With the war in Star Luo concluded, the silence on the Tian Dou side was palpable.
Because Qian Renxue had implemented the Decree of Enfeoffment, the so-called kingdoms and duchies had already realized their territories were about to be lost. However, they hadn't expected that their former rivals would fall first.
What happened to overthrowing the royal family and maintaining the old system!?
In an instant, the nobles of Tian Dou realized that an invisible hand was toying with them.
But there was nothing they could do about it—it was infuriating!
Logically speaking, Zhu Zhuqing's direct annihilation of the top-tier nobility should have provoked a backlash from their former subordinates.
The problem was that nearly all the nobles on the battlefield had witnessed Zhu Zhuqing's overwhelming strength, as well as the exaggerated power of the subsequent reinforcements. They realized that opposing Zhu Zhuqing meant certain death.
Zhu Zhuqing: I want to abolish the feudal lords!
Star Luo Nobles: Ah, yes, yes, yes.
Zhu Zhuqing: I want to establish a new system; the noble system cannot continue!
Star Luo Nobles: Ah, yes, yes, yes.
Zhu Zhuqing: I want—!
Star Luo Nobles: Ah, yes, yes, yes! Whatever the great Empress desires, we shall obey!
Zhu Zhuqing:
Zhu Zhuqing tried to protest: You should at least resist a little. This is making me feel unaccomplished.
Star Luo Nobles: Heh, we're not stupid. We've already transferred and safeguarded our assets long ago. Can't we just cooperate with your act?
You actually want our lives too! Truly, the most venomous are women's hearts. But we won't take the bait. Whatever you say is right—we'll still be loyal ministers who helped overthrow the Dai family. You can't possibly massacre loyalists right after taking power, can you? We may not value our lives, but surely you value your reputation~
In truth, Zhu Zhuqing knew that killing the horse after it had served its purpose was wrong, but she had already prepared herself to bear the blame. After all, tampering with the interests of these old nobles would inevitably lead to rebellion, as history had shown.
And Zhu Zhuqing was determined to emulate Tian Dou's example, so she had already braced herself for a backlash from the Star Luo nobility. To her surprise, the Star Luo nobles were shrewder than expected—they refused to take the bait, leaving Zhu Zhuqing in an awkward position. By the time the sun rose the next day, Zhu Zhuqing had completed the reintegration of Star Luo.
However, though Zhu Zhuqing had abolished the old noble title system, she had to face one reality:
Because of the era's peculiarities, knowledge was concentrated in the hands of the nobility.
While ordinary civilian soul masters had received education, it was limited to knowledge about soul beasts and some other rudimentary subjects. Management and governance? Ordinary soul masters had neither the qualifications nor the channels to learn such things. Thus, Zhu Zhuqing had no choice but to delegate the grassroots management of the new Star Luo Empire to the former nobility.
Zhu Zhuqing wasn't dissatisfied with this arrangement, as Ye Wen and Huo Yu'er had already forewarned her about it.
After all, excellent societal resources were always in the hands of a select few—a challenge every newly established dynasty faced. The options were either to employ remnants of the old era or to cultivate new talent.
Clearly, Zhu Zhuqing, who had hastily rebelled, didn't have the time to train new personnel. She had to make do with the old nobility.
But this didn't mean Zhu Zhuqing would allow these noble officials to pursue personal gain.
Before absolute military power, the armies controlled by these nobles were useless. Zhu Zhuqing held the ultimate authority over life and death within the Star Luo Empire. Those who violated her rules faced only one outcome:
Kill them!
Kill those who embezzle! Kill those who feign compliance while secretly opposing! Kill those who abuse commoners even more!
In short, Zhu Zhuqing's attitude toward violators of the new empire was simple: Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill!!!
Later, when this tale reached Sword Dao Chen Xin, it sent chills down his spine.
Who exactly is the true inheritor of the Seven Kill Sword? This level of bloodlust is insane!
Of course, Zhu Zhuqing couldn't have done it alone. Fortunately, at the end of the previous battle, the entire Hao Tian Sect had surrendered. Though the sect's reputation was poor, they still had two Title Douluos and several capable sect members intact, so they took on the role of Zhu Zhuqing's "Imperial Guards," dealing with corrupt officials.
