Douluo Continent: Starting with a Heavenly Fire Judgment

Ji Lin and Vina quickly approached the skies above the Sun Moon Empire's military camp. Ji Lin's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked down. He didn't use his mental detection, but relied solely on his eyes. Having absorbed the immortal herb "Looking Through Autumn Water Dew," his eyesight was not much weaker than that of a Soul Master with an eye-related martial soul. In addition, he possessed a Soul Skill related to the eyes, such as "Fire Burning Pupils," so even high in the sky, he could see the entire Sun Moon Empire below.

However, he could see clearly, but Vina couldn't see anything. So after a while, he activated the mental detection sharing. Vina felt a sudden bright light in front of her, and then the dark night sky below became clear, and the scene rapidly magnified in her eyes.

This sudden change made Vina's body tremble. This was indeed a divine skill! At least it was during reconnaissance. If our Heavenly Soul Empire also had Soul Masters with such talent, how could we have suffered such a crushing defeat?

The Heavenly Soul Empire, having suffered the devastating loss of two-thirds of its nation, fully recognized the importance of reconnaissance in warfare after the advent of the new era's soul tools.

In terms of actual combat strength, the Heavenly Soul Empire should not have been able to be so easily and decisively conquered by the Sun Moon Empire, which seized vast territories in a short period of time. Apart from the advantage of soul tools, the biggest difference was the absolute gap in reconnaissance. From beginning to end, the Heavenly Soul Empire was constantly on the defensive, not even knowing when the enemy would appear or how strong they were. That's why they suffered such a crushing defeat.

While Vina was lost in thought, Ji Lin had already begun to carefully observe the layout of the Sun Moon Empire's camp.

He had dealt with the Sun Moon Empire's army many times, especially the army with the Soul Master Legion. Therefore, he could also get some information about the Sun Moon Empire's army's deployment from their camps.

Soon, Ji Lin's expression changed, and Vina's face also turned ugly, even gasping for breath.

If they were to describe the Sun Moon Empire's main camp, they would describe it as as solid as Mount Tai and as stable as a rock.

The entire Sun Moon Empire camp was arranged in a long, straight line, but this line wasn't entirely horizontal. Instead, it meandered slightly according to the terrain, making full use of the surrounding landscape, and the arrangement was extremely meticulous. More importantly, Ji Lin and Vina saw five soul tool positions within the Sun Moon Empire's camp. Each position was so large that it would require at least a soul tool master legion to construct.

In other words, the Sun Moon Empire has deployed a total of five Soul Master Legions on this main battlefield. Even disregarding how many Guardians of the Nation are present, these five Soul Tool positions alone are sufficient to ensure their defense. Moreover, a full-scale attack would be incredibly destructive. The reason the Sun Moon Empire hasn't done so now is likely due to the excessive losses incurred in previous wars.

What Ji Lin saw was shared with Vina through mental detection, and Vina gained a better understanding of the Sun Moon Empire. Through this overview, many previously unclear places became much clearer.

Ji Lin sighed softly and said, "Five soul tool arrays—even a Limit Douluo would have a hard time breaking into them. Your Highness, how many of the Sun Moon Empire's Guardians are here now?"

Vina sighed, "Two, the Imperial Dragon Soul Master Corps and the Terrorclaw Soul Master Corps."

Ji Lin's lips twitched. Among the five Soul Master Corps of the Sun Moon Empire's Guardian Hand, the strongest was undoubtedly the Royal Soul Master Corps. Among the remaining four Beast King-level Soul Master Corps, their strengths were actually quite different. The strongest was the Imperial Dragon Soul Master Corps, followed by the Terror Claw Soul Master Corps and the Fire Phoenix Soul Master Corps, while the weakest was the Evil Monarch Soul Master Corps.

The Imperial Dragon Soul Master Corps and the Terror Claw Soul Master Corps, two major Soul Master Corps, are both here, which is equivalent to more than half the strength of four Beast King-level Soul Master Corps. No wonder the Heavenly Soul Empire's battle situation is so difficult.

"Alright, that's about all we can see from the air. We should head back now," Ji Lin said to Vina.

Actually, if it were just him, he would have gotten even closer to observe, but he couldn't do that with Princess Vina with him; he had to ensure Princess Vina's safety.

Although she was a burden, Ji Lin didn't care. He was willing to fulfill Princess Vina's wish to contribute to the country, not for any particular reason, but simply because he was willing and it suited his wishes.

This is also the principle he set for the Freedom School: follow your own heart, that is true freedom.

Just then, Ji Lin felt a sense of foreboding. This foreboding did not come from mental detection or soul power fluctuations, but from his intuition.

wrong!

