A year and a half later, Yunling Pass, a crucial pass where the Spirit Hall occupied the Balak Kingdom and the Hagen-Dazs Kingdom to establish the new Spirit City, was breached. Once this pass was broken through, it would be equivalent to opening the gates to Spirit City, after which the army could easily conquer Spirit City.
The Defense Clan truly lives up to its reputation as the premier architectural family on the continent. With the massive financial support of the Spirit Hall and ample manpower, they have managed to build several cities near Spirit City in just a year and a half. These cities are similar in size to Spirit City; while not large, they are not backward either. Apart from their area, they resemble some second- or third-tier cities in the two great empires.
Yunling Pass, with its walls reaching 80 meters in height and 50 meters in width, thicker than those of the main city walls, was mostly built by the Defense Clan.
The new Spirit City is divided into a main city and a sub-city. The main city is the original Spirit City, and only Soul Master can enter and live there.
To maintain the mystery and to spread the faith, Qian Daoliu decreed that ordinary people would only be allowed to enter the main city to observe for three days each year, and the first day of those three days was the day Qian Renxue successfully inherited the Angel God Position.
In each sub-city, the Martial Soul Branch Hall operates as usual, not only suppressing and capturing rebellious Soul Master, but also capturing lawless commoners, nouveau riche, and nobles.
The small wooden huts in those villages, used to awaken the Martial Soul of six-year-old children, and the Martial Soul Branch Hall in the city, send Battle Soul Master to the villages every year to awaken the Martial Soul of six-year-old children for free.
Areas outside of New Spirit City do not have this benefit, and the annual taxes paid by the people living in New Spirit City are naturally collected by the Spirit Hall.
Spreading faith was incredibly easy for Qian Daoliu. Why had the continent completely forgotten the name of the Angel God? The Spirit Hall had been diligently carrying out its mission for thousands of years. Although there were a few bad apples who tarnished the Spirit Hall's reputation, considering the Slaughter City's population of tens of thousands of Fallen One Slaughter City the fact that the Slaughter City consumed at least three digits of people every day, the Spirit Hall's merits far outweighed its faults.
It's clear that the Spirit Hall was too diligent in its duties. To put it nicely, they were favored and took it for granted; to put it bluntly, they were spoiled and didn't know what the world was like. Generation after generation, this has led to their current state.
As the saying goes, you won't know the pain until the knife falls on your own body. In that case, let the people of the two great empires experience firsthand the different living conditions in the two regions without the Spirit Hall's management. Wouldn't that make the people envious of those living in the Spirit City region, and wouldn't faith gradually develop?
The two empires were naturally furious at the Spirit Hall's actions. They managed the cities within their own territories, and the taxes paid by the people living there went to the Spirit Hall? What was the difference between this system and a nation? Although Spirit City was called Spirit City, renaming it the Martial Soul Kingdom was perfectly acceptable.
The Heaven Dou Empire was especially furious, because the vast territory occupied by the Spirit Hall and the people living on it all belonged to the Heaven Dou Empire!
In front of the city wall of Yunling Pass, which is tens of meters high, lies a lush plain. The plain is not completely flat; there are some bumps and depressions in some places.
Fifty meters away from Yunling Pass lies the encampment of the Heaven Dou Empire's army. Viewed from the sky, it is an absolutely awe-inspiring sight.
The vast army, teeming with people, stretched as far as the eye could see, banners fluttering, yet maintained perfect order. Moving in units of tens of thousands across the expansive plain, they resembled an unstoppable torrent of steel.
Heavy cavalry, both men and horses clad in thick armor, led the main army. Flanking them were heavy infantry legions composed entirely of strong soldiers, while the largest infantry force was positioned in the center. At least six light cavalry legions patrolled the perimeter of the main army, conducting reconnaissance and scouting, and protecting the center. They marched forward in a mighty procession.
Behind the main army was a massive supply corps; as the saying goes, "An army marches on its stomach." The number of these logistics units alone exceeded 500,000, continuously transporting supplies to the front lines. This does not even include the logistics troops not part of the main army's organization.
This time, the total number of regular troops, logistical support troops, and reserve troops mobilized by the Heaven Dou Empire is probably over 2.5 million, which is absolutely the utmost effort of the entire nation.
Inside the camp.
Xue Ye sat high in the main seat, below him were Marshal Ge Long, Ning Fengzhi, Bone Douluo, Sword Douluo...
On the main seat, this emperor, who had lived a life of luxury, was also wearing a suit of armor, exuding a chilling aura.
Xue Ye exuded confidence, like a War God who had never been defeated in a hundred battles. Relying on the Tang Sect Hidden Weapon, the army of the Heaven Dou Empire was almost invincible. In the past year and a half, they had wiped out all the kingdoms and duchies within the empire that were unwilling to be completely controlled by the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, just like a whirlwind. In the battles between the two armies, the Heaven Dou Empire suffered almost zero casualties. They only needed to unleash a barrage of Tang Sect Hidden Weapon in mid-air, and large numbers of people would fall in front of them.
Even in sieges, Tang Sect Hidden Weapon proved highly effective. The lightweight and portable silent sleeve daggers were so effective that, during sieges, any enemy on the city wall within the range of the Silent Sleeve Arrow could be taken down if the soldiers aimed accurately.
The Heaven Dou Empire's army could easily raze even small cities with walls only a few meters high. It was only the larger cities that required some effort to level.
In the process of conquering these kingdoms and duchies, Xue Ye gained ample confidence, believing that war was nothing more than this. Tactics, military strategy, troop deployment—what were those? Wouldn't Tang Sect Hidden Weapon be enough? If Tang Sect Hidden Weapon couldn't solve the problem, then it could only mean that they hadn't produced enough of Tang Sect Hidden Weapon.
The Xue Ye declared with a powerful voice, "Tomorrow at the third watch, we will prepare food; at the fifth watch, we will set out with our troops. We will surely capture Yunling Pass and reclaim the territory of my Heaven Dou Empire!"
"Sect Master Ning, Sword Douluo, and Bone Douluo, I ask that you three work hard today to be vigilant against the Spirit Hall and prevent them from launching a surprise attack on us."
Ning Fengzhi replied, "I will do my utmost in my duties."
Afterwards, Xue Ye discussed other matters with everyone.
The sky was getting dark.
Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo strolled through the camp. Apart from the patrolling and sentry taxi soldiers, most of the soldiers were already resting.
"Uncle Bone, this is the defense map of the Heaven Dou Empire. Go and secretly give it to the Spirit Hall."
Ning Fengzhi took out a camp map he had personally drawn after asking Sword and Bone Douluo to observe the Heaven Dou camp from his Storage Soul Tool. The map detailed the location of the granary and the distribution of the camps of various soldiers.