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Dai Yutian sat upon the dragon throne, his laughter echoing through the great hall. Feeling the torrent of power surging within him, his eyes brimmed with self-satisfaction.
He clenched his fists, his gaze feverish. "Two years ago, I swallowed my pride at every turn for lack of strength and kept my restless ambition on a leash. Now that I finally possess power, how could I linger beneath others a day longer? I will—unify the continent!"
With his newfound strength as kindling, Dai Yutian's ambition flared like dry wood catching flame—roaring, blazing, unstoppable.
It was not merely his own rise to Rank 95 that birthed such designs. Across the Star Luo Empire, nearly thirty new Titled Douluo had emerged in the past two years.
Thirty Titled Douluo—the concept was staggering. Even the Upper Three Sects had only one or, at most, a few Titled Douluo. With such a formidable roster, Star Luo's national might had swelled to a height unseen for centuries.
Furthermore, the Star Luo Empire had always worshiped the strong and loved war; a lust for battle ran hot in its blood. Dai Yutian held the throne thanks to his own power and that of his empress, Zhu Yali. Husband and wife both stood at Rank 95, their strength beyond dispute. Relying on their martial soul fusion skill, they had established absolute prestige among Star Luo's Titled Douluo—simply put, they had beaten each of them into submission.
Just then, Zhu Yali lifted the curtain and entered, her voice cool and clear. "Your Majesty, they have arrived."
Dai Yutian laughed heartily, slipped an arm around her willowy waist, and strode forward in high spirits. "Come, Empress. Today shall be a day that Star Luo records in its annals for all time."
"Of course, Your Majesty. When husband and wife are of one heart, their will can sever metal. I've grown impatient already!" As the one who shared his bed, how could Zhu Yali not know the depths of his ambition?
At that moment, within the palace's main hall, over thirty of Star Luo's Titled Douluo were assembled. Power rippled from them in waves, and the gleam of battle intent shone in their eyes.
"His Majesty approaches!"
Before the emperor himself arrived, an aura that overwhelmed their own swept through the chamber. A wild, domineering laugh followed. "Hahaha! I have kept you all waiting!"
As expected of His Majesty, his strength has grown again!
The thirty-odd Titled Douluo instantly reined in their auras and stood straight to salute. "Your Majesty!"
Seeing this, Dai Yutian felt a deep sense of satisfaction. He settled onto the dragon throne with Zhu Yali at his side and raised a hand. "Rise, my loyal lords. I have summoned you today to discuss a matter of great importance."
At his words, excitement flickered across their faces. They were no fools; they had already guessed their emperor's intent.
Dai Yutian did not waste time with pleasantries. He spoke plainly, "With your combined strength, my lords, our Star Luo has grown powerful. Yet the lands of our empire are, in the end, too small. How can they possibly contain so many mighty experts as ourselves?"
Not giving anyone a chance to object, he continued, "The Heavenly Dragon Empire was formerly the Heaven Dou Empire. It has only existed for two short years; I imagine its strength is negligible. I propose we marshal our forces and strike them. What say you?"
At this, the hall erupted into murmurs. These Titled Douluo of Star Luo were martial by nature and fond of war. After their meteoric rise in power over the past two years, they had long struggled to contain the restlessness in their bones. Now that Dai Yutian himself called for a campaign against the Heavenly Dragon Empire, it was as if he had spoken the very hunger in their hearts. They were already calculating how, after conquering those vast territories, they might seize a region for themselves, ruling as kings and hegemons.
Reading their expressions, Dai Yutian understood perfectly. He poured oil on the fire with a smile. "I make you this promise: any lord who achieves great merit in the war against the Heavenly Dragon Empire shall receive a grand fief. The lands of that empire are boundless. I shall take my share, and each of you shall take yours. With such a prize before us, why should we not seize it?"
No sooner had he finished than one of the Titled Douluo sprang forward. His name was Ling Leishi, his martial soul the Rampaging Thunder Boar, and he was a Rank 91 assault-type Titled Douluo.
Though a Count of Star Luo, his title was low among the Titled Douluo of the realm. The others held the rank of Marquis at minimum, while he was merely a Count. Now that his strength had risen to their level, he was no longer content with so meager a title. Star Luo's peerage, from highest to lowest, ran: Duke, Marquis, Count, Viscount, and Baron. A Count—only the third rank—was no longer a match for the power he now wielded.
