Douluo Continent: Starting with a Heavenly Fire Judgment

After Ji Lin showed Zhang Lexuan and the others the Undead Demiplane, and with Chi Yuan's spiritual imprint on him, he could call for outside assistance at any time, making the preparations foolproof, Zhang Lexuan and the others agreed to Ji Lin's bold plan. They would also stay in the Undead Demiplane on standby, ready to cooperate with Ji Lin at any time.

Half an hour later.

The night sky remained dark, but the Sun and Moon Empire's camp was far from peaceful.

At this moment, Zhongli Wu, the leader of the Holy Spirit Cult, was standing in the center of the command tent of the Sun Moon Empire's Eastern Expeditionary Army. The commander of this Eastern Expeditionary Army was a very famous marshal of the Sun Moon Empire.

Orange returned to the Sun Moon Empire and was forced by Xu Tianran to have a child. Now the army is led by this marshal, who is already very old, over seventy years old. He is a Soul Douluo-level powerhouse named Lin Hai. Although his cultivation is not high, he still has great influence in the Sun Moon Empire's military because his family has been soldiers for generations and he has inherited the title of duke.

Back when Ju Zi first joined the army, he provided her with considerable assistance. Marshal Lin Hai was also one of Xu Tianran's trusted subordinates. Otherwise, Xu Tianran would not have entrusted the entire army to him.

Lin Hai had another advantage in becoming the Commander-in-Chief of the three armies: his own strength. Being weak isn't always a bad thing. Precisely because he wasn't a Title Douluo, no matter how strong his influence in the military, he couldn't completely command those powerful level nine Soul Masters. Therefore, he could only command ordinary troops, while the commanders of the major Soul Master regiments, although subject to his orders, had greater autonomy.

If he could truly control those level nine soul masters and the major soul master legions, Xu Tianran would never have appointed him as the temporary commander-in-chief.

In comparison, it was when Orange was present that orders were truly obeyed and the entire army was commanded with absolute discipline. This was not because of strength, but because Orange's unpredictable tactics shocked the entire Sun Moon Empire's army.

It was also the military of the Sun Moon Empire that first called Ju Zi the Empress War Goddess. After that, as the Sun Moon Empire's army swept into the territory of the Heavenly Soul Empire, the people of the entire Sun Moon Empire recognized Ju Zi's title.

Lin Hai doesn't possess Ju Zi's elusive military talent, but he excels in his steadiness. To maintain the current balance, he is the most suitable person to lead the three armies.

However, Marshal Lin Hai was not in a good mood today. Yesterday, the ground-to-air detection soul tool had detected the enemy spying from high altitude, and a coordinated attack soul tool was launched at that time. However, due to the high altitude and the fact that the ground-to-air detection soul tool could not maintain a lock due to the distance, the outcome was unknown. But afterwards, Lin Hai immediately ordered an increase in ground-to-air detection.

Sure enough, the enemy appeared again today. Just as Lin Hai was preparing to intensify the air strikes, the leader of the Holy Spirit Cult announced that he wanted to capture someone alive. After all, an opponent who can become invisible is extremely difficult to defend against. Capturing them would allow them to see where the opponent's invisibility came from, and it would be even better if they could use it for their own purposes.

The Holy Spirit Cult Leader, being the Imperial Advisor, held a transcendent position and also possessed the authority to monitor Lin Hai. Naturally, Lin Hai wouldn't object to his suggestion. Thus, Heavenly Centipede Douluo and Masked Douluo were dispatched. Zhongli Wu believed that with two Title Douluo-level evil soul masters searching the skies, they would surely be able to capture any opponent they found.

But who knew that Nangong Wan and Masked Douluo would disappear without a trace after they left? Even the ground-to-air detection soul tool could only detect strong soul power fluctuations in the air before Nangong Wan and Masked Douluo vanished.

Those were two Title Douluo-level evil soul masters. The Holy Spirit Cult had accumulated so many years of power, yet the number of Title Douluo-level evil soul masters was still small. He especially had high hopes for Nangong Wan. Although Nangong Wan was already quite old, his Heavenly Centipede Martial Soul still had the potential to advance further. If he was lucky, becoming a Super Douluo wasn't out of the question. How could Zhongli Wu not be furious that both of them had disappeared?

"Still no news? Are all your men incompetent?" Zhong Liwu said coldly to Lin Hai.

He had absolutely no respect for Lin Hai, the so-called commander-in-chief of the three armies. Although Lin Hai was a Soul Douluo, in his eyes, he was no different from an ant, and even less respected than Ju Zi. At least the Empress was so skilled in commanding troops that even Zhongli Wu was amazed. She first broke through the Mingdou Mountain Range, then used a small number of Soul Masters to garrison it, and launched a surprise attack on the Heavenly Soul Empire, achieving great success. It was truly a classic tactic! It was the first time that Soul Tools had demonstrated their combat prowess on the battlefield since their advent.

Although Zhongli Wu didn't say anything outwardly, he still held Ju Zi in some admiration. Later, the Star Luo Empire reclaimed the Mingdou Mountains, which Zhongli Wu found unbelievable. His own mother hadn't been able to stop the Star Luo Empire; it was simply too incredible. However, Ye Xishui later sent word that a very powerful Limit Douluo had repelled her, forcing her to retreat.

