Chapter 157: Salas Gets Warned

An hour later, the three matches concluded, marking the end of the fifth round of the preliminaries.

As the battles on each stage wrapped up, the announcer on the main podium held a sound-amplifying soul tool and spoke loudly:

"The fifth round of the preliminaries has now ended, but we ask all esteemed guests and spectators to remain seated. Up next, His Majesty the Emperor will deliver a speech."

Immediately, tens of thousands of spectators who had begun to rise from their seats to leave sat back down. Judging by the atmosphere, it seemed like something major was about to be revealed.

Before long, amidst the applause, Emperor Xue Ye, who was seated at the center of the first row in the VIP section, slowly stood up. His deep voice spread throughout the arena through the soul tool:

"As everyone knows, the Advanced Spirit Master Academy Elite Tournament is the grandest event on the continent, held once every five years.

At the same time, this tournament is also the stage where the younger generation of spirit masters showcase their abilities.

However, just yesterday, within the capital city of Heaven Dou, a truly disgraceful event took place."

Pausing for a moment, Emperor Xue Ye shot a cold glance at Salas, who was seated nearby, before continuing:

"Someone, or some force, had the audacity to defy the heavens and send assassins to attack competing participants within Heaven Dou City.

Fortunately, the assassins failed, and the targeted participants remain unharmed.

But such actions are nothing short of a provocation against the empire itself.

Here and now, I,Emperor Xue Ye, on behalf of the Heaven Dou Empire, solemnly warn all individuals and factions: any actions that harm the tournament participants will be treated as a direct challenge to the empire, and we will ensure they pay the price!

Furthermore, regarding yesterday's assassination attempt, the empire will fully investigate and uncover the mastermind behind it, making them understand that the empire will not tolerate such provocations!"

After finishing his speech, Emperor Xue Ye sat back down, and immediately, Ning Fengzhi, seated beside him, also stood up.

"As His Majesty stated, the assassination of tournament participants is not only disgraceful but also an extremely vile act.

As one of the three great sects on the continent, my Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has always strived for the prosperity of the spirit master world, and we are willing to contribute to maintaining the order of the tournament.

To prevent such a vile incident from happening again, I now announce that from this moment onward, throughout the remainder of the tournament, my sect's Sword Douluo will be stationed in Heaven Dou City.

Anyone who dares to harm the tournament participants will face Sword Douluo's merciless strike, and we will hold the forces behind them accountable."

Saying this, Ning Fengzhi, just like Emperor Xue Ye, cast a cold glance at Salas.

After the failed assassination attempt yesterday, Huo Lie had handed over the corpses of the two Spirit Saints, to the tournament committee. Although it wasn't explicitly stated that the assassins were from the Heaven Dou Spirit Hall and acted under Salas's orders, Emperor Xue Ye and Ning Fengzhi could easily deduce the truth.

Frankly, Ning Fengzhi couldn't understand Salas's actions.

Did he not realize that Mu Yang and Shui Bing'er were not just ordinary spirit masters without backing?

Daring to send assassins after the two of them—was Salas not afraid of retaliation?

If Mu Yang and Shui Bing'er had actually died, the three Douluo of Blazing Fire and Sky Water Academy would undoubtedly have slaughtered Salas in revenge. Even if they had to consider the influence of Spirit Hall and couldn't openly kill him, assassination was always an option.

There might be some in the world capable of surviving the assassination attempts of three Titled Douluo, but Salas was certainly not one of them.

"Brother, is the empire and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect really this bold?"

Hearing Emperor Xue Ye and Ning Fengzhi's speech, Huo Wu couldn't help but turn to Mu Yang and ask.

She was well aware of what had happened—her little cousin and future sister-in-law had almost fallen victim to Spirit Hall's schemes. Naturally, she understood that Emperor Xue Ye and Ning Fengzhi's words were aimed at warning Salas and Spirit Hall.

Mu Yang smirked and whispered, "Heaven Dou and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect have always been at odds with Spirit Hall. It's not surprising that they wouldn't be polite. But this isn't really being bold. If they were truly bold, they would have just killed Salas outright."

If the situation were reversed—if Spirit Hall were weak and Heaven Dou was strong—then Salas wouldn't have dared to order an assassination on tournament participants, openly provoking the Heaven Dou Empire. And if he did, Emperor Xue Ye wouldn't waste words—he would have killed Salas on the spot to set an example.

Of course, Mu Yang didn't expect the Heaven Dou Empire to avenge him.

People often said relying on others was inferior to relying on oneself. Heaven Dou wasn't even considered one of his own, so how could it be a dependable ally?

If today's attempt to "borrow a knife to kill" had failed to drag Salas down, then if Mu Yang wanted to settle yesterday's score, he had two choices: either wait until he became a Divine Blacksmith and crafted a four-word battle armor, or reach the rank of a Nine-Ring Titled Douluo.

Until then, unless Salas pulled another stunt that pushed him over the edge, his life would have to be spared.

After all, Salas wasn't just one of Spirit Hall's four great Platinum Bishops—he was also the Hall Master of the Heaven Dou Spirit Temple, representing the face of Spirit Hall. Unless Mu Yang's strength was overwhelming, he couldn't act rashly.

A true four-word battle armor, when worn by a Titled Douluo, could skyrocket their strength to Rank 99 Ultimate Douluo, instantly making them one of the strongest figures in the world.

So far, he had three Titled Douluo as strong allies. If he could forge three sets of four-word battle armor, then that would mean three Rank 99 Ultimate Douluo.

With such power, even Qian Daoliu—whose "half-god" status was somewhat questionable—wouldn't be a threat.

As the saying goes: "Thirty years in the east river, thirty years in the west river—never look down on a poor youth!"

For weaklings, this might just be empty encouragement with no real effect. Thirty years later, a poor youth would likely just become a poor middle-aged man.

Yu Xiaogang: Never look down on a poor youth, never look down on a poor middle-aged man, never look down on a poor old man. The dead should be respected...

But for a genius soul master with extraordinary talent—and just a little bit of a cheat—Mu Yang felt that the words from that Xiao Yan next door made a lot of sense.

Once he achieved the rank of a Nine-Ring Titled Douluo, the massive soul power boost from his second martial soul's high-year soul rings would allow him to rise to a high-level Titled Douluo in no time. Reaching the Rank 99 Ultimate Douluo realm wouldn't be impossible.

With the advantage of twin martial souls, as long as gods didn't interfere, he would be invincible in the mortal world.

At that point, not only would punishing Salas no longer be a question of whether it would offend Spirit Hall, but Spirit Hall itself might even deliver Salas to him as an apology—just to avoid the wrath of an overwhelmingly powerful being.

"Now, the real question is… if Salas pulls another stunt right after being warned, how will those two react? Will they ignore it, or will they hang Salas from a street lamp?"

Mu Yang glanced toward Emperor Xue Ye and Ning Fengzhi in the VIP section, who had both subtly warned Salas.

He was very much looking forward to their next move.

Hmm… better take a few steps back, just in case blood splatters everywhere.