The Sun Moon Empire's large-scale "military operation" was clearly nothing more than a show of strength. Everyone knew it, but all pretended to be oblivious.
Heaven Soul Empire: "What war? It's just some minor skirmishes, really."
Dou Ling Empire: "Who dares say the Sun Moon Empire is provoking war? We've always coexisted peacefully. We're the closest of partners…"
Shrek Academy: "Indeed, the friendship between Shrek and the Sun Moon Empire is unshakable."
Star Luo Empire: "Ababa…"
At such a moment, no one dared step forward and accuse the Sun Moon Empire of launching a military offensive first. Instead, everyone played dumb.
After all, the Sun Moon Empire had already demonstrated its overwhelming military might and its potential to crush the three great nations and Shrek Academy alike.
The scouting units (mechas) had penetrated deeply into the battlefield, cutting off all internal routes of the opposing countries. Then the follow-up forces (mobile artillery, heavy soul engineer battalions) moved in for encirclement and annihilation. The cooperation among the various beast soul engineering battalions was flawless—these elites left no room for criticism.
This campaign was destined to go down in history and marked the end of the Soul Masters' glorious era. From now on, it would be the age of technology.
Xu Cheng looked at a long list of incoming orders and grinned.
Ever since Ning Tian secured a collaboration with Mingde Hall a few days ago, many hidden sects who also aligned themselves with the Sun Moon Empire had come forward seeking cooperation.
It was a win-win: Mingde Hall got the funding to develop better soul tool projects and access to special materials from various regions, while those hidden sects increased their strength and boarded the Sun Moon Empire's mighty ship of the new era.
Since Shrek had wisely kept quiet about Zhang Lexuan's matter, things could now enter a peaceful phase.
Xu Cheng had never actually intended to launch a full-scale attack on Shrek. That place was just too complicated. Tang San hadn't poured much effort into the Tang Sect but had bet everything on Shrek Academy. Not to mention Ah Yin, just the Sea God's Heart alone—if Tang San got desperate and summoned a descending god attack, it wouldn't be worth the risk.
Although Xu Cheng did have a trump card—the God of Destruction—he wasn't completely confident in that contingency plan either. So if things could stay stable, he'd avoid unnecessary risks.
Moreover, in this peaceful period, the Sun Moon Empire would usher in another explosive advancement in soul tool technology. With thousands of years of accumulation, their foundation was solid. Shrek, on the other hand, could only watch helplessly.
In truth, Xu Cheng preferred slow and steady development over war.
This muscle-flexing operation was just a response to annoying pests—clear out the troublemakers and buy more time for development.
It was a kind of calculated open conspiracy.
The three original nations of the continent all understood the Sun Moon Empire's terrifying potential and knew that letting it continue to grow unchecked would eventually become an unsolvable problem. Yet, they could only grit their teeth and accept reality.
The more hidden sects realized that, even combined with Shrek and the Body Sect, they were still no match for the Sun Moon Empire, the sooner they would align themselves with it.
Even the fence-sitters would quickly settle down.
"God's Rod… God's Rod." Xu Cheng smacked his lips.
Now that the continent's factions had quieted down, his mind wandered elsewhere. While missiles were useful for deterrence, they were far too destructive and prone to collateral damage.
That's why he was very interested in the "Rod of God"—essentially a variation of a planetary annihilation weapon like the Star Destroyer Cannon. Both were orbital strikes launched from a spacecraft (or satellite) outside the planet's atmosphere.
These kinds of weapons had already been proven ineffective on his previous planet, but here—on the Douluo Continent—they weren't bound by Blue Star's physics.
Just imagine: point and shoot, and the strike comes from directly overhead, nearly impossible to defend against. Pretty badass, honestly.
And it's not just the sky—there's also the deep sea.
In the original story, the deep sea wasn't mentioned much, not until tens of thousands of years later when it got a vague reference.
It's always been called a mysterious place, teeming with powerful soul beasts. If humanity truly hoped to migrate into space in the future, or whatever came next, then fully exploring the Douluo Plane was an unavoidable step.
"Still a long way to go…" Xu Cheng sighed deeply.
