Douluo Continent: Starting from Awakening the Vermilion Bird Martial Soul

He patted Di Hong on the shoulder and gave him a reassuring look that made Di Hong feel uneasy.

Chapter 12 Careful work

Ten days later.

The tribute delegation arrived at Tiandou City, marking the first time Emperor Hong had visited the capital of the Tiandou Empire in the twelve years since his transmigration.

It must be said that as one of the most prosperous cities on the continent, and also the capital of the Heaven Dou Empire, Heaven Dou City is incomparable to Silves City.

Compared to the city before them, Silvers was like the countryside.

Although the city of Sylvester is quite prosperous.

The walls of Tiandou City alone are hundreds of meters high and are built with very hard stone, making them extremely strong defensively. The walls are patrolled and guarded by soldiers, and just by looking at them, you can tell that these soldiers are elite troops.

As the capital of the Heaven Dou Empire, Heaven Dou City is heavily guarded. In addition to the 100,000 Imperial Guards, there is also a Royal Knights Order of 50,000 men, who are the elite of the elite. Every soldier in the Royal Knights Order is a noble of knight rank.

When the caravan arrived at the city gate, the guards stopped them for inspection. However, upon seeing the caravan's fiery phoenix banner, they understood and respectfully let them pass without further questioning.

In the past few days, the vassal kingdoms and duchies have all come to pay tribute, so they naturally have to be on high alert. These nobles are not people that soldiers like them can afford to offend.

Tribute processions always entered through the tall city gate in the center. This gate was usually not opened; it was only opened when the army was going on a campaign, when the emperor was traveling, or when tribute was being paid.

Upon entering the city, imperial ministers immediately came to greet them. These ministers were from Xueye's faction, so they were exceptionally polite and friendly to Di Hong and his companion. After all, they were all from the same faction, so it was natural to maintain unity.

Emperor Ming politely stepped down from the carriage and bowed to the welcoming minister. Emperor Hong followed suit, bowing a step behind him.

Afterwards, the minister led them to their lodgings.

As for the accompanying soldiers, they could only be stationed outside the city. The Kingdom of Sylves had a total of 500 soldiers accompanying them, and they were not allowed to enter the city. The accompanying soldiers from several kingdoms and duchies numbered in the thousands. If all of them were to enter the city, it would be chaos.

Moreover, they are not soldiers directly under the Imperial command and must be controlled.

Di Hong held the title of Imperial Earl, so he owned an Earl's Mansion in Tiandou City. Therefore, Di Hong and his companion went to the Earl's Mansion to stay. Since it was built for themselves, they might as well stay.

As for the other accompanying officials, they had designated places to stay.

Each kingdom has a residence in Tiandou City, but these are not places that ordinary people can live in.

Apart from their own Kingdom of Silves, the other three kingdoms that came to pay tribute this time all sent ministers, not even members of the royal family. As for the duchy, they did send a son, but it was of little use.

After all, it was just a small principality, occupying the smallest province in the east. Its strength was weak, and no one took it seriously.

He arrived at his own count's mansion in the city.

Emperor Ming patted his belly and looked at the mansion in front of him.

"Second brother really got the better deal from you."

“This count’s mansion is more luxurious than any of those in our kingdom.”

"Crown Prince Xueye truly values ​​you."

Di Hong didn't say anything. He naturally understood why Xue Ye valued him. As a member of the royal family, Xue Ye naturally had to recruit geniuses for the royal family. Even if they were from the royal family, he had to find a way to get them to stand on the side of the royal family.

Upon entering the Earl's mansion, the first thing you see is an artificial hill, surrounded by a small lotus pond filled with beautiful lotus flowers. You can also see some maids and servants bustling about.

Upon seeing Di Hong, they were initially taken aback, but then immediately understood.

At this moment, a middle-aged man wearing a tailcoat walked over.

"I've met my lord."

"I am Meng Yuan, the steward of the Earl's mansion."

Di Hong nodded slightly. Meng Yuan in front of him was not a Soul Master, and there was no fluctuation of soul power on his body.

Afterwards, the butler led Di Hong and Di Ming inside, introducing the Earl's mansion and their origins as they walked. Di Hong didn't say anything about these people, but Di Ming put away his ever-present smile.

Upon arriving at the hall, Meng Yuan respectfully bowed.

"You can call me anytime if you need anything."

After saying that, he left.

Once Meng Yuan was out of sight, Di Ming let out a cold snort.

"What's wrong?" Di Hong asked.

Emperor Ming said, "There are spies here, and more than one."

