"Three days from now, century-old Whale Rubber will go on sale in shops across the Star Luo Empire. Seven days from now, millennium-old Whale Rubber will be auctioned at the imperial auction house. The highest bidder wins."
The news sent the Soul Master World into an uproar.
Every faction on the continent, great or small, headed for the Star Luo Empire.
Some came just to see the spectacle, while others genuinely wanted to buy Whale Rubber.
Who didn't want to raise the age limit of the Soul Rings they could absorb?
Even if they couldn't use it themselves, they could arrange it for their promising juniors.
After all, in the world of Soul Masters, strength was everything.
And Whale Rubber was a key to greater strength.
But when they entered shops in the Star Luo Empire and saw the prices hanging inside, their expressions changed one after another.
It was expensive—far too expensive, outrageously so.
Before, one Gold Soul Coin could buy a piece of Whale Rubber the size of a fist.
Now, a fist-sized piece of century-old Whale Rubber was priced at a thousand Gold Soul Coins.
The price had shot up a thousandfold!
Even so, after gritting their teeth, these people still emptied their wallets to buy it.
There was no helping it. Dai Mobai's reputation, built on that ten-thousand-year fourth Soul Ring, was simply too solid.
Those who bought Whale Rubber not only directly boosted the Star Luo Empire's economy, but also indirectly stimulated local economies.
After all, Whale Rubber was expensive, and many people had nearly emptied their entire savings just to buy one piece.
If it was stolen or lost while they carried it around, it would be no different from losing their lives.
So most people chose to swallow their Whale Rubber as soon as they bought it.
As everyone knew, Whale Rubber's original purpose was to arouse desire and strengthen virility.
And that meant those who took it became unable to control themselves.
Fortunately, Dai Mobai had anticipated this well in advance.
None of the shops selling Whale Rubber were more than a single street away from a brothel.
As a result, on the day Whale Rubber went on sale, the girls in the brothels didn't need to solicit customers at all. Instead, a steady stream of clients came to them.
On the first night of the Whale Rubber sales, the Star Luo Emperor sat in his study, staring at the documents the Ministry of Revenue had submitted. He couldn't suppress the curve of his lips.
He had thought it might be a profitable business, but he hadn't imagined it would be this profitable.
One day. Just one day.
The sales from Whale Rubber had already exceeded one quarter's worth of tax revenue for the Star Luo Empire.
This didn't look like selling goods. It looked more like printing money!
Such terrifying money-making power was bound to draw attention.
The next day, Miles, Platinum Bishop of the Star Luo City Spirit Saint Hall, went to meet the Star Luo Emperor.
Dai Mobai happened to be there as well.
After every appeal to emotion and reason had failed to get him free Whale Rubber, Miles finally dropped the pretense and issued the Star Luo Emperor an ultimatum.
"If the Star Luo Emperor is so ignorant of proper etiquette, then the Star Luo Empire can arrange its own annual awakening ceremony from now on."
Miles stood there with his sleeves sweeping behind him, his face full of arrogance.
He was confident that the Star Luo Emperor would surely give in.
But what he hadn't expected was that, after hearing his words, the Star Luo Emperor's expression wasn't one of submission or fear. It was—
Joy!
"Agreed! Two blessings in one!"
The Star Luo Emperor exchanged a glance with Dai Mobai, and neither could contain their smiles.
Their cheerful reaction left Miles momentarily at a loss.
After a brief daze, Miles confirmed he hadn't misheard and grew so furious his beard bristled.
He left in a hurry after tossing out a threat: "You'll regret this!"
That very day, Miles issued orders to every Spirit Hall Branch within the Star Luo Empire.
Effective immediately, Spirit Hall would no longer provide free Martial Soul Awakening for the people of Star Luo.
The news struck the common folk of the Star Luo Empire like a thunderbolt. In an instant, they felt the sky had fallen.
After doing all this, Miles brewed himself a pot of hot tea with an untroubled air, waiting for the Star Luo Emperor to come and apologize.
But instead of news of an apology, he got an even more earth-shaking announcement from the Star Luo Emperor.
Effective immediately, the Star Luo Empire would take full responsibility for awakening the Martial Souls of its people. Moreover, all Soul Masters of the Star Luo Empire would receive monthly Soul Master stipends worth twice as much as before.
When the announcement spread throughout the Star Luo Empire, its people instantly came back to life.
Miles, on the other hand, was so furious he nearly stopped breathing.
But by then, even if he wanted to stay, there was no way he could. He could only storm off in a huff, withdrawing every last one of Spirit Hall's people.
Yet the matter didn't end there. Instead, it began to develop in an even stranger direction.
Soul Masters from the Heaven Dou Empire came to the Star Luo Empire with money to buy Whale Rubber, only to discover after their purchases that the monthly stipends paid to Soul Masters in the Star Luo Empire were twice as high as theirs.
When they asked around, they learned that Martial Soul Awakening here didn't require them to bow to Spirit Hall's whims. The Star Luo Empire handled it all itself.
Some quick-witted people started doing the math.
In Heaven Dou, Spirit Hall called the shots, and Soul Master stipends hadn't gone up once since they were first introduced.
In Star Luo, not only had Soul Master stipends doubled, but Whale Rubber even came with discounts!
So what was there to wait for?
The Star Luo Empire is my home forever!
With thoughts like these, a sweeping wave of migration quietly began.
First, scattered independent Soul Masters chose to join the Star Luo Empire. Then several small Soul Master families moved there together. Finally, even large Soul Master clans crossed the border in grand processions and settled anew in the cities of the Star Luo Empire.
This great migration also sent the status of Star Luo's people soaring. Wherever they went, they declared, "I'm a proud son of Star Luo!" Their sense of belonging to the empire reached its peak.
The Star Luo Emperor sat in the Imperial Study, looking over the latest documents submitted by the Minister of Revenue. His expression grew more and more composed.
There was no helping it. When you looked at figures skyrocketing like this every day, you got used to it.
Net population inflows had grown for three consecutive months, and the number of registered Soul Masters had nearly tripled compared with the same period last year.
The fiscal revenue looked even better. Whale Rubber trade alone was worth as much as the entire empire's tax revenue over the past twenty years.
And only three months had passed since Whale Rubber went on sale.
The procurement plan for awakening devices had also been completed ahead of schedule.
Not only the major cities, but also the towns and even the villages had all established awakening stations, ready for use at any time.
The distribution of Gold Soul Coins had also been brought entirely under imperial control.
On the monthly distribution day, long lines formed outside the distribution points in every town. Whenever a Soul Master received their stipend, they heard the distribution official say the same thing:
"The Star Luo Empire thanks you, Lord Soul Master, for your contributions."
Just think: not only did they get money, they also received emotional validation.
That one simple sentence worked better than any propaganda.
Whoever handed out the money earned their gratitude.
The Star Luo Emperor had thought he understood this principle well, but only after Dai Mobai explained it to him did he realize how profound it was.
Now, not only Spirit Hall was getting restless. Even the Heaven Dou Empire couldn't sit still.
No one would stop you from giving away money if you had plenty, but you couldn't steal my people!
The Heaven Dou Empire sent envoys to negotiate, sternly accusing the Star Luo Empire of disrupting the order of the continent's Soul Master World.
The response from the Star Luo Empire was even more straightforward.