The Art of Diplomacy

Bone Douluo spoke these words with a slight tremor, yet the solemnity and gravity in his tone were exceptionally clear. Furthermore, as he made no effort to mask his voice, the vast majority of those nearby—including a portion of the surrounding Royal Guard soldiers—heard him perfectly!

At this moment, the crowd could no longer suppress the restlessness and panic in their hearts. Even the usually well-trained soldiers of the Royal Guard began to whisper among themselves, their faces turning pale, their eyes revealing a fear that refused to dissipate!

Although they were all strictly trained warriors, that did not mean they were all suicidal fanatics! What was the difference between fighting an army equipped with such weapons and seeking one's own death?

Had they not seen even Bone Douluo reduced to such a wretched state? If these weapons were truly turned upon them, they feared that in a matter of minutes—no, in an instant—they would be reduced to nothing, their bodies and bones obliterated into dust!

For the vast majority of the Royal Guard soldiers, did they not enlist to earn some money or trade merit for a chance at promotion? Only a fool would do something that was clearly no different from throwing their lives away!

Meanwhile, in the depths of Xue Qinghe and Ning Fengzhi's hearts, beyond the numbness of total shock, there was a profound sense of powerlessness. Although they understood clearly that this test was conducted under ideal conditions for these weapons, many factors had been overlooked—for instance, the simple fact that powerful Soul Masters had no need to take such attacks head-on!

With the strength of a powerful Soul Master, one could choose to dodge, preventing the most powerful weapons from hitting them. Or they could strike first to gain the upper hand and eliminate the enemy! Or, they could simply avoid direct confrontation on the battlefield, instead utilizing complex terrain to hide and launch ambushes!

Yet, the restrictions placed on the users of these Soul Guidance Weapons during the test were equally significant! From start to finish, the attacks had been one after another, never employing a scenario where dozens of weapons fired simultaneously, or where various types of Soul Guidance Weapons were used in coordinated, massed attacks!

Imagine, on the battlefield, tens or hundreds of thousands of Sun Moon Empire soldiers firing wildly with various weapons, weaving a dense net of firepower! Add to that the curtain of death formed by the constant barrage of grenades and mortar shells! Even if a level 70 or 80 Soul Master appeared, a dozen rockets would immediately be sent their way, playing a symphony of death!

And were these weapons truly the full extent of the Sun Moon Empire's foundation? Of course not! The Sun Moon Empire surely possessed other types of weapons with even more complex functions and terrifying power that had yet to be displayed!

For example, those giant steel tubes extending from the massive sea monsters—it was obvious they were a weapon of even more terrifying power!

Furthermore, according to Xu Mochen, many high-level Soul Engineers in the Sun Moon Empire even possessed their own customized Soul Guidance equipment! Once revealed, the power would likely be even more unimaginable.

This Sun Moon Empire! We must befriend them! We must never offend them! If possible, we must obtain a batch of these weapons at any cost! Not just for the equipment, but to study them! We must strive to replicate them!

These were the most genuine thoughts currently held by the representatives of the Heaven Dou Empire, including Xue Qinghe and Ning Fengzhi! Even as arrogant as Xue Qinghe was, there was no longer a shred of desire in his heart to have Martial Soul Hall attack the Sun Moon Empire delegation! Otherwise, if they truly provoked this mysterious and powerful super-nation, it would surely plunge Martial Soul Hall into an abyss from which there was no return!

However, judging by this test, while ordinary people could indeed possess formidable combat power using Soul Guidance Weapons, the most powerful ones still required Soul Power. Moreover, the greater the power of the Soul Guidance Weapon, the higher the demand for Soul Power!

Perhaps this meant that Soul Masters would still hold a clear advantage over ordinary people, but the irreplaceable strategic status of high-level Soul Masters would be significantly weakened! The days when a single Titled Douluo could turn the tide of a war would likely vanish from the stage of history!

But at this moment, Martial Soul Hall would not necessarily lose all its advantages due to the emergence of such weapons! After all, the more powerful the Soul Tool, the more it required a powerful Soul Master to operate! Otherwise, a low-level Soul Master could only use it once or twice before exhausting their entire reserve of Soul Power! Take those final, ultimate weapons the Sun Moon Empire showcased—which one didn't require a Soul Master, or even one with deep Soul Power, to drive it?

Martial Soul Hall possessed the largest number of Soul Masters on the entire continent! Therefore, if Martial Soul Hall could purchase a large quantity of these powerful Soul Tools that required Soul Power, their advantage would be re-established! It was just that the role of those high-level Soul Masters in Martial Soul Hall would be diminished.

But so what? Within Martial Soul Hall, especially those Elders and Platinum Bishops! They were all unruly and arrogant! In the past, when Grandfather and the various Consecrated Elders still oversaw Martial Soul Hall affairs, they didn't dare be this insolent. But after that wicked woman took power and Grandfather and the Consecrated Elders stopped interfering, these fence-sitters immediately leaned toward her! They spoke all sorts of nauseating, unbearable words to express their loyalty to that woman! Only a pitifully small number of Elders and Platinum Bishops still remembered who the true masters of Martial Soul Hall were: the descendants of the Angel Clan!

