Volume 45, Chapter 608.1: Attack During the Feas

Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection had enveloped the entire compound and was following Ju Zi.

Much to his surprise, Ju Zi was actually looking for Xu Tianran. Along the way, she was not walking very quickly. In fact, there did not seem to be anything strange about the way she was walking.

However, Huo Yuhao’s Spiritual Detection was definitely able to extract more information from his observations than normal surveillance soul tools could.

At the very least, those surveillance soul tools would not be able to monitor her heart rate, pulse, and spiritual fluctuations. However, with Huo Yuhao’s current ability, he was able to monitor all of these details.

Hence, he had been sensing the transformations within Ju Zi. And it seemed like he had managed to identify some peculiarities.

Firstly, Ju Zi was making too many unnecessary motions. While she was walking, she seemed to be scratching her head and adjusting her posture too often. Every time she made those little adjustments, her heart rate would increase. Even though the increase was not very significant, the change was apparent. On top of that, her spiritual fluctuations would also increase.

This was definitely not something which could be caused by her body. It could only originate from her thoughts.

It seemed like she was already prepared! Even though Huo Yuhao was using his Spiritual Detection, he could not be certain about what she had done.

After a good twenty minutes, Ju Zi finally found Xu Tianran. Huo Yuhao was unable to tell what she was saying to him. An hour later, a few people took the same path Ju Zi had taken, and all of them had the same increased heart rate and spiritual fluctuations as her.

There were only seven to eight people who exhibited the same characteristics as Ju Zi out of the few hundred people who had walked the same path. No one would have been able to detect what was wrong with them. This was simply something that surveillance soul tools were not capable of.

Huo Yuhao squinted and spoke to Tang Wutong. “Ju Zi must have used some secret way of communicating. I don’t know what method she’s using, but it seems like it is working well.”

Tang Wutong whispered to Huo Yuhao, “Are we going to just wait like this? Do you think she’ll threaten us? Did you notice how she exhibited significant emotional fluctuations when she was listening to how you had killed the Evileye Tyrant? She also seemed to be frightened. When a person starts to become frightened, he or she tends to do things that are hugely irrational. Even though she has feelings for you, it is apparent that her son is a lot more important than you. That’s right. Her son. Where is her son? Can you see if you can find where her son is?”

Huo Yuhao scanned his surroundings with his Spiritual Detection as he tried to find Little Yunhan.

Very soon he realized that right now, Xu Yunhan was in a room that was not too far from the room Ju Zi was in. It seemed like he had not been moved away. Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong became a lot more relaxed after confirming his location.

Just as Tang Wutong had accurately put it, Little Yunhan was the person whom Ju Zi cared about the most. Hence, it was clear that she did not harbor any ill intentions towards Huo Yuhao and Tang Wutong from how she had left her son in that room. After all, she would never put her son’s life at risk.

It was four hours later when Ju Zi finally returned. The sky was turning dark, and it was almost nighttime.

After opening the door, Ju Zi immediately sent her servants and maids away. She entered her room and made sure that she was the only one inside.

She started to pant as she heaved a sigh of relief. After all, she was dealing with the Emperor of the biggest empire in the entire Douluo Continent! There would be no turning back if she were to fail. She would lose everything, and her son would lose his position if her plans were to be discovered. Ju Zi understood Xu Tianran too well. Hence, she was extremely careful with what she was doing.

After returning to her desk, Ju Zi started to mutter to herself. “After two hours, the sky will be completely dark. The aerial surveillance soul tools will all explode by themselves. The different surveillance soul tools on land will also be disabled temporarily. At least for the following hour, no one will be able to activate them. Hence, the two of you should take action after those surveillance soul tools have exploded. Following which, both of you can escape while the entire compound falls into chaos.”

“In about an hour’s time, it will be time for his dinner. Tonight, he has invited six Class 9 soul engineers for dinner. This is already a habit of his. I will ask Elder Kong to take care of my son. I have no clue about what else is going to happen. None of the six Class 9 soul engineers are under me. However, you can rest assured that all of the other Class 9 soul engineers will not be taking any action. The linked defensive barrier will only be released after the aerial surveillance soul tools have exploded. The only people you need to worry are the soul engineers from the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion. They have been protecting this compound from the outside and are the nearest to Xu Tianran. Once he is in trouble, you can expect all of them to rush to his assistance instantly.”

