Facing the rumors, even Mingde Hall, which had always dominated the soul engineer world with its formidable strength, chose to remain silent.
Deep down, they had to admit that the technology and creativity displayed by the Simulated Universe were clearly beyond the reach of a level nine soul engineer. Besides the legendary, unprecedented level ten soul engineer, who else could create such a miraculous thing?
Beyond the ongoing craze for the Simulated Universe, the most anticipated event on the entire Douluo Continent was the impending grand opening of the 2023 Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament in the Tianhun Empire.
Meanwhile, a shocking event also occurred in the Sun Moon Empire: the current emperor suddenly died in a bizarre food poisoning incident. Even more horrifying, the empress, crown prince, and several princesses also perished.
After the incident, a strong-willed prince swiftly ascended the throne, calming the unrest caused by the former emperor's death with extraordinary skill and decisiveness.
The entire imperial succession process was incredibly fast, settling in what seemed like an instant, not even giving the original Douluo Three Nations any time to react.
The original Douluo Three Nations had intended to seize the opportunity of the Sun Moon Empire's chaos to make their move, carefully planning to further weaken the Sun Moon Empire's influence. But who could have foreseen that this seemingly chaotic upheaval would end so quickly? From the incident to the new emperor's stable ascension, everything was calm in less than half a month.
It was as if the entire upper echelon of the Sun Moon Empire had reached some kind of consensus; everyone tacitly watched the throne change hands, with no one stepping forward to contend for power.
The original Douluo Three Nations might not have fully grasped the deeper meaning behind this series of events, but Lu Jingming's mind was clear. He knew well that this seemingly peaceful imperial transition actually heralded the Sun Moon Empire's imminent baring of its sharp fangs; a storm was on the horizon.
Throughout the Douluo Continent, if there was anyone with a profound understanding of the power disparity between the Sun Moon Empire and the original Douluo Three Nations, it was probably Lu Jingming.
Even the Sun Moon Empire itself might not imagine that in the near future, they would crush the three great empires with overwhelming force. If not for the intervention of a Divine King from a higher realm, they could have easily unified the Douluo Continent.
Lu Jingming, also harboring ambitions, naturally wouldn't idly stand by and watch the situation unfold.
However, the Sun Moon Empire itself was too powerful, and located in the Star Luo Empire, he couldn't immediately think of many effective ways to restrict the Sun Moon Empire's rise. Just as he was contemplating this, a young girl suddenly appeared, giving him a completely new idea.
The girl before him had wary and hateful eyes, long orange hair, and skin so delicate it seemed as if water would drip if gently squeezed.
Her features were exquisitely beautiful, her appearance stunning. Although she was only twelve years old and still a bit raw and naive, she already showed hints of a goddess, and given time, she would surely astonish everyone.
"You're called Juzi, and you're from the Sun Moon Empire?" Lu Jingming looked at the girl before him, filled with surprise. He hadn't expected that his subordinates, while out on a mission, would bring him back such a "great treasure."
Juzi instinctively took a wary step back. Although Lu Jingming appeared even younger than her, her instinctive aversion to people from the Star Luo Empire immediately put her on guard.
Then, she cast a pleading glance at her savior—a white-haired girl with an expressionless face, exuding an extremely cold aura. This white-haired girl was even slightly more beautiful than Juzi.
It was she who had rescued the wandering, helpless Juzi near the Sun Moon Empire's border and brought her here.
Lu Jingming frowned slightly. He knew very well that Juzi now harbored extreme hatred for the people of the Star Luo Empire.
All of this stemmed from the conflict along the border between the Star Luo Empire and the Sun Moon Empire. In the small-scale war initiated by Duke White Tiger Dai Hao, Juzi's father tragically died.
Now, at only twelve years old, Juzi had already been forced into a life of wandering. Clearly, her mother had also died of grief, and she had yet to meet the man who would change her fate—Xu Tianran.
At this stage, Juzi's hatred for Duke White Tiger Dai Hao burned like a raging fire, and this hatred continued to spread, causing her to deeply detest all people from the Star Luo Empire. And unluckily, Lu Jingming happened to be from the Star Luo Empire.
"Never mind, Yingying, you take her to rest first. And take her to wash up properly and change into some clean clothes," Lu Jingming sighed helplessly, temporarily abandoning the idea of communicating with Juzi, and turned his gaze to the white-haired girl beside him.
The girl's name was Ji Yingying, a character from a game Lu Jingming played in his previous life called "Naraka: Bladepoint." She was innately bound to a Saint Physique and was the top-selling game skin, making her the most beloved female character in Naraka: Bladepoint among players.
Lu Jingming also favored her greatly. The unprecedented popularity of the Simulated Universe had given Lu Jingming a large influx of True Power feedback. And he had immediately and unhesitatingly summoned Ji Yingying.
Not only that, but Lu Jingming also had Ji Yingying establish a specialized assassin organization for Haiyuan City called the Wuchang Division. Ji Yingying personally served as the King of Hell, responsible for selecting some fusion warriors to serve as the Black and White Wuchang.
Among them, females were White Wuchang, with codenames starting from Bai-1 and so on, while males were Black Wuchang, with codenames starting from Hei-1 and so on.
The Wuchang Division had no overt connection to Haiyuan City, masquerading as a purely underground assassin organization, hidden in the shadows, executing various dangerous missions. Ji Yingying, as the founder of this assassin organization, possessed extraordinary strength, having reached the realm of a level ninety-six Super Douluo, with the title of Wuchang Douluo.
Due to the abundant True Power brought by the Simulated Universe, Lu Jingming had ample resources. Out of his favoritism for Ji Yingying, he directly maximized her strength.
Thinking back, Keqing and Ningguang didn't have very high cultivation when they first appeared.
This time, Ji Yingying gave Lu Jingming a surprise: while on an assassination mission, she unexpectedly "picked up" Juzi.
This was because the only requirement for joining a fusion warrior organization was absolute loyalty. The members of the Wuchang Division, during their missions, would bring back desperate and young individuals they encountered.
After a series of strict tests, if they passed, these individuals could become fusion warriors and officially join the Wuchang Division.