The Sun Moon Empire's Natural Advantage

"Clap, clap, clap..." Seeing this, Xu Mochen stopped playing the fool. He chuckled and began to applaud. "His Highness the Crown Prince is truly sharp-eyed. That is correct; I am indeed a prince of the Sun Moon Empire. As for which prince, it is not worth mentioning. I have come here specifically in the hope of exploring the civilization of this new continent, establishing diplomatic relations with other nations, and fostering mutual exchange. The reason I concealed my identity earlier was due to certain circumstances; I hope Your Highness will forgive me."

Following this, Xu Mochen introduced the two people beside him. When Xue Qinghe and the others learned that the old man beside Xu Mochen was actually a rank-93 Titled Douluo, their expressions tightened slightly.

"Xue Qinghe was unaware of your esteemed identity and has been negligent. I hope Your Excellency will forgive me." Upon hearing this, Xue Qinghe immediately bowed slightly to Mo Wuying to express his apologies, while Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong continued to nod quietly in greeting. Although Mo Wuying disliked such diplomatic occasions, he still nodded in return.

However, Xu Mochen had been scrutinizing Xue Qinghe from the very beginning, making the latter feel a sense of unease, as if his secrets had been laid bare by Xu Mochen's gaze.

Could he have seen through something? Impossible! Absolutely impossible! My disguise can only be seen through by a god-level powerhouse. How could a young prince who just arrived on the Douluo Continent discover anything?

Although Xue Qinghe felt that something was wrong in his subconscious, he thought it over and realized he hadn't revealed any flaws, so he could only comfort himself by thinking he was perhaps just too nervous.

Fortunately, Xu Mochen's gaze did not linger for long. After confirming something, his eyes shifted to Ning Fengzhi, who was standing beside Xue Qinghe.

He bowed slightly, his face full of admiration. "You must be Ning Fengzhi, the Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. I have heard many call you the number one support-type soul master in the world, possessing the top-tier support-type martial soul, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. I have also heard that the Clear Sky Sect, formerly the number one sect of your continent, was severely damaged and went into seclusion six years ago. Under these circumstances, I fear the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect can already be considered the number one sect in the world in all but name."

"Seeing Sect Master Ning's extraordinary bearing, your cultivation must be profound. With such a powerful Titled Douluo guarding your side, I suspect that if the two of you were to join forces, you would be no less formidable than two Titled Douluos, right?"

"Your Highness is too kind. How could I deserve such praise? These are merely exaggerated rumors from outsiders and should not be taken seriously." Ning Fengzhi shook his head modestly, then nodded slightly. "We heard that there were other nations across the seas to the west of the Heaven Dou Empire, so out of curiosity, we came to pay a visit. It can be considered basking in the glory of the Heaven Dou Imperial family. We also wish to express our desire for friendship with visitors from afar. If there has been any offense, please do not hesitate to point it out."

Xu Mochen inwardly sneered at these words: This old fox, his cunning seems even deeper than in the original story. Even as the Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, he kept his posture very low. Furthermore, the elegant and noble air he exuded from time to time, combined with his polite words and actions, would make anyone unconsciously lower their guard and feel a sense of trust in him.

After a few more pleasantries, the group followed Xue Qinghe into the City Lord's Mansion and entered the dining hall. It must be said that while the dining hall of the Linghai City Lord's Mansion could not be called luxurious, it certainly gave off a sense of nobility. In the center of the hall stood a long table, neatly arranged with exquisite tableware and decorations.

As the Crown Prince, Xue Qinghe naturally sat at the head of the long table, while the Sun Moon Empire delegation led by Xu Mochen and the Heaven Dou Empire delegation led by Ning Fengzhi sat on Xue Qinghe's left and right, respectively. Naturally, Xu Mochen and Ning Fengzhi sat in the positions closest to him.

As the banquet began, groups of attendants brought in one delicious dish after another. The group began to enjoy the food in silence while musicians played melodious tunes. During this time, Xue Qinghe, Xu Mochen, and the others frequently toasted each other, and the atmosphere between the two sides appeared peaceful and harmonious.

Throughout this, Xu Mochen continued to quietly evaluate everything before him. Based on the skills he had learned from Cang Ming, combined with his martial soul's inherent sensitivity to energy, it was clear that this Heaven Dou Crown Prince, Xue Qinghe, possessed true divinity, just like him!

This divinity was different from the Purple Imperial Chaos Dragon King's power, which breathed in the heavens and earth and encompassed all things; it gave off a feeling of gentleness, nobility, and spiritual purification. Combined with his knowledge of the original story, this "His Highness Xue Qinghe" was most likely the young mistress of Martial Soul Hall, Qian Renxue, the possessor of the Angel martial soul!

Although Xu Mochen did not intend to expose her identity for the time being, that did not mean he would give up such a good piece of leverage. If he could maximize the use of this information, it would definitely give the Sun Moon Empire the initiative in their power struggle.

Furthermore, through his senses, Xu Mochen discovered that besides Mo Wuying, Gu Rong, and Yan Gang, there was actually another hidden Titled Douluo present! This Titled Douluo had been hiding in the shadows, seemingly monitoring Xue Qinghe and his own party the entire time!

Moreover, this expert seemed to be a rank-96 powerhouse just like Mo Wuying, and was equally proficient in the art of concealing one's presence. If he hadn't been extremely sensitive to energy, it would have been impossible to detect this powerful existence! As for whether this person belonged to the Heaven Dou Imperial family or was a sleeper agent from Martial Soul Hall, he had no way of knowing.

