The deaths of Xu Tianran and Third Prince caused a huge upheaval in the royal family, and the turmoil quickly spread throughout Ming Capital, even showing a faint tendency to spread to the outskirts.
Those forces that supported the Third Prince and Crown Prince were completely dumbfounded.
Overnight, all their countless investments in Third Prince and Crown Prince over the years went down the drain...
Some forces had previously relied on the reputation of the Third Prince or Xu Tianran to intimidate others, but now they have been directly targeted by their enemies and wiped out on the spot.
Not only that.
The sudden deaths of two princes who were the most likely to inherit the throne caused an extremely serious loss to the prestige of the royal family.
Beyond Ming Capital, many forces dissatisfied with the royal family have received this news and have even begun to unite, showing signs of wanting to rebel...
It's likely that a massive transformation will occur throughout the entire Sun Moon Empire soon.
...
...
Deep in the Evil Forest.
In a secluded valley, countless black vines, like ghosts in the night, spread and intertwine to form eerie nets.
Within these vines is an extremely modern metal block, which looks like the entrance to an underground air-raid shelter.
There are ten such entrances within a radius of several kilometers.
If one were to use X-ray vision, one could discover that beneath this earth lies an incredibly vast palace complex, its area even exceeding that of the Sun Moon Empire's imperial palace!
This is the headquarters of Holy Spirit Church!
Underground.
Inside a vast palace, a woman with a graceful figure, dressed in a black gauze dress, leaned against the throne. She was none other than Ye Xishui, the Supreme Leader of the Holy Spirit Church.
Beside Ye Xishui stood a tall, elderly man.
The old man's silver hair was neatly combed, his face was rosy like a baby's, his long eyebrows hung down on both sides of his face, and his hands were behind his back. However, his gaze was always fixed on the beautiful woman in the seat, his eyes full of tenderness.
"I never expected that the Sun Moon Empire would have a hidden force that we'd never even heard of. This is getting more and more interesting..."
Ye Xishui leaned back on the throne, a slight smile playing on his lips, revealing a meaningful expression.
The Third Prince and Xu Tianran both died mysteriously, without even the Holy Spirit Church noticing anything amiss. Clearly, the opponent's individual strength was extremely powerful.
It's just that the scale might not be very large, otherwise they wouldn't have hidden for so long before making a move.
She thought there was no one in the world that the Holy Spirit Church could take seriously anymore, but now a strange force has suddenly appeared.
This immediately piqued her interest.
"Xi Shui, shall I go take a look? Since those people were able to kill Xu Tianran and the Third Prince so silently, they must be quite capable," Dragon Xiaoyao said slowly.
It wasn't that he was afraid of that unfamiliar force, but rather that he felt indebted to Ye Xishui. So he wanted to do more for Ye Xishui, to make up for the mistakes he had made, or you could say, to atone for his sins...
"Hmm, that works too."
Ye Xishui nodded slightly: "If there's an opportunity, it would be best to cooperate with them. Their goal is probably to control the royal family and change the world, just like the Old Emperor did back then..."
"Our goal is to become the state religion of the Sun Moon Empire and increase our followers. We don't care about other powers. There is no conflict between us, so we should be able to have pleasant cooperation."
Ye Xishui's eyes flickered, seemingly unconcerned that this mysterious force had interrupted her plans.
After all, in her eyes, Xu Tianran was just a tool for her to develop the Holy Spirit Church.
If one tool breaks, just replace it with another.
Of course, if that force fails to see the situation clearly, she wouldn't mind eliminating it and then supporting a new Puppet herself.
"Good."
Dragon Xiaoyao nodded slightly, then turned and left.
Of course, besides helping Ye Xishui, he was also very curious about the origin of that force, which was able to assassinate the Third Prince and make Xu Tianran disappear without a trace.
You should know that Dao is located in the imperial palace.
Third Prince and Xu Tianran are both Titled Douluo- level fighters, equipped with numerous spirit tools for protection. They are also accompanied by Titled Douluo guards and a powerful royal guard.
Even under such circumstances, the opponent was still able to kill both the Third Prince and Xu Tianran at the same time.
This speaks volumes: the opponent may not be particularly strong, but their underhanded tactics are extremely advanced...
Even for the Holy Spirit Church, achieving this would be extremely difficult.
...
...
At the same time.
Bai Zhou and Ju Zi hid in their dorm for a few days and, finding that no one came looking for them, they finally felt at ease and went to class.
After all, although there are undercurrents outside, they certainly cannot affect the academy.
Currently, Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy is arguably the safest place in Ming Capital.
Of course, the most important thing is that Bai Zhou handled Xu Tianran's funeral very cleanly, eliminating all those who knew about it, which is why such a stable environment was achieved.
There are now only three people left in the laboratory.
They are Xuan Ziwen, Bai Zhou, and Orange.
Xuan Ziwen was oblivious to everything around him, focusing solely on his spirit tool; he didn't even know what Dao was. The sudden deaths of Third Prince and Xu Tianran...
Ke Ke, along with two others, were recalled by their families due to the turmoil within the royal family.
After all, this is the most critical moment. For those families and forces, every choice is related to the rise and fall of the family. Naturally, they must unite as one and overcome difficulties together.
Choose the right path and you'll soar to new heights; choose the wrong path and your century-old legacy will be destroyed in an instant.
Therefore, Ke Ke, Wang Shaojie, and Zi Mu, who are close associates of the Family, naturally have to go back and participate in the decision-making process for important Family matters.
...
In a private laboratory for the two of them.
Bai Zhou is holding an orange...
Yes, I'm currently giving her serious guidance on inscribing the core Mind-Cultivation Technique array.
When Bai Zhou first arrived, he held back a bit and kept some of his skills to himself.
But now that all the oranges belong to him, Bai Zhou naturally shares all his knowledge with them.
He would do his best to teach Ju Zi anything she wanted to learn.
Not long after, Orange completed the engraving of a five-level core Mind-Cultivation Technique array, and the quality was close to perfect.
"Hmph~ You're quite well-behaved today~"
Orange stretched lazily and looked at Bai Zhou with a smile, clearly in a good mood.
"So, do you want me to be more honest or more mischievous?" Bai Zhou leaned close to Ju Zi's ear and asked Dao with a smile.
"Of course, we should be honest!"
Orange answered Dao without hesitation.
However, as soon as the words left her mouth, she felt it was inappropriate. Stealing a glance at Bai Zhou, Orange blushed and whispered, "Um...actually, I can accept being a little bit bad...just don't go too far..."
"Okay, then I won't be polite ~ "
Bai Zhou chuckled, just about to enjoy the cute orange, when he suddenly felt his Microcard vibrate.
Bai Zhou took out his microcard, glanced at it discreetly, and saw that it was a message from Meng Hongchen...