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Frontline of the Holy Soul and Star Luo—
The White Tiger Emperor was particularly wary of the newly established Holy Soul Empire, even believing that they might launch an attack on the Star Luo Empire as early as the next day.
However, things did not unfold as the White Tiger Emperor had anticipated.
It was calm—unexpectedly calm.
The Holy Soul Empire continued to maintain its usual defensive posture, with the only difference being that there were now several times more high-level soul masters than before, making their defenses far stricter.
"Something abnormal always has a hidden cause," the White Tiger Emperor thought gravely.
Though there were no formal military strategies in the Douluo Continent—Tang San's tactic of cutting off supply lines could already be considered brilliant—years of warfare had given the White Tiger Emperor a level of strategic thinking far surpassing that of ordinary soul masters.
From his perspective, the reason the Holy Soul Empire hadn't launched an attack was likely because the surprise assault on the Tian Dou Empire had already consumed a significant amount of the Spirit Hall's resources. They were now consolidating domestic resources in preparation for the upcoming campaign against the Star Luo Empire.
At this thought, the White Tiger Emperor's brow furrowed even deeper.
"Damn Spirit Hall!" he cursed bitterly.
But with the enemy strong and his own side weak, the White Tiger Emperor had no time to dwell on other matters. He could only focus on preparing the empire's forces.
Even if the entire nation were to crumble, he couldn't allow the Spirit Hall to achieve their goals so easily.
Because of its neutral stance, the Tianxing Academy had been largely inconspicuous in recent years, so the White Tiger Emperor initially overlooked it.
When he remembered the mysterious 98th-level Tianxing Douluo, though he knew it was unlikely the man would be swayed, there was still a slim chance.
Thus, the White Tiger Emperor immediately wrote another letter and sent one of his loyal assassins to deliver it, attempting to recruit him while warning of the dangers of the Spirit Hall's unification plans.
Unfortunately, this messenger was destined never to return.
After all, the Tianxing Academy had always leaned toward one side from the very beginning.
The person who received the letter was Ah Yin, a core member of the Tianxing Academy.
Though Dugu Bo and others held honorary titles like Dean or Vice Dean, the true leader had always been Ye Wen's family.
Ah Yin glanced at the contents of the letter and sneered disdainfully.
The messenger, Bai Er, felt a sense of foreboding but still asked respectfully, "Lady Ah Yin—"
Bai Er stared in disbelief as a blade pierced through his body—the source being Ah Yin's Blue Silver Sword Emperor.
Ah Yin casually crumpled the letter in her hand and tossed it into the trash, coldly stating,
"He's at least a Soul Douluo. Bury him in the Blue Silver Forest as fertilizer."
A nearby disciple-in-training immediately cleaned up the mess, their expression calm and unruffled. Anyone admitted to the inner academy was a die-hard loyalist of the Tianxing Academy, and after learning of the academy's true strength, they had completely pledged their allegiance to Ye Wen.
Ah Yin harbored no goodwill toward the Star Luo Empire either.
After all, her late father-in-law had died in the war instigated by the Star Luo Empire.
While wars couldn't always be judged as right or wrong, Ah Yin naturally sided with her husband's family. Now that hostilities had broken out, there was no need to continue feigning civility.
After Bibi Dong completed the domestic power transition and arranged some supplies, she promptly declared the Spirit Hall the state religion of the Holy Soul Empire, while the Tianxing Academy was renamed the First Tianxing Academy.
This bestowal of honor further darkened the White Tiger Emperor's mood. A faction he had attempted to recruit just yesterday had now defected to the enemy, and his handful of trusted assassins were likely also doomed.
"Damn it!" the White Tiger Emperor growled.
However, he wasn't entirely surprised by this outcome. After all, such a powerful faction—how could the Spirit Hall remain indifferent?
He only regretted acting too late.
If he had thought of it sooner, perhaps the Tianxing Academy wouldn't have sided with the Spirit Hall so quickly.
But the widening gap in strength made the White Tiger Emperor increasingly anxious. How the hell was he supposed to fight them now?!
He could only hope that the trip to the Hao Tian Sect would help alleviate this dire situation.
Meanwhile, many nobles within the Star Luo Empire had begun making small moves, further irritating the White Tiger Emperor. In response, he ruthlessly executed a group of people.
Hao Tian Sect's Hidden World—
This place was located in a medium-sized gathering area for soul beasts within the Star Luo Empire, rarely visited by ordinary soul masters.
On the outskirts of the Hao Tian Sect's hidden world, there were villages specifically designated for weaker clan members and disciples.
This arrangement could only be described as idiotic.
How could ordinary people possibly survive and thrive in such a desolate place? Wasn't it obvious that there were powerful soul masters guarding the area?
Yet, the Hao Tian Sect believed their setup was extremely secretive—it truly was a case of ignorance being bliss.
Inside the hidden world—
Two years ago, Tang Xiao had retrieved Tang Hao, who had been relentlessly pursued and left in a pitiful state.
As Tang Hao put it, "A person's legs are their second heart, and half of my second heart was destroyed." Even with his mastery of the Hao Tian techniques, his strength had been significantly diminished.
Moreover, among the reclusive experts here, there were also Title Douluos present.
In this era, soul bones were known as treasures of the Blood River. Ordinary Title Douluos possessed only a few soul bones, if any at all.
Take Gui and Ju Douluo as examples.
Now that Tang Hao's strength had plummeted, he was essentially a prime target—a perfect example of a "fallen dog."
The most dangerous encounter Tang Hao faced was being ambushed by an unknown Title Douluo.
Though the technique of self-detonating soul rings was powerful, it wasn't without drawbacks. No matter how strong one's physique, repeated use would accumulate hidden injuries. Moreover, the detonated soul rings and skills would enter a mandatory cooldown period.
Thus, unless it was a life-or-death situation, Tang Hao dared not use this ultimate technique.
But even at 85 levels, when Tang Hao used the self-detonation technique, he could barely hold his ground against the Title Douluo. If Tang Xiao hadn't intervened, Tang Hao would have surely perished at the hands of that Title Douluo.
Tang Hao's mistakes were now common knowledge within the Hao Tian Sect.
Though his achievements were impressive, the consequences were equally devastating.
Every member of the Hao Tian Sect despised Tang Hao, as many of their close friends and family had perished during that retreat battle.
Even their current financial struggles were a result of that incident.
However, since the current sect leader, Tang Xiao, had spoken in Tang Hao's defense, the others couldn't openly confront him. Most clan members lacked the strength to do so anyway, so they resorted to isolating Tang Hao instead.
For someone who had always sought to bring glory to the sect, Tang Hao now found himself in an exceptionally bitter state. He sat alone in a corner of the sect, drinking bitter wine in frustration.
Suddenly, a commotion arose within the Hao Tian Sect.
Though his soul power had diminished, Tang Hao's spiritual perception remained sharp.
"How curious. What could possibly cause such a stir in this godforsaken place?"
Taking another swig of bitter wine, Tang Hao pondered curiously.
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