Douluo's Spirit Pearl Divine Sword

Chapter 481 Changes in the Continental Situation: The Spirit Hall's Founding Ceremony Opens

A day later, news of Tang San and Tang Hao's deaths spread, and the Heaven Dou royal family ordered the entire city to mourn. This was an attempt to curry favor with the Clear Sky Sect, since the two had been the bridge between them and the Clear Sky Sect. Now that bridge was broken, they didn't know how their cooperation with the Clear Sky Sect would continue.

For the Heaven Dou Empire today, the Clear Sky Sect is an indispensable force, because only they can provide the empire with Title Douluo combat power.

The remaining Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan are in dire straits. One has fallen out with the other, and the other only has one Title Douluo, barely able to protect itself. They have no power to spare to help them.

Tang Yuehua and Tang Xiao, the siblings, attended the funeral in Tiandou City. Although the two people were completely destroyed and only ashes could be recovered, they came to convey a message: they would not terminate their cooperation with the Tiandou Empire because of the deaths of the two.

After all, both sides now have common enemies: the Spirit Hall and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, both of which are incredibly powerful entities.

Furthermore, the simultaneous statements from both sides would inevitably lead to the murderer paying the price. They did not explicitly state who the murderer was, as they did not yet want to formally start a war with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School.

Moreover, they were in the wrong. Although both were killed by Tianlin's scheme, Huang Dou killed Tang San to avenge his brother, while the soul beasts killed Tang Hao because Tang Hao had slaughtered the soul beasts first. They had no reason to condemn Tianlin.

This is what it feels like to have your teeth broken and have to swallow the pain.

However, this incident also caused Emperor Xueye to completely abandon the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. In his view, this sect was too unruly and had no loyalty to the emperor whatsoever.

Out of fear, he could refrain from condemning the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, but he could suppress it in another way: by vigorously supporting the Haotian School. Xue Ye issued an order that, in recognition of Count Lan Hao's contributions to the empire, the Haotian School would be specially designated as the Guardian Divine School. From now on, all outstanding graduates of the Imperial Inner Academy would be given priority to join the Haotian School.

Furthermore, all sects that do business with the Empire will have their taxes doubled, except for the Haotian Sect and its affiliated sects, which are exempt from taxation.

There are two purposes for doing this. First, they did not directly say that they were targeting the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. After all, there are so many sects in the empire. If all of them doubled their numbers, why should the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School be able to remain unaffected? You are not the Guardian Divine Sect.

Secondly, they also began, just like the Spirit Hall, to force the other smaller sects that had not yet taken sides to declare their positions.

This policy of the Heaven Dou Empire has little impact on the wealthy and powerful Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, but it poses a huge problem for smaller forces that are short of resources.

For example, the four clans with a single attribute back then were driven to complete collapse by poverty.

But while the empire gave them a big stick, it also gave them a sweet treat: by becoming affiliated with the Haotian Sect, they would not only not have to pay double, but they wouldn't even have to pay the original amount. Whatever they earned would be theirs.

The Haotian Sect also stated that it would not restrict the freedom of its affiliated sects, and that they would be autonomous except when war came and they needed to fight for their sects.

These two points have appealed to many people. Resources on the mainland are limited, and small forces like theirs are already struggling to make ends meet, making it very difficult to train disciples.

Now, with the Spirit Hall threatening from the outside and the Empire coercing and enticing them from within, they have no choice but to compromise.

Actually, some smaller sects are thinking that it might be worthwhile to attach themselves to Qibao, since they are so wealthy that even if taxes are doubled, it shouldn't have a significant impact.

But the idea was quickly rejected. No matter how much money you have, it will eventually run out. The empire is only doubling taxes now, but later it may completely prevent sects other than the Haotian Sect from doing business in their territory.

Moreover, it's obvious to anyone with eyes to see how much dissatisfaction the Empire has with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School has offended both the Spirit Hall and the Empire, making it an enemy of the world. They do not believe that such a sect can continue to exist in the future.