“As of now, Xu Tianran has exactly eleven Class 9 defensive soul tools. All of them are activated automatically, and have a diverse set of defensive effects. They can block all kinds of attacks, including spiritual and physical ones. The Worshipped once concluded that even an Ultimate Douluo would not be able to destroy all of these soul tools within an hour’s time. This will be your biggest challenge.”

“I suggest both of you concentrate on one type of attack. You should either choose to launch a physical attack or a spiritual attack. This would mean that you don’t have to work against all of the different soul tools. In my opinion, it would be wiser for both of you to attack spiritually. After all, Huo Yuhao is most adept at this. On top of that, Xu Tianran had been mainly guarding against the two Ultimate Douluo, who specialized in physical attacks. Hence, he should possess at most four defensive soul tools which can guard against spiritual attacks. Yuhao, after hearing what I have said, are you still confident of pulling it off? The Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion will definitely rush over at the first instant. Even though the area is small, they just have to block the attacks for Xu Tianran to give him enough time to escape.”

Huo Yuhao had been listening to everything Ju Zi had been saying. Her face was already a little flushed after she finished her last sentence.

“Do you not plan to use your own people?” Huo Yuhao asked plainly.

Ju Zi’s breathing became a little heavier. “Well, if you have absolute confidence, I…”

Huo Yuhao spoke plainly, “Who would dare to say that he or she was absolutely confident about a plan like this? Since you already control the Imperial Consecration Hall, why don’t you get them to help you too?”

Ju Zi was startled by Huo Yuhao’s words as she stood up immediately. “W-What are you saying?”

Huo Yuhao smiled and said, “Am I wrong? Are you sure that you’re not in control of the entire Imperial Consecration Hall despite being able to command Elder Kong, who is definitely the leader among the Class 9 soul engineers?”

Ju Zi’s breathing became even heavier as she stared at Huo Yuhao. After a short while, she revealed an awkward smile. “You’re really too smart. You are actually able to tell from the little things and words I have said that I have control over the Imperial Consecration Hall. This is something I haven’t expected.”

Huo Yuhao said, “To be honest, I wasn’t very sure before this. Now, I am absolutely confident that that is the case. Actually, the words and actions you had made were not the things that gave you away. The biggest clue was the huge amount of confidence which you had in your plan. What made you so sure that you will be able to control the entire Sun Moon Empire after Xu Tianran is taken down? If you were not supported by a powerful institution or organization, you would not be able to secure political power that easily. Even though you have an unbeatable reputation within the army, that’s not enough—at least for now. The support from the army will not allow you to suppress the royal family and protect your son’s throne. If I didn’t understand what you meant when you said that Elder Kong will help you protect your son, I would be really stupid. Even though I don’t know how you’ve managed to convince Elder Kong, your plan should be a lot smoother with his support. In fact, you should have a pretty good chance even without our help. After all, you are Xu Tianran’s Empress. No matter how powerful his soul tools are, there are bound to be gaps and flaws you can take advantage of. Even if we don’t come to help you, you should be able to take action once he lowers his guard after some period of time.”

Ju ZI suddenly smiled as she shook her head. “I used to think that you used all your gifts on cultivating and becoming a good soul master. I thought that your brains were not as good as mine. It seems like I was wrong. However, I am very happy, but I can’t tell you why. You are right. I do have a complete plan. Even without working with all of you, I still stand a good chance at succeeding. Elder Kong’s only request for me was to not use anyone from the Imperial Consecration Hall for this operation. He did not want the Imperial Consecration Hall to be associated with this operation—regardless of whether it was successful or not. After all, the Imperial Consecration Hall is supposed to support the Emperor regardless of the situation. Hence, I really can’t get them to help us. Hence, I only had two options: both of you or myself.”

As she spoke, Ju Zi slowly raised her hands to reveal her beautifully manicured nails. Her nails were colored with a pearl-like color.

“There is poison in my nails. Every single dish Xu Tianran eats is tested by someone. I have managed to bribe one of them to allow me to sneak a poisoned dish to him. I am confident that the plan will succeed because the poison will only be added when the dishes are being brought to the table.”

“However, death due to poisoning usually leads to a very chaotic situation. Hence, it would be best if we can kill him physically. Everyone would believe that it was but an act of revenge from the two Ultimate Douluo.”

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