Enjoying the story? Support the translation and get early access to future chapters here: www.patr eon.com/c/FanficTranslator
Thanks for reading!
I have 100+ advanced chapter now on Patreon.
**
The impact of Spirit Hall dispatching a team containing hundreds of Soul Masters, marching with high-flown banners into the Heaven Dou Empire, could hardly be considered anything short of massive.
Even before they officially crossed into the Balak Kingdom, in a matter of a mere few days, this news had already begun to gradually spread throughout the kingdom.
Moreover, it wouldn't take much longer before it reached the territories directly under Heaven Dou's jurisdiction. However, as for the vast majority of people, they had no idea what the purpose behind Spirit Hall's action was.
After all, the challenge letters were sent out by messengers dispatched from the team by Chrysanthemum Douluo. The war challenge issued for the first stop—the Elephant Armored Clan—had not yet been delivered.
Although the war challenge destined for the Elephant Armored Clan had not been delivered, on the very day Ling Xiao and the others departed, Pope Bibi Dong had already dispatched an urgent letter.
She handed down an order to the Hall Master of the Heaven Dou Saint Spirit Hall, Platinum Bishop Salas, instructing him to enter the palace to have an audience with the Heaven Dou Great Emperor, Xue Ye.
The letter directed him to explain the matter of the challenge tour, hoping the Emperor would pass down orders for the cities along the route to grant them passage, thereby avoiding any unnecessary misunderstandings.
After all, for Spirit Hall to dispatch so many people into Heaven Dou's territory made it look as though they harbored malicious designs. If there were no orders passed down from the higher-ups, those City Lords would likely be frightened to death.
They might even transmit erroneous commands, leading to irreversible consequences.
Of course, even so, such behavior from Spirit Hall was rather overbearing.
After all, with a single written order from the Pope without her personal presence—relying solely on the Hall Master of the Saint Spirit Hall stationed in Heaven Dou City to step forward and request permission from the Heaven Dou Great Emperor—
A team of several hundred Soul Masters belonging to Spirit Hall was permitted to pass through the borders of the Heaven Dou Empire.
Furthermore, it completely appeared as though they hadn't even considered the possibility of the Heaven Dou Great Emperor refusing; it was nothing more than a mere formality.
The Heaven Dou Great Emperor, Xue Ye, was entirely helpless against this.
Spirit Hall's strength was formidable.
Even though the Heaven Dou Empire occupied nearly half of the human world's territory on the continent, possessed a vast population, and held extraordinary military might, these assets could only pose a threat to low-to-mid-level Soul Masters.
To high-level Soul Masters, they amounted to nothing.
Generally speaking, no matter how great the number of a mundane army, it could not contend with a powerhouse at the Soul Saint realm. Even if their numbers were immense, forcing a confrontation would only be like striking a stone with an egg, sending men to their deaths for nothing.
According to the common knowledge of the Douluo Continent, a high-tier Soul Master could only be countered by another high-tier Soul Master.
After all, as long as one cultivated to the Soul King realm, they would possess a certain degree of flight capability and could mobilize a small amount of the world's natural energy from their surroundings.
At this stage, a Soul Master began to gradually break away from the scope of what a mundane army could contend with. Although a Soul Master at the Soul King realm could not frontally rout a large-scale legion, if they wished to extricate themselves and leave, it was also difficult for a mundane army to stop them.
Once a Soul Master reached the Soul Emperor realm, not only would their flight capability progress a step further, but they could also mobilize natural energy on a large scale. Their strength could cause large-scale casualties to an army.
Even for those battle Soul Masters who were not adept at aerial combat and could only fully unleash their strength on land, even without escaping through the air, they could still slaughter their way through a legion of over one hundred thousand men on the ground and then depart at will.
Although the two great empires ruled over vast territories, they were only able to establish a foothold in the Soul Master world by relying on the Soul Master forces under their own control, alongside their inherent duty of governing the mundane world.
Because of this, the two great empires were unique factions that possessed dual identities in both the mundane world and the Soul Master world.
