thefictionvixens Chapter 118 Deploying the Fighting Spirit
Chapter 118 Deploying the Fighting Spirit
Chapter 118 Deploying the Fighting Spirit
After a fierce battle that afternoon, Huo Yuhao left with Tianmeng.
Huo Yuhao said that Tianmeng could live with him in his dormitory, and there was no need to make separate arrangements.
Xue Xin was naturally delighted with Huo Yuhao's suggestion.
After the battle this afternoon, he also went to try out Tianmeng's Heartstring Resonance skill.
That wondrous spiritual connection deeply moved Xuexin.
Especially after he experienced both shared mental detection and resonance of the heartstrings, he instantly realized its strategic value.
These two abilities are absolutely crucial.
Even though Huo Yuhao didn't say anything, Xuexin was thinking about how to suggest that Huo Yuhao agree to be Tianmeng's roommate.
He hoped that Huo Yuhao and Tianmeng could form a fixed partnership to jointly study the tactical applications of shared mental detection and heartstring resonance.
After watching the two of them leave, Xuexin immediately went to the palace to report the news about Tianmeng to Xueheng.
After Huo Yuhao and Tianmeng returned to their dormitory, Tianmeng immediately dispelled her human form disguise and transformed into her fist-sized true form, gently landing on Huo Yuhao's shoulder.
"Brother Hao, from now on we can act together openly and legitimately."
Huo Yuhao reached out and poked Tianmeng's head: "After the Soul Master Competition ends, you'll be ready to go to the battlefield with me."
Tianmeng immediately showed a puzzled expression.
Huo Yuhao explained that the combination of shared mental detection and resonance of the heartstrings has immeasurable value for the military.
After the Soul Master Competition ends, the Heavenly Soul Empire will inevitably accelerate its military deployment in the face of the turbulent situation on the continent.
Huo Yuhao and Tianmeng's abilities will become crucial on the battlefield.
Therefore, Huo Yuhao and Tianmeng will inevitably go to the front line under the protection of Du Busi to allow the imperial army to adapt to their abilities in advance.
However, according to Huo Yuhao's estimation, the most likely place for the two of them to go is the border battlefield between Tianhun and Douling.
The border between Tianhun and Riyue is where the elite forces of both countries gather. Sending two strategic talents there rashly would be too risky.
The border between the Heavenly Soul and the Fighting Spirit is relatively safe.
That place has always served as a training ground for the Heavenly Soul Empire, making it more suitable for them to hone their combat skills.
They will only be transferred to more important battlefields after their combat capabilities with the new recruits have been fully proven.
After listening to Huo Yuhao's analysis, Tianmeng was not excited at all; instead, she showed a hint of worry.
"Brother Hao," he said, "doesn't that mean a war is about to break out?"
Huo Yuhao shook his head.
"According to the strategic plan of the Heavenly Soul, it will not launch a large-scale war rashly before making a breakthrough in the forging of the Heart Soul."
"At the same time, in order to ensure that the Sun Moon Empire does not launch a war during this period, He Caitou's identity must be used effectively."
Huo Yuhao simulated a map of the Heavenly Soul Empire in his Niwan Palace: "Recently, the Douling Empire has been making frequent moves."
According to the discussions within the Heavenly Soul Empire, they believe that the sudden increase in activity by the traditionally weak Douling must be due to the support of a powerful force.
It's either Shrek Academy, or the Star Luo Empire, or both.
Someone wants to make the already murky waters of Douluo Continent even more murky.
Huo Yuhao traced his finger across the map: "Therefore, Tianhun must be prepared for both possibilities."
"On the one hand, we must accelerate the research on the forging of the mind and soul, and strive to break through the technical bottleneck in the shortest possible time."
"On the other hand, it is necessary to demonstrate sufficient power at the border to deter those who seek to harm others."
"And the border battlefield of the Battle Spirit Line, which serves as a training ground, is the best stage for Tianhun to demonstrate its strength."
The Heavenly Soul Empire has begun planning to plunge the Fighting Spirit Empire into internal strife after the Soul Master Competition concludes.
Even though Dou Ling's strength was weak to begin with, the Heavenly Soul Empire did not want to have too much energy tied up in this backyard in the future great war.
Therefore, weakening the Douling Empire is of paramount importance.
Some things are considered top secret among the general public and even among the middle and upper classes.
But to those at the top, it's as if they're transparent.
In the previous dynasty of Douling, there was a princess named Xue Lingxun.
At the height of her favor, she was bestowed with a necklace by the former emperor, symbolizing her status as a prince.
There are only a handful of necklaces like this in the entire Douling Empire.
Therefore, Xue Lingxun was a key figure in the Heavenly Soul Royal Family at that time.
However, just over a decade ago, this beloved former princess suddenly disappeared without a trace, as if she had vanished into thin air.
This matter was originally an unsolved mystery.
The Douling Empire has never publicly released any information about Xue Lingxun.
Therefore, after conducting an investigation for a few days, Tianhun forgot about the matter.
