Douluo; Zhongli Adventures in Mortal World with Paimon

The struggles between major powers are as straightforward as they are unembellished.

Today, I frame you. Tomorrow, you trip me up. The day after that…

These minor frictions don't harm the core interests. The purpose is singularly simple: to disgust the other party.

Even if the entire world knows that it was the Heaven Dou Imperial Family who assassinated Qin Ming, the turncoat, so what? Things will continue as they are.

In fact, this could even serve as a way for the Heaven Dou Empire to filter out potential turncoats.

So, the practical impact is negligible. The only real effect is to nauseate the Heaven Dou Imperial Family a bit.

Salas and his people came swiftly and left just as quickly.

Zhongli glanced at Shrek Academy's training grounds and surveyed the surroundings.

Honestly, there were so many people on the training ground, yet it still wasn't as "lively" as the shadows. There were more spectators than participants in this drama.

Aside from Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong, all the deans of the Five Elemental Academies were present! Tang Hao, as an old spectator, naturally didn't need to be mentioned.

After what happened during the day, he had long anticipated what might occur at night.

"I didn't expect Xiaosan to actually call Tai Tan to get involved in this mess, sigh~," Tang Hao sighed softly, muttering, "Xiaosan is still too sentimental and loyal."

"If it were me, I'd have dealt with Yu Xiaogang tonight, then framed it on the Spirit Hall..."

Though his voice was low, apart from himself, only Zhongli caught those words.

Hearing this, Zhongli's eye twitched. As expected of the Upper Three Sects and the Spirit Hall—such similar ways of thinking.

Salas and his people wanted to kill Qin Ming and frame the Heaven Dou Imperial Family and the Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

Tang Hao wanted to kill Yu Xiaogang and frame the Spirit Hall.

The old dragon would surely avenge Yu Xiaogang. Thus, there would be one more person against the Spirit Hall! Or rather, one more sect aligned against it.

Only when "interests" aligned would they unite. When interests differed, they each harbored their own agendas.

Take Gu Rong, for instance. Upon realizing Tang San's immense talent, his first thought wasn't to protect Tang San and help him grow.

Instead, it was to kill Tang San, thereby denying the Clear Sky Sect such a gifted disciple.

"Hm?"

Suddenly, Zhongli froze, instinctively looking in a certain direction. His heart stirred. "Why is Du Bafang here with his men too?"

After a brief thought, Zhongli came to an understanding.

"He's here to ensure Meng Shenji and the others don't fail..."

Meng Shenji and the other two were, after all, Chi Yu's teachers.

Chi Yu, being the Saintess of the Body Sect, had already personally stepped forward to defend her teachers. Could the Body Sect possibly sit idly by?

Moreover, the Heaven Dou Royal Academy and the Heaven Dou Imperial Family had been exceedingly generous to the Body Sect.

The Body Sect's rapid rise was partly due to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Spirit Hall, but the larger share of the credit went to the Heaven Dou Imperial Family!

Without the Heaven Dou Imperial Family's full support, the Body Sect's swift development would have been nothing more than a pipe dream.

Accumulated favors eventually demand repayment.

Of course, when it comes to principles, even with these favors, they might choose to remain on the sidelines.

But this time was different. On one hand, there were the favors owed. On the other, there was the matter of the Saintess herself.

The Saintess had been humiliated at the Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena. Could they tolerate that?

Absolutely not!

"Watch and wait. If no one intervenes, we're just here to enjoy the show."

Du Bafang instructed Zhang Hu and the others.

The group nodded in agreement. This had been decided beforehand.

The acting sect master was merely worried someone might "lose control" and jump out, hence the reminder.

Most of them had achieved their second Spirit Awakening through "external aids," unlike Du Siji, who awakened naturally.

Thus, the chances of them "losing control" were slim.

Zhongli saw this and nodded silently to himself, pondering a pressing question: how should he retire?

If he were to fake his death again, the identity of Zhongli would clearly become unusable.

However, Paimon would be difficult to hide. Even if he escaped through a staged death, he and Paimon couldn't just live as hermits, could they?

Faking his death wasn't an option because, in this world, the identity of Zhongli had already forged some ties.

If Zhongli were to "die," many of his followers might struggle to cope. Particularly individuals like Xiao Feilian, who would undoubtedly slit their throats in moments to follow him to the afterlife.

"This is indeed a problem."

Zhongli stroked his chin, falling into deep thought.

"Hmm?"

As if struck by inspiration, his eyes suddenly brightened.

Before he could act on this epiphany, the scene shifted back to the battlefield, which had plunged into chaos—or perhaps "chaos" was an overstatement!

The Soul Doulou dispatched by the imperial family waved his hand, and his two or three dozen subordinates surged forward like the wind.

"Kill!"

With the royal enforcers taking the lead, the Shrek Academy training grounds were instantly set ablaze with battle.

Tang San instinctively moved to shield his companions, knowing full well that even the weakest of these black-clad assailants were beyond what he could handle at this moment.

A glint of ruthless determination flashed in his eyes as he stepped away quickly, vanishing into the night.

Nobody cared about Tang San's apparent retreat; their target was Qin Ming alone.

Of course, anyone obstructing their path—no matter if they were a Contra—would still fall under their relentless siege!

"Tai Tan, don't be stubborn. This isn't fifteen years ago anymore!"

As a Soul Douluo, Tai Tan was not easily subdued. While surrounding him was feasible, actually killing him would inevitably come at a cost.

Better to achieve their goal without unnecessary losses.

Tai Tan's expression remained stoic, but internally, he was conflicted.

Fifteen years ago, backed by the Clear Sky Sect, he would never have found himself in such dire straits.

At least, the Heaven Dou Imperial Family wouldn't have dared to corner him like this.

Despite the tense "conversation" between the powerhouses, chaos had already erupted on the training grounds. Flender, Liu Erlong, and others were fully occupied dealing with the assault.

Zhao Wuji, the "Immovable King," was being besieged by three Soul Sages. His title seemed ironic now, as he stood battered and bruised.

While a Soul Emperor was strong, Soul Sages were in an entirely different league.

"I may not be able to beat that old Flender, but I can definitely take on you lot!"

"Come at me one-on-one if you've got the guts!"

Zhao Wuji roared furiously.

These black-clad attackers wouldn't stand a chance against him in a one-on-one duel, but they had no sense of honor!

Hearing his challenge, the three exchanged glances and nodded silently.

Two of them disengaged from Zhao Wuji and charged straight at Liu Erlong.

"???"

Zhao Wuji was dumbfounded.

Although these three couldn't defeat him individually, it would still take him considerable effort to take any one of them down.

Now, with two of them ganging up on Liu Erlong…

The battlefield, which was barely balanced a moment ago, tilted dramatically in favor of the black-clad attackers!

"You bastards, get back here!"

"I'll stop demanding one-on-one!"

Zhao Wuji panicked, shouting desperately.

If Liu Erlong were to fall, the assailants would swiftly redirect their efforts to take him down next!