Heading to the Heaven Dou Empire!

Great Ming Kingdom

When the news reached Xu Nian'an's ears that the Spirit Hall Pope Qian Xunji was dead and that a full-scale war had erupted between Spirit Hall and the Clear Sky Sect, he was stunned.

No way, how could the plot be moving this fast?

Xu Nian'an was dumbfounded. He had originally assumed that since he was six years older than Tang San, Tang San wouldn't be born for another six years.

He hadn't expected that he had misremembered the timeline; the plot had already begun, and Tang San was already born.

Moreover, he had transmigrated even earlier than him.

In the original work, Tang San was born in the first month, so that was indeed the case.

Tang Hao had fought the previous Spirit Hall Pope, after which Qian Xunji was severely wounded. He had returned to Spirit Hall to recover, only to be finished off by Bibi Dong.

But Qian Renxue had already been planted beside Xue Qinghe for a long time now.

The only possibility was that Qian Xunji had died long ago, and Spirit Hall had simply suppressed the news.

It was only now being exposed.

It seemed he had forgotten quite a lot of things.

This couldn't help but breed a sliver of urgency within Xu Nian'an's heart.

[Ding, congratulations to the host. The battle of the Galloping Wolf Kingdom has proven the strength of the Great Ming Kingdom to the continent. Will you declare yourself Emperor immediately?]

[Detected: This option carries the risk of being targeted and annihilated by the joint forces of the two great empires. This option can be selected at a later time.]

Looking at the options popped up by the system, Xu Nian's fell silent.

Currently, his kingdom was backed by the Heaven Dou Empire, and the Star Luo Empire dared not wage a full-scale war against him.

Because the moment they started a full-scale war, they wouldn't just be fighting Xu Nian'an's kingdom.

They would be fighting the behemoth behind it: the Heaven Dou Empire.

The Star Luo Empire had no choice but to fight Xu Nian'an, unless they were willing to give up such a vast territory.

The best they could do was secretly support underlings to try and reclaim the territory of the Galloping Wolf Kingdom.

However, given the military strength the Great Ming Kingdom possessed now, any ordinary kingdom that came knocking would just be serving themselves up on a platter.

Thump, thump, thump!

Just as Xu Nian'an was deep in thought, a series of hurried footsteps rang out instantly.

"Your Majesty, there are two letters!"

Looking at the letters in the Imperial Guard's hands, Xu Nian'an raised an eyebrow.

He took them.

At first glance, Xu Nian'an recognized the seals of the Star Luo Empire and the Heaven Dou Empire.

He opened the Star Luo Empire's letter first.

[Due to the frequent disputes between our two nations recently, we now invite the third-party Heaven Dou Empire to preside over peace talks.]

So, the Star Luo Empire was preparing to admit defeat and negotiate?

Xu Nian'an pondered. The Great Ming Kingdom was currently like a sharp sword, thrust deep into the heart of the Star Luo Empire.

With the Heaven Dou Empire eyeing them greedily from the western theater, and the Clear Sky Sect announcing their seclusion in such a critical situation, they were in a bind.

Good grief, they were isolated and without aid.

Now Xu Nian'an understood why the Clear Sky Sect, which had supported the Star Luo Empire in the original work, had eventually defected to the Heaven Dou Empire.

When the Clear Sky Sect was in crisis, the Star Luo Empire had stood by and watched, not wanting to provoke Spirit Hall.

Spirit Hall was a neutral force on the continent; they helped people awaken their spirits for free and collected children with good soul power talent, winning the hearts of the people.

If they offended Spirit Hall and Spirit Hall joined forces with Heaven Dou, the Star Luo Empire would lose even more.

It was no wonder the Clear Sky Sect, which had previously supported the Star Luo Empire, ended up supporting the Heaven Dou Empire by the finale.

He opened the second letter.

[The Heaven Dou Empire's annual Royal Hunting Meet.]

The inviter was Emperor Xue Ye. It seemed he was very eager to play this so-called third-party mediator.

Putting the letters away, Xu Nian'an began to contemplate how he could maximize his own interests.

