While Chen Yi was fusing with the god-level soul bone deep within the Sea God Temple, far away on the Douluo Continent, a major change that would profoundly affect the entire continent was rapidly entering its final stage.
On the western front, with the Spirit Hall's Second Worship—the level 99 Invincible Douluo Golden Crocodile—as supreme commander, the allied forces had completely broken through the Star Luo Empire's left wall fortress. Like a tiger released from its cage, they advanced victoriously and relentlessly.
The Star Luo defenders fought desperately along the way, but facing overwhelming military superiority, their so-called defensive lines and cities were broken through and destroyed one after another like paper.
This army consisted of the Spirit Hall's elite soul master legions, the Heaven Dou Empire's elite border troops, and allied forces from the various vassal kingdoms. Not only were their numbers vast, but more importantly, their high combat strength was terrifying.
Under such a fierce assault, the Star Luo Empire's defensive lines completely collapsed. Defeated soldiers fell like mountains. The Spirit Hall forces encountered almost no resistance and arrived at the Star Luo Empire's capital—Star Luo City—at an astonishing speed!
Chen Zhen and his subordinates had successfully seized control of northern Star Luo and linked up with the main army of the Golden Crocodile Douluo outside Star Luo City. At this point, the allied forces effectively controlled over ninety percent of the Star Luo Empire's territory. Star Luo City had become an isolated city, and its fate was sealed.
Faced with the overwhelming banners outside the city and the suffocating pressure from titled Douluos, the defenders and nobles inside Star Luo City had already fallen into panic. Their morale had sunk to rock bottom.
Emperor Dai Weisi, who had only recently ascended the throne, sat in the palace all night, staring at the mountain of defeat reports piled before him. He realized that resistance was meaningless and would only bring catastrophic disaster.
Yesterday, the Star Luo Imperial Palace announced its final decision: the Star Luo Empire would unconditionally surrender to the Spirit Hall allied forces.
…
Outside Star Luo City, in front of the allied forces' camp.
Led by the Golden Crocodile Douluo, powerful titled Douluos such as Chen Zhen, Ghost Leopard, Devil Bear, Snake Lance, and Porcupine stood solemnly, gazing toward Star Luo City. Behind them, elite allied troops stood in neat formation. Their armor gleamed, and their silence carried a chilling, oppressive atmosphere.
The heavy city gates slowly opened inward under the watchful eyes of countless people. There was no ceremonial procession or guards—only an extremely simple and somewhat shabby carriage slowly emerged from the city gates.
Inside the carriage, there were no side chambers; only a heavy black coffin. Lying atop the coffin was a haggard figure dressed in the Star Luo Empire's imperial robes, but without a crown.
Dai Weisi had chosen the most humiliating method of surrender. At the same time, it was the method that best expressed his stance—surrendering while lying in a coffin.
The carriage moved slowly across the empty battlefield.
The wheels creaked over scorched earth and debris, producing a monotonous, heavy sound. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the coffin and the lonely, desolate figure lying upon it.
Finally, the carriage stopped less than a hundred steps away from the allied forces' high-ranking officials, led by the Golden Crocodile Douluo.
Dai Weisi took a deep breath as if gathering all his strength, then slowly descended from the coffin. With heavy steps, he walked toward the Golden Crocodile Douluo one step at a time.
Up close, his bloodshot eyes, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes, and the sadness he could not hide were clearly visible. He looked at no one. Slowly and solemnly, he bent his knees and knelt on the cold ground.
With both hands, he raised high a square jade seal engraved with the White Tiger emblem. His voice was hoarse, yet it rang clearly across the silent battlefield.
"The Emperor of the Star Luo Empire, Dai Weisi… surrenders to the Spirit Hall…"
These few words carried heavy weight. They announced the official end of a vast empire that had existed for thousands of years.
The Golden Crocodile Douluo remained expressionless. He stared at the jade seal for a moment, then reached out and handed it to the Ghost Leopard Douluo beside him. His gaze returned to Dai Weisi, who was kneeling on the ground.
His voice was calm, like a divine decree:
"Star Luo's Dai Weisi, who failed to recognize fate and could not see the bigger picture, repeatedly obstructed the process of continental unification, reignited war, and brought great suffering to the people.
However, considering that they have finally recognized their mistakes and surrendered voluntarily, thereby sparing the city from the horrors of war and protecting its residents, I hereby issue the following judgment in accordance with the decree of Her Holiness the Pope of the Spirit Hall:
Dai Weisi is hereby appointed as an Honorary Elder of the Spirit Hall. He shall enjoy the honors of an elder and move to Spirit City.
The former royal family of the Star Luo Empire—the White Tiger Dai Clan—and their in-laws, the Netherworld Cat Zhu Clan, shall immediately relocate to Spirit City and settle there under the protection of the Spirit Hall."
The Golden Crocodile Douluo paused, looked at the still-kneeling and slightly trembling Dai Weisi, and said in a calm tone:
"Elder Dai… convey our thanks to him."
Upon hearing this, Dai Weisi could not help but show a bitter smile.
Honorary Elder?
It sounded honorable, but in reality, it was merely a euphemism for house arrest. His entire clan had been moved to Spirit City?
From then on, they would be like fish on the chopping block of the Spirit Hall. Their life, death, honor, and disgrace would all depend on the whims of others.
The thousand-year glory of the former imperial family and the White Tiger would vanish from this day onward. Only the clan name tied to the Spirit Hall would remain.
He recalled how the ancestors of the Star Luo Empire had treated the last emperors of the previous dynasty, as recorded in the history books. A chill ran down his spine.
