Douluo Continent: Starting from Awakening the Vermilion Bird Martial Soul

Four things happened this past year.

The first thing was that Tang Chen, the sect leader of Haotian Sect, stepped down from his position and was succeeded by his son Tang Wei as the second sect leader. This matter attracted a lot of attention, after all, it was the number one sect in the world.

Although Tang Chen had long since stopped interfering in sect affairs, he was still nominally the sect leader.

The second thing was that Qian Daoliu, the Pope of the Spirit Hall, stepped down and no longer served as Pope. Instead, he became the Grand Elder and Judgement Elder, and his son Qian Xunji became the new Pope. At the same time, Di Hong also heard a familiar name.

Bibi Dong, a student of the newly appointed Pope Qian Xunji, is a genius with innate full soul power.

Qian Daoliu's abdication and Tang Chen's abdication were basically one after the other. After learning that Tang Chen had stepped down as sect leader, Qian Daoliu abdicated not long after, with less than half a month between the two.

The third matter concerns the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. The former sect leader of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School passed away after a serious illness. Many people attended the funeral, and the royal family also specially sent the Crown Prince to offer condolences and sympathy to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School on a snowy night.

After the funeral, Ning Fengzhi became the new sect leader of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. However, he was faced with a mess. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School was beset by internal and external troubles. It was like a small boat in a stormy sea, which could capsize if it was not careful.

Many people, both inside and outside the industry, are watching Ning Fengzhi closely to see what he will do.

The fourth thing is that the Star Luo Empire launched an attack. Unlike before, although they had captured many towns and passes, they were all recovered afterward. However, this time it was different. The Star Luo Empire launched a fierce attack with an army of 400,000.

Although the Barak Kingdom had made preparations, the Star Luo Empire's offensive was too fierce, forcing them to retreat again and again. Now, Barak's 150,000-strong army has retreated to the Lima Plain; any further retreat would mean the Jialing Pass.

The Star Luo cavalry swept across the Lima Plain with almost no resistance. The Barak Kingdom could only defend itself, as they had no extra troops to spare. If they were to mobilize more troops, the rest of the country would be left defenseless.

Upon learning of this, the Heavenly Dou Empire reacted immediately. Although the old emperor was muddle-headed, he was not stupid.

He immediately mobilized 150,000 troops under the command of Crown Prince Xueye to reinforce the Lima Plain. Among these 150,000 troops were 10,000 Royal Knights.

At the same time, the emperor also ordered the Kingdom of Sylves and the Kingdom of Hagendas to send troops. Now, the Kingdom of Hagendas's 50,000 troops have arrived at the Lima Plain and joined forces with the Kingdom of Barak to resist the Star Luo Empire.

The Kingdom of Silves has not yet sent troops.

Inside the military camp, thirty miles from the city of Silves.

Di Yuan brought Di Hong here.

The kingdom's most elite troops are stationed here, including the Scaled Armor Army.

The Scale Armor Army is the most elite force in their Kingdom of Sylves, and training a Scale Armor Army soldier is extremely difficult.

They weren't riding warhorses, nor were they Heavenly Soul Horses, but rather a ferocious beast called the Scaled Armor Beast.

Although they are not soul beasts, the scaled beasts are also a bloodthirsty race. In their eyes, the Heavenly Soul Horse is almost like prey, and the training of the scaled army is extremely difficult.

Every warrior is handpicked, the cream of the crop. They must cultivate a bond with the scaled beasts when they are still cubs in order to master them. The entire Kingdom of Silves has only three thousand scaled warriors.

Moreover, the Scaled Armor Army can fight in mountains, forests, plains, and even snowfields, making them extremely powerful. Even Soul Masters of slightly lower levels dare not face them.

They were commanded by the royal general, Di Jia.

When Di Yuan arrived, Di Jia rushed over immediately. As a royal general, he was only forty-five years old and a Soul King-level Soul Master, which was considered extremely talented within the royal family.

"Your Majesty, the Scaled Armor Army has been assembled."

"Go, have a look."

Upon arriving at the training ground, three thousand armored soldiers stood in neat rows, forming a square formation.

The aura of slaughter was palpable among the Scaled Armor Army. Every soldier had piercing eyes, and their equipment was excellent. They were clad in heavy black armor, with only their eyes showing. Even their scaled beasts were heavily armored. Although their scales were already sufficient for defense, Emperor Yuan still spent money to add another layer of protection for these beasts.

Each soldier had a sword at his waist and held a black spear, the spearheads gleaming coldly in the sunlight.

It can be said that this army is armed to the teeth.

They were all knights and nobles, though only the lowest-ranking nobles, but they were still nobles.

The entire training ground was filled with a somber atmosphere.

Seeing this, Di Hong couldn't help but glance at his father. This armored army looked like they were fighting against the Royal Knights.

The Royal Knights are the elite army of the Heaven Dou Empire, with only 50,000 soldiers, all of whom are elite, and many of them are even Soul Masters.

There are also Soul Masters among the Scaled Armor Army, but not many.

However, Di Hong felt that the three thousand armored soldiers would have a hard time fighting against the Royal Knights, after all, the Royal Knights had fifty thousand, and they would be worn down eventually.

Emperor Yuan also considered expanding the scale armor army, but unfortunately, it was too difficult to train a single scale armor soldier.

A single Scaled Beast requires at least five years to raise, from infancy to adulthood. Even training soldiers is not so simple; the gold soul coins required to train one Scaled Beast soldier are enough to recruit and train one hundred ordinary soldiers.

These three thousand soldiers were all selected from within the empire.

Everything they eat and wear is the best.

