The True Terror of High-Tier Soul Masters

"However, based on what I currently know, the Heaven Dou Empire possesses over 8.4 million square kilometers of land and a population of more than 600 million. In terms of territory, your Heaven Dou Empire is not much smaller than ours, and in terms of population, you far exceed us. The Heaven Dou Empire is truly worthy of being the greatest empire on the Douluo Continent!"

"You must also have a formidable military! I fear it holds a clear advantage even when compared to the Star Luo Empire, the second-largest power in the south by area and population. If one also considers that the Heaven Dou Empire royal family currently enjoys the support of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, then the strength of the Heaven Dou Empire is likely far superior to that of the Star Luo Empire."

Xu Mochen offered a slight compliment to the Heaven Dou Empire, yet these words did not cause Xue Qinghe or Ning Fengzhi to become complacent.

Xue Qinghe gave a bitter smile and said, "Brother Chen, your words are too kind; they truly make us feel ashamed. To be honest, although our Heaven Dou Empire has a vast territory and a larger population than the Star Luo Empire, and we possess an army of two million along with the steadfast support of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, in terms of actual military strength, we have suffered more defeats than victories in our conflicts with the Star Luo Empire, and we have lost quite a bit of territory."

"It was only during the war sixty years ago, when our Heaven Dou Empire was at its peak with the help of favorable circumstances, while the Star Luo Empire was mired in internal strife, that we managed to recover some territory by sheer luck. However, as the Star Luo Empire has gradually regained its vitality, the balance of power between our two empires has likely reversed once again."

"Do not be deceived by the fact that the Star Luo Empire has a land area of over 5.6 million square kilometers, a population of over 500 million, and an army of 1.8 million. On paper, they may seem inferior to our Heaven Dou Empire, but because the successive emperors of the Star Luo Empire have been cruel and tyrannical, extracting exorbitant taxes and levies, they have used their own formidable strength to suppress all resistance with brutal, bloody means!"

"Furthermore, the entire population of the Star Luo Empire is martial and inherently aggressive, and their ability to mobilize for war is incomparable to that of our Heaven Dou Empire. By contrast, the people of our Heaven Dou Empire are peace-loving by nature; we are not fond of war, yet we do not fear it. Coupled with the more lenient and enlightened policies of our empire, we have only been able to suffer the hardships of being invaded by strong enemies."

Xue Qinghe's words seemed sincere, perhaps even bordering on playing the victim, but in reality, his schemes were profound. It was clear he wanted to divert the disaster of the Sun Moon Empire toward the south!

It was obvious that Xue Qinghe understood perfectly well that just as the Heaven Dou Empire did not wish for the Sun Moon Continent to be united under one nation, the Sun Moon Empire certainly did not want the Douluo Continent to be unified by a single power! To prevent this, the Sun Moon Empire would inevitably "uproot the strong to support the weak"! By pointing out the strength of the Star Luo Empire now, he could naturally lead the Sun Moon Empire to focus its efforts on dealing with them.

Of course, Xu Mochen was not so easily deceived, though on the surface, he appeared filled with righteous indignation: "Is that so? Brother Xue! It seems this Star Luo Empire is truly detestable! Since they are so fond of aggression! Rest assured! Although our Sun Moon Empire has no desire to invade others, we cannot simply stand by and watch you be bullied by an evil nation!"

"It is only a pity that isolationism is prevalent in our country! Many of our citizens are firmly opposed to rashly intervening in the affairs of the Douluo Continent, so we cannot send troops to assist you; there is nothing I can do about that. However, please rest assured! If there is any other way you need help, this humble one will certainly do his utmost to assist."

Upon hearing this, Xue Qinghe and Ning Fengzhi exchanged a knowing smile. Xue Qinghe then quickly added, "Then we thank Brother Chen in advance. However, since you are my brother, we cannot take your things for nothing. We can trade other goods from the Heaven Dou Empire with your side. If you don't mind, I would like to know what kind of novel items the Sun Moon Empire currently has available for trade."

Hearing this, Xu Mochen understood that the other party wanted to probe the depth of the Sun Moon Empire's foundation, which suited his intentions perfectly. He immediately put on a warm and enthusiastic face and said, "That would be wonderful! Although our Sun Moon Empire cannot compare to your Douluo Continent in the overall cultivation and quality of soul masters and martial souls, we are adept at researching and manufacturing various Soul Tools. In terms of Soul Tools, I guarantee I will not let Brother Xue and Uncle Ning down."

"Our Soul Tools include civilian and military versions, mass-produced standard models and custom-made pieces, and they are used in every industry and field. I just don't know which aspect of Soul Tools you are interested in?" Seeing the fish take the bait, Xu Mochen naturally did not hold back.

Upon hearing these words, the eyes of Xue Qinghe and Ning Fengzhi lit up. Soul Tools had existed on the Douluo Continent in the past, but with the continuous perfection of the martial soul cultivation system and the deliberate destruction by certain interest groups, not only had the manufacturing methods been almost entirely lost, but the surviving Soul Tools were mostly storage devices for carrying items; soul-powered weapons were extremely rare.

Since, according to the information they had gathered, the people of the Sun Moon Empire were inferior to the Douluo Continent in terms of martial souls, overall soul master quality, and the number of powerful experts, they must have researched powerful soul-powered technological products to compensate for their innate deficiencies.

If they could take this opportunity to understand the level of the Sun Moon Empire's Soul Tools, they could naturally make a preliminary estimate of the Sun Moon Empire's general military strength and its comprehensive national power in other areas.

Ning Fengzhi immediately said, "We are quite interested in your country's military Soul Tools. I wonder if Brother Chen could introduce them to us?"

