Douluo Planet, Douluo Continent
Unbeknownst to what was happening in the core of the Universe, in the Douluo Continent, the war between the Spirit Hall and coalition forces was continuing in full sway. Azure Luan Douluo was standing in the air, in his Azure Luan form, as he stared at the two Super Douluos in front of him.
Bone Douluo Gu Rong already activated his 9th Soul Skill: Ossified Dragon the Divine Bone Dragon, as he was standing on an enormous Bone Dragon that was more than one hundred meters long and several tens of meters tall.
While Tang Shuming, the Third Elder of the Clear Sky Clan, wielded his Martial Soul, the Clear Sky Hammer, and looked at the 3rd Worship Elder of the Spirit Hall with an unnatural amount of hatred.
Compared to Qing Luan, who looked uninjured and even amused to a certain degree, the same thing couldn't be said about the other two Super Douluos. Gu Rong was severely injured already, and he was barely able to stand; his right hand was broken and couldn't be used at all.
The Divine Bone Dragon had cracks all over its body and was being held together only through the sheer amount of the Soul Power and Will of Bone Douluo, or else it would have been dispersed long ago.
Tang Shuming was physically in much better condition, as the members of the Clear Sky Clan had innately strong physiques, and they also focused on tempering their bodies to be able to wield the Clear Sky Hammer effectively.
Which was impossible without having powerful physical capabilities.
Yet even he was missing his left hand, several of his ribs were broken, and he was severely bleeding... not to mention he still had Azure Blue Dust in his body that was destroying his inner organs, which he needed to slow down by using his Soul Power.
The Azure Blue Dust was something that Qing Luan learned how to create after comprehending some Laws related to his Martial Soul, and it has a very potent ability that allows him to weaken his opponents.
Only Tang Shuming, though, knew the true power of the opponent in front of them, because he still remembered the power of the Limit Douluo that the former Patriarch Tang Chen possessed.
And it was very similar to that.
He understood that whatever the Spirit Hall was plotting with those Soul Power Cultivation Methods, they had something that allowed even the Titled Douluos at the Rank 98 to possess power comparable to the Limit Douluos.
Or rahter...
If the Qing Luan Douluo possessed this kind of power, how powerful must the Limit Douluo be who cultivated their most powerful cultivation method?
Tang Shuming knew that one of them needed to survive this fight and escape.
Relay the information to their Clans so they could prepare for their inevitable confrontation with the Spirit Hall, because it was clear that the Spirit Hall was plotting something, and that something could cost them their very own lives.
He looked at the Bone Douluo, giving him a subtle nod. As Gu Rong hardened his look in a mere moment, he sent the Divine Bone Dragon at the Azure Luan Douluo and self-destructed it.
Everything happened too fast, as Azure Luan Douluo was involved in a huge explosion from the Divine Bone Dragon's self-destruction as Tang Shuming prepared the ultimate technique of the Clear Sky Clan.
Exploding Ring Technique.
Once he sensed that Lei Tianlang was dead and Wu Hao and Tang Fangrui were in dire straits, he decided to use the Exploding Ring Technique to sacrifice all of his Soul Rings and his entire cultivation to kill as many people of the Spirit Hall as possible.
Once the projection of the Great Sumeru Hammer appeared in the sky, the fate was decided otherwise.
In a split second, an enormous Azure Luan Bird materialized in the skies, flapping its wings and attacking the projection of the Great Sumeru Hammer. The Great Sumeru Hammer started cracking all over, and when Tang Shuming activated the Exploding Ring Technique, it was the exact moment when the projection of the Great Sumeru Hammer shattered into thousands of shards.
In that moment, the Third Elder of Clear Sky Clan exploded on the spot, before he could finish the casting of the Exploding Ring Technique, as he was killed instead by the forbidden technique before he could do any damage to the forces of the Spirit Hall.
Meanwhile, Qing Luan sighed as this was rather too close to his tastes, but that was primarily because he was prolonging the fight a bit as he didn't want to use all of his power.
He looked at the escaping Bone Douluo, who had already crossed a distance of more than two hundred kilometers and was using everything that he got to cross the borders to the Heaven Dou Empire and reach the Seven Treasure Glaze Tile Clan as soon as possible.
Nevertheless, the Azure Dust in his body would be enough to cause him severe injuries that could be recovered only with the help of Immortal Herbs or Class 9 Alchemy Pills. Not enough to cripple the Bone Douluo, but enough for him to not be able to advance to the next Rank and have lower combat prowess than he should have.
Unfortunately for the Seven Treasure Glaze Tile Clan, these resources were firmly in the hands of the Spirit Hall. And obviously, they would never sell any of these to the Seven Treasure Glaze Tile Clan under any circumstances, as they were too precious.
The possibility of them finding the Immortal Herbs on their own was close to zero, unless they ventured into the Great Star Dou Forest, into the Core Area, Extreme North, or into the Oceans.
And the Class 9 Alchemy Pill?
Even less chance.
The few Grandmaster Alchemists capable of refining Class 9 Pills were members of the Spirit Hall... and there were only three or four of them.
