Douluo Continent: The Five Elements Lock Martial Soul, Five Elements Divine Might Transformation

These past few days, he has looked at all the maps of Douluo Continent, but he has not been able to find the location of the Slaughter City, whether it is the map of the Heaven Dou Empire or the Star Luo Empire.

In this world, Tang Hao and Bibi Dong are probably the only two people who know where the Killing Capital is, and Qian Daoliu might know it too.

Therefore, he would need Xue Qinghe's help to reach the Killing City.

Just as Ling Yun was deep in thought, he heard a conversation nearby.

"Have you heard? A band of wolf bandits has appeared on the border of the Heavenly Dou Empire. They're said to number over a hundred, and they've already looted several villages."

"Huh? Is that so? Didn't the local officials and soldiers handle it? Doesn't the Spirit Hall around here care? Are the Four Great Kingdoms just going to sit idly by?"

"How could that be? The Kingdom of Barak immediately dispatched cavalry to suppress this band of wolf bandits, but unfortunately, they were hiding deep in the mountains and forests."

The cavalry were caught off guard as soon as they entered the forest, suffering heavy losses. It's said that over two hundred died and more than a thousand went missing, their whereabouts unknown. I'd say they're probably in the mouths of wolf bandits and are now likely a pile of dung.

"What about the Spirit Hall?"

"The Spirit Hall also sent spirit masters, but you know what powerful spirit masters could possibly come from such a small place? In the end, it'll probably be like throwing meat buns to a dog—a one-way trip..."

"Wolf bandits!"

Listening to the conversations around him, Ling Yun was lost in thought.

"I wonder if it's the same group of wolf bandits that the Shrek Seven Devils encountered. If so, perhaps I can wipe out these wolf bandits and obtain a ten-thousand-year-old soul bone. Barak Kingdom?"

After noting down the location where the wolf bandits had appeared, Ling Yun slowly walked towards the Crown Prince's residence.

Chapter 99 Advice for Xue Qinghe

Upon arriving at the Crown Prince's residence, Ling Yun saw a lavishly decorated carriage speeding towards the palace.

Through the carriage window, Ling Yun could see the person inside: an elderly man with a full head of white hair and a weathered face, dressed in a red brocade robe, who looked dignified and imposing.

The moment Ling Yun saw the old man, he recognized him as the younger brother of Emperor Xue Ye, Prince Xue Xing.

"Why did Prince Xuexing leave the Crown Prince's residence? Didn't he and Xue Qinghe have a bad relationship?"

Ling Yun frowned slightly. He clearly remembered that in the original story, after the second and third princes of the Heaven Dou Empire died one after another, Prince Xue Xing began to suspect Xue Qinghe.

After all, from a purely financial perspective, Xue Qinghe was the most direct beneficiary of the deaths of the two princes.

Therefore, from that time on, Prince Xuexing began to collect evidence of Xue Qinghe's plot to murder the two princes. At the same time, he had the fourth prince, Xue Beng, pretend to be a spoiled brat and had Dugu Bo secretly protect him to prevent Xue Beng from being harmed.

"Since the two of them don't get along, Prince Xuexing is probably here to cause trouble for Xue Qinghe..."

Ling Yun twitched the corners of his mouth and then walked into the Crown Prince's residence. Sure enough, when he arrived at the Crown Prince's residence's council hall, he saw Xue Qinghe with an unhappy expression and an exquisite teacup that had been smashed on the ground.

"Greetings, Your Highness!"

Ling Yun placed his hands on his chest and bowed, saying that after all, Xue Qinghe was now the Crown Prince, and the proper etiquette should still be observed.

Upon seeing that the visitor was Ling Yun, Xue Qinghe's displeasure completely disappeared, replaced by a smile as she spoke.

"Oh, it's Ling Yun! I didn't expect you to be back so soon. How did it go? Did you get the spirit ring you wanted?"

"Thanks to His Highness the Crown Prince, I absorbed a 50,000-year-old soul ring and obtained a very powerful sixth soul skill."

"Fifty thousand years..."

Xue Qinghe was dumbfounded upon hearing this. As far as he knew, ordinary Soul Masters could only absorb a 50,000-year Soul Ring when they reached level 70. Ling Yun was only level 60, yet he could absorb a 50,000-year Soul Ring, which showed his extraordinary talent.

Even he couldn't absorb a spirit ring that was above his level.

"Hehe, as expected of the number one genius of Heaven Dou Academy, you have become a Soul Emperor at such a young age. Given time, you will definitely be able to surpass Haotian Douluo and become the youngest Title Douluo in history."

