Chapter 167 Someone Actually Wants to Assassinate Huo Yuhao?
She had already lost a child due to Xuan Zi's negligence, and in her grief, Dai Hao hadn't even come to console her instead, he went to visit a dead woman's grave.
Zhao Dashan looked at the Duchess, thinking to himself:
"Wasn't it you and your people who forced Huo Yuhao into joining the Sun Moon Empire?
"Did you really expect him to stay in Star Luo and keep suffering?"
"Life always finds a way."
Of course, he only dared to think these things in his mind.
He would never say them aloud, especially not in front of the Duchess.
Her temper was infamous, and if he misspoke, he would surely be punished.
Zhao Dashan had come to gain rewards, not to suffer consequences.
The Duchess waved her hand dismissively.
"Leave. This information is worth a Secret Law Soul Bone. Take this token and claim your reward from my steward."
She tossed a black token toward him.
Zhao Dashan's eyes lit up with joy.
He quickly caught the token and bowed.
"Thank you, My Lady."
Without another word, he turned and swiftly left.
Now alone with her Soul Douluo guard, the Duchess turned to him and asked:
"Zhang Tieshan, if I order you to assassinate Huo Yuhao, what are your chances of success?"
To her, if Huo Yuhao hadn't exposed the truth about Huo Yun'er during the Soul Master Tournament, then her relationship with Dai Hao wouldn't have fallen apart.
Everything was Huo Yun'er and Huo Yuhao's fault.
And judging from Huo Yuhao's personality, he would surely seek revenge against her in the future.
Rather than letting him grow stronger, it was better to eliminate him early.
The elderly guard, Zhang Tieshan, was stunned.
"She wants me to assassinate Huo Yuhao? Is she joking?
"That boy is the Sun Moon Empire's genius he's definitely under their protection."
"To even attempt an assassination, I'd have to blend in unnoticed… but Mingde Hall is heavily guarded. There's no chance."
Besides, assassinations were usually carried out by individuals far stronger than their target.
He was just a Soul Douluo, not an Ultimate Douluo.
His job was to protect the Duchess, not embark on suicidal missions in a foreign empire.
After some thought, Zhang Tieshan sighed and said:
"I have less than a 10% chance of success."
The Duchess's expression darkened.
Zhang Tieshan patiently explained.
"Yes. Individually, I am far stronger than Huo Yuhao. I am a Soul Douluo, while he is merely a Soul King.
However, I have no opportunity to attack him alone.
If I go to the Sun Moon Empire and make a move, I'll be dead before I even get close to him."
"If you alone can't do it, then gather a team!
I don't care how much it costs I want Huo Yuhao dead!"
The Duchess's eyes burned with hatred.
"Understood."
Zhang Tieshan had no choice but to obey.
He was already mentally preparing to stake out the Sun Moon Empire for an extended period.
He left the Duke's Mansion and immediately took flight toward a specific location in Star Luo City.
The capital had its own assassin organizations, mostly used by nobles to eliminate rivals for inheritance.
The group he sought was called Sunfire (Rì Yào, 日曜).
Unlike other organizations, Sunfire didn't accept money.
They only took payment in the form of live soul beasts or rare metals from the Star Luo Empire.
This was suspicious, but Zhang Tieshan didn't care.
Arriving at a luxurious auction house, he quickly made his way to the private office of the auction house's boss.
The boss was a fat man who was staring intently at a map of Star Luo Empire.
He was known as Sunfire One the leader of the Sunfire Organization.
Zhang Tieshan got straight to the point.
"Sunfire One, I need assassins for a mission."
Sunfire One turned around and smiled.
"Oh? Who do you want eliminated? A noble's illegitimate child, perhaps?"
"Not an illegitimate child."
Zhang Tieshan waved his hand dismissively.
"The target is Huo Yuhao of the Sun Moon Empire."
Sunfire One's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Oh? Huo Yuhao?
You do realize that killing him won't be cheap?"
Zhang Tieshan radiated his aura, revealing eight soul rings two yellow, two purple, and four black.
"You'll get everything you need after the job is done."
He was implying that he had powerful backers.
Sunfire One grinned.
"Interesting.
I believe you can pay our price… but we need time to evaluate the difficulty of the mission.
Give us seven days we'll conduct an assessment, and then we'll name our price."
"Fine."
Zhang Tieshan nodded and quickly left.
Once he was gone, Sunfire One's smile vanished.
"I never expected someone to target Huo Yuhao…"
"Looks like I need to investigate this Zhang Tieshan."
"And then… I must report this to Huo Yuhao."
Unbeknownst to Zhang Tieshan, the Sunfire Organization was actually a subsidiary of Mingde Hall.
Mingde Hall was one of the three great powers of Douluo Continent, so it was natural for it to have various secret branches.
Sunfire's true purpose wasn't assassination it specialized in gathering rare metals, capturing soul beasts, and intelligence gathering.
The assassin identity was just a cover.
Even more importantly, Sunfire One himself was a member of the Spirit Pagoda.
His true appearance was hidden through disguise, so outsiders never recognized him.
Battle Arena
Ji Juechen stood in the center of the battlefield, gripping his sword.
His expression was calm, but his gaze was filled with intensity as he looked toward Meng Hongchen and the others.
"Meng Hongchen, when will Huo Yuhao arrive?"
"Today is our scheduled battle, and I've been looking forward to it."
Meng Hongchen chuckled.
"Ji Juechen, be patient.
As far as I know, Yuhao has been quite busy lately.
He's probably working on some breakthrough in soul tool development.
Besides, your agreement was to fight today, not at any specific hour."
"Very well. I shall wait here."
Ji Juechen was incredibly patient not showing a hint of impatience.
After some time, a figure appeared in the sky.
Huo Yuhao descended, swiftly putting away his flying soul tool as he landed.
He looked at Ji Juechen and asked:
"Ji Juechen, when did you get here?"
He had been researching soul tools with Xuan Ziwen, but since today was his duel, he had wrapped up his work early and left the lab.
Ji Juechen's sharp eyes locked onto Huo Yuhao.
"That doesn't matter.
What matters is our battle!"
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