Xingluo City.
This ancient imperial capital, which had endured for tens of thousands of years, still maintained an outward appearance of peace.
The shops lining the city streets remained open as usual. Carriages laden with goods traveled back and forth, while street vendors continued calling out loudly to attract customers.
Outside the imperial city, several squads of heavily armored cavalry took turns patrolling. The detection Soul Tools atop the walls rotated continuously, sending beams of detection light into the sky.
The city's citizens only knew that martial law had recently been imposed. They did not know why.
The city gates had been sealed for days. Apart from official merchant caravans carrying orders from the Military Headquarters, no one was permitted to enter or leave.
The explanation given by the city defense army was that a large number of Sun Moon Empire spies and infiltrators had been discovered, and the city's residents needed to be investigated temporarily.
Clearly, not everyone was a fool. That explanation could not convince everyone, especially since far too many troops had entered the imperial city these past few days.
The Royal Soul Master Corps, high-level Soul Masters, imperial enshrined experts, and several elite units urgently recalled from the Mingdou Mountain Range front had successively stationed themselves around the imperial city.
Several large defensive Soul Tool Arrays, hastily constructed in an emergency, operated day and night. Deep beneath the palace, dull roars continued to echo.
Anyone who was not an idiot could tell that something seemed wrong with the imperial city.
However, news of the Dou Ling Empire's imperial capital being destroyed in succession had long been classified as Xingluo Empire's highest secret.
Those who knew the truth did not dare speak, while those who did not know did not dare ask. The capital's citizens could only