"Thank you for the compliment, Your Highness. I was just lucky."

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Xue Qinghe, Ling Yun suddenly asked tentatively, "Your Highness, when I came over just now, I saw Prince Xue Xing, and looking at the broken teacup on the ground... it seems you two had a conflict?"

"Hehe, my good-for-nothing brother has caused me trouble at the academy again, and he's also run into some trouble in government affairs recently. My uncle is taking the opportunity to put pressure on me. It seems he still doesn't quite trust me."

Xue Qinghe gave a wry smile, shook his head, and said that Emperor Xue Ye was getting old, so Xue Qinghe was in charge of handling most of the affairs of the country. This was also to train Xue Qinghe and cultivate a crown prince.

"I see. But these are minor matters, Your Highness need not worry about them. Since Prince Xuexing does not trust Your Highness, then Your Highness should do your best in everything."

I believe that one day, Your Highness will become a qualified crown prince, or even an excellent monarch!

At that time, all doubts about His Highness the Crown Prince will vanish. What's that saying again? "Everyone underestimated me, but I proved them wrong!"

"Hehe, you have a sweet tongue..." Xue Qinghe raised the corners of her mouth, feeling a surge of pleasure. She had to admit that Ling Yun's words really hit the nail on the head.

However, he then changed the subject, saying, "But Lingyun, the power struggles in the imperial court are not as simple as you imagine."

Even though I am now the Crown Prince, second only to the Emperor, there are still many people in the court who oppose me, led by my uncle, Prince Xuexing, who oppose me at every turn.

Even I am walking on thin ice, having to be extremely careful, lest they seize upon my weakness and plunge me into an abyss of no return.

Ling Yun shook his head upon hearing this and retorted, "I may not understand the power struggles and intrigues in the imperial court, but in my opinion, it's not difficult at all. It's simply a matter of making as many friends as possible and as few enemies as possible."

"As long as His Highness has enough powerful and influential people behind him, is there any fear that he won't be able to inherit the throne?"

"Make as many friends as possible, and as few enemies as possible..."

Xue Qinghe muttered those words, nodded slightly, and asked with a smile in a teasing tone, "That makes sense. Go on, how exactly do you plan to implement it? For example, how do you make more friends?"

"I don't understand this. I suppose it would be enough to cater to their preferences? Please forgive me, Your Highness, I am completely unaware of the situation in the Imperial Court."

Ling Yun scratched his head, looking embarrassed, but then he changed the subject and continued, "However, the Tiandou Empire is not an empire for court officials, but a homeland for all its subjects to live on."

Therefore, I think that if I cannot win over the ministers in the court in a short period of time, I can bestow favors on the common people outside the court, especially the common people who are Soul Masters. Many of them are geniuses like me.

If His Highness could gain the support of these commoner Soul Masters, it would be a significant asset!

"Winning over commoner Soul Masters? That's a good idea!"

Xue Qinghe's eyes lit up, and he thought to himself: Compared to those officials in the court, these commoner soul masters are much easier to win over. As long as we give them some small favors, we can make them willingly risk their lives for me.

Seeing that Xue Qinghe was interested, Ling Yun suddenly remembered the matter of the wolf bandits and immediately said respectfully, "Your Highness, I happen to have some urgent news. If this matter can be handled well, Your Highness's prestige will surely rise to a higher level!"

"Oh?" Xue Qinghe looked puzzled and asked, "What urgent news is it?"

"As far as I know, a gang of wolf bandits, numbering over a hundred, has appeared on the border of the Kingdom of Barak and has already massacred civilians in several villages."

They hid deep in the mountains and forests, and even the cavalry of the Barak Kingdom couldn't do anything about them, so I suggested that I take care of these wolf bandits.

After dealing with them, we will announce to the outside world that His Highness the Crown Prince is compassionate towards the people and cannot bear to see the living being slaughtered, so he specially sent me to eliminate the wolf bandits. I believe the surrounding civilians will be very grateful for His Highness the Crown Prince's kindness.

Although this may seem like a trivial matter to His Highness the Crown Prince, over time, his reputation and prestige will steadily rise.

"Hehe, Ling Yun, I think this is your real purpose, isn't it?" Xue Qinghe smiled and said, "I think you said this on purpose to test your sixth soul skill in order to fight that gang of wolf bandits."

No, I'm just embarrassed to ask you for leave right away and then ask you to help me find the location of the Killing City, so I wanted to do a few things for you first so that you wouldn't be able to refuse my requests later.

That's what Ling Yun was thinking, but he certainly couldn't say it out loud.