"I see. How did you know, Second Brother?" Di Hong didn't care. After all, the people here weren't arranged by them. It was normal to have spies. He was quite surprised that Di Ming could see at a glance that there were spies planted by others among these people, and that he could find more than one spy.

After sitting down to the side, Di Ming's face broke into a smug smile.

“Your second brother isn’t completely useless. Although I’m a bit of a playboy and have no talent for cultivating martial spirits, it doesn’t mean I can’t do anything else.”

"As for how I discovered the spies, it's very simple, I saw it in their eyes."

"Although they disguised themselves perfectly, I could still tell the difference."

"Should Second Brother get rid of them?"

Di Hong shook his head. "No need."

His earlier guess was indeed correct. He had only just arrived in Tiandou City when he was already being watched. There were spies everywhere in the Earl's mansion. As for who sent these spies, he didn't know, but he thought the Second Prince Xue Yu was the most suspicious.

After all, he was a member of Crown Prince Xueye's faction.

Moreover, he is a publicly known Soul Master with innate full Soul Power.

It's normal to be targeted.

These spies absolutely cannot be eliminated, since he won't be staying here for long anyway; he'll be returning home in a few days, so those planted spies are no longer important.

"This is my first time in Tiandou City, Fourth Brother, let's go for a walk around."

"I've heard that the beauties in Tiandou City are more beautiful than those in other places."

"Second Brother, have you forgotten what you said before you set off?" Di Hong looked at him with amusement.

"I, of course I know."

Di Ming felt somewhat guilty.

"I just want to wander around Tiandou City. After all, it's one of the two most prosperous cities on the continent."

"Wouldn't it be a waste of a trip if we didn't take a look around? Anyway, we won't be meeting the emperor until tomorrow, and there's nothing else to do today."

Di Hong thought about it and decided against it; he'd rather spend the time cultivating.

Many things may happen in this city decades from now, but that will be decades from now.

However, there are advantages to time travel early; he has plenty of time to do things.

Take Sunset Forest for example. Now that he has come to Tiandou City, he must go to Sunset Forest. In the past six years, he has studied herbs much more deeply and has gained a certain understanding of immortal herbs.

Now that he's at level 53, consuming celestial herbs will also be beneficial to him.

I wonder if the Eight-Cornered Ice Grass and the Blazing Apricot Blossom will be of any use to him. In fact, with his talent, he doesn't need to take any herbs, but why would he complain about having too few things that are good for him?

Chapter 13 Banquet

Not long after Di Ming left, Meng Yuan, the Earl's steward, found Di Hong, but this time he had an invitation with a gold-embossed swan pattern in his hand.

"My lord, this was sent by someone from the Crown Prince's residence."

"His Highness the Crown Prince invites you to a banquet tonight."

Di Hong, who was just about to go to cultivate, took the invitation from the steward, waved his hand to let the steward leave, and Meng Yuan bowed and left directly. When he opened it, he saw that it was indeed sent by Xue Ye, and this invitation was written by Xue Ye herself.

"Do they value us that much?"

As the crown prince, Xueye did not have any arrogant attitude in his dealings with others. This invitation alone shows that he is a very serious and easy-going person.

He casually tossed the invitation aside and began to ponder the current situation.

Having just arrived, he didn't know much about the situation in Tiandou City. He had been busy cultivating and hadn't had time to learn about it. He originally thought that since he was only twelve years old, there was no need for him to get involved in the internal strife of the royal family.

But now it seems that after the Kingdom of Sylves sided with the Crown Prince, he was inevitably drawn into the conflict.

Thinking of the spies his second brother had mentioned, the Second Prince Xueyu might strike at him at any time. As for whether the Kingdom of Silves would rebel, if they really dared to kill him, then they would naturally be wary of the Imperial City rebelling.

Xueyu even wished he could support Xueye's vassal kingdom in rebellion.

In that case, even if the old emperor didn't want to depose the crown prince, he would have to. The crime of colluding with foreign vassals to rebel would be enough to ensure Xue Ye's death.

In the afternoon, Di Ming returned.

Emperor Hong told him about the Crown Prince's invitation to the banquet and asked for his opinion. It was obvious to everyone that this banquet was not simple. Tomorrow was the day to meet the Emperor, and the Crown Prince was hosting a banquet tonight.

This shows how anxious he was.

After reading the invitation that Di Hong gave him, Di Ming carelessly tossed it aside.

"Since the Crown Prince has invited us, let's go. The food at the Crown Prince's residence must be better than anything else."

Then, he told Di Hong about what he had seen and heard outside.

"Fourth brother, let me tell you something."