Feixiao did not speak, simply nodding her head slightly. She knew that this was the only thing she could do, and must do. For her, taking one person away was no issue at all.
The primary opponents of the two Emanators of Destruction from the Sun Moon Empire were not actually her and Jing Yuan. As long as she did not take the initiative to launch a large-scale attack, the other side would not waste too much energy on her. If she wanted to leave, no one could stop her, and no one would try.
Having received Feixiao's promise, the Emperor of Heavenly Spirit felt as though the final heavy stone in his heart had been lifted. He straightened his back, gripped the holy sword in his hand tightly once more, and took one last look at the dark, dense army outside the city. Then, he abruptly raised the holy sword high and used every ounce of his soul power to bellow his final command as a sovereign.
"Soldiers of the Heavenly Spirit Empire—"
"For the Empire! For Glory!"
"To war—!!!"
"War!!!"
"War—!!!"
Upon the city walls, every Soul Master and general of the Heavenly Spirit Empire responded to their Emperor with the loudest, most resolute roars. That roar seemed to serve as a signal. The massive war machine of the Sun Moon Empire finally began to churn.
"Fire."
The cold, emotionless command was transmitted through soul tool communication devices to every warship and every soul tool battery. In the next instant, the light of Heavenly Soul City was completely stripped away.
Hundreds of thousands of assorted soul tool rays poured down from the sky like a dense rainstorm. Red high-explosive rays, blue armor-piercing rays, green corrosive rays, purple paralysis rays... countless beams representing death converged into a torrent of energy capable of destroying all, slamming violently into the layered linked defense barriers of Heavenly Soul City—barriers built through the painstaking efforts of generations.
"Vrrr—!!!!!"
A massive, translucent energy shield lit up above Heavenly Soul City, its light so brilliant and dazzling it resembled an artificial sun. However, this sun shone for less than three seconds before it emitted an overwhelmed wail of sorrow under the impact of that infinite torrent of energy.
The surface of the shield began to fluctuate violently, rippling in circles as its light dimmed at a rate visible to the naked eye. Inside the city, the Soul Masters responsible for maintaining the shield turned deathly pale, blood leaking from the corners of their mouths. They frantically funneled soul power into the energy core hub, but their power was as insignificant as a stream before an ocean.
Simultaneously, high in the sky, the battle belonging to the Titled Douluos erupted instantly.
"Disciples of the Body Sect, kill with me!"
Du Busi let out a sky-shaking roar, his soul rings flashing. He did not fly; instead, his legs kicked off the city wall with immense force.
Boom!
The hardened city wall was crushed into a massive crater by his stomp, while he himself shot into the sky like a cannonball, crashing directly into the Titled Douluo ranks of the Sun Moon Empire's side.
"Kill!"
Over a dozen elders of the Body Sect also manifested their Body Martial Soul Avatars and followed closely behind. Their style of fighting was the most primitive, savage, and pure in the entire Douluo Continent. They believed only in their own tempered physical bodies.
However, they were facing the enshrinements of the Sun Moon Empire, equipped with the latest generation of exoskeleton armor and specialized soul tools.
A Body Sect elder had just used his arm—hardened like divine iron—to shatter an enemy's protective soul power and was about to tear them apart when a restraint net composed of high-intensity energy suddenly shot out from the side. Caught off guard, he was snared directly, his movements instantly stuttering.
That single stutter gave the enemy an opening. Three Class 9 soul tool rays, already aimed at him and imbued with armor-piercing and shock effects, struck his chest with pinpoint precision.
Pfft!
The physical body this elder took such pride in was instantly pierced through under this specialized strike. He looked down in disbelief at the three translucent blood holes in his chest, the light in his eyes rapidly fading.
Such scenes played out in every corner of the battlefield. The Titled Douluos of the Heavenly Spirit Empire were at an absolute disadvantage in terms of numbers, equipment, and tactical coordination. They were like a group of ancient warriors wielding broadswords and spears fighting a modern army equipped with machine guns and tanks. Their courage was commendable, but the outcome had long been decided.
