Ma Hongjun watched the Fire God dance with his spear, completely entranced. Such a marvelous spear technique was truly rare in a lifetime.
Unfortunately, he had never trained with long weapons before, so his understanding of this spear technique was very limited. He could only try his best to memorize it mentally, and to deepen his impression, his body subconsciously moved the Fire God Spear in rhythm with the Fire God's movements.
Ma Hongjun was completely immersed in practicing this set of spear techniques. He didn't know how much time had passed before he barely mastered the first move and started to get the hang of the second. Only then did the Fire God allow him to leave the cave.
When Ma Hongjun came out, Qin Ming, looking anxious, rushed over. "Hongjun, you finally came out! I wanted to go in several times to find you, but the Flame Lord always stopped me. He assured me you were fine, so I held back."
"Teacher Qin, why are you so anxious? I just went to retrieve a spear, and then practiced an incredibly powerful spear technique with the Fire God's avatar." Ma Hongjun proudly brandished his spear with a flourish in the air. "Heh, with my current attack power, even killing a Title Douluo-level expert is no problem."
"Oh, so that's the Fire God Spear? Fiery aura swirling, divine power restrained—truly worthy of being the Fire God's divine weapon." Tianlin examined the spear. Although it still fell short compared to his own Asura Sword or Ning Rongrong's Sea God Trident, among ordinary divine weapons, it definitely ranked at the top—at least not inferior to Qian Renxue's Angelic Sword.
"It's a pity you didn't obtain the Fire God's other divine weapon, the Fire God Sword. It's probably still on the Five Elements Continent. But that's fine; to inherit a god's position, just getting the approval of one divine weapon is enough. There's no need to be a dual master of spear and sword like the original Fire God."
"So the Fire God had a sword too? No matter, I still think the spear is cooler!" Ma Hongjun didn't care much; he preferred spears to swords anyway.
"Kid, you even know about the Fire God Sword and the Five Elements Continent? Have you been there?" The Flame Lord asked in surprise. People from Douluo Continent shouldn't know about the Five Elements Continent.
Tianlin smiled and shrugged, "Hehe, who knows, maybe I visited there in a dream."
"Hongjun, so you were practicing spear techniques! No wonder you didn't come out. Do you know how long Teacher Qin and I have been waiting outside?"
"How long? Three or four hours?" Ma Hongjun guessed. He felt like he'd only been in the cave for that long.
Qin Ming, exasperated, said, "Three or four hours? If it was just that, I wouldn't be so anxious. You were in there for a full two months, you know?"
"Two months?!" Ma Hongjun was shocked. He'd been inside that long? No wonder those experts who went into seclusion could spend a year with just one blink—time means nothing in cultivation.
Tianlin didn't mind at all. This was a good place to cultivate. Although two months wasn't enough to raise his soul power level, he had finished refining his soul bones, greatly increasing his physical strength. He patted Ma Hongjun on the shoulder. "Alright, anyway, Hongjun not only got a divine weapon, but also learned a divine technique. That's definitely a good thing. Hongjun, what's your current affinity with the Fire God? And what's the content of your eighth trial?"
Ma Hongjun immediately took out the Fire God's assessment card. "After passing the seventh trial, my Fire God affinity rose to 80%. Next, I need to raise my strength to the Title Douluo level within five years. I don't think that'll be a problem."
Tianlin nodded, "That's the same as Rongrong's. It shouldn't be a problem for you. Alright, let's leave now. I came to find you at Chenxiang's request. Everyone else has already gone home. She's been very worried about you."
"Then, boss, let's go quickly." Hearing news of Bai Chenxiang, Ma Hongjun immediately became anxious. He hadn't seen his girlfriend in four years—the longing in his heart was no less than hers.
Qin Ming turned and bowed to the Flame Lord. "Senior, Hongjun and I will take our leave now. Thank you for your care and guidance over the past four years—it's benefited us greatly."
