A Bite of Douluo Continent

Chapter 478 The Ministers' Discussion (Bonus chapter on the sixth day of the Lunar New Year! Requesting monthly votes!)

What the courtiers could think of, the Emperor Sun and Moon, sitting on the dragon throne, naturally also thought of. His expression gradually became extremely solemn. He snatched the memorial that the attendant was about to hand over and eagerly began to read it. The more he read, the uglier his expression became.

After a while, he slowly raised his head and looked at the person standing at the front of the court who was frowning in thought. "Master Hongchen, Mingde Hall knows the most about soul tools. Jingtian Weidi was created by Imperial Tutor Hongchen himself. I have some questions I would like to ask you."

"I wouldn't dare." Yao Hongchen was also quite shocked by the amount of information hidden in Xu Jiyun's words. When he heard the Emperor of the Sun and Moon mention him, he immediately stepped forward and said, "If Your Majesty has any questions, I will answer them without reservation."

"Hoo..." The Sun and Moon Emperor let out a long breath, as if trying to suppress all the panic in his heart. When he opened his eyes again, his face had regained the majesty of an emperor. "Douluo Continent has no inheritance of soul tools. Is it possible that they discovered each other earlier than us?"

“This…” Yao Hongchen pondered for a moment, then shook his head solemnly. “Your Majesty, I believe this is impossible.”

"It should be noted that my father's ascent to the heavens and earth did not immediately discover the coastline of Douluo Continent. It was only after subsequent testing of the maximum observation range, when he had risen to almost the limit, that he discovered the traces of the Douluo Continent coastline."

"The maximum altitude for the Sky-Piercing Douluo is 15,000 meters. At such a height, there is almost no air, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is almost non-existent, and there is also an extremely low temperature. Even if there are so-called Limit Douluo in the Douluo Continent with a soul power level as high as 99, I do not believe that they can reach such a forbidden zone of life."

"Even if we take a step back and assume that they could briefly appear at such a height, they can't be precognitive. Our Sun Moon Continent only discovered each other by chance. How could such a limited number of Limit Douluo powerhouses just run to such a high altitude? Just to see if any continents are approaching the Douluo Continent?"

After Yao Hongchen finished speaking, there were even faint laughs among the ministers.

Indeed, according to intelligence, there are only two or three experts of such strength in the entire Douluo Continent. Would they suddenly have nothing better to do than go to an altitude of over 15,000 meters and then happen to discover the Sun and Moon Continent?

How could such an outrageous thing happen in this world?

Hearing Yao Hongchen's explanation, the emperor's expression relaxed slightly, and he spoke again, "Then, does Hall Master Hongchen think that a strong person with the strength of a fifth-level Soul Master can break through the countless detection Soul Guidance Devices densely distributed along the coastline and secretly infiltrate the Sun Moon Continent?"

"this…"

This time, Yao Hongchen dared not make any guarantees. Combining the emperor's previous question with his own understanding of the emperor's meaning, Yao Hongchen pondered for a moment and then said in a weaker tone, "That is possible."

"The entire coastline of the Sun and Moon Continent is covered by life-detecting soul tools manufactured by the high-level soul masters inside Mingde Hall, leaving no blind spots. These life-detecting soul tools were modified with my father's guidance, and can detect life aura and soul power fluctuations at the same time. The detection accuracy is greatly improved compared with the previous detectors, but it is not omnipotent."

"According to intelligence, the people of Douluo Continent do not use soul tools, but over a long period of evolution, soul masters have emerged. Although we soul masters, like them, possess martial souls, our development and utilization of martial souls are certainly inferior to theirs. Moreover, martial souls are ever-changing, and if there is a special martial soul that happens to have the effect of evading detection..."

Yao Hongchen paused for a moment, then said, "However... I believe that the possibility of a Soul Master with only five rings breaking through the detector is extremely low."

“In every coastal city, there are level eight life detection soul tools. Outside the city, level seven life detection soul tools are used to ensure that there are no blind spots in the entire detection process. Mingde Hall has even left spare detectors in every city to prevent the detectors from malfunctioning and being unable to be replenished in time. In other words, the other party must have at least the ability to avoid detection by level seven soul tools in order to infiltrate the Sun Moon Continent.”