Although the two entities appeared supreme and inviolable within the mundane world, when placed into the Soul Master world alongside those Soul Master clans and sects that possessed true top-tier powerhouses, their positions became rather awkward.
Precisely because of the formidable strength possessed by individual Soul Masters, the human world on the Douluo Continent was divided into the mundane world and the Soul Master world. Low-level Soul Masters might still have some dealings with ordinary people in the mundane world, but from the moment they stepped into the Soul King realm, they basically began to gradually break away from the restrictions of the mundane world.
By the time they reached the Soul Saint realm, they could be said to be clearly demarcated from the mundane world. As for those powerhouses at the Titled Douluo level and above, they focused entirely on their cultivation, and mundane matters no longer had anything to do with them.
Such powerhouses, as a general rule, would also not meddle in the affairs of the mundane world.
Setting aside the Star Luo Empire, which was sharpening its weapons, feeding its horses, and growing more formidable by the day.
The Heaven Dou Empire also had powerful Soul Master clans guarding it and possessed the backing of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect—one of the Upper Three Sects. However, purely because of this, offending Spirit Hall was by no means a worthwhile endeavor.
Thus, when Ling Xiao and his team arrived at Nuoding City on the southern frontier of the Fasinuo Province, not only did they encounter no resistance, but the City Lord of Nuoding City, the Master of the Spirit Hall Sub-Hall, and the Dean of the Nuoding Primary Soul Master Academy actually came out of the city together to welcome them.
This left Ling Xiao feeling rather deeply moved.
Furthermore, it was easily visible that these three individuals were already the most powerful figures in Nuoding City, and they should also be the strongest in terms of individual power.
Among them, aside from the Master of the Nuoding City Spirit Hall Sub-Hall, who was a high-tier four-ring Soul Ancestor, the Dean of the Nuoding Primary Soul Master Academy was a Rank 37 Soul Elder, while the Nuoding City Lord was merely a Rank 29 Soul Grandmaster.
This once again allowed him to experience just how rare Soul Masters were, as well as how widely distributed Spirit Hall's grassroots Soul Master factions were. Even a minor place like Nuoding City was allocated a Soul Ancestor.
As for their grand welcome, the duo of Ling Xiao and Yan didn't need to concern themselves with it. After all, at this moment, they didn't possess any authority to lead others. Within this massive contingent, the strongest individual and the true decision-maker was Chrysanthemum Douluo.
However, with the majesty of a Titled Douluo powerhouse, he naturally wouldn't micromanage every single matter. Moreover, the team contained an abundance of subordinate Soul Masters, including several Soul Saints, and there was no lack of elite Soul Masters hailing from the Judgement Hall.
Every single one of them was highly experienced and capable in handling affairs, far from being reckless brutes who only knew how to fight. Very quickly, a Soul Emperor from the Judgement Hall stepped forward.
Under the guidance of the City Lord's trio, this massive troop was welcomed into Nuoding City. Having spent the previous days camping out in the wilderness and suffering the fatigue of travel, they could finally enjoy a proper night of rest.
However, because their numbers were too vast and Nuoding City's scale was limited, the Spirit Hall Sub-Hall alone couldn't accommodate so many people. Consequently, the Nuoding City Lord's Mansion and the Nuoding Primary Soul Master Academy also took in a portion of the guests.
Together with several hotels and inns in the city, everyone was finally properly settled.
Nightfall gradually blanketed the area, but the city did not plunge completely into darkness.
Though Nuoding City was merely a minor town, it consistently adhered to the gorgeous and magnificent architectural style of the Heaven Dou Empire, while also utilizing quite a few illumination-type soul tools.
The city center remained brightly lit at this hour.
Inside a room on the second floor of the Spirit Hall Sub-Hall, Ling Xiao stood by the window after finishing his dinner. Holding a glass of beverage, he gazed out at the night scenery. However, from the look in his eyes, one could tell that his thoughts were not focused on the view outside at all.
**
Enjoying the story? Support the translation and get early access to future chapters here: www.patr eon.com/c/FanficTranslator
Thanks for reading!
I have 100+ advanced chapter now on Patreon.