Even the Fighting Spirits themselves don't care about the princess's whereabouts, so why are we, the Heavenly Souls, so eager to investigate?
Anyway, Xue Lingxun's talent and political skills are not very good.
However, when the Heavenly Soul Empire launched the war to exterminate evil souls, and the Body Sect, as its representative, invited a group of reclusive sects, especially the Xuanming Sect, which claimed to be a reclusive sect but often sold pills outside, they discovered something interesting.
The person in charge of receiving Jin Peng at that time was not the sect leader of the Xuanming Sect.
Instead, it was Xu Changyue, the eldest son of Xu Taixuan, the sect leader of the Xuanming Sect.
This was nothing unusual; it's normal for the sect leader to be in seclusion and unable to receive guests.
However, just as Jin Peng left the Xuanming Sect and stopped to rest in the city, he inadvertently spotted Xu Taixuan coming from the east.
The Xuanming Sect is located on the eastern border of the Tianhun Empire, on a huge island in the middle of a lake called Xuanwu Lake.
But Xu Taixuan returned from the eastern horizon. What does this signify?
He went to the Douling Empire.
If that were all, Jin Peng wouldn't have thought much of it.
After all, the Xuanming Sect deals in elixirs, while the Douling Empire is rich in resources and produces a variety of spiritual herbs.
It's perfectly normal for the Xuanming Sect to have transactions with them.
However, the sect leader went out to the Douling Empire to negotiate a deal. This matter should be stated directly. What is there to hide?
Why lie and say you're in seclusion?
Jin Peng keenly sensed that something was amiss.
Upon returning to Tiandou City, Jin Peng immediately reported the matter.
The Heavenly Soul Empire attaches great importance to this matter.
Because if a sect that is skilled in making all kinds of pills, and can even make Xuan Shui Pills, which can improve the talent of Soul Masters, were to collude with the Dou Ling Empire, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Xue Heng quickly assembled his intelligence department to launch a secret investigation into the Xuanming Sect and Lingdou City.
After months of relentless investigation by the Heavenly Soul Empire, a startling piece of news has surfaced.
Princess Xue Lingxun of Douling actually eloped with someone!
This was originally an unexpected outcome, and it can also be considered a resolution to a trivial unsolved case from many years ago.
However, as the investigation deepened, the Heavenly Soul Empire was surprised to discover that Xue Lingxun's eloped partner was very likely Xu Taixuan, the sect leader of the Xuanming Sect.
Considering the age of Xu Taixuan's eldest son, Xu Changyue, it's surprising that it matches the timeline after Xue Lingxun's disappearance.
Tianmeng's eyes widened: "Brother Hao, do you mean the Heavenly Soul Empire wants to support the Xuanming Sect and seize power in the Spirit Battle?"
Yes and no.
Huo Yuhao shook his head and said, "The Douling royal family is best at fighting amongst themselves. They are much better at fighting among themselves than outsiders."
If the Heavenly Soul Empire dealt with the Sun Moon Empire by sending He Caitou, the former crown prince, back to the country, plunging them into a succession crisis, then the Star Luo Empire used a divisive tactic to sow discord between the White Tiger Duke's Mansion and the royal family.
So, for the Douling Empire, the strategy was to stir up trouble and make the Douling royal family fall into chaos.
The so-called "beating the grass to alert the snake" refers to the fact that after the Soul Master Competition, the Heavenly Soul Empire will carefully plan a skirmish on the border of the Spirit Battle.
The main characters in this skirmish were Huo Yuhao and the new recruits assisted by Tianmeng.
The aim was to instill fear in the Douling royal family, thereby prompting them to seek help from all sides and strengthen the border defenses.
At that time, Shrek Academy, having been revealed to be connected to the former Crown Prince of Sun and Moon, would inevitably be preoccupied with its own problems and unable to help Dou Ling.
Moreover, even if Shrek Academy wanted to help, would Douling dare to let them uphold justice because of He Caitou's past record?
Did Shrek Academy still have the support of the people to uphold justice on the mainland back then?
Don't forget, Xu Sanshi is known as one of the twin stars of Shrek Academy's outer courtyard.
Shrek dares to covet the throne of the Sun and Moon Kingdom, so who can guarantee that Xu Sanshi might also be one of their pawns?
Therefore, the Douling royal family, which is extremely suspicious, would certainly not seek help from Shrek Academy.
And if you ask Xingluo for help.
As long as Douling doesn't want the potential "Star Spirit Alliance" between them and Xingluo to be exposed, they will never let a border skirmish cause trouble.
They readily sought help from the Star Luo Empire.
Moreover, they request Xingluo's assistance for every minor conflict. To the suspicious Douling royal family, wouldn't this give Xingluo an excuse to station troops in Douling?
As a result, it seems that the Douling Empire has no help left.
But let's not forget that there are capitulationists everywhere.
At that time, the surrender faction within the Heavenly Soul system of Douling will most likely choose Xue Lingxun as their new political figurehead.
It's obvious to anyone with eyes that a great battle is inevitable between the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Sun Moon Empire in the future.