"It's almost impossible for someone with a five-ring strength to do this, but if there's more than one opponent, and there's someone with a seven-ring or higher specifically responsible for cover... it's still possible to evade the life detection soul tool."

Yao Hongchen's expression was somewhat helpless. "Your Majesty, the life detection soul tools in Mingde Hall are definitely not the problem, but no matter what, it's impossible to cover the entire coastline with a level nine life detection soul tool. Covering it with a level eight soul tool is the limit. There's really no way around it..."

The meaning of "Yao Hongchen" is quite clear.

It's almost impossible for Douluo Continent to discover each other earlier than Sun Moon Continent, but the probability of them infiltrating later is not low. After all, the continent's coastline is so large, and there aren't enough level nine soul masters or level nine soul tools to create. So, this is no wonder that Mingde Hall is in trouble.

Although it may seem like a way of shifting blame, it is the truth.

The Emperor sighed softly. Combining the detailed memorial in his hand, he guessed that the restaurant called Hanshi had sneaked in from the coastline.

With such a vast coastline, it would be extremely difficult to stop a powerful individual from sneaking in.

This is indeed not the fault of the life detection soul guide device made by Mingdetang.

"You may all take a look at this memorial," the emperor said, handing the memorial to a servant who then passed it on to the officials below the platform.

After a while, once the main ministers had read through the detailed contents of the memorial, the emperor finally spoke, "Now it seems that Douluo Continent has discovered something, and this Cold Food Festival may be the first step. How should we deal with it? Let's all share our thoughts."

"Your Majesty, I will immediately lead men to completely annihilate that Hanshi Restaurant. It's just a mere restaurant, not worth mentioning. A few soul-guided cannon shots will blast it to ashes." Among the ministers, a minister dressed in military robes immediately stepped forward and spoke, his eyes showing a hint of eagerness.

The atmosphere in the imperial court suddenly became strange.

"Nonsense!" The prime minister, standing at the head of the court, darkened his face and immediately barked the brute away. "Didn't you hear what the Red Dust Hall Master said? The owner of Hanshi Restaurant is definitely not alone. He's only in the open now; there must be someone hiding in the shadows. If we destroy Hanshi Restaurant, wouldn't we completely cut off the only clue and scare the lurking guys away?"

"Uh..." The military officer scratched his head, belatedly realizing what he meant, and shrank back dejectedly. "Your Majesty, I was just joking, ahahaha..."

“Hmph, all you guys in the Terrorclaw Soul Master Corps know how to fight blindly and never use your brains,” another military officer standing next to him sneered, then stood up. “Your Majesty, this restaurant owner named Qi Han must be a key figure. Not only can we not kill him immediately, but even capturing and interrogating him might alert him.”

"Your subject, Ye Changhong, commander of the Evil Monarch Soul Master Corps, is willing to personally go to Hanshi to test this person!"

Chapter 479 The Wise Prime Minister (Seeking monthly votes and recommendations)

Faced with Ye Changhong's self-recommendation, the Sun and Moon Emperor paused for a moment before speaking, "How does Commander Ye intend to test me?"

Ye Changhong had already come up with an idea and immediately explained, "Your Majesty, no matter how Hanshi disguises itself, it is still a restaurant. Since it is a restaurant, it must operate. I plan to disguise myself as a level 5 Soul Master passing by Hanshi, then go inside to eat, and try to create conflict with Qi Han to see if I can force Qi Han to take action."

"According to the intelligence, the Soul Masters of Douluo Continent are very different from us Soul Masters. As long as we fight each other, we will naturally gain something."

This plan sounds good, at least much more reliable than the plan proposed by the Terrorclaw Soul Masters.

After listening to Ye Changhong's words, everyone nodded in approval. After thinking for a moment, the Sun and Moon Emperor also nodded, "This plan is excellent. If Commander Ye succeeds in his test, I will certainly remember your merit."

Having received the emperor's promise, Ye Changhong's face lit up with joy.

