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*****
With an eerie chill in his voice, Ghost Douluo muttered, "A blacksmith's only value lies in forging weapons. Could it be that the Star Luo Emperor is planning to expand his army?"
"There's some truth to what Old Ghost said!"
At the side, Yue Guan gave Ghost Douluo a "suggestive" glance and said coquettishly, "The Star Luo Empire has always revered martial strength. However, their population is smaller than Heaven Dou's, so they've always followed the elite soldier route."
The main forces of the three great powers on the Douluo Continent each have their own characteristics. Spirit Hall boasts tens of thousands of soul masters, each capable of fighting a hundred men.
The Heaven Dou Empire fields an army of millions, while the Star Luo Empire relies on several hundred thousand elite warriors. Together, the three forces form a delicate balance.
"Now that the Star Luo Empire is recruiting blacksmiths in large numbers, I believe they have two main objectives." Yue Guan paused, then continued, "First, to forge weapons for the empire. Second, to increase the size of their army."
"Most blacksmiths are physically strong men. With a bit of training, they could quickly become powerful soldiers!"
"And by doing this, they've also silenced our objections! If Star Luo had openly started recruiting soldiers, it would've surely triggered criticism and condemnation from Spirit Hall."
"But now, they're recruiting blacksmiths under the banner of 'improving blacksmith welfare.' Even if we want to use this as an excuse to confront them, we have no grounds to act."
"Indeed!" Ghost Douluo frowned. "Blacksmiths are mostly from the lower classes. If Spirit Hall insists on taking action against the Star Luo Empire, it would be tantamount to declaring war on the common people of the entire continent."
"If we truly did that, it would be like digging the grave of Spirit Hall ourselves. This is a flawless open conspiracy!"
Most of Spirit Hall's soul masters also come from humble beginnings. Offending the common folk would be no different from committing political suicide for Spirit Hall!
If Spirit Hall refrains from acting, they'll be forced to watch the Star Luo Empire grow stronger. But if they do act, they'll be turning the entire continent's populace against them.
Just as Ghost Douluo said, this is a flawless open conspiracy!
However, if Dai Weisi were to hear this conversation, he'd be completely speechless.
What the hell—are you all Little Di or something? Why do all your minds leap to conspiracy theories? I just invented a firearm—how did that become part of some grand political scheme?
An "unbeatable" open conspiracy? Is it really more unbeatable than the Nine-Turn Sausage?
"Hmph! Foolish!" Bibi Dong snapped coldly, "Do they really think they can oppose my Spirit Hall just by winning over the people of the Douluo Continent? Hmph…"
A cold smile spread across Bibi Dong's face. Her chilling laughter echoed throughout the Pope's Hall as she looked in the direction of the Star Luo Empire. She continued, "Star Luo Emperor, I suggest you watch yourself. If all you're doing is letting blacksmiths forge weapons, I can tolerate that—for now."
"But if you dare to expand your army, don't blame Spirit Hall for acting without mercy! Hehehe…"
The Star Luo Empire has always relied on elite soldiers. If they gained another million of them, no other force on the continent could match them.
Titled Douluo are powerful, yes—but they are only good for assassination operations. If they were forced to go head-to-head with a million soldiers, aside from Dugu Bo, the rest would be overwhelmed in an instant, like being swallowed by a tsunami of warriors.
…
Time flew by, and a year and a half passed in the blink of an eye.
In the rear courtyard of the Crown Prince's residence, an intense sparring session was underway between an old man and a youth. The young man, with golden hair, had lost all traces of immaturity. In its place were signs of resilience, calm composure, and eyes blazing with battle fervor!
The youth was none other than Dai Weisi, the Crown Prince of the Star Luo Empire. He was now twenty years old. Calling him a "youth" might no longer be appropriate—he was already a young man in every sense.
It had been two years since he arrived on the Douluo Continent, and his strength had only grown ever more formidable.
"Not enough! Not nearly enough! Uncle Li, is this all you've got? After all this time, this is how much stronger you've become?"