Unconsciously, he glanced at Zhu Zhuyun, who stood in the surrender procession a short distance away, dressed in queenly attire. Did they… still have a future?
However, the Golden Crocodile Douluo was completely unaware of the turmoil swirling in Dai Weisi's heart at that moment. He swiftly swung his crimson cloak, drawing a sharp arc in the air, and mounted his horse.
"To the city!"
At his command, the sound echoed across the nation!
The allied forces, already in battle formation, marched in orderly, heavy steps toward the opened city gates.
From today onward, the Star Luo Empire would vanish into the annals of history.
...
Star Dou Great Forest, Lake of Life.
This place remained a holy land for spirit beasts. Ancient trees stretched toward the sky, brimming with vitality, and the jade-green lake water contained majestic life force.
However, today, the tranquility of this place was shattered by the arrival of two uninvited guests. They were the Spirit Hall's new Pope, Qian Renxue, and the Spirit Hall's Grand Worship, Qian Daoliu.
The two did not venture deep into the lake. They stopped at a relatively open area by the shore.
Qian Renxue swept her gaze across the familiar scenery around her, finally resting it on the sparkling lake surface.
"This is the place," she murmured to herself.
Immediately after, Qian Renxue took out a lock of hair emitting a faint golden light from her storage soul tool.
The hair was soft and lustrous, exuding an aura of nobility and peace.
Qian Renxue released a small amount of soul power from her fingertips and gently touched the strand of golden hair.
"Shuu…"
The hair spontaneously ignited without flame, transforming into a small cluster of golden flames that flickered strangely.
At the same time, Qian Renxue's lips moved slightly. Accompanied by the blazing flames, her clear and beautiful voice carried a special resonance around the Lake of Life, quietly echoing as if it could pierce through space and reach the distant ends.
"Little Three-Eyed… Auspicious Beast…"
The sound and the flickering flames intertwined, forming what seemed like a unique signal.
Qian Daoliu stood with his hands behind his back, quietly observing the surroundings with his deep, golden eyes that resembled still pools of water.
Since Qian Renxue's return to the Spirit Hall, her cultivation had entered a phase of steady and rapid growth. What surprised Qian Daoliu even more was that shortly after Qian Renxue's Six-Winged Angel Spirit officially began the divine trials, its original divinity had been elevated to an unbelievable extreme level in an extremely short time. Its purity and level even surpassed the highest state Qian Daoliu could reach when he burned the Sacrifice secret technique.
As a result, Qian Renxue's divine trials progressed astonishingly smoothly, and her soul power increased at a speed far beyond expectations. After successfully completing the first six trials of the Angel God, her soul power naturally reached level 90, and she needed to obtain her ninth soul ring. Her eighth spirit ring had been obtained long ago through a god-bestowed spirit ring. Therefore, she was now seeking a powerful spirit ring most suitable for herself as her ninth spirit ring.
Soon, accompanied by an almost imperceptible spatial fluctuation, a golden figure shot out from the depths of the forest like lightning and arrived at the clearing by the lake in the blink of an eye.
Its entire body was golden, its fur dazzlingly radiant. A vertical eye adorned its forehead, giving it a noble and mysterious appearance.
However, at this moment, its large golden eyes stared fixedly at Qian Renxue. In a tone carrying a hint of reproach, it spoke in human language:
"Hey, you really have great timing. I was just out chasing lunch—especially a plump, delicious, glowing unicorn. Because you showed up, I had to abandon my delicious meal and rush back here like a puppy!"
It complained, but its movements were not slow. Gracefully, it walked toward Qian Renxue.
Behind it, a massive dark red figure quietly appeared. It was none other than the Scarlet King, ranked eighth among the Ten Ferocious Beasts.
The Scarlet King glanced curiously at Qian Daoliu. He could clearly sense that the power hidden within this human elder was extremely terrifying. Aside from Di Tian, there was probably no other beast in the entire Star Dou Great Forest who could match him.
However, although the Scarlet King was vigilant, he was not afraid.
The reason was simple: this was the Lake of Life, the true center of the Star Dou Great Forest and the home of the beasts. Deep beneath the lake slumbered terrifying existences.
Even a true god would not dare act recklessly here.
Qian Daoliu sensed the Scarlet King's gaze but only nodded lightly with a calm expression and gentle demeanor. Since they needed the help of these two on this trip, he naturally would not act arrogantly.
Qian Renxue ignored the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's complaints. Instead, she magically produced a large, exquisite food box from her soul tool. When she opened the food box, it was filled with carefully prepared… various light-attribute soul beast brains. This had been specially prepared by the Spirit Hall's top chefs for the Three-Eyed Golden Lion.
Sure enough, the moment it saw the food box, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion completely forgot its previous dissatisfaction. Its large golden eyes sparkled. It gave Qian Renxue a satisfied look, then pounced on the food box without hesitation and began devouring its contents.
Seeing this, the Scarlet King could only shake his head helplessly and let it be. It was a well-known fact that the Auspicious Beast was a big eater.
After quickly finishing the entire food box, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion let out a satisfied burp, raised its head, and looked at Qian Renxue with curious eyes.
"Speak. What do you need from me? You even brought an old man along—quite an intimidating lineup."
Qian Renxue smiled with her eyes and said straightforwardly, without any teasing:
"I am level 90 now."
"Level 90?!"
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion was first stunned, then its large golden eyes widened. In an instant, it leaped up from the ground. "Level 90?! You're getting your ninth spirit ring?! Wonderful!"
It instantly jumped up, looking even more excited than Qian Renxue herself!
Then, it circled behind Qian Renxue, gently pushed her back with its fluffy golden head, and urged her forward.
"Hurry, hurry! I can't wait!"
…
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