The Star Luo Empire.
The imperial palace, inside the resplendent main hall.
Star Luo Emperor Xu Jiawei sat upon the throne. He lightly tapped the armrest with his fingertips, his imposing gaze fixed on the nine people below.
They were all Titled Douluo loyal to the Star Luo Empire, and the empire's core strength.
At that moment, these powerful figures—each capable of shaking the empire with a single stomp—had their brows tightly furrowed, as if pondering something that concerned the Star Luo Empire's entire future.
"Elder Ye, what do you think of that boy?"
Xu Jiawei suddenly spoke. His voice was not loud, yet every person in the hall heard him clearly.
"Following Your Majesty's orders, I secretly protected him while he obtained his Soul Ring. At the same time, I discovered that the little fellow's Martial Soul is no ordinary one."
"Though it's said to be a single Martial Soul, it's actually equivalent to five: five sets of armor representing metal, wood, water, fire, and earth."
The Head of the Hall of Enshrinement, Azure Luan Douluo Ye Yu, spoke first. "I don't know about the other sets of armor yet, but the Flame Dragon Armor not only possesses the power of a dragon, it also has the ultimate fire attribute!"
The hall erupted into an uproar.
They had absolute faith in Azure Luan Douluo's words.
The reason was simple: just like his title, Azure Luan Douluo's Martial Soul was the legendary divine bird, Azure Luan, which possessed both fire and wind attributes.
At that moment, even Medicine Immortal Douluo Wang Xian'er—the empire's most senior member and reputedly the greatest Healing-type Soul Master of the era, with Soul Power reaching level 95—looked utterly stunned after considering a certain possibility.
"This is an ultimate attribute!"
"In Shrek's ten thousand years of history, it's only appeared three times."
Beside her, Shattered Star Douluo couldn't help crying out in astonishment. "Historically, all three owners of ultimate Martial Souls made a name for themselves across the continent and helped Shrek reach even greater heights."
"Old Star, you're focused on the wrong thing..."
Xuanji Douluo, commander of the Star Luo Empire's First Spirit Master Legion, stroked his chin, his eyes gleaming. "The quality of a Martial Soul is relative. In other words, if one set of armor has the ultimate fire attribute, then the other four sets of armor should have ultimate attributes too."
"If that's really the case, then a single Martial Soul possessing five ultimate attributes would be no less impressive than a divine-grade Martial Soul!"
By the end, even he couldn't help exclaiming in amazement.
"A divine-grade Martial Soul?!"
The burly Giant Hammer Douluo's voice trembled slightly.
After all, the last divine-grade Martial Soul on record was the Six-winged Angel, which had been lost ten thousand years ago with the destruction of Spirit Hall!
Now a Martial Soul comparable to a divine-grade one had appeared in the Star Luo Empire. How could they not be shaken?
"Everyone, I'm sure you're all aware of the continent's current situation. The Sun Moon Empire's ambitions are growing, and its Soul Tool technology is becoming increasingly advanced."
At that moment, Xu Jiawei, who had been silent for a long while, suddenly spoke. "I've received a confidential report: the Sun Moon Empire has already developed a Soul Tool capable of threatening a Limit Douluo."
"I'm sure you all understand what that means."
Xu Jiawei slowly rose to his feet, his eyes shining with determination.
"Our Star Luo Empire is now facing its most dangerous hour. So I propose that we devote the resources of the entire nation to nurturing that young fellow."
"Even if he can't reach that legendary realm, with his talent, he'll certainly become a Rank 99 Limit Douluo. He'll protect our Star Luo Empire and see it safely through the chaos that's about to come!"
Once a Soul Master reached the Titled Douluo level, living for three or four hundred years was perfectly normal.
Xu Jiawei believed that, given the talent the young fellow had displayed, once he fully matured, he would be an unrivaled powerhouse capable of suppressing an entire era.
With Gu Tian as a pillar holding up the heavens, the Star Luo Empire would be assured at least three hundred years of peace. It might even have a chance to unify the entire continent.
Like the Sun Moon Empire, Xu Jiawei, as an emperor, also wanted to unify the continent. Unfortunately, the Star Luo Empire simply wasn't strong enough.
At his words, the nine men's hearts shuddered.
As Soul Masters—and Titled Douluo, no less—they naturally knew what realm Xu Jiawei was referring to.
It was the realm reached by the first generation of the legendary Shrek Seven Devils, known as the realm of the gods.
They hadn't expected Xu Jiawei to place such high hopes on that young fellow!
At the very least, he expected him to become a Rank 99 Limit Douluo.
At the same time, they understood that Xu Jiawei was making a gamble—a gamble on Gu Tian's potential.
If he succeeded, all would be well. But if he failed, the Star Luo Empire would have no chance of recovering for nearly a century. If the Sun Moon Empire seized the opportunity, the empire could fall and its ruling family be wiped out.
Xu Jiawei understood this perfectly. That was why he had summoned every Titled Douluo still in the Star Luo Empire, hoping to gain their support.
After all, aside from the few staunchly loyal members of the imperial family, the other Venerables were also powerful Titled Douluo.
Even as emperor of the Star Luo Empire, Xu Jiawei couldn't force them to obey him.
Fortunately, the young fellow had also displayed astonishing talent.
That gave Xu Jiawei even more confidence that he could persuade these Venerables.
Boom!
Just then, a deafening rumble suddenly rang out from the sky!
The sky, which had been clear only moments earlier, changed abruptly.
Winds howled, lightning flashed, and thunder roared as a terrifying celestial phenomenon appeared.
At that moment, all four great empires, the major sects, and even Shrek Academy were drawn to the sudden change.
Countless people looked up at the sky, staring at the bizarre sight in utter shock.
Nine pillars of light shot out from within the Star Luo Imperial Palace.
At their head was the Star Luo Empire's Head of the Hall of Enshrinement, Azure Luan Douluo, a level 97 attack-type Super Douluo.
A level 97 attack-type Super Douluo could already be considered a rare opponent across the entire continent.
With the three Limit Douluo absent from public view, Azure Luan Douluo was second only to Xuan Zi of Shrek Academy and Du Busi of the Body Sect.
Azure Luan Douluo stood before the others, his vast Soul Power surging around him. Behind him appeared a divine bird, its feathers blue-green.
Nine Soul Rings rose from beneath him. What astonished everyone was that the final ring was a strange, blood-red color.
The other eight Titled Douluo also entered their Martial Soul Possession states, watching the sky above them warily.
The changes in the heavens continued.
A golden Light Screen stretched as far as the eye could see, slowly unfurling like a scroll!
It covered the entire sky. No matter where they were on the continent, anyone who looked up could clearly see the golden words about to appear upon it.
"What is that?" Xu Jiawei had also come to the entrance of the palace's main hall.
"Your Majesty, it should be some kind of celestial phenomenon."
Azure Luan Douluo furrowed his brows, staring intently at the Light Screen in the sky. "Could it be connected to the gods?"
The Light Screen in the sky showed no energy fluctuations. Though it seemed close at hand, they couldn't sense its existence at all, as if it didn't exist.
It wasn't only the Star Luo Empire. People from the other three great empires and countless other powers were also staring fixedly at the Light Screen high above.
Before you continue