"Brother, Sister Lexuan is still imprisoned," Nana softly reminded him.
"I know." Xu Cheng gave a slight nod. It was time.
As for Zhang Lexuan's attempt to leave without saying a word—he was actually pretty mad about it. To be honest, not much could truly stir his emotions these days, but this… this hit differently.
Because Zhang Lexuan didn't trust him. He had clearly said he would handle it, yet she still planned to sneak away, not even talking to him about it.
Just leave like that?
Was this something you could just walk away from? He wanted nothing more than to tie her up and spank her.
But recalling what he had glimpsed in her heart a few days ago… oh boy, he had found some very curious things.
"Lexuan actually loves you a lot…" Nana gently said, lips softly pursed.
"I know." Xu Cheng nodded.
No wonder this continent was called the Land of Romance. Once a woman gave her heart, she was almost always devoted to one person for life, even willing to face death for them (well, only true for named characters, of course).
"Of course I know."
"It's also my fault—I've been so cryptic all this time. She was afraid I was just brushing her off, so her reaction makes sense." Xu Cheng rubbed his temples.
"Alright, let's go see her. While we're at it, release the other Shrek students too. As long as they stay within the Sun Moon Empire, business as usual—classes continue like normal."
He waved a hand.
"Yes!" Nana smiled.
——
Mingde Hall.
Inside a quiet chamber.
Zhang Lexuan sat silently on the bed, her eyes fixed on the bracelet in her hand, emotions flickering in her gaze.
This was the bracelet Xu Cheng had given her when she attended the Xu royal family's formal event with him. She had always seen it as a token of love.
But now, because of Shrek, she had been dragged into the mess.
As the senior sister of the Inner Court and a team leader, her position was especially sensitive.
Xu Cheng treating her like this… it was all her fault. She should—no, wait! Zhang Lexuan, what are you thinking!?
She looked around to make sure she was alone, then gave her beautiful face a couple of pats and exhaled.
"Your Highness…"
Suddenly, a guard's voice came from outside the door.
A group of footsteps followed, making Zhang Lexuan's heart pound in suspense.
Her slender white hands clutched the bedsheet tightly. With her back to the door, she bit her lip as a blush rose to her face.
The door creaked open.
Then shut.
Zhang Lexuan clearly heard the footsteps approaching… closer… closer… until they were right behind her.
She could even hear his heartbeat.
If it had been in the past, when they were alone together, she would have already thrown herself into Xu Cheng's arms, kissing him deeply, inhaling his scent like a cat—it made her feel intoxicated.
But this time, she forced herself to suppress those urges.
Xu Cheng gazed at the beauty before him. Her body trembled—whether in grief or impulse, it was hard to tell.
"How have your thoughts settled?"
Xu Cheng asked softly.
"A-Cheng, I never betrayed you! I was going to leave because… because…" Zhang Lexuan turned her tear-streaked face toward him, wiping at her eyes in a panic.
Xu Cheng sat beside her, their skin touching.
"Whew…"
Xu Cheng let out a long breath.
"You really think… I ever doubted you?"
"Then why…" Zhang Lexuan's voice trembled as she looked up at him with tearful eyes.
"I'm angry because you wanted to leave without a word," Xu Cheng said, slipping an arm around her slender waist. "Even if you just gave me a heads-up, I wouldn't have been this mad."
"You—you knew?" Zhang Lexuan froze.
"Of course. Anyone with eyes could tell something was off with you spacing out like that," Xu Cheng replied.
"But I… A-Cheng, I didn't want this either… sob sob sob… I didn't want to leave you… but they were rushing me… I didn't want to go… I wished you'd found out and locked me up…"
Zhang Lexuan broke down crying.
Her head buried itself into Xu Cheng's chest, her delicate body clinging to him.
Warm jade in his arms, Xu Cheng sighed helplessly and gently patted her back. "Alright, alright. It's my fault. Come with me in a bit—I'll show you something, and then you'll understand where my confidence comes from."
Zhang Lexuan didn't respond. She just clung tightly to Xu Cheng's clothes.
After a while, she finally dried her tears, pouting and lying quietly in his embrace.
Buzz!