As the clashes between the Titled Douluos died down, the Knights Templar Legion and the Spirit Guard Army marched into Storm City as they breached the gates. Under the leadership of the Holy Son Hun Tiandi, who led the charge by slaughtering several Soul Emperors, they were almost unstoppable.
The remaining garrison of the Stormland Dukedom wasn't in any shape to resist the forces of the Spirit Hall, and what was worse, when the forces of Spirit Hall attacked the gates of the city, the hidden agents of the Celestial Trade Chamber of Commerce and Burial Agency acted by opening the gates from the inside and killing commanders or at least people who took charge of the defenses.
With this, the mighty Stormland Dukedom fell.
What was worse for these remaining Lordships was that even the Guardian of the Moonlight Principality, Wu Hao, was killed in the clash by Snake Lance Douluo, and another Elder of the Clear Sky Clan, Tang Fangrui, perished in the fight.
This news would shake the entire continent, especially if the Moonlight Principality and the rest of the Lordships around the Spirit City fall fast enough. The battle in which the total death count among Ttiled Douluos was four was enormous news.
Even Super Douluo from the Clear Sky Clan was killed in the battle.
With this foundation, the Crusade of the Spirit Hall would be enough to unify the entire Disputed Lands into the kingdom of the Spirit Hall. With this, the Spirit Hall would finally have the numbers to contend with the Great Empires and start the long-awaited and planned wish.
Unification of the entire Douluo Continent.
***
Douluo Continent, Disputed Lands, Storm City, Five Days Later
After five days, the entire Douluo Continent was already boiling over the news that was released from the former Stormland Dukedom. The first news was that the Spirit Hall finally showed its power after more than ten years of arduous consodolation and gathering power, and the results were staggering.
Stormland Dukedom fell in one day, with the Thunder Panther Douluo Lei Tianlang being killed, but that wasn't all.
The greatest shock came with the second piece of news that started circulating over the continent not long after.
During the invasion of the Stormland Dukedom, altogether eight Titled Douluos fought.
Clear Sky Clan sent out two of their Elders to support the Stormland Dukedom.
Tang Shuming the Third Elder, Soul Rank 95 Super Douluo.
Tang Fangrui the Fourth Elder, Soul Rank 93 Titled Douluo.
Then, even the Seven Treasure Glaze Tile Clan that sent one of their guardians, Bone Douluo Gu Rong, Soul Rank 95 Super Douluo.
And the Moonlight Principality sent out their Guardian, Soul Rank 94 Titled Douluo, Moon Sword Douluo Wu Hao.
Aside from the Bone Douluo Gu Rong, the rest of these Titled Douluos were killed in that battle, and Bone Douluo Gu Rong was severely injured. Even though he managed to escape alive, according to the rumors, he was severely injured and would need several years to recuperate to be even able to fight properly.
Something that mildly and pleasantly surprised the Spirit Hall was that the current Patriarch of the Seven Treasure Glaze Tile Clan ordered their activities to go on hold, stop fighting with the Celestial Trade Chamber of Commerce, and even reduced the number of their disciples that were wandering into the areas under the influence of the Spirit Hall.
Though overall this news didn't really surprise either Hun Tiandi and Bibi Dong, who were right now sitting in the former palace of the Storm Duke as they talked about their progress, because this first phase was a staggering success.
"We got news from the Star Luo Empire."
Bibi Dong said as she sipped her tea gracefully, and she was in a very good mood, which was somewhat rare.
"What did the cats do to warrant such a good mood from Your Majesty?"
Hun Tiandi asked because while he anticipated some moves from the Star Luo Empire, he didn't think that they would do anything significant in truth. The Star Luo Empire would be a great obstacle to the conquest of the Douluo Continent, only second to that of the Clear Sky Clan and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan.
"Imperial Prince Dai Jixian mobilized the White Tiger Army and marched into the border area, and conquered several smaller Lordships that were being supported by the Heaven Dou Empire, Stormland Dukedom, Moolight Principality, and started their conquest. They even mobilized their Ancestral Shrine and sent one more of their titled Douluos, Cheng Gang."
Hun Tiandi narrowed his eyes as he was rather surprised by this development, but overall, not that much, as it was still within his expectations. He knew that the Star Luo Empire wouldn't sit idly, even in the face of the danger of the Spirit Hall.
The White Tiger Clan was too proud, and their ambitions were too grand.
Anyone with a brain could see that the Dai Imperial Clan wanted to unify the entire continent and rule the Douluo Continent as their own. They would also be the very first Dynasty to achieve such a feat, because the Douluo Continent had never been unified under a single banner.
Hun Tiandi wasn't really surprised by the development and the grand ambitions of the Star Luo Empire. He knew that if not for the ambitions of the Spirit Hall, then perhaps with some time and Luck on their side, the Dai Imperial Family could achieve such a feat.
If they produced Limit Douluo among their ranks, then together with the potential of the White Tiger Martial Soul, such a thing wouldn't be really impossible. The White Tiger Bloodline was extremely potent, even though part of its Bloodline Source was lost.
