Chapter 7: System Rewards, a Two-Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring! (Please add to your collection!)
May 25, 2625, Douluo Calendar.
May 25, Great Ming Calendar.
From the history books of the Great Ming Kingdom:
[The eighth king of the Starry Sky Kingdom, King Nebula, was assassinated. Rebels seized power within the kingdom, territory was lost, and refugees and bandits ran rampant. The Gulei Kingdom, a lackey of the Heaven Dou Empire, saw our nation in peril and raised its troops against us. The Starry Sky Kingdom teetered on the brink of collapse!
A kingdom with six hundred years of history was counting down to its defeat.
At this critical moment, Xu Nian'an, the legitimate heir of King Sky Cloud, held up the crumbling edifice. Though young, he had the resolve to restore the kingdom. He ascended the throne and changed its name to Ming!
He feigned an empty city, then drew water from the North Sea in a masterstroke, drowning two hundred thousand elite Gulei Kingdom soldiers and winning a great victory!]
"Ah, yes, yes, yes, that's exactly how it should be written. Make sure it sticks to the facts. Just because I'm your king, don't go flattering me on purpose. There's no need, no need."
"Wahahaha~"
Xu Nian'an laughed offhandedly as he spoke, then put away the Dragon Emperor Sword in his hand.
"Your Majesty, I wouldn't dare. I wouldn't dare. I may not have any other talents, but I do have one: honesty. I am absolutely loyal to Your Majesty."
The speaker was clearly a man, but there was something slightly off about his voice. Evidently, it had been specially altered.
"Heh heh heh, I like honest people like you. From now on, you're the royal historian."
"At the founding of the kingdom, we're short on talent. You're one of the few we have. I have no other demands of you; my only requirement is that you record the truth."
With that, Xu Nian'an patted the other man on the shoulder and turned to leave.
···
"Prepare a bath! I'm taking one, so hurry up!"
After bathing and changing, Xu Nian'an looked at his younger brother and felt a little regret.
After regretting it for three seconds, he rubbed his hands together and turned his gaze to the system's quest panel.
[Main Quest: Demonstrate the might of the kingdom. The Great Ming Kingdom's authority must not be violated. Annihilate the two hundred thousand enemy troops of the Gulei Kingdom. (Completed, click to claim reward!)]
"Good luck, good luck! Critical hit, critical hit!!!"
After realizing how powerless he was in a certain regard, Xu Nian'an couldn't wait to get an adult's body and show off his lustful might... Ahem, he meant his imperial might.
[Ding! System rewards successfully claimed!]
[Congratulations, Host! You have obtained one Two-Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring, one Myriad Worlds Summoning Card, and two hundred thousand Dragon Guards!]
One Two-Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring... Tsk, tsk, tsk. Damn, it was getting close to the age of a Ferocious Beast Soul Ring.
Not bad, not bad.
One Myriad Worlds Summoning Card.
A white-stockinged, twin-tailed little loli, or a domineering black-haired CEO big sister... Either one would do.
Not bad, not bad.
T-Two hundred thousand Dragon Guards?!
Smack!
Xu Nian'an slapped himself on the head.
Damn it! Xu Nian'an was kicking himself.
He had just annihilated two hundred thousand Gulei Kingdom soldiers, and now the system was rewarding him with an army of two hundred thousand. What was that supposed to mean?
Wasn't it obvious?
He should've killed the rebels imprisoned in the dungeons, along with their entire nine generations of kin. Maybe he could've gotten another ten thousand Dragon Guards out of it.
[Dragon Guards: Though they have mortal bodies, those who earn a place among them possess physical strength and combat power at the human limit. They obey your commands; it is the Dragon Guards' sacred duty! (Loyalty: 100%)]
Holy crap. Seeing that one hundred percent loyalty made Xu Nian'an feel even more conflicted.
"Summon!"
Clatter, clatter, clatter...
"Who's there? How dare you! Who are you people?!"
Hearing the Imperial Guard commander Xu Yi's panicked voice outside, Xu Nian'an felt a little embarrassed.
