Faced with this formation, even a normal t.i.tled Douluo would panic, and try to escape as quickly as he could. However, no matter how strong the Sun Moon Empire's defenses were, they were not designed to withstand Transcendent Douluo. Or at least, they were not prepared to handle eight of them!

Faced with the rapidly rising rays of light, Elder Xuan and the rest rose higher into the air. No one knew how many soul cannons the Sun Moon Empire had beneath them, so fighting them head-on was not a wise choice. However, no matter how powerful a soul cannon was, even if it was Cla.s.s 9, its range was limited. With their Transcendent Douluo cultivation, they could fly three thousand meters into the air, a height which would allow them to dodge most soul tools.

The eight figures rose into the sky. Even if a soul cannon could strike them, it could not overcome their defenses. Without the help of the destroyed high-alt.i.tude surveillance soul tools, it would be difficult to lock onto their positions.

However, Elder Xuan and the others did not relax. They had seen the strength of the Sun Moon Empire's soul tools in battle, and understood how terrifying their opponents were. In Elder Xuan's heart, he rejoiced at the fact that Huo Yuhao had destroyed the underground bunker. At that time, he had scolded the young man because that action might have impoverished many. However, now that he thought about it, he realized that had the huge warehouse not been destroyed, all the soul tools inside of it would have been deployed in war.  

Even Transcendent Douluo like them had to dodge to avoid getting hit by this many soul cannons. How would the soldiers of the three countries fare?

The high-alt.i.tude bombardment did not last for very long. After a few minutes, the strong light coming from the ground started to slowly fade. At the same time, ground-based aerial surveillance soul tools started to scan the air using huge swaths of shapeless light waves to find Elder Xuan and the others.

However, the range of these soul tools was only about  a thousand meters. If not, there would no need for those high-alt.i.tude surveillance soul tools. The Sun Moon Empire only possessed this level of technology at the moment.

After the ground-based aerial surveillance soul tools performed a scan, figures rose into the air and charged toward them in the sky.

All of these figures had a light on their backs, which came from flying-type soul tools. There were hundreds of them. One of them, in the center, carried a large surveillance soul tool.

Faced with a sudden attack, the Sun Moon Empire had come up with an all-around response. First, they bombarded their targets with all their might. Then, they used ground-based aerial surveillance soul tools to scan for them. Finally, they deployed their Aerial Warfare Legion. 

Their plans were very well done.

However, their enemies today were nearly invincible. If the Sun Moon Empire's soul engineering legions were powerful enough to resist the rest of the world, the Sun Moon Empire would not have had to wait to invade the other empires, or form an alliance with evil soul masters. 

Hence, when Elder Xuan appeared with a smile in front of the three hundred members of the Aerial Warfare Legion, their end was near.

Hundreds of soul cannons open up on Elder Xuan. In this legion, the most powerful soul engineer was at least Cla.s.s 7.

However, faced with a powerful existence like a Rank 98 t.i.tled Douluo, everything they did was futile.

Elder Xuan did not like killing, so he did not kill them straight away, but instead used his domain-type Gravity Control. All of the soldiers fell to the ground like flies that been doused with insecticide.

The other elders did not slack either. Discussion and action were separate matters.

Explosions rang out from the ground below. According to the unspoken rules of the continent, t.i.tled Douluo and high-level soul engineers would not attack ordinary people. This was why Elder Song did not want to attack just now.

However, Elder Xuan had found a loophole. Their target was naturally not the ordinary soldiers of the Sun Moon Empire. However, faced with an attack by the aerial soul engineers, Elder Xuan naturally would not show mercy. The other elders did not kill, but instead tried to cause as much destruction as possible.

While the soul cannon bombardment just now was powerful, it also revealed the locations of the soul cannons the Sun Moon Empire had installed. Hence, they became targets for the many Transcendent Douluo. Beyond the sites of the soul cannons, they also attacked granaries and ammunition warehouses.

That night was a nightmare for the Sun Moon Empire's border troops stationed near the Heavenly Soul Empire. 

Explosions boomed from midnight to dawn. When the sun rose once more, the main camp of the Sun Moon Empire was completely ruined.

How could there be no Cla.s.s 9 soul engineers in charge of such an important camp? However, the two Cla.s.s 9 soul engineers in charge there could do nothing in the face of eight Transcendent Douluo. Furthermore, the attack took place at night. Without the high-alt.i.tude surveillance soul tools, how could they concentrate their fire on the elders of the Sea G.o.d's Pavilion?

