The Sentimental Sword and the Ruthless Sword possess a Spirit Fusion skill, and their masters, Zang Xin and Cao Dezhi, can sense each other. The moment something went wrong with the Spirit, Cao Dezhi knew Zang Xin had met with misfortune.
But he was taking the Seven Heavenly Kings back to the Federation's Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well; what could possibly go wrong?
Cao Dezhi couldn't figure it out. Stabilizing his injuries, he soared into the sky, wrapped in Sword Qi as he charged into Shrek Academy.
Finding Yun Ming, he saw the Master of the Sea Gods Pavilion observing the fireworks and night scenery of Star Luo City with Ya Li. Cao Dezhi's pent-up grief and indignation suddenly erupted as he shouted, "You have a peerless cultivation level for nothing! When are you ever going to do something productive!"
Yun Ming turned his head abruptly. Seeing his old friend's expression of both anger and sorrow, and his uneven aura, he knew something was wrong. His furrowed brows smoothed out as he asked, "What happened?"
Seeing Cao Dezhi's agitated blood and Qi, Ya Li didn't care about his explosive temper for the moment. She said, "Your blood and Qi are overflowing externally but hollow internally. Did something go wrong with your Cultivation? It's best to quiet your mind and rest for ten to fifteen days to see the results."
"My Ruthless Ice Heart cannot be quieted!"
Cao Dezhi cried out frantically. Thinking of how things had been going poorly for the Tang Sect all these years, with the situation worsening day by day, and now even his partner in the Spirit Fusion skill was suspected of meeting a tragic fate, he broke down into a loud, heart-wrenching wail in his great sorrow.
"Zang Xin, Zang Xin—the Tang Sect—"
Yun Ming had never seen Cao Dezhi lose his composure like this in his life. He thought to himself that Cao Dezhi's entire Ruthless cultivation lay in the Ruthless Ice Heart of the Ruthless Sword; being this emotionally agitated would surely cause great damage to his state of mind.
If the Ruthless Ice Heart shattered, it was not impossible for Cao Dezhi's cultivation to drop below Quasi-God, and his body's Origin Qi would suffer a major blow.
Thinking of this terrible consequence, Yun Ming no longer hesitated. His body drifted, gliding behind Cao Dezhi, and he struck him unconscious with a palm wind.
"Ya Li, take him back to heal." Yun Ming picked up Cao Dezhi, his leisurely mood gone. Cao Dezhi was a pillar of the Tang Sect; if something happened to him, the Tang Sect would exist in name only.
"Mm."
Ya Li followed Yun Ming back and began treating Cao Dezhi. Her expression was extremely grave as she said, "His Ruthless Sword has been throbbing constantly, conveying emotions of grief, as if it has lost something most important. Could it be—that something happened to Zang Xin?"
the two swords of the tang sect were originally a pair. The world knew Zang Xin was flirtatious everywhere but never had a result; only their close acquaintances knew that the brotherhood between the two was somewhat peculiar.
Yun Ming was very surprised to hear this and said, "He was taking the New Shrek Seven Devils back to the Federation's Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well; what could happen?"
"Besides, his Domain is special. Although his combat power isn't strong, even a Quasi-God would find it hard to keep him there."
Zang Xin was the only control system Limit Douluo. The Spirit Abilities of the Sentimental Sword focused on being as annoying as possible; even Yun Ming didn't want to give him a chance to release a Spirit Ability when they sparred.
Of course, all of this was limited to one-on-one duels. If it were a group battle, no matter how much the Sentimental Sword could influence emotions, it wouldn't have a chance to show its power.
Ya Li pondered, "It's hard to say if something happened, or if he's heavily injured, but either way, it won't be good."
"The wind blowing through the tower heralds a rising storm in the mountains. There aren't many people in this world who can put Zang Xin in such a predicament."
Yun Ming fell into deep thought. A large number of Federation experts were staying on the Star Luo Continent and wouldn't leave. Back on the Douluo Continent, the only powerhouses with the absolute certainty to take down Zang Xin were Chen Xinjie, Le Zhengyang, and Qiangu Dieting.
But these three should have no reason to act.