"Go on, then." The Flame Lord looked at Ma Hongjun. "Kid, remember, after you leave, always sort out your soul power. Don't just focus on accumulating it. Mixed and chaotic soul power will damage your foundation. If you want to achieve a first-class godhood, you must have a solid foundation. Remember my words: 'If the foundation is not firm, the earth will shake and the mountains will sway!'"
"Yes, thank you for your advice!" Ma Hongjun replied seriously. This was also what Tianlin had always told him.
Tianlin knew why Ma Hongjun had failed to inherit a godhood in the original story—he hadn't built a solid foundation when he was young. So he always reminded him. Now, with the Flame Lord's warning as well, Ma Hongjun finally took it seriously.
After saying goodbye to the Flame Lord, the three left the Scorching Hell.
After many years, Qin Ming and Ma Hongjun were finally going home. But during the two months of their training, the situation on the continent had changed drastically.
….
Over a month ago, at the Jialing Pass battlefield between the Heaven Dou Empire and the Spirit Empire, after a year-long stalemate, Bibi Dong finally took action herself. Because of the Grandmaster's death, her affinity with the Rakshasa God increased. Although she still hadn't reached godhood, after a year of hard training, with the help of the Evil Spirit Orb and Evil Sword Immortal's secret assistance, Bibi Dong completely broke free from the Rakshasa God's restrictions. Now, her strength surpassed even the three former Ultimate Douluos.
Once she made her move, the supposedly impenetrable Jialing Pass was like paper—easily breached.
Without the protection of the city walls, the regular army was no match for the soul master legions. In the end, they either died or surrendered, and the front lines advanced deep into Heaven Dou territory.
Originally, Bibi Dong didn't want to take any prisoners—her immense hatred made her want to slaughter everyone in the Heaven Dou Empire and the Clear Sky Sect.
Fortunately, Qian Renxue and Hu Liena persuaded her to spare ordinary soldiers who surrendered, but not the Clear Sky Sect. That was Bibi Dong's bottom line. All Clear Sky Sect disciples remaining in the city were executed by her.
Even the second and third elders of the Clear Sky Sect died at her hand on the front lines.
With the loss of two Title Douluos and hundreds of thousands of troops, the Heaven Dou Empire was gravely wounded. They had always been the weaker side, and after this crushing defeat, they were no match for the Spirit Empire. Calls for surrender spread throughout the land.
The sentiment was especially strong among commoners, because Qian Renxue cleverly revealed that she was actually Xue Qinghe. The prestige she built up as crown prince inspired great respect among the people—turns out their prince hadn't died and was now here to save them.
On the Star Luo Empire's side, because of Tuoba Xi's defense, Dai Weisi couldn't break through. He had hoped to take advantage of the war between the Spirit Hall and Heaven Dou to invade the Spirit Hall, but he couldn't even capture Gengxin City.
After all, Gengxin City's walls had been built by master blacksmiths from the Blacksmith Association, designed specifically to withstand soul master attacks. The city had only fallen before because Tuoba Xi launched a surprise attack. Now, with Tuoba Xi fully prepared, he had taken full advantage of the terrain and timing.
Seeing this, Bibi Dong was content to leave everything there to Tuoba Xi and didn't pay it much attention. She even considered abandoning Star Luo for now—letting Tuoba Xi hold out as long as he could.
However, a prolonged defense leads to eventual defeat. The city's supplies were nearly exhausted; losing the city was only a matter of time. At that moment, Tuoba Xi received a message from the Speed Clan. With the whole continent focused on the Spirit Hall and Heaven Dou, it was time for him to launch a counterattack.
Ning Fengzhi's intentions were clear: Since Bibi Dong didn't want the Star Luo Empire for the moment, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect would take it.
The Spirit Empire had already advanced deep into Heaven Dou, so it was time for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to act. Tuoba Xi had been in hiding long enough—it was time to rebel.