Tianxing Independence!

Inside the grand hall of the Heaven Dou Empire.

"Scoundrels! They've rebelled, they've all rebelled, a pack of traitors!"

"The Western Alliance... what is the meaning of this?"

"Do they truly intend to defy me? To defy the orders of Heaven Dou!!!!"

Emperor Xue Ye, the mighty sovereign of the Heaven Dou Empire, was consumed by rage.

He truly had not expected that the minor kingdoms, which had always been so incredibly respectful toward the Heaven Dou Empire, would turn their backs the moment the empire suffered a defeat.

The Heaven Dou Empire had just been defeated on the borders of the Great Ming Empire, losing five hundred thousand troops—a piece of news that was nothing short of catastrophic.

This news could not be hidden, and it was precisely this that gave those kingdoms the confidence to stir up trouble and join the Western Alliance.

Heaven Dou had suffered a grievous blow; their current military strength was likely less than that of those few kingdoms combined.

Furthermore, there was the existence of the Great Ming Empire, a behemoth that even Heaven Dou would need to unite with the Star Luo Empire to confront.

After various analyses, the kings had all reached the same conclusion.

Even if they formed the Western Alliance United Nations, the Heaven Dou Empire would not have the time to deal with them for the foreseeable future.

The Heaven Dou Empire's primary military strength had to remain focused on the Great Ming border battlefield.

As for whether they would suffer the same fate as the Great Ming once the empire was dealt with, that was where the benefits of a United Nations became apparent.

If a single kingdom stood alone, wavering and indecisive, it could not sway the landscape of the Douluo Continent.

But what if there were three, four, five, or even seven or eight of them?

United, they posed a threat no less than that of an empire. Should the United Nations face a threat, they could choose to compromise with another empire, assisting that empire in ruling the continent.

Three-way checks and balances; a triangle possesses stability.

Bang!

The more Emperor Xue Ye thought about it, the angrier he became, until finally, he slammed his palm heavily onto the table.

"I may not be able to deal with Great Ming for the time being, but surely I can handle a few measly kingdoms?"

At this thought, a flash of murderous intent crossed Emperor Xue Ye's eyes.

He would never let them off easily.

"Your Majesty, you must not! The Heaven Dou Empire is currently uniting with Star Luo to fight the Great Ming; our main forces must be reserved for the future battlefield against them."

"We cannot start another war, especially since, with Heaven Dou's current reserves of elite troops, we simply cannot sustain a two-front war!"

Hearing this, Emperor Xue Ye fell silent.

It was true; with the Heaven Dou Empire's current reserves of elite troops, they were simply incapable of sustaining a two-front war.

Helpless, Emperor Xue Ye could only suppress the rage in his heart.

"Order the Balak Kingdom and Prince Xue Ba to mobilize their domestic troops and join the Heaven Dou army to form a force of five hundred thousand to march against the Great Ming!"

The relationship between the King of the Balak Kingdom and the Heaven Dou Empire was somewhat unique. Due to its special geographical location, the kingdom held nearly three hundred thousand heavy troops, and the king himself held the rank of prince.

Now, the Star Luo Empire demanded that the Heaven Dou Empire send troops to contain the Great Ming.

Since the Great Ming's main forces were focused on the southern Star Luo battlefield, the Heaven Dou Empire certainly could not drop the ball at this moment.

Even if they had to borrow troops, they had to bite the bullet and proceed.

Of course, a small, interesting incident occurred during this process.

The Balak Kingdom's army had intended to cross the Silves Kingdom directly to enter the territory of the Heaven Dou Empire and rendezvous with the main force.

Had this been in the past, there would have been no issue, as everyone belonged to the Heaven Dou camp.

But unfortunately, that was no longer the case, as the Silves Kingdom had been courted by the Haagen-Dazs Kingdom and had become a member of the Western Alliance United Nations.

The result was that the Balak Kingdom's army was unceremoniously expelled, forced to take a massive detour before they could finally enter the territory of the Heaven Dou Empire.

In the shadows, the Haagen-Dazs Kingdom was no longer limiting itself to courting the kingdoms of the Heaven Dou Empire.

One night, they secretly made contact with the King of the Hadrian Kingdom. After two and a half hours of negotiations, the other party chose to wait and see.

The reason they wanted to wait and see was to observe the subsequent combat situation between Star Luo and the Great Ming.