The Holy Spirit Cult was being hunted so relentlessly they had no way to heaven and no door into the earth; they were too busy hiding, let alone having the strength to hunt Zang Xin.
He couldn't figure it out, simply couldn't figure it out.
Ya Li guessed, "Perhaps during this time, some Federation experts have secretly returned to the continent?"
"That would be another major issue—" Yun Ming scratched his head in some frustration. Why did this group from the Tang Sect come up with new trouble for him every once in a while?
Just then, Turbid World's voice came from outside the door: "Boss, the Star Luo Empire has sent an envoy to visit you. Do you want to go out and see them?"
Yun Ming originally wanted to say "I'm busy," but after thinking about it, he asked, "Who came?"
"The Holy Dragon Douluo, En Ci."
"Then let's meet."
Hearing it was the headmaster of Monster Academy, now the nominal headmaster of the Shrek branch and the nominal Deputy Pavilion Master of the Sea Gods Pavilion, Yun Ming felt it necessary to give some Face.
What Yun Ming didn't expect was that the first sentence he heard upon meeting En Ci would make him turn pale with shock.
"Your Excellency, the Star Luo Empire is finished. I beg Your Excellency to save our Star Luo."
Sorrow filled En Ci's Face, and his tone was mournful.
Yun Ming hurriedly asked why. En Ci only said that the Tang Sect's funds were insufficient, not enough to develop the latest types of arsenals and soul-guided weapons.
Yun Ming asked why again. This time En Ci answered clearly: the number of people following Shrek to the Star Luo Continent for refuge numbered in the millions; settling them was a huge expense, and the national treasury was running out of money.
"Then—how do we get the money?" Yun Ming asked.
"There is only one way: taxes." En Ci took out a list and said, "Impose heavy taxes on those with an annual income of over five million, and also ask the wealthy merchants among the refugees to support the construction of their new home. Don't you agree?"
"This—"
Yun Ming, who had never dealt with economic issues in his life, found this very difficult. He frowned and said, "Would this be inappropriate? After all, they followed us here for refuge—"
En Ci said bitterly, "But the Sun Moon Federation is now sharpening its blades. If even our Star Luo Empire is gone, where else can they flee?"
"With us, it's just taxes. With the Sun Moon Federation, Feng Zaixing's Federal Investigation Bureau and the Yu Family's army could march in at any time, raiding their homes, exterminating their clans, and hanging them from lamp posts."
Yun Ming fell silent; it sounded somewhat reasonable.
It's working!
En Ci's heart stirred, and he hurriedly continued to persuade, "I guarantee that half of the tax revenue will be used for the Tang Sect's technological research and military construction. Of the remaining half, two-fifths will go to Shrek Academy to train students and build a new giant city. You don't have to do anything, as long as you don't oppose it."
"The tax proceeds will be split thirty-seventy: thirty for the Star Luo Empire and seventy for you. How does that sound?"
Yun Ming was truly tempted now. He frowned and said, "Would this be inappropriate? If we really do this, you're the ones putting in the effort—"
"It's fine, perfectly fine. It's all for the Empire; what does this little bit of trouble matter?" En Ci laughed loudly.
At this moment, Cao Dezhi seemed to sense something. Hearing the two of them talking outside the room, he flipped up with a carp kick and strode outside.
"Brother En Ci, why didn't you notify our Tang Sect about this beforehand? You're not being much of a friend."
En Ci was surprised: "If Brother Cao has an objection, we can discuss it further—"
"What objection? I have no objection at all!"
Cao Dezhi's Face was pale, but his voice was loud and powerful as he said, "The Tang Sect has many technologies that are difficult to use because of a lack of money. If you are willing to provide support, that is for the best!"
"Good, good. To be honest with Brother Cao, this method was only devised by His Majesty and me tonight."
En Ci quietly wiped the sweat from his forehead. He was truly afraid that this Ruthless Douluo would resolutely oppose it.
It seemed he had overthought it. They were good at reading people—or rather, that guy was good at reading people. As long as the Tang Sect's appetite was fed, they would do anything.
Cao Dezhi whispered with a smile, looking as if his injuries had mostly recovered: "As for those forces that should be taxed, I will visit them one by one to persuade them. I won't make it too difficult for the Star Luo Empire."
