Once everything was settled, Ning Fengzhi even hosted a banquet for Xue Beng. By the end of the feast, both host and guest were well pleased.
After Xue Beng departed, Ning Fengzhi began to act. Delay for time? Perfect—that was also his plan. But while Xue Beng meant to stall in order to refine hidden weapons and wait for Star Luo to defeat the Holy Dragon Legion before coming to aid, Ning Fengzhi's intention was the exact opposite: he would wait for the Holy Dragon Legion to defeat Star Luo and seize all territories north of Gengxin City in the Star Luo Empire.
Meanwhile, when Spirit Hall infiltrated Heaven Dou Empire, they had already captured the Lima Plains, the Fasinuo Province, and the Silves Kingdom. They were currently using Jialing Pass as a staging point, preparing to push toward the heartland—Heaven Dou City.
Coincidentally, along that line of advance—starting from Gengxin City, then Lima Plains, Fasinuo Province, Silves Kingdom, and Heaven Dou City—every key node was either garrisoned by the Holy Dragon Legion, occupied by the Balak Kingdom's army, or on the verge of being brought directly under the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's control.
As soon as the Holy Dragon Legion beat back the Star Luo army, the father-and-son duo Tuoba Xi and Luo Hengji would defect in succession. The entire line would link up, and the whole western region of the Douluo Continent would instantly fall under the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect—nearly one-third of the entire continent.
Moreover, Tuoba Xi's forces, plus the Balak Kingdom's troops and the Heaven Dou soldiers provided by Xue Beng, would total close to a million.
With land and armies in hand, the embryonic form of a great empire would appear before everyone's eyes, and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect would formally step onto the stage of continental hegemony.
"Chenxiang, Zhuqing, Yu Feng, Huan Yin, Oslo!" Ning Fengzhi called five names in one breath.
The five stepped forward together. "Please give your orders, Sect Master."
"You five will lead the Shadow Battalion to reinforce Gengxin City," Ning Fengzhi commanded.
Behind the five stood a unit of roughly a hundred soul masters—the Shadow Battalion, secretly cultivated by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect for years.
Though few in number, they were no ordinary soul masters; all were disciples of the Speed Clan, each possessing peerless speed.
Their original lack of offensive power had already been remedied by Tianlin—namely, with divine blades forged by Lou Gao, who had learned Shu Mountain's refining arts.
The hundred carried weapons on par with Bai Chenxiang's Lingfeng Sword. Against anyone below Soul Emperor, or Soul Sages who hadn't activated their Martial Soul True Body, they could slit throats with ease.
"Sect Master, the Shadow Battalion can assassinate Soul Sages by surprise, but what about opponents at the Titled Douluo level? And Star Luo isn't like Heaven Dou—the strong are revered, and the imperial family has Titled Douluo Elders. They may not be as many as Spirit Hall, but even two or three aren't something the Shadow Battalion can handle," Bai Chenxiang hesitated.
Among the five Ning Fengzhi was sending, only Oslo—relying on six soul bones—possessed Titled Douluo-level strength. Yu Feng had only just broken through to Soul Douluo, Huan Yin was still a Soul Sage, and Chenxiang herself was merely a Soul Emperor. It seemed they were missing something to deal with Star Luo.
Ning Fengzhi smiled slightly. "Don't worry, Chenxiang. Your grandfather will handle Titled Douluo-level opponents. He's currently gathering intelligence in Star Luo. I'm also sending you to deliver something to him. Mister Lou Gao, if you would."
"On it!" Lou Gao excitedly produced a box. "Haha! Kids, feast your eyes. From the refining arts my master passed down—one of the peerless divine weapons: the Shetian Divine Sword!"
With the help of two strange stones Tianlin had snatched from Tang Hao's side, Lou Gao finally forged the Shetian Divine Sword, one of Shu Mountain's high-grade divine weapons.
It was in the same tier as Xu Changqing's youth weapon, the Starblade, and the Three-Edged Demon-Sealing Spear. Of course, it was a divine weapon, not an artifact, and its power was far inferior to a Shetian forged in Shu Mountain.