On the city wall, Jing Yuan and Feixiao watched all of this quietly without intervening. Jing Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly; his divine sense had already locked onto the area behind the Sun Moon Empire's formation—a region shrouded in distorted light that appeared empty. He could feel Phantylia's aura there. Like a venomous snake lurking in the shadows, she was watching this one-sided massacre quietly and with great interest.
If they acted now, they could certainly crush the Titled Douluos below with ease. But if they did, Phantylia would inevitably enter the fray. At that point, it would no longer be a battle of Titled Douluos, but a clash of gods. The aftershocks of their exchange would be enough to wipe Heavenly Soul City and its millions of inhabitants off the map in an instant.
The Sun Moon Empire would not target civilians after occupying the Heavenly Spirit Empire's cities; Jing Yuan and Feixiao stayed their hands to ensure more civilians survived. As for the slaughtered soldiers of the Heavenly Spirit Empire, they had already accepted their fate the moment they stepped onto the battlefield.
This was war.
The progress of the war did not deviate from any of Jing Yuan's expectations. After lasting less than an hour and enduring several rounds of saturated attacks, the linked defense barrier of Heavenly Soul City finally collapsed entirely with a crisp sound like shattering glass, dissipating into a sky full of light motes.
"Charge in!"
The cold order was given. On the ground, the mecha legions—resembling a forest of steel—began their heavy march. The Antimatter Legion and the Borisin Legion, acting like two sharp daggers, took the lead in charging toward the breaches in the city walls from the left and right flanks.
The soldiers of the Heavenly Spirit Empire used their bodies of flesh and blood to build the final line of defense. But how could flesh and blood withstand steel?
A Borisin werewolf swung its claws, easily tearing through a row of soldiers holding shields, flesh and metal alike. A giant mecha dozens of meters tall stepped down, crushing an entire Soul Master squad into meat paste. The black energy spheres fired by the Voidrangers were silent, yet capable of erasing a section of the city wall and its defenders without leaving a trace.
It was a massacre. Heavenly Soul City was being rapidly overrun.
High in the sky, the Emperor of Heavenly Spirit was covered in blood. His golden dragon armor was shattered, and the holy sword in his hand was covered in notches. Not a single living companion remained by his side.
"Hahaha... I have not failed my ancestors." He let out a tragic, heroic laugh. Instead of retreating, he advanced, meeting the five Sun Moon Empire enshrinements who had surrounded him.
"Heavenly Spirit shall never fall!"
He burned his final soul power and life essence, transforming into a brilliant golden sword light, resolutely charging toward the enemy. The sword light flared, then quickly extinguished. The last Emperor of the Heavenly Spirit Empire was dead.
In another part of the battlefield, Du Busi had also reached his limit. His Body Martial Soul Avatar, which was comparable to divine iron, was now covered in wounds deep enough to show bone. Several of these wounds were clinging to a strange, inextinguishable energy that was eroding his vitality.
"Cough... the Body Sect... has no cowards." He spat out a mouthful of black blood. Looking at his fallen sect brothers around him, a flash of grief crossed his eyes, which was immediately replaced by madness.
He abandoned all defense, allowing several attacks to slam into his body while he used both arms to lock a Titled Douluo of the Holy Ghost Church in a death grip.
"Let's go... together."
Du Busi let out a final roar. In that moment, the soul core and life origin within him were completely detonated in the most violent manner.
"Boom—!!!!!"
A small mushroom cloud rose slowly above Heavenly Soul City. The terrifying energy storm caught the Titled Douluo he held, along with several others nearby who could not dodge in time, instantly turning them to ash.
A generation's Sect Master of the Body Sect, Du Busi, ended his domineering and magnificent life through self-detonation. Nearly ten Titled Douluo elders of the Body Sect were killed. Most of the Heavenly Spirit Imperial family's own enshrinements were also dead. The tide had turned completely.
On the city wall, Jing Yuan sighed soundlessly. "Feixiao, it is time."
Feixiao nodded, and her figure vanished from the spot instantly.
Deep within the Imperial Palace, in a secret chamber, Princess Wei Na sat kneeling on the floor. Before her was a row of soul tools displaying countless motes of light. The extinguishing of each mote represented the fall of a core member of the Imperial family or a top-tier powerhouse of the Empire.
