"Mmm!"
An unknown amount of time passed.
The two woke up in Luo Feng's simple little tent.
Looking at the beautiful Heaven Dou princess in his arms,
Luo Feng felt as though he were dreaming.
There had been no wedding bows, nor any royal ceremonies.
He did not even have the status of prince consort.
Yet he had already... with this princess.
"A Feng, why do you like climbing mountains so much?"
Seeing that the man beside her had woken up,
Princess Vina rested her head against his shoulder
while reaching out to trace little circles on his chest.
Once a girl set her heart on a man,
her entire body and mind would undergo enormous changes.
"Well, it's a personal hobby, I suppose!"
"Just as some people want to become number one under heaven, I want to conquer every towering mountain!"
Looking at the princess acting like a spoiled little kitten in his arms,
Luo Feng made up a rather far-fetched excuse.
But Vina did not probe further. Instead, she offered him an unexpected surprise.
"I know where the highest peak in the Ming Dou Mountain Range is. I can take you there!"
"I won't demand that you go to the Heaven Dou Empire and become my prince consort immediately, but you must take responsibility for me!"
"A Feng, will you promise me?"
Look at that!
Before and after, only a few hours had passed.
Yet the difference had turned heaven and earth upside down!
Now, Vina's eyes had no room for any other man.
Luo Feng occupied her every thought.
Whatever his status or background,
none of it was a problem before true love!
"All right, I promise!"
"I'll take responsibility for my woman!"
At that moment, Luo Feng was also filled with reflections.
Some aspects of human nature were the same, no matter the plane.
But from this day onward,
the fate of the Heaven Dou Empire would most likely be tied to his.
"Your Highness!"
"Princess Vina, where are you?"
Just as the young couple intended to relive their earlier intimacy,
the calls of young men and women came from outside the tent.
It seemed the princess's guards had arrived.
"Ah!"
Hearing her subordinates calling,
Princess Vina immediately started.
Then she hurried out of the tent, once again assuming her previous dignified bearing as a beauty.
Luo Feng cooperatively stood to one side as well,
greeting the group of handsome men and beautiful women before him.
"Your Highness, we finally found you!"
"This gentleman is...?"
Although there did not seem to be anything unusual about the two,
seeing Luo Feng so close to the princess,
the guards were still a little nervous. One woman named Mu Xue even drew her sword.
"Xiao Xue, what are you doing?"
"This Mr. Luo saved me. To repay him, I've decided to accompany him on a climb up the highest peak of Ming Dou!"
Hearing the princess's words,
all the guards wore very strange expressions.
Saving the princess was indeed a great service.
But instead of giving him a reward, she was taking him mountain climbing.
What was that supposed to mean?
Still, though they were puzzled,
none of them dared disobey the princess's orders!
"As you command!"
"There happens to be a shortcut here that leads straight to the highest peak of the Ming Dou Mountain Range!"
"But that area is somewhat sensitive. We might encounter people from the Star Luo Empire or the Sun Moon Empire!"
"No matter. We need only protect Mr. Luo as he climbs the peak!"
Hearing her subordinate's warning,
Princess Vina remained utterly firm.
Seeing her like this, the guards beside her could hardly say anything more.
They could only follow her orders!
As coincidence would have it,
just as Luo Feng and the others were climbing toward the highest peak,
on the other side of the mountain range, a small team from the Sun Moon Empire also seemed to be heading this way.
Leading them was a mature, orange-haired beauty wearing glasses, named Ju Zi.
According to the original timeline of the Douluo Continent,
this woman would become quite extraordinary in the future.
She would become the empress who ruled the Sun Moon Empire.
But now, she was merely leading a team on a field terrain survey using Soul Tools!
"Everyone, move a little farther ahead!"
"Stay alert. Don't get into a conflict with anyone from the Star Luo Empire!"
"We're under a ceasefire right now. We can't let them find an excuse!"
In fact,
Ju Zi had her own personal reasons for coming here.
The great war between the Sun Moon Empire and the Star Luo Empire back then had taken place in the Ming Dou Mountain Range.
Ju Zi's father had merely been an army cook.
Yet he, too, had died beneath the iron hooves of the Star Luo Empire's White Tiger Duke.
Thus, every year, Ju Zi would find all sorts of excuses to come here and pay respects to her father's departed soul.
And so,
these two completely unsuspecting groups
ran straight into each other while climbing the highest peak.
"Who goes there?"
"Identify yourselves!"
"We're from the Sun Moon Empire Soul Engineer Academy!"
Faced with this sudden threat,
the Heaven Dou Empire guards' first reaction was naturally to protect their princess.
Princess Vina, however, cared only about Luo Feng beside her.
"Stop them! Don't let them get back!"
And so,
a battle that should never have happened began.
"Damn it!"
"Get into the All-Terrain Exploration Soul Tool!"
"Use the automatic weapons to fight while retreating!"
This was a Soul Tool robot that combined offense and defense.
It was a specialty of the Sun Moon Empire.
It looked like a large sphere, with room for around three people inside.
Several spider-like mechanical legs were fitted to the outside of the sphere.
It was particularly suited to moving through mountainous terrain.
It was also equipped with a certain amount of firepower and protective shields.
Compared with their Heaven Dou Empire opponents, the Sun Moon Empire's equipment was better suited to the terrain here.
Originally, Luo Feng had not intended to waste words with them.
He could simply kill them!
But when he saw that orange-red robot, his eyes suddenly lit up.
Compared with climbing barehanded, this thing was far more advanced!
So he reached out and stopped Vina and her reckless group.
"Protect the princess and withdraw first. I'll handle these Sun Moon Empire fellows!"
"A Feng, I'm not leaving!"
Seeing that her lover seemed intent on putting himself in danger, Vina grew anxious.
But Luo Feng turned back with a gentle smile.
"Be good, darling! Have you forgotten how strong I am?"
"Withdraw first. Once I've dealt with them, I'll come find you in the Heaven Dou Empire!"
"Then... then be careful!"
At this point, Vina could no longer spare any attention for the shocked looks around her.
Before leaving, she even made a point of giving him a firm kiss in front of everyone.
The guards beside her were left dumbfounded!
But there was no time to marvel.
Protecting the princess as she withdrew was their utmost priority!
Soon, Vina and the others left the detection range of the Sun Moon Empire's Soul Tools.
Only Luo Feng remained at the scene!
"Seize him!"
"He must be a Star Luo Empire spy!"
"Capture him and bring him back to the military camp!"
Seeing that only one person remained,
Ju Zi immediately issued orders to her team.
The next moment, however, the orange-haired beauty witnessed an unbelievable sight.
"Playing at off-road mountain driving before the Mountain Dragon King?
Behold my first Soul Skill, [Mountains and Rivers]!"
Crack, crack, crack!
Rumble!
The instant Luo Feng finished speaking, the entire mountain range shook violently.
One enormous fissure after another instantly swallowed the Sun Moon Empire people nearby.
And the huge stone pillars shooting out of them pierced those Soul Tools mercilessly, like spear after spear.
Soon, even the Soul Tool Ju Zi was riding in
was firmly wedged in place by more than a dozen enormous stone pillars.
It had completely lost its power!
"What?"
"What kind of Soul Skill is this? It can actually control the entire mountain range!"
Amid her panic, Ju Zi suddenly heard a knock at the door.
She looked up.
The man from earlier was clinging to the window of the All-Terrain Exploration Soul Tool with a grin.
He smiled and waved at her...
"Beautiful, open the door!"
"How about we make a deal?"