"It's me, Big Sister. I can see that I have quite a few missed calls from you; what happened?"

The person Tang Wulin was currently speaking to was none other than Mo Lan, who had already become the leader of the Dove Faction.

Due to her past experiences and the political background of her late father, she had received the Dove Faction's full support and was deeply loved by all Dove Faction supporters.

Mo Lan replied in a grim voice, "I have something very important that I need to speak to you about."

Tang Wulin's heart jolted upon hearing this. It had been a very long time since he had heard Mo Lan speaking in such a solemn tone. "What's going on?"

Mo Lan explained, "The application issued by your Tang Sect has sparked a huge debate in parliament. Of course, our Dove Faction was in full support. The Tang Sect has done so much for the continent and the federation, so it still has many supporters, and with the reconstruction of Shrek Academy, even the neutral faction is beginning to sway toward us; this is the good news. However, as you know, the Eagle Faction has expanded rapidly in the wake of the Shrek City bombing, and they still hold the vast majority of parliamentary seats.

"In contrast, our power is still too lackluster. However, due to your recent display of power, even the Eagle Faction is very reluctant to stand against the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy, so the application should've been approved without a hitch. However..."

Mo Lan paused here for a moment before a hint of fury crept into her voice as she continued, "The Spirit Pagoda is determined to cause trouble. They suggest that the Tang Sect should prove itself before it should be vindicated. Their proposal is to start a second war against the Star Luo Empire and Dou Spirit Empire, and the Tang Sect must participate and provide its support to prove that it's not a treasonous organization. This proposal has received the support of virtually the entire Eagle Faction, and it's placed us in a very passive position."

"They want to start a second war?" Tang Wulin exclaimed.

Mo Lan replied, "That's right. Of course, we vehemently opposed this proposal, but to minimal effect. Currently, the federation does indeed have a massive resource shortage, especially when it comes to research resources. Hence, even in the neutral faction, there are many supporters of a second war. The theory behind the Eagle Faction's proposal is that the Star Luo Empire and Dou Spirit Empire aren't advanced enough to make full use of their resources, and that their resources will only be fully capitalized on in the federation's hands. On top of that, they state that long-term peace can only be achieved when all three continents are united under the federation's banner."

Tang Wulin's brows furrowed tightly upon hearing this. Never did he think that the federation would be considering a second war this soon.

"The Spirit Pagoda is the mastermind in the shadows, right?" Tang Wulin asked.

Mo Lan chuckled coldly in response, "They are indeed the masterminds, but not in the shadows this time; they've already declared that they're going to provide half of the expenses required to instigate this war."

"What?" Tang Wulin was astonished to hear this.

One had to realize that the expenses required to start a war definitely amounted to an astronomical sum. By offering to provide half of the expenses, the Spirit Pagoda was essentially bribing the entire military!

Mo Lan continued, "The Spirit Pagoda's goal is actually very simple; with the power that you've displayed, if the Tang Sect were to be vindicated, the power balance on the continent would quickly return to what it had been before the Shrek City bombing. When that time comes, their power will be significantly diminished, and they may even have to relinquish control over the Eagle Faction. Hence, they're proposing to start this war to plunder resources from the other two continents, as well as to drag the Tang Sect down with them.

"If the war is won, then the Spirit Pagoda will naturally be held in even higher regard. The Spirit Pagoda is already being heavily oppressed in the Dou Spirit Empire, and the situation isn't as bad in the Star Luo Empire, but the Spirit Pagoda is still facing immense pressure there. In contrast, the Tang Sect is like a fish in water in those two empires. If the war really can result in the destruction of those two empires, then the Spirit Pagoda would undoubtedly be the greatest beneficiary. In comparison, covering half of the war expenses would be entirely worth it. At the same time, the Spirit Pagoda can also increase its influence through this war."

Tang Wulin sighed, "So they're still unwilling to give up. Do you have any suggestions, Big Sister?"

Mo Lan replied with a wry smile, "I'm afraid not, but if the war were to go ahead, then not only would our influence be further diminished, the other two continents would be reduced to hell on earth! The parliamentary members of the Spirit Pagoda even proposed that the final godslayer missile should be brought out to intimidate the two empires into surrender."

"They're going to bring out the final godslayer missile?" Tang Wulin's voice immediately spiked up a few octaves. To this very day, the doomsday-like scene from the godslayer missile explosions still remained fresh in his mind. Even hearing the name made his skin crawl; humans simply couldn't contend with the power of those things!

Mo Lan said, "That's the situation. Our Dove Faction will do its best to prevent or at least delay this war, but you have to help us as well. We have to work together to foil this plan somehow."

"I understand. Thank you for your timely notification, Big Sister."

After ending the call, Tang Wulin took a shower to refresh himself and calm his own tumultuous emotions, then changed into a set of new clothes before immediately paying Long Yeyue and Yali a visit.

This was a very important matter, and the fact that the federation was trying to recruit the Tang Sect behind this cause was very troublesome.

This was something that they had to discuss with the two Limit Douluos of the Tang Sect. With the failure from last time, the federation most likely wouldn't retreat so easily if another war were to be instigated.

Shrek Academy was currently only just getting back onto the right track, and all of its powerful beings had to stay to ward off other powers that were potentially plotting against the academy, such as the Spirit Pagoda.

They were naturally also aware that the new Shrek Academy was still in a very early stage of its development, and if it were to send powerful beings to prevent this war, then the Spirit Pagoda would immediately exert pressure upon the academy.

The key was the final godslayer missile.

Two of them had gone missing in the past; who was to say that the third one wouldn't also go missing once it left its secret warehouse?

The worst situation would be if the missile ended up in the hands of the Holy Spirit Cult or the Spirit Pagoda.

"Elder Long, should we organize a Sea God's Pavilion meeting to discuss this matter?" Tang Wulin asked.

Long Yeyue shook her head in response. "It would be best to keep this a secret as much as possible for now. Instead, let's ask Old Demon Greed for his advice."

Tang Wulin's heart stirred slightly upon hearing this. The seven old demons had far different thought processes from normal people, so there was a very good chance that they would be able to come up with some good ideas.

There was a connection point between the Seven Saint Paradise and the Sea God's Pavilion, just like the entrance to the Myriad Beast Plane, so it didn't take long for Old Demon Greed to arrive.

"What's going on, Little Yueyue?" Old Demon Greed sat down right in front of Long Yeyue following his arrival. 

The Seven Saint Paradise was already "open for business", and it was still nurturing the former inner court disciples of Shrek Academy. Due to how close the Seven Saint Paradise was and the fact that it was an independent small plane, the seven old demons were able to train more disciples at a time, thereby inflicting trauma at a far faster rate than before.

Long Yeyue's expression immediately darkened slightly upon hearing the pet name "Little Yueyue", and she scoffed, "Can't you be a bit more normal?"

Old Demon Greed chuckled, "How can I be normal when I don't even have a body? Besides, our Shrek Academy trains only monsters; who needs normal people? Hurry up and tell me what's going on; I was just having the time of my life before you called me here."

Tang Wulin's heart spasmed upon hearing this, and he internally observed a moment of silence for the inner court disciples that were currently providing the seven old demons with their source of entertainment. Ever since the seven old demons had returned, they had become a lot more excited and enthusiastic than they had been on the demonic island, much to the detriment of their victims, whom the old demons had prepared a vast array of new torture methods for.

"This is the situation, Senior Greed..." Thus, Tang Wulin gave him a recount of what Mo Lan had said.

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