The Star Luo Empire wanted reconciliation simply because they didn't want to keep fighting; after all, the current situation was not very favorable for them.

The Heaven Dou Empire was happily trying to act as this third-party mediator simply because they stood to gain from it.

Xu Nian'an realized that until he could complete the system's task of declaring himself Emperor, he would never be able to obtain opportunities for faster development.

Therefore, he had to appropriately give up some things in order to gain others.

"Old Long."

As soon as Xu Nian'an's voice fell, the void began to tremble in ripples. Moments later, an old man clad in black robes slowly appeared by his side.

"We are going to the Heaven Dou Empire."

Xu Nian'an had been transmigrated to the Douluo Continent for a month now. During this time, he had spent most of his days either in cultivation or dealing with the trivial, petty affairs of the Great Ming Kingdom.

He truly hadn't had the time to properly explore this world.

Now that he had the chance to visit the Heaven Dou Empire, Xu Nian'an could take the opportunity to see what this world was really like.

Upon hearing Xu Nian'an's words, Long Xiaoyao smiled.

"Going out for a stroll is fine. Blindly focusing on cultivation is not necessarily a good thing."

Cultivation.

Hearing this, Xu Nian'an narrowed his eyes.

To be honest, he had recently felt that his cultivation progress was slowing down.

He was currently considering whether he should cultivate both of his martial souls simultaneously.

Thinking about this trip to the Heaven Dou Empire, and knowing that the Sunset Forest was not far from it, the corners of Xu Nian'an's mouth slowly curled upward.

He would intercept those immortal herbs more than a decade ahead of schedule.

Once Xu Nian'an had made up his mind, the Head Eunuch Xu Fu had the royal carriage prepared by noon, accompanied by three thousand Imperial Guards and three hundred palace maids in close attendance.

The procession set off in a grand, sweeping manner toward the Heaven Dou Empire.

"Your Majesty, on this journey, we must pass through Gulei City and traverse over a hundred miles of the Heavenly Spirit Mountain Range before we can reach Tiandou City, the capital of the Heaven Dou Empire."

Inside the massive Great Ming carriage, Xu Nian'an listened as Xu Fu explained the route with great solemnity.

"So, old eunuch, you have been there many times?"

Hearing Xu Nian'an's words, Xu Fu proudly raised his head.

"That is only natural. When I was young, back when I served the Great Ancestor—that is, Your Majesty's grandfather—I had been there."

"I was still a child then, and I saw so many magnificent buildings."

Xu Nian'an smiled at this.

Since there was nothing else to do along the way, he simply listened to the old eunuch's tales.

"Later, before the chaos of the Warring States period, I accompanied the Great Ancestor again, along with your grandfather and your father."

"After that, the continent entered the Warring States era, and the kingdoms fell into turmoil. The late King worked diligently, closed the borders, and kept our Tianxing in peace..."

"Including this trip with you, this is my third time going."

Calculating that, good heavens, Xu Fu was quite old indeed.

Could it be that cutting off that thing really grants immortality?

Damn, that's dangerous. Xu Nian'an quickly shook his head, casting the dangerous thought out of his mind.

For the next five days, Xu Nian'an ate, slept, cultivated, and admired the scenery once he was done.

On the fifth day, they arrived at the magnificent Tiandou City.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

"Welcome, King of Great Ming!"

Bang! Bang!

As soon as they arrived at Tiandou City, a gorgeous welcoming display erupted instantly!

"King of Ming, His Majesty has already arranged your accommodations. Please, follow me!"

A squad of soldiers clad in ornate Bright Light Armor escorted Xu Nian'an's procession to a luxurious hotel.

The entire hotel was reserved for them, including quarters for the three thousand Imperial Guards and the palace maids.

Luxury and bustle... these were the hallmarks of the Heaven Dou Empire.

He had to admit, compared to the Heaven Dou Empire, his own Great Ming Kingdom still had a long way to go.

Worn out from the long journey, it was already afternoon by the time they reached the Heaven Dou Empire. Xu Nian'an did not do anything else; after giving a few instructions, he rested well for the night.