Douluo Continent: I Can Summon Heroic Spirits

Chapter 56 The Crown Prince's Palace Suffers Another Calamity; The Undercover Miss of the Holy

The two women felt uneasy under Ye Chenxing's gaze. Just as Ye Chenxing had expected, they both harbored their own secrets.

The scene from the Crown Prince's Palace the day before yesterday involuntarily surfaced in Orange's mind.

Since Ye Chenxing built the Star Tower, the precious artifacts in the Crown Prince's Palace have become the number one victims, and Xu Tianran's hoarse roar still echoes in her ears.

"Ahhhhh!"

"This Ye Chenxing! He's already started winning people over! Others might not see it, but do you think I can't? All those so-called convenient soul-guided devices, soul-guided communications, soul-guided vehicles—they're all just tools he's using to win people over!"

Xu Tianran felt an unprecedented unease. Sitting in the chair that was only a step away from the throne, he felt for the first time that his position was so precarious.

He never even considered for a second that Ye Chenxing had concocted those soul tools himself. In his view, it must be Elder Kong paving the way for his chosen successor!

What made him even more furious was that the money that guy spent on all this was from the national treasury—his own money!

His father's health was deteriorating day by day, and he could pass away at any time. In Xu Tianran's heart, the entire Sun Moon Empire was already his private property.

The other party is using his money to buy the hearts and minds of his future subjects; it's like cutting flesh from his heart with a dull knife.

But once the initial rage subsided, he had to force himself to calm down, because he sadly discovered that he was now completely helpless.

"Ju Zi, I'm giving you a task." Xu Tianran's voice was still hoarse from his earlier roar. "I want you to join the Star Tower. You and that Ye Chenxing are both students at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, so you have a higher chance of getting close to him. Besides, I only trust you. You don't need to do anything outrageous. Just... report his situation and his actions to me in detail."

Ju Zi quickly declined. She was Xu Tianran's person, at least nominally. Xu Tianran asked her to get close to another man, and if she agreed immediately, it would only displease Xu Tianran.

She subtly revealed her difficulty and resistance, and only reluctantly agreed after Xu Tianran's repeated pressure.

But in fact, this was exactly what she wanted.

Her feelings for Xu Tianran were always out of gratitude for his shelter, but compared to her revenge, that was nothing.

She offered her intelligence to shield him from the assassination attempt, and Xu Tianran gave her protection and hope for revenge. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement, nothing more.

Later in the original novel, Ju Zi had absolutely no feelings for Xu Tianran, not even sympathy.

Her goal, from beginning to end, has always been the same.

revenge.

The only thing she never forgot was revenge.

Her father was brutally murdered under the iron heel of the White Tiger Duke, and the Star Luo Empire's army destroyed her family. This hatred had long been ingrained in her bones, becoming the only reason she could live. For revenge, she was willing to abandon everything, including herself.

The target of her revenge was the Star Luo Empire, and Duke Dai Hao of the White Tiger.

Xu Tianran is her biggest helper right now. Without the power and resources of this crown prince, she, a helpless orphan, would pose no threat whatsoever to the White Tiger Duke who holds a large army. Therefore, she must rely on Xu Tianran.

But Ju Zi knew better than anyone else that she was never attached to Xu Tianran as a person, but to the position of "Crown Prince". Xu Tianran could see that Ye Chenxing's throne was threatened, and Ju Zi was just as clear about it.

That Ye Chenxing... has Master Kong behind him, and now he has also established the Star Tower.

If he has no intention of vying for power, that's fine. But if he does, Xu Tianran's throne may not be so secure.

Therefore, Xu Tianran's request for her to get close to Ye Chenxing was exactly what she wanted most at the moment.

This was a golden opportunity for her to hedge her bets, ensuring that her path to revenge would not be cut off, regardless of who held power in the future.

But to be honest, standing in front of this unbelievably handsome young man, Orange was still filled with trepidation.

Especially when she had something to hide, Ye Chenxing's scrutinizing gaze made even her composure tense.

To prevent her excessive nervousness from giving the other person any indication, she tried to distract herself. As she turned her head, she met Nana's gaze, who was also looking over at the same time.

"So this is what job interviews are like. She's no different from me, that's good." x2

"Alright, interview over. Our Star Tower needs members like you who are friendly to ordinary people, especially since you are top students from the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy. Welcome to the Star Tower."

