For several days running, Nuoding City had been in an uproar.
This border town had never before received so many Soul Masters.
Its streets and alleys were packed with unfamiliar faces who had come from every corner of the continent.
Where there were crowds, there was friction.
Independent Soul Masters drew their weapons over a single careless remark, mercenary groups brawled over a place to stay, and one drunk Soul Master even summoned his Martial Soul in a tavern and blasted a hole through a wall.
The city guards of Nuoding were run off their feet. The cells were crammed with troublemaking Soul Masters, until there wasn't even enough room left to lock them up.
And that was only the small stuff.
What truly turned every eye in the city was the great battle that took place outside Nuoding on the evening of the fourth day.
Ning Fengzhi, sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, and Sword Douluo Chen Xin ran straight into Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan and Ghost Douluo Gui Mei of Spirit Hall on a hillside west of Nuoding City.
Both sides had come for the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone, and both were among the strongest of the age. They hadn't even exchanged a full sentence before they came to blows.
Sword light and chrysanthemum petals filled the sky. Ghostly shadows and the radiance of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda clashed in midair. The forests for several miles around were leveled in barely a quarter of an hour.
All the Soul Masters in the city swarmed onto the walls, watching the Soul Power flares burst across the hillside in the distance, their faces pale.
In the end, though, both sides had their reservations.
Ning Fengzhi didn't want to fall out completely with Spirit Hall before the whereabouts of the Soul Bone were known, and Spirit Hall was unwilling to wage all-out war against the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect without the Pope's orders.
So although the battle shook the heavens and earth, neither side won, and no one was injured.
After trading one ultimate move, the four withdrew, glared coldly at one another, and went their separate ways.
By the fifth day, the situation finally shifted.
Ge Long, Grand Marshal of the Heaven Dou Empire, had arrived.
The veteran general, hailed as the "Nine-Life Divine Dragon," brought no army, only a few personal guards and Xue Beng, who had come with him.
On the very first day he reached Nuoding City, he mobilized the forces of the Balak Kingdom.
In just one day, an army of a hundred thousand had assembled from garrisons throughout Balak and marched in grand formation to Nuoding City, sealing off the border town that had been in chaos for days.
Ge Long's methods were exceptionally seasoned.
He didn't bother dealing with the troublemaking independent Soul Masters one by one. Instead, he issued three orders.
First, all Soul Masters had to register their identities at the city governor's office within twelve hours. Anyone who failed to register would be driven out of the city.
Second, all forms of private fighting were forbidden within the city. Violators would be killed without exception.
Third, the watch on the city walls was tripled, and the entire border was placed under strict lockdown.
As soon as the three orders were issued, Nuoding City was like a pot of boiling porridge doused with a huge ladle of cold water. It fell silent in an instant.
Then Ge Long dispatched all his scouts.
They were veteran soldiers who had served under him for years, each swift and experienced. Once sent out, they spread like an invisible net, gathering every scrap of movement along the Star Luo Empire's border.
Before long, a report was laid on Ge Long's desk: Duke Spirit Cat Zhu Song of the Star Luo Empire was personally leading an army of a hundred thousand toward the border and would arrive within days.
Ge Long read the report, slapped it onto the table, and let out a cold laugh.
"In war, speed is everything. You're half a day behind me. Don't even dream of setting one foot across this border."
"The outcome of this battle is already decided. I've won."
The veteran general's voice brimmed with unquestionable confidence.
His hundred-thousand-strong army was already in position, and the defenses were in place, while Zhu Song's troops were still on the way.
That half-day advantage was the decisive move on the battlefield.
When Zhu Song reached the border, he would be met by an already-built wall of bronze and iron.
Another five days passed.
The situation along the border took an unexpected turn.
Zhu Song's hundred thousand troops arrived as scheduled and set up camp on the western side of the border. Their tents stretched for miles, banners snapping in the wind.
Ge Long's hundred thousand troops stood ready on the eastern side. Their camp was laid out in perfect order, with one layer after another of chevaux-de-frise and sharpened stakes.
The two armies totaled two hundred thousand men. They faced each other across the border, close enough to see the cooking smoke rising from the enemy's camp.
Yet strangely, neither Zhu Song nor Ge Long made a move.
The two old adversaries, who had spent half their lives at war, seemed to have agreed to remain still.
There was no atmosphere of drawn swords and taut bows along the border. In fact, it was more peaceful than before.
Everyone was waiting.
Ge Long was waiting for the Star Luo Empire to make the first move. Zhu Song was waiting for a signal from someone.
That day, east of Suotuo City, in the Gilchrist Kingdom.
Outside the ancestral grounds of the Breaking Clan, Yang Wudi led every member of the clan, young and old, in standing respectfully at the gate.
He was still lean and upright, his gray robe washed pale, but his back was straighter than ever.
Behind him stood more than a hundred members of the Breaking Clan, young and old alike, each standing as straight as a spear.
When Dai Mobai appeared at the street corner with Li Yue, Yang Wudi hurried over from afar.
"Your Highness, we've mapped out a trail through the Border Mountains."
In the reception hall, Yang Wudi bowed as he spoke, his voice respectful.
"I personally led the team that found this trail. It's steep and difficult, but completely concealed. The people on the Heaven Dou side would never dream of it."
"The clan's hundred elite Soul Masters have also finished training. They've mastered the basic forms of the Six Harmonies Great Spear, and their combat strength has improved tremendously."
"We're ready to set out whenever Your Highness gives the order."
Dai Mobai nodded, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.
"Good. No need to wait for an auspicious day. We'll set out tonight and cross the Border Mountains."
At the same time, he wrote a letter and sent a messenger riding at full speed to deliver it to the king of the Gilchrist Kingdom.
The letter was sealed with red wax stamped with the insignia of the Star Luo Imperial Family. The messenger didn't dare waste a moment. He swung into the saddle and vanished down the official road.
That night, the moonlight was hazy.
The gate to the Breaking Clan's grounds swung open without a sound.
Yang Wudi led the way, followed by a hundred elite Soul Masters from the clan, with Dai Mobai and Li Yue bringing up the rear.
The party left the city without a sound and followed the mountain path behind Gilchrist City, heading straight for the Border Mountains.
The trail up the mountain was just as treacherous as Yang Wudi had said.
At first, there was a narrow path worn by hunters, but the higher they climbed, the narrower it became.
By the halfway point, the path was so narrow that only one person could pass sideways at a time. Jagged rock walls loomed to the left, and a bottomless cliff yawned to the right. Mountain winds swept up from the depths, carrying snow that stung their faces.
A thin layer of ice covered the rocks beneath their feet. One careless step could send them sliding into the abyss.
But everyone present was a Soul Master. With Soul Power coursing through them, their feet stayed rooted, and this little danger was nothing to them.
The group formed a single file and moved silently along the cliff wall. No one spoke or lit a lamp. There was only the mountain wind's wail and the occasional dull echo of loose stones tumbling into the abyss.