What should we do then? Go to Xingluo? I'm afraid the oppression will be even greater. Go to the Spirit Hall, it's even worse, they'll annihilate you if you don't surrender, leaving you with no freedom whatsoever.

In comparison, joining the Haotian Sect was actually the wisest choice.

Thus, the great alliance began. In just half a month, many forces submitted to the Clear Sky Sect. The number of Soul Masters in the Clear Sky Sect increased dramatically from less than a thousand to six thousand, basically on par with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, and the number continues to rise.

In fact, these guys didn't know that the situation of being hostile to both the Spirit Hall and the Heaven Dou Empire was exactly what Ning Fengzhi wanted. The sect already had the power to compete with the Spirit Hall and the empire for supremacy, but if in the eyes of the world they were just a sect that depended on the Heaven Dou Empire, they would be constrained in everything they did. Suddenly emerging to compete for supremacy would make many people subconsciously think that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School was a traitor.

After all, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School belongs to the imperial forces, a deeply ingrained belief among many.

Ning Fengzhi and Tian Lin both care about their reputations; they absolutely do not want to be labeled as traitors.

Now, unbeknownst to many, as Ning Fengzhi deliberately challenged the Heaven Dou Empire time and time again, people's perceptions have gradually changed. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School is not an annex of the empire, but a major force independent of the empire and the Spirit Hall.

In this way, even if the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School were to contend for supremacy, no one would find it strange. The Spirit Hall can contend, the two great empires can contend, so why can't the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School contend? This continent does not belong exclusively to any one person. Whoever has the ability can contend for it.

Besides, so what if the whole world is our enemy? Which power vying for supremacy isn't like that? For the Spirit Hall, the two great empires and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School are all enemies. For the Heaven Dou Empire, the Star Luo Empire, the Spirit Hall, and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School are all in the same hostile state. Everyone is coveting this continent. If the whole world is our enemy, then let alone the second brother.

The winds of change on the continent have shifted dramatically. Apart from the children still studying at the academy, there are hardly any free spirit masters left out in the wild. The Spirit Hall, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, the Clear Sky School, and the two great empires have practically divided up all the spirit master forces on the continent.

Of these, the Spirit Hall holds 70%, the two great empires hold 20%, and the remaining 10% is shared equally between the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School and the Clear Sky School.

Of course, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School's strength is only what's on the surface.

In other words, all forces that needed to be integrated have been fully integrated, and a continental war is likely about to begin.

What set the stage for this was a major operation by the Spirit Hall: the founding ceremony of the nation.

Actually, the ceremony was prepared a long time ago, but because Bibi Dong was injured some time ago and took a long time to recover, it was postponed until today.

Today, the Spirit Hall was bustling with activity, with all the citizens of Spirit City gathered in front of the Pope's Palace square.

The group at the head consisted of the hall masters from various Martial Soul Temples, the sect masters from various sects, and the kings of numerous affiliated kingdoms and duchies.

Amidst cheers from the crowd, Her Majesty the Pope Bibi Dong, dressed in magnificent attire, led the elders of the Spirit Hall and two holy maidens out of the Papal Palace.

Bibi Dong looked exceptionally beautiful today, attracting everyone's attention.

And starting today, she will become the first female emperor of Douluo Continent!

Chapter 482 Martial Soul Empire

"The Spirit Hall has finally established a nation!" Ning Fengzhi put down the intelligence report in his hand, his expression not showing much surprise. He had expected this, and the Spirit Hall's establishment of a nation was even a little later than he had predicted.

It's probably related to Bibi Dong's injury not long ago.

"Feng Zhi, what do you think the Spirit Hall will do next?" Gu Rong asked.

Ning Fengzhi looked at the map on the wall. "Next, they will definitely launch a two-pronged attack on Tian Dou and Xing Luo. On Tian Dou's side, they will use the Barak Kingdom as a stepping stone to gradually advance inland. On Xing Luo's side, they will start with Gengxin City. To put it bluntly, if I were the Pope, I might massacre the entire city of Gengxin."