Additionally, Bo Saixi generously allocated many soul masters from the Sea God Island to leave the island and assist Zhu Zhuqing in governing the vast Star Luo Empire.
As for Zhu Zhuqing's former family…
Although the Zhu family had initially betrayed their allies and aided Zhu Zhuqing greatly during the war, Zhu Zhuqing showed no favoritism toward her own kin. She treated them like cheap labor alongside the ordinary nobility, using them to maintain the empire's operations. If any member of the Zhu family violated her rules, they faced the same fate: death!
Because of this, Zhu Zhuqing became infamous among the noble circles of the Douluo Continent.
Not sparing even her own family—this was utterly maddening for noble soul masters who valued bloodline and inheritance!
However, Zhu Zhuqing's high-pressure policies earned widespread acclaim among the common people of Star Luo.
After all, soul masters used to treat ordinary people as less than human, oppressing and abusing them in countless ways. Now, with Zhu Zhuqing—an enlightened empress who cared for their livelihoods—they were ready to worship her as a savior.
Some fanatics even erected statues of Zhu Zhuqing in their homes, treating her like a deity. This was considered extremely blasphemous.
After all, deities truly existed on the Douluo Continent, and faith was once the taboo of the Spirit Hall. No one dared to casually erect a statue of a god—doing so would label them as an evil deity, inviting ruthless punishment from the Spirit Hall.
However, when some cases of erecting Zhu Zhuqing statues came to light, the Spirit Hall did not pursue accountability. As a result, such acts of worship began to sprout like mushrooms after rain.
Due to Ye Wen's influence, Zhu Zhuqing could now vaguely sense the power of faith.
But Zhu Zhuqing didn't care.
Deity?
Zhu Zhuqing was confident that if she simply informed Ye Wen and the others, achieving divinity would be as easy as plucking something from her pocket.
But Zhu Zhuqing only wanted to do one thing: govern the Star Luo Empire well and offer her loyalty to Ye Wen!
Soon, three years passed in the blink of an eye. The Star Luo Empire had completely unified its systems and infrastructure, surpassing its previous national strength.
Faced with this situation, the nobles of Tian Dou, still embroiled in power struggles, grew increasingly anxious, fearing that the Star Luo Empire might invade.
Though the Tian Dou Empire had also surpassed its former strength, they didn't believe they could match their opponent unless the Spirit Hall intervened.
But soon, something shocking occurred.
Zhu Zhuqing completely replicated the Spirit Hall model within Tian Dou. Not only did she establish the Spirit Hall as the state religion, but she also enshrined the Great Benevolent Medical Immortal.
With this event, the remnants of the old era quickly realized that the upper echelons of both Tian Dou and Star Luo had reached a unified agreement regarding the Spirit Hall.
For the conservatives, this was a thunderclap in clear skies.
The conservatives had enjoyed a comfortable life by maintaining the old order, but now they had to rack their brains to figure out how this change would affect them and how they could secure their interests in this new era.
But Ye Wen's side gave them no time to think. Soon, major news arrived: the Medical Alliance, which had once held the unofficial title of the Douluo Continent's strongest faction, announced its dissolution on the same day and merged entirely into the Spirit Hall.
But that wasn't all. The Spirit Hall announced the next day that it would change its name from the Spirit Hall to the Pantheon.
The existence of gods was a taboo that deep-rooted soul masters knew not to touch lightly. Not just any faction had the right to use the name "god"—doing so would invite divine retribution!
Yet, as days turned into weeks, then months, and finally a full year passed, the Pantheon remained intact.
This phenomenon caused countless hidden experts to murmur: the Pantheon feels even more terrifying than the former Spirit Hall.
Meanwhile, the Destruction God King, who had been secretly observing the Douluo Continent, let out a cold snort.
"This Vast Sea is truly an ambitious fellow. Naming his base the Pantheon—there are only thousands of gods in the entire god realm. He clearly doesn't take us seriously!"
"Little Zi, calm down," Life God King, who had been accompanying the Destruction God King in spying, consoled him helplessly.
The Destruction God King claimed he was calm and shifted his gaze to Ji Dong and Lie Yan.
"Kindness and Evil, what do you think we should do about this Vast Sea?"
