After receiving this information, Qian Daoliu secluded himself in the Angel Goddess Shrine for several days before he decided that, in the face of the new situation, he gave Bibi Dong and Hun Tiandi a free hand.
Something that delighted the entire Douluo Consecration Hall and the Supreme Pontiff Palace.
In the end, the crusade of Spirit Hall against the Moonlight Principality and Stormland Dukedom was precisely because of the threat of the Clear Sky Clan.
"Do you think that they would show up during the war?"
Jin Eyu was geniuely curious because he was the one who was sent to monitor the entire crusade against the Moonlit Principality and Stormlands Dukedom.
Both lordships were huge, with Moonlit Principality having an entire territory of something over 1,1 million square kilometers and Stormlands Dukedom something slightly above 700,000 square kilometers.
Both were also backed by Titled Douluos, albeit only Average Titled Douluos, and even then, their combat prowess wasn't anything exceptional even during the older times before the Spirit Cultivation Revolution, as it was called.
"Certainly... both of the nations are crucial business partners for the Clear Sky Sect. Heaven Dou Empire has distances from the Clear Sky Clan due to the pressure of the Spirit Hall, Star Luo Empire cut most ties with them around seventy years ago when the Clear Sky Clan started aligning itself more with the Heaven Dou Empire. "
Hun Tiandi made a pause as he said his thoughts.
"While there are other subjects and nations on the continent, especially in the Anarchic Lands, not many have the same kind of strength and status as these two... together with the Pope, we are predicting that at least one Hyper Douluo from the Clear Sky Clan would show himself."
The Golden Crocodile grinned as he heard that because he itched for the good fight.
"I didn't have the opportunity to test my newfound strength... It would be a good opportunity for this one old man to shatter a few hammers."
The Spirit Hall was investing a lot into this operation as they hoped to not only to conquer the two territories, but also to root out some rats. Higher-ups of the Spirit Hall hoped to lure some of their old enemies from their holes, especially the Clear Sky Clan, which was, right now, their enemy number one.
If the plan succeeded, they would be able to kill at least one Hyper Douluo of the Clear Sky Clan and some of their high-level Spirit Masters, which would be a great achievement for the Spirit Hall in the end.
***
In the Star Dou Forest
Across the woods of the Star Dou Forest, a young woman was running for her very own life because she was currently pursued by a group of angry Spirit Beasts. She was around thirteen years old and was already a Spirit Elder.
And she wasn't alone; next to her was a man in his thirties, clad in a blue robe with sun patterns and wearing glasses as he scanned their surroundings.
Even though the man was Titled Douluo, his strength was barely able to slow down the Spirit Beasts in their pursuit. Aside from being Titled Douluo, he was also a Class 8 Soul Engineer, so his combat prowess was much stronger than that of an average Titled Douluo, but the Spirit Beasts in this forest were too powerful.
Both of them were from the Sun Moon Empire.
The brown-haired young woman who was dressed as a boy with short hair tied behind, was Princess of the Sun Moon Empire, Xu Tianzhen, who joined this expedition. Aside from the crew on the ship, all of the people had already died; nobody knew why she was here.
Right now, from their expedition, only the two of them managed to survive.
"We need to make haste... it seems that my Drones can halt them only for a little longer."
The Titled Douluo next to her was Xuan Ziwen. Former research consultant of the Illustrious Virtue Hall and a special teacher in the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy. He had been immersed in Soul Tools for more than twenty years. He immersed his whole life into the research of Soul Tools.
He was part of the expedition primarily because he offended some bigshots in the Illustrious Virtue Hall, which led him to leave the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy, but maybe that was for the best.
Considering the current state of the Sun Moon Empire, which was undergoing a state that could be called an impending civil war.
"I know... this place is too dangerous. Senior Xuan, do you think that there are humans living on this continent? If there are, they must be pretty strong if they could live in such an enviroment."
Xuan Ziwen didn't know the answer to her question, but he could tell that this place was far more dangerous than even Evildemon Forest.
Evildemon Forest is the forbidden region of the Sun Moon Empire.
It wasn't actually that huge, but it was still the largest forest within the borders of the Empire.
It's located roughly to the west of the Jing Yang Mountain Range. This forest was closer to the north and, thus, was coniferous. Furthermore, this coniferous forest was filled with dark greyish branches and leaves, and was extremely dark.
It is the largest gathering place of spirit beasts in the Sun Moon Continent, mainly composed of some Dark Spirit Beasts.
"We already found severla traces of the human activity when we started scouring the terrain near the shores... but even compared to the Evildemon Forest, this is on an entirely new level... in the end, one of the main reasons why the Sun Moon Continent was always so jheaviyl focused on the research and development of the Soul Tools was due too lack of powerful Spirit Beasts and other things that Spirit Masters need to reach Titled Douluos... if not for that, our continetn wouldn't hve so few Titled Douluos."
Even though Xuan Ziwen was a Soul Engineer, he was very well-versed in the history and conditions of the Sun Moon Continent. Currently, the Sun Moon Empire has only around ten Titled Douluos.
