First Contact Between Two Continents

These people from the Star Luo Empire were simply too strange. That was Xie Sen and Liu Wei's first impression.

Xie Sen studied the deck beneath his feet.

It was made of some special metal. There were no ropes or masts aboard, only towering structures of all sorts of strange shapes, gleaming with the cold sheen of metal.

This is even stranger than an ironclad. They must have used an alloy. With all this metal, how does it even move?

Liu Wei caught the faint metallic smell in the air. A low, unbroken mechanical hum filled his ears, as though this steel behemoth were still breathing.

The crew wore clothes of fine material and minimalist design. They silently attended to their duties, their movements displaying a discipline Liu Wei had never seen before.

This has to be a military force. Only the military could be this organized and disciplined.

Xie Sen and Liu Wei were both certain of that.

The only thing they could not understand was what the man holding a little square box-the photographer-was doing. Did armies have people like him?

Only after warily surveying his surroundings did Xie Sen look at the nobleman seated behind the long table. The man appeared middle-aged, his blond hair impeccably combed. He wore a dark suit and a tie bearing a family crest.

A family crest? A nobleman, just as I thought! It looks like he owns these ships.

"Gentlemen, welcome aboard the White Tiger. I am Joander, a Third-Rank Councilor of the Divine Realm Empire."

Joander wore a carefully rehearsed smile, warm yet professional.

That single sentence contained far too much information for Xie Sen and Liu Wei to process.

Although Joander's intonation and pronunciation were somewhat unusual, Xie Sen was certain he had not misheard the crucial words. He stammered:

"Wh-what empire? The Divine Realm Empire? There's no such country on the continent."

"Not on the Douluo Continent. To be precise, we come from the Divine Realm Empire on the Spirit Ice Continent."

Joander said:

"We do not represent the Star Luo Empire. The white tiger flag is merely the result of a coincidence."

They aren't from the Star Luo Empire? If they aren't, why are they flying a white tiger flag? And what's this Spirit Ice Continent...

Huh?

Are you sure this isn't some plot by the Star Luo Empire?

Those thoughts flashed through Xie Sen's mind in an instant.

But when he saw Joander's earnest expression, he suddenly felt the world spinning around him. He seemed to have stumbled into something momentous.

"Lord Joander. I am Xie Sen, a port... official of the Heaven Frost Principality. This is my colleague, Liu Wei. On behalf of His Highness the Heaven Frost Grand Duke, I extend our greetings to you and your... vessels." Xie Sen took a deep breath and inclined his head slightly, maintaining the dignity of a principality official.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Joander began:

"First, please allow me to reiterate that the Divine Realm Empire harbors absolutely no preexisting hostility toward the Various Kingdoms of the Douluo Continent or their peoples... As a nation committed to peaceful exploration and friendly exchange, the Divine Realm Empire seeks to establish constructive diplomatic relations with the civilizations of the Various Kingdoms of the Douluo Continent..."

Listening to this diplomatic language gave Xie Sen and Liu Wei a headache. As their introductions had made clear, they were merely minor officials, not professional diplomats.

Fortunately, after that lengthy stretch of official rhetoric, Joander finally presented his requests: entry into the port to resupply, the delivery of diplomatic credentials to the Various Kingdoms of the Douluo Continent to establish diplomatic relations, and trade.

Clearly, Xie Sen could not authorize even the first request. He steadied himself and replied in the calmest official tone he could manage, "Administrative Officer, I will report your requests to His Highness the Duke without omitting a single word. Until then, please remain in your current anchorage with your crew."

"Of course." Joander's smile remained unchanged. "We fully understand and respect your procedures. We look forward to your government's response. May this mark the beginning of a productive relationship between our two nations."

Xie Sen and Liu Wei were sent back to their small boat.

Long Yue borrowed the photographer's photographic Soul Tool to take several pictures commemorating the moment. In future history books, these photographs would be passed down through compulsory education.

"What a shame. I think this exchange was completely pointless. We didn't sign even one substantive agreement. And these two officials... their ranks are far too low. They can't make decisions."

Long Yue muttered to himself.

Based on his understanding of such feudal states, a long stretch of passing the buck awaited the oceangoing fleet.

Everyone would say they needed to consult their superiors. Everyone would say they could not make the decision themselves.

Xie Sen and Liu Wei answered to the Heaven Frost Grand Duke, who in turn answered to the Heaven Dou Empire. Once the matter reached the Heaven Dou Emperor, he would have to deliberate with a crowd of veteran ministers. Even ten days or half a month might not be enough to produce a result.

The oceangoing fleet's members were all elites, and Joander had anticipated this as well. He therefore reported to Sima Lanxiao, "Judging by my estimate of their administrative efficiency, it may take a very long time to get a result."

Sima Lanxiao sat in his room with both hands braced on the table. "Do you have any ideas?"

"A display of strength," Joander said. "A single Titled Douluo would suffice. Only then will the entire Douluo Continent take the empire seriously, rather than leaving us waiting here like some third-rate tributary state, subject to other people's arrangements."

"Proceed as you suggested."

After returning, Xie Sen and Liu Wei reported to their superiors.

Their superiors reported to their own superiors, and the report climbed level by level until it reached the Heaven Frost Grand Duke.

Upon hearing that the fleet did not belong to the Star Luo Empire, the Heaven Frost Grand Duke immediately relaxed. At least he no longer had to fear the destruction of his country.

Yet those three oceangoing vessels remained a hot potato in the Heaven Frost Grand Duke's eyes.

"Since the Divine Realm Empire People intend to establish diplomatic relations with the Heaven Dou Empire, let them wait. I must first report this to His Majesty the Heaven Dou Emperor."

The Heaven Frost Grand Duke did not dare allow the Divine Realm Empire's three massive warships into port, but neither did he dare make mortal enemies of these people from another continent.

"We can consider supplying them as circumstances permit. But we should still keep them out of the port. We can have them go to one of the empire's directly administered provinces and leave the matter to the local officials."

The Heaven Frost Grand Duke reflected that his own principality was hardly wealthy. Once he had supplied the Divine Realm Empire People, he hoped they would leave his port as quickly as possible.

Traveling north along the continent's coastline would bring them to the mouth of the Gold Blue River, where the Snow Spirit Province lay under the Heaven Dou Empire's control. If the Divine Realm Empire People wanted to cause trouble, they could go trouble one of the empire's directly administered provinces.

"Bad news, Your Grace!" A panicked attendant burst through the door into the Heaven Frost Grand Duke's study. "The Divine Realm Empire People have come ashore!"

"Come ashore? Who gave them permission to come ashore?" The Heaven Frost Grand Duke abruptly rose. "Didn't I say we would send supplies out to them?"

In the Heaven Frost Grand Duke's eyes, the Divine Realm Empire People were like a band of beggars who had come asking for alms, only with knives in their hands. Sending them supplies was simply spending money to ward off disaster.

Why are the Divine Realm Empire People so lacking in propriety?

The attendant's face was filled with terror. "Because... because there's a... Titled Douluo among the Divine Realm Empire People... nine Soul Rings! No one dared stop him."

[History]

Countless ordinary people lived in the cracks of history, born without fanfare and dying without a sound.

Xie Sen and Liu Wei were fortunate. A chance opportunity let them squeeze into the mighty tides of history.

Unfortunately, ordinary people had no right to choose amid history's surging waves.

-First Contact, Joander, diplomat of the Divine Realm Empire.