Douluo Continent: Building a Divine Kingdom Starting from the Spirit Hall

"I have a general idea of ​​Xue Qinghe's plan!"

After pondering for a while, Ning Fengzhi used his soul power to condense a rough sand table of the Heaven Dou Empire. He pointed to the Heavenly Spirit Mountain Range in the middle and said, "The Heavenly Spirit Mountain Range almost divides the Heaven Dou Empire's mainland in two. It is also the empire's last line of defense. Jialing Pass is located in the center of the Heavenly Spirit Mountain Range and is also the largest pass. It is easy to defend and difficult to attack from either side."

Four years ago, Xue Qinghe proposed to Emperor Xueye that they should follow the military household system of the Xuefeng Legion and move the families of soldiers of various legions to the rear of the legions and build cities for them to live in.

This would not only solve the problem of manpower, but also indirectly boost morale. In the event of a future war, the families at home would be enough to motivate the soldiers to fight to the death. Emperor Xueye finally adopted this approach.

It now seems that Xue Qinghe had already made arrangements five years ago when we cooperated with Emperor Xueye again. His proposed military household system was not to strengthen the empire, but to prepare to send those legions to the four kingdoms.

At this moment, the six legions in the south should have been incorporated into the four kingdoms, and the passes they guarded should have become the territory of the four kingdoms.

"By using the Tianling Mountains as a base for defense, they can double their territory, while the empire's homeland will shrink by forty percent..."

Upon revealing his own speculation, Ning Fengzhi sighed inwardly at Xue Qinghe's madness. This was not a case of "better to die than live in dishonor," but rather a suicidal act!

Listening to Ning Fengzhi's account, everyone present felt a chill run down their spines and understood the seriousness of the matter.

"In that case, the Empire can only mobilize its four legions!"

Tang San remained relatively calm, looking at the sand table map that Ning Fengzhi had conjured, and calculating the forces that his side could utilize.

Without a doubt, the legions stationed in the south have already been transferred by Xue Qinghe. He even sent the soldiers' families over, so they definitely can't be taken back.

After all, these days, joining the army is mostly about making a living. He even heard that the empire had been forcibly conscripting soldiers a few years ago, which caused a lot of resentment.

The empire has ten legions, each with 100,000 men. The most elite are the Snowblade Legion and the Snow Shield Legion. The Snow Shield Legion is stationed outside the capital city, while the Snowblade Legion is stationed in Snowblade City.

Six legions were stationed in the south to defend against the Star Luo Empire and the major kingdoms and duchies, while the remaining two legions were stationed in the far north to guard against the soul beasts from the far north moving south to disrupt the empire.

"That's it. If Xue Qinghe really wanted to perish with us, he wouldn't leave us any legion."

Shaking his head, Ning Fengzhi didn't believe Xue Qinghe would miss the remaining four legions.

"Head to the Snow Shield Legion's camp!"

Tang Xiao's expression changed drastically, and he stood up, signaling Gu Rong to clear the way.

Despite his suspicions, he still had to go and see for himself if things were really that serious.

The ancient banyan tree remained silent as it opened the portal to the space.

Because the Snow Shield Legion is stationed outside New Heaven Dou City, he has the ability to directly create a spatial portal leading to the vicinity of the camp.

Due to the previous upheaval in the capital, half of the Snow Shield Legion was dispatched to maintain order and protect the powerful and wealthy. Currently, only half of the legion remains in the main camp, making it appear somewhat empty.

Moreover, Tang Xiao brought Avalanche with him this time. The generals of the Snow Shield Legion all recognized the Fourth Prince, so they did not stop him.

Upon entering the camp, the group carefully observed the situation but found nothing amiss. The only concerning thing was the soldiers' poor morale.

However, it's understandable. After all, such a big thing happened, and these soldiers must not be getting enough rest and are always in a state of combat readiness.

"Come here for a second!"

Tang San suddenly called out to a patrol team that was passing by not far away. The patrol team leader looked at Tang San, and then looked at Xue Beng.