When he learned of this news, Zhongli Wu was shocked. While the Holy Spirit Cult was lying low, Zhongli Wu had already begun to collect intelligence on the major forces on the continent. As far as he knew, apart from those hidden sects that could not be investigated, there were only a few experts at the Limit Douluo level on the Douluo Continent. This included his Holy Spirit Cult and the Soul Beast forces. But the Star Luo Empire had suddenly brought out a Limit Douluo to defeat his mother, which was truly unbelievable.

He suspected that some reclusive sect had intervened, just like the Star Crown Sect had done before, emerging from the shadows to turn the tide and save the Great Xia from collapse when the Star Luo Empire was in peril.

However, he couldn't find out any more specific information in a short time. Information about Limit Douluo is not easy to collect. Back when Dragon God Douluo was alive, the Holy Spirit Cult didn't dare to show its face. Of course, this was also related to Death God Douluo and Dragon Emperor Douluo. The relationship between the three Limit Douluo was complicated and difficult to unravel. When Dragon God Douluo was alive, Death God Douluo and Dragon Emperor Douluo suppressed the Holy Spirit Cult and didn't allow it to be too high-profile. This is also why no force knew about the existence of the Holy Spirit Cult at first.

The Holy Spirit Cult first appeared openly on the continent after the fall of Dragon God Douluo.

Although the Star Luo Empire has reclaimed the Mingdou Mountains and caused considerable trouble by waging war within the Sun Moon Empire's territory, the Heavenly Soul Empire has already occupied two-thirds of the land, and even its capital has been captured—all of which can be attributed to Ju Zi's military achievements.

Therefore, if it were Ju Zi here, Zhong Liwu would be more polite, but as for Lin Hai, he was just a puppet in his eyes.

"All the detection soul tools have been turned on at maximum power, and ten soul tool teams have been dispatched to search in the air, but we haven't found a single trace." Marshal Lin Hai knew he couldn't afford to offend the person in front of him, so he had to explain again.

Zhongli Wu's eyes flashed with a cold light. Could it be that the Heavenly Soul Empire had gathered a large number of experts and were lying in ambush in the air? Impossible! The Sun Moon Empire's soul-guided detection devices were constantly activated, and they also had aerial telescopes monitoring them. Unless those people could all become invisible, how could they possibly reach the airspace above their military camp?

Because it was nighttime, the effectiveness of the aerial telescope was greatly reduced, but even so, if the enemy was carrying out a large-scale operation, they would definitely be detected. Besides, both Nangong Wan and the Masked One are Title Douluo evil soul masters. Even if the enemy is powerful, they can hold out for a while, and sending a signal for help would be no problem at all. How could they just disappear without a trace?

Just as Zhongli Wu was filled with doubt, hurried footsteps came from outside. "Report—"

Lin Hai's expression turned serious. "Tell me, have you found anything?"

"Yes, Marshal, Lord Tianwu Douluo has returned."

Upon hearing this, Lin Hai breathed a huge sigh of relief. Then he realized that the messenger had mentioned Heavenly Centipede Douluo, not Heavenly Centipede Douluo and Masked Douluo. Could it be...?

Lin Hai felt a sense of foreboding. He felt that he was having the worst luck today. If something really happened to Masked Douluo, he really didn't know how this National Preceptor would make things difficult for him.

As a high-ranking military officer and Xu Tianran's confidant, he knew that this ruthless and audacious national advisor had once killed two leaders of the Soul Master Corps in front of Xu Tianran. Those were two Soul Douluos! They weren't just some Tom, Dick, or Harry; they killed them in front of Xu Tianran.

He was very self-aware; he wasn't Ju Zi. This Grand Preceptor didn't take him seriously. If he really wanted to kill him to vent his anger, Xu Tianran would be furious, but he wouldn't break ties with the Holy Spirit Cult for his sake, especially now that the Holy Spirit Cult's fighting power was needed.

Zhongli Wu's expression also changed. To become the leader of the Holy Spirit Sect, he was not only powerful but also intelligent. The fact that Tianwu Douluo and Masked Douluo went out but returned as a single person was unbelievable.

Zhongli Wu frowned and said in a deep voice, "Tell him that I, the Imperial Preceptor, am here, and have him come to see me."

"Yes," the messenger replied and hurried off.

Not long after, the curtain of the commander's tent was lifted, and Nangong Wan entered the tent from outside.

Tianwu Douluo Nangong Wan entered the tent, quickly approached Zhongli Wu, bowed, and said, "Master."

Zhongli Wu said in a deep voice, "Why are you the only one who came back? Where's Mask? What happened?"

Nangong Wan coughed twice, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. Zhongli Wu frowned and said, "You're injured? Who did this? Explain yourself clearly. What exactly happened?"

He hadn't noticed at first, but upon closer inspection, he realized that Nangong Wan was seriously injured, and that his nonchalant demeanor when he came in was all an act.

(End of this chapter)