After the Sea God's Fate Blind Date Event ended, the Tian Yuan Pavilion held a meeting.
"Old Lin, please inform everyone about the situation." Zhu Ziyang sat at the head of the table, leaning back in his rocking chair, his hands resting on the armrests. His right hand gently tapped the armrest, making a crisp 'tap-tap' sound. With no discernible emotion on his face, he spoke.
"Alright!" Old Lin nodded, then informed the elders about the requests from the Tianhun Empire and the Star Luo Empire.
It turned out that ever since Crown Prince Xu Tianran took control of the Sun Moon Empire's power half a year ago, the Sun Moon Empire had begun active war preparations. Although they were very discreet, such a major event as war, no matter how well hidden, could not escape the notice of those with discerning eyes. Xu Tianran was a warmonger, a common understanding among the rulers of the former Douluo Three Kingdoms. Once Xu Tianran ascended to the throne, or rather, once he had integrated the internal forces of the Sun Moon Empire, he would inevitably launch a war.
However, facing war, the Tianhun Empire and the Star Luo Empire were not prepared. So, they came up with a desperate solution—yes, a desperate solution. They wanted to assassinate Xu Tianran. In Zhu Ziyang's view, this method was like drinking poison to quench thirst, because assassinating Xu Tianran could only delay the Sun Moon Empire's intention to wage war. Once the Sun Moon Empire recovered from the pain of losing its Emperor/Crown Prince, the former Douluo Three Kingdoms would only face even more furious retaliation from the Sun Moon Empire.
This was a bad move, and also the last struggle of the former Douluo Three Kingdoms!
Assassinating Xu Tianran would not cause any loss to the Sun Moon Empire's national strength; it would only push the Sun Moon Empire people who originally opposed war to the opposite side, thereby accelerating the Sun Moon Empire's war preparations.
Currently, the participants in this plan, known as the Beheading Plan, include three major forces: the Star Luo Empire's imperial family, the Tianhun Empire's imperial family, plus the Body Sect. These three forces are among the top powers on the Douluo Continent, but to assassinate the Crown Prince of the continent's strongest nation, they still need stronger forces to join.
Shrek Academy.
Therefore, the emperors of the two Empires all sent personal letters to the Tian Yuan Pavilion, inviting Shrek Academy to join this assassination operation. This Tian Yuan Pavilion meeting was to discuss whether Shrek Academy should join this assassination plan.
"Everyone, please share your thoughts." Zhu Ziyang lowered his head and looked at the elders with varied expressions, asking. Although he had already made up his mind, he still wanted to respect the elders' opinions.
"I believe the Academy should not interfere in this matter." Xian Lin'er was the first to express her view. She said, "This assassination plan is fundamentally in conflict with the Academy's Empress Plan. If the Academy joins this plan, regardless of success or failure, it will worsen the Academy's image in the hearts of the Sun Moon Empire's populace, which is detrimental to Sister Lexuan and Old Song's actions!"
"I disagree with Lin'er's opinion," Yan Shaozhe immediately retorted, "because no matter whether the Academy joins this assassination or not, as soon as the assassination begins, in the eyes of the Sun Moon Empire people, the Academy will be a participant, because we have been too deeply tied to the former Douluo Three Kingdoms over the years!"
"Shao Zhe is right. This old man believes that we cannot not participate," Old Zhuang said. "In the eyes of the former Douluo Three Kingdoms people, if such an important operation does not have Shrek Academy's participation, they will be very disappointed in the Academy. Regardless of the success or failure of the operation, it will cause a huge blow to the Academy's prestige.
More importantly, not participating will not make the Sun Moon Empire people trust the Academy, and it will also make the people of the former three Kingdoms suspicious of the Academy. This is a bad move, but we have no choice but to take it!"
"Alas!" Qian Duoduo sighed and said, "We are too deeply tied to the former Douluo Three Kingdoms, which makes it very difficult for us to gain the trust of the Sun Moon Empire's populace. Since it's difficult to gain their trust, then it doesn't matter if we deepen the misunderstanding."
It was clear that Qian Duoduo also agreed to join the plan to assassinate Xu Tianran.
"What about the Empress Plan then?" Xian Lin'er was a bit unwilling, as the Academy had invested a lot in the Empress Plan, and to give up now would be too regrettable. "Are we just going to abandon it? Sister Lexuan and Old Song have already taken control of the Imperial Moon Soul Engineer Legion and the Sun Moon Empire's South Sea Fleet. That's nearly two-fifths of the Sun Moon Empire's army! Are we just abandoning it like that?"
