Northern region of the Sun Moon Empire.
The Brilliant Grand Duke's Province.
Inside a magnificently luxurious ducal mansion.
"Father, a letter just arrived from Mingdu. They demand that all the grand dukes bring their families to attend a conference there. You can't possibly fail to see the meaning behind this, right?" Zhao Yang said angrily.
"Of course I see it," the Brilliant Grand Duke said, toying with a pearl in his hand, a trace of hesitation on his face. "But the forces in Mingdu are powerful. If they decide to send troops against us at the conference…"
"Father, our Brilliant Province has complex terrain and tens of thousands of soldiers. Even if Xu Cheng sends an army, it won't be easy to wipe us out. Besides, we're not outright rebelling — if he simply recognizes our independence, we can offer him several times last year's tribute. Why would he waste time and energy suppressing us?" Zhao Yang persuaded earnestly.
"This..." The Brilliant Grand Duke hesitated.
In truth, this rebellious idea had been slowly planted in his mind by his son over time. But recently, with constant reports about how strong Mingdu's military was — driving enemies across the Mingdou Mountain Range into panic — his rebellious thoughts had been gradually fading.
He glanced at his son with a complicated expression.
His son, only thirty-two years old, was already a Soul Emperor, his spirit a rare and powerful "Violent Golden Bear" inherited from the duke's principal wife. Zhao Yang had always been the designated heir to the duchy and held a very high place in his father's heart.
"Besides," Zhao Yang continued confidently, "those pathetic soul engineers are useless at close range — they shatter at a touch. How could they ever be a match for traditional soul masters?"
Having been raised entirely within the Brilliant Province and educated in the ways of traditional soul masters, Zhao Yang held honor and pride deeply within him.
"Father, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Even after years of planning, our odds of successfully rebelling were lower than they are now. Xu Cheng's pressure will surely push other grand dukes to rebel too. That's when we unite!"
"...You do have a point." The Brilliant Grand Duke wavered again.
After all, he had gotten used to acting like a little king over his province, and now, having to bow to someone else in Mingdu was indeed uncomfortable.
"Better to gamble for freedom than to meekly hand our lives over!" Zhao Yang's eyes blazed. "Kings and generals — why shouldn't we be among them?"
"Fine! If that's the case, you may proceed boldly. I will back you!" The Brilliant Grand Duke's face flushed with excitement. "Here — these are the carrier pigeons we secretly use to contact the other dukes. Take them. They know how highly I value you. Your words represent my will!"
"Thank you, Father!!!"
Elsewhere...
"The Body Sect... sigh..."The Emperor of the Heaven Soul Empire let out a heavy sigh.
After Dai Hao's massive uproar recently, shaking the entire continent, they had initially thought they could seize some benefits from the chaos. Yet not only had they failed, they had been crushed like chickens underfoot.
Since the Body Sect's sect master, Poison Undying, returned, he had vanished without a trace. Even his closest allies, like the emperor, had only heard from his daughter that he had entered seclusion, with no further news afterward.
The Body Sect had also suffered heavy losses during the upheaval.
"Father, are we really just going to sit here and wait to die before the Sun Moon Empire?" Mu Xue asked sadly, her beautiful eyes dim.
"Every generation has its responsibilities and missions," the Heaven Soul Emperor said gravely. "Even if we become a fallen dynasty, some things must still be done."
"And that is...?" Mu Xue asked curiously.
"From this moment on, Heaven Soul Empire will pursue two major objectives: First, unify the Dou Ling Empire. Second, form a deep alliance with the Body Sect," the emperor announced solemnly.
"The Dragon-Slaying Array in Sunset Forest has been broken — that is Heaven's will favoring our Heaven Dou heritage! Thus, the time has come…" His eyes gleamed with heat. He had once hoped for peaceful resolutions, but history had proven such hopes futile.
Only by reuniting the two empires could the ancient legacy of the Heaven Dou Empire be reignited, could they stop the slow bleed of hidden noble families defecting to the Sun Moon Empire. That had always been the foundation of his long-term plan for Heaven Soul's revival.
"Second, we must bind ourselves to the Body Sect, fully adopting the old Spirit Hall model from ten thousand years ago. We will offer free spirit awakenings across the nation. Anyone aged six and above can go to designated locations to awaken their spirit, allowing the Body Sect to recruit talents."
