bookbashuk Chapter 42: High-Stakes Gamble
Chapter 42: High-Stakes Gamble
Inside the Star Luo Imperial Palace, Xu Jiawei sat comfortably on the emperor's throne.
A figure suddenly appeared in the hall, quickly stepped forward, and whispered:
"Your Majesty, the Duchess has 'died of illness' as you wished. Should we bring her body here? No one in the Duke's mansion seems to be paying attention to this matter right now."
Upon hearing this, Xu Jiawei's face remained expressionless; he simply took out a storage ring, handed it over, and spoke calmly.
"Some things are better left unsaid. It's enough to spread the news of the Duchess's passing. Also, remember to inform the Duke of White Tiger to take heed of your condolences."
"Send this 50,000-year-old tiger bone to Delori as a token of the royal family's grief over the Duchess's passing."
"Yes." After receiving the storage ring, the figure disappeared again from the palace.
After dealing with the matters of the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, Xu Jiawei ordered someone to summon Xu Jiujiu.
After entering the palace, Xu Jiujiu looked at Xu Jiawei with some confusion. This was the first time he had called her over in such a hurry.
"Brother, is there something important?" Xu Jiujiu asked.
At this moment, Xu Jiawei looked at his younger sister with some seriousness for the first time.
"Jiujiu, as the emperor, I have many things to consider and I need to balance the interests of all parties. I hope you can understand my difficulties."
Xu Jiujiu was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, but then, thinking of recent events, she realized what was going on.
"Brother, you mean I should find a way to re-establish contact with Huo Yuhao, right?"
Seeing this, Xu Jiawei nodded slightly and responded in a heavy tone:
"For a long time, Elder Mu came to the palace once before. The divine war that broke out in the Mingdou Mountains was caused by Huo Yuhao."
"After this Soul Master Competition concludes, Elder Mu will officially announce that Huo Yuhao will succeed as the Pavilion Master of the Sea God Pavilion."
"Huo Yuhao has no ties at the moment. You should understand what this means. This will be the greatest opportunity for my Star Luo Empire."
"If you can become Huo Yuhao's right-hand man in the future, and he truly becomes a god, the Xu family may prosper for ten thousand years like Shrek Academy."
Xu Jiujiu herself didn't have any objection to this, but asked with some difficulty:
"Brother, Huo Yuhao has already risen to prominence. Even if I were to contact him now, I'm afraid I might not be able to achieve the level you envision."
Upon hearing this, Xu Jiawei smiled slightly and gently tapped the table.
"Jiujiu, do you know how our Xu family obtained the throne back then?"
"It was precisely because we had a clear understanding of the situation that we chose the right direction at a critical moment. Now it's time for us to make a choice again."
Xu Jiawei asked himself a question and then answered it, before explaining:
"The Sun Moon Empire is already powerful. To be honest, even with our battle armor and the protection of Shrek Academy, how long can we hold out?"
"Battle armor is naturally far superior to ordinary soul tools, but it was developed by Huo Yuhao and does not belong to the Star Luo Empire. Our own soul tool development is too slow."
"Even without Shrek Academy, the combined forces of the three Douluo Kingdoms might not be a match for the Sun Moon Empire."
"If I were the Sun Moon Empire, all I would need to do is find a way to get closer to Shrek Academy and invest in a new generation of Shrek Academy students."
"Within a hundred years, Shrek Academy may become truly neutral, at which point the Sun Moon Empire will have no more obstacles to unifying the continent."
"But now there is an opportunity to change the situation. Dai Yueheng's last words are enough to mend the relationship between Huo Yuhao and the Star Luo Empire."
"So, Jiu Jiu, do you think it's possible for us to become the next Shrek Academy?"
Xu Jiujiu looked at Xu Jiawei with some shock, clearly indicating that he was about to embark on a high-stakes gamble.
"Brother, do you mean we should support Huo Yuhao with the full strength of the nation, even if one day he wants the entire Star Luo Empire?"
Xu Jiawei nodded in satisfaction when he saw that Xu Jiujiu had understood his meaning.
"This throne is nothing but an empty title. What use is it if the Sun Moon Empire attacks or the Dai family takes it back?"
"Huo Yuhao belongs to the Tang Sect. You should understand the meaning behind this. Only a power protected by a god-level expert can truly prosper for a long time."
"I have already learned that Huo Yuhao's teacher possesses a top-tier two-word battle armor, and given that Huo Yuhao did not smear Dai Yueheng in the matter, that is enough to place a bet."
Xu Jiujiu nodded upon hearing this, which was considered as approval of Xu Jiawei's decision.
"Then we will fully support Huo Yuhao, brother, and provide him with all the resources he needs, even if it means exhausting the entire Xu family's resources."
After handing over the tokens that could mobilize top-grade rare metals and cultivation resources to Xu Jiujiu, Xu Jiawei began to ponder the details of the recent events once again.
The frequent border troop movements of the Sun Moon Empire, as well as the various soul guide blueprints sent by the ninth-level soul masters lurking in the Sun Moon Empire, are putting Xu Jiawei under immense pressure.
Therefore, there must be absolutely no mistakes in Huo Yuhao's investment.
With that in mind, he invited Shattered Star Douluo over.
"Senior Suixing, please help look after Jiujiu. Although Senior Manyi is strong, she has a rather stubborn personality. I hope you can try your best to persuade her."
Upon hearing this, Shattered Star Douluo nodded and, after searching for a long time, hid in the shadows.
Huo Yuhao, who had just arrived in Xingluo City, naturally had no idea that Xu Jiawei had prepared such a big gift for him.
At this moment, Xu Jiujiu was looking at the door with some confusion.
Although he had never seen the princess before, he could sense the auras of the two Title Douluos hidden nearby.
With the crown on Xu Jiujiu's head, Huo Yuhao was fairly certain of her identity.
Huo Yuhao opened the door and invited Xu Jiujiu in.
"The princess has come in person; I wonder what important matter she has brought? You two seniors may also reveal yourselves and take a seat together."
As Huo Yuhao spoke, he controlled his powerful mental energy, revealing a portion of its oppressive force. This created a brief fluctuation near the two Title Douluos, indicating that he had discovered them.
Huo Yuhao and Xu Jiujiu sat facing each other in the hotel's meeting room, while Manyi and Suixing also appeared and sat down beside them.
"You're quite interesting, young man. You managed to find my trail, but judging from the fluctuations in your soul power, you don't seem like a strong person."
Before Xu Jiujiu could speak, Manyi first expressed some of her opinions on Huo Yuhao.
Sui Xing, standing to the side, gave the old woman a helpless wink and then took over the conversation.
"Sect Master Huo, this is the Guardian Douluo who has been out of the world for many years. He doesn't know much about your identity, so please forgive him."
Huo Yuhao nodded slightly. This little matter wouldn't cause any conflict, and he continued to wait for Xu Jiujiu to explain his purpose.
"Sect Leader Huo, I've come here mainly for two matters."
"One reason is to give you these rare metals as a gift for your future succession as the head of the Sea God Pavilion."
"Secondly, there is a piece of Ice Jade Scorpion soul bone in the Star Luo Auction House recently. I heard that you have the Ice Jade Scorpion martial soul. I wonder if this soul bone is compatible with you."
As he spoke, Xu Jiujiu handed Huo Yuhao two storage rings, one containing rare metal and the other containing the soul bone of the Ice Jade Scorpion.
Huo Yuhao didn't say much, but after taking it and opening it, he was somewhat shocked by the quality and quantity of the rare metals.
Its memory is mostly filled with high-grade rare metals required for three-word battle armor.