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Though Yu Yuanzhen and Ge Long exchanged few words, Emperor Xue Ye couldn't help but think deeply.
"So the Ge family didn't simply defect—they've integrated into the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon family? I never imagined that the first marshal family of the Tian Dou Empire would one day become subordinate to another. How tragic.
But at this point, there's nothing I can do. I can only take things one step at a time. However, I wonder who this 'lord' is that both Ning Fengzhi and Yu Yuanzhen serve? That old fox Ning Fengzhi really knows how to keep his mouth shut. Tsk!"
With others holding the knives and himself as the fish on the chopping block, Emperor Xue Ye didn't dare make any small moves. He could only cooperate silently, secretly hoping that the person behind Ning Fengzhi was relatively merciful.
The fall of the tiny Tian Dou Imperial City under such overwhelming power no longer required Ye Wen's attention.
As mentioned earlier, due to various reasons over the years, five of the original ten provinces of the Tian Dou Empire had split off, forming four kingdoms and one grand duchy.
However, these five nations still nominally respected the Tian Dou Empire as their overlord. Otherwise, they would have long been devoured by the Star Luo Empire, whose national foundation rested on martial strength, making them exceptionally brutal in combat.
In the early days of Douluo Continent, communication relied entirely on messengers. But thanks to Ye Wen's intervention, the Spirit Hall now possessed means of ultra-long-distance communication.
It was the soul-guided device Ye Wen had used when he deployed the Six Directions Seal Absolute.
The initial burst of technological advancement in human civilization was often built upon relatively simple natural logic.
Even in a fantasy world like Douluo Continent, this fundamental principle applied—though here it might be called "rules" or "the Dao."
Moreover, with the establishment of Ye Wen's Truth Pavilion, many grassroots "wild scientists" who were previously marginalized and overlooked in the world of soul masters gradually came under Ye Wen's wing. These individuals, once weak and neglected, found new purpose because of Ye Wen.
With the hardest nut—the Tian Dou Imperial City—already cracked by Ye Wen, the smaller nations naturally fell without resistance.
Economic foundations determined the superstructure. These small nations, each occupying a single province, had limited top-tier combat strength due to their finite resources.
Furthermore, Ye Wen's sealing technique, Six Directions Seal Absolute, didn't necessarily require god-level experts to deploy—it had different tiers based on the scope of its application.
As the sun rose and the moon set, humanity's struggles were insignificant before the workings of nature.
Thus, the Tian Dou Empire, which once ruled half of the Douluo Continent, was once again unified.
Major powers needed to maintain appearances—they couldn't act like bandits, claiming territory by planting a flag and calling it done. Such actions were too informal and could easily incite unrest among the largely illiterate lower classes of this era.
First, the kings and grand dukes of the five small nations issued edicts dissolving their states and returning to the embrace of the Tian Dou Empire.
Later that noon, Emperor Xue Ye announced humbly,
"Our Tian Dou Empire acknowledges its unworthiness. Today, we abdicate in favor of the Pope of the Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong."
Female emperors weren't unheard of on the Douluo Continent, so the common people easily accepted Bibi Dong's rise to power.
Moreover, the Spirit Hall's numerous charitable acts over the years had earned it significant goodwill among the populace.
Though the empire should have belonged to the Qian family, it no longer mattered.
Bibi Dong, dressed in her usual regal and elegant papal robes, calmly accepted the heavy responsibilities of the Tian Dou Empire. She swiftly issued commands to quell minor disturbances within the empire.
The Tian Dou Empire officially became a thing of the past, renamed the Holy Soul Empire.
As for the reason… "Spirit Empire" sounded inauspicious, while "Holy Soul Empire" had a pleasant ring to it. Besides, "Holy" was a rank higher than "Emperor," wasn't it?
Due to two thousand years of peace, the common people of the Douluo Continent had never experienced the turmoil of regime changes. Seeing that the establishment of the Holy Soul Empire hadn't significantly impacted their lives, they even began to harbor hope for an empire ruled by the Spirit Hall.
After all, compared to arrogant nobles or ordinary soul masters who flaunted their single soul ring, the Spirit Hall's image of soul masters was widely respected.
At this moment, inside what was once the Tian Dou Palace but was now the Holy Soul Palace, Bibi Dong was methodically handling documents.
Suddenly, a figure embraced her slender waist from behind and softly asked,
"As the first empress about to unify the continent, what are your thoughts?"
Bibi Dong rolled her eyes and continued working on the documents, replying,
"What thoughts? At most, I just want you to help me handle these documents."
Ye Wen chuckled, knowing that Bibi Dong was merely complaining about him being a hands-off leader.
Breathing in the fragrant scent of her hair, Ye Wen said lightly,
"These are just documents… I've specially brought you some capable assistants this time."
With that, Ye Wen released Bibi Dong and snapped his fingers gently.
The space beside them rippled like water, and a group of women emerged.
The leader of the group was an elegant and beautiful woman, while the rest were only modestly attractive.
"Greetings, Your Majesty," the group respectfully bowed to Bibi Dong.
Bibi Dong glanced at Ye Wen, hoping for an introduction.
Ye Wen walked to the elegant and beautiful woman and introduced her, saying,
"This is my disciple Lan Lan. Her martial soul is the Blue Silver King, and she's an 87th-level Soul Douluo. She was the head steward of my Tianxing Academy and should be able to assist you. As for these young ladies, they're her disciples and are also highly skilled in handling matters. I specifically brought them to help you."
Bibi Dong's expression cleared. She naturally knew about the intelligence network of the Tianxing Academy. Over the years, the orderly development of the Tianxing Territory had been greatly aided by Ye Wen's team of secretaries.
However, as Ye Wen's wife, Bibi Dong instinctively leaned toward him and asked,
"If you lend them to me, what will happen to your Tianxing Territory?"
"Don't worry. These days, we have more than enough manpower there. I specifically brought them to assist you permanently. After all, you'll soon rule the entire continent as its empress."
At this moment, Lan Lan stepped forward slightly and bowed, saying,
"As Master said, we will do our best to help Your Majesty complete the management of the empire as soon as possible."
Bibi Dong felt warmth in her heart. Her man truly cared for her. Smiling, she accepted Lan Lan and the others.
Professionals worked fast.
In less than half a day, they had already organized all the information about the former Tian Dou Empire into perfect order.
Bibi Dong couldn't help but sigh. If she'd had these subordinates back when she was managing the Spirit Hall, how much trouble could have been avoided?
Meanwhile, news of the Tian Dou Empire's complete surrender to the Spirit Hall reached the Star Luo Empire on the same day.
With the strength of Ye Wen's subordinates, it was indeed possible to completely seize control of both empires in a single day. But that wouldn't work.
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