"Damn it! Is that the plague?! Those are the infected from Nuoding City back then!"
"Why did they suddenly show up here?!"
"Damn it! We won't get infected, will we?!"
Having followed the grave robbers' trail to the scene of this chaotic melee, everyone's expressions immediately darkened.
"No! Although those fellows are indeed the infected from back then, and they have indeed spread disease while fighting the soul beasts..."
"It's nowhere near as terrifying as it was six years ago!"
"At least healing soul skills can cure it, and it won't cause those utterly terrifying mutations."
At the very first sight of the rotting green zombies, Poison Douluo Dugu Bo had slipped to the rear of the group, placing everyone protectively in front of him as he prepared to flee for his life.
After observing closely for a moment, he returned to the group.
"That's right. Even those soul beasts can withstand it with their poison resistance. We soul masters can do the same."
Yang Wudi, a Soul Douluo and the patriarch of the Breaking Clan, one of the single-attribute clans, stared fiercely at the "Giant" battling several hundred-thousand-year soul beasts amid the melee.
"If you ask me, that monster was most likely responsible for what happened in Nuoding City back then!"
"This isn't the Notting Forbidden Zone, and the plague isn't as powerful. We even happen to have a soul master from the Nine Heart Begonia clan here. Why don't we join forces and catch all these infected in one net!"
"We can wipe away our past humiliation and rid humanity of a major scourge!"
Yang Wudi's voice brimmed with murderous intent. Clearly, his failure to resolve the plague in Nuoding City back then still rankled.
Because the grave robbers had been so thorough in digging up graves and tombs, catching practically every notable faction in the Heaven Dou Empire in their net, this group had an exceptionally complete lineup.
It could be said that, aside from having fewer Titled Douluo-level experts, those standing here now far surpassed the human soul master expedition that had gone overseas.
Yang Wudi's words sounded lofty and righteous, but every faction present other than Spirit Hall hesitated to some degree.
As for Spirit Hall?
Upon seeing Chrysanthemum Douluo and Bi Shuo surrounded, Ghost Douluo Gui Mei had already led Spirit Hall's people charging over to reinforce them.
"Sir Meng Shenji! General Lü has already charged over with his Trapped Formation Camp!"
"What?!"
The Heaven Dou Empire's side had no choice. They had to avenge what happened in Nuoding City, but there was no need to be this reckless!
Meng Shenji, a member of Heaven Dou Royal Academy's education committee, stared wide-eyed as Lü Fengxian led the empire's Trapped Formation Camp into the fray, his face filled with shock.
"Well done!"
"I've long heard that His Majesty Xue Ye's adopted son is a real man. Seeing him today, he certainly lives up to his reputation!"
Watching the young general charge at the forefront toward the battlefield, Yang Wudi immediately showed his approval.
Lü Fengxian was an adopted son the Heaven Dou Emperor had taken in a few years earlier. Having made his name young, he had already reached Soul Emperor cultivation at just twenty-five.
Not only did he possess a heroic appearance, but he was also brave and decisive. Deeply trusted by the Heaven Dou Emperor and the crown prince, he was already a high-ranking general.
He could practically be called a pillar holding up the heavens for the empire's future military.
"Patriarch Ye! Let's go too! We'll avenge the old man!"
"All right!"
As those words fell, the Ye patriarch, one of only two people in the world with the Nine Heart Begonia martial soul, nodded without hesitation and followed them toward the battlefield under the protection of the Yang Clan's Soul Breaking Spear soul masters.
Even Poison Douluo Dugu Bo followed without hesitation.
The three had formed a bond because of the plague back then and could be considered old friends.
"I finally caught the plague when it isn't so powerful. It's about time I washed away this 'Fleeing Douluo' nickname!"
Back then, because the plague suppressed martial souls, Dugu Bo had only glanced at the disaster zone from afar before decisively fleeing, unable to endure the terror that welled up from deep within him.
With that old healing-type Soul Douluo having disappeared into the disaster zone, Dugu Bo, a Titled Douluo, had looked like quite the coward!
Because of that, Dugu Bo had often been mockingly called "Fleeing Douluo" over the past few years.
"Everyone! If this really were a plague on the same level as Nuoding City's back then, do you think you could still be standing here talking?"
"And don't forget, with so many soul beasts dying over there, soul bones and the like go to whoever gets there first!"
Meng Shenji did not dare let the reigning emperor's most beloved adopted son die here. After hurriedly shouting out inducements to the other factions, he too led his people into the fray.
"Hahaha! Fighting feels great!"
On the battlefield, the imperial general Lü Fengxian held an enormous Fang Tian Painted Halberd. Six soul rings-two yellow, two purple, and two black-surrounded him, blazing with a fearsome red light.
That light even bathed Lü Fengxian's armor in a bloody glow.
Behind him, the soldiers of the Trapped Formation Camp, clad in blood-red armor and utterly fearless of death, followed directly after their commander. Like a war hammer, they smashed a distinct opening through the chaotic battlefield.
"This is a battlefield under my command!"
His two skyward braids flying high, Lü Fengxian was like a fierce tiger. Whether infected or soul beasts, he killed whatever he caught.
For a time, countless infected and even several ten-thousand-year soul beasts died at his hands.
"What a tiger of a general!" In the real-world Heaven Dou Imperial Palace, Xue Ye watched the Celestial Screen excitedly, his gaze fixed on that figure who dared to rampage unrivaled across the battlefield with nothing more than a Soul Emperor's strength.
"This is the outstanding young talent of our empire! Judging by his age, he should already have awakened his martial soul by now!"
"Someone! Attend me!"
"Send people to search at once! You must find my adopted son, the empire's future great general!"
Wait... he actually exists?! Watching Xue Ye's excited expression, Qian Renxue's lips twitched, but she kept her expression unchanged as she offered her congratulations:
"Congratulations, Father! Felicitations, Father! You have gained an adopted son, and the empire has gained a tiger of a general!"
"Hahaha! Qinghe! You must treat this younger brother of yours well in the future. With one of you handling civil affairs and the other military matters, you will surely preserve the glory of the Heaven Dou Empire!"
Xue Ye's deeply wrinkled face was filled with delight, as though he had suddenly found relief after several days of constipation.
"Although Lü Fengxian is the only genius loyal to the imperial family, with the crown prince's abilities and Fengxian's Fang Tian Painted Halberd, even if restoring our former glory is out of reach, preserving Heaven Dou should at least be no problem."
Xue Ye no longer hoped that he and the next generation could resolve the problems of Spirit Hall's overwhelming power and the empire's poverty and weakness.
As long as two generations worked together to hold their foundations and wait for the right moment, they could seek a revival afterward.
For a fleeting moment, Xue Ye seemed to see Lü Fengxian walking toward him, Fang Tian Painted Halberd in hand.
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