"Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, Skywater Academy, Thunderclap Academy, GodWind Academy, Shrek Academy—you are the top five teams who have stood out among many. I hope you shine again in the advancement tournament. At that time, the three academies with the best performance will receive advanced soul beasts provided by the Empire—any soul beast under thirty thousand years of cultivation, yours to choose!"
If the previous rewards didn't mean much to the contestants, since as soul masters they were already above ordinary people, the reward of soul beasts was very real. As soul masters, what they valued most was naturally their advancement soul rings.
"Your Majesty is wise!" Tempted by this, many could not help but bow respectfully to Emperor Xue Ye.
This scene made Salas furious, but here, he could do nothing but sit back down with a grim face.
Leaving the hall, Tang San walked up to Tianlin and asked, "Brother Jun, did you notice just now that there seems to be a significant conflict between the Empire and the Spirit Hall?"
Because of Tianlin's act of gifting a soul bone, their relationship had eased on the surface. Although that soul bone was later snatched by Shi Nian, it wasn't Tianlin's fault.
In his heart, Tianlin was his future subordinate, and also a fellow compatriot. So, when there was nothing else going on, it was fine to chat with him.
Tianlin nodded, "That noble title is one thing, but to even provide a guarantee of ten-thousand-year soul beasts—this is forcing us to choose between the Empire and the Spirit Hall."
"Brother Jun, do you think His Majesty is just posturing at the Spirit Hall, or have the two sides already become completely incompatible behind the scenes?" Tang San knew Tianlin was from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and was usually close to the royal family, so he wanted to get some information from him.
Of course, Tianlin could see through this. He smiled slightly and said, "I don't know. But I don't have to choose anyway, since I'm from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. But you, Brother Tang, should seriously consider it."
Tianlin patted Tang San on the shoulder and walked away.
He believed that even if Tang San didn't have a deep grudge against the Spirit Hall, he would still choose the Empire's side. In his heart, he saw himself as belonging to the nobility, and following the Empire would bring greater benefits and help develop his Tang Sect.
Tianlin, however, didn't think too much about it. His main goal now was to survive the Spirit Hall's future soul hunting plan; everything else could wait.
Most of the power in the soul hunting operation came from Bibi Dong's camp. As long as he could seriously wound them, Xue Qinghe (Qian Renxue) would have a much easier time ascending in the future.
The coexistence method that Skydream Ice Silkworm suggested to Tianlin—he must do his best to carry it out. But the one he coexists with cannot be Bibi Dong.
Tianlin is selfish, but not entirely evil. As long as he can find a way that doesn't sacrifice the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and brings peace and unity to the continent, he is willing to make the effort.
...
Early next morning, after a day of rest, all the participating teams arrived at the new advancement tournament arena.
The advancement tournament was not held inside Heaven Dou City, but in the military camp outside the city. There were fifteen participating teams. Besides the five teams from the Heaven Dou Empire, the affiliated kingdoms and principalities of the Empire also had teams that stood out from their respective divisions.
In the end, all gathered at the Heaven Dou military camp.
The ten teams from the kingdoms and principalities who qualified through the preliminaries arrived even earlier, as they needed to familiarize themselves with the environment. They also came carrying the many promises made by their kingdoms or principalities. If they achieved good results, their rewards could be even greater than Emperor Xue Ye's.
After all, the kingdoms and principalities yearned for talent even more. Who wouldn't want to have more powerful soul masters under their control?
In the wars of the Douluo Continent, soul masters had long become the decisive factor on the battlefield.
And the number of high-level soul masters was the fundamental measure of a power's strength. It was precisely because of this that the Spirit Hall's status was so unassailable—not even the two great empires dared to offend them lightly. Even though those kingdoms and principalities were secretly supported by the Spirit Hall, the empires could only swallow their anger.
The Balak Kingdom was the best among them. As the strongest military power among the Heaven Dou Empire's subordinate kingdoms, they held a very high status.
Coincidentally, as soon as the Emperor Battle Team entered the military camp, they ran smack into the Balak Team. One of them glared at Tianlin with hatred; as the two teams brushed past each other, he looked as if he wanted to tear Tianlin apart.
Yu Tianheng whispered in Tianlin's ear, "Xiao Tian, that man is Balak Team's vice captain, Orby, heir of the Ao family. I think he's hated you for a long time because of what happened back then."
"I know. But what I want to know more is the identity of their captain. Just now, everyone looked at me with more or less hostility—except for him." Tianlin said curiously.
"Captain? You mean Lofchy." As captain, Yu Tianheng had long gathered data on all the teams. "He and Orby are Balak Team's only two Soul Ancestor-level members, and they come from the two strongest families under Balak's royal house. The Ao family controls finances, and the Lo family controls the military. Almost all the soul master academies in the Balak Kingdom are under the Lo family's jurisdiction. They wield enormous power—and the two families don't get along!"
"Don't get along"—Yu Tianheng hit on the key point. Tianlin stroked his chin, deep in thought.
He knew that the second attack on the Ao family back then was orchestrated by Qian Renxue. Although Tianlin was framed, he didn't hate Qian Renxue for it. After all, from her perspective, what she did wasn't wrong.
Still, Tianlin couldn't just take it lying down. He also had a plan. If Qian Renxue was willing to coexist with him in the future, he wouldn't mind repaying her kindness with virtue and lending her a helping hand. If not, and they had to be enemies, then this would be his way of striking back.
"Xiao Tian, this Lofchy is not a good guy. In some ways, he's even worse than the Ao family. From what I've heard when he was in Balak Kingdom, he bullied men and women alike, oppressing the people. But because Balak is special—as an imperial vassal kingdom, apart from the required tribute, it is autonomous—even the Empire can't control them." Noticing that Tianlin seemed to be scheming against Lofchy, Yu Tianheng couldn't help but remind him.
"In that case, I can exploit this man with a clear conscience." Tianlin smiled slightly. If he were a good person, Tianlin would have to be more careful for his safety. But now, after hearing Yu Tianheng say this, there was no need to hold back at all.