As noon approached, on a desolate mountain about thirty miles west of Tian Dou City, Chu Chengzhou was enjoying some whale jelly.
As the whale jelly was digested, a sudden surge of soul power fluctuations rippled through him. His soul power level increased by another rank, advancing him to Level 79 Soul Saint.
"Tsk~ Not bad!"
Smacking his lips, he took another spoonful of the fragrant whale jelly and inwardly marveled.
The whale jelly produced by hundred-thousand-year sea spirit beasts was truly exceptional—not only did it taste exquisite, but it also enhanced soul power without any side effects.
When he had procured six 100,000-year sea spirit beasts for Tang Yuehua, that meant six portions of whale jelly. One portion went to his father-in-law Ning Fengzhi, and the remaining five were all in his possession.
If he could consume them all, Chu Chengzhou estimated that his soul power level would rapidly rise to around Level 85 Soul Douluo—and that was even excluding the additional soul power boost from his eighth soul ring.
The whale jelly produced by hundred-thousand-year sea spirit beasts was a treasure coveted even by other hundred-thousand-year spirit beasts.
Even with a soul core and cultivating the Gold-Tier Nine Breaths Qi Absorption Technique, which gave his soul power exceptionally high quality, the amount of soul power needed for advancement far exceeded that of ordinary soul masters at the same level. But one portion of whale jelly allowing him to gain two levels at Soul Saint and one level in the eight-ring stage wasn't excessive at all.
At this moment, a flying-type Soul Emperor arrived from the eastern sky.
"Master Chu, this is a letter from the Crown Prince for you."
Landing atop the desolate mountain, the flying-type Soul Emperor handed Chu Chengzhou a letter.
"Oh?"
Raising an eyebrow, Chu Chengzhou accepted the letter.
Upon opening it, he discovered that it was Qian Renxue informing him that the people from the Star Luo Empire had arrived, though their exact strength was unknown.
How did Qian Renxue obtain this information? This was thanks to Chu Chengzhou.
The Star Luo Empire had repeatedly sent experts to assassinate him, so Chu Chengzhou had used the effects of Void Illusion Realm to alter others' consciousnesses, working with agents arranged by Qian Renxue to completely uproot the intelligence network the Star Luo Empire had planted within Tian Dou territory.
However, Qian Renxue didn't simply have these spies killed—she instead recruited some of them.
With a blade at their throats, aside from a few die-hard loyalists, most chose to cooperate.
Working for Star Luo was one thing, but working for Tian Dou wasn't much different!
Moreover, being officially spies for Star Luo while secretly informants for Tian Dou allowed them to collect double pay!
Thus, many spies, while still receiving wages from Star Luo, also began drawing salaries from Tian Dou. Their task was to provide Tian Dou-approved intelligence to Star Luo while simultaneously reporting all activities back to Tian Dou.
Coincidentally, the middle-aged man Dai Wei had contacted earlier was one such spy who had been recruited by Tian Dou.
Given the current situation, retrieving the latest intelligence on Chu Chengzhou, combined with Dai Wei presenting the highest-level identity token and code from Star Luo's intelligence department, as well as the fact that his golden hair remained visible despite being covered by a black robe—
All these factors combined led Qian Renxue to easily deduce, even using just her toes, that the experts from the Star Luo Empire had arrived. She then sent someone to notify Chu Chengzhou.
"Tell Xue Qinghe that I've received the message."
A flicker of crimson soul power flared in his hand, incinerating the letter. Chu Chengzhou then spoke to the flying-type Soul Emperor who had delivered the message.
After the messenger departed, Chu Chengzhou summoned his True Spirit Banner martial soul into his hand. His fourth, sixth, and seventh soul rings lit up consecutively, causing more than a third of his soul power to plummet.
Accompanied by the surge of soul power, three summon beasts materialized beside him: Big Bear, the nearly hundred-thousand-year-old Dark Gold Terror Claw Bear whose size had been suppressed to under a meter; Xiao Ming, the hundred-thousand-year Titan Giant Ape; and Xiao Hei, the 110,000-year Dark Demon Evil God Tiger.
The experts arriving from Star Luo were sure to be numerous, so Chu Chengzhou began calculating carefully.
Both Xiao Ming and Xiao Hei had formed soul cores. Even without engaging in battle, the energy automatically restored by their soul cores was sufficient to cover their consumption.
Although Big Bear hadn't yet formed a soul core, merely maintaining his presence without fighting was manageable because Chu Chengzhou himself possessed a soul core, and his soul power recovery rate far exceeded his expenditure.
Summoning these three beasts in advance, rather than during the fight, effectively saved him over a third of his soul power—a truly clever and resourceful move.
Afterward, Chu Chengzhou sat quietly, waiting for the arrival of Star Luo's formidable foes.
Time passed gradually, and soon the sun set, the moon rose, and night fell.
'Tonight's wind is quite noisy, isn't it?'
Sitting atop the desolate mountain, listening to the howling of the night wind, Chu Chengzhou couldn't help but think to himself.
Suddenly, a cute-looking black cat with wings on its back and a pitch-black barbed tail beside him sharply raised its head and looked toward the southeast.
Almost immediately, Chu Chengzhou also sensed five figures with impressive auras flying through the air from the southeast.
"Hmm? Title Douluos?"
Standing up and raising an eyebrow, Chu Chengzhou looked toward the southeast with slight surprise.
Shouldn't the experts from the Star Luo Empire be Title-level Nether White Tigers? Why were they normal Title Douluos?
However, his expression quickly turned serious.
The fact that five Title Douluos had arrived indicated that the Star Luo Empire had spared no expense. Without a doubt, behind these five attacking Title Douluos, there were likely many more Title-level Nether White Tigers.
While martial soul fusion techniques greatly amplified a soul master's strength, they weren't without drawbacks—the most significant being their immense soul power consumption.
After all, energy was conserved. An eight-ring White Tiger soul master paired with a six- or seven-ring Nether Spirit Cat soul master had far less total soul power than a Title Douluo. Even if their output was similar, their endurance was bound to be lacking.
For this reason, before encountering the enemy or engaging in battle, soul masters with martial soul fusion techniques wouldn't activate them prematurely to avoid wasting their soul power unnecessarily.
In other words, these five Title Douluos were here to scout. Once they confirmed his presence, the winged big tigers would arrive shortly.
This made sense. After all, he had killed both the emperor and crown prince. If the Star Luo Empire still held back, it would be inexplicable.
He estimated that all the powerful experts the Star Luo Empire could muster would appear tonight.
Not long after Chu Chengzhou sensed the presence of the five Title Douluos, Canglong Douluo Cao Lie, the one among them with the highest soul power level and strongest spiritual power, also detected Chu Chengzhou's location.
Without hesitation, Canglong Douluo Cao Lie pulled a