"You only have three silver-grade awakeners now? Then I will find you gold-grade ones! If one isn't enough, I'll find two!" His voice grew intense. "We, the original Douluo Continent, have deep foundations. Many talents never awakened simply because they lacked opportunity, not because they lacked ability."
"This fishing net is bound to catch a few geniuses."
The emperor's eyes gleamed with madness.
But soon, he calmed down again.
"Mu Xue, do you know?" he said slowly. "In the history books, dynasties often only remember two emperors: the founding emperor — and the last."
"The founding emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire overthrew a tyrant, rose to the throne with the help of countless virtuous ministers and great generals, and created a new era through his wisdom, courage, and ability. How then will future generations remember me?"
Elsewhere again...
"Your Highness…"Shangguan Wei'er bowed gracefully in a courtly etiquette, speaking softly as Xu Cheng watched her, slightly surprised.
"You know Sun Moon court etiquette?" Xu Cheng asked, a little taken aback.
"I was originally a slave," Shangguan Wei'er said frankly. "Bought by a noble and trained by so-called 'teachers.' As a slave, you had to fit various roles to amuse the noble masters. Palace etiquette like this was part of training for portraying a 'princess'."
"And luckily, just before I was scheduled for auction, I was discovered to have strong soul power talent. That noble decided not to auction me but to cultivate me into a higher-grade slave. But I managed to progress rapidly, seized a chance to escape, and made my way here to Mingdu."
"You don't need to answer so thoroughly," Xu Cheng said thoughtfully.
"I am Your Highness's blade. A blade needs no secrets," Shangguan Wei'er said, lowering her head.
Her swan-like neck, with two heavy curves pressing under her clothes, created an eye-catching, deep cleavage.
"Enough. You've brought the person?" Xu Cheng waved his hand.
"Come in!"Shangguan Wei'er called softly toward the door.
A young girl in a pale yellow long dress, with a delicate oval face and snowy-white skin, stepped quietly inside. From her attire and demeanor, she didn't look like she had been mistreated. Even if there had been physical injuries, they could be hidden easily after a day or two — but deep mental trauma was hard to hide, and she showed none.
Ye Guyi, lifting the hem of her skirt carefully, sneaked a glance at Xu Cheng and at Shangguan Wei'er kneeling by his feet — and was inwardly shocked.
She had heard of the terrifying strength of the Pingfan Alliance in recent days. This youth before her, the one who dominated Mingdu's underground world as an eighth-level soul engineer — seeing someone so powerful kneeling humbly beside him, she could imagine his true identity was even more staggering.
"Hehe, Ye Guyi." Xu Cheng smiled as he studied her. "Would you show me your spirit?"
As he spoke, he subtly glanced at the tall old man standing beside him. The old man nodded back slightly.
The two exchanged meaningful looks.
"...Alright," Ye Guyi wanted to refuse, but the immense pressure from their mere presence made her nod unwillingly.
Buzz!In the next instant, the entire room flared with dazzling light.
Holy, pure light radiated from the young girl's body, as a phantom of an angel slowly formed behind her.
"Whoosh!"
The two wings lightly flapped, scattering the sacred power all around.
Except for Shangguan Weier, who felt slightly uncomfortable due to her martial soul, everyone else felt as if they were basking in sunlight.
Xu Cheng sighed inwardly—worthy of being the Angel Martial Soul. This sacred aura truly gave off a feeling of soul-cleansing...
"Uncle Ye, mission accomplished," he said with a bright smile, glancing at the elderly man beside him.
"Phew... Your Highness the Holy Son, I sincerely thank you!" Ye Cheng showed no hesitation. He took a deep breath and gave Xu Cheng a deep bow.
He had searched for a hundred years without any success, yet within just a few short years, Xu Cheng had found one for him—and one with pure, flawless Angel bloodline.
In fact, when he first heard the news, even if it had been a mutated martial soul, he would have been thrilled. Yet now...
"It really is just business after all," thought Ye Guyi with a shiver of disgust.
Nobles—truly birds of a feather, rats and snakes in one nest.
This young man, with his handsome looks, graceful manners, and seemingly upright demeanor, appeared every bit the gallant noble son. Yet to think he was involved in such filthy dealings!
In her mind, these so-called nobles must have grown tired of ordinary women and now sought something special—like her, a girl with an Angel Martial Soul, a complete and total blessing...
