"Don't worry, Xiao Tian. Yesterday, I already sent Uncle Dugu and Uncle Ying, leading 300,000 troops, back to defend Gengxin City. The Star Luo Empire has already suffered greatly and, for now, they won't be able to take such a fortified city as Gengxin," Ning Fengzhi said, "We're preparing to go to Spirit City next. That is the center of the continent and marks the beginning of our alliance with the Spirit Empire."
Tianlin nodded. He always trusted Ning Fengzhi to handle things and understood his intentions. Spirit City would be the capital of the future empire.
"I'll go to Spirit City, too. Afterward, Di Tian, I'd like to go with you to the Star Dou Forest. In exchange for healing the Silver Dragon King, I want to collect the Thunder Spirit Pearl from her in advance."
Di Tian jumped up excitedly, "What did you say? You can heal Her Majesty immediately?"
"Yes. I can pay first and take the goods later. You saw what happened that day with Bibi Dong. I can tell you, at that time, she controlled less than one-fifth of the Evil Spirit Pearl's power. We have a common enemy now and should join forces." Tianlin was sincere—pay first, take the item later—meaning he was willing to heal the Silver Dragon King first, and after confirming her recovery, he'd retrieve the Thunder Spirit Pearl. This was entirely beneficial to her.
"Alright! If what you say is true, I can promise you this on Her Majesty's behalf," Di Tian assured him. The Silver Dragon King only held the pearl to heal herself; if there was another way, returning it was fine.
"Hmm, one more thing—Brother Tianheng, Sister Yan, Gu Ran, Sister Lingling, the two Shi brothers, Oslo, Yu Feng, Oscar, Yiran." Tianlin called out his friends one by one. "I won't get involved in unifying the continent anymore. To defeat the Evil Sword Immortal, I'll focus on cultivation. Rongrong, Hongjun, Huan Yin, and my master are the same—focused on becoming gods. So, I'll leave the rest to you all—defeat Star Luo and Heaven Dou, and bring about the continent's unification."
Yu Tianheng stepped forward and asked seriously, "Xiao Tian, are you really willing to hand everything over to us? Our strength and wisdom are nowhere near yours."
Tianlin smiled calmly, "Tianheng, I once heard a saying: 'Only the weak need to band together.' But I've never believed that. Maybe in the vast universe, I'm still as weak as an ant, but at least here on the Douluo Continent, I am currently the strongest human. No matter how powerful I become, I never thought of solving everything by myself."
"Your strength is important to me. I need your help. Please, everyone, lend me a hand!"
"Haha, good!" Yu Tianheng laughed heartily. "Xiao Tian, leave the continent to me. Even if I have to risk my life, I'll show you a unified land!"
Gu Ran patted his chest, "Yes, boss, you and big sis, and Hongjun, just go with peace of mind. I'm not a marshal for nothing!"
Ma Hongjun rolled his eyes, "What do you mean 'go with peace of mind'? We're going to cultivate, not to die. Can't you speak properly? Go sing 'Happy Birthday' to yourself."
Seeing this group of young people, Chen Xin also made up his mind to accept the divine trial and become a first-level god, so he could help Tianlin with even greater strength.
"Since that's the case, Jun Tianlin, you might as well come back with me now. Not only can you retrieve the Thunder Spirit Pearl, you can also cultivate at the Lake of Life, where the spiritual energy is abundant. You can reach level 99 faster," Di Tian urged, not understanding why Tianlin still wanted to go to Spirit City at such a critical moment. He could leave the rest to others.
"I… Senior Di Tian, please give me seven days—no, five is enough. After five days, I'll head straight to the Star Dou Forest. There are some things I must do first," Tianlin said with difficulty.
At first, Di Tian wanted to press further, but Ning Rongrong suddenly pleaded, "Senior, please give my husband these few days. Otherwise, with concerns on his mind, how can he focus on cultivation?"
"Rongrong!" Tianlin was surprised. He hadn't expected Ning Rongrong to see through his thoughts.
Ning Rongrong smiled, "It's okay. I know you can't let her go. Something big happened outside Heaven Dou City. Even if Qian Renxue was wandering the continent, she would surely return after hearing the news. The situation with Bibi Dong and the Spirit Empire must have hit her hard. Now, only you can comfort her. No matter what, after this war, we're not enemies anymore. If you ignore her, you won't be able to forgive yourself."
"Thank you, Rongrong." Tianlin sincerely thanked Ning Rongrong. She was truly different from before.
Ning Rongrong playfully interrupted, "Humph, don't thank me yet. I want to go with you. After this, I'll return to Sea God Island to finish my nine trials quickly, so I can come back and help you. So, first, I want to keep an eye on you and not let you mess around with that angel, and second, I can't bear to be apart from you in these last days."
Tianlin took her hand, "Alright, as I promised, as long as it's not a dangerous place, I'll take you wherever I go."
Cough, cough!
At that romantic moment, a chorus of coughs echoed in the hall—reminding them that Tianheng and the others were still there.
But the two were used to showing off their affection, openly flaunting it. This had become one of Ning Rongrong's little pleasures since she shed her "little witch" ways.
Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin smiled, while Di Tian looked puzzled. So this is how human couples interact? Maybe he'd try this with Zi Ji, and force Scarlet King to watch. If Scarlet King tried to escape, he'd beat him. After all, Scarlet King's real body was a dog; eating some "dog food" would be good for his health.
Tianlin laughed awkwardly, "Well, since everything's decided, let's get ready. Sister Yan, can you come with Rongrong and me for a moment? The old monster has something for you—a big family secret."
"Fine, but I never knew my family had any big secrets. Grandpa is so biased, only telling my brother and sister-in-law, not me." Dugu Yan complained as she followed them.
Actually, Dugu Bo had no real secret. The secret was with Tianlin. He just wanted to give the Dugu family what was rightfully theirs.
The rest immediately left to mobilize their troops. They were about to attack both empires at once, so clear division of labor was needed: Gu Ran would handle the Star Luo front, and Yu Tianheng would lead the army to Heaven Dou.
Speed was of the essence; the army would set out in a few days.
Tianlin headed to Spirit City to accept the surrender of the remaining Spirit Hall members and stabilize the situation. Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong stayed in Heaven Dou City, controlling the situation from behind the scenes.