After all, Shu Mountain forged with spiritual power, while Lou Gao forged with soul power—the potency could not compare.
The original Shetian had severe requirements for its wielder; without cultivating immortal arts, the bearer would be backlashed to death.
This Shetian's blade seemed half there, half not. When drawn, it could summon ice and gather fire, channeling the might of heaven and earth. The flair remained lofty, but due to reduced power, the requirements were lowered—strong cultivation alone would suffice.
Its attack power surpassed Yang Wudi's Soul-Breaking Spear by far. If Bai He wielded it, the Speed Clan's velocity paired with attack beyond that of the Breaking Clan would be unimaginably terrifying.
Bai Chenxiang thrilled as she opened the box. The divine sword inside had a purple blade, dim and lusterless—but she knew such weapons only shone in use; the more restrained they were at rest, the more extraordinary they were.
"Excellent. With this divine weapon, even if Star Luo has Titled Douluo, there's nothing to fear."
"Exactly. So proceed without worry. One more thing, Chenxiang: you'll meet the one you long for there. Tianlin told me he'll go there after picking someone up," Ning Fengzhi said with a smile.
"You mean Hongjun. No time to waste—this disciple bids farewell, Sect Master and seniors. I depart at once." Bai Chenxiang bowed to the crowd and marched out with the troops.
Zhu Zhuqing, Huan Yin, and the others smiled helplessly. Having been apart from her beloved for so long, no wonder she was anxious. They immediately followed.
Watching them leave, Ning Fengzhi continued issuing orders. "Everyone else, tomorrow you're coming with me to garrison Heaven Dou City."
Seven Treasure City was about to become a near-empty city; everyone would temporarily relocate to Heaven Dou City. After all, Seven Treasure City was small, easy to attack and hard to defend—not suitable for warfare.
Fortunately, Seven Treasure City's population wasn't large—just over twenty thousand including soul masters and commoners. A vast Heaven Dou City could easily accommodate that number.
"Uncle Sword, I'll have to trouble you to delay your challenge to Qian Daoliu by a few days. Until Xiao Tian returns, only you can stand against Bibi Dong," Ning Fengzhi said apologetically to Chen Xin.
Originally, Chen Xin had planned to challenge Qian Daoliu in the coming days. But if he left now, with both him and Tianlin absent, Bibi Dong could run rampant over the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Chen Xin nodded. "No matter. The Sword God has urged me on through the divine brand—I know the pace. Qian Renxue is still on her eighth trial. It'll be a while before she completes all nine. By my estimate, it won't take Xiao Tian more than a few months to repel Star Luo and return. I can wait that long. And it's just as well—Bibi Dong's current strength is no less than Qian Daoliu's. A battle with her will test whether my current sword path can defeat an Ultimate Douluo."
"Then I must trouble you, Uncle Sword."
…
Days later, per their agreement, Xue Beng evacuated the royal family and all officials from Heaven Dou City, temporarily moving the capital to Hanhai City and leaving behind 300,000 troops with several generals to help defend the city.
Princess Xue Ke remained as well—signaling to the world that the Heaven Dou royal family had not completely abandoned Heaven Dou City and that a royal would always remain to hold it.
In truth, since the Heaven Dou Empire ceded the city, Ning Fengzhi had no intention of returning it.
Originally, Prince Xue Xing should have stayed, but he was too craven to remain in a place about to turn into a Asura battlefield. The rest of the royal family had been slaughtered by Qian Renxue years earlier. With no other choice, they settled on Xue Ke. Her role, aside from inspiring the troops, was practically that of a sacrificial piece.
To Xue Beng, she was just a woman. Whether she lived or died didn't matter—so long as she was useful.
AN: In the original work, Star Luo's presence isn't heavily detailed, so it's unclear whether they had Titled Douluo. I'll add some here—after all, how could a great empire suppress Heaven Dou without even one? The original mentions a dozen-odd Titled Douluo in the open across the continent; counting Spirit Hall's three on the surface, the Upper Three Sects' five, plus Dugu Bo, that's only nine. The remaining three or four I'll assign to the Star Luo Empire in this story—but I won't set their levels too high.