Jiang Shengyu smiled and said, "That's right."
"Are you not afraid that your girlfriend will despise you?" Elder Song questioned sharply.
"Sorry, but she won't."
Just as Elder Song finished speaking, Jiang Qingtong's voice came from the side. She walked over with a smile, greeting Elder Song politely.
When Elder Song saw Jiang Qingtong standing cheerfully beside Jiang Shengyu, everything suddenly became clear to her.
"You've been scheming against the Academy ever since the day you first arrived here, haven't you?" Elder Song's pupils contracted sharply as she stared at Jiang Qingtong in shock.
Jiang Qingtong shook her head. "No. I started planning before I even went to Shrek Academy."
"You ungrateful child! You've betrayed the trust that Elder Mu and all of us placed in you!" Elder Song shouted angrily, rushing to the cell door and gripping the iron bars.
"Trust?" Jiang Qingtong countered calmly. "Elder Song, have you ever truly trusted me? From the day I entered the Academy until now, you were the one who trusted me the least. But that doesn't matter anymore — your trust is no longer needed."
"You… what exactly are you two planning to do?" Elder Song demanded, her breathing heavy with rage.
Jiang Shengyu pulled Jiang Qingtong gently back behind him and faced Elder Song. "Don't you understand yet? Right now, all of the new-generation geniuses from the former Douluo Continent's three kingdoms are gathered in Mingdu! This is a heaven-sent opportunity for our Sun–Moon Empire!"
When Jiang Shengyu finished speaking, Elder Song finally understood. Her voice rose in anger:
"You can't do this! You'll ignite the fury of the entire continent! The Academy and the three kingdoms of the former Douluo Continent will never forgive you!"
"Then let's see if they can defeat the Sun–Moon Empire first," Jiang Shengyu said with a smile, taking Jiang Qingtong's hand as they turned to leave.
Just before stepping out of the dungeon, Jiang Shengyu suddenly turned back and looked at Elder Song.
"Elder Song, do you even know where you are right now?"
Elder Song froze, confusion flashing in her eyes.
Jiang Shengyu continued softly, "You're beneath the headquarters of the Spirit Hall."
"Spirit… Hall?" Elder Song's face went pale. The realization struck her — the Sun–Moon Empire's plan had begun nearly ten years ago.
She shouted after them, "You won't succeed! The Academy will stop you — just like four thousand years ago!"
Jiang Shengyu and Jiang Qingtong ignored her cries and walked out of the dungeon.
Looking up at the bright sun above, Jiang Qingtong sighed. "Such a lovely day."
"Cousin! Cousin! I knew I'd find you here!"
Huo Yuhao came running toward them, waving his hand energetically. When he finally reached them, he was out of breath.
Seeing his anxious expression, Jiang Shengyu asked, "You've made the device we asked for?"
Huo Yuhao nodded and took out a soul tool about the size of an orange from his storage device.
"This is the smallest we can make it for now. Any smaller, and the recording quality would be too poor. But there's a drawback — the image can't be stored for long. It can only retain up to three days of footage."
"That's enough!"
Jiang Shengyu looked surprised, while Jiang Qingtong patted Huo Yuhao's shoulder, praising, "Yuhao, you're incredible!"
Huo Yuhao blushed and scratched his head in embarrassment. "It's only because the idea came from you two. I just built it."
"Thinking and doing are equally important," Jiang Qingtong said with a gentle smile, her tone full of praise.
Huo Yuhao glanced at the dungeon and asked, "There's someone locked inside?"
"Mhm. It's Shrek Academy's Azure Eagle Douluo. Make sure no one finds out she's being held here," Jiang Shengyu replied seriously.
Huo Yuhao nodded. After handing them the recording soul tool, he excused himself and left.
Later, Jiang Qingtong summoned Juzi.
By the time Jiang Qingtong arrived, Juzi was already waiting. She raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. "You're early this time."
Juzi glanced at her and said, "Xu Tiannan has been too busy lately to bother with me. So when I got your message, I came right away. Tell me — what do you want from me this time?"
Jiang Qingtong took out the recording soul tool and handed it to Juzi, explaining a few things in a low voice.
After hearing the plan, Juzi's eyes widened in shock. "You're planning to take Xu Tiannan down? Then who's going to be emperor?"
"That's none of your concern. Just do as I say — capture proof of their conspiracy and bring it to me," Jiang Qingtong said, taking out two ninth-grade soul tools and giving them to Juzi.
"These are… two ninth-grade soul tools? You're just giving them to me?" Juzi asked in disbelief, staring at the items in her hands.
Jiang Qingtong shrugged. "What's the big deal? Working with us will bring you far greater benefits."
Juzi took a deep breath, then pocketed the two soul tools. "Fine. I'll get it done as soon as possible. But you'd better be careful — I've seen some evil soul masters entering and leaving the Crown Prince's residence lately."
Jiang Qingtong didn't seem surprised. She simply nodded. "I understand."
Zhongli Wu's appearance as an Ultimate Douluo had shaken Xu Tiannan's confidence again — which was understandable. The Holy Spirit Cult, after all, had three Ultimate Douluo openly supporting them. On the surface, their chances of victory looked overwhelming.
But their side was hardly weak either. Ultimate Douluo? Let them try to defeat the Snow Empress first.
Yan Shaozhe had been anxiously awaiting Elder Song's return. By right, she should have been back by now — but there was no sign of her. Could something have happened along the way?
"Teacher Xue, I've been uneasy lately. Do you think something's gone wrong?" Yan Shaozhe asked, frowning as he turned to the Snow Empress.
The Snow Empress gave him a sidelong glance. "Relax. Nothing will happen."
Reassured somewhat, Yan Shaozhe turned his gaze back to the arena.
At this moment, Shrek Academy's team had already stepped onto the stage, facing the Sun–Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy in the final match of this year's Soul Master Tournament.
The Sun–Moon team was led by Huo Yuhao, Ai Cao, and Jiang Nannan.
The Shrek team, standing opposite, was led by Jiang Shengyu, Jiang Qingtong, and Jiang Feixin. Both sides wore confident smiles.
"Cousin, Cousin — ready?" Huo Yuhao asked with a grin.
The two nodded. Jiang Feixin raised her hand, and the Golden Dragon Spear appeared in her grasp. With a sweeping motion, she turned, facing the remaining Shrek members.
Aside from Ning Tian, who had already sensed something was wrong, the others — Beibei, Xu Sanshi, and Xiao Xiao — all looked confused.
Jiang Shengyu slowly raised his hand, a series of soul rings rising beneath his feet — four black, one red — a terrifying configuration.
Under the reflection of the soul rings, his expression was calm and cold as he gazed down at the gathered soul masters from the former Douluo Continent's three nations.
In a low, resonant voice, he said:
"Everyone… welcome to Mingdu."
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