Beyond Zhennan Pass, the battle between Ice Dragon Douluo Lin Yi and Spirit Hall's Pope Bibi Dong ended in a draw. Lin Yi forced Spirit Hall's million-strong army to retreat, winning the Heaven Dou Empire a century of peace.
The news spread across the continent, stunning the world.
Lin Yi's name blazed like the midday sun.
In countless hearts, he had become a savior.
After returning to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Lin Yi received unprecedented reverence and respect.
The fifty talented disciples of Talent Hall now looked at him with fanatical adoration instead of awe. The sect's disciples and elders, along with the surviving generals and officials of the Heaven Dou Empire, all submitted to him wholeheartedly.
Yet an even bigger "problem" soon followed.
Ever since Emperor Xue Ye had fallen critically ill, and the crown prince Xue Qinghe—Qian Renxue—had been exposed as a Spirit Hall spy and disappeared, the imperial bloodline of the Heaven Dou Empire had existed in name only.
An empire could not go a single day without a ruler. And now, there seemed to be only one person capable of winning everyone's support and powerful enough to protect this land.
That day, Ning Fengzhi summoned all the core leaders of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, along with several surviving high ministers and military generals of the Heaven Dou Empire, to a meeting in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well Branch Sect's grand hall. It was a gathering that would decide the future.
"Everyone," Ning Fengzhi said solemnly from the seat of honor, sweeping his gaze across those present. "Though Spirit Hall has temporarily withdrawn, its ambitions remain.
"The imperial house of the Heaven Dou Empire has collapsed, leaving the nation without a leader. If this continues, civil strife is inevitable.
"At this