Just moments ago, the two most prominent lights representing her Royal Father and Du Busi had been completely extinguished. Tears fell silently from her beautiful face, dripping onto the cold floor. But there was no hysterical sorrow on her face, nor any suicidal despair. She simply wept quietly, a fire burning in her beautiful eyes that was inconsistent with her age.
She knew her mission. What her Royal Father had exchanged his life for was not for her to cry here, but for her to survive—to carry on the bloodline of the Heavenly Spirit Royalty and the hope of restoration.
"Wei Na, it's time to go." Feixiao's figure quietly appeared behind her.
Wei Na stood up slowly and wiped the tears from her face. She took one last look at those extinguished lights, burying that bone-deep hatred and sorrow deep within her heart.
"Sister Feixiao, let us go."
Feixiao nodded and placed a hand on her shoulder. With a flash of light, the two disappeared from the secret chamber without a trace.
With that, the Battle of Heavenly Soul City drew to a close. The Heavenly Spirit Empire was destroyed.
Yet, in unknown corners, the ripples of this war continued. At the border of the Heavenly Spirit Empire, an elite reinforcement force sent by the Dou Ling Empire, led by three Titled Douluos, was marching rapidly. However, a black figure blocked their path ahead.
It was a person wearing a black robe and a hood. He simply stood there quietly, yet a cold aura capable of freezing the soul caused the entire army to halt their steps. Behind him stood over a dozen men in black emitting evil and ominous auras—the powerhouses of the Holy Ghost Church.
"He who crosses this line dies." Huo Yuhao slowly raised his head, revealing eyes shimmering with a cold light beneath the hood.
He was answered by the angry roars and charges of the Dou Ling Empire's reinforcement generals. Half an hour later, only a frozen, deathly silent battlefield remained, littered with wreckage. The Dou Ling reinforcements were completely annihilated.
On the other side, at the border between Star Luo and the Sun Moon Empire, an army composed of the Star Luo Empire's most elite Soul Master legions also halted. Facing them was the Sun Moon Empire's most advanced Soul Engineer legion, personally led by Ju Zi. Both sides pointed their cannons at one another, the atmosphere tense to the extreme.
However, neither commander gave the order to fire. Ju Zi stood on the command deck of her flagship, gazing at the Star Luo formation in the distance with a complex expression. She knew that there was a certain unspoken understanding between the Star Luo Emperor Xu Jiawei and the man she served, Lu Jingming. Her mission was not to start a war, but merely to pin them down—a mere performance.
The highest levels of both sides were, with great understanding, watching as the Heavenly Spirit Empire—this former lion—walked toward its doom in the flames.
Sun Moon Empire, New Mingdu, Imperial Palace.
Unlike the oppressive atmosphere of war and tragedy hovering over Heavenly Soul City, the air here was filled with an almost frozen tension and anticipation. Inside the magnificent Great Hall of Governance, the lights were brilliant, making every inch of the golden decorations painfully bright. But this light could not dispel the gloom in the hearts of everyone present.
Dozens of the Empire's highest-level civil and military officials, dressed in luxurious ceremonial robes and polished medals, stood on either side. Not a single person dared to speak casually; even their breathing was intentionally kept shallow. Everyone's gaze, whether intentional or not, converged on the massive throne at the head of the hall, constructed from rare metals.
Seated on the throne was a young man. He was handsome, but that handsomeness was marred by eyes full of gloom and ambition, as well as an indelible hostility between his brows. His legs were covered by a heavy blanket, concealing his long-crippled limbs. He was the current iron-fisted ruler of the Sun Moon Empire, Xu Tianran.
At this moment, he rested his chin on one hand with his eyes slightly closed as if napping, but the occasional twitch of his brow and the hand gripping the throne's armrest—knuckles white from excessive force—exposed his inner restlessness.
He was waiting. Waiting for the news that would decide the fate of the Empire, and decide whether he could truly take the first step toward a hegemony that would last through the ages.
The hall was deathly silent, save for a precision-styled soul tool communication core hovering beside Xu Tianran, emitting a faint, rhythmic "beep." Suddenly, the rhythm of the beeping changed, becoming urgent. A pale blue light curtain projected from the communication core, and upon the screen, rows of text representing the highest level of encrypted military intelligence began to surface rapidly like flowing water.
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