"Why?" Gu Rongyin Yang was shocked. Was the city going to be slaughtered right off the bat?

"There are three reasons. First, the Spirit Empire is a church-based state. A characteristic of the church is that those with impure faith are heretics and punished with death. They will definitely exterminate those who do not respect them. Second, compared to the Heaven Dou Empire, the Star Luo Empire has a very obvious characteristic: they are tough and would rather die than submit. Therefore, massacring a city is the best deterrent. Third, Gengxin City is Star Luo's weapons supply point. War is about resources and comprehensive national strength, and weapons are a very important part of it. As the saying goes, what is their hero is our enemy. The more Gengxin City helps the Star Luo army, the more it deserves to be destroyed. That's why the young genius took precautions back then. I hope his efforts back then were worthwhile," Ning Fengzhi sighed.

"Sect Master, what should we do now?" Yin Yang asked.

Ning Fengzhi pondered for a moment and said, "Our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School has a special location, situated in the heart of the Heaven Dou Empire. The continental war will not affect us for the time being, so we should not get involved too early. We should wait for Rongrong and Hongjun to return before making any decisions. It's a pity that if the continental war had come a year later, or if Xiaotian had emerged from seclusion a year earlier, I would have sent him to assassinate Xueye and Xuebeng, and supported Xueke to take the throne. The Haotian Sect would not have been able to stop Xiaotian, and the Heaven Dou Empire would have been under the control of our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. But for now, the Heaven Dou Empire cannot be allowed to fall into chaos, especially since Xueye, Xuebeng, and Gelong cannot all die too soon, otherwise the Martial Soul Empire will pacify it as quickly as possible."

“Fengzhi, I don’t think it’s necessary to go through all this trouble. I estimate that the old swordsman will emerge from seclusion in a year at most, and the old poisoner is already level 94 and is currently in seclusion trying to break through to level 95. Do you know what it means if they both break through again?” Gu Rong said anxiously.

"With these two, plus Xiaotian and you, the combined strength of the four of you is no match for a million-strong army. We can easily deal with Tiandou and Xingluo, and then reveal our hidden agents, the Holy Dragon Sect and Barak. At that time, we will be able to stand on equal footing with the Spirit Hall. Once Xiaotian makes another breakthrough, even Bibi Dong and Qian Daoliu combined will not be his match. In less than three years, this continent will belong to our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School."

"Four people sweeping across the continent? That sounds incredibly exciting." Ning Fengzhi smiled slightly at first, then his tone suddenly changed. "But the more exciting something is, the less likely it is to be a good thing. Uncle Gu, what you said is indeed feasible. Pushing through with brute force is the most efficient and effective method. But do you know how many people will die? Not tens of thousands, but millions!"

Yin Yang shook his head. "Xiao Tian will not agree. Even though he went to the City of Slaughter, it only allowed him to master the God of Slaughter Domain. He still doesn't like excessive killing, and that has never changed."

"War always results in death. The best course of action is to end it as soon as possible," Gu Rong retorted. He was loyal to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School and had the strongest ambition among all the titled Douluo in the school. The thought of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School becoming the true leader of the continent filled him with excitement.

His martial soul possesses the attribute of death; it is a bone dragon from hell. For the sake of continental unification, what does it matter if some people die? As long as the dead are not people important to him, he will not care too much.

"Uncle Gu, do you know the reason why, in war, you can defeat 10,000 enemy soldiers with 20,000 men, but you still send 50,000 or even 100,000?" Ning Fengzhi asked. Seeing Gu Rong shake his head, he continued, "It is precisely to reduce casualties, not only to reduce our own casualties, but also to force the enemy to surrender with absolute power."

