Douluo Continent: Tonight, a Fairy Tale Descends

Its territory was torn apart and divided by three forces at the same time. The area north of the northern border was taken over by Eva's forces. Large swathes of territory in the central and eastern regions fell into the hands of the Spirit Hall. The small, narrow strip of land on the western front, close to the control area of ​​the Three Sect Alliance, was barely held by the hastily retreating remnants of the Star Luo army.

Those people who once lived under the banner of the Star Luo Empire were divided among different governing authorities within just a few days.

Some were taken over by the Spirit Hall's army, some were placed under the jurisdiction of the Northern Territory, and a small number retreated to the western front along with the remnants of the Star Luo Empire.

The Anti-Soul Alliance also completely collapsed at this moment.

The united front, which was hastily put together with the common goal of fighting against the Spirit Hall, has now lost its core bond.

After the fall of the Star Luo Empire, the rifts that already existed within the alliance were suddenly exposed to everyone.

Eva's forces gained a large amount of territory in the tripartite division, which changed the standoff between her and the Spirit Hall.

When the news reached the western front, a low-pressure atmosphere hung over the base of the Three Alliances.

Yu Yuanzhen stood by the window, his back to the others in the council hall, his rugged face expressionless. In his hand, he clutched an urgent battle report that had just been sent from Xingluo, the edges of the paper already crumpled with several fine creases.

Ning Fengzhi sat on one side of the long table, with several newly delivered intelligence reports spread out in front of him. His gaze fell on the report about the Northern Territory taking over a major town in northern Xingluo, but he did not speak immediately.

Several generals sat in the corner of the living room. Some were talking in hushed tones with somber expressions, while others leaned back in their chairs with their eyes closed as if they were resting. No one spoke up.

By the time Dai Tianfeng led the remaining men to the western front post, it was already completely dark.

His dark gold imperial robes were slightly disheveled by the wind, and he looked noticeably more tired than usual, but his sharp, hawk-like eyes were still impossible to look directly into.

He didn't exchange many pleasantries, but simply confirmed the location of the residence and the follow-up arrangements before heading to his temporary lodgings under the guidance of his attendant.

In the meetings that followed over the next few days, a new alliance structure was hastily established. After absorbing the remnants of the Star Luo Empire, the Three Sects Alliance was officially renamed the Comprehensive Alliance.

The three original pillars—Haotian Sect, Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, and Blue Lightning Tyrant Sect—remained stable, while the remaining forces of the Star Luo Empire were incorporated into the Alliance's unified command system, with Dai Tianfeng at the head, serving as the fourth force within the Alliance.

The relationship between the Alliance and the North also underwent a fundamental transformation during this period.

The original Anti-Spirit Alliance was a temporary united front pieced together with the common goal of fighting against the Spirit Hall. Now that the Star Luo Empire has been destroyed and the Heaven Dou Empire no longer exists, that common goal has lost its most direct embodiment.

Eva's large-scale territorial takeover in northern Xingluo has also created an unprecedented misalignment between her position and the Comprehensive Alliance.

The generals of the Allied Forces privately discussed Eva, changing their initial perception of her as a "reliable ally" to that of "that woman from the North."

Inside the newly renovated council chamber of the Comprehensive Alliance, candlelight flickered gently in the night breeze, casting intermittent light and shadow on the faces seated on either side of the long table.

The hushed conversations of sentries changing shifts could be heard from outside the window, muffled and distant through a thick stone wall.

Dai Tianfeng sat at the long table near the head of the table, his dark red casual clothes making him appear even more solemn than usual.

He had changed out of his wind-blown imperial robes, but the complex emotions suppressed between his brows did not lessen at all.

Before him lay a piece of intelligence regarding the latest expansion of his sphere of influence in the North. The paper was neatly trimmed, and the ink was clear. It was the first document he had requested to be retrieved after arriving on the western front.

Ning Fengzhi sat opposite him, holding a freshly brewed cup of tea. The tea shimmered with a warm amber luster under the candlelight, but he didn't drink it. He just held the cup, as if waiting for Dai Tianfeng to speak first.