However, this did not prevent Xu Mochen from building a rapport with Xue Qinghe and Ning Fengzhi. In fact, both Xue Qinghe and Ning Fengzhi were very interested in the overseas Sun Moon Continent and the Sun Moon Empire. Xu Mochen, naturally, also wanted to extract other useful information from them, so the three of them began a pleasant conversation with a tacit understanding.

"Your Highness keeps calling me 'Crown Prince,' which feels a bit distant. Qinghe is a few years older than you; if you don't mind, you can just call me Brother Xue."

Xue Qinghe was particularly fond of building connections, and Ning Fengzhi, standing nearby, was no different. He immediately interjected gently, "Then I shall be bold as well. Your Highness need not keep calling me 'Sect Master Ning.' Calling me Uncle Ning would be much more intimate."

Upon hearing this, Xu Mochen immediately went with the flow. "Then I won't stand on ceremony. Brother Xue, Uncle Ning, you can just call me Xiao Chen."

For a moment, the atmosphere was superficially harmonious; those who didn't know better would have truly thought they were just chatting about family matters.

Xue Qinghe then probed, "I heard that Xiao Chen comes from the Sun Moon Empire. We are very curious about the Sun Moon Empire and the Sun Moon Continent. To be able to produce a smart and steady child like Xiao Chen, the Sun Moon Continent must be a land of great fortune, right? And since the Sun Moon Empire is named after the continent itself, it must be the most powerful nation on the Sun Moon Continent!"

Xu Mochen waved his hands repeatedly. "You flatter me, Brother Xue. Our Sun Moon Continent and the Sun Moon Empire's territory cannot compare to the Douluo Continent. It is only about 8.6 million square kilometers, with a population of only about 160 million. Moreover, our Sun Moon Empire is the only country on the entire continent, so naturally, it became the most powerful one!"

In truth, Xu Mochen was sneering inwardly. These facts were common knowledge anyway; even if he didn't tell Xue Qinghe now, as the exchanges between the Sun Moon Empire and the Douluo Continent deepened in the future, it would be easy for Xue Qinghe to obtain this information. It was better to just tell her openly.

"The only country! So that means the Sun Moon Continent is ruled by a single empire!" Xue Qinghe and Ning Fengzhi were suddenly a little unsettled!

The two of them did not think Xu Mochen was lying to them. After all, if the two continents were to have in-depth exchanges in the future, this information could not be hidden. However, the existence of an empire isolated overseas that had unified an entire continent was by no means good news for the Heaven Dou Empire (or for Martial Soul Hall)!

What did this mean? The Sun Moon Empire was isolated overseas, and combined with the superficial information they had gathered about the massive fleet the Sun Moon Empire had docked at Linghai Port, it was not hard to see that the Sun Moon Empire's naval strength was far superior to that of the current Douluo Continent!

At the very least, after the Heaven Dou Empire's high-ranking officials heard the descriptions of those strange, giant warships, let alone copying them, they were completely baffled by their most basic manufacturing methods and principles! But one thing was certain: the nations of the Douluo Continent could not build such warships under any circumstances!

Moreover, the Sun Moon Continent had already found the Douluo Continent! Yet the Douluo Continent only knew that the Sun Moon Continent was located far to the west, with no other information about its location. Even if they knew, given the primitive long-range navigation and naval combat capabilities of most of the Douluo Continent's nations, they probably couldn't pose any threat to the Sun Moon Empire even if they joined forces!

The only way to keep the Sun Moon Empire in check would be to use other nations nearby to create conflict! But now they learned that the Sun Moon Continent only had one country!

This meant not only that the nations of the Douluo Continent had no way to threaten the other's safety, but that the Sun Moon Empire could focus all its efforts on how to maneuver within the Douluo Continent! Relying on the vast ocean as a natural barrier and their invincible naval fleet, the Sun Moon Empire could launch attacks on any coastal city of the Douluo Continent.

Even in the worst-case scenario, if they couldn't win, they could immediately retreat to the Sun Moon Continent to develop further before returning for revenge! The Douluo Continent, however, would have no way to stop them and could only watch helplessly while being attacked!

Fortunately, according to Xu Mochen, the Sun Moon Continent was only one-third the size of the Douluo Continent, with only one-tenth of the population. Furthermore, Xu Mochen and his group had not shown any aggressive intent from the beginning (though this didn't rule out that it was an act, and they simply hadn't launched a war rashly because they didn't understand the Douluo Continent yet). Otherwise, Xue Qinghe and Ning Fengzhi would have likely already invited all parties of the Douluo Continent to join forces against this powerful foreign nation.

Although that was what they were thinking, Xue Qinghe maintained a warm, spring-like smile on the surface. "It seems Xiao Chen's homeland is truly an amazing country! It's just a pity I couldn't visit it personally. If I have the chance in the future, I will definitely go and visit."

Ning Fengzhi, standing nearby, also smiled and chimed in, "Uncle Ning is also very interested in Xiao Chen's homeland. If there is an opportunity to visit, Xiao Chen, you must not refuse."

Xu Mochen naturally agreed repeatedly on the surface, saying happily, "Our Sun Moon Empire naturally welcomes guests from afar! If I want to visit Heaven Dou City and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect next time, Brother Xue and Uncle Ning won't refuse, will you?" Xue Qinghe and Ning Fengzhi laughed and immediately expressed their welcome, and the atmosphere instantly became even more harmonious.