War had yet to break out, but Shrek Academy was already using its strength to demonstrate to the Sun Moon Empire that soul masters were still the most powerful weapons of war!

------

Elder Xuan and the other elders did not hide their ident.i.ties. Soon, news of this destruction spread throughout the Sun Moon Empire.

"Smas.h.!.+" A delicate tea bottle was shattered against the ground.

Xu Tianran was so enraged that his face was pale. "What the h.e.l.l were the border troops doing? Four hundred soul engineers are injured or dead. A huge amount of soul cannons and ammunition were lost. Fools, a bunch of fools!"

Ju Zi sat next to Xu Tianran, clad in light-golden regalia, and was silent.

After Xu Tianran ascended to the throne, he named her his empress. Her position was unlike before.

After Xu Tianran was done venting his anger, he calmed down, and a smile crept across the corner of his mouth as he said, "Shrek, have you finally decided to strike? Someone go and summon the Imperial Tutor to discuss this matter."

"Yes!" the guards outside replied frightfully.

"Empress, what do you think?" Xu Tianran asked Ju Zi.

Ju Zi stood up, walked behind Xu Tianran, and ma.s.saged his shoulders, saying, "Your Majesty, please don't be too angry. This matter, to me, appears strange. While Shrek Academy is the top school on the continent, they do not belong to any country. Everyone knows that Shrek Academy is independent, and their position is exceptional. This time, their actions should be a form of retaliation against us for capturing the partic.i.p.ants of the tournament."

"They want to force me to release them?" Xu Tianran's eyes narrowed into slits.

Ju Zi nodded and said, "I believe that to be the case. They'll continue to attack. Faced with these powerful soul masters, it is indeed impossible to fight back. They rely on the border with the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Star Luo Empire, which makes it hard for us to strike back at them."

Xu Tianran chuckled coldly and said, "Do they want to see who is more destructive? In that case, no one can beat evil soul masters. Since they want to unleash destruction, I shall do it, too! Let's see who will crack first."

Ju Zi shook her head and said, "No, Your Majesty, you can't do that. We aren't ready yet. If we do that, we'll be provoking the war ahead of schedule. While the Holy Ghost Church is powerful, they cannot fight all the soul masters of the original three countries of the continent. This may be a trap set by our opponents. If the Holy Ghost Church suffers a major defeat, it will not do us any good."

Xu Tianran was ultimately a crafty leader. Just now, anger had made him lose his reason, but he gradually calmed down and patted Ju Zi's hand. "With you as my empress, I'm blessed indeed. Tell me, what should we do?"

A murderous aura flashed in her eyes as she said, "Your Majesty, our empire still has a stockpile of Cla.s.s 9 stationary soul cannons. There are some that can shoot into the sky, right?"

Xu Tianran's eyes lit up as he said, "Are you saying we should intimidate them?"

"Yes! Kill one to scare a hundred. This will prevent them from being so arrogant. There are some soul masters who have yet to taste the might of a Cla.s.s 9 stationary soul cannon."

------

A clear breeze intermingled with the aroma of nature. Insects and birds chirped in the forest, and sunlight cascaded down, casting faint rays that could not penetrate the thick foliage.

Underneath a tree so wide that it would require at least ten people to surround it, sat a person.

Her powdery-blue long hair hung loosely behind her back. As she was sitting down, her hair brushed the ground. Her eyes were shut, her long eyebrows curled slightly, and her nose was straight. Her skin was pale white, and her lips were supple. If 'beauty' had a human form, this was it.

Her long, slender legs were crossed as she sat straight. From the side, one could see her round, heaving posterior. Her slender figure, which stretched from her waist to her posterior, would attract the attention of any man.

Even though her eyes were closed, she emitted an icy-cold aura that deterred most beasts and men from approaching her. If one could sense the auras nearby, one would realize that apart from birds and insects, there were no large animals.

This was one of the most mysterious and dangerous places in the Douluo Continent. Soul masters called it the Slaughtering Grounds, as it was the core region of the Great Star Dou Forest. To humans, this was a deadly place. Even Transcendent Douluo would not dare to come to this place without preparation, because half of the Ten Great Savage Beasts of the Douluo Continent lived here. They each had extraordinary abilities, and were as intelligent as humans. Furthermore, they could also command the many powerful soul beasts inside the Great Star Dou Forest.

Normally, a hundred-thousand year soul beast was equivalent to a t.i.tled Douluo. In terms of strength, it depended on the innate skills of the individual soul beast, just like how it depended on the martial soul and soul skills of a t.i.tled Douluo.