In the Star Luo Palace, Emperor Dai Feng of Star Luo looked at the military reports sent from the front lines with a worried expression on his face.
Facing the strong military power of the Star Luo Empire, the Spirit Hall sent four titled Douluos, each leading a group of soul masters to launch attacks.
The gap in strength between soul masters caused the Star Luo Empire's troops to retreat step by step, eventually falling back to Tianxing City.
With the defense of the city, the backing of the Dai family title, and the aid of two pairs who could perform the White Tiger Nether Martial Soul Fusion Technique, the frontline situation was barely stable.
"Your Majesty, the request for reinforcements has been sent to the major sects and families within the empire, and the White Tiger Corps in Star Luo City has also been formed."
A cold voice with a hint of iron blood rang out, and the Star Luo Queen entered from outside the door.
She no longer wore her beautiful palace attire, but instead donned the tight combat clothing of an orthodox soul master—something she hadn't worn in a long time.
"Good. Have they all been informed?"
"Yes. The generals under the Dai family will be cautious in guarding against high-level soul masters and generals from civilian backgrounds, and will not give them the opportunity to betray our Star Luo Empire."
Dai Feng nodded in satisfaction. It wasn't that he wanted to doubt his subordinates, but the prestige of Spirit Hall among civilian soul masters was simply too strong.
Just the idea of "spirit awakening for all" had already won many over, not to mention that after becoming a soul master, one could go to Spirit Hall to receive subsidies.
Even though these subsidies were co-funded by the two empires and Spirit Hall, they were distributed through Spirit Hall—so naturally, soul masters remembered Spirit Hall's generosity.
Setting aside the military report in his hands, Emperor Dai Feng rose from the throne and donned his armor with the help of Queen Zhu Lin.
The Star Luo Empire lacked advanced combat power, and now it was time for the emperor himself to head to the battlefield.
As he stepped out the door, he suddenly stopped as if remembering something, and turned to his wife.
"Zhu Lin, is there any news from Mu Bai?"
"Don't worry. Mu Bai is safe at the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy. Weiss will also stay in Star Luo City to oversee the nation. My father will protect him."
"Good. That's reassuring."
Zhu Lin accompanied Dai Feng. The Emperor and Empress of the Xingluo Empire led the White Tiger Army to the frontlines.
Spirit Hall was extremely powerful. It was uncertain whether they would return from this journey. They had done everything they could to prepare. The rest would be left to fate.
On the other side, Xu Mingxi led the Star Crown Sect team to Tianxing City.
On the night they arrived, Xu Mingxi led the sect leader in a surprise raid on the Spirit Hall camp, attempting to kill Hu Yanzhen and others to reduce Spirit Hall's strength.
However, they didn't expect the four—Golden Crocodile Douluo, Blue Luan Douluo, Lion Douluo, and Light Wing Douluo—to be hiding in the tent. Both sides fought, and Xu Mingxi's group quickly retreated back to Tianxing City.
Part of the reason Xu Mingxi didn't go all out was because he wanted the Star Luo battlefield to drag on—the longer, the better.
It would be ideal if it lasted until Qian Daoliu and Tang San both got injured and an unrivaled Douluo died.
Though Xu Mingxi's and the sect leader's ambush failed, it actually helped stabilize the situation on the ground. Until Dai Feng's arrival, both sides were locked in a stalemate.
Seeing this, Dai Feng sighed in relief and climbed a tower to inspect the Spirit Hall forces. Upon seeing their neatly organized soul master army, his face turned grim.
By now, it was obvious: Spirit Hall had long harbored ambitions and had been preparing for years.
As he walked down the tower, he saw the Star Crown Sect team and the five titled Douluos among them. His eyes flickered with a vague expression.
That night, Dai Feng discussed several matters with the Star Luo Empire's generals and held a wartime conference the next day.
He invited the titled Douluos of the Star Crown Sect and all clan leaders who had come to aid the empire.
"The evil deeds of Spirit Hall cannot be tolerated. Do any of you have suggestions on how to save our Star Luo Empire from fire and water?"
Dai Feng addressed everyone, but his eyes were always fixed on the Star Crown Sect members on his left.
Seeing that no one spoke for a while, he didn't waste time.
"Master Xu, your sect is very powerful. I wonder if you have any brilliant strategies to repel the enemy."
At this point, the sect master understood: the power displayed by the Star Crown Sect this time must have made Dai Feng wary.
But if he hadn't brought so many people, he genuinely feared the Star Luo Empire wouldn't be able to withstand Spirit Hall's attack.
The Star Crown Sect had lived in this land for years, and many members didn't want it thrown into chaos.
In fact, some of the clan leaders present had been their friends for many years and had good relations.
"Your Majesty, there are four Golden Crocodile Douluos in the Spirit Hall tent. We can hold back three of them with our full strength."
Three—that meant one Super Douluo remained. I and Lin'er can block one, which still leaves four more titled ones, including Hu Yanzhen.
Emperor Dai Feng calculated silently for a long time, realizing this was not the situation before he and the Star Crown Sect arrived.
He scanned the crowd beneath the tent, estimating the power gap with Spirit Hall, when suddenly he noticed someone in the Star Crown Sect's group.
Dai Feng's eyes suddenly lit up, but quickly dimmed again.
Poison Douluo Dugu Bo was deadly in this environment, but very hard to deploy.
King vs. King, General vs. General, Soldier vs. Soldier—this was the unspoken rule on soul master battlefields.
Letting a titled Douluo slaughter ordinary soul masters could certainly reduce losses and end the battle quickly—but it would not set a good precedent.
Once that line was crossed, the kingdoms would suffer most.
With Qian Daoliu's mobility, nothing could stop him from destroying Star Luo City and leaving at will.
Dai Feng downed a cup of wine, stared at the powerful individuals seated below without saying a word—but his heart grew increasingly bitter.
Every minute and second that this war dragged on drained the national strength of the Star Luo Empire.
He knew that the sects and families before him still had unreleased strength—especially the Star Crown Sect.
But what could he do? Could he force them to go all out?
If this war didn't concern the entire Xingluo Empire, the Dai family wouldn't have deployed so much power either.
With a helpless sigh, Dai Feng ended the meeting that day.
Golden Crocodile Douluo also didn't want to launch an attack. In their view, Spirit Hall's strength here was superior to Star Luo's, but not overwhelmingly so.
They were waiting for good news—that the Grand Priest and Bibi Dong would defeat the Heaven Dou Empire.
With an unrivaled Douluo and someone close to that level, along with so many titled elders helping from Spirit Hall, Golden Crocodile and others didn't believe they would lose the Heaven Dou battlefield.
The Star Luo battlefield entered a temporary stalemate, and neither side launched an attack lightly.