept quiet as Ye Xishui’s rapid breathing echoed within the room.

“Is it really worth it?” Long Xiaoyao sighed and muttered.

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