In the ancient past, White Tiger also possessed Light and Holy Attributes aside from the Slaughter Attribute. But during or shortly after the end of the Divine Ascension Age, the White Tiger Bloodline lost both Attributes.
Leaving them only with the Slaughter Attribute for the White Tiger Martial Soul.
Hun Tiandi was sure that if the White Tiger Martial Soul possessed both Light and Holy Attributes, it would be considered a top-notch Divine Beast Martial Soul, and its potential to reach Godhood would be immense.
"Didn't the Star Luo Empire have an agreement with the Heaven Dou Empire not to include Titled Douluos in their disputes?"
Even though the Star Luo Empire had more Titled Douluos than the Heaven Dou Empire, this agreement was actually more beneficial to the Star Luo than to the Heaven Dou.
There was a very simple reason for that.
The Heaven Dou Empire had the collective support of their Clear Sky Clan, Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan and Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
The strength of their Titled Douluos was much higher than that of the Star Luo Empire, because the Star Luo Empire barely had any Super Douluos, and even those they had were rather weak compared to the Upper Three Sects.
Even though the word "support" could be a little strong, it was an undeniable truth that these Sects were very interested in maintaining the status quo.
Spirit Hall long ago theorized that they wanted to constrain the development of the White Tiger Clan and prevent them from repairing the Bloodline Source of their Martial Soul Bloodline.
This could be closely related to the Clear Sky Clan, because they didn't want anyone to challenge them for the position of the strongest Clan in the Douluo.
White Tiger Martial Soul certainly had such potential.
"Yes, but it seems that they cannot resist the benefits of doing so. Not to mention, do you think that in their current state, will the Clear Sky Clan and Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan do anything actually to help the Heaven Dou Empire?"
Hearing the answer made Hun Tiandi shake his head in denial, because the current situation was severely in the advantage of the Star Luo Empire.
The Title of "Imperial Prince" within the Star Luo Empire was only given to the Elders of the Imperial Clan who reached the Titled Douluo and were thus the Pillars of the Empire. There were only a few of them, not many, but each of them was one of the most important people in the whole nation.
"Let them fight then... the more they weaken each other, the better it would be for us in the long term."
Hun Tiandi knew that the unification of the Douluo Continent would take decades.
Not because of the lack of power of Spirit Hall.
Far from it.
In fact, if the Spirit Hall really wanted to, they could achieve it in a few years and be done with it.
If the Limit Douluos moved, then it would be done in a week.
But the Spirit Hall didn't want just the unification and conquest.
They also sought the consolidation of power and conquered territories.
This notion required a lot more than just sending out the troops to conquer and occupy some random territory. They needed to assimilate the territories and hold them for the future, and that would require time and effort.
So the Spirit Hall was taking their time in the unification wars of the Douluo Continent.
The first step was to completely conquer the Disputed Lands and consolidate them under the rule of the Spirit Hall, which would give them acess to a much wider pool of talents and powerhouses to cultivate.
This should at least partially remedy the problem with the low numbers among the forces of the Spirit Hall.
Their second move would be to invade the Anarchic Lands and unify them as well, thus creating the third Empire on the Douluo Continent, which then could ally with the Spirit Beasts in the Star Dou Forest and march onto the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire.
By their combined efforts, the Artificial Spirit Soul Technology should be created and perfected, and human Soul Masters won't need to hunt the Soul Beasts for their Soul Ring.
Which would also be the end of the war between the Humans and Soul Beasts.
"That's true... what do you think would be the next move from them?"
Bibi Dong asked as she enjoyed her tea and scheming.
Who knew what she enjoyed more?
"For the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, the answer is simple. Even though among the Upper Three Sects, they are the most intertwined with the Heaven Dou Empire due to the position of Ning Fenghzi, who is the teacher of the Crown Prince and Grand Tutor of the Empire, they would be leaning more towards neutrality."
Hun Tiandi had a good understanding of the operations of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan and especially the mindset of Ning Fenghzi.
"Hmm... that is true, Ning Fenghzi is a timid coward who doesn't want direct confrontations, and now, after seeing our power, it's highly possible that they would need to reevaluate the entire approach."
Bibi Dong knew the Patriarch of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, and that he was a man who avoided conflict due to his personality and disposition as a businessman. And in truth, there was no deep enmity between them and Spirit Hall, where it would reach a life-and-death situation.
"I think that they would either start distancing from the Heaven Dou Imperial Family or change their stance, but I don't think it's possible to that extent."
Bibi Dong voiced her thoughts as Hun Tiandi knew where she was going with this.
"They are already too deeply connected to the Empire, right?"
The Supreme Pontiff nodded to this question.
"Among the Upper Three Sects, there is one clear dividing factor. Even though all three of them support the Heaven Dou Empire, only the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan is doing its best, we could say. The other two only act in times of need, and their relationship isn't that close."
Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and Clear Sky Clan are doing only their part as a deterrent against the Star Luo Empire, Great Star Dou Forest, and Spirit Hall.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Meanwhile, the last one...
"His previous greed put him in a really tough position."