If not counting the Titled Douluos of the Holy Spirit Cult, which consisted mainly of the Evil Spirit Masters that were lurking in the darkness.
He knew that Hyper Douluos were exceedingly rare in the Sun Moon Continent, as only one or two appeared in one generation, and Limit Douluos were practically legends that were unprecedented.
The last time one appeared was almost a thousand years ago.
"If there are humans on this continent, it is most probable that they are heavily focusing on the Martial Soul cultivation compared to the Sun Moon Empire, so we need to be careful. Even our strongest Soul Tools are nothing in front of the might of the most powerful Titled Douluos."
Even though the Soul Tools were powerful, even they had their limits, at least for the time being, and there were no Soul Tools that could effectively rival the might of the Limit Douluo, even for a moment, not to mention a Soul Tool that could be used against such a powerhouse for a prolonged amount of time.
Just as Xuan Ziwen finished speaking, overwhelming Spirit Energy descended on their area as several Spirit Beasts that caught up with them roared at the source of that energy, but instead, they turned around and ran away.
'This kind of pressure... Limit Douluo and...'
Xuan Ziwen, as Titled Douluo, despite focusing on the Soul Tool research and development, instantly realized that the golden armored man in front of them was Limit Douluo, as just the presence of his Spirit Energy was at least ten times bigger than that of Elder Kong Deming.
And the Spirit Energy was incomparably pure.
'So even their methods of cultivating are far above the Sun Moon Empire... if they are focused on the cultivation and development of the Martial Souls, it is logical... This power is far above Elder Kong in his prototype mode of Silver Moon Divine Light Barrier... so this is the true power of people closest ot the Godhood...'
Xuan Ziwer was rather shaken inside.
The power that he felt right now...
He felt this kind of power only once in his life when he personally saw the descent of the Demon Empress of the Holy Spirit Cult a few years ago. This sole occasion was a great remembrance to the Sun Moon Empire of what the terror of the Limit Douluos was.
***
Star Dou Forest, Some Time Earlier
Jin Eyu carried Hun Tiandi in the air, while Austin Griffin was left on the ground... Austin Griffin's speed wasn't any less than that of Jin Eyu in his casual flight mode, because of the Light Attribute and Wind Attribute that he obtained after the advancements.
"Oh? Several kilometers from our current position, there are two or three 100,000-year-old Spirit Beasts pursuing two people. One Titled Douluo and one Spirit Elder girl... we are taking a detour to take a look."
With his accurate senses, Jin Eyu sensed the presence of the three very powerful Spirit Beasts, as he then increased the speed of his flight to arrive there. In the current Douluo Continent, the number of Titled Douluos wasn't very high, but it also wasn't very low.
There were many Clans, Sects, and hidden factions that existed in the ancient homeland of humans. At the same time, there were also many hermits who preferred to live in seclusion and just cultivate in hopes of reaching Godhood or at least, attaining a longer lifespan.
As they arrived at the place, both Hun Tiandi and Jin Eyu noticed something peculiar about the two people who were being pursued by the two 100,000-Year-Old Spirit Beasts. The first thing was that their Spirit Energy was odd, or rather, it was rahter weak compared to even lower standards of the Douluo Continent.
Second was the peculiar style of fashion of the two people, especially the Titled Douluo man, who had something that seemed to be machinery all around his body. Hun Tiandi noticed them too, and when he expanded his Spiritual Power on the two people, he was rather shocked...
They were like the Artifacts in his old life... just more... technological?
But the essence was very similar.
The objects that the man and even the girl had on themselves were certainly radiating Spirit Energy... especially the objects that the man had on himself, because Hun Tiandi could clearly sense them.
Especially that one thing that seemed to be a weapon, should be able to injure even a Hyper Douluo of Spirit Rank 95 severely.
Meanwhile, the two survivors of the Sun Moon Empire's expedition looked at the Titled Douluo hovering in the air, Golden Crocodile Douluo Jin Eyu and Hun Tiandi communicated telepathically with each other.
'Old man... these two are not from the Douluo Continent... I bet they are from another continent and by some accident must have crashed their ship and ended up in the Star Dou Forest.'
Hun Tiandi said through their telepathic connection because there was no way that these two were natives of the Douluo Continent. Spirit Hall was aware of the existence of other continents, which wasn't really that surprising.
And they were also monitoring all hidden clans and factions on the continent, so they knew very well who was who.
Obviously...
These two were far away from home.
'I know... what should we do with them? Do you want to capture them?'
Jin Eyu asked this because if they were captured, Hun Tiandi could use the Soul Reading Technique on them and extract their memories.
'No... this is a very unique opportunity for us... and they are in dire straits, so that we could play the saviour card rather well.'
Hun Tiandi planned for a much milder and friendlier approach. He could see that the other continent was probably more advanced in the aspect of blacksmithing, or Artifact Refining, or whatever it was.
That alone was more valuable than all Soul Gold Coins on the continent.