Their Evil Lord Soul Master Corps was established later than the Terror Claw Soul Master Corps, so they were inferior to the Terror Claw Soul Master Corps in every aspect. Ye Changhong was unwilling to accept this, and he was naturally delighted to have found an opportunity to make contributions in front of the emperor.

After adopting Ye Changhong's plan, the Sun and Moon Emperor was not satisfied with that. He looked around at his ministers and asked again, "Other ministers, do you have any good ideas?"

The crowd looked at each other, and finally the prime minister, who was in charge, stepped forward again. "Your Majesty, the Third Prince mentioned in his memorial that the Cold Food Festival was deliberately set up on a secluded street to prevent us from discovering its existence too early. Fortunately, because of the Fifth Princess's unexpected departure from the palace, we discovered the Cold Food Festival in time. Since that's the case, we naturally cannot let their plan succeed."

The emperor nodded in agreement, "Continue."

"The Cold Food Festival is deliberately set up in such a remote place, not only to prevent us from discovering it too early, but also to avoid attracting attention when we leave." The prime minister pondered for a moment, then continued, "They have accomplices. We cannot easily alert them, but we only need to do some seemingly unrelated things to keep the Cold Food Festival in our sight at all times."

"It seems the Prime Minister already has a plan?" The Emperor smiled slightly. Prime Minister Zhou Yuan was a minister skilled in governing the country. Many of the policies and plans targeting Douluo were proposed by him. Seeing the Prime Minister's confident appearance, the Emperor knew that this Prime Minister had come up with another good plan. "Tell me quickly."

"Yes," Zhou Yuan said with a smile. "Would any of you ministers be interested in dining at a different place in the future?"

"How about we eat our meals there every day from now on?"

Upon hearing this, the ministers behind him immediately revealed knowing smiles.

With so many ministers watching, Qi Han was bound to be unable to make any moves.

"But isn't this just handing that guy business?" the commander of the Terrorclaw Soul Master Corps shouted again. "This is aiding the enemy!"

Zhou Yuan's face darkened slightly. It was that guy again.

As his life was drawing to a close, Zhao Linlong, the former legion commander of the Terrorclaw Soul Mentor Corps, handed over the position to his only son, Zhao Zhiyuan, and retired to a life of leisure. However, Zhao Zhiyuan was a simpleton, brave in battle but lacking in strategy.

If it weren't for the fact that his father was still alive, and to give that pillar of the nation, who had spent his life on the battlefield, some face, he and the emperor would have replaced the commander of the Terrorclaw Soul Master Corps in a heartbeat.

This time, Zhou Yuan didn't need to speak; Ye Changhong, standing next to Zhao Zhiyuan, had already spoken up, "Fool, you don't actually think Hanshi opened this shop in Mingdu to make money, do you? Who cares about this little bit of money? If we can use money to keep them occupied and keep them under our noses at all times, why not do it?"

“This…” Zhao Zhiyuan’s name sounded somewhat refined, but he was actually a robust and forthright man. He was speechless when he heard this. He scratched his head, trying to find something to refute Ye Changhong, whom he had always disliked, but in the end he could only glare at him and then stop talking.

Seeing that the simpleton was no longer speaking, Zhou Yuan continued, "However, all ministers should be careful not to reveal their identities during the Cold Food Festival. Just pretend to be ordinary guests who have come because of its reputation."

“The Third Prince is of a higher status than us, and the royal family’s skin color is so easily recognizable that even the Cold Food Shop owner didn’t recognize him. So he certainly doesn’t recognize us either. This is a good thing.”

"If we were just ordinary customers, Qi Han, though frustrated by the restaurant's booming business, would have no choice but to serve us dutifully to avoid revealing his own short-sighted actions. However, if he were to discover our identities..."

Zhou Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly, his voice becoming more serious, "I'm afraid he might take the risk and add something he shouldn't to the food."

If all the officials went to eat and were then poisoned by the enemy, then this plan would truly become a joke.

"Your Excellency is right to remind me."

"Oh right, I almost forgot about that..."

After Zhou Yuan finished speaking, the ministers immediately lost their previous smugness.

They were eating at a restaurant owned by the enemy, and in their excitement, they had completely forgotten that the enemy could poison the food.