Yu Yuanzhen sat at the other end of the long table, arms crossed, leaning back slightly in his chair. His rugged face showed little expression, but his eyes remained fixed on the paper in front of Dai Tianfeng.

Chapter 569 A Triumphant Smile

Tang Xiao sat next to Yu Yuanzhen. His dark gray outfit stood out as particularly simple among the group of people in fancy clothes, but his presence was in no way inferior to anyone else present.

Dai Tianfeng finally spoke.

His voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly, carrying a cold, hard quality that had been repeatedly suppressed yet could never be completely flattened.

"I received news from the north. Eva had already sent people to take over several important towns north of Xingluo before we withdrew from Xingluo City."

Her stated reason was to prevent the Spirit Hall from taking advantage of the chaos to expand northward, but in reality, her people arrived in those cities even before our messengers.

He paused, as if letting the weight of his words settle in everyone's hearts, before continuing:

"She had been preparing for this for a long time. She had been waiting for this moment even while the Star Luo Empire was still resisting."

We thought she was there to help, but actually she was just waiting for us to collapse so she could cut off the piece she wanted from the still-warm corpse.

A moment of silence fell over the council chamber; no one immediately spoke. The generals exchanged glances; some frowned slightly, while others lowered their heads to look at the table.

Ning Fengzhi gently placed the slightly cooled cup of tea back on the table, the bottom of the cup making a very soft, crisp sound as it hit the table.

You're right.

His voice remained steady when he spoke, but his pace was slower than usual.

“Eva is indeed using this war to maximize her own interests. I’ve known this from the beginning. She never joined the Anti-Soul Alliance for some vague, shared ideal. She has her own goals and calculations.”

He paused, then continued, "But the question we need to answer is, what should we do next?"

Eva now possesses a power that rivals the Spirit Hall, she no longer needs us, and we no longer trust her.

"And our situation isn't much better than before."

The council chamber fell silent for a moment.

Yu Yuanzhen put down his teacup, his rugged face revealing little expression, but his gaze fell on Ning Fengzhi's face, as if he were weighing the weight of his words.

“You mean,” he said in a deep, resonant voice, “that we are now the weakest of the three?”

Ning Fengzhi did not answer immediately. He picked up the cup of tea, which had cooled slightly, and took a sip, as if using this action to organize his thoughts.

Then he put down his teacup, and when he spoke, his voice remained steady, but with a hint of caution than before:

"On paper, the Spirit Hall is the strongest. They have the most Title Douluos, the largest regular army, and the most complete command system. Moreover, they have just swallowed up most of the Star Luo Empire. In terms of resource reserves and troop strength, they are undoubtedly the best of the three."

His gaze swept over everyone present, and he continued speaking:

"Then there's the power dynamics between us and Eva. On the surface, we have far more high-end combat power, including more Title Douluos than Eva. But in terms of military strength and resources, we are inferior to hers."

Taking all this into account, perhaps our power and Eva's power can be evenly matched.

He paused, then changed the subject: "But in reality, none of us know Eva and Ge Duo's true strength. We only know that she and Ge Duo are Title Douluo, but no one knows exactly how many levels they are."

The fact that Eva and her group were able to capture alive the three level 95 Title Douluos sent by the Spirit Hall demonstrates just how strong Eva is.

His gaze fell on the map that was repeatedly spread out on the table. "Tell me, among our titled Douluo, who can guarantee that they can capture three level 95 titled Douluo alive?"

Silence fell over the council chamber once again.

An elder of the Clear Sky Sect, sitting at the corner of the long table, raised his head, a clear hint of dissatisfaction on his rugged face: "Even if she is stronger, with several of us Title Douluos attacking her, do you think we can't defeat her?"

Ning Fengzhi glanced at him, neither refuting nor directly agreeing.

"That's one possibility. But the question is, do we have the opportunity to besiege her? The Northern Territory has now occupied a large area of ​​territory in northern Xingluo. Her territory and military strength are no longer what they used to be when the Northern Territory was just a small, isolated place."

If we really go to war with her, we won't just be facing her alone on the battlefield, but also her fully integrated army, as well as Ge Duo's unpredictable potions and Dugu Bo's poisonous fog.

