Bone Douluo's words came out with a tremor, but the gravity and solemnity in his voice were unmistakable. He hadn't even tried to keep his voice down, so nearly everyone nearby—including some of the Royal Guard soldiers—heard every word clearly!
The crowd could no longer suppress the agitation and panic churning inside them. Even the usually disciplined Royal Guard soldiers began whispering among themselves, their faces pale and their eyes filled with fear that refused to fade!
They were all rigorously trained warriors, but that didn't mean they were all fearless fanatics willing to die! What difference was there between fighting an army equipped with weapons like these and walking straight to their deaths?
Hadn't Bone Douluo himself ended up in this sorry state? If those weapons really hit them, they wouldn't just be dead in minutes—no, in an instant, they'd be reduced to bones and scattered to the winds!
For most Royal Guard soldiers, wasn't the point of serving in the army to earn some money or gain a chance at promotion through military merit? Only a fool would do something that was no different from throwing their life away!
At that moment, Xue Qinghe and Ning Fengzhi felt not only a shock so profound it had left them numb, but also a deep sense of helplessness. They understood that this test had considered the weapons' use under relatively ideal conditions. Many factors had been left out—starting with the simple fact that powerful Soul Masters had no reason to take these attacks head-on!
With their strength, powerful Soul Masters could dodge and avoid some of the weapons with the greatest destructive power. They could strike first and eliminate their enemies, or simply avoid a head-on confrontation on the battlefield, using the terrain to hide and launch ambushes instead.
But the restrictions imposed on the Soul Guidance Weapon users during this test had been just as severe! From beginning to end, the weapons had fired one after another. They had never been used in a simultaneous barrage by several weapons, let alone dozens, or in coordinated attacks combining different types of Soul Guidance Weapons!
Just imagine it: on a battlefield, tens or even hundreds of thousands of Sun Moon Empire soldiers firing wildly with all kinds of weapons, laying down a dense web of fire! Add to that the curtain of death formed by countless grenades and mortar shells being hurled and launched nonstop! And the moment a Soul Master of level seventy or eighty appeared, more than a dozen rockets would be sent screaming their way, striking up a symphony of death!
Besides, were these weapons really the Sun Moon Empire's full strength? Of course not! The Sun Moon Empire certainly had other weapons, with more complex functions and far more terrifying power, that it hadn't yet revealed!
Take those enormous steel tubes jutting from the bodies of those giant sea monsters, for example! They were clearly weapons with even more terrifying destructive power!
Besides, according to Xu Mochen, many high-ranking Soul Engineers in the Sun Moon Empire even had various custom-made Soul Guidance Weapons of their own! If those were ever brought out, their power would be even harder to imagine.
The Sun Moon Empire must be befriended! We absolutely must not offend them! If possible, we have to get our hands on a batch of these weapons at any cost! Not just to equip ourselves—we must study them and do our best to make copies!
That was the most sincere thought in the minds of all the Heaven Dou Empire's representatives, including Xue Qinghe and Ning Fengzhi. Even someone as proud as Xue Qinghe no longer harbored the slightest thought of having Spirit Hall attack the Sun Moon Empire's delegation! If they truly provoked this mysterious and powerful superpower, Spirit Hall would surely plunge into an abyss of eternal ruin!
Still, this test had shown that although ordinary people could wield Soul Guidance Weapons and gain considerable fighting power, the more powerful weapons still depended on Soul Power. And the greater a weapon's power, the more Soul Power it required!
Perhaps this meant Soul Masters would still hold a clear advantage over ordinary people. However, the irreplaceable strategic importance of high-ranking Soul Masters would be greatly diminished! The age in which a single Titled Douluo could turn the tide of an entire war would likely vanish into history!
But Spirit Hall would not necessarily lose all its advantages just because weapons like these had appeared! After all, the more powerful a Soul Tool was, the stronger the Soul Master required to use it! A low-ranking Soul Master could only use one a couple of times before running out of Soul Power completely. Every one of those final showpiece weapons the Sun Moon Empire had brought out required a Soul Master—and, in some cases, one with a deep reserve of Soul Power—to operate!
And Spirit Hall commanded more Soul Masters than any other power on the continent! So if it could purchase large numbers of these powerful Soul Tools that required Soul Power to use, Spirit Hall's advantage could be restored. It was only the role of its high-ranking Soul Masters that would diminish!
But so what? The high-ranking Soul Masters in Spirit Hall, especially its elders and Platinum Bishops, were all arrogant and unruly! When Grandfather and the other worshippers still involved themselves in Spirit Hall's affairs, they hadn't dared act so brazenly. But once that wicked woman took power and Grandfather and the worshippers stopped interfering, that bunch of turncoats had immediately gone over to her side! They'd fawned over her with all sorts of sickening, shameless declarations of loyalty! Only a pitiful few elders and Platinum Bishops still remembered that they were serving the true masters of Spirit Hall—the descendants of the Angel Clan!