Ji Dong remained silent, turning his gaze to his wife. At heart, he was just a bartender, so matters of power were better left to his wife, Lie Yan, who had once been the Underworld Empress.
Lie Yan played with her flame-like long hair, glancing indifferently at the Destruction God King.
"Deal with him?
Destruction, don't be so arrogant. Fundamentally, he's a God King—and not just any God King.
Do you really think he'd come here so easily without sufficient strength? I doubt he'd enter our den of wolves without being able to ensure his survival."
At this moment, the Destruction God King furrowed his brows deeply enough to crush a fly. He looked at Lie Yan with displeasure, shocked that she would disrespect him so openly.
Lie Yan met his glare without flinching. Though the Destruction God King wasn't responsible for her death, she had been killed while peacefully reigning as the Flame Empress. This made her fundamentally dislike the arrogant god realm.
Though Lie Yan and Ji Dong were currently only in the early levels of God King, the previous generation of Kindness and Evil God Kings hadn't died—they had reincarnated and were wandering the mortal world. If he harmed these two, their leaders would return, and he would suffer the consequences.
Thinking about this made the Destruction God King even angrier. With a cold snort, he turned away from Lie Yan.
Lie Yan didn't indulge him either. Standing up, she pulled aside Ji Dong, who had been watching the show, and mocked:
"The prosperity of the god realm relies on cooperation among us God Kings, not arbitrary suppression. So, Destruction, stop calling us two spouses to suppress newcomers in the future. After all, we're also considered newcomers."
With that, Lie Yan dragged Ji Dong away, leaving the Destruction God King even more enraged.
Beside him, the Life God King said nothing. She knew her husband's temperament and had no interest in power struggles or suppressing newcomers, so she quietly faded into the background.
Regardless, the Destruction God King was still a God King. Soon, he calmed himself, realizing that Lie Yan had spoken the truth.
From his two encounters with Ye Wen, it was clear that Ye Wen was an extraordinarily cautious individual. Without the strength to ensure his survival, Ye Wen wouldn't ascend to the god realm, nor would he follow the hundred-year ascension rule.
This was the privilege of strong individuals.
But thinking about how the two previous leaders had finally left, and the Asura God King had also fled, it was now his turn to take charge. Yet, out of nowhere, Ye Wen had emerged as an unexpected rival, forcing his grand plans to rejuvenate the god realm to be shelved. A surge of resentment welled up within him.
But soon, the Destruction God King's eyes turned stern again. Did he think it would be so easy to abandon his original plan?
Destruction: Impossible! Absolutely impossible!
On the other side, Ye Wen was unaware that the Destruction God King had begun secretly plotting against him. However, with the entire Douluo Planet as his backing, Ye Wen was fearless. Though his cultivation was insufficient, he had begun to explore a completely new path through the faith power of the Great Benevolent Medical Immortal.
On this path, Ye Wen seemed to have touched upon the clues to the next realm he had long dreamed of attaining.
As Ye Wen meditated, an overwhelming surge of faith power rushed toward him from all directions, far surpassing anything he had experienced before.
Ye Wen looked up curiously. Though the Spirit Hall and Medical Alliance had merged to form the Pantheon, and medical clinics had been established in every village and city across the Douluo Continent thanks to the Spirit Hall's previous infrastructure, such an enormous influx of faith power was unusual.
Soon, Ye Wen understood what had happened.
At this moment, both the Star Luo and Tian Dou Empires had completely eradicated all kingdoms, duchies, and old nobility. Power was now highly centralized in the hands of Zhu Zhuqing and Qian Renxue.
But power had never been the goal of these two women.
Thus, as prearranged, there was no resistance—both women decided to merge.
Though one system couldn't suit every nation, due to the peculiarities of the extraordinary world, as long as the top-tier combat power remained stable, the stability of the system could always be maintained.
So Zhu Zhuqing and Qian Renxue completely copied the federal system from Ye Wen's world, forming the current Douluo Federation.
With the emergence of this unified political entity, the people of the Douluo Continent finally understood one thing after the two women's proclamation:
The Douluo Continent would never see war again. They, the common people, would no longer be dragged into the meat grinder that was war. They could live peacefully and happily!
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