"Nine Titled Douluo, three hundred thousand troops," Lin Rong mused, tapping his fingers on the white paper.
Douluo Continent had enjoyed peace for a long time; large-scale wars hadn't occurred for centuries.
Therefore, although the Heaven Dou Empire possessed a million-strong army, these troops were dispersed across various military regions before encountering major conflicts. Jialing Pass was one such example.
The Heaven Dou Empire had six major provinces, each with its own military region. Including Jialing Pass, there were a total of seven major military regions.
Each military region maintained a standing force of approximately two hundred thousand soldiers, bringing the total standing force across the seven regions to around 1.4 million.
Now, the Western Province had fallen, and the Western Military Region had inevitably fallen into enemy hands.
Rumor had it that all two hundred thousand soldiers of the Western Military Region were drowned alive in their barracks, with no survivors.
Of the three hundred thousand troops mobilized this time, two hundred thousand came from the adjacent Fasno Province Military Region, and the remaining one hundred thousand came from Jialing Pass.
Simultaneously, Imperial Marshal Ge Long was appointed as the supreme commander of the three hundred thousand troops.
"Ge Long is the commander of the army. If that's the case, Ma Hongjun will likely be brought along to participate in the battle."
"Once the Heavenly Phoenix Profound Sound appears on the battlefield, it will undoubtedly attract a lot of attention."
"Given Ma Hongjun's cultivation speed, his current Soul Power should be around level forty-five. It's too dangerous for him on the battlefield, which is a meat grinder. I need to give him something for self-defense, lest the Fire God Inheritance fall into someone else's hands."
Following the Molten Volcano expedition, Ma Hongjun successfully found the Fire God divine artifact, the Heavenly Burning Divine Scepter, within the crater of a giant active volcano.
With the top-tier beast Martial Soul, the Fire Phoenix, and his excellent aptitude amplified by consuming the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower, Ma Hongjun, as expected, obtained the Fire God godhood inheritance from the Heavenly Burning Divine Scepter and gained the right to use it as its inheritor.
As the only two divine inheritors under his command currently, Ma Hongjun's personal safety naturally required double the attention.
A flash of light on Lin Rong's wrist, and a brilliant golden lotus and a cylindrical object with dark peacock patterns appeared on the table.
"These past few days, Lou Gao has forged another Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus and a Peacock Plume. They're perfect for Ma Hongjun's self-defense."
"But this isn't enough. If Ma Hongjun faces assassination by a Titled Douluo, he won't have time to use these things to save himself."
"It seems I need to add another layer of insurance."
With that thought, Lin Rong took out a medicinal herb that was crystal clear and snow-white all over.
"Let Dugu Bo bring the Snow Swan Kiss and personally protect Ma Hongjun on the battlefield. That should be sufficient."
"With Dugu Bo's current strength and the Snow Swan Kiss in hand, unless Bo Saixi herself attacks Ma Hongjun, no one from Sea God Island will be able to threaten him."
This war, initiated by the collaboration between Spirit Hall and the Heaven Dou Empire, was almost certain to reclaim all territories in the Western Province except Vast Sea City.
Vast Sea City, however, was backed by the sea and guarded by Bo Saixi. Against her, three hundred thousand troops would be like a mere tidal wave.
The nine Titled Douluo on the Heaven Dou and Spirit Hall side would definitely include Ju and Gui.
But even with the Two Extremes Forbidden Domain, the remaining seven Titled Douluo would not be able to defeat Bo Saixi, who was bolstered by the power of the sea.
As long as Bo Saixi lived, the Sea God's forces would have a chance to rise again, and they would sooner or later make a comeback.
However, these were not concerns for Lin Rong at the moment.
For him, the most pressing matter was to seize the opportunity to develop, to grow as much as possible in the shortest amount of time.
Several months passed. Lin Rong was now eleven years and four months old, with a Soul Power cultivation of level sixty-eight and a half, just one and a half levels away from the seventy-level milestone.
This one and a half levels of Soul Power, at his normal cultivation speed, would require three months. That meant he had to endure for another three months to overcome this damnable Heart Tribulation.
...
That evening, after Lin Rong had arranged everything, he and the old butler set off for Thunderclap Canyon the next morning.
To obtain the Thunder God artifact as quickly as possible and avoid any unforeseen complications, Lin Rong chose not to travel by carriage this time. Instead, he had the Nine Bend Vine Dragon carry him and the old butler there directly.
The journey between Heaven Dou City and Thunderclap Canyon would take more than half a month by carriage, but with the Nine Bend Vine Dragon's flight speed, they could reach Thunderclap Canyon in about five days.
Three days later.
High in the sky, ten thousand meters up, above the clouds.
The fierce gales at high altitudes, after passing through the pale green light shield emanating from the Nine Bend Vine Dragon, transformed into gentle breezes caressing their robes.
Lin Rong sat on the dragon's head, cradling the Love God's Harp and playing it slowly, his agitated state of mind gradually calming with the music.
Midway through the melody, Lin Rong suddenly stopped, looking down at the clouds below with great surprise.
"This is... divine power? Evil divine power and good divine power!"
Just moments ago, three life signatures had entered Lin Rong's field of Life Sense.
One of these life signatures possessed very mixed attributes, with six attributes—wind, lightning, space, time, darkness, and evil—intermingling.
Six mixed attributes, specifically wind, lightning, space, time, darkness, and evil.
Undoubtedly, on the entire Douluo Continent, the only Spirit Beast possessing all six of these attributes was the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger.
The remaining two life signatures were almost identical. If not for the distinction between evil and good divine power, one would need to observe very carefully to discern the subtle differences.
"The life signatures are almost identical, plus these two divine powers of evil and goodness. Could it be that I've encountered the inheritors of the Evil God and Good God?"
"How long has it been? They're moving fast!"
As Lin Rong pondered, he suddenly perceived the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger changing its flight direction and rapidly approaching his location.
Lin Rong muttered to himself, "Coming to me proactively? It seems it's sensed our presence and is treating us as prey."
The growth of the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger differs from normal spirit beasts; self-cultivation is extremely difficult, but it can rapidly increase its age and cultivation through devouring.
Because this was ten thousand meters in the air, the Nine Bend Vine Dragon flew without any attempt to conceal its aura. It was not difficult for the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger to sense the Nine Bend Vine Dragon's presence.
Sensing the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger constantly approaching, Lin Rong gently stroked the Nine Bend Vine Dragon's horn and said softly:
"Xiao Qing, just find any mountain forest to land in."
Hearing its master's command, the Nine Bend Vine Dragon let out a dragon's roar, then twisted through the clouds and rapidly dove downwards.
Several miles away, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger sensed the target's trajectory had changed. It immediately let out a tiger's roar, fanned its Evil God Wings, and pursued.
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