"No matter how strong Xiaotian and his two companions are, there are only three of them. The enemy will be complacent, especially the stubborn Xingluo and the powerful Spirit Hall. They won't easily admit defeat until they've been thoroughly defeated. But by the time they realize they're no match for them, the continent will probably be littered with corpses, and it will be too late."

"Therefore, the only way to reduce the killing is to gather strength and press on in one fell swoop. When we have a million-strong army, nearly twenty titled Douluo warriors, and even two or three gods, the Heavenly Dou Star Luo will surrender without us even having to fight. As for the Spirit Hall, even if there is still a battle, it will only be a clash between a few high-end warriors, and the casualties will be minimized."

"Xiao Tian and I have been constantly gathering the strength of the army and soul masters, and gathering the geniuses of the continent, all for that moment. You are right, war is bound to kill people, but keeping the number of deaths to a minimum is the responsibility of us who are vying for supremacy. The unification of the continent is for the better development of the continent, but if the unification of the continent leads to a sharp decline in population and the desolation of the continent, then it is completely putting the cart before the horse."

Gu Rong sighed, "Oh well, I'll never think as much as you and Xiao Tian do. Let's do it your way. By the way, where's Xiao Tian?"

Ning Fengzhi smiled mysteriously, "He said he was going to pick up Rongrong and the others, but if I'm not mistaken, before that, he probably just went out to join in the fun out of boredom."

Ning Fengzhi looked into the distance; that direction was Wuhun City.

As the founding ceremony was about to begin, more and more people gathered in the square, and all the Soul Masters from the various Martial Soul Branch Halls and the Martial Soul Main Hall stood in front of the square.

Bibi Dong's gaze swept over the sea of ​​people before her, a smile appearing on her face. The many high-level Soul Masters before her were all from the Spirit Hall, and they would strive to unify the continent for the Spirit Hall.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School can only rival the Spirit Hall in terms of top-tier combat power; the overall strength gap is still significant.

There was one figure in particular that really annoyed her.

On the left side of the square, a boy is leaning against the wall, watching the founding ceremony.

"Hey, isn't that Jun Tianlin?" a hall master of the Spirit Hall asked doubtfully. He had seen Tianlin before during the Soul Master Academy Tournament and was absolutely certain that he wouldn't mistake him. But the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School and the Spirit Hall were their biggest rivals. Was it really okay for him to show up so openly?

"That's right, it's him, that fool. He's really courting death, daring to break into our headquarters alone!" Salas, the Hall Master of the Heavenly Dou Temple, confirmed. He didn't know whether Tian Lin was ignorant or just reckless, since all the experts from the Spirit Hall had gathered here today.

“Mr. Salas, you are being very rude. I remember that His Holiness the Pope invited all the Soul Masters in the world to attend the ceremony. I am also a Soul Master. What’s wrong with me coming here? Are you questioning His Holiness the Pope’s orders?” Tian Lin’s hearing was now exceptional. How could he not hear Salas’s foul language?

In fact, Tianlin came out of curiosity. He had just returned from Sunset Forest and prepared some gifts for Tianheng and the others to celebrate their long-awaited reunion. He also replenished the Holy Spirit Qi of the Blue Silver King. The Blue Silver King's cultivation level had now recovered to about 70,000 years, and the day when he would return to the Blue Silver Emperor was not far off.

The replenishment of Holy Spirit energy this time was enough for his use. Tianlin had fulfilled the promise he made to him back then, and from now on he owed him nothing.

He was on his way to Poseidon Island when he heard the news of the Spirit Hall's establishment of a kingdom. He decided to come and see for himself, since it was on the way anyway.

"You!" Salas angrily pointed at Tianlin, then turned around and knelt down before Bibi Dong and the others, saying, "Your Holiness, elders, Jun Tianlin not only despises my Spirit Hall, but also sows discord. I request that he be executed to uphold the dignity of my Spirit Hall."

Bibi Dong glanced at Salas and said, "Okay, then you go ahead."

"Me?" Salas was taken aback. He was no match for Tianlin. Bibi Dong was sending him alone. What difference was there between that and sending him to his death?