"That's good, that's good—" En Ci and Cao Dezhi were chatting happily, and he couldn't help but think of what Feng Zaixing had said when he proposed the plan to him and Dai Tianling.
"The Tang Sect can sell massive amounts of arms to betray the Federation; naturally, they can betray those Hidden Families and wealthy merchants for profit. Shrek values its reputation; as long as you two handle it correctly, nothing will be an issue."
En Ci thought to himself: "Let us use your name to enrich the country and strengthen the army, and then you'll go back and use our reputation to force the Federation to drastically increase taxes internally? You're really not leaving those people any way out."
A moment later, En Ci and the two leaders of Shrek finalized the details and took their leave.
Cao Dezhi looked at En Ci's back, staring for a good while, and slowly sighed: "The person who killed Zang Xin should not be Feng Zaixing."
Yun Ming was puzzled: "What do you mean?"
"Such a wicked but effective method is not something Dai Tianling and En Ci could come up with. Only Feng Zaixing could think of it; this was his idea for Dai Tianling and En Ci."
"Since he was the one who persuaded Dai Tianling and En Ci, he naturally wouldn't have a direct connection to Zang Xin's incident during the day."
Cao Dezhi sighed and said, "The night of the assassination, he didn't kill all the experts of the Hidden Families, and he couldn't easily use military force again, so he used this method of a blunt knife cutting meat."
Yun Ming asked solemnly, "Then why did you agree to En Ci? Isn't this selling out all the Hidden Families?"
Cao Dezhi's expression instantly turned cold, and he gave two cold laughs, saying, "My Tang Sect can't even look after itself; how can I care about them? Just as En Ci said, if we don't use strong medicine now, we'll all be finished!"
"This is Feng Zaixing's open scheme. Whichever side can deal with the wealthy merchants and ancient families more ruthlessly will have a chance to win; because he simply didn't give these people a chance to surrender!"
"So be it. Let the Hidden Sects suffer for a while; I'll bear the infamy."
Yun Ming was silent for a moment upon hearing this, then said, "According to some Shrek graduates remaining on the continent, the continent is currently planning to introduce a 79% tax policy targeting those giant enterprises. It's passing through the parliament smoothly and should be implemented soon."
"The parliament? Isn't it just a one-man show for the Hawk Faction now?"
Cao Dezhi snorted, sat down on the spot to regulate his body, and sighed: "I have to admit, if all of Feng Zaixing's plans can be completed, both the Sun Moon Federation and the Star Luo Continent will develop at an unprecedented speed. Turning the blade inward indeed has a miraculous effect."
"It's a pity, though, that our paths are fundamentally opposed. Once my injuries recover, I must personally rush back to the Federation to find out the truth about what happened to Zang Xin."
After delivering a poisonous scheme to the Star Luo Palace, Feng Zaixing quietly arrived outside the Dragon Valley, sealing off his spirit power aura.
A few days later, a Tang Sect Elder arrived, using a special technique to open the Dragon Valley passage and send a group of elite Disciples below level fifty inside for training.
"So that's how it's opened. I've learned something." Feng Zaixing observed the Tang Sect Elder's technique in detail from the shadows. Using his transcendent mental force to hide his form, he vanished into the spatial rift in an instant.
spirit power could not be used in the Dragon Valley Small World, but it didn't greatly affect Feng Zaixing's speed. He sprinted for thousands of miles, absorbing countless Light Dragon clouds along the way.
Familiarity comes with practice. When Feng Zaixing rushed into the Dragon Graveyard for the second time, the Light Dragon King's dragon soul was the first to emerge, saying in surprise, "Why are you here again?"
"To Cultivate in seclusion." Feng Zaixing smiled at the Light Dragon King's dragon soul, then drew a circle on the ground to mark his territory and said loudly, "From today on, I will collect four dragon skeletons for you every day, and I want to borrow your precious land to Cultivate in seclusion. I promise not to disturb you; it's fine if you give me dragon souls as a gift, and it doesn't matter if you don't."
As his words fell, a thousand dragon skeletons throbbed, and dragon souls raised their heads one after another. Countless gazes fixed upon this young man.