The Star Luo Empire was experiencing a period of great turmoil.
First, the Star Luo, a diplomatic vessel sent to the Douluo Continent, was attacked by sea soul beasts, resulting in heavy casualties among the delegation.
Then, in their attempt to seize Xia Yi's Earth Cauldron, the Star Luo Empire triggered a massive battle in Star Luo City involving the Green Skull Organization and the Holy Spirit Cult. However, instead of reaping any benefits, they ended up losing their national treasure—the Vajra Bracelet—for nothing.
Not long after, Xia Yi slaughtered nearly all Tang Sect disciples who had entered the Dragon Valley Small World.
Even though these disciples were part of the Tang Sect, they were still considered Star Luo Empire's own talented individuals.
And now, to make matters worse, news had broken out that the ancestral tombs of the royal family had been desecrated.
Meanwhile, the Sun-Moon Federation was deeply displeased that the Star Luo Empire had detained a member of their exchange delegation without permission.
"Damn it! I may not be able to control the Tang Sect, Shrek Academy, or the Spirit Pagoda… but do you think I can't handle a mere Star Luo Empire?"
After multiple failed negotiations, the Sun-Moon Federation began mobilizing its forces—the Poseidon Legion had already set out in full force.
It was only at this point that many people realized: The Sun-Moon Federation was using this as a pretext to launch a war against the Star Luo Empire.
Their true goal was to unify the entire continent.
In the past, if the Sun-Moon Federation ever showed the slightest intent to take military action against Star Luo Empire, Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect would have immediately intervened under the guise of "maintaining peace."
But now, Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect had their own crises to deal with—they had no time to care about the Star Luo Empire.
At this moment, Tang Sect was engaged in negotiations with the Spirit Pagoda.
It had already been a week since the Spirit Pagoda sanctioned the Tang Sect, and some of its disciples were already struggling to obtain spirit souls.
Zhang Xin wanted to enlist Yun Ming's help to pressure the Spirit Pagoda, but right now, Shrek Academy was leaderless.
Ever since Yun Ming had angrily left the entrance of Dragon Valley Small World, he had completely disappeared.
Even Zhang Xin himself had no idea where Yun Ming was.
He didn't even know if Yun Ming had returned to Douluo Continent.
"It's all Yali's fault! If it weren't for her, we wouldn't be in this mess!" Zhang Xin gritted his teeth, his expression full of rage. "Her self-righteous kindness didn't just doom Shrek Academy—it dragged the entire Tang Sect down with it!"
If Yali hadn't stopped Yun Ming, Xia Yi would likely already be dead.
If that had happened, Yun Ming and the Tang Sect could have jointly pressured the Spirit Pagoda.
At that point, the situation would have been settled, and the Spirit Pagoda would have had no choice but to comply.
But now, the Spirit Pagoda refused to budge—they insisted that the Tang Sect must first revoke the kill order on Xia Yi and apologize for the persecution of Xia Yi by Na'er before they would lift their sanctions.
Of course, at this point, the kill order was meaningless.
Xia Yi was openly staying at the Star Luo Hotel, and no one in the Tang Sect dared to make a move against him.
Yet, the Tang Sect still refused to revoke the order.
The Tang Sect had existed for 20,000 years—once a kill order was issued, as long as the target was still alive, it could not be easily withdrawn.
Otherwise, how would the Tang Sect maintain its reputation?
Zhang Xin quickly devised a solution.
"Send the order! From now on, the following companies will shut down: Datang Xuanshi Corporation, Datang Glory Corporation, Tiantang Wanli Corporation, 35 Manufacturing, Golden Road Express… All Tang Sect's civilian businesses will cease production and sales of soul device identification equipment. This will force the Sun-Moon Federation's government to pressure the Spirit Pagoda into lifting the sanctions."
The Tang Sect wasn't just a weapons manufacturer.
Most of its publicly known companies produced civilian soul devices.
From large-scale soul devices and soul-guided automobiles to basic items like soul-guided light bulbs, they covered a wide range of industries—even agriculture and services.
However, the true core of the Tang Sect was its underground arms factories.
These public-facing companies were merely a cover for its hidden military operations.
Even so, if all these companies suddenly shut down, it would cause major disruptions that would give the Sun-Moon Federation's government a massive headache.
After all, if the Tang Sect's businesses closed, many other companies—which relied on them for raw materials, components, and technology—would also suffer.
Zhang Xin was betting on this exact leverage to force the Sun-Moon Federation to pressure the Spirit Pagoda.
"What about the employees?" a Tang Sect elder asked.
Tang Sect's businesses employed millions across various cities.
If the companies shut down, how would all these employees be handled?
Zhang Xin narrowed his eyes. "Suspend them without pay!"
The elder's face darkened. "'Suspend them without pay'? Most of these people aren't soul masters. For many of them, their entire families depend on a single paycheck. Cutting off their salaries out of nowhere is the same as pushing them into desperation!"
Unlike soul masters, ordinary people could easily fall into extreme poverty.
Even Yuanen Yehui, who had left home at a young age, still had savings dozens of times greater than the average household before she had even obtained her one-word battle armor.
For ordinary families, losing a job—especially without warning—could throw their entire lives into chaos.
Though the Douluo Continent was ruled by soul masters, the majority of its population were ordinary people.
While they couldn't threaten the federal government, if civil unrest broke out, it would be difficult to control.
"That's the point," Zhang Xin said coldly. "If they have nowhere else to turn, they will cause trouble for the government. Then the Federation will finally understand how important the Tang Sect is."
With Zhang Xin's order, all Tang Sect companies and factories were immediately shut down, and all employees were forcibly dismissed.
By the time the Sun-Moon Federation government realized what had happened, the negative effects of the shutdown had already started spreading.
Not only were many essential goods suddenly in short supply, causing prices to skyrocket, but there was also a rise in crime due to mass unemployment.
Despite this, Zhang Xin brazenly went on national television to make a public statement:
He declared that the Tang Sect was forced to shut down its businesses due to the Spirit Pagoda's sanctions, claiming that the lack of critical resources made it impossible to continue operations.
He further stated that as soon as the Spirit Pagoda lifted the sanctions, all Tang Sect businesses would resume production immediately.
Shameless!
That was everyone's first reaction.
The Spirit Pagoda only controlled the spirit soul market—what did that have to do with Tang Sect's manufacturing and trade?
The Sun-Moon Federation government was caught between a rock and a hard place.
They hadn't even realized how deeply the Tang Sect had infiltrated their economy until now.
But at this moment, they couldn't afford internal chaos—with the Poseidon Legion already marching, they needed to keep both the Tang Sect and the Spirit Pagoda in check.
With no other choice, the Federation's Speaker personally stepped in to mediate the conflict.
Yet, neither side would back down.
At this point, the Federation realized something—the root of the problem was Xia Yi.
If they could resolve Xia Yi's situation, everything else would fall into place.
"We could ask Her Holiness to intervene," someone suggested. "She just betrayed Yun Ming to save Xia Yi—he must be grateful to her."
When Yali conveyed the Federation's request to Xia Yi, he simply rolled his eyes.
"Do I look like an idiot?"
Yali gritted her teeth. "I know you're the victim here, but for the sake of peace on the Douluo Continent… I'm begging you, okay?"