area51novel Chapter 224 Killing Two Birds with One Stone? Something's not right!
Chapter 224 Killing Two Birds with One Stone? Something's not right!
The number of people at the scene was quite complex, and the evil spirit master who made the move was clearly a master. Therefore, despite obtaining some clues from Shrek Academy, the Star Luo Empire's official search had not yielded much for the time being. The only change was that the Shrek Academy group was able to enter the Star Luo Imperial City. This wasn't a champion's privilege; it was simply the Star Luo Empire's way of ensuring a safer location for defense to prevent similar ambushes in the future.
As for whether the Duke of White Tiger's influence played a part, that's a matter of opinion. Long You could only say that after confirming his eldest son's condition, the Duke of White Tiger's eyes flashed with a terrifying and eerie light. Not long after, an even larger number of soldiers poured into Star Luo City, and the Shrek Academy group, under the leadership of His Majesty the Emperor's personal guards, entered the Star Luo Imperial City directly.
Upon arriving here, the Imagination Bead that had been slowly spinning in Long You's mind suddenly stopped. After carefully sensing for a while, Long You finally confirmed that the evil soul master who had been spying on him was indeed no longer around, or at least no longer watching him. Since that was the case, Long You boldly assumed that he was now safe. He could take off his soul-guided power mecha; piloting such a five-meter-tall metal robot was no easy task.
Dai Yueheng was taken away and arranged to another room to receive examination and treatment from the royal physician of the Star Luo Empire. Meanwhile, everyone gathered together to discuss why they had become the targets of the evil soul master, or what the evil soul master was up to, that they had to stage such a scene at the finals of the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Battle Tournament.
"The protective barriers on the competition stage had already been removed, so my senses were still very clear. It was the Soul-Sucking Blood Mist. However, compared to the Soul-Sucking Blood Mist used by the two evil soul masters we encountered before the start of the competition, this Soul-Sucking Blood Mist was much stronger."
I haven't experienced its other abilities up close, so I don't know about them, but the soul-capturing and bewitching power of that blood mist has definitely been enhanced considerably. Frankly speaking, even I, if directly immersed in it, might be affected.
Zhang Lexuan was the first to speak. Since Elder Xuan had gone with Dai Yueheng, Zhang Lexuan, being the strongest among those present and having the clearest understanding of the Soul-Sealing Blood Mist, naturally became the first speaker. However, during her speech, Zhang Lexuan repeatedly cast meaningful glances at Long You.
Just as Zhang Lexuan himself said, even he himself might not be able to withstand this level of Soul-Sealing Blood Mist unscathed when he was in it. So how could Long You, this little Soul King, be completely unaffected?
However, no one asks about such things. They are all geniuses, and it's normal for everyone to have some secrets. It would be unwise to pry too deeply.
"Xiao You, tell us how you felt at the time. If we can figure out exactly how that evil spirit master wanted to deal with you, then we might be able to deduce their purpose."
Zhang Lexuan's words provided the Shrek Academy students with some ideas, but whether or not to proceed along these lines required further supporting evidence. Therefore, naturally, the next person to speak was Long You, the victim.
However, as the victim, Long You was quite unreliable. At the very least, Long You couldn't explain what effect the seemingly strange and powerful Soul-Seizing Blood Mist had on him.
Throughout the process of being enveloped by the Soul-Sucking Blood Mist, Long You wasn't actually frightened much. After all, the Imaginary Pearl, which had started spinning early on, had given Long You ample warnings and allowed him to prepare mentally in advance. To put it somewhat infuriatingly, the biggest trouble Long You encountered during the entire process of being enveloped by the Soul-Sucking Blood Mist was how to suppress He Cai Tou's rebellious mental power.
Watching Long You mumble "uh-huh" for a long time without saying anything concrete, everyone from Shrek Academy had complicated expressions. They didn't know whether they should despise Long You's useless behavior of being trapped in a crisis but unable to do anything, or envy the secret that Long You possessed that could help him withstand such a level of crisis.
"Alright, you can go stand over there. Where's Caitou? Did you feel anything back then?"
"I'm sorry, teacher. At that time, apart from feeling a lot of jumbled information being crammed into my head, I didn't feel anything else."
Theoretically speaking, the information provided by He Caitou was quite useless, but since only Long You knew the truth among those present, everyone "sharply" captured the key words in He Caitou's words.
"Disorganized information? Le Xuan, did you experience a similar effect to the Soul-Sealing Blood Mist back then?"
Wang Yan asked this question. Analyzing martial soul abilities, Wang Yan is indeed very strong as long as Long You doesn't cheat. However, before Zhang Lexuan could think it through and give an answer, Long You self-destructed. The information stuffed into He Cai's head was actually what Xiao Yan usually deciphered.
In reality, Long You wasn't entirely unable to provide information about the attackers. After all, the moment Long You was enveloped in the blood mist, Xiao Yan had already automatically begun analyzing its components. However, because Long You had become somewhat wary of whether the information Xiao Yan deciphered should be stored indefinitely in the Book of Witness, Xiao Yan only recorded it and had no intention of storing it permanently. But now, if Long You wanted to access this information, it would mean that this information would have to be recorded in the Book of Witness.
Long You was deeply unwilling to have such evil spirit abilities from a wicked spirit master appear on his own spirit, so the entire verification process completely collapsed at this point. Everyone immediately started virtual reasoning, directly attributing the Holy Spirit Cult to that wicked spirit master, and then, based on this, trying to understand why this guy would attack Long You and He Caitou at this time.
"Retaliation! That's for sure, but why did this guy target the two of us? Or why didn't he make a move on the rest area? We don't seem like the two culprits who caused those two guys' failure."