And even after taking control of Spirit Hall, that woman still wasn't satisfied! She acted as if she'd suffered some terrible loss and demanded that I come to the perilous Heaven Dou Empire to serve as a spy, all as a condition of our deal! Stranger still, Grandfather actually agreed! Fine. You want to push me out of Spirit Hall? I don't care. But I'll make a name for myself and prove that I'm better than you!
Xu Mochen first apologized repeatedly to Bone Douluo, putting on an "anxious and uneasy" expression. Only after Bone Douluo, his face flushed dark red, said he was unharmed did Xu Mochen gradually "regain his composure." He then apologized to Xue Qinghe and Ning Fengzhi. "I'm sorry. My subordinates acted without thinking and injured Your Excellency Bone Douluo. We can offer financial compensation, and afterward I'll make sure to punish them properly. I hope this incident won't affect the friendship between our countries."
Xue Qinghe and Ning Fengzhi could only look awkward as they listened, secretly grumbling: Are you sure you're apologizing and not showing off? With the strength your country has just displayed, do you think we'd dare ask you for compensation?
Though they were complaining inwardly, Xue Qinghe forced a friendly smile and said, "Xiao Chen, don't blame yourself. We agreed to this test, along with Your Excellency Bone Douluo. The greatest responsibility still lies with us."
"To demonstrate our goodwill, our country is willing to establish diplomatic relations with the Sun Moon Empire and enter into a series of commercial trade agreements with your country! But what terms do you have in mind? After all, our lands are far apart, and given the current state of maritime travel on Douluo Continent, it would be difficult for us to cross the ocean and reach your country."
Xu Mochen's eyes lit up at those words. The fish had taken the bait! He immediately replied with a friendly expression, "That's excellent! Don't worry, our demands aren't high, and we've considered the problems you mentioned. First, our countries are willing to station ambassadors in each other's territories and establish embassies and consulates, making it easier for our officials to communicate and ensuring that our people's lawful rights are protected in each other's countries."
"Second, we're willing to cooperate and exchange ideas with your country in other areas as well—for example, academic exchanges, student exchange visits, currency circulation, commercial trade, state visits, customs duties and inspections, and the review and issuance of visas and passports."
"Third, your country's technological limitations make it difficult for you to travel to ours, but that's no problem. We can lease a barren stretch of coastline in your country and establish a Concession there. We'll build a port where our ships can dock, and your people will be able to travel to our country aboard our vessels."
Xue Qinghe, Ning Fengzhi, and the others were left utterly baffled by Xu Mochen's speech. Ning Fengzhi stepped forward with an embarrassed expression and asked, "Sorry, Xiao Chen. We don't know much about the culture of your Sun Moon Empire, and there are a few terms you used that we don't understand. What exactly are an embassy, a consulate, a visa, a passport, and a Concession?"
"Ah... I'm sorry. I forgot to explain," Xu Mochen said, his face creasing. "An embassy is, broadly speaking, a country's permanent diplomatic mission in the capital of a country with which it has established diplomatic relations. It handles communication and negotiations between the two countries, both official and civilian, protects the lawful rights of its citizens and legal entities abroad, issues or renews passports for its citizens, and issues visas to foreign nationals."
"A consulate can be established in any town or city in the other country, and is responsible only for the country's local expatriates in its jurisdiction and other consular affairs. An embassy is usually under the direct authority of its own country, while a consulate is generally under the joint authority of the diplomatic department and the embassy in the host country."
"As for visas and passports, a passport is a legal document issued by a country to prove a citizen's nationality and identity when leaving their country or traveling or residing abroad. A visa is a permit issued by a government agency, in accordance with its own laws, to foreign nationals applying to enter, leave, or pass through the country."
"A Concession is a foreign settlement established on one country's territory for another country, granting it administrative autonomy and extraterritorial jurisdiction under an agreement or charter between the two countries."
At that point, Xue Qinghe, Ning Fengzhi, and the others had a general understanding of these things. In fact, Douluo Continent had no permanent diplomatic missions or personnel stationed in other countries. Diplomatic officials were sent back and forth between countries on a temporary basis, without remaining there long-term. Each country merely maintained Reception Halls to accommodate foreign diplomats.
People traveling between the countries on Douluo Continent relied on "border passes" issued by their own governments. These passes combined the functions of passports and visas and were rather crude in design. After receiving one from their government, travelers had to present it at the other country's customs office, where an official would stamp it before they could enter.
This system had caused many serious difficulties, such as verifying the authenticity of foreign documents and the inability of different countries to reach agreement on diplomatic matters. The Sun Moon Empire's diplomatic system seemed like it could solve most of the problems they were currently facing. Perhaps it was worth adopting.
But when Xue Qinghe and Ning Fengzhi heard Xu Mochen explain the Concession, their expressions immediately darkened. Why did it sound so much like another way of ceding territory?
If they allowed the Sun Moon Empire to implement this policy on Heaven Dou Empire's territory, then although sovereignty over the Concession would technically remain with Heaven Dou Empire, actual control would fall entirely into the Sun Moon Empire's hands! Heaven Dou Empire wouldn't be able to interfere with whatever the Sun Moon Empire chose to do there. What if the Sun Moon Empire really had ambitions and used the area as a base to invade Heaven Dou Empire?
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