Subconsciously looking down, Ji Lin immediately noticed that among the five Soul Master positions, one Soul Master position was faintly glowing red.

"Not good!" Ji Lin shouted. Immediately afterwards, Ji Lin grabbed the flying soul tool on Princess Vina's back with both hands, and after his body suddenly circled once in the air, he threw Princess Vina away with all his might.

By the time Vina realized what was happening, her body had already been launched like a cannonball, while Ji Lin himself was rapidly ascending into the sky.

Ji Lin knew that he had been targeted by the enemy. It was too dangerous for Vina to stay with him. He had to bear this blow alone; Vina couldn't handle it.

The instant he threw Vina, a red light shot into the sky, instantly traversing over four thousand meters and enveloping Ji Lin's body.

The red light was over a hundred meters in diameter. Although it only flashed by, the terrifying power it unleashed in that instant made the entire sky seem as if it had been pierced.

Vina watched as the dazzling red light streaked past her, engulfing Ji Lin's body. Her mouth gaped open, and she was completely stunned. At an altitude of four thousand meters, without Ji Lin's help, she was barely managing to keep herself from plummeting.

At this moment, Vina remembered Long Aotian, who was killed by a level nine soul guide ray while trying to save her. This scene was so similar to the one before, only the person was different.

But before she could react further, Ji Lin's figure transformed into a red light and appeared behind her, lifting her up in his arms. She felt a sudden lightness as she was held in Ji Lin's embrace.

Before Vina could grieve, she was overjoyed. She thought Ji Lin had met with misfortune while saving her, and she didn't care about the proper distance between men and women anymore. She snuggled into Ji Lin's arms.

"Wow, you managed to spot me, that's quite an achievement!"

Ji Lin couldn't help but complain that this was the first time he had been discovered by the enemy from four thousand meters away. It seemed that the Sun Moon Empire had learned its lesson and made changes to its high-altitude reconnaissance. He guessed that Orange must have played a part in this.

Good grief, he really turns his back on us. He gave the seeds to Orange, and Orange is still targeting him. Isn't he afraid of getting killed?

Ji Lin carried Vina and fled into the distance at top speed. They were above the Sun Moon Empire's army, and once discovered, they would be easy targets. If they didn't run now, when would they?

Fortunately, the red light seemed to have only one strike's power before it disappeared, gradually dimming and vanishing quietly.

"Ji Lin, are you alright?"

Princess Vina finally realized what had happened. Although she didn't know what the red light was, she understood that it couldn't have been fireworks. To be able to traverse a distance of over four thousand meters, what kind of powerful attack would that be? If it weren't for Ji Lin, she probably would have died from that attack.

Vina also noticed that Ji Lin was now shirtless, revealing his well-defined muscles, and his clothes had been reduced to ashes by the red light attack.

If Ji Lin hadn't specifically protected his lower body clothing, he would probably be completely naked right now. Only Ji Lin knew how terrifying that attack was. Even he, in his haste, could only protect part of his clothing. In that instant, he had released his Frost Armor for protection, but even so, the red light melted away the Frost Armor and his upper body clothing. If he hadn't dodged quickly, he would definitely have been left with one or two scars.

Such power from 4,000 meters in the air is undoubtedly a coordinated attack from a soul tool. The red light, high energy, and high heat instantly melted his frost armor. If he hadn't been immune to high-temperature damage, he wouldn't be so calm now.

Ji Lin knew very well that if the distance had been any closer or his reaction any slower, he would have suffered at least minor injuries, if not serious ones.

Keep in mind, this was an attack that spanned over four thousand meters! If the distance had been even closer, the power would have been even more terrifying.

Fortunately, the same attack did not come again, and the Sun Moon Empire's camp seemed to be quite calm.

If he were alone, he wouldn't be afraid. But with Princess Vina by his side, he had to be careful. Vina couldn't withstand a single blow; one hit and she would be reduced to ashes.

Vina looked at the handsome face so close to hers and his naked upper body, and couldn't help but blush. She secretly turned her head away, out of sight, out of mind. This was the first time she had seen a man's body so closely. Although she and Long Aotian were a couple, they hadn't had much intimate contact. This was the first time she had been so close to a man other than her father.

This made her very uncomfortable.

Ji Lin flew with Princess Vina all the way to above Tianling City before slowly descending. Once Princess Vina was able to control her flight, Ji Lin released her and quickly took out a spare set of clothes from his storage soul tool and put them on. He didn't want to enter Tianling City half-naked like this, especially not with Vina. Who knew what rumors would spread?

After the two landed safely, Ji Lin noticed that Princess Vina's face was deathly pale, clearly shaken by what had just happened. Ji Lin himself was just as frightened! (End of Chapter)