The Star Luo Empire had gained nothing from their clash with the Great Ming's main force; on the contrary, they had lost a defensive line in their very first large-scale engagement.

This was the reason the other party was considering joining the Western Alliance United Nations.

One had to remember that Xu Nian'an had declared war on both great empires and all the kingdoms within the Star Luo Empire.

If the Star Luo Empire were defeated, the kingdom could simply choose to declare independence and join the Western Alliance United Nations, which they believed would allow them to escape the fallout of Star Luo's defeat.

The only reason they were waiting was that the Star Luo Empire was not fighting the Great Ming alone.

They still had their imperial ally, the Heaven Dou Empire.

It could only be said that no one was a fool; foolish kings did not live long in the era of warring states.

Xingyao City, Imperial Camp!

Bang~!!!!

[Level 31!]

[Level 33!]

[Level 36!]

With the assistance of Ma Xiaotao, Xu Nian'an successfully refined the Infernal Delicate Apricot. His Soul Power broke through to level 30, and without a moment's hesitation, he decisively chose to absorb his third soul ring.

Suddenly, the Soul Power within his body surged, crossing seven or eight levels in the blink of an eye to reach the peak of level 39~!!!

Crack~!!!

As his Soul Power churned, Xu Nian'an's bones popped and crackled, and his cultivation broke through once more.

[Level 40!]

Hum~!!!

Xu Nian'an slowly opened his eyes. His third soul ring flashed, and waves of sword intent began to rage.

Forty Dragon Emperor Swords manifested around Xu Nian'an, and a phantom image slowly coalesced behind them.

"Withdraw~!!!"

With a single wave of his hand, the countless phantoms returned into his body.

"Your Majesty~"

Xu Nian'an slowly turned his head, his gaze meeting Ma Xiaotao's vibrant red eyes.

Withdrawing his gaze, Xu Nian'an brushed some non-existent dust off his clothes.

"I want you to lead the members of the Holy Spirit Cult to infiltrate Tianxing Province. Eliminate the high-ranking officials there, and under the guise of being the daughter of a high-ranking official, declare independence from the Heaven Dou Empire and establish the Tianjing Kingdom!"

Upon hearing Xu Nian'an's words, Ma Xiaotao slowly rose to her feet.

"As you command, Your Majesty."

On the seventh day of the seventh month, the Holy Spirit Cult infiltrated Tianxing Province.

Three days later, all the high-ranking officials in Tianxing Province were found dead. A young girl, severely wounded and on the brink of death, was discovered within the family estate of the highest-ranking official.

She was the eldest daughter of the official, the sole survivor of a family massacre.

With the support of the high-level soul masters of Tianxing Province, she rightfully took control of the military and became the new administrator of the province.

Using iron-fisted tactics, she suppressed all voices of dissent.

"Under the leadership of the Star Luo Empire, the bones of two hundred thousand of our Tianxing sons lie buried in a foreign land."

"Because of the selfish desires of a few, how many of us have seen our families torn apart!"

"I, Tianfeng, hereby announce our secession from the Star Luo Empire. We are independent, and we establish the Tianjing Kingdom."

"We shall not participate in any wars, nor shall we take orders from anyone!"

On the twelfth day of the seventh month, with the aid of the Holy Spirit Cult, Ma Xiaotao secured control over the military of Tianxing Province. Once her position was stable, she decisively announced her independence from the Star Luo Empire and established the Tianjing Kingdom.

Because Ma Xiaotao took a stand on the side of the common people, she not only faced no opposition but instead received overwhelming support from the populace.

One must remember that the two hundred thousand troops previously sent by Tianxing Province had all perished in the Galloping Wolf Kingdom, causing public resentment to boil over. To make matters worse, this had been demanded by the Star Luo Empire, which had just suffered a crushing defeat.

Why continue to follow the Star Luo Empire?

To let their children and husbands continue to die on the battlefield?

It was better to refuse to fight, become an independent kingdom, and no longer heed the summons of Star Luo.

Upon learning of the establishment of the Tianjing Kingdom, the Great Ming Empire immediately issued a statement.

"The Great Ming holds no grudge against the Tianjing Kingdom. The Great Ming acts only to protect its own citizens and ensure its interests are not infringed upon. As long as the Tianjing Kingdom does not harm the interests of the Great Ming, the Great Ming will not send troops, nor will it initiate any war. The Great Ming loves peace and hopes for peace!"