Therefore, he smiled awkwardly and said, "Your Highness is very perceptive. Nothing can escape your keen eyes. What do you think, Your Highness?"

"Since eliminating the wolf bandits will enhance my prestige, why should I refuse? Then go ahead and make sure you completely eliminate these wolf bandits! Also..."

As he spoke, Xue Qinghe took out a map from his soul tool, which was covered with many red circles.

"The areas marked with circles are frequented by bandits, outlaws, or corrupt soul masters. If you didn't get enough of those wolf bandits, take care of these rats who can't stand the light of day while you're at it."

"clear."

Ling Yun took the map and was about to take his leave when Xue Qinghe suddenly said, "Would you like me to arrange a few helpers for you?"

"Thank you for your concern, Your Highness, but I can handle this small matter on my own!"

Chapter 100 Annihilation of the Wolf Bandits

After leaving the Crown Prince's residence, Ling Yun walked along the main street of Tian Dou City, muttering to himself.

"If it's Xue Qinghe, he should be able to become a good ruler in the future, right?"

He knew very well that Xue Qinghe's true identity was Qian Renxue, the young master of the Spirit Hall, but if he could help the people living in the Heaven Dou Empire to live a happy and fulfilling life, he would not mind assisting Xue Qinghe.

At least in Ling Yun's opinion, Xue Qinghe was much better than Xue Beng, that spoiled brat.

"Forget it, I don't want to think about these things anymore. If Xue Qinghe can't become a good emperor either, then I'll just overthrow him when I become stronger."

The most urgent task is to deal with the wolf bandits within the Kingdom of Barak. If we're lucky, we might even obtain a ten-thousand-year-old soul bone.

With that in mind, Ling Yun rented a carriage and set off for the border of the Kingdom of Barak.

The border area of ​​the Barak Kingdom is very close to the Star Dou Great Forest, so there is no difference between going to the border of the Barak Kingdom from the Tian Dou Empire and going to the Star Dou Great Forest.

It took Ling Yun more than a month to finally reach a small village on the border of the Barak Kingdom.

After more than a month of cultivation, his cultivation level gradually stabilized. In just half a month, his soul power soared from level 58 to level 67. Although his cultivation level improved significantly, his soul power was unstable and he was at risk of falling back to a lower level at any time.

However, after more than a month of meditation and arduous training, Ling Yun's soul power has completely stabilized, and he is now a true level 67 all-around battle soul emperor.

Upon arriving at the village, Lingyun was surprised to find that there was no one in the small village he was in. The surrounding land was overgrown with weeds and looked very desolate.

Upon seeing this, Ling Yun frowned slightly and exclaimed, "Could it be that this village has also been attacked by wolf bandits, and everyone has been captured by them?"

Thinking of this, Ling Yun felt a pang of anxiety, but then, smelling the fresh, moist air around him, he shook his head slightly.

"No, the air is too clean, there's no smell of blood at all, and there's no blood on the soil. Even the surrounding houses and buildings show no signs of damage. The villagers shouldn't have opened their doors and left with the wolf bandits..."

As they spoke, Ling Yun wandered aimlessly through the village, searching for clues about the wolf bandits. Before long, he saw a brand-new wooden house, and outside the house, an old man with white hair was sweeping the floor.

Seeing this, Ling Yun was overjoyed. Perhaps the old man knew something. He immediately ran towards the old man and greeted him.

"Grandpa, do you know what happened in this village? Where has everyone gone? Why are you all alone?"

Looking at Ling Yun's youthful face, the old man was immediately surprised and hurriedly said, "Child, what are you doing here? You should leave here quickly and go far away. This village is no longer safe."

"Old man, what exactly happened here?"

"Oh, don't even mention it." The old man sighed and explained, "A month ago, a gang of bandits appeared in the deep mountains and forests nearby. They burned, killed, looted, and committed all sorts of atrocities, and several nearby villages suffered as a result."

Hundreds of people, turned into corpses overnight. The scene… well, I won't go into details, lest you have nightmares.”

After a pause, the old man continued, "Upon learning that the surrounding villages had suffered misfortune, the villagers dared not stay here any longer and fled to Soto City for refuge."

"Since it's so dangerous here, why don't you leave, sir?"

"Because I am the steward of this Martial Soul Branch Hall, I must stay here."

As he spoke, the old man pointed to the brand-new wooden house behind him. Ling Yun immediately understood. So this was the Martial Soul Branch Hall. No wonder this wooden house was larger and looked cleaner and tidier than the surrounding houses.

"Furthermore, I am a three-ring Soul Master. Although I cannot defeat those wolf bandits, if I want to run away, those wolf bandits cannot catch me."