Seeing that Zhang Lexuan had calmed down emotionally, Xu Cheng finally called in a few guards. Each of them was dragging a prisoner, seemingly restrained by soul tool shackles that bound their hands. Their eyes were vacant as they were pushed into the room and lined up in a row.
"You've found your true identity—it's true that you have the blood of the Sun-Moon royal family. But something about you, back when you were a minor noble in the Heavenly Soul Empire with a moon-themed martial soul, seems… off."
Xu Cheng gently wrapped an arm around the beauty's waist and spoke softly.
"Ah Cheng, you mean..." Zhang Lexuan seemed to understand something, a trace of shock flashing across her face.
"Take a look. See for yourself and you'll understand."
Xu Cheng gently tapped with his finger.
The two of them instantly entered another world, where blood-red hues spread like ink across paper.
A crimson world.
It was a lavish courtyard, the kind only nobles could afford. Yet at this moment, blood was everywhere, cries and wails filling the air.
Many servants were fleeing in panic, while several black-robed figures brutally harvested lives one after another.
The two watched all this silently from a third-person perspective.
"This is… the Zhang family," Zhang Lexuan's beautiful eyes widened in disbelief.
She knew it too well—this was exactly the day her family had been wiped out by mysterious assailants.
She had only survived because she was playing hide-and-seek with her mother and had hidden under the bed.
The scene shifted.
Inside a room.
Beneath the bed, a little girl with a ponytail lay bored, eyes fixed outside, waiting to see if her mother would come looking for her.
At that moment, a figure burst into the room, rummaging around.
The girl under the bed, thinking it was her mother, lay perfectly still, helpless lips pursed—but in reality, she was stifling giggles.
It was a heart-wrenching sight to witness.
But Zhang Lexuan was lost in thought.
Because now, she could clearly sense that these black-robed attackers were all at least Soul Emperors, maybe even Soul Saints. It would be easy for them to wipe out a minor noble family (whose patriarch might only be a Soul King), so how could they possibly miss the presence of a little girl hiding under the bed?
Which meant only one thing…
Sure enough, from their third-person viewpoint,
She clearly saw one of the black-robed men glance subconsciously toward the bed, then smirk and walked out without looking back.
Like watching a movie, the two followed the black-robed men's perspective. After completing their massacre, they didn't loot anything—instead, they moved in perfect formation toward the distance.
A few minutes later.
An elderly figure slowly appeared in the night sky above.
He moved with purpose, heading straight for the little girl's location.
"Enough! I don't want to see anymore!" Zhang Lexuan broke down.
"This was all extracted from your memories, and theirs as well. I only reconstructed the scene—nothing was altered," Xu Cheng said calmly.
"In my heart, Mu En was always a kind and benevolent old man," Xu Cheng sighed, recalling his past impressions from the original story. "On the side of Shrek, he was a trustworthy elder, as steady as a mountain. His presence always brought reassurance. But that was only for his own people..."
"To his enemies, he was always a formidable opponent—one who would go to any lengths to achieve his goals."
"So, he wasn't a saint. I can understand why he did what he did."
"Mu Lao... why did he do it?!" Zhang Lexuan asked bitterly.
"For you. For Shrek Academy," Xu Cheng said plainly.
"He had long sensed Shrek's decline. For thousands of years, Shrek had always had at least one Limit Douluo as its anchor—sometimes even more during its peak. That was the foundation of its strength. But his time was almost up, and if no successor could be found..."
"So from the very beginning, he had his eyes on you. You reached the level of Grand Soul Master at just eight years old—breaking through level 20. With the right training, reaching Limit Douluo was just a matter of time."
"Most importantly, you were easy to control. You had no powerful background, and your origins were humble," Xu Cheng said coolly.
"Because nowadays, the powerful families hold sway. Every Shrek genius has a powerful clan behind them. But someone like you—a 'house-born child'—was practically born for Shrek's use."
"But why did he have to go that far? I could have just joined Shrek Academy and..." Zhang Lexuan's voice was filled with sorrow.
"Because you were unpredictable," Xu Cheng sighed.
"And because his time was running out. He couldn't afford any uncertain variables that might jeopardize his plan."
"..."
(End of Chapter)