"Your Highness, I pay my respects!"

The squad leader led his team to kneel in salute to the avalanche, and the soldiers behind him followed suit.

"All soldiers, please rise!"

Having recovered somewhat, Xue Beng gestured to stand up, while looking at his teacher Tang San with confusion, wondering why this squad of soldiers had been sent over.

"Your breathing is a little rapid, have you just finished training?"

Tang San asked, and then used his Purple Demon Eye to observe the bodies of these soldiers with the X-ray vision he gained from the Autumn Dew.

After arriving at the military camp, he had been observing carefully. Although nothing seemed out of the ordinary, he had a vague feeling that something was wrong. He felt even more uneasy after hearing the rapid breathing of the patrol team.

The squad leader was taken aback and looked at Xue Beng. Xue Beng then introduced, "This is the Blue Hao King, appointed by my father, the Emperor, and also my teacher. Please report the truth."

"Your subordinate greets King Lan Hao!"

The squad leader quickly saluted and then replied, "Reporting to King Lan Hao, we are only responsible for patrolling the camp today and have no training."

“Your steps are steady; you are all well-trained soldiers. If you hadn’t received extra training and were just patrolling, your breathing wouldn’t be this fast. Were you like this before?”

Tang San grew increasingly suspicious, feeling as if he had found the crux of the problem.

Although these soldiers were all clad in heavy armor, they were robust and walked with steady steps. It was impossible for them to breathe so fast if they were simply patrolling. There must be something wrong inside.

"It wasn't like this before, but recently I've often felt tired and sweat more easily, probably because I haven't been getting enough rest."

The squad leader reported the truth, but didn't pay much attention, assuming it was just due to lack of rest and that he would get used to it after a while.

However, these words made Tang San's expression even more serious, and he had a general idea of ​​what was going on.

"Show me your wrist!"

Without hesitation, the squad leader removed his arm armor to expose his arms, and then pushed up the chainmail underneath to reveal his wrists.

Tang San placed his fingers on the body and used the power of the Xuan Tian Gong to explore the body's condition along the meridians and blood vessels, focusing on the internal organs, and quickly made a discovery.

“Show us your wrists!”

Withdrawing his hand, Tang San addressed the other soldiers in the patrol team.

Without hesitation, the soldier removed his heavy and cumbersome arm armor, revealing his wrist, and Tang San stepped forward to take his pulse and examine it.

"You continue your patrol!"

With a blank expression, Tang San gestured to the squad to continue patrolling, then nodded to Gu Rong to return.

Gu Rong didn't say much, opened the spatial portal, and led the group back to the Tang Sect.

"But what did you see?"

Upon returning, Tang Hao couldn't help but ask, "Could there really be a problem?"

"Their kidneys have been damaged by a toxin over a long period of time, resulting in permanent damage. Although it does not affect their normal life, they may find it difficult to do strenuous exercise."

Recounting the results of his previous diagnosis, Tang San, though not skilled in medicine, was quite confident in his poison skills. He was certain that those people had been poisoned for a long time, only recently triggered by someone else.

"Does the teacher mean that none of these soldiers can go back to the battlefield?"

With a pale face, Xue Beng was no fool; he naturally understood the meaning behind his teacher's words.

Those who cannot engage in strenuous exercise are naturally unable to go to the battlefield, which is tantamount to being useless.

Is it treatable?

Ning Fengzhi asked, although he had long guessed that Xue Qinghe would not leave them a chance, but at least he had to try.

"That's permanent damage, incurable, and even healing soul skills won't be effective."

Tang San shook his head. He was good at detoxification, but not at recovery. That was medical skill, not his forte.

Moreover, given his understanding of poison techniques, even a Soul Master with the Nine Heart Begonia skill would find it difficult to heal that level of damage.

Ultimately, healing-type soul skills only increase the body's self-healing ability, not directly create new ones, unless it's a healing-type soul skill that can create something from nothing and regenerate a new kidney.