After activating his martial spirit, Dai Weisi became noticeably stronger. Even though this was only a sparring match, his attacks were fierce and relentless—just like a lion using its full strength to catch a rabbit. In that regard, tigers were no different.
Two years had passed, and Dai Weisi's strength had grown tremendously. He was now a Rank 48 Battle Soul Sect expert!
The ten-thousand-year whale glue had greatly improved his physical constitution, granting him cultivation speed comparable to someone born with full innate soul power. With two years of dedicated training, his soul power had increased by a full seven ranks.
Even during this time, he regularly visited the firearms factory to collaborate with Master Lou Gao on new weapon designs. Despite his packed schedule, he also managed to develop a powerful, self-created soul skill.
Had he focused solely on cultivation, Dai Weisi's soul power would likely have already reached Rank 49.
Still, Dai Weisi was very satisfied with his progress. After all, in his previous life, he hadn't reached Rank 49 until three years later during the Soul Master Tournament.
Dai Weisi launched a full-force assault, while Li Hu remained purely on the defensive, silently sighing in exasperation.
Fight? Who could possibly beat you, huh? You're practically my living ancestor.
If I end up injuring you, this old man's ancestors will get cursed for eighteen generations by your entire clan!
Li Hu was now fifty-seven years old, with a soul power of Rank 78. His natural talent was only average, having improved by just two ranks in the past two years.
Even though he grumbled inwardly, the changes in Dai Weisi over the past two years had been nothing short of remarkable. At just twenty years old, already a Rank 48 Battle Soul Sect—he was undeniably a rare genius.
Even Li Hu now had to take Dai Weisi seriously. If he let his guard down for even a moment, he might suffer a painful loss at the hands of this young man.
"Uncle Li, use your full strength. I want to test how powerful my self-created soul skill really is," Dai Weisi said in a low voice, as soul power surged like a tidal wave into his hands.
Due to his martial spirit possession, his hands had transformed into powerful tiger claws, capable of shredding steel.
"Yes, Your Highness. Attack me with all you've got. Seventh Soul Skill: Martial Spirit True Body!"
As soon as he spoke, Li Hu's body was enveloped in a thick, earthy yellow glow. A fierce tiger's roar echoed from within the light. His body expanded rapidly, and a long, swaying tail fluttered behind him in the wind.
His human form vanished, replaced by a massive tiger—its size and aura comparable to the terrifying Dark Golden Terrorclaw Bear.
Faced with Dai Weisi's self-created soul skill, Li Hu had no choice but to activate his Martial Spirit True Body and go all out.
"Uncle Li, I'm coming! Aurora Divine Wind Claw!"
Golden light erupted from his powerful tiger claws as Dai Weisi roared forth like a divine storm, slashing both claws toward the tiger-headed Li Hu at breakneck speed.
Seeing this, Li Hu hurriedly raised one claw to intercept the attack. The two sets of mighty tiger claws collided with a thunderous boom.
Dai Weisi attacked with full strength, launching wave after wave of ferocious strikes. Under his relentless assault, Li Hu couldn't help but feel waves of pain coursing through his palms. His body was even forced to take several steps backward!
His martial spirit was just that of an ordinary tiger, while Dai Weisi possessed the top-tier beast spirit: the Evil-Eyed White Tiger. Naturally, it exerted a suppressive aura over all feline-type spirits, including tigers.
Add to that the immense physical power Dai Weisi gained from consuming the ten-thousand-year whale glue, and he was now as strong as an ox.
The Aurora Divine Wind Claw was the result of three months of painstaking training. Initially, Dai Weisi had hoped to learn Tempest Starcloud Slash, but unfortunately, he lacked the speed of the Tiger King.
He just couldn't understand it—aren't they both tigers? Why was the Tiger King a speed type, while he had to be a power type?
Left with no choice, Dai Weisi relied on the images in his memory and instead mastered the Ironhide Beast's Aurora Divine Wind Claw.
(End of Chapter)