Heaven Dou City

After successfully obtaining a soul ring for Lang Lei, Snow Empress and her group took a brief rest before resolutely leaving the Star Dou Great Forest.

After all, although Snow Empress was powerful and unafraid of the legendary Beast God Di Tian, she also knew that getting entangled with Di Tian would bring considerable trouble. Better to avoid trouble when possible, and besides, they were currently saddled with a "dead weight" in Lang Lei, making it truly unwise to clash with Di Tian.

The Star Dou Great Forest wasn't too far from either empire, but after hearing Snow Empress and Ice Empress's detailed introductions to both, Lang Lei ultimately decided to head to Heaven Dou Empire. The reason was simple: he had zero interest in the Star Luo Empire's royal family.

As a nameless traveler, Lang Lei naturally had to strictly adhere to the nameless traveler's code. He knew well that the people of every planet had their own choices and ways of life; as an outsider, he shouldn't meddle too much in their internal affairs. Only when the entire planet faced a crisis of survival would a nameless traveler step in to help.

And as a Sea Ranger, Lang Lei had journeyed through many planets and witnessed all kinds of systems. Some of Star Luo Empire's systems he simply couldn't agree with. In comparison, while Heaven Dou Empire's royal family wasn't flawless either, at least in some aspects it was tolerable.

Maybe it was also because the Heaven Dou royal family was relatively weak? So they still came across as a bit more humble.

He was now practically half a native of Douluo Continent, much like that guy who was both an Ultraman and a human. From a certain specific perspective, if he took a little action, even Paimon probably wouldn't have much to say about it.

However, his current strength was still lacking—or rather, a bit weak in his normal state—far from enough to change the world. Even Ice Empress and Snow Empress couldn't manage that.

With their current power, they likely couldn't withstand a united assault from the entire Douluo Continent and would ultimately have to flee in disgrace. Lang Lei still had doubts about the combat power Douluo Continent displayed on the surface. Could it really be that this vast continent only had those three Level 99 Peerless Douluo?

Was this continent really so "shallow"?

Regardless, before he truly grew strong, Lang Lei felt he should keep a low profile and act cautiously... Snow Empress and Ice Empress naturally respected Lang Lei's decision, so without hesitation, they lifted him into the air and sped straight toward Heaven Dou City.

If they wanted to develop, naturally they had to choose the empire's core region, since that was where the top talents of all Heaven Dou Empire gathered. As the saying goes, "A waterfront pavilion gets the moonlight first"—in a place teeming with talent, one could maximize their potential and continuously improve themselves.

Moreover, in the empire's core region, resources were also the most abundant. Whether training grounds, simulation sites, or precious herbs and ores, everything could be found there. For soul masters, this was undoubtedly a huge temptation.

Of course, besides these material advantages, the empire's core region had another very important feature: fierce competition. As the saying goes, "Only with competition comes progress." In such a competitive environment, everyone had to keep striving to avoid being eliminated.

And in the Extreme North, aside from Snow Empress, the favored child of ice and snow, which other Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts hadn't risen through intense competition? The reason they became Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts wasn't just their immense power, but because they constantly honed themselves through competition to reach such heights.

With Snow Empress and Ice Empress's speed, reaching Heaven Dou City was naturally a trivial matter. Roughly in the time it took Lang Lei to doze off, the three of them were already standing before the gates of Heaven Dou City.

The city gates of Heaven Dou City were tall and majestic, exuding a solemn and dignified aura. The guards on the walls held long spears, their expressions stern as they vigilantly watched the passing crowd.

Snow Empress and Ice Empress had faces that could topple cities; if they didn't conceal them, they would surely draw countless gazes. To avoid unnecessary trouble, both women simply wore veils to cover their features.

Yet even so, their slender figures and that otherworldly aura still attracted many stares. People stopped to look, hoping for a glimpse of these two mysterious women's true faces.

But with just a slight release of their aura, many no longer dared to look. After all, provoking a strong person for a moment of visual pleasure wasn't worth the loss.

Ice Empress let out a proud cold snort. If not for Lang Lei, she would have long since frozen those who made her uncomfortable into ice sculptures.

Before entering the city, Snow Empress was still a bit uneasy. She hesitated slightly, then softly instructed Ice Empress, "Bing'er, once we're inside the city, remember: don't act impulsively, or you'll bring us unnecessary trouble."

Ice Empress nodded at Snow Empress's words and replied, "Of course I know..."

But before she could finish, Lang Lei suddenly let out a "pfft" laugh.

Ice Empress whipped her head around and glared fiercely at Lang Lei, her gaze like a knife stabbing straight into his heart. Lang Lei shuddered in fright and quickly waved his hands, saying, "Sister Bing, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh..."

Ice Empress gave a light snort, clearly not forgiving him so easily. After that cold huff, she ignored Lang Lei, turned, and strode toward the city gate first.

Snow Empress watched Ice Empress's retreating figure, shook her head helplessly, then exchanged a glance with Lang Lei, and they smiled at each other.

Snow Empress chuckled softly and said, "Alright, let's hurry and catch up." With that, she stepped forward to follow Ice Empress, and Lang Lei quickly fell into step behind her.

Surprisingly, the three of them made it smoothly to the city gate without any guard stopping them. This made Lang Lei suspicious, and he muttered to himself, "Could it be that my curse of being wanted everywhere as a nameless traveler has finally worn off?"

Although most of the time it wasn't what the nameless travelers wanted, for some reason, despite being helpful and selfless, they always ended up on wanted lists.

Probably because of the trouble caused by Akivili, the Trailblaze Star God, and Aha, the strongest Trailblaze Emanator...

Silently pinning the blame on those two Star Gods, Lang Lei contentedly turned his attention back to Heaven Dou City.