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Finally, after the secret negotiations in the Yellow Dragon Empire were settled, Xi Luo, who had nearly driven the reception staff mad, finally found the path to the mysterious Moonlight Tower by the Nameless Lake. However, before the poor boy could rejoice, he was hit with another blow.

"The current 'Lunar Celestial Maiden' has already become a Sword Saint and is powerful enough, so there is no need to select a 'Sword Tempering Elder.' Moreover, even if the current 'Lunar Celestial Maiden' is a princess of the Yellow Dragon royal family, a force outside the imperial authority that grows too powerful would only sow chaos in the empire. Therefore, we must apologize..."

As the imperial faction of the Yellow Dragon Empire, the Moonlight Tower had maintained its transcendent status for hundreds of years, naturally adhering to its own set of behavioral patterns. Thus, when the serene former 'Lunar Celestial Maiden' firmly yet apologetically rejected Xi Luo's request, the young man was left frustrated. Fortunately, in this matter, the decision of the person involved was the most important. Coincidentally, Tan Yueer was then in the southern continent planning how to encircle and kill Chen Xuanfeng, so Xi Luo held onto a sliver of hope and stayed in the Yellow Dragon Empire, waiting for the final news.

Whether Xi Luo should thank Chen Xuanfeng or not, after more than half a month of waiting, the Moonlight Tower finally welcomed the return of their 'Lunar Celestial Maiden,' who was injured. Chen Xuanfeng's astonishingly powerful sword and blade combination technique was truly a nightmare for young human Sword Saints. No one who had experienced this move would not be terrified, and Tan Yueer was no exception. Therefore, upon learning of Xi Luo's intentions, she immediately suppressed the dissenting voices within the Moonlight Tower and ushered this young Sword Emperor into the realm of Eastern martial arts.

Xi Luo, who already had a solid foundation, witnessed a dramatic surge in his combat prowess after gaining access to the Moonlight Tower's fully open martial arts resources. Initially relying solely on the raw power of the 'Hero Sword' and being easily countered by Tan Yueer's 'Stellar Chess Sword,' he gradually mastered the art of wielding the sword's power with finesse, reaching a point where he could rival Tan Yueer in swordsmanship within just a few months. At the same time, Tan Yueer's swordsmanship also improved with Xi Luo's help, edging closer to the sublime realm heralded by the 'Nameless Heavenly Sword.'

Thus, when Tan Yueer was tasked with going to the underground world to find opportunities to dismantle this force that could threaten humanity, Xi Luo naturally came along. Unfortunately, the underground world they faced this time was not the distant Mermaid Empire overseas. Chen Xuanfeng had already extended his hand into it, and the situation had become a complete mess. Even with their Saint-level Power, the underground world was not human territory, and trying to intervene and clarify the situation was a hundred times more difficult.

As for the other young man who followed, he was Tao Yaoyun, the heir of one of the three major external royal families of the Yellow Dragon Empire, the Tao family, and one of Tan Yueer's most infatuated suitors. Due to Xi Luo's appearance, this future royal clearly felt a sense of crisis and, disregarding the danger, followed Tan Yueer's group all the way from the Yellow Dragon Empire to the border of the Mercenary Empire. He remained polite throughout the journey and caused no trouble, so Tan Yueer did not drive him away, merely maintaining her usual aloofness.

At this moment, Tan Yueer and Xi Luo were discussing the situation in the underground world, not for the first time, and their conversation flowed naturally with mutual understanding. Beside them, Tao Yaoyun couldn't help but show a hint of jealousy and interjected, "Miss Yue, since that's the case, we can choose one or two families among those who haven't attacked the surface and help them launch a surprise attack on the families that initiated the war. This would not only solve the current trouble but also easily plunge the underground dark elves into a full-scale civil war."

Hearing his suggestion, Tan Yueer and Xi Luo exchanged bitter smiles. Tan Yueer shook her head and replied, "That's impossible. The strategy of divide and conquer may work for internally divided forces, but the situation with the dark elves is very special. The source of their conflict lies in the will of the Spider Queen Lolth, so their struggles are limited to their own kind. If any family were to use external forces against their own, it would not only displease the Spider Queen but also provoke divine wrath and the condemnation of the entire underground world. In the past, some have tried this, but the outcome was tragic. The dark elves' xenophobia has reached a pathological level. The only time in recorded history the dark elves allied with an external race was when they fought against the Archdemon King Barto."

Xi Luo added, "Moreover, this dark elf uprising is not ordinary. Although there is no relevant intelligence to prove it, such a sudden large-scale military operation, coinciding with the Yellow Dragon Empire's resolution of the Mermaid Empire threat, is unlikely to be without the influence of other forces behind the scenes. If we don't understand the underlying relationships and rashly delve into the underground, we might be directly swallowed by the dark elves' war vortex, let alone resolve their threat."

With one sentence each, they immediately shut down the future prince's proposal, leaving the older young man red-faced and unable to speak. After all, these two not only possessed formidable combat power but also had rich experience, whereas Tao Yaoyun had lived in the Yellow Dragon capital for years and knew little about such secrets, naturally being silenced.

However, he still argued with Xi Luo, "Just now, Miss Yue said that the dark elves are extremely xenophobic. So how did those forces you mentioned influence the situation in the underground world? If they could do it, why can't we?"

Before Xi Luo could speak, Tan Yueer interjected, "If it's just about influencing the dark elves' movements, there are actually many methods. After all, the dark elves have a small population, and the main force of the underground world consists of the numerous underground races controlled by the dark elves. If we target them, we can still change the power distribution in the underground world. Additionally, methods like assassinating key figures, inciting magical beasts, and destroying mineral veins can all change the situation to a limited extent. It's not necessarily about targeting the dark elves themselves. However, to use those methods, intelligence and manpower are indispensable, and we lack such conditions. Originally, if the underground world were relatively calm, we could use the deterrent power of the Saint-level Power to suppress various families and guide different forces to achieve a situation favorable to humanity. But now that chaos has already formed, even if we invest Saint-level Power, it's unlikely to develop according to our goals. It seems we are a step too late this time."