In the bedroom of the Emperor of the Spirit Empire, Bibi Dong, who had just tortured Tang San and his disciples, sat cross-legged on a futon, using the time to increase her spirit power.
When she killed Qian Daoliu, a notification appeared in her mind that all divine trials had been completed, and her affinity with the Rakshasa God had reached 95%.
As long as she could raise her cultivation to the 99th level of the unmatched Douluo, she would ascend on the spot and become a true god, enjoying an almost immortal life.
Unlike Bibi Dong's joy, the Angel Temple was dead silent. Lion Douluo had brought back the worst news Qian Renxue could hear — that the skies of the Spirit Empire had collapsed.
"The Grand Priest and Second Priest are dead. How could this happen? With their strength, who could stop them if they wanted to leave?"
Lion Douluo slammed the table and stood up, roaring at Qian Renxue, who sat above him.
In his fear and panic, he no longer cared about the young mistress before him who had loved them for years.
Qian Daoliu and Jin Yu were dead. Qing Luan and Guang Ling had not been saved. In such a massive Elder Hall, he, a mere Rank-97 Title Douluo, had become the strongest one. It was ridiculous.
"Fourth Priest, calm down. I didn't want Grandpa and the Second Priest to get into trouble either, but the problem now is that they really haven't returned.
Our top priority now is stabilizing the Spirit Empire and guarding against the Star Luo Empire seizing this opportunity to attack."
Lion Douluo was short-tempered by nature, and now a series of disasters had occurred. If not for Qianjun and Jiangmo Douluo backing him, he would have cursed long ago.
The First and Second Priests were dead, and he had also been captured. His prestige in the Spirit Empire had greatly diminished. Now, he could only intimidate others with his remaining strength.
Qian Renxue had reached Rank 93 at a young age and was also the designated heir of the Angel God. Her future was limitless. She was the guiding light of the Spirit Empire.
With her arms crossed, Lion Douluo forced himself to calm his inner restlessness, sat down again with a large knife by his side, and stared at Qian Renxue above.
Now that the Elder Hall lacked leadership, he had to join Qianjun and Jiangmo in pushing Qian Renxue into power; otherwise, Chen Yan and the other old foxes might not obey.
"Young Mistress, tell us what to do. We'll follow your lead."
"Very well. Then, please have the four Priests personally lead people to guard Zhenxing Pass. Report immediately if there is any disturbance, and retreat quickly if the situation gets out of control.
Also, please ask all elders to take control of their respective affairs. The Spirit Empire and His Majesty will never fall."
Qian Renxue's sharp gaze swept across the Title Douluo present, especially Chen Yan, seated at the back. This Super Douluo, born a businessman, was the most likely to harbor disloyal thoughts.
She wasn't strong enough yet. Even though she no longer liked Bibi Dong, she could only rely on Bibi Dong's strength for now to suppress the discontent among the elders.
Inwardly, Chen Yan could only bitterly smile and lament that had he known Qian Daoliu and Jin Yu would die, he would never have betrayed the Star Crown Sect.
Now, he had so thoroughly offended the Star Crown Sect that the Spirit Empire didn't consider him one of their own and was wary of him in every way.
Even so, he was already contemplating escape. Bibi Dong alone couldn't support the entire Spirit Empire. The Star Crown Sect's strength was overwhelming.
Moreover, many of the Title Douluo from the Star Crown Sect were young. In ten or twenty years, once they matured, the Spirit Empire wouldn't be able to survive.
Chen Yan left the Elder Hall and looked at the grand palace in the distance, full of regret. He didn't regret betraying the Star Crown Sect — only that his luck had turned out so poorly.
The Spirit Empire's army set off, and the soul master troops regrouped at Zhenxing City. People began packing their belongings with growing unease.
Troops had been mobilized — who knew if another war was coming? It was safer to flee to remote areas, deep mountains, and old forests to hide. Surviving was what mattered.
After years of war, the people of the Douluo Continent had developed their own survival rules. Even without knowing Qian Daoliu's death, they could feel the anxiety within the Spirit Empire.
The once-great empire had begun to change. The people of the former Heaven Dou Empire, who had yet to recover from the war, now saw their food and forage being taken again. They were numb and filled with despair.
How they longed for a world without war. How they wished someone would save them and lift them out of this pit of suffering.
At the same time, Xu Mingxi stepped onto the soil of Star Luo Mountain and saw his once-familiar home reduced to scorched earth. The sorrow and fury in his heart were beyond words.
He grabbed a handful of carbonized earth burned by Lion Douluo's ninth soul skill, held it gently, and watched as it drifted away on the breeze.
Seeing his return, the disciples of the Star Crown Sect emerged from the back mountain, recalled the disciples hiding outside, and began rebuilding their home.
This sudden attack by the Spirit Empire inflicted heavy losses on the Star Crown Sect. Their sect buildings and resource nodes were destroyed, and their carefully built training grounds and medicinal gardens were also ruined.
More than 30 Xingguan soul masters were killed or injured. While not many in number, these were all Saint Soul-level soul masters — the core of the Star Crown Sect.
Seeing the sect he had painstakingly built suffer such treatment, the Sect Master was furious and wanted to head to the Spirit Empire capital immediately to return the favor.
But Xu Mingxi stopped him. His expression was grave and chilling, but his mind remained calm.
"Sect Master, of course we want revenge, but we must not waste the strength of our disciples. We must rely on the Star Luo Empire's power to exact this vengeance."
The Star Crown Sect had worked hard to gain influence over the Star Luo imperial throne, so they naturally wanted to leverage this to gain benefits for the sect.
Moreover, with Qian Daoliu dead and Golden Crocodile Douluo severely injured and fallen into the sea, the Spirit Empire was at its weakest.
By utilizing the strength of the Star Luo Empire, they could definitely capture cities and territories, avenge the Star Crown Sect, and expand the reach of the Star God Temple — aiding Xu Mingxi's path to godhood.
"Alright, this time the Star Crown Sect will mobilize the majority of our strength. We must break through the Spirit Empire."
"Exactly, the soul guides have been hidden long enough — now is the time to deploy them and make a statement."
The actions of the Spirit Empire enraged every soul master in the Star Crown Sect. They all wished to tear those traitorous villains to pieces.
With the nod from the Sect Master and the Grand Elder, all Title Douluo except the Second and Third Elders — who stayed to protect the sect and lead disciples in rebuilding — departed, taking with them numerous long-range soul guides, and arrived at the Star Luo Palace.
The end of the book is already on my Patreon [patreon.com/Devsen]