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A Rank-9 Soul Engineer from the Sun Moon Empire wandering into the former territories of the original Douluo Three Kingdoms—if exposed, would definitely catch the attention of the royal families. And that would be a huge headache.
Luan Yu was walking toward Dragon City, holding hands with the two little ones.
It was a walk of more than ten kilometers, which would naturally take some time. Luan Yu originally planned to carry the kids, but to her surprise, both Meteor and Firefly refused. The two tiny kids, about four or five years old, managed to walk several kilometers without showing any signs of exhaustion. They were just too short, so their pace was really slow.
Luan Yu squinted slightly, noticing that these two kids were oddly tough for their age. But she didn't think much of it—as long as they weren't soul beasts in disguise, it was fine. Talented human kids weren't that rare anyway.
Still, she couldn't stand how slow their little legs were, so eventually she picked them both up—one in each hand—and strode off toward Dragon City. Meteor looked like he had lost the will to live, dangling there helplessly. But when he glanced at Firefly, who had her tiny fists clenched in frustration and an utterly sulky face, he suddenly felt that being carried like this… wasn't so bad after all.
After all, this was the same Firefly who had once been the mighty Glamor Iron Cavalry, a Molten Knight, the girl who could tear apart bug swarms and blow up planets with her mech—now being carried like a puppy by someone. Meteor was finding this way too entertaining. Especially with that cute, grumpy expression on her face… He wouldn't say he had a thing for little girls, but if it was Firefly, maybe he could make an exception.
With the kids in tow, Luan Yu quickly reached Dragon City's gates. She set them down before leading them into the city.
Even though there were guards stationed at the city gate, this wasn't wartime, so security checks were pretty lax. The three of them got in easily—no questions asked.
Makes sense, though. A delicate-looking older girl bringing two little kids—what kind of threat could they possibly pose? Not worth the hassle of a thorough inspection.
As they entered Dragon City, the temperature rose slightly. The place felt warmer, not just because of the crowds, but also due to the stoves placed at street corners throughout the city. It gave this snow-covered city a bit of a cozy feel. Outside, the world was blanketed in snow, but inside the city, there was barely any on the ground—thanks to the warmth and the foot traffic.
The streets were packed with people. Even though the northern regions had a smaller population compared to the south, Dragon City was the largest city in the north. Its population was on par with any southern metropolis. Besides, it was close to both the Extreme North and the Sunset Forest, which were big attractions for soul masters.
While few dared venture deep into the Extreme North, the outer regions were rich with ice-type spiritual herbs and ores. As long as you didn't stray too deep, the soul beasts weren't too dangerous, making it a great spot for soul masters to gather resources.
As for the Sunset Forest, even though no one knew why the number of soul beasts had drastically decreased and high-year soul beasts had practically gone extinct, and though the deeper parts were covered in poisonous mists even Title Douluo avoided, the outer areas still had some low-year soul beasts and plenty of spiritual herbs. Especially poison-type ones—they were everywhere in the forest's core. Naturally, that drew in some very particular kinds of people.
Dragon City technically belonged to the Heaven Soul Empire, but the empire hadn't stationed heavy troops here. Control of this northern stronghold wasn't really in the hands of the empire-appointed city lord, but rather two top-tier sects: the Heavenly Dragon Sect in the south of the city and the Earthly Dragon Sect in the north.
The Heavenly Dragon Sect had a Title Douluo holding the fort, and their inherited martial soul was the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. Its origins could be traced all the way back to one of the original top three sects from ten thousand years ago—the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. They were once considered to have the strongest beast-type martial soul in the world, and had secret techniques that allowed partial dragon transformation.
Every Title Douluo stood at the peak of the continent, revered by all. Even the royal families of the Three Great Empires had to show them respect.
With a Title Douluo as their ace, the Heavenly Dragon Sect was undoubtedly a top-tier sect. As for the Earthly Dragon Sect—since they could share control of Dragon City with the Heavenly Dragon Sect, they weren't exactly pushovers either. Their sect master was only a Soul Douluo, but their inherited martial soul, the Rouge Dragon, was incredibly powerful. It had a unique annihilation force, strong enough to go toe-to-toe with an ordinary Title Douluo.
Although the two dragon sects competed with each other, they actually got along pretty well. After all, both sects used dragon martial souls, and their rivalry never turned bloody—just healthy competition.
Still, the Earthly Dragon Sect usually ended up on the losing side. They were a bit outclassed by the Heavenly Dragon Sect, but they could still barely squeeze into the ranks of the top-tier sects.
As for Dragon City's resources, only a small portion went to the Heaven Soul Empire. Most of it was split between the two dragon sects. After all, training soul masters required tons of resources. This was part of the tacit understanding between the empire and the major sects. In exchange, whenever war broke out between the Heaven Soul Empire and another country, the sects were expected to contribute people and power to the battlefield.
The Heaven Soul Empire had the right to conscript soul masters from the sects, but once the war ended, those conscripts could return to their sects.
"People call them top-tier sects, but honestly, they're not that impressive. Compared to the Three Titans of the continent, they're way behind," Luan Yu said casually, strolling through the alleys with Meteor and Firefly in tow, scanning for a decent restaurant to treat the kids to a proper meal.
"The Three Titans of the continent? What's that, Sister Luan Yu?" Meteor asked.
He'd already learned a lot from Luan Yu. He knew that the story of the original Douluo series took place ten thousand years ago. What was happening now was the second part of the story. But he didn't know many details yet—he'd have to piece things together on his own.
Firefly was just as curious about this world. From Meteor's memories, she knew that her world existed in his as a video game. But she didn't mind. Meteor had shown up right in front of her, proving that everything was real.
She was incredibly curious about this novel-like world from Meteor's memories. Unfortunately, he'd never read the second part, so a lot of things didn't match what he remembered. But hey, it had been ten thousand years—of course things had changed.
Luan Yu gently ruffled their silver hair and smiled. "The so-called Three Titans are the three most powerful forces on the continent right now—at least on the surface. They are: Shrek Academy, the Mingde Hall, and the Body Sect. Of course, this doesn't count the hidden sects or the Four Great Empires."
"Shrek Academy?!"
Meteor and Firefly looked at each other in surprise. That name was way too familiar—it was the academy where the protagonist of the first series studied! They never imagined that after ten thousand years, it still existed… and had become one of the so-called Three Titans.
"What's wrong? Want to go to school?" Luan Yu asked teasingly, giving Firefly's chubby cheek a little pinch. She figured Firefly was interested in going to school and that's why she reacted to the name. After all, just hearing "Shrek Academy" made it sound like some kind of school.
"....."