"You dare not? Then shut your mouth. Jun Tianlin is right. My order is for all Soul Masters in the world to come and witness the ceremony. He is also a Soul Master and is among those invited. What's wrong with him coming? Today is the founding ceremony of our Spirit Hall. It is not appropriate to shed blood. Besides, he is a guest. Put aside any personal grudges." Bibi Dong said coldly.

"Yes." Salas hurriedly agreed and withdrew. As long as he wasn't left to deal with Tianlin alone, he didn't care about losing face.

Bibi Dong was actually quite helpless. Did she not want to kill Tianlin? Of course she did, but the problem was that she couldn't.

With Tianlin's current strength, even if she and Qian Daoliu attacked together, they couldn't kill him. If he wanted to leave, no one from the Spirit Hall could stop him.

Therefore, as long as Tianlin doesn't cause trouble today, she's too lazy to bother.

Soon, with the sound of several loud bugle calls, the founding ceremony officially began.

Bibi Dong took a few steps forward, opened her arms, and said, "Thank you all for attending the founding ceremony of my Spirit Hall today. You are all elites of my Spirit Hall, and the development of the Spirit Hall cannot be separated from your efforts."

"For the long-term peace and stability of Douluo Continent, the Spirit Hall, in accordance with the will of Heaven, hereby establishes a new nation, renamed the Spirit Empire. I will serve as the first Empress of the Empire, and from now on, I will govern all the Spirit Masters under Heaven. All Spirit Masters must obey the orders of my Spirit Empire. Those who disobey will be regarded as heretics and killed without mercy."

Except for Tianlin, everyone else knelt on the ground. Whether they were sect leaders or kingdom kings, they all shouted loudly, "Long live His Majesty! Long live the Spirit Hall!"

Bibi Dong gently raised her hand, and the square instantly fell silent.

This shows that Bibi Dong's prestige in the Spirit Hall has deeply penetrated people's hearts. Qian Daoliu once told Qian Renxue that Bibi Dong's influence now even surpasses his, which was not just empty talk.

Bibi Dong continued, "I hereby appoint Hu Liena as the Holy Maiden of my Spirit Empire, with a status equivalent to the Crown Prince. She is the first in line to the throne and has the right to mobilize all Spirit Masters in the Empire except for those in the Hall of Offerings and the Hall of Elders."

Hu Liena knelt before Bibi Dong to receive the investiture.

Yan and Xie Yue below were overjoyed. From then on, Hu Liena's power in the Spirit Hall was astonishing. Simply put, everyone except Title Douluo had to obey her orders.

"Nana, you've already far surpassed me, but don't worry, one day I will be the only one qualified to stand beside you." Yan looked at Hu Liena with deep affection, then glanced at Tian Lin with hatred in his eyes, vowing in his heart, "I will kill him first, and then, with his head in hand, I will openly propose to you."

Tianlin was somewhat surprised. He had thought that after Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue's hatred gradually dissipated, Qian Renxue would become the successor, but it turned out that it was Hu Liena who was the successor.

Tian Lin glanced at Qian Renxue with a puzzled look. Qian Renxue noticed Tian Lin's gaze, smiled gently at him, and took a few steps forward, kneeling in front of Bibi Dong.

"In addition, I will appoint Qian Renxue as an Imperial Judge, responsible for eliminating traitors for the empire, and grant her special privileges, including the power to execute tyrannical rulers and treacherous officials, and the right to act first and report later." Bibi Dong conferred the title again.

Just like in the original story, Qian Renxue wanted the position of Judgement Elder. However, in the original story, she had no choice because Bibi Dong never considered giving her the position of Saintess. This time, however, it was Bibi Dong who proposed it, but she refused it herself.

Because she had promised not to compete for the position of Holy Maiden, she was showing Bibi Dong her determination. Like Tian Lin, Qian Renxue always kept her word, and even if Bibi Dong offered it to her, she would not go back on her word.