Xu Mochen did not decline and instead warmly invited them: "As the saying goes, hearing a hundred times is not as good as seeing once. If Brother Xue and Uncle Ning are truly interested in our nation's soul-powered weapons, why not accompany me to Linghai Port? Our troops and ready-made weapons are there. If conditions permit, we can demonstrate our various soul-powered weapons to you in detail."

Xue Qinghe and Ning Fengzhi pondered for a moment. Although they were currently unsure of the Sun Moon Empire's exact purpose, this visit was definitely not intended to start a war with the Heaven Dou Empire immediately. Moreover, with the Sun Moon Empire's prince accompanying them at all times, there should be no safety concerns, so they ultimately agreed.

After the banquet, the group took a carriage and returned to Linghai Port. Once they arrived at the docks, Xu Mochen immediately signaled for the three thousand-plus Marine Corps members to disembark and form ranks! Then, with ships transporting them back and forth, in less than twenty minutes, the three thousand-plus Sun Moon Empire Marine Corps members, led by their officers, stood in neat formation and reported their numbers in sequence!

Throughout the process, all the soldiers moved swiftly with precise coordination. There were no wasted movements, no unnecessary chatter; their backs were straight, their actions uniform, their expressions solemn and grave, and they obeyed orders without the slightest hesitation or delay!

"Elite! This is absolutely an elite force of the Sun Moon Empire!" Seeing this, the expressions of Xue Qinghe, Ning Fengzhi, and the others grew heavy. Such terrifying discipline and coordination would be difficult for even the Heaven Dou Royal Guard to achieve, and they wondered how the Sun Moon Empire had trained them.

Subsequently, an elderly man wearing a white naval major general's uniform stepped forward and reported in a resonant voice: "Lan Gan, Commander-in-Chief of the Yan Yang Fleet Marine Corps, reports to His Highness the Prince! The Yan Yang Fleet Marine Corps has an expected strength of 3,124 men! 3,124 men are present! Please provide instructions!"

Xu Mochen naturally cooperated immediately: "Fall in!"

"Yes!" Lan Gan responded and returned to his formation! The entire movement was as smooth as flowing water! The powerful aura he exuded gave one an ultimate visual experience!

"Your Highness, is the commander of this so-called 'Marine Corps' a Soul Douluo-level expert?" At this moment, Bone Douluo Gu Rong, who had been silent on the side, seemed to have sensed something and asked urgently. Xue Qinghe and Ning Fengzhi were even more shocked upon hearing this!

They were not shocked that there was a Soul Douluo among these people, but rather that the Sun Moon Empire could train a Soul Douluo-level expert to act just like an ordinary soldier, with uniform movements and perfect military coordination!

One had to know that a Soul Douluo-level expert was considered a major power even on the Douluo Continent, where hidden dragons and crouching tigers abounded! Experts of this level would have their own pride, more or less! It was almost impossible for them to be willing to train alongside ordinary soldiers to achieve such coordination!

Such strict and standardized movements! Yet the Sun Moon Empire had managed to do it! Of course, Xu Mochen's next words made the expressions of Xue Qinghe and Ning Fengzhi even gloomier.

"In truth, this is only because the martial souls of the people in the Sun Moon Empire are generally not very strong. Many experts rely on medicinal aids to achieve a certain level of cultivation, but even so, the strength of our Sun Moon Empire's level 70 or 80 soul masters is generally inferior to experts of the same level on the Douluo Continent. However, our ordinary people can also use some soul-powered weapons."

"Although one or two of them pose no threat to these experts, if the numbers reach a certain point, even level 70 or 80 experts would likely have to flee in a panic or perish in regret. This is why high-level soul masters in the Sun Moon Empire have never been able to completely tower over ordinary people."

"Of course, if these level 70 or 80 experts were equipped with powerful custom soul-powered weapons, the situation would be much better. Although in a one-on-one arena match, the vast majority of soldiers holding soul-powered weapons would still be no match for soul masters of the same level on the Douluo Continent, if they are placed on a battlefield and coordinated with an army, the role they play is absolutely incomparable to conventional soul masters of the same level."

"However, the generally inferior martial souls of soul masters are not entirely a bad thing for the Sun Moon Empire. At the very least, it greatly limits the gap between high-level soul masters and ordinary people or low-level soul masters. Coupled with the rapid progress of soul-powered technology, our ordinary people and low-level soul masters are not left without the ability to defend themselves when facing high-level soul masters."

Xu Mochen then changed the subject: "Actually, I believe the Douluo Continent must often encounter troubles caused by evil high-level soul masters. While the existence of high-level soul masters certainly makes the Douluo Continent powerful, once these soul masters cause trouble in a city, the damage to public order will be immense!"

"If it is a super-city with tight defenses and numerous experts like Heaven Dou City or Star Luo City, it is still fine. After all, even a Titled Douluo-level expert would likely not dare to cause trouble in such a city, and even if they did, they would soon be suppressed by the experts who arrive. But what about other small and medium-sized cities?"

"If one or two, or even several, Soul Saint or Soul Douluo-level experts were to launch a frenzy of looting, destruction, and slaughter in a small town in the Heaven Dou Empire, may I ask if the armed forces of these small cities have the ability to stop them?"

"According to what I have learned, the vast majority of small and medium-sized towns in the Heaven Dou Empire do not have the Royal Guard stationed nearby. This means that in most cases, when facing an enemy, these cities can only rely on the small number of city defense troops they have recruited themselves."

"Although there are 1.2 million city defense troops among the Heaven Dou Empire's two-million-strong army, most of these troops are deployed at the borders and in key towns around the imperial capital. Beyond that, the number of city defense troops in most medium-sized towns is only two or three thousand, and for the vast majority of small towns, the number is only seven or eight hundred. Moreover, the number of soul masters among them is pitifully small, and their quality is even less worth mentioning."