"I know a great many things."
Jiang Qingtong looked calmly at Juzi.
"So, what do you say? Care to think it over?"
Juzi shook her head.
"I've already joined hands with the Sun–Moon Empire's future ruler. Why should I risk everything to cooperate with you? If I told the Crown Prince what you've said, he might even trust me more."
"Are you brainless?" Jiang Qingtong shot back without hesitation.
Juzi frowned at the insult.
Jiang Qingtong continued,
"With that one sentence, I could kill you right here and now. Then I'd tell Xu Tianran it was your own fault.
Even if he knew I was lying, he wouldn't dare turn against me — because to him, I'm far more valuable than you are."
Juzi's brows knitted tighter. She knew Jiang Qingtong's words were probably true, yet she still asked,
"You're that confident?"
"Of course."
Jiang Qingtong nodded lightly.
"How long have you even been in the political circle? Xu Tianran is someone who will stop at nothing for his own gain.
And right now, what we offer him far outweighs anything you can."
Even leaving aside Jiang Shengyu and Jiang Qingtong's exceptional talent, just the fact that Kong Deming had chosen their side was enough for Xu Tianran to abandon everything else.
In the Sun–Moon Empire, Kong Deming's support was simply too important.
"You're threatening me?" Juzi's tone grew cold.
"What, do you think we're playing house?" Jiang Qingtong retorted.
She leaned back against her chair, crossed one leg over the other, and a Mirror Lotus bloomed in her palm. Under its dazzling radiance, spirit rings began to rise one by one.
When the ten-thousand-year crimson ring appeared, an overwhelming aura of pressure crashed down on Juzi's shoulders.
She stared in shock at the configuration of Jiang Qingtong's spirit rings.
Four black, one red—Impossible!
What kind of monster had such a setup?
Jiang Qingtong toyed idly with the lotus in her hand and said softly,
"I don't have much patience. You've got three breaths to decide. Three… two…"
When she reached one, she plucked a petal from the Mirror Lotus — flames shaped like a Fire Phoenix flickered across its surface.
At that instant, Juzi clenched her fists and shouted,
"I'll cooperate with you!"
In that brief moment, she had felt Jiang Qingtong's killing intent — cold, sharp, and absolute.
If she refused, Jiang Qingtong truly would have killed her right there.
That blazing phoenix would have burned her to ash, leaving not even bones behind.
When Juzi finally gave in, Jiang Qingtong smiled.
"See? That's much better. Here's to a pleasant partnership. I'll be going now."
She rose to leave, but Juzi frowned and asked,
"That's it? You're not going to give me any instructions?"
"For now, no." Jiang Qingtong shook her head and waved casually over her shoulder.
"You handle the explanations to Xu Tianran. And don't breathe a word about our alliance."
Watching her walk away, Juzi bit her lip in silence.
Later, in the Crown Prince's residence, Juzi stood before Xu Tianran and told him that Jiang Qingtong had approached her seeking cooperation, hoping Juzi would report the prince's movements to them.
However, she deliberately concealed the deeper truth — their real alliance.
Xu Tianran's expression showed no surprise; in fact, he seemed almost amused.
"I see. So even though we've been cooperating, they still don't trust me. No matter — if all they want is for you to inform them of my actions, go ahead and tell them."
Hearing that, Juzi frowned.
"You're serious?"
"Of course." Xu Tianran nodded.
"Silver Moon Douluo Kong Deming must have found out I smuggled several Grade Nine soul tools into the city.
But since he hasn't confronted me, it means he's choosing to turn a blind eye — he just wants to confirm what I'm up to."
Watching how easily he rationalized everything, Juzi fell silent.
Xu Tianran still firmly believed that once he began purging the Holy Spirit Church, Kong Deming would back him.
After all, across the entire empire, who else was qualified to inherit the throne but him?
The Soul Master Tournament's opening ceremony arrived swiftly.
The ailing Emperor attended despite his illness, but it was Xu Tianran who delivered the opening address.
Aside from the inclusion of sect members this year, the tournament's structure remained unchanged from the past.
During the elimination rounds, neither Sun–Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy nor Shrek Academy faced each other.
Their opponents were merely obscure sects and minor academies — hardly worth mentioning.
For Shrek Academy, aside from Xu Sanshi and Beibei, who had both reached the Soul Emperor level, Jiang Shengyu and Jiang Qingtong remained at the Soul King level.
Jiang Qingtong had yet to hit her next breakthrough, while Jiang Shengyu was focused on refining the power of his earlier spirit rings.
As for the Sun–Moon Academy, their team was led by Huo Yuhao.
With the aid of the Skydream Iceworm and the Ice Empress, his talent had fully blossomed.
Even with the heavy workload from soul tool research, his martial cultivation had not fallen behind.
Although he lacked the miraculous adventures of other timelines, Huo Yuhao had still reached level 56, a true Soul King.
Because of the increased number of participants, the elimination stage dragged on longer than usual.
On the final day of the preliminaries, a sect calling itself the Holy Spirit Sect stepped onto the stage.
The moment they appeared, the entire arena fell silent.
Every member of the Holy Spirit Sect was clad in black robes, their faces completely hidden.
"Members of the Holy Spirit Church!"
Seeing them, Xu Tianran's brows furrowed tightly upon the dais.
"How is this possible? The Holy Spirit Church? I already had them dealt with. How could they still appear here?"
As astonishment filled his mind, the back of his chair was suddenly pressed down by a cold, indifferent hand.
A chilling voice spoke from behind him.
"Your Highness, long time no see. Why so shocked to see my people?"
At the sound of that voice, Xu Tianran's entire body stiffened.
He turned his head mechanically, and when he saw Ye Xishui standing there, he forced a smile to suppress his fear.
"So it's the Death God herself. I didn't expect you to grace us with your presence. My apologies for not welcoming you properly…"
Ye Xishui snorted coldly.
"'Apologies'? You dare treat my Church this way — did you really think I wouldn't kill you for it?"
Xu Tianran smiled thinly.
"Of course, of course — I fully believe that the Death God has no qualms about killing anyone she pleases."
"Then why did you move against us?" Ye Xishui's eyes narrowed dangerously. "What has my Church ever done to you?"
Xu Tianran furrowed his brows, thinking quickly before replying,
"I… had no choice!
If I hadn't acted against the Holy Spirit Church, Silver Moon Douluo Kong Deming would have withdrawn his support and had me stripped of my title!
To keep his favor, I had to act.
And even then, I never ordered my men to kill your people — only to drive them out.
Anyone else in my position would've started slaughtering long ago!"
It was, in truth, Xu Tianran's backup plan —
If his alliance with Jiang Shengyu and the others ever collapsed, he might still win back the support of the Holy Spirit Church.
Please drop some power stones support me at my
PS: Access the complete/finished chapters/series at Patreon: NanamiTL