Upon hearing this, the two immediately beamed with joy and said in unison, "Thank you, Tower Master!"

Ye Chenxing raised the corners of her lips slightly, revealing a "gentle" smile.

"In that case," he clapped his hands lightly, "please go downstairs to the room and fill out some information."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the subordinate pushed open the door and entered, respectfully turning to the side and raising his hand in a "please" gesture.

The two men followed their subordinate out of the meeting room. The moment the door closed behind them, they both breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed completely.

"call……"

The two locked eyes again.

"Why is she more nervous than me?" x2

Neither of them seemed to mind. Orange flashed a bright, cheerful smile and extended her hand to Nana: "From now on, we'll not only be classmates, but also colleagues. Please take good care of me!"

Nana paused for a moment, then forced a smile and nodded gently.

The two followed their subordinate downstairs and stopped in front of a door. The subordinate pushed open the door, stepped aside, and gestured for Ju Zi to enter.

"Miss Orange, please come in."

"Huh?" Orange was taken aback, then pointed to Nana beside her, "Aren't we coming together?"

The subordinate shook his head calmly: "I'm sorry, registration involves personal privacy and needs to be done privately. Miss Nana, please come with me to the next room."

"I see." Orange didn't think much of it and walked in confidently.

Nana watched her subordinate's figure disappear behind the door, then silently followed. Reaching the door next door, the subordinate pushed it open, maintaining the same respectful posture.

"Please come in."

Nana stepped into the room, and behind her, she heard a "click" as the door closed.

The room was very dark.

However, Nana didn't care. Her martial spirit was the ghost, and darkness actually made her feel more at ease. She stood there, blinked, and tentatively spoke:

"Um, is anyone there?"

"have."

A familiar male voice rang out in the darkness.

Suddenly, the lights came on.

Nana's pupils suddenly contracted. Standing in front of her was Ye Chenxing, who had just been sitting in the meeting room watching them leave.

"Wait for me..." Nana was completely stunned. "Tower Master, weren't you just...?"

"None of that matters." Ye Chenxing sat leisurely in the chair, her chin slightly raised.

"Please have a seat, Miss Holy Spirit Cult infiltrator."

!

The words, spoken lightly by Ye Chenxing, startled Nana!

It's been exposed.

Almost at the same instant, three spirit rings, two yellow and one purple, burst out from beneath her feet, and the Ghost Spirit possessed her.

However, the next second, she was horrified to find that her body was completely out of her control.

The spirit ring seemed to be forcibly pressed back by an invisible hand, and the martial spirit was forced to retract into the body.

She tried to retreat, but her feet wouldn't budge; she couldn't even lift a finger to take out a melee soul tool from her storage soul tool.

"I said, sit down."

Nana's legs moved uncontrollably, and she stiffly walked to the chair and sat down. Her face was filled with terror, and her breathing became rapid.

"What...what did you do?" Her voice trembled slightly.

What did Ye Chenxing do?

It's very simple. He simply unleashed his second soul skill, Mental Connection. Nana's ordinary Soul Master level mental power was utterly powerless against his Soul Saint level mental power. At this moment, she was like a puppet on a string, needing his permission even to move a single finger.

"It's nothing," Ye Chenxing said, his hands folded on his knees, his face still bearing that gentle smile. "I just wanted to talk to you. How much do you know about the Holy Spirit Cult? How many branches do they have in Mingdu right now?"

It's important to understand that in this timeline, the Holy Spirit Cult hadn't yet fully infiltrated the Sun Moon Empire as it did later in the original story. With Ye Chenxing around, the Sun Moon Empire, apart from Xu Tianran's faction, harbored even stronger resistance towards evil soul masters. The Holy Spirit Cult's life there was far more difficult than in the original story.

He wanted to know how far the Holy Spirit Cult had infiltrated.

Nana bit her lip, forcing herself to calm down, her voice turning colder: "What are you talking about? I don't understand. I didn't expect your Star Tower to be like this, secretly imprisoning students of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy?"

"Answer me, I don't want this question to turn into torture."

Nana gritted her teeth and remained silent.

Ye Chenxing wasn't in a hurry; he simply watched her quietly, then suddenly asked, "Haven't you considered that this might be your chance to get rid of them?"

"They let you get close to me, didn't you ever think about what the reason behind it was?"