The Heavenly Soul Empire would absolutely not allow the Fighting Spirit Empire to exist before the final battle began.
At that time, there will only be two possible outcomes for the Douling Empire.
First, it was annexed by the Heavenly Soul Empire.
Second, it was swallowed up by Xingluo, who were trying to survive at the extreme limit.
As for the Sun Moon Empire, by the time they were able to reach the Douling Kingdom, Douling would have long since ceased to exist.
The possible existence of the Celestial Alliance is nothing more than the dying struggle of the Douling Empire.
As long as Xu Jiawei isn't stupid, he'll definitely try every means to delay the Douling Empire's alliance request.
Therefore, what the surrender faction of Douling needs to do is to find a new way out for themselves before Douling is destroyed.
As a princess of the previous dynasty and married to the Xuanming Sect of Tianhun, Xue Lingxun was undoubtedly the best banner for the surrender faction of the Tianhun system in the Douling Empire.
Tianmeng said blankly, "So what Tianhun has to do is force Douling to push Xue Lingxun, the former princess, to the forefront."
"And at that time, the surrender faction of the Heavenly Soul system will form a new force around Xue Lingxun and take the initiative to cooperate with Heavenly Soul?"
Huo Yuhao nodded: "You're half right."
"The reason is that as long as the Heavenly Soul maintains a high-pressure stance at the border, the Douling will disintegrate on its own."
"The reason why the other half is wrong is that the true goal of the Heavenly Soul is to seize the Battle Spirit ahead of time."
"Douling has too many resources, but it doesn't have enough strength to protect them. If Shrek Academy hadn't intervened all these years, Douling would have been divided up by Tianhun and Xingluo long ago."
"If we simply use the surrender faction to support the pro-Heaven Soul forces to come to power, it will only provoke the already uneasy Star Luo Empire."
Huo Yuhao's finger traced a crack on the map.
"Therefore, the best outcome is to first give some of the profits to Xingluo."
"Let the Douling be divided into two: the Beidouling, which is close to the Heavenly Soul, and the Nandouling, which is close to the Star Luo."
"If Xingluo and Douling are truly allied, Xingluo will not stand idly by while Douling is in turmoil, because Xu Jiawei must muddy the waters to ensure Xingluo's greatest interests in the future."
"But under what banner should they go to help Douling suppress the internal strife?"
"Unless they send troops under the pretext of upholding the orthodoxy of the Douling, but that would only hasten the collapse of the Douling."
"Because as long as they intervene under the guise of upholding orthodoxy, it will inevitably provoke all other factions. This labels them as unorthodox, and they will not agree to it."
Therefore, Xingluo only had two choices at that time.
First, by standing idly by while Douling was in turmoil, the Tianhun Empire began to enjoy smooth sailing.
Secondly, they decided to go all the way and seize the opportunity to take over a portion of the Douling Empire to strengthen their own power.
Huo Yuhao retrieved the simulated map: "However, none of this can be achieved in the short term."
"And the primary factor in achieving this goal is winning the Soul Master Competition."
"Even if Shrek is exposed because of the He Cai Tou incident, they can still have the possibility of being cleared of their past because of the championship title in future strategic planning."
"As long as Shrek's reputation isn't completely ruined, there's always a chance to turn things around."
Tianmeng sighed, "It's a pity their golden tree is too difficult to deal with."
"By the way, Brother Hao," Tianmeng suddenly said, "what about the Xuanming Sect then?"
Huo Yuhao frowned: "As for the Xuanming Sect, the royal family hasn't sent me much information yet."
Based on the Heavenly Soul's battle spirit layout, Huo Yuhao began to consider the arrangements for the Xuanming Sect.
Huo Yuhao analyzed two possibilities regarding the relationship between Xue Lingxun and the Xuanming Sect.
First, the Xuanming Sect refused Xue Lingxun's request to aid the Douling Empire, choosing instead to protect itself.
This would significantly diminish Xue Lingxun's political value, hindering the implementation of Tianhun's subsequent plans.
After all, the core of the surrender faction of the Douling Heavenly Soul system is because Xue Lingxun's husband is the sect leader of a hidden sect in the Heavenly Soul Empire, and he will be able to speak to the Heavenly Soul Empire in the future.
Second, the Xuanming Sect secretly supports Xue Lingxun, while the Tianhun Empire feigns ignorance, waiting to settle accounts with the Xuanming Sect later.
After all, it is unacceptable for the current Heavenly Soul Empire that a sect capable of producing Xuan Shui Pills would refuse to cooperate with Heavenly Soul under the guise of seclusion.
Tianmeng said blankly, "Are there so many schemes hidden behind this?"
"The Heavenly Soul Empire is trying to use the Xuanming Sect as an example, to make an example of them."
Huo Yuhao smiled.
Actually, he also had a headache when he first came into contact with these things.
But there was no other way; the situation on the mainland was changing too fast, and he didn't have the overwhelming combat power to do so. He could only force himself to learn these things.
If you have the ability, who would want to use their brain?