Many officials secretly wiped the sweat from their brows. They had even planned to make a grand entrance to the Cold Food Festival after the morning court session. If the prime minister hadn't reminded them, they would probably have all been in trouble.

With Zhou Yuan's reminder, everyone immediately felt a wake-up call.

I absolutely must not reveal my identity!

Just pretend to be an ordinary customer and go over there!

Seeing that his ministers had taken his reminder to heart, he nodded slightly, then spoke again, "Our going to the Cold Food Festival as guests is only the first reason; as for the second..."

“A restaurant cannot be open all the time. If it is closed during the Cold Food Festival, diners have no reason to go there. So this plan still has loopholes. To solve this loophole, we need to send other people to keep an eye on the Cold Food Festival at all times.”

The Sun and Moon Emperor nodded. "We certainly have people to keep an eye on a restaurant, but how can we ensure that our surveillance isn't discovered by Han Shi or the powerful figures lurking in the shadows?"

“That’s easy too.” Zhou Yuan smiled confidently. “Mingke Street is extremely remote, with a lot of vacant shops. We can use these shops to open all sorts of businesses, and then send people to operate them openly while keeping a close eye on Hanshi at all times, so that the owner of Hanshi will have nowhere to escape!”

"The sudden appearance of so many new shops on such a remote street is still something that could easily arouse suspicion, but I already have a solution." A glint of wisdom flashed in his eyes.

"Mingdu is so magnificent, with the Sun and Moon Avenue as its center. The other districts have always been deserted, and some are even remote and sparsely populated. The people in these remote districts live in inconvenience. His Majesty was heartbroken when he learned of this and was willing to spend money to improve the lives of the people in the remote districts. Therefore, he issued an edict to rebuild Mingke Street with a huge investment, using it as a pilot project..." Zhou Yuanchao bowed slightly to the emperor, "Is Your Majesty willing to issue this edict?"

"The people in remote neighborhoods are also subjects of my Sun Moon Empire. How can we stand by and do nothing while they suffer inconvenience?" The Sun Moon Emperor laughed heartily. "This decree, I will naturally issue!"

The emperor and his minister exchanged a knowing smile, their eyes filled with unspoken understanding.

Chapter 480 The Master of the Red Dust Hall Wants to Report His Own Father

After the morning court session ended, Yao Hongchen walked out of the palace and strode towards Mingde Hall.

After the prime minister, no other ministers offered any more constructive suggestions, so after a detailed discussion and refinement of Zhou Yuan's proposal, the morning court session came to an end.

Yao Hongchen's mind was not on the Cold Food Festival; his expression was somewhat solemn at the moment.

He absolutely refused to believe that Douluo Continent discovered each other before Sun Moon Continent, which meant that Douluo Continent had laid out its plans and infiltrated earlier than his own side. However, the malfunction of the life detection soul tool in the face of Han Shi was no small matter either.

It should be noted that when this soul tool appeared, Mingde Hall had conducted countless experiments. Even a level nine soul master could not hide their presence in front of such a detection soul tool. Therefore, Mingde Hall concluded that unless one could instantly appear from one side of the soul tool detector to the other, it would be impossible to pass through the detection range without the soul tool detector noticing.

Theoretically, the only way to achieve such an effect is through teleportation.

Even the lowest level seven life detection soul guide has a coverage area that is a spherical region with a diameter of three kilometers.

Can one teleport more than 3,000 meters at a time?

This is utter nonsense.

Therefore, this soul tool should theoretically be able to detect intruders in the Douluo Continent.

Although he mentioned in the morning court that the Soul Masters and Martial Souls in Douluo Continent were incredibly diverse and that someone might be able to achieve this, it was just a pretext, since he couldn't think of any other excuses.

But he himself didn't believe that.

Don't Soul Masters need to use Soul Power?

Even if they possess a special soul skill that allows them to conceal their life force, there will inevitably be fluctuations in soul power during the process of using this soul skill.

It's impossible for a Soul Master to evade the detector.

But no matter what, the fact remains that the Hanshi Restaurant, which was originally located in Douluo Continent, has appeared in Mingdu.