Foolish Spirit Hall

"Oh? What do you think, my son?"

"Speak freely. Even if you're wrong, I won't criticize you."

Hearing Dai Xuanyu's words, the Star Luo Emperor Dai Heng decided to test his son.

Soul Masters were the dominant force on the Douluo Continent, and powerful Soul Masters held incomparably exalted positions.

But strength alone was not enough to make an excellent emperor.

He also needed grand ambitions, political cunning, the ability to govern, extraordinary resolve, military talent, and strategic vision...

In short, becoming an excellent emperor was no simple matter.

At Dai Heng's question, Dai Xuanyu thought for a moment before answering respectfully:

"Father, this is what I think."

"The Heaven Dou Imperial Family is weak and incompetent. Its territory may contain many powers led by the Upper Three Sects, along with numerous powerful Soul Masters and several Titled Douluo, but there's still no need to fear it."

Dai Xuanyu paused, then explained, "Those powers may involve themselves in a war between nations, but they won't play a decisive role."

"Though these so-called great powers reside within the Heaven Dou Empire, most put their own families and sects first. Defending the empire comes second."

"Apart from those bound so tightly to the Heaven Dou Imperial Family that they can no longer pull away, none will serve it with much zeal."

"After all, even if our Star Luo Empire unifies the Douluo Continent, their standing won't change much. There will simply be a different imperial family above them."

Dai Xuanyu's assessment of the Heaven Dou Empire cut straight to the bone.

A war between the Star Luo and Heaven Dou imperial families had nothing to do with those so-called great sects and clans.

After all, the imperial families and the various powers currently shared rule over the Douluo Continent.

The imperial families aimed to govern the ordinary people within their borders and hold on to their realms.

Of course, they welcomed Soul Masters willing to serve their empires. They genuinely needed that fighting strength.

But unless a dispute in the Soul Master World had far-reaching consequences, the imperial families would not involve themselves too deeply.

Only if an imperial family grew strong enough to suppress most powers in the world and bring them fully under its empire's control would those powers begin to watch it warily.

Judging by the current state of the two empires, however, no one believed that was possible.

Thus, even if the imperial family above those great powers changed,

it would hardly matter, so long as the new rulers left them room to maneuver and did not touch their little patches of land.

Otherwise, given the number of powerful people within the Heaven Dou Empire, the Star Luo Empire would not have kept it on the back foot throughout the war.

Sending those Titled Douluo to strike at the commanders now and then would have been enough to rout the Star Luo army.

So many powers could accept the Star Luo Empire defeating the Heaven Dou Empire and unifying the entire Douluo Continent.

Well, except for those bound so tightly to the Heaven Dou Imperial Family that they had effectively wagered everything on it.

"Mm. You're quite right, my son. The Heaven Dou Imperial Family is nothing to fear. Spirit Hall remains the greatest threat to our Star Luo Imperial Family."

Dai Heng was thoroughly pleased by Dai Xuanyu's clear, orderly analysis.

His crown prince was only six years old, yet he already understood these matters so deeply. Dai Heng could not have been more satisfied.

If he kept growing, the prince would surely become an emperor for the ages and lead the Star Luo Empire to unite the entire Douluo Continent.

Father worries too much. Neither the Heaven Dou Empire nor Spirit Hall is anything to fear.

Dai Xuanyu had clearly noticed the wariness in his father's voice when he mentioned Spirit Hall.

With his god's-eye view, Dai Xuanyu felt that Spirit Hall posed no real threat.

Bibi Dong had utterly ruined a splendid position.

Most crucially, not one person within Spirit Hall had seen it. They had all fallen into the arrogance and fervor of believing Spirit Hall was first under heaven.

That was precisely why the Spirit Hall Empire it later founded would provoke every power on the continent into fighting back together.

Spirit Hall had already been an immensely powerful religious organization.

Once it became the Spirit Hall Empire, it became an empire that united religion and government.

That was no ordinary empire. Many powers would fear it, especially those with beliefs of their own, or those that were religious organizations themselves.

More crucially, Spirit Hall was not merely too strong. It was too aggressive, leaving others no way to survive.

The success of the Soul Hunting Operation strengthened Spirit Hall's ability to intimidate the two empires and the other Soul Master sects.

At least, that was how Spirit Hall itself saw it.

But how did the other powers see it?

They already feared Spirit Hall. After that show of force, they feared it even more.

Foolish Spirit Hall. Recalling its actions in the original story, Dai Xuanyu wanted to laugh.

The fear and alarm the Soul Hunting Operation had stirred among the two empires and the various powers had yet to subside.

Thinking the situation was firmly in its favor, Spirit Hall suspended the Soul Hunting Operation and began infiltrating the two empires, turning its spearhead toward every power at once.

It even launched surprise attacks, wiping out the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan of the Upper Three Sects and dealing a devastating blow to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Everyone under heaven was shocked. All felt the chill of seeing another's lips perish and knowing their own teeth would soon be cold.

And it did not stop there. Spirit Hall then used the destruction of two of the Upper Three Sects and the third's withdrawal from the world as its pretext.

It announced a tournament to establish new Seven Great Sects, attempting to seize control of the entire Soul Master World.

Its intentions were as plain as Sima Zhao's ambition—known to every passerby. Who could fail to see what Spirit Hall wanted?

After its infiltration plan began, Spirit Hall hosted the assembly to select the new Seven Great Sects, and the new sects were duly chosen.

All seven were Spirit Hall's most loyal supporters, so its prestige reached its peak after the selection ended.

The new Seven Great Sects submitted a joint petition, declaring that the Soul Masters under their command all revered Spirit Hall and asking it to lead Soul Masters as a whole.

Spirit Hall did not even bother to keep up appearances. It openly declared its intent to rule every Soul Master under heaven.

I have to admit, Spirit Hall really did have an absurdly thick health bar.

As Dai Xuanyu carefully recalled the later events of the original story, he could not help marveling inwardly.

Any ordinary power would have been finished after pulling even one stunt like that.

Spirit Hall, by contrast, pulled one after another, suffered no consequences, grew stronger, and went on to make even bigger moves.

And it still was not done. Three months later, Spirit Hall declared itself a nation and renamed itself the Spirit Hall Empire.

Yes, Spirit Hall was no longer content to rule the world's Soul Masters. It wanted to rule everyone.

The Spirit Hall Empire closed every Spirit Hall branch within the former territories of the two empires and recalled their Soul Masters.

Through its infiltration plan, it also brought every kingdom and duchy that had belonged to the two empires into its territory.

The Spirit Hall Empire stretched between the two empires, completely severing contact between them.

With more than ten kingdoms and duchies combined under it, its total territory was no smaller than either of the divided empires.

Then, more than three years later, the two empires sent their armies to attack the Spirit Hall Empire at the same time.

The great powers unwilling to submit to the Spirit Hall Empire threw everything they had into the fight.

After all, if the Spirit Hall Empire truly united the Douluo Continent, those powers would be finished.

They could either become its dogs and adopt its faith, or be wiped out to the last.

Under those circumstances, the two empires and the various powers stood united as never before.

Looking over Spirit Hall's actions in the middle and later stages, it was clear that Dai Xuanyu's judgment was right on the mark.

Only the foundations Spirit Hall had built over thousands of years gave it a health bar thick enough to withstand all that.

Otherwise, Bibi Dong and the others would have destroyed Spirit Hall long ago.

If Spirit Hall had been even a little less arrogant and known how to proceed step by step, the Douluo Continent would already have been theirs.