But I've never even heard of a soul skill of that level. Even if one existed, it would definitely be at the level of a god.

Moreover, since Xue Qinghe has made a move, he certainly won't leave them any room to maneuver. Furthermore, Xue Qinghe is Dugu Bo's disciple and has inherited some of that old monster's poison techniques.

In addition, due to the long period of planning, the toxins have penetrated deep into the kidneys and even become integrated with them. Even if he wanted to remove these toxins, he would have to expend a lot of energy and would need the assistance of precious drugs.

But I don't have that kind of free time; I don't even have enough time for my own self-cultivation.

As for precious medicines, since they are all precious, there won't be many available. Even if we use the power of the empire, we can only save a few hundred people at most, which is meaningless. It would be better to recruit and train others.

"That's so vicious! So vicious!"

Xue Beng was so angry that his handsome face turned red, and he gritted his teeth in hatred for that older brother.

However, Ning Fengzhi found this appearance disdainful. When he first received the information that Emperor Xueye had been poisoned, he felt something was strange. He never expected that it was this thing and Xuexing who had poisoned him. It was exactly the same as what happened to Xueye back then.

None of them are good!

"Your Highness, the most urgent task is for you to ascend the throne as soon as possible, then re-conscript and rebuild the army so that you have the power to protect yourself."

Despite his disdain, Ning Fengzhi still offered advice and guidance.

He currently looks down on the fighting power of mortals, but if an imperial war were to break out in the future, the mortal army would be indispensable, otherwise they would not be able to control the entire empire with their small numbers alone.

As for Avalanche, he must survive, for only through Avalanche can they control the entire empire.

"I understand!"

After calming himself down, Xue Beng indicated that he understood.

Although the situation was terrible, he still had to step up and hold things together, otherwise he would be finished too.

"I will have the Tang Clan fully develop the Zhuge Divine Crossbow and other war crossbow armies to quickly form combat power."

Tang San then spoke up, saying that although the Empire's legions had been crippled by Xue Qinghe, he still had hidden weapons.

As long as enough Zhuge Crossbows are forged, and young men are recruited and trained, a powerful fighting force can be formed.

"Teacher, the iron ore at Ironhoof Mine is of the best quality in the empire, and there's a volcano nearby where you can use the power of the earth's fire to forge it. Why not forge it directly there? It will definitely be much faster."

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him, and Xue Beng thought of the Empire's largest mine, which was also the Empire's largest arsenal.

"Uncle Gu, go to Ironhoof Mine and see if that volcano has gone out."

Ning Fengzhi also thought of this, but he thought of it in a different direction.

"You mean Xue Qinghe also has contact with that person?"

Gu Rong understood, his expression changed again, and he hurriedly opened the spatial portal and rushed to the Iron Hoof Mine. Not long after, he returned with a heavy expression.

Just by looking at Gu Rong's expression, everyone knew that the volcano over there must have been extinguished. Only the person who possessed the Azure Lotus Earth Core Flame could have done that.

In other words, Xue Qinghe was also in contact with that person, which resulted in the destruction of half of the largest arsenal in the empire.

Without sufficient flame, it is impossible to quickly smelt iron ore and then forge it into weapons and equipment to arm the army.

There are no coal mines within a radius of a thousand miles in that area. Either transporting coal there or transporting iron ore out of there would require a lot of manpower and resources, which would not be needed in the short term.

"This is far from over. With Xue Qinghe's intelligence, his five years of scheming could not possibly be limited to this. We must all be prepared."

With a gloomy sigh, Ning Fengzhi had no choice but to bite the bullet and go into battle.

After all, although their daughter could become a god and ascend to the divine realm to live forever, their Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School still needed to remain in this world and had to have a foundation.

"Mistress, you need to think twice before you act in the future. Don't be reckless. You are too young and don't understand the complexity and darkness of human nature."

In the end, Ning Fengzhi reminded Tang San that he had realized that Xue Qinghe had deliberately let Tang San kill him, thus triggering the plan to collapse the empire.