Chapter 209: The Holy Spirit Sect Takes the Blame
So... the question arises. What is the Sun Moon Empire up to now?
In the underground of the Mingde Hall, Jing Hongchen's face turned ashen as he stared at the empty vault, his heart almost stopping. It was too clean! Not even a single screw was left behind for Mingde Hall! All the level 8 and 9 fixed soul cannon shells, all the high-end milk bottles, all the advanced soul devices... all gone!
Jing Hongchen didn't even know when the Mingde Hall's armory had been burglarized! This wasn't some storage for rare metals; it stored finished soul devices that could be activated with soul power, especially the numerous level 8 and 9 fixed soul cannon shells, accumulated over hundreds of years!
At this moment, Jing Hongchen truly felt terror. So many fixed soul cannon shells were enough to blow the entire Ming City to the skies! Who ended up with them? Who emptied the Mingde Hall's armory?
Jing Hongchen had to figure this out; otherwise, he could never be at peace. With Shrek Academy destroyed, it meant that the Sun Moon Empire could step forward at any moment to unify the continent. And these stolen high-grade soul devices could deliver a heavy blow to the Sun Moon Empire!
Such a major blunder, if pinned on Jing Hongchen, would be even more severe than the theft of Test Subject Number One in the original story! After all, Test Subject Number One was an unfinished humanoid soul device and couldn't cause too much damage, but these stolen high-grade soul devices undoubtedly dealt a heavy blow to the Sun Moon Empire.
This error at Mingde Hall meant that Jing Hongchen's time as hall master was over. Panicked, Jing Hongchen forced himself to calm down. The priority was to figure out who was responsible.
He released his immense Title Douluo spiritual power to search for any clues the thief might have left behind. Normally, Jing Hongchen wouldn't have hoped for much. Anyone who could empty the vault without alerting Mingde Hall wouldn't likely leave any trace.
But...
Jing Hongchen actually found something. A message that read: [Master Hongchen, your hall's gift is much appreciated. Thank you for aiding the strength of our Holy Spirit Sect!] [Zongli Wu]
??? Three huge question marks appeared over Jing Hongchen's head, and then his face flushed with anger.
Was this treating him like a fool? Who leaves their name after stealing? Don't try to fool me, Jing Hongchen!
Wait...
Why did the name Zongli Wu sound familiar?
Jing Hongchen's exploding rage bizarrely calmed for a moment as he pondered.
Zongli Wu... Zongli... Wu!
Damn, an evil soul master!
Jing Hongchen's rage meter burst. He had thought no one would be so foolish as to steal and leave their name. But remember, Zongli Wu was an evil soul master, and the leader of the Holy Spirit Sect at that!
Those lawless evil soul masters, what couldn't they do? To them, stealing wasn't really stealing; it was making a contribution to the strength of the Holy Spirit Sect!
Case closed.
Damn evil soul masters, Jing Hongchen swore eternal enmity with them!!!
In Jing Hongchen's view, aside from their own members, only the high echelons of the Sun Moon Empire knew about the Holy Spirit Sect, as it had recently become the national religion of the Sun Moon Empire. Next year, at the continental advanced soul master academy competition, the Holy Spirit Sect would even send disciples to participate, and Zongli Wu, the sect leader, had become the national advisor of the Sun Moon Empire.
Such major information, Jing Hongchen, as the hall master of Mingde, naturally knew. But still, this was limited to the upper echelons of the Sun Moon Empire!
Who else could 'just happen' to know about the Holy Spirit Sect in the Sun Moon Empire, 'just happen' to know about Zongli Wu, and 'just happen' to know they were evil soul masters, flagrant enough to pin it on them? It made sense!
There couldn't be that many coincidences. When all coincidences come together, they're no longer coincidences.
The bastard has emptied centuries of Mingde Hall's hard work!
Furious, Jing Hongchen cut out the stone slab with the message, stashed it in his storage soul device, and stormed off to the royal family.
(Zongli Wu: ?)
Currently in the Evil Forest, reporting recent activities of the Holy Spirit Sect to his mother, Ye Xishui, Zongli Wu suddenly felt an itch in his nose, like he was about to sneeze.
"What's wrong?" asked Ye Xishui, her brows furrowing under her cloak, puzzled.
"I'm not sure. There's a strange sensation, quite sudden, but it probably isn't anything good." Zongli Wu's expression darkened, not looking very pleased.
Being high-level powerhouses, they were highly trusting of their instincts. It wasn't normal to feel something off without reason.
"Be more cautious recently," Ye Xishui spoke indifferently, her hoarse, cold voice chilling, "The destruction of Shrek Academy is beneficial for our Holy Spirit Sect. We could try to enlist Xuan Zi into our sect. With the current turmoil on the continent, extra caution is never excessive."
"Yes, mother, I'll arrange it right away," said Zongli Wu respectfully.
After Zongli Wu left, Ye Xishui lifted the cloak from her head, revealing a pale yet stunningly beautiful face, with eerily blood-red pupils.
It was hard to imagine that this face, appearing no older than in her twenties or thirties, belonged to someone who was over two hundred years old.
"Shrek... Mu En, did you really die?"
"No matter what, our Holy Spirit Sect is the future of the continent!"
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha…" Her maniacal laughter echoed long after.
Meanwhile, Jing Hongchen, carrying the stone slab, successfully met with the current regent of the Sun Moon Empire— Xu Tianran!
The current emperor of the Sun Moon Empire was Xu Tianran's father, who was now bedridden and near death.
With Xu Tianran's ruthlessness and strong methods, he easily silenced all voices of opposition and ascended as the regent. Under his throne lay the dry bones of those who opposed him.
Jing Hongchen had to report this dire situation.
"Ah? Jing Hongchen wants to see me?"