"You… you all… I… I…"
Originally, when Chen Xinjie received Long Yeyue's soul communicator call, he was quite excited. However, after hearing what she had to say, he was instantly so furious that he couldn't even speak properly.
"Don't say 'you all'—just answer me. Will you help or not?" Long Yeyue asked bluntly, her icy voice devoid of any emotion.
"You're already guilty of colluding with the enemy and betraying the nation, and now you want me to help you deal with the person holding evidence of your treason?" Chen Xinjie asked.
"I'm not going to explain. I'm only asking—will you help or not?" Long Yeyue asked again, still just as direct.
"I…" Chen Xinjie opened his mouth, but in the end, he sighed weakly and said, "Tell Yun Ming to come find me."
Click.
Hearing the answer she wanted, Long Yeyue directly ended the call with a snap.
She didn't even give Chen Xinjie a chance to say another word.
At that moment, a soldier entered the room. "General, there's someone outside requesting an audience. He claims to be from Shrek Academy."
"So they've already calculated that I'd agree, huh?" Chen Xinjie gritted his teeth and said, "Let him in."
Soon, a young man in white robes, who walked with a limp and looked rather awkward, was escorted in.
"Who are you?" Chen Xinjie asked coldly.
"It's me." The young man removed the disguise from his face, and only then did Chen Xinjie realize that the visitor was actually Yun Ming.
"What are you doing?" Chen Xinjie asked.
"I couldn't let anyone find out I was coming to see you, so I had no choice but to disguise myself," Yun Ming explained.
"Was it really necessary to pretend to be a cripple?" Chen Xinjie asked indifferently.
"Just trying to make it more convincing." Yun Ming shook his head.
(Cun Ying: He really was faking it!)
"Forget it, I won't waste words with you. Just tell me how you need me to cooperate," Chen Xinjie said, waving his hand dismissively.
"We've already devised a plan. Now we just need to go over the specific execution details," Yun Ming said.
"Alright, go ahead," Chen Xinjie nodded.
After finalizing the plan with Chen Xinjie, Yun Ming followed him to the Battle God Hall headquarters in the western outskirts of Mingdu to mobilize troops.
Once Chen Xinjie's forces were in position, Passionate Douluo Zang Xin brought Long Hai from Shrek Academy to the designated exchange site—a valley north of Mingdu.
The Demon Empress was already waiting there. She was draped in a black cloak and wore a black bamboo hat, making it impossible even for Yun Ming and Chen Xinjie to see her true face.
Frowning, Passionate Douluo Zang Xin asked, "Who are you?"
"Hand over what I asked for, and I'll give you the original video. As long as you don't play any tricks, I promise never to mention Shrek Academy's treason again, nor will I use this matter to blackmail you in the future. As for my identity… do you really think I'd tell you?" The Demon Sovereign sneered.
"I don't care who you are. Since you know about the Sea God's Heart Crystal, you must also be aware of Shrek Academy's strength. I hope you keep your word—otherwise, Shrek Academy will hunt you down to the ends of the earth!" Long Hai snorted coldly, tossing the crystal toward the Demon Sovereign.
The Demon Empress inspected the crystal briefly and, after confirming its authenticity, threw a soul communicator to Long Hai in exchange.
Then, without another word, she turned and vanished.
The exchange appeared to have gone smoothly.
Shrek Academy hadn't played any tricks.
They knew that since the Demon Empress already knew about the Sea God's Heart Crystal, any fakes would be easily detected.
Besides, since the Demon Empress couldn't take it away permanently, there was no harm in handing over the real one.
Shrek Academy was confident that no one could escape unscathed from the hands of Yun Ming and Chen Xinjie.
"Follow her." Yun Ming narrowed his eyes. He wasn't just after the Demon Empress—he wanted to use her to track down the entire organization behind her. After all, they knew about Shrek Academy's treason.
Since they had resorted to such despicable means to blackmail Shrek Academy, they couldn't be good people anyway.
If it weren't for the need to eradicate them completely, Yun Ming and Chen Xinjie would have struck the moment the Demon Sovereign appeared. They wouldn't have allowed Long Hai to hand over the Sea God's Heart Crystal at all.
Shrek Academy's straightforwardness in handing over the crystal made the Demon Sovereign suspect a trap.
But she didn't care.
If Shrek Academy had refused to give up the crystal and chosen to fight her head-on, she wouldn't have had any way to obtain it apart from exposing their crimes.
But now?
Now that she had the Sea God's Heart Crystal, even if Yun Ming had all the power in the world, he wouldn't be able to take it back from her.
Did they really think they could fish for bigger prey?
They might not even get their bait back.
The Demon Empress didn't immediately return to the Far Ocean to find Xia Yi. Instead, she took Yun Ming and Chen Xinjie on a detour around Mingdu several times before eventually heading south. She flew at a steady pace for about half an hour before entering a cave.
As soon as Yun Ming and Chen Xinjie arrived at the cave entrance, they were hit by a wave of sinister energy.
The thick aura of evil, combined with the complex soul tool formations, made it difficult even for spiritual power to penetrate.
"Evil Soul Masters!" Both Chen Xinjie and Yun Ming's expressions darkened. However, as peak quasi-gods, they had confidence in their abilities. On the continent of Douluo, there was no one they couldn't handle when working together.
"The Holy Spirit Cult has been running rampant for too long. We've finally caught a big one," Chen Xinjie said coldly, staring at the cave.
Previously, he had felt some guilt about helping Shrek Academy suppress the Demon Sovereign. But upon realizing that she was likely an Evil Soul Master, that guilt vanished completely.
"Seal off this area. No one is allowed to enter or leave. Yun Ming and I will go in and take a look," Chen Xinjie instructed the elite members of the Battle God Hall before following Yun Ming into the cave.
As they ventured deeper, they saw the Demon Sovereign sitting cross-legged on an altar, her figure gradually becoming blurry.
"Something's changed—she's trying to escape! We have to take her down first!" Yun Ming's face darkened. If the Demon Empress escaped, the losses for Shrek Academy would be severe.
Without hesitation, Yun Ming struck, summoning the blazing white Sky Spear into his hands.
At this moment, he could no longer afford to worry about tracing her back to her organization. A terrifying spear intent erupted from his hands, locking onto the Demon Empress with overwhelming killing intent.
Simultaneously, Chen Xinjie also attacked. Azure energy surged from his body, instantly transforming the entire cave into a vast ocean.
"So, you finally dare to show yourselves?" The Demon Empress sneered.
Faced with their combined assault, she remained unfazed. She raised an eyebrow, and a massive purple-gold vortex appeared beneath her, forcibly drawing in Yun Ming and Chen Xinjie's attacks.
"A peak quasi-god!" Yun Ming and Chen Xinjie's expressions grew serious.
Yun Ming was glad he had insisted on bringing Chen Xinjie.
If he had come alone, while he might not have feared the Demon Sovereign, he wouldn't have been able to stop her from escaping.
"Did you really think you could blackmail Shrek Academy just because you're a peak quasi-god?" Yun Ming and Chen Xinjie attacked again, this time at full strength. Their combined might sealed off the space, while the elite warriors outside ensured that the Demon Empess had no escape.
"Oh, I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare… But even against the two of you, I can last for an hour," the Demon Empress sneered.
"Then we'll take two hours to bring you down," Chen Xinjie said coldly. He had no doubt about her claim—taking down a peak quasi-god was never an easy task.