Establishing the Great Ming, Making Linhai the Capital! Founding the Elder Hall, with the Third Offering, Golden Dragon Douluo, and Silver Crow!

A few days later, outside Linhai City.

A procession of carriages rolled slowly out through the city gates, heading toward Star Luo City.

Inside one carriage, Dai Weisi looked haggard, his eyes vacant. The spirited confidence he once had was long gone.

Zhu Zhuyun huddled in a corner, her expression dazed.

Clearly, her time in captivity had left an indelible psychological scar on the pampered young lady.

In another carriage, Duke Nether, Zhu Zihao, sat with his brows tightly furrowed.

He gazed through the window at the Great Sun Prince Mansion's Soul Masters bustling by the city gates, his heart a jumble of emotions.

They were free.

But the price had been half the Star Luo Empire.

With the treaty signed, the Great Sun Prince Mansion's finely tuned war machine began running at full speed.

"Pass down the order: the First Legion will take up positions in Eastsea City, and the Second Legion will take over Wind Breath Province..."

(As for the place names, I couldn't find much information, so I came up with them myself. Feel free to correct me if they're wrong.)

Xu Zhao stood before the enormous sand table, issuing orders in an orderly manner.

The several thousand Soul Masters who had arrived on Douluo Continent alongside the Great Sun Prince Mansion spread out like beans turning into soldiers, rapidly infiltrating the several southern provinces that had just been ceded to them.

Every one of these Soul Masters had undergone rigorous training. They were not only powerful, but also knew how to govern a region.

Xu Zhao knew all too well that conquering a realm was easy, but holding it was hard.

To truly rule this land, military force alone would not suffice. Winning the people's hearts had to come first.

And so, a grand campaign called "Rewards and Punishments in Equal Measure" unfolded across the southern provinces.

"Have you heard?

The Great Sun Prince Mansion has posted a notice: any commoner who pledges allegiance will be exempt from taxes for three years!"

"Really?

The taxes over in Star Luo are awfully high!"

"That's not all. They also say that if anyone in your family is a Soul Master willing to join the Great Sun Prince Mansion's Security Squad, they can earn ten Gold Soul Coins a month!

And if they perform well, they'll even receive cultivation resources from the Great Sun Prince Mansion!"

"Good heavens!

Ten Gold Soul Coins?

That's several years' worth of expenses for my whole family!"

Lured by such enormous benefits, the commoners who had once feared and resisted the Great Sun Prince Mansion began to change their minds.

After all, to ordinary people at the bottom of society, who sat on the throne didn't matter. What mattered was who could give them a better life.

As for those who tried to resist, Xu Zhao showed no mercy.

One day, several small local Soul Master clans banded together and tried to ambush a Great Sun Prince Mansion supply convoy.

The result came just one hour later.

The clans' strongholds had been razed to the ground, and every Soul Master involved in the attack had their Soul Power crippled and was hung at the city gates for all to see.

That night, the stench of blood hung over the entire street.

The Great Sun Prince Mansion used ruthless force to make its message clear to everyone:

Those who sided with us would prosper; those who opposed us would perish!

Under this carrot-and-stick approach, the situation across the southern provinces stabilized at an astonishing pace.

In the southern part of the Star Luo Empire, deep in mist-shrouded mountains.

There stood an ancient and mysterious sect—the Star Crown Sect.

Though the Star Crown Sect was an isolated sect within the Star Luo Empire and little known to the world, its strength was not to be underestimated.

Its hereditary Martial Soul, the Star Crown, was a top-tier support-type Martial Soul, and in some ways it was even comparable to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.

Yet now, a pall of gloom hung over the Star Crown Sect's main hall.

"Sect Master, the Great Sun Prince Mansion's envoy is at the foot of the mountain. He says... he says the entire sect must pledge allegiance, or else..."

An elder reported, his face pale.