"Hehe!" Zhu Ziyang listened to everyone's thoughts and finally revealed his own. He said, "Of course, we cannot abandon the Empress Plan, and similarly, we cannot not assassinate Xu Tianran. From any perspective, Xu Tianran is an obstacle we must eliminate.
If Xu Tianran isn't killed, how can Sister Lexuan ascend to the throne and become Empress? If Xu Tianran isn't assassinated, how can the Sun Moon Empire have a legitimate reason to openly launch a war of unification? If a war of unification isn't launched, how can Sister Lexuan establish her prestige? If a war of unification isn't launched, how can the continent be unified? If the continent isn't unified, how can the Academy legitimately carry out the Yuntian Plan?"
Zhu Ziyang's eyes flickered, emitting a light that awed people.
The elders looked into Zhu Ziyang's eyes, their minds all shaken. Xuan Zi asked, "Ziyang, do you mean we're joining this operation?"
"No!" Zhu Ziyang chuckled and said, "We are not participating, but leading! Shrek Academy has always been the rule-maker and leader. How can we let others command us? Old Lin, send a reply to the two imperial families, informing them of our resolve and that this operation will be led by the Academy. I believe they will be very happy."
"Understood!" Old Lin nodded in response.
"Ziyang, let this old man go!" Xuan Zi volunteered, a look of eagerness on his face as he spoke.
"No problem." Zhu Ziyang immediately agreed with a smile upon hearing this. "At that time, Old Xuan and I will go to Mingdu together to participate in the Soul Master Competition. Senior Sister and Third Senior Brother will go to support Sister Lexuan and Old Song, and inform them both of our plan. Old Lin, Old Zhuang, Senior Brother, and Junior Sister, you will be responsible for overseeing the Academy!"
"Yes!" All the elders nodded in agreement, their faces showing enthusiasm and anticipation. Everyone knew that after this Soul Master Competition, the continent's situation would undergo earth-shattering changes, and the only ones leading these changes would be their Shrek Academy!
After the Tian Yuan Pavilion meeting, Zhu Ziyang sat alone in the hall, lost in thought.
The current situation of the Sun Moon Empire was very clear. Crown Prince Xu Tianran controlled three-fifths of the Empire's army and held legitimate authority, backed by the two behemoths, Mingde Hall and the Holy Spirit Church. Barring any surprises, his succession seemed to be a foregone conclusion.
Apart from Xu Tianran, there was another force within the Sun Moon Empire. On the surface, it was the Crown Prince faction led by the Third Prince Xu Tianci, but in reality, after the Third Prince was put under house arrest by Xu Tianran, this force was led by Princess Xu Tianxuan (Zhang Lexuan) of the Moon Lineage. They had a very high influence in several southern provinces of the Sun Moon Empire, which was Zhu Ziyang's confidence in Zhang Lexuan becoming the Empress of the Sun Moon Empire.
However, for Zhang Lexuan to successfully ascend the throne, in addition to the biggest obstacle, Xu Tianran, there were also some smaller obstacles.
Firstly, although Xu Tianran's brothers had all been killed by him, he still had a younger sister who also possessed the right of succession to the throne. This princess of the Sun Lineage was also on the list for this assassination operation; even if she couldn't be killed, she had to disappear.
Secondly, the Sun Lineage still held considerable prestige among the populace of the Sun Moon Empire. As a person of the Moon Lineage, Zhang Lexuan, to ascend to the throne, would first need to dismantle the Sun Lineage's prestige among the public. This task, which should have been the most difficult, would become very simple with He Caitou's help.
Finally, there were the neutral forces within the Sun Moon Empire, with Mingde Hall being the first and foremost. Although Mingde Hall's Hall Master, Jing Hongchen, was a staunch supporter of the Crown Prince, the true decision-maker of Mingde Hall was not Jing Hongchen, but a Super Douluo named Kong Deming. Coincidentally, this Kong Deming's title was Silver Moon, and his Spirit was the Moon! Kong Deming was not from the Moon Lineage, but his mother was, which meant that he himself could not remain uninvolved. Whether he could be won over was crucial to Zhang Lexuan's successful control of Mingde Hall, the core institution of Soul Engineer technology on the Douluo Continent.
These obstacles were not something Shrek Academy and Zhang Lexuan needed to confront directly for now. Only by first dealing with Xu Tianran could they have the opportunity to resolve these issues. And dealing with Xu Tianran was also the most difficult task; in Zhu Ziyang's view, it would be impossible to achieve relying solely on the former Douluo Three Kingdoms' rabble.
It still required Shrek Academy, or rather, for him to act personally!