Heaven Dou City.
A pattering rain fell from the dark gray sky, accompanied by a gentle breeze, showering the streets of the imperial capital.
It was the height of summer, the season with the most sweltering heat.
Even though the dark clouds blocked the scorching sun in the sky, the continuous rain did nothing to lower the heat in the air.
Instead, the small puddles accumulating on the streets gathered the heat, turning the breeze into waves of scorching heat.
Sparse pedestrians walked along the streets, the thick humidity making them restless, as if they were walking not on a street, but inside a giant sauna.
The rain intensified, the pattering quickly turning into a downpour.
The wind responded to the rain, the gentle breeze transforming into a howling gale.
Pedestrians hurried along the road, disappearing into the distance in no time.
Despite it being daytime, the sky was as dark as midnight.
On such a gloomy day, a bolt of lightning tore through the sky, followed seconds later by a deafening roar.
Lin Manor, main hall.
The soul guiding lamps hanging from the ceiling emitted a soft, warm, sun-like glow.
Lin Rong sat on the sofa, side by side with the old butler.
The lightning outside the glass window flashed and was gone, the outside world returning to darkness.
Withdrawing his gaze from the window, Lin Rong looked at the moon-white harp on the table and sighed slightly:
"With the entire Western Province captured by the Sea God Empire, this continent is truly changing!"
The emergence of the Sea God Empire had made the already turbulent situation on the continent even more unstable.
The Western Province alone accounted for twenty percent of the Heaven Dou Empire's territory.
Fortunately, due to a severe shortage of manpower, the Sea God Empire did not continue its offensive after occupying the Western Province, choosing instead to consolidate control over this vast territory.
This had brought a sigh of relief to the other provinces within the Heaven Dou Empire and the Hagen Dasi Kingdom, which bordered the Western Province.
The Sea God Army was not the primary threat; the real danger lay in the seven Titled Douluo-level powerhouses within the Sea God Army.
On the entire continent, only the Spirit Hall could contend with them. The two great empires also had enough troops to wear down these seven Titled Douluo through sheer attrition of their soldiers' lives.
Kingdoms and duchies would need to unite their forces to achieve such a feat.
The Sea God Empire had only encroached upon the Western Province of the Heaven Dou Empire so far, allowing the various kingdoms, duchies, and the Star Luo Empire to remain on the sidelines for the time being.
This was especially true for the Star Luo Empire, as the Western Province of the Heaven Dou Empire was separated from their territory by the Hagen Dasi Kingdom.
If the Sea God Empire were to expand its influence southward, it would first invade the Hagen Dasi Kingdom, and the ravages of war would not reach the Star Luo Empire's territory for the time being.
The Heaven Dou and Star Luo Empires had long harbored grievances. If not for the Spirit Hall's mediation and the establishment of several kingdoms and duchies between the two empires to buffer their conflicts, they would have long ago engaged in a fight to the death.
Therefore, the Star Luo Emperor, faced with the Sea God Empire's conquest of the continent, merely ordered his army to establish a defensive line at the empire's borders, leaving everything else as usual, adopting an attitude of watching the show without minding the trouble.
The Sea God Empire's occupation of the Western Province of the Heaven Dou Empire resulted in the loss of not only a province's territory for the Heaven Dou Empire but also numerous Spirit Hall branch halls located within the Western Province.
As the undisputed strongest force on the Douluo Continent, the Spirit Hall having a province's worth of branch halls destroyed by the Sea God Empire was an undeniable provocation to its authority.
The current Pope, Bibi Dong, was the first non-founder Pope in the history of the Spirit Hall, and her authority in various aspects of the Spirit Hall was not as strong as the previous Pope, Qian Xunji.
Coupled with the accusation of the Wind Sword Sect's annihilation being pinned on the Spirit Hall and the destruction of all Spirit Hall branch halls in the Western Province of the Heaven Dou Empire.
These successive events had damaged the Spirit Hall's reputation, and as Pope, Bibi Dong bore an undeniable responsibility.
Bibi Dong's ambiguous relationship with Yu Xiaogang had also significantly diminished her prestige within the Spirit Hall.
Whether to restore the Spirit Hall's authority or re-establish her own standing within the Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong had only one path: to join forces with the Heaven Dou Empire and reclaim the Western Province from the Sea God Empire.
As the Spirit Hall's representative in the Heaven Dou Empire, Platinum Bishop Salas unhesitatingly became the plenipotentiary responsible for the cooperation between the Spirit Hall and the Heaven Dou Empire.
And the day for the two powers to meet and negotiate was today.
Listening to the sound of the torrential rain outside the window, Lin Rong smiled calmly and said with a hint of mockery:
"Reclaiming the Western Province, with the combined efforts of the Spirit Hall and Heaven Dou, reclaiming other cities would not be difficult, but Hanhai City might be another matter."
"Unless Bibi Dong can persuade Qian Daoliu to join forces with her, only then would there be a chance to defeat Bo Saixi, who is empowered by the ocean's might."
"However, the chances of Qian Daoliu attacking Bo Saixi are slim, and Bibi Dong would not stoop to begging Qian Daoliu to act."
"Perhaps heaven itself knows that the reclamation of the Western Province is destined to fail, which is why it chose this day of the meeting between the royal family and the Spirit Hall to unleash this continuous wind and rain."
As he spoke, Lin Rong seemed to recall something and looked at the old butler beside him, asking:
"Grandpa Yu, the person sent by the royal family to meet Salas, it won't be Xue Qinghe, will it?"
The old butler answered without hesitation:
"Yes, but in addition to Crown Prince Xue Ye attending, Prince Xue Xing will also be present."
"Xue Xing is going too?" Lin Rong found Xue Ye's move difficult to comment on.
"At a time like this, Xue Ye still has the leisure to play the balancing act of the Imperial Heart Technique."
At this moment, the Nine Bend Vine Dragon coiled around Lin Rong's wrist let out a soft dragon's cry, reminding him that his fluctuations were starting to drop again.
"Here we go again. What a pain,"
Lin Rong complained, picking up the moon-white zither from the table and placing it on his lap. His fingertips plucked the strings.
The next moment, clear and crisp notes, like pearls and jade, flowed from the moon-white zither.
The beautiful melody seemed to possess a magic that refreshed the soul.
As Lin Rong played, the zither's moon-white body seemed to emanate a flowing light. Under this light, his turbulent emotions slowly began to calm down.
This zither was called "Moonlight Love," and it was a divine artifact.
The origin of the divine artifact was the Love God's inheritance; Moonlight Love was the Love God's divine artifact.
Half a month ago, guided by the Lovesick Heartbreak Red, Yang Wudi had successfully found this Love God's zither in a hidden valley.
With the Lovesick Heartbreak Red in hand, the Love God's zither did not reject Yang Wudi, allowing him to successfully take it out of the valley.
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