"Could it be the Sun Moon Empire? We've revealed too much in this competition, especially the soul-guided power mecha fusion technology that Xiao You and Cai Tou showed at the end. If I were the Sun Moon Empire, I'd go crazy right now."
This is something completely unsolvable; even with the Sun Moon Empire's technological reserves, it probably wouldn't be so easy to crack. Even if they managed to crack it, what then? Won't we continue to progress over such a long period? I believe the Sun Moon Empire doesn't want to lose its leading position in soul tools, even if it's just one aspect of them.”
"I think I understand. The purpose of that soul-capturing blood mist is control. That evil soul master wants to directly control Xiao You and Cai Tou. At that time, he only needs to keep Xiao You and Cai Tou quiet for a while, and then, after everyone's attention is shifted to the search, he can control Xiao You and Cai Tou to drive the Cherno Alpha and forcefully break out of Xingluo Square."
Once they leave Xingluo Square, their well-prepared opponents will definitely be able to make Xiaoyou, Caitou, and Cherno Alpha disappear together.
In this way, the Holy Spirit Cult avenged themselves, and the Sun Moon Empire obtained the soul-guided powered mechs they desired, which they could use as a blueprint for research.
"The logic makes sense. If that evil soul master really wanted to target the rest area, then his target would be you, Teacher Fanyu. As long as the logic is sound, anyone would think that controlling Xiaoyou and Caitou would be easier. Moreover, since Xiaoyou and Caitou are soul masters and pilots of the Cherno Alpha, according to the most basic logic, it's impossible for them to be completely ignorant of the construction technology of the Cherno Alpha. In short, kidnapping Xiaoyou and Caitou is killing two birds with one stone."
After establishing the basic reasoning assumptions, a very plausible guess naturally came to mind.
"The tallest tree in the forest is the first to be felled by the wind. We were a bit too careless before. Now it seems that Xiao You and Cai Tou are indeed very good targets for abduction. From now until we return to the academy, Le Xuan, you will stay by their side."
I believe Xiao You should be able to detect and defend against mental attacks beforehand, but Le Xuan, you need to be more careful about physical attacks.
With Elder Xuan absent, Fan Yu temporarily became the commander of the Shrek Academy team. Knowing that the source of the danger was still unresolved and wouldn't be resolved anytime soon, Fan Yu decisively began arranging security measures. As for the other Shrek Academy students, frankly, there wasn't much that could be done; manpower was limited, so they could only focus on key areas for defense.
The arrangements made by the Star Luo Empire were quite thorough. Just as Shrek Academy was starting to sort things out, Princess Xu Jiujiu of the Star Luo royal family came to offer her condolences on behalf of His Majesty the Emperor. She also brought royal guards with her, whether they were useful or not, they did their part.
As evening fell, Elder Xuan, who had disappeared for some time, reappeared in the Shrek Academy's lounge. Not seeing Dai Yueheng beside him, everyone's expressions immediately turned slightly somber.
"Don't look so grim. Things haven't gotten to the worst point yet, and it's unlikely to get to the worst point at all."
I'm back now just to let you know that I've contacted the academy via communicator and asked them to send reinforcements. The Grand Elders from the academy should arrive early tomorrow morning. At that time, you should all immediately return to the academy with the Grand Elders.
As for me, I'll stay here for now. We need to ensure that Yao Heng doesn't give those evil spirit masters, who are likely still lingering in Star Luo City, any opportunity to take advantage. Besides, I'd also like to see just how skilled these evil spirit masters really are.”
There's no need for explanations; Elder Xuan is absolutely furious right now. If anyone from the Holy Spirit Cult were to appear before him now, he'd be in deep trouble, even if he wanted to die. It's fair to say that for the past month or so, Elder Xuan has essentially lived in the "shadow" of the Holy Spirit Cult.
Whenever Elder Xuan thought he was on guard enough, the Holy Spirit Cult would always manage to slap him in the face.
To put it simply, if Elder Xuan fails to personally capture the evil spirit master who dared to attack Long You and He Caitou on the final stage, he might not even have the face to return to Shrek Academy.
“I have read your reasoning. The academy is largely responsible for the current situation. So when you return to the academy, every single one of you members of the reserve team will receive a reward. Xiao You and Cai Tou will also receive special rewards.”
Now, everyone go and rest. Until the academy's reinforcements arrive tomorrow, this room will be under the protection of my domain; nothing strange will be able to enter.
Is the Taotie Divine Ox Martial Soul powerful? Undoubtedly, this Martial Soul qualifies as a divine beast Martial Soul; if it's not powerful, what kind of Martial Soul is powerful? But if you were to ask Elder Xuan if he was truly satisfied with his Martial Soul, even Elder Xuan himself didn't know the answer.
Every Soul Master desires immense power, but the Gluttonous Divine Ox Martial Soul has a severe drawback. The constant need to eat means that Elder Xuan is unable to fully concentrate most of the time. In other words, having Elder Xuan as a protector is like having someone with ADHD drive.
Most of the time nothing happens, but every time something does go wrong, it's always a situation of unbearable pain.
Xuan Lao could maintain his domain while eating, but when he said that it was absolutely impossible for anything strange to enter his domain, it meant that he would be completely focused on controlling his domain from then on.
This was practically a battle against one's own martial soul. It wasn't that it was impossible, but doing so would come at a price for Elder Xuan. At the very least, he would need a period of rest, and in a less severe case, he might even need to go into seclusion to adjust his condition. However, even so, once Elder Xuan had truly made up his mind, none of the Shrek Academy students present would be so foolish as to try to dissuade him. This was a matter of dignity, the dignity of the academy's guardians.
However, after lying down in the luxurious ball, Long You was unable to fall asleep for a long time.
"Little Twilight, I have a bad feeling about this! Is the Holy Spirit Cult really targeting me and Cai Tou? Isn't this making a mountain out of a molehill?"