That woman wasn't even satisfied with seizing power! She acted as if she had suffered a great loss, demanding that I come to this dangerous Heaven Dou Empire imperial family to act as an undercover agent as a condition! Even stranger, Grandfather actually agreed! Fine, you want to exile me from Martial Soul Hall, that's fine, but I will definitely achieve something! I will prove that I am better than you!

As for Xu Mochen, he first apologized to Bone Douluo repeatedly, appearing "anxious and uneasy." Then, after Bone Douluo—whose face had turned the color of liver—indicated he was unharmed, Xu Mochen gradually "recovered his composure" and apologized to Xue Qinghe and Ning Fengzhi: "I am sorry, my subordinates were ignorant just now and injured His Excellency Bone Douluo. We can provide some monetary compensation for this, and I will certainly punish my subordinates afterward! I also hope this incident will not affect the friendship between our two nations."

These words left Xue Qinghe and Ning Fengzhi feeling incredibly awkward, secretly grumbling to themselves: Are you sure you're apologizing and not showing off? With the strength your country has just displayed, do we even dare ask for compensation?

Despite their internal complaints, Xue Qinghe forced a friendly smile on the surface and said: "Little Chen, do not blame yourself. After all, this test was agreed upon by us and His Excellency Bone Douluo; the greatest fault still lies with us."

"To show our goodwill, our nation is willing to establish diplomatic relations with the Sun Moon Empire and reach a series of commercial trade agreements! I just don't know what conditions your side intends to propose? After all, our two shores are far apart, and with our current maritime navigation capabilities on the Douluo Continent, I fear it would be difficult to cross the ocean to reach your country."

Xu Mochen's eyes lit up when he heard this, knowing the fish had taken the bait! He immediately replied with a benevolent expression: "That is excellent! Rest assured, our requirements are not high, and we have considered the problem you mentioned. First, our nation and yours are willing to station ambassadors in each other's capitals and establish embassies and consulates to facilitate official and private exchanges, and to effectively safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of our respective personnel in the other country."

"Second, our nation is willing to engage in other forms of cooperation and exchange with your side, such as academic exchanges, student visits, currency circulation, various commercial trade dealings, state visits, and cooperation in customs, tariffs, security checks, and the issuance and review of visas and passports."

"Third, since your country's technological limitations make it impossible to visit us, that is not a problem. We can lease a piece of wasteland in your coastal region, where we can establish a leased territory. Within this area, we can build ports and docks capable of docking our ships, and your personnel can use this port to board our ships to travel to and from our country."

Xu Mochen's words left Xue Qinghe, Ning Fengzhi, and the others completely bewildered. Eventually, Ning Fengzhi stepped forward, looking awkward, and asked: "Excuse me, Little Chen, we really don't understand the culture of your Sun Moon Empire. There are a few terms you used that we don't quite understand—what are these 'embassies,' 'consulates,' 'visas,' 'passports,' and 'leased territories'?"

"Uh... I am truly sorry, I forgot to explain to everyone." Xu Mochen also had black lines on his forehead as he said: "So-called embassies generally refer to permanent diplomatic representative offices stationed by one country in the capital of another, responsible for handling official and private exchanges and negotiations between the two countries, safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of their own citizens and legal entities in the foreign country, and issuing or extending passports to their own citizens and visas to foreign citizens."

"Consulates, on the other hand, can be established in any city of the other country, responsible only for managing local citizens of their own country and other consular affairs within their jurisdiction. Embassies are usually under the direct leadership of their home country, while consulates are usually under the dual leadership 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 its citizens to prove their nationality and identity when entering or leaving their own country or traveling or residing abroad. A visa is a permit issued by a government agency of a country, in accordance with its laws, to foreigners applying to enter, exit, or transit through the country."

"As for a leased territory, it refers to a legal place of residence for foreigners established in the territory of one country after two countries have negotiated a lease or charter, where the other country possesses administrative autonomy and extraterritoriality."

Now, Xue Qinghe, Ning Fengzhi, and the others had a rough understanding of these things. In reality, there were no permanent institutions or personnel stationed in other countries on the Douluo Continent. The diplomatic officials sent out were only temporary arrangements, and countries only established "guest houses" to host foreign diplomats.

Personnel movement between countries on the Douluo Continent relied on "clearance passes" issued by each country to its citizens. A "clearance pass" was a document that combined a passport and a visa; its design was quite crude, requiring issuance by one's own government, and then one had to take this document to the other country's customs office to have it stamped by their officials to enter.

However, this caused many huge problems, such as verifying the authenticity of foreign documents and the difficulty of reaching a consensus on diplomatic affairs. The Sun Moon Empire's diplomatic system seemed to solve most of the problems they currently faced; it seemed it was not impossible to borrow from it.

But when Xue Qinghe and Ning Fengzhi heard the explanation of a "leased territory," their expressions instantly turned sour. How did this "leased territory" sound so much like another form of disguised land cession?

If this policy were truly implemented, allowing the Sun Moon Empire to practice it on Heaven Dou Empire soil, then while the nominal sovereignty of this leased territory would still belong to the Heaven Dou Empire, the actual control would fall entirely into the hands of the Sun Moon Empire! By then, if the Sun Moon Empire wanted to do anything on this land, they wouldn't be able to interfere! If the Sun Moon Empire truly had ambitions, what would they do if they used this area as a base to invade the Heaven Dou Empire?