"Alright, let me introduce you," Xu Cheng said casually, seeing through the girl's thoughts but not bothering to explain. "This is Uncle Ye Cheng. In a sense, you two were once family—five thousand years ago."
Ye Guyi blinked in confusion, then her beautiful eyes widened in shock.
She stared dead-on at the smiling elder, her expression slipping out of control.
"My martial soul is the Fallen Angel," Ye Cheng said kindly, "but in truth, our family bloodline carries Angel ancestry. I count as a mutated martial soul. So what His Highness said is correct—we were one family five thousand years ago."
As he spoke, six pairs of wings slowly unfurled behind him, and a dense aura of darkness spread out.
Oddly enough, light and darkness should have been naturally opposed, but Ye Guyi didn't feel any rejection toward this fallen, dark aura. On the contrary, she felt a sense of strange familiarity.
"My lifelong wish was to find an heir of the Angel Martial Soul—to protect and continue our bloodline. That is why I entrusted this task to His Highness the Holy Son. And thankfully..."Ye Cheng's eyes showed a flash of relief.
"..."Shangguan Weier's throat moved as she stole a glance at Ye Guyi, her eyes full of envy.
To meet a powerful elder of the same bloodline during childhood, someone eager to shelter you and lift you out of darkness—what unimaginable fortune!If only she had met someone like that back then, perhaps she wouldn't have walked so many painful paths.
"Everyone has their fate. Nothing to envy," a warm voice suddenly sounded gently in her ear."You've suffered a lot before, but there's still a long road ahead of you..."
"...Yes," Shangguan Weier responded softly, her eyes showing a trace of complex emotion.
Such a leader... truly something she had never encountered before.
She had chosen correctly.
"By the way, Your Highness," Shangguan Weier remembered something. "About the tournament four years from now—Xishui Alliance sent another letter, urging that the final rules be confirmed within the next few days and forbidding any future changes. Please review it."
As she spoke, she pulled a token from her storage soul tool and offered it to Xu Cheng with both hands.
"A tournament on soul tool crafting and combat usage..."Xu Cheng nodded slightly.
The rules were basically the same as in his previous life. Honestly, he even considered wearing a mask to have some fun—four years later, he'd still only be nineteen, well within the age limit.As for whether Nangong Wan would recognize him... that useless fool couldn't even detect Huo Hang, let alone his nineteen-year-old self.
Still, the rules seemed pretty ridiculous.
The grand final would involve nine contestants, who would compete until a winner emerged.The top three would all receive rewards.
The fight would be judged purely on total combat ability—anything could be used. If you could beat or even kill your opponent, you would win.
But the individual alliances' selection rules...
...were a complete mess, each alliance setting their own criteria.
Pingfan Alliance and Aodu Commerce were normal enough—whoever could win would advance.
Only Xishui Alliance, for some unknown reason, insisted on making contestants craft soul tools and then fight using only the soul tools they had personally crafted within a set time limit.Crafting ability accounted for 80–90% of the score.
Could it get any more absurd?
If the goal was to select fighters for an "anything goes" final battle, why impose such strict crafting restrictions beforehand?If it weren't for the fact that Tang Si and Tang Wu showed up to help in the original timeline, Xishui Alliance would've been dead on arrival!
Of course, Xu Cheng could tell this weird rule was custom-built to benefit Huo Hang...
Letting him show off while competing under conditions most advantageous to him—blatantly treating the heavens' rules as if they were fools.
Naturally, Xu Cheng had no plans to point this out.
He would just play along, pretending Nangong Wan was an idiot.
Imagine—a competition crucial to the Holy Spirit Cult's interests, with the Pope and Vice-Pope personally observing...And they weren't sending out their best warriors, but picking people obsessed with soul tool crafting?
Utter lunacy.
"Approve it," Xu Cheng said cheerfully. "Since they challenged us, we'll accept. When the time comes... we'll just send Guyi."
"With Uncle Ye's guidance for four years, taking down a Soul Emperor should be a piece of cake, right?"
"Very well. Guyi, this is His Highness the Holy Son of the Holy Spirit Cult—Xu Cheng," Ye Cheng said kindly, looking at the still-stunned Ye Guyi.
Wait—Holy Spirit Cult?Holy Son?!
Was she jumping straight from the tiger's jaws into the wolf's den?!