***
Xuan Zi looked very nervously at the golden-armored Titled Douluo that was hovering in the air, and even the usually very lively Xu Tianzhen was rather silent. Only a moment later, he noticed a red-haired youth, who was concentrating his cultivation to the point where even he, Titled Douluo, was unable to see through it.
Though it was clear that he was being protected and carried by the Limit Douluo of such lofty status, it meant that his identity was really extraordinary. Xuan Ziwen also speculated that to whichever faction this Limit Douluo belonged, they for sure had at least one more.
If such a person could roam the continent, then someone must be guarding their headquarters, so he suspected that there must be someone who was equally strong back at their home.
That was a frightening prospect as the strongest Titled Douluo of the Sun Moon Empire was Elder Kong, Spirit Rank 98 Hyper Douluo, though the Hoyl Spirit Cult, according to rumors, had a Limit Douluo.
"Thank you for your help, Senior."
Xuan Ziwen woke up from his thoughts as he bowed toward the Limit Douluo, with Xu Tianzhen mimicking the same thing.
"It's now worth mentioning, but it seems that you are very far away from your home... it is really a wonder how you managed to cross over the oceans from the Sun Moon Continent."
Spirit Hall was aware of the other continents a long time ago, but... the dangers of the oceans were too huge, especially around the coastlines of the Douluo Continent, where the number of 100,000-Year-Old Spirit Beasts was almost staggering.
And there were even some that were rumored to reach 1,000,000 Years Old, but it wasn't confirmed. The inhabitants of the Douluo Continent couldn't leave the Douluo Continent and wander far...
This kind of limitation wasn't due to the lack of strength, as the Douluo Continent used to produce a few Limit Douluozos every generation, even without the cultivation inventions done by Hun Tiandi.
The number of the Titled Douluos that were produced by the continent every generation was around fifty to sixty. The seniors of the Spirit Hall who wandered to the other continents, primarily one of the Popes of the Spirit Hall from more than five thousand years ago, Qian Shenlong, was a Limit Douluo of the Demi-God Stage.
He personally confirmed upon his return that the other continents were far barer in terms of Spirit Energy concentration, Life Energy, and resources compared to the Douluo Continent.
Only the Sun Moon Continent held some valuable things and good conditions for cultivation. If not, then civilization wouldn't have developed there, but the other continents were just home for the Spirit Beasts and Spirit Plants.
Due to the low technological development of the Douluo Continent, it was nigh impossible for them to cross over the ocean and reach the other continents, even though it was inevitable that the other continents would eventually reach them.
When that thing happened, it would be the war of the conquest, which was also one of the reasons why the Spirit Hall wanted to start the unification of the entire continent. And who knows what other kinds of enemies were hiding here and there...
"..."
Xuan Ziwen was at a loss for several seconds because he really didn't know what to say, since the fact that the man in front of him was aware of the existence of the Sun Moon Continent wasn't really good.
For a brief moment of time, he dreaded the possibility of what would happen if the Limit Douluo in front of them thought that they were enemies. Xuan Ziwer, despite being Titled Douluo and Class 8 Soul Engineer, would be slapped to death with one strike.
He doubted that even his Master, Elder Kong Deming, would ask a few rounds against the man in front of them. But...
For Xuan Ziwen, this was also an opportunity.
He already suspected that this continent wasn't really developed aside from the cultivation and Martial Souls, and just a few months ago, he was forced to leave the Illustrious Virtue Hall due to his conflict with some Imperial Nobles.
Considering the current state of the Sun Moon Empire...
'Right now, the entire Empire is in a state of cold war between Crown Prince and Imperial Prince Xu Guozhong and their factions... The Holy Spirit Church is also making waves, together with the Provincial Dukes and Lords who are fiercely opposing the efforts of the Mingdu to start wide-scale Soul Tool implementation... brutal civil war is imminent...'
And these were just the major factions that were competing for the Imperial Throne or for power and influence. The Imperial Capital, Sun Moon City Migdu, was categorized as primarily neutral as the Illustrious Virtue Hall and Imperial Research Hall were stationed there together with the Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineer Legion.
Xuan Ziwen was one of the century's prodigies in the Soul Tool research... his talent was rivaling the most prestigious Soul Engineers and Scholars like Elder Kong Deming, who was the head of Imperial Research Center, and Jing Hongchen, who was the head of Illustrious Virtue Hall and Sun Moon Imperial Soul Engineering Academy.
"We were just exploring the oceans and searching for the new lands that may have precious ores and metals when a group of 100,000-year-old Spirit Beasts attacked us. May I ask for the Senior's honorable name?"
In the end, it was Xu Tianzhen who spoke to the Limit Douluo hovering above them, as the Golden Crocodile Douluo raised his eyebrows in surprise because the girl was just a Spirit Elder, yet she had the courage to speak.
That was certainly admirable.
Not many had this kind of courage.
"It's okey, little girl... I am Golden Crocodile Douluo Jin Eyu, Limit Douluo of the Spirit Hall's Douluo Consecration Hall and its 2nd Worship Elder. I want the two honored guests to be in the Spirit Hall.