"Ahem, Xu Yi, come in."
···
[Ding! Main Quest triggered: Expand the territory (conquer all the Gulei Kingdom's territory), reclaim lost lands (territory on the other side of the Star Luo Empire)... Become the third empire on Douluo Continent!]
"T-That direct? This fast?"
Hearing the system's main quest, Xu Nian'an's expression shifted. He had to admit, things were moving too fast... No, wait, wasn't this development a little too fast?
But... it was exciting.
Thinking of making his debut before the nobles of those empires, Xu Nian'an felt a little stirred up.
"Y-Your Majesty, a lot of Dragon Armor Guards have appeared outside... W-We're surrounded!"
"Is Heaven truly going to destroy the Xu Clan?!"
"We finally got a genius with Peerless talent and unmatched strategic brilliance, only for him to face such a calamity..."
Holy crap, could you stop making things up for yourself? As an NPC, you should just do your job as an NPC.
"Silence! Those are my troops."
Hearing Xu Nian'an's words, Xu Yi froze, his body stiffening.
"Xu Yi, hear my command!"
"I order you to lead one hundred thousand Dragon Guards and bring every inch of the Gulei Kingdom under our control before daybreak!"
···
After Xu Yi left, still utterly bewildered, Xu Nian'an eagerly plunged back into the system space.
"Um, system, can I use this Two-Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring now?"
"Once I've absorbed it, if there are any adverse effects, you'll take care of the treatment, right?"
"Does this thing come with after-sales service?"
[Ding! All Soul Rings awarded by this system can be absorbed without restriction by the Host. If their energy is too powerful, it will be stored until the Host's body has grown strong enough, at which point it will be released.]
Hearing the system's reply, Xu Nian'an breathed a sigh of relief, only for a new concern to arise.
"Um, system, I don't have a problem with storing the Soul Ring's energy and releasing it later. But could you leave the Soul Ring's color unchanged?"
"I mean, I definitely won't use it to show off. I'm just worried it'll make you look bad. Surely the first Soul Ring of a dignified system's Host can't be a mere hundred years old..."
···
"System, summon the Two-Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring."
Hum~!
The instant Xu Nian'an's words fell, a blood-red pillar of light shot straight into the sky.
Whoosh~!
Mingxi City
A great pile of corpses lay here, and the Holy Spirit Cult was performing some kind of bizarre ritual.
In the darkness, a pair of eyes suddenly snapped open.
Rumble!
Just then, a blood-red pillar of light shot straight into the sky.
"That direction is... the palace!"
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~
The Holy Spirit Cult members all looked up at once.
"Carry on. I'll go see what's happening."
Long Xiaoyao stepped forward, glanced at the many Holy Spirit Cult stewards and envoys carrying out the ritual, then silently looked away.
Whoosh~
"Blood red... a hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring? No, this Soul Power fluctuation far surpasses a hundred thousand years!"
The instant Long Xiaoyao entered Xu Nian'an's palace, his eyes widened!
····
The Dragon Guards led by Xu Yi swept through the Gulei Kingdom.
In truth, the two hundred thousand troops the Gulei Kingdom had sent out were its entire strength.
So Xu Yi easily occupied the whole kingdom.
That very night, they raised the Great Ming Kingdom's Sun and Moon Flag.
The spies the Heaven Dou Empire had stationed in the Gulei Kingdom scattered in every direction.
The news spread like a plague.
That very night, the Heaven Dou Empire convened a session of its council.
"What?!"
"You're saying the entire Gulei Kingdom has been occupied, and the two hundred thousand troops sent to attack the Starry Sky Kingdom have vanished without a trace?!"
"The Sun and Moon Flag? The Great Ming Kingdom? What's that supposed to be? Is there even a kingdom by that name on the continent?"
The young and hot-tempered Xue Ye, in the prime of his life, flew into a rage.
What was this?
This was practically a direct challenge to the authority of the Heaven Dou Empire!
[PS: Brothers, please support the new book! Guess whether Qian Renxue has disguised herself as Xue Qinghe yet?]