The elder opened his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately no sound came out.

The council chamber fell into a long, drawn-out silence once again, as if something was hanging over everyone's heads, impossible to ignore or dispel.

……

Wuhun City, the Pope's Palace.

Bibi Dong sat on the throne that symbolized her current supreme status, holding in her hand the final battle report on the destruction of the Star Luo Empire.

Her gaze slowly moved over the numbers: the fall of Star Luo City, Dai Tianfeng's evacuation, and the detailed distribution of the occupied territory of the Star Luo Empire. A rare smile slowly curved the corners of her lips.

The curve of that line doesn't convey smugness, but rather a sense of confirmation after waiting so long and finally seeing the result come to fruition.

She has been operating on this continent for so many years, from the Holy Maiden of the Spirit Hall to the Pope, and from the Pope to the Empress of the Spirit Empire, step by step, she has come to where she is today.

The Heaven Dou Empire has long been destroyed, and now the Star Luo Empire has also become history.

The two great empires that had dominated the Douluo Continent for thousands of years were completely destroyed in her hands.

Bibi Dong leaned back in her chair, tapping her fingers lightly on the armrest twice, the rhythm slightly faster than usual, like a piece of music nearing its end.

She recalled the portraits of the successive popes of the Spirit Hall, those figures with different faces hanging in the side corridor of the Pope's Hall.

Each of them may have dreamed of the day when they would unify the continent, but none of them ever actually reached that goal.

Now she is about to achieve something that no one in the entire history of the Spirit Hall has ever accomplished; it is about to become a reality in her hands.

Bibi Dong slowly put down the battle report, a smug smile playing on her lips.

Her trial as a Rakshasa God was nearing its end. The final threshold between her and her divine position was growing thinner and thinner, until she could feel the wind blowing from the other side of that door.

She will become the most powerful being on the Douluo Continent, standing at a height that no one can reach, as the Empress of the Spirit Empire and as the Rakshasa God.

She was just one step away from that spot.

……

Inside Haotian City, Tang Hao was waiting for something in a side hall.

He was dressed in a drab, coarse cloth robe, just as he had years ago, with messy hair and a stubble beard, looking as if he had just crawled out of some mountain ravine.

But those cloudy eyes were sharper than ever before, as if they had been repeatedly polished by something.

The door to the side hall was pushed open, and a young man dressed in the robes of a Haotian Sect disciple strode in.

He stopped in front of Tang Hao, bowed, and then lowered his voice to speak: "Haotian Douluo, there is still no news of Young Master Tang San. He stayed in several towns after leaving Haotian City, but that information is from several months ago. Recently, no one has seen him anywhere."

Tang Hao's brows furrowed slowly, and his fingers, resting on his knees, tightened slightly: "Even you can't find it?"

"Yes." The young disciple lowered his head even further.

“We tried all channels, and our informants all over the place reported that they hadn’t seen anyone matching the description. It seems that… he just completely disappeared at some point in time.”

Tang Hao remained silent for a moment.

He knew, of course, that Tang San would conceal his aura and avoid unnecessary attention, but the fact that even the Clear Sky Sect's intelligence network couldn't find his trail made him feel a long-lost sense of unease.

He recalled Tang San's calm eyes as he left, and his words, "I'm going to find my sister."

He left so decisively, as if he already knew where he was going, or as if he had no intention of letting anyone know his whereabouts.

"Keep searching." Tang Hao's voice was hoarse. "Expand the search area. Investigate the Northern Border, the Western Front, and the areas controlled by the Spirit Hall. Search everywhere. Once you find him, send him back to Haotian City."

The young disciple responded and quickly left the side hall.

……

In Bright Moon City, however, the atmosphere was completely different.

Bright Moon City is located in the northern region of the former Star Luo Empire. The city is of medium size, with walls about five zhang high. The bluish-gray stone bricks gleam with a cold, hard luster under the winter sun.

The city's streets were wider than those of most northern cities, and most of the shops on both sides had reopened. The pedestrians and caravans entering and leaving the city gates also showed signs of a recovery.

Eva chose this place as the new stronghold of her power for a simple reason.