In terms of overt power, the Heaven Dou Empire already held an absolute advantage.
After Spirit Hall fully supported the Heaven Dou Empire, it directly closed all Spirit Halls within the Star Luo Empire and withdrew all Spirit Masters stationed there.
No one dared to claim second place when it came to the Spirit Master strength held by Spirit Hall; their dominance was a sheer cliff.
This was because Spirit Hall alone controlled over half of all Spirit Masters on the entire Douluo Continent.
As for ordinary soldiers' strength, the Heaven Dou Empire was vast and rich in resources.
Although it was previously divided into numerous kingdoms and duchies, these entities had now been fully integrated by the Heaven Dou Empire.
The number of ordinary soldiers was also more than double that of the Star Luo Empire.
From Titled Douluo down to ordinary soldiers, the current Heaven Dou Empire was an absolutely crushing force compared to the Star Luo Empire.
Facing such absolute superiority in strength, the Star Luo Empire naturally felt immense pressure, but it was impossible for them to give up so easily.
While the Star Luo Empire's imperial family thought this way, some other forces within the Star Luo Empire did not.
Knowing they were outmatched, some forces had actually secretly pledged allegiance.
The current Star Luo Empire was like a frog in warm water, slowly dying.
One thing that concerned Shi Quan was that a year ago, a force of Fallen Soul Masters emerged within the Star Luo Empire.
This force caused quite a stir within the Star Luo Empire, and although it was eventually eradicated, many people in the Star Luo Empire died.
Speaking of evil Spirit Masters, Shi Quan couldn't help but think of Tang San; he had a hunch that this matter might be related to Tang San.
The intensity of the Heaven Dou Empire's bounty on him was not low, and his tracks had not been found in the Star Dou Great Forest; the Star Luo Empire was the only place he could go on the Continent.
Evil Spirit Masters on the Continent were almost extinct under Spirit Hall's suppression, so the sudden appearance of a force of evil Spirit Masters might very well be related to Tang San, an evil Spirit Master.
From the current situation, Shi Quan could confirm that Tang San was most likely in the Star Luo Empire, but he was unsure of Tang San's current strength.
"The war between the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire is inevitable; if Tang San has truly fallen completely into an evil Spirit Master, he will certainly not miss this war."
Shi Quan mused, then rose and walked towards the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace.
Heaven Dou Imperial Palace.
"Your Majesty, Prince Shi has arrived."
Outside the palace, a guard respectfully stepped forward to report.
"Big Brother Xue." Shi Quan followed the guard and greeted Xue Qinghe directly.
Xue Qinghe looked around, "You all may withdraw."
The surrounding attendants and guards exited the palace one by one.
"You're quite the busy person, only showing up for such a short time in a year." Qian Renxue stretched lazily, dropping her formal demeanor in front of Shi Quan, appearing completely relaxed and at ease.
"Isn't it because I'm busy Cultivating?" Shi Quan smiled faintly, looking at Qian Renxue, "Who led the cooperation between the Heaven Dou Empire and Spirit Hall?"
Qian Renxue's expression paused, and she slowly uttered three words, "Bibi Dong."
"She took the initiative to show favor to you?" Shi Quan raised an eyebrow, which greatly surprised him.
Moreover, Qian Renxue's address had changed from 'that woman' to Bibi Dong, clearly indicating that their relationship had significantly eased over the past year.
"Hmph!" Qian Renxue snorted, "Even without her help, I would unify the Continent sooner or later."
Shi Quan chuckled and shook his head; Qian Renxue's words were truly stubborn, but seeing the relationship between the mother and daughter ease was very good news for Shi Quan.
"So when do you plan to launch the war?" Shi Quan changed the subject.
"After the Soul Spirit Assembly," Qian Renxue said lightly, "Since Spirit Hall supported the Heaven Dou Empire, many rumors about you have spread; this is a good opportunity to dispel them."
"Rumors?" Shi Quan's face showed a hint of curiosity.
"Just some gossip, to weaken my influence, spreading rumors that you dislike Spirit Hall, and that after knowing Spirit Hall supported the Heaven Dou Empire, you were unwilling to support me, and so on."
"It's surprising that such baseless rumors reached your ears; it seems the impact is not small."
"It's the Star Luo Empire's doing."
"The Star Luo Empire can play such tricks?" Shi Quan was somewhat surprised.
"To survive, isn't it necessary to try all means?"
"Indeed." Shi Quan nodded slightly, "Does the Star Luo Empire still have these thousand slots this year?"
"A war is about to start, so naturally, they are canceled."
"Have you heard about the rampant Fallen Soul Masters in the Star Luo Empire?"
"I am aware of that matter; it caused quite a stir at the time, and Grandfather later dispatched a Revered Elder to personally lead a team to encircle and suppress them to resolve the issue."
"Revered Elder?" Shi Quan's expression was somewhat surprised, but he could understand it upon reflection.
Spirit Hall was established to bring light and justice to the world, and it has always upheld the principle of eliminating evil, so naturally, it would not allow any evil Spirit Masters to rampage on the Douluo Continent.
Spirit Hall can be said to have played a crucial role in the peace and prosperity of the two great Empires.
"Were there any abnormalities among that group of Fallen Soul Masters?"
Spirit Hall's Revered Elders are not just Elders; those who can be called Revered Elders have a minimum strength of Level 95 or above.
Such powerful individuals leading a team naturally ensures high efficiency, which also shows Spirit Hall's level of hatred towards evil Spirit Masters.
"Abnormalities?" Qian Renxue looked at Shi Quan puzzled, "Why are you so interested in these Fallen Soul Masters?"
"It's not that I'm interested, I just thought of someone when I heard about this matter."
"Tang San?" Qian Renxue was a little surprised, "According to the news from the Revered Elder Hall, Tang San was not among the Fallen Soul Masters who died in this encirclement and suppression.
As for abnormalities..."
"I seem to have heard that these Fallen Soul Masters were not originally Fallen Soul Masters, but became so due to the influence of some special power.
However, by the time I learned of this, those Fallen Soul Masters had all been executed by the Revered Elder.
Spirit Hall later sent people to investigate, but they did not find the source of this power, and coupled with the fact that no new Fallen Soul Masters appeared for a period afterward, the matter eventually died down."
"Influenced by some special power?" This made him feel as if they were artificial evil Spirit Masters.
Shi Quan didn't know why he had such thoughts; he just felt that whenever some strange abnormality appeared on the Douluo Continent, as long as it could be linked to Tang San, he felt that Tang San was behind it.
"A man's sixth sense? Or is it an insinuation from the Power of Heavenly Fate?" Shi Quan mused...