Chapter 70: Since We've Started Rigging, We Might as Well See It Through!
Xu Jiawei felt a headache coming on.
"Elder Xuan, if we do this, wouldn't that mean deliberately killing Sun Moon Academy's students?"
"Every participant in this tournament is a treasured genius of their academy.
If any of them die, it will infuriate the Sun Moon Empire!"
Xu Jiawei knew that Sun Moon Academy was strong enough to reach both the team battle and individual elimination rounds against Star Luo's team.
And in the team battle, it was easy to kill an opponent.
Once an enemy was killed, their team's overall strength would drop.
This would give Star Luo an advantage in the individual rounds.
It was a vicious strategy
But it would definitely provoke Sun Moon's wrath.
If Shrek Academy did this, it wouldn't be a big problem.
One, because Shrek was powerful enough to do whatever they wanted.
Two, because Shrek City was far from Ming Dou Mountain Range.
But Star Luo and Sun Moon's border was the Ming Dou Mountain Range!
If Star Luo pulled this move, Xu Jiawei was sure that Dai Hao would suffer immense pressure.
And ever since Dai Huabin's death, Dai Hao's state of mind had deteriorated.
If the pressure increased, he would struggle even more.
To Xu Jiawei, Dai Hao was his brother.
He didn't want to put his brother in a difficult situation.
Even more importantly
Xu Jiawei's own sister, Xu Jiujiu, was a tournament participant.
If they targeted Sun Moon's students, then Xu Jiujiu would be at risk too.
And as for relying on the referees for protection…
Since Jing Hongchen had already shown up, who knew how many more Sun Moon experts were lurking in the shadows?
If the referees couldn't stop Sun Moon from retaliating, his sister might die.
That was a risk Xu Jiawei couldn't afford to take.
Even if Xuan Zi was strong,
His failure to protect Dai Huabin made Xu Jiawei doubt his ability to keep people alive.
He refused to bet his sister's life on Xuan Zi's protection.
Xuan Zi froze, then shouted angrily.
"Xu Jiawei! Are you really the ambitious emperor of Star Luo?!"
"How can you hesitate over something like this?!"
"Do you have no courage?!"
Xu Jiawei rubbed his temples, feeling exhausted.
"Elder Xuan, there are some things that just can't be done!"
Yes, he wanted Star Luo to win.
A championship victory would greatly boost Star Luo's national prestige.
But
If they didn't win, it wasn't the end of the world.
After all
Star Luo had never won before.
Unlike Shrek, they weren't burdened by a glorious past.
Of course
Winning would still be ideal.
Xuan Zi sighed.
"Fine… Then what plan do you have for dealing with Sun Moon Academy?"
Xu Jiawei's eyes flashed.
"I do have a plan!"
"Since we're already rigging the match, we might as well see it through!"
"Every empire brought multiple teams to this tournament "
"And Sun Moon is no exception."
"So first make them fight each other."
"Let Sun Moon teams weaken themselves!"
"Second arrange for strong teams to face Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy as soon as possible!"
"Teams like Dou Ling Royal Advanced Soul Master Academy don't need to defeat Sun Moon…"
"They just need to force Sun Moon to reveal their trump cards!"
"This way, we can analyze Sun Moon's true strength."
"And finally "
"Star Luo's team will be saved for last "
"To crush Sun Moon in one final battle!"
Xuan Zi nodded in thought.
"Not bad…"
"But can we modify the tournament rules to limit their soul tools?"
"Below Rank 70, soul engineers have an unfair advantage."
"If we restrict their soul tools, we can greatly weaken their combat power!"
Xuan Zi had been itching to catch Sun Moon cheating.
He wanted revenge
And most of all, he didn't want Sun Moon to win.
Even though Sun Moon Empire had been part of Douluo Continent for over 4,000 years,
It had never truly integrated.
It was still a scheming empire with ambitions to unify the continent.
Against such a threat, Xuan Zi believed they needed to strike first.
Xu Jiawei's jaw dropped.
"Elder Xuan… This…"
"There's never been a case of changing tournament rules mid competition!"
Xuan Zi waved his hand dismissively.
"Then let this be the first!"
"What's a precedent?"
"A precedent is just the first step that someone dares to take!"
"Xu Jiawei, as an emperor, you must be bold enough to create new precedents!"
Xu Jiawei forced a smile.
"But how would we limit them? We can't just ban soul tools outright!"
Xuan Zi smirked.
"That's your problem to solve.
Star Luo is the host I'm just offering suggestions."
Xu Jiawei fell into deep thought.
Compared to killing Sun Moon's students,
Altering the tournament rules seemed far less dangerous.
'For once,' he thought, 'this old drunkard came up with a decent idea.'
"Still…"
"I'll need time to figure out exactly how to adjust the rules."
"After all everyone uses soul tools now."
Meanwhile, in Star Luo City…
Meng Hongchen and Huo Yuhao entered a lavish hotel.
As they walked, Meng Hongchen analyzed the city's infrastructure.
"Star Luo's soul tool technology is decent…"
"But compared to Mingdu, it's far behind."
"They even still have city walls!"
"That means their soul tool defense systems are still underdeveloped."
"They need physical walls to protect civilians."
"Also "
"I barely saw any buildings taller than five stories."
"If I were Star Luo's emperor, I'd send scholars to Sun Moon Empire "
"And immediately modernize this place."
"It would greatly improve people's quality of life."
Huo Yuhao teased her.
"Senior Meng, I never knew you had the heart of an empress!"
Meng Hongchen huffed.
"Of course!"
"Who wouldn't want to be emperor?"
"In every empire, the emperor holds absolute power!"
"If I were empress…"
"I'd make you the Grand Marshal!"
"You'd command all the armies!"
Huo Yuhao smiled.
"Grand Marshal, huh…?"
"That's a position of immense power."
Meng Hongchen's steps faltered.
Her face flushed.
'One person below me, countless above…'
She glanced at Huo Yuhao's calm smile.
Then she shook her head, scolding herself.
'Meng Hongchen! What are you thinking?!'
'Huo Yuhao is just a kid!'
'I must have misunderstood!'
With a fake cough, she regained her composure.
"Let's go."
"Not like I'll ever become empress anyway."
"It was just a hypothetical."
The two of them continued toward the banquet hall,
Where Jing Hongchen and the others were waiting.
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