Just like the Royal Knights, only 50,000 people were selected from a million-strong army.

After inspecting the armored soldiers, Di Yuan led Di Hong on a tour of other parts of the military camp.

As they were leaving, Di Yuan said, "Crown Prince Xueye sent word that the Imperial army will be passing through the kingdom's territory. We should then have our troops join them and proceed together to the Lima Plain."

"I'm planning to have you go with me so you can get some experience."

Di Hong nodded. The battlefield can indeed temper a person, and it would also be beneficial to him.

Chapter 32 Departure

Led by Xue Ye, the army of the Heavenly Dou Empire marched into the Kingdom of Silves in a grand procession. Towns and passes along the way opened their gates to let them pass.

The kingdom's army has also been assembled.

Because Xue Ye was in charge of the troops, in order to show that he was highly valued, the commander-in-chief selected by Emperor Yuan was not Shen Yi, as others had thought, but Di Yang.

While it was not uncommon for the Crown Prince of the Kingdom to personally lead troops, it was always symbolic, and he would not interfere in the command of the army. However, this time, the nobles of the country did not expect that Emperor Yuan would directly send his son to lead troops to fight against the Star Luo Empire. Moreover, this time, not only Emperor Yang but also his fourth son, Emperor Hong, were sent on the expedition.

The fact that two princes personally went there demonstrates the importance that the Emperor attached to it.

The kingdom's army for this expedition numbered only 50,000, but this included 1,000 armored soldiers.

Emperor Yang rode his warhorse, clad in armor, with a fiery red cloak billowing behind him, as his 50,000-strong army marched majestically toward the Lima Plain.

Fifty thousand troops may not seem like much in terms of numbers, but when Emperor Hong actually saw them, he was truly astonished. The soldiers marching along the road looked like a long black dragon, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Unlike others, Di Hong did not wear armor. He was a Soul Master, and armor was of no use to him.

When faced with an attack from a Soul Master, a soldier's armor is basically useless, unless it's armor made of special materials, but that kind of armor isn't meant for soldiers to wear.

Di Yang's armor can effectively resist attacks from Soul Masters below level 30, but it can only withstand them three times.

"Fourth brother, how long do you think this war with the Star Luo Empire will last?" Di Yang turned to look at Di Hong beside him.

Di Hong shook his head: "I don't know. It might take a few months. After all, the Star Luo Empire has mobilized 400,000 troops. If they retreat without taking some benefits, then this war will have been fought for nothing."

Although he couldn't predict when the Star Luo Empire would withdraw its troops, Di Hong knew that the Spirit Hall would definitely intervene. The new Pope Qian Xunji had only been on the throne for a short time when the two empires had already broken out into war. As the Pope of the Spirit Hall, a third-party force detached from the two empires, he would certainly not sit idly by.

In the past, the Spirit Hall always mediated the wars, and this time will certainly be no exception.

Pope Qian Xunji's prestige is currently insufficient; he is far inferior to Qian Daoliu in both strength and prestige. Therefore, he must increase his prestige, and mediating the war between the two empires is precisely one way to do so.

"Brother, do you think this war might have been started by the Spirit Hall?"

He felt that the outbreak of this war was too coincidental. The war between the two great empires broke out when the Spirit Hall was changing its old and new popes. There hadn't been such a large-scale war in the previous year; at most, there had been some localized small-scale wars.

Not long after the Star Luo Empire captured a town or pass, the Heaven Dou Empire and the Barak Kingdom would retake it.

"No." Di Yang shook his head firmly.

"The Spirit Hall would never provoke a war between the two great empires, and the two great empires would not listen to them, especially the Star Luo Empire."

"If it really were the Spirit Hall, then its influence wouldn't be so widespread across the continent."

Although dissatisfied with the Spirit Hall, the two empires did not stop its expansion because the Spirit Hall had not done anything too outrageous and did not pose a threat to the rule of the two empires for the time being. On the contrary, they have been trying their best to maintain a delicate balance.

Not long after the army marched, they saw the army of the Heavenly Dou Empire that had set out to fight. They were resting not far ahead, obviously waiting for the kingdom's army.

Compared to them, Di Hong suddenly felt that his 50,000 troops were not enough.

If they really rebelled, they would be wiped out in a month at most.

It can even be done in ten days or so.

This was still the declining Heavenly Dou Empire.

The Heavenly Dou Empire boasts a million-strong army, while their entire nation only has two hundred thousand troops.

One province against five provinces, plus two surrounding kingdoms.

It seems he still needs to make a proper plan.

We cannot simply raise our arms and call for war against the empire.

Xueye was already waiting there, dressed in bright silver armor, with a swan embroidered in gold thread on his blue cloak.

Di Yang and Di Hong quickly spurred their horses over and stopped two meters away from Xue Ye.

"Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince." Di Yang clasped his hands in greeting, and Di Hong did the same.

After returning the greeting with a smile, Xueye looked at Dihong next to Diyang.

"It's been a year since we last met, and Brother Di Hong is even stronger than he was in Heaven Dou City last year. It seems that you will become a Title Douluo-level powerhouse in less than twenty years. At that time, you will be the youngest Title Douluo on the continent." Xue Ye was slightly surprised. In just one year, Di Hong had actually reached the Soul Emperor level. He had never heard of such talent before.

While others his age are still Soul Venerables or at most Soul Sect Masters, he is already aiming for Soul Saint.

"Thank you for your kind words. I will work hard and live up to His Highness's expectations to serve the empire."

Xueye smiled contentedly. Regardless of whether it was sincere or not, it just sounded nice.