Hearing Dai Yutian's pledge, he did not hesitate. He would be the first to eat the crab.
"Your Majesty, your servant volunteers to lead the vanguard! I will spearhead a surprise assault on the Heavenly Dragon Empire and seize the opening victory for Star Luo!"
Approval flashed in Dai Yutian's eyes. "Good! If Lord Ling seizes that first triumph, then once the Heavenly Dragon Empire has fallen, I shall grant you the lands of one of its vassal kingdoms as your personal fief!"
As he spoke, he tossed over one of the military mobilization orders he had prepared in advance.
The promise struck the hall like a boulder dropped into a calm lake, sending waves through the crowd. Regret flickered across the faces of the other lords; they quietly cursed themselves for not stepping forward first. In the era of the Heaven Dou Empire, each vassal kingdom controlled a vast territory—otherwise, it could not have been called a kingdom. For the sake of convenience, Lan Minghua had only abolished the Heaven Dou imperial family, leaving the rest of the structure untouched. Thus, the Heavenly Dragon Empire was virtually identical to the old Heaven Dou—only its leadership had changed.
Ling Leishi's face flushed with excitement. He snatched the order from the air and withdrew with a deep bow. He would muster his forces at once and prepare the assault.
Watching their reactions, Dai Yutian was deeply pleased. He struck while the iron was hot. "There is no need for anxiety, my lords. So long as we work together to take the Heavenly Dragon Empire, I pledge that each of you shall win a fief of your own!"
"Our thanks, Your Majesty!" they roared, cupping their fists in unison.
Dai Yutian then distributed the rest of the sealed mobilization orders to the Titled Douluo one by one. Orders in hand, the lords took their leave to rally their troops and prepare for the long-awaited surprise attack.
When all had gone, Dai Yutian leaned back on the dragon throne, a thin, ambitious smile playing on his lips. Softly, he murmured, "So long as these men fight and die for me, unifying the continent is only a matter of time. Just you wait—be it the Heavenly Dragon Empire or the Spirit Hall—both will be within my grasp. Is that not so, Empress?"
"Of course, Your Majesty. Our Star Luo Empire's might is unprecedented. How could the mere Heavenly Dragon Empire or Spirit Hall possibly stand against us?"
Zhu Yali and Dai Yutian shared a look, utter certainty in their victory reflected in each other's eyes.
Meanwhile, far away in the Heavenly Dragon Empire, on the mountain behind the Tianlong Gang's headquarters, Lan Minghua slowly opened his eyes. A sharp gleam flashed within them, followed by a faint smile.
Though the distance to the Star Luo Empire was vast, with his current strength, everything that transpired there unfolded before him as clearly as if it were happening right in front of him.
"Heh. Gain a little power and you can't sit still, can you? You are nothing but puppets of the gods in the Divine Realm—not only do you not question it, you are smug about it. It seems the glitter of immediate gain has completely blinded you."
Lan Minghua knew perfectly well that the sudden emergence of Titled Douluo in Star Luo was the result of so-called inheritances granted by those gods. These were not true transmissions of a divine seat; rather, divine power had been used to forcibly elevate their cultivation to the Titled Douluo tier. After all, those second and third-tier gods had not yet lived their fill; they would never willingly pass on their positions.
Without a divine seat, such a method was nothing more than pulling on seedlings to make them grow faster—a crude shortcut with no path to true greatness. These forcibly elevated Titled Douluo received no god-gifted soul rings; they had to hunt for them.
Two years ago, Lan Minghua had foreseen this. He had ordered Di Tian to corral the soul beast clans, gathering all those with fifty-thousand-year cultivations and above. While they hadn't managed to gather every single one, he had to wonder: among the ninth soul rings of Star Luo's newest Titled Douluo, how many were actually from fifty-thousand-year beasts?
All things considered, these new Titled Douluo of the Star Luo Empire were markedly weaker than those who had broken through on their own merit. In simple terms, they were a row of decorative flower racks, all show with no substance.
As for Star Luo's death-courting arrogance, Lan Minghua had no intention of indulging it. Besides, thanks to the Body-Refining Furnace, the Heavenly Dragon Empire's true strength now far outstripped Star Luo's.
He sent his voice across a thousand li, carried on the wind to Yunshan.
"Old Shan, that big oaf next door finally couldn't hold it in any longer. It's time to let the continent see the true power of the Heavenly Dragon Empire!"
(End of Chapter)