In the Soul Hall's Worship Hall.
Qian Daoliu carefully stayed by Bo Saixi's side.
The urge he'd had to discuss the meaning of life with Bo Saixi had been thoroughly suppressed when she announced that she was pregnant.
In its place was joy over her pregnancy.
And so, Qian Daoliu quietly held Bo Saixi all night.
Until dawn the next day.
Qian Daoliu and Bo Saixi were still wandering through their dreams.
Suddenly, a familiar voice came from outside the Soul Hall. "Brother Qian, wake up! Something terrible has happened!"
Qian Daoliu and Bo Saixi were both startled awake by the familiar voice.
Qian Daoliu barked, "Kong Deming, this had better be something earth-shattering!"
"Otherwise, even the King of Heaven himself won't be able to save you!"
As he spoke, Qian Daoliu gently laid Bo Saixi flat on the bed, then straightened his clothes and flew out of the hall.
Outside, Kong Deming looked utterly dejected as he gazed at Qian Daoliu.
Seeing him like this, Qian Daoliu knew that something really had happened.
So he patiently asked Kong Deming, "Kong Deming, tell me! What's got you rushing around in such a panic?"
Seeing Qian Daoliu's tone soften, Kong Deming finally dared to fly closer to him.
He said, "Brother Qian, the Star Luo Empire has joined forces with the Dou Ling Empire to attack the Sun Moon Empire!"
"The Holy Spirit Cult is slaughtering people across the former Heaven Dou Empire!"
"An unidentified force is wreaking havoc throughout the Sun Moon Empire!"
Kong Deming told Qian Daoliu the intelligence he had just received the previous night.
Qian Daoliu furrowed his brow slightly.
He was especially troubled to hear Kong Deming say that the Holy Spirit Cult was slaughtering entire cities.
A purple light blazed between Qian Daoliu's brows, and a purple scepter shimmered into view.
Qian Daoliu snorted. "The Holy Spirit Cult? Excellent!"
Anyone who knew Qian Daoliu could tell that he was truly enraged.
As the aura of Destruction around him continued to surge,
Kong Deming was the first to sense the danger. He couldn't help warning him, "Brother Qian!"
But his words clearly had no effect.
A beautiful figure flew out of the Soul Hall and came to Qian Daoliu's side. She gently took his large hand and sent the energy of Life from within herself into his body.
Then she softly called his name. "Qian Daoliu!"
Only then did Qian Daoliu come slightly back to his senses from the Will of Destruction.
"Uh, Xixi, why did you come out?"
Coming back to himself, Qian Daoliu felt the warmth of her hand in his palm and saw that it was Bo Saixi, the woman carrying his child.
He couldn't help reproaching her.
Bo Saixi, in turn, asked him with a hint of reproach, "Qian Daoliu, what happened to make you so furious first thing in the morning?"
At her words, Qian Daoliu realized that he'd lost control of his emotions. He turned and pointed at Kong Deming. "Xixi, you'll have to ask Kong Deming about that!"
So Kong Deming explained the news about the continent from the night before all over again.
Bo Saixi furrowed her brow slightly as she listened.
She said, "Brother Kong, lead the way."
"Qian Daoliu and I will follow shortly!"
Just as Bo Saixi agreed to go, Qian Daoliu spoke up. "No, Xixi. You're in a delicate condition right now. Stay here in the Soul Hall and rest."
Then Qian Daoliu turned to Kong Deming. "Brother Kong, lead the way. I'll go with you to meet His Majesty!"
But Bo Saixi wasn't the sort of person to let Qian Daoliu face danger alone.
So Qian Daoliu and Bo Saixi met each other's eyes.
In the end, Qian Daoliu was the one to back down.
He had no choice but to agree to take Bo Saixi with him to meet Xu Tianran.
"Good!"
Seeing that Qian Daoliu and Bo Saixi had reached a decision, Kong Deming immediately led the way.
After a long while, Qian Daoliu and Bo Saixi followed Kong Deming to meet Xu Tianran.
Xu Tianran was still seated quietly in his wheelchair, his complexion almost sickly.
Before him lay reports and intelligence from every corner of the empire.
Standing beside Xu Tianran was Empress Ju Zi.
But today, she wasn't simply standing behind him. Instead, she wore a suit of a general's armor and stood respectfully at his side, looking every bit the female general.
Also standing below Xu Tianran was Jing Hongchen of Mingde Hall.
Xu Tianyuan of the Imperial Dragon Soul Master Legion.
And several generals and marshals whom Qian Daoliu didn't recognize.
Seeing this, Qian Daoliu could roughly guess that Xu Tianran was preparing to counterattack.
Sure enough, when Xu Tianran saw Qian Daoliu and Bo Saixi arrive,
he immediately greeted them respectfully. "Greetings, Your Eminences!"
"I didn't intend to trouble either of you, but the situation has changed suddenly. Evil Soul Masters are slaughtering people across entire cities!"
"The empire is also facing a massive attack from the Xingluo Empire!"
"I can only ask you both to deal with the Evil Soul Masters within the Heaven Dou Empire!"
Xu Tianran spoke a couple of sentences, then coughed up blood several times.
Anyone who didn't know better would think he was on the verge of death.
"Your Majesty, are you all right?"
"Since the two Eminences will handle the Heaven Dou Empire, then I, your consort, will deal with the Star Luo Empire's army!"
The speaker was Empress Ju Zi, dressed in military uniform.
She gently patted Xu Tianran's back with one hand and made her request to him with the other.
At her words, Xu Tianran glanced sideways at Ju Zi, then turned and exchanged a look with Kong Deming.
He immediately gave his orders. "Ju Zi, I command you to lead the Imperial Dragon Soul Master Legion, the Dreadclaw Soul Engineer Corps, and the Evil Eye Soul Engineer Corps to the Mingdou Mountain Range front at once!"
"Stop the enemy from entering the empire's interior at all costs!"
"I obey!"
"I obey!"
"I obey!"
"I obey!"
Ju Zi bowed to accept the command. Unable to hide her delight, she acknowledged the order in a ringing voice and thanked him before taking her leave. Xu Tianyuan and two other generals also stepped forward to leave with her.
Qian Daoliu looked with interest at Ju Zi in her military uniform. Though he wondered why Xu Tianran had entrusted the front line's heavy forces to a woman, he didn't show it.
Next, Xu Tianran gave Kong Deming an order. "Elder Kong, a suspicious Soul Master force has appeared within the empire, and all of our surveillance efforts have failed. I'll have to ask you to deal with them personally!"
Kong Deming bowed and clasped his hands as he accepted the order, his expression grave. But unlike Ju Zi, he didn't leave at once.
He'd read the reports and knew how elusive this unidentified force was. They seemed to treat the empire's surveillance devices as if they didn't exist, making them extremely difficult to handle.
But as the empire's Great Enshrined, he couldn't refuse. He immediately agreed, planning to return and mobilize the elite forces of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Corps to cover the entire territory and carefully track down the mysterious force's whereabouts.
Then, to Qian Daoliu and Bo Saixi's curiosity, Xu Tianran turned to Jing Hongchen and gave him his next order. "Jing Hongchen, the empire is entering a state of war. Mingde Hall will take full responsibility for producing all the empire's Soul Tools!"
"Yes!"
Qian Daoliu saw Jing Hongchen step forward with a solemn expression to accept the order.
After hearing Xu Tianran's first three deployments, Qian Daoliu saw that Xu Tianran was now looking toward him and Bo Saixi.
He knew Xu Tianran was about to assign him a task.
So Qian Daoliu held his breath, curious about what orders Xu Tianran would give him.
Before you continue