The two empires initially did not pay attention to these "mud-legged rebellions". They only regarded them as regional refugee riots and sent several armies to suppress them. In their view, the so-called weapons could not be mass-produced at all and could only be used by a small number of people. However, they ushered in an unprecedented fiasco.
They never confronted the imperial army head-on, but broke into pieces, constantly harassing the logistics line, blowing up bridges, burning food and fodder, making it difficult for the imperial army to move forward.
What scares the empire even more is their beheading tactics. Someone always sneaks into the military camp at night, shoots the general in the head, and then evacuates in the chaos.
In just one month, taking the Heaven Dou Empire Third Army Corps as an example, they lost three generals and seven Soul Ancestor-level officers. The entire army was in a state of panic. No one dared to live in the commander's camp anymore, and they even had to bring dozens of guards with them when going out.
The success of the beheading operation plunged the aristocracy across the continent into unprecedented panic.
In the past, the nobles and Soul Master were so superior that even if they lost the battle, they could still save their lives by virtue of their Soul Power, status and wealth.
But now, bullets don't recognize one's identity, Blood Burning Art Regardless of his or her rank, as long as he is a noble who has oppressed the common people, no matter where he hides, his head may be blown open by a bullet flying from nowhere, or he may be torn into pieces by a group of earth scrapers burning with life span.
Many nobles even fortified their residences overnight, hired hundreds of people to keep them entertained and guarded day and night, and even had to let their servants taste poison before eating.
But more people are still in a wait-and-see mode, thinking that the fire won't burn them, and they haven't done anything too extreme. The only headaches are those of the big shots.
I found that force was almost useless. We couldn't just massacre the nearby residents if there was a small disturbance.
The two empires could only resort to the last resort - slander through public opinion.
Heaven Dou Empire and Star Luo Empire issued edicts almost at the same time, calling Black Fire Army's firearms "Soul-Eater evil weapons", saying that such weapons would suck the user's soul. The more they use it, the faster they will die. After death, the soul will be dragged into hell and will never be reincarnated.
Calling <Qianyuan Blood-Burning Art> the "Evil God Sacrifice Method" means that practitioners burn not only their lifespan, but also their own souls. After death, they will become unconscious walking zombies and will be enslaved by Evil God forever. Even future generations will be like this. Don't be fooled.
The empire's propaganda machine was in full swing. Their people traveled through the streets and alleys, preaching day and night about the dangers of "evil weapons" and "evil arts". They also made up countless sensational stories: people who killed people with handguns would be killed by ghosts at night; people who practiced Blood Burning Art would eventually turn into man-eating monsters, even their own relatives.
At the same time, the two empires have not given up their coveting of these two powers. This power should be in the hands of their empires. As long as they have the same power, not only can they destroy each other, but at least they have the ability to compete and protect themselves.
They captured many captured Black Fire Army soldiers and Black Earth Cult believers, confiscated a large number of pistols and <Qianyuan Blood-Burning Art> pamphlets, and summoned the best craftsmen and Soul Master Grandmaster in the continent to try to decipher the secrets.
But the result was a huge disappointment to them.
The best craftsmen in the empire took apart the pistol and studied the precise parts for half a month, but they still couldn't figure out why a little gunpowder and an iron pipe could shoot a bullet that could penetrate Soul Power's body armor.
The pistols they imitated either had their chambers exploded, or the bullets fired could not even penetrate the wood, making them unusable at all.
As for the formula of explosives, the imperial craftsmen tried countless times but could not come up with gunpowder of comparable power.
<Qianyuan Blood-Burning Art>'s research ended in a disastrous failure.
They simply don't understand what meridian execution is. Even if they really catch the right person and figure out the execution route, the execution will lead to Soul Power disorder in the body, ranging from damage to the meridians, to serious cases of going crazy and becoming a cripple. The most frightening thing is that the Soul Power in Soul Master's body will be repelled by the practice. The more powerful the Soul Master is, the more serious the backlash from the practice will be.
Technical barriers are like a natural chasm, standing between the two empires. They can only watch the crazy spread of firearms and Blood Burning Art at the bottom, but there is nothing they can do.
Panic spread like a plague, not only sweeping through the two empires, but also affecting all sect forces.
The small and medium-sized sects were the first to panic. Most of them were entrenched in local areas and made a living by exploiting the surrounding civilians. Now that the people at the bottom have the power to resist, they will be the first to be liquidated.
In just one month, seventeen small sects were bloodbathed by angry civilians. The sects were burned, secret books were robbed, and all the elders and disciples were executed.
Upper Three Sects couldn't sit still either.
In the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's territory, tenant farmers who secretly practiced Blood Burning Art appeared. Although they were quickly suppressed, Yu Yuanzhen was shocked and broke into a cold sweat.
He couldn't imagine that if the handymen and tenant farmers in the sect all took up arms and practiced Blood Burning Art, the hundreds of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan disciples would not be able to stop thousands of angry civilians.
Clear Sky Sect even stayed behind closed doors and sent three times more disciples to guard the mountain gate.
Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's Ning Fengzhi appeared calmer. He immediately issued an order to reduce the rent and tax of all tenant farmers in the territory by 30%, improve the treatment of handyman disciples, and at the same time strictly prohibit sect disciples from bullying civilians.
But even so, he also knew that this was only a temporary measure. As long as the people at the bottom had the strength to resist, the existence of the sect and aristocratic system would sooner or later be crushed by the wheels of history.
All forces understand that they alone can no longer stop this prairie fire.
The only hope is Spirit Hall.
As the most powerful force in the continent, Spirit Hall has nearly a hundred Titled Douluo and hundreds of thousands of Soul Master troops, and controls the Soul Master promotion system across the continent.
Only by the Spirit Hall can Black Fire Army and Black Earth Cult be completely wiped out, and the rule of the nobles and sects preserved.
Thus, an unprecedented "petition" began.
Heaven Dou Empire Emperor Xue Ye personally wrote a letter and sent Prince Xue Qinghe to Spirit City with generous gifts, requesting Spirit Hall to take action to quell the rebellion.
Star Luo Empire Emperor Dai Yutian also sent his younger brother, the military marshal of the Star Luo Empire, with the credentials of the Star Luo Empire to ask for help.
Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan suzerain Yu Yuanzhen, Clear Sky Sect acting suzerain Second Elder, Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect suzerain Ning Fengzhi, three major Upper Three Sects The sect masters gathered in person at Spirit City. There were also dozens of sect masters from large sects and kings from hundreds of kingdoms who also rushed to the Spirit Hall with their entourage, demanding that Spirit Hall send troops immediately to exterminate the "evil evil spirits" and restore order to the mainland.
For a time, Spirit City was overcrowded, and the eyes of the whole continent were focused on the Papal Palace.
Inside the Papal Palace, the atmosphere was so solemn that water could drip from it.