Whoosh~
Swish!
"Ming Lei, third elder of the Holy Spirit Cult, pays his respects to Your Majesty!"
Not long after the figure was summoned, a person appeared beside Xu Nian'an.
Soon after that person appeared, another figure slowly materialized between Xu Nian'an and him.
"Great Worship."
Ming Lei cupped his hands.
Seeing that the newcomer was one of their own, Long Xiaoyao visibly breathed a sigh of relief.
That sudden Titled Douluo aura, appearing so close to Xu Nian'an, had nearly scared Long Xiaoyao out of his wits.
He'd thought it was an assassin. After all, the previous king of the Starry Sky Kingdom had been assassinated.
"Ming Lei, hear my command."
Xu Nian'an turned and looked at Ming Lei Douluo. To be honest, he couldn't make out much.
Most of the Holy Spirit Cult's attire looked pretty much the same.
"Your subordinate is here."
Ming Lei raised his head, a flash of lightning flickering in his eyes.
"I order you to lead every member of the Holy Spirit Cult to the Gulei Kingdom and cow the petty troublemakers there."
To be honest, if the Starry Sky Kingdom had had even a few more Soul Masters, it wouldn't have been carved up by the two great empires.
Although wars between nations were now fought by ordinary people, that didn't mean Soul Masters were powerless.
The pressure exerted by high-level Soul Masters was immense. They could easily cut down the rear ranks, even through layers of defenses.
The king of the Gulei Kingdom was a perfect example.
He had looked down on the Great Ming Kingdom, thinking that as long as he stationed his army in front of him, he'd be safe behind their ranks.
In reality, any high-level Soul Master could easily slip past an army and assassinate him before the soldiers even noticed.
···
[ Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have completed the side quest: Put down the rebels, purge the remnants, and restore Zhengchao Steel... Quest rating: S! ]
At noon, beneath the scorching midday sun, Xu Nian'an had the Dragon Guard execute the captured officials and their nine clans in front of everyone in Ming City.
Blood flowed without end, gathering into a little stream. Cartload after cartload of severed heads had to be hauled away.
More than twelve thousand people were killed.
Actually, there was no need to kill so many people—or, for that matter, any of them at all.
But Xu Nian'an valued his life.
What if a few madmen among them managed to sneak into the palace and come after him?
Better to kill them all and have some peace.
[ Ding! Congratulations, Host! You have received super-tech rice and soybeans... medical hospitals... Soul Tool technology data, Martial Soul data... and over five hundred professionals. ] [ Awe of Royal Power!: The Great Ming Kingdom's subjects are loyal ministers: 50%! ]
The rewards were a hodgepodge of things Xu Nian'an didn't understand. He brought the people out and let them do as they pleased.
[ Ding! Side quest triggered: Kingdom Recruitment. Recruit without limit, provide jobs, and increase the kingdom's military strength. ]
Xu Nian'an ignored the prompt.
With two hundred thousand Dragon Guard and a hundred thousand Imperial Guard, he was already struggling to keep everything in order. And now the system wanted him to recruit more soldiers?
Recruiting was fine, but first he had to secure the territory on the Gulei Kingdom's side and reclaim the lost lands.
Within the kingdom.
On Xu Nian'an's orders, Xu Yi summoned another hundred thousand Dragon Guard and took a full sixty thousand Imperial Guard to the Gulei Kingdom.
The plan was to rendezvous with the other hundred thousand Dragon Guard there, leave the sixty thousand Imperial Guard to garrison the Gulei Kingdom, then send two hundred thousand Dragon Guard to the Star Shine Duchy under the pretext of reclaiming lost territory.
Gulei Kingdom, royal palace!
"What's going on? What's the matter with your Great Ming Kingdom?"
"Does it really take you this long just to get some information?"
"I think you're doing this on purpose!"
"Are you deliberately showing contempt for the Heaven Dou Empire?"
The speaker had slicked-back black hair and an angry expression. He wore lavish white-and-gold robes.
The visitor was none other than the famed Prince Xue Xing of the Heaven Dou Empire.
He was the younger brother of Emperor Xue Ye and the uncle of Xue Beng and Xue Qinghe.
A conflict had broken out in one of the Heaven Dou Empire's vassal kingdoms, and no one knew what was going on. The Gulei Kingdom had fallen completely.
Worried that a low-ranking envoy wouldn't be taken seriously by the Great Ming Kingdom, the Heaven Dou Empire had sent Prince Xue Xing of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family to find out what was happening.
Xue Xing was a prince of the Heaven Dou Empire and Emperor Xue Ye's younger brother. His status was more than enough.
No other kingdom would dare to offend or slight him. If he got killed, they'd have a perfect excuse to send in their troops.
"Heh. Any stray cat or dog can yap inside the Gulei Kingdom's palace now?"
Swish~
Two groups of people slowly entered the hall: one dressed in black robes, the other in armor.
"Who are you?"
Xue Xing frowned.
Ming Lei slowly lifted the hood of his black robe, revealing a young face framed by purple hair.
"You aren't qualified to know who I am."
His voice rang out, cool and calm.
Bang!
The next moment, Xue Xing's explosive temper finally got the better of him.
He slapped the table and shot to his feet, glaring at Ming Lei.
Slap~
Before he could even speak, a slap sent him flying.
"Go on, glare at me again. Let's see you try."
Hum~
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black—nine Soul Rings slowly appeared.
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black. At the same time, eight Soul Rings rose from each of the twenty-four deacons behind Ming Lei.
Swish~
"T-Titled... Titled Douluo... More than twenty Soul Douluos!"
"How... how is this possible?!"
Looking at Xue Xing sprawled on the ground, Xu Yi's lips curled into a smile.
"Didn't you want to know what happened to the Gulei Kingdom?"
"I'll tell you now. From this day on, there'll be no more Gulei Kingdom on the Douluo Continent. There'll be only my Great Ming Kingdom!"
That evening.
Heaven Dou Imperial Palace.
"What?"
"You're saying the Gulei Kingdom was destroyed by the Great Ming Kingdom?"
"The Great Ming Kingdom first sent a Titled Douluo to assassinate everyone in the Gulei Kingdom's camp, then drowned and buried alive its two hundred thousand troops!!!"
Emperor Xue Ye leaped to his feet in shock.
"Yes, yes, that's right! The Great Ming Kingdom has many high-level Soul Masters. A Titled Douluo came that day, along with more than twenty Soul Douluos. And that's not all—they also mobilized two hundred thousand Dragon Armor Army and headed toward the Star Luo Empire."
Hiss~ Hiss~!
A chorus of sharp gasps filled the hall.
"Who, exactly, rules the Great Ming Kingdom?"
At Xue Ye's words, Xue Xing shuddered, as though he'd just remembered something. He hurriedly said, "I remember now! I remember! I think that general said..."
"The Great Ming king is Xu Nian'an, the eldest son of Xu Xingyun, the former king of the Starry Sky Kingdom..."
At Xue Xing's words, a young man beside Emperor Xue Ye narrowed his eyes.
"Wait, Xu Xingyun... Father, I seem to remember that when Grandfather was on the throne, he married off many of my aunts to forge alliances with the other kings. Wasn't one of them married to Xu Xingyun?"
Emperor Xue Ye's eyes lit up.
"Yes, that does sound right. Wait here—I'll have the imperial genealogy brought over."
···
"Father, Qinghe is willing to go to the Great Ming Kingdom and recognize my cousin, Xu Nian'an!"