Xu Jiawei, the Star Crown Sect's Sect Master, sat in the main seat, gripping the Scepter in his hand until his knuckles turned white.

"Or else what?"

"Or else... they'll flatten the Star Crown Sect and leave not a soul alive!"

"How outrageous!"

A hot-tempered elder shot to his feet and slammed the table.

"The Star Crown Sect has been passed down for a thousand years. How could we bow to some foreign power?

We might as well fight them to the death!"

"Fight?

With what?"

Xu Jiawei gave a bitter smile and swept his gaze across those present.

"Even the Star Luo Imperial Family ceded territory to make peace, and even Duke Nether was captured...

Our Star Crown Sect may have some foundations, but how do we compare to the Imperial Family?

And how do we compare to the Great Sun Prince Mansion, with its Titled Douluo wielding a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring?"

The hall fell into utter silence.

Indeed.

If even a nation had bowed its head, what could a single sect do to change the tide?

Xu Jiawei closed his eyes and sighed deeply, seeming to age ten years in an instant.

"Enough... enough..."

"For the sake of the sect's legacy, and for the lives of these hundreds of disciples..."

"Open the gates and welcome... the Great Sun Prince Mansion's envoy."

On this day, one of the Star Luo Empire's last trump cards, the hidden Star Crown Sect, announced that the entire sect would pledge allegiance to the Great Sun Prince Mansion.

The news spread, and the world was shaken.

At that moment, the Great Sun Prince Mansion's influence reached its peak.

Linhai City, the former City Lord's Council Hall.

It had now been renamed the "Great Sun Palace."

In the center of the hall, a huge parchment map was spread across a table.

It showed in detail the half of the Star Luo Empire's territory that had just been ceded.

A vivid red cinnabar line enclosed the vast lands south of Star Luo City, bringing them all within the Great Sun Prince Mansion's domain.

Great Sun King Xu Yu sat in the main seat, with the dignified and elegant Princess Consort Kong Yan beside him.

On either side below them sat the Great Sun Prince Mansion's core leaders:

Lan Ya, Wei Kurong, Yan Yu, and a host of other Titled Douluos and trusted retainers.

Xu Zhao stood before the map, his finger gliding lightly over the newly acquired territory, his expression calm.

"Zhao'er, we have the territory now, and Star Luo has signed the documents. The matter is settled."

Xu Yu looked at his Qilin Son, his eyes full of pride and satisfaction. Then he spoke in a grave voice:

"Since we're founding a nation here and ruling this land, we can no longer put off deciding on a national name.

We can't keep calling ourselves the 'Great Sun Prince Mansion.' That's a title for subjects.

If we're going to be emperors, we need an imposing name."

"You're right, Your Highness."

Yan Yu spoke up first.

"In my view, we came from the Sun Moon Continent, and our roots are there.

Though we've crossed the sea to come here, we can't sever our bloodline and heritage.

Why not keep our homeland's name and call it the 'Sun Moon Empire'?"

"First, it sounds familiar and reminds us of our roots.

Second, 'Sun Moon' symbolizes the eternity of heaven and earth, and light shining upon all things. It's an imposing name."

Yan Yu's suggestion earned nods of agreement from many present.

After all, everyone in the hall came from the Sun Moon Continent, and they felt a deep attachment to their homeland.

To them, the name "Sun Moon Empire" inspired a natural sense of belonging.

Xu Zhao, however, frowned slightly and shook his head.

"Uncle Yan Yu makes a fair point, but I don't think it's quite right."

Xu Zhao turned around and swept his gaze over everyone, calmly explaining:

"Although we came from the Sun Moon Continent, the land beneath our feet now belongs to Douluo Continent.

We won this territory through blood and steel. This is the foundation of a new realm."

"If we keep the name 'Sun Moon Empire,' it may soothe our longing for home.

But it could also make the people here feel that we're still outsiders, still 'invaders,' which would make it harder to win their allegiance."