Upon hearing this, Nana's pupils contracted slightly, and her expression began to show signs of struggle.

Fear, wariness, and wavering—a mix of emotions surged and churned in her eyes.

Finally, she deflated like a punctured balloon, her shoulders slumped, and her voice became hoarse:

"How did you know?"

Don't answer questions with questions.

Nana took a deep breath and began to explain the situation of the Holy Spirit Cult.

"I don't know much about the Holy Spirit Cult either. Before, she was directly arranged by an elder. A few years ago, a branch was established in Mingdu. There were only three or four core members, but there were more than ten members like me who were forced into it or who were peripheral members. Recently, the core members have been showing their faces less often."

"The last time I saw them was when they asked me to use various methods... to... get close to you."

Ye Chenxing raised an eyebrow.

Nana continued:

"The most powerful core member I've ever seen is probably at the level of a seven-ring Soul Saint. Even though he's only seven rings, he gives me a feeling of unfathomable depth."

"In this branch, the Seven-Ring Soul Saint I mentioned is called an Elder. Every time I see him, he wears a black hood over his face, with only his eyes showing. Apart from him, the other core members are called Holy Spirit Disciples. The peripheral members are called Holy Servants. I am now also considered a Holy Servant. Every time we go to the branch, we must first conceal our appearance. That is to say, even if we Holy Servants meet in ordinary times, it is difficult for us to recognize each other. Only the Elder knows our appearance."

"Alright, that's enough for me," Ye Chenxing interrupted Nana.

Ye Chenxing began to think. It was obvious that the Holy Spirit Cult was not yet as large as it was during Huo Yuhao's time in the original story. They were most likely still living in their old home in the Demon Forest, sticking together with the Evil Emperor for warmth.

His appearance allowed Kong Deming to emerge from seclusion ahead of schedule. As long as Ye Chenxing grows up, the Sun Moon Empire will have a guarantee of the Soul Masters it needs. This group of Level 9 Soul Masters will no longer have to reluctantly accept this ally. Apart from the current emperor and Xu Tianran, who are already deeply bound to them, the evil Soul Masters are currently in a state of complete dormancy.

There's no way around it; the Holy Spirit Cult is universally disliked. If it weren't for Xu Tianran forcibly binding the entire Sun Moon Empire with the Evil Soul Masters in the original story, even with two Limit Douluos, a Zhongli Wu with near-limit combat power, and a bunch of Super Douluos, they would still have to keep a low profile.

They knew that if they didn't cooperate with Xu Tianran, the Sun Moon Empire would inevitably become their enemy. This was evident from the attitudes of the many level-nine soul masters in the original story; if they were to truly emerge and wreak havoc on the continent, they would undoubtedly face a joint attack from the four nations.

Now that Zhong Liren has mysteriously disappeared, the Holy Spirit Cult is also unsure about Ye Chenxing's situation. Although they want to get rid of him as soon as possible, they also need to plan carefully. If they really send out multiple Title Douluos, or even Limit Douluos, not to mention whether they can fight against the Sun and Moon's linked soul tools and Kong Deming, even if they kill him, they cannot afford to start a full-scale war with the Sun and Moon.

So why has the Holy Spirit Cult been able to exist until now?

First of all, before Xu Tianran gained power in the original work, the Holy Spirit Cult was always in hiding. If Huo Yuhao hadn't learned about this organization during his exchange student period, none of the Three Kingdoms would have known that such an evil soul master organization existed that could easily destroy any one of them.

Secondly, people are selfish. Without overwhelming strength, no one is willing to stir up a hornet's nest like the Holy Spirit Cult. But once they start a war with the Sun and Moon, the Three Kingdoms will definitely join in, and the Evil Soul Masters will be the first to be wiped out.

However, since they have chosen to develop stealthily, Ye Chenxing is naturally happy with that. If they don't come out to cause trouble, he'll let them live a little longer on his side.

Prefer to wait until the late game? Prefer to focus on early game progression?

Who can outdevelop him!

Of course, this doesn't mean Ye Chenxing is afraid of them. If the Holy Spirit Cult really can't think straight and insists on taking the initiative, then so be it.

He'll have to tell them the stories behind the Command Seals he has on hand.

With a stroke of the pen, I'll explain to them why there were no evil spirit masters on this continent ten thousand years ago.

With a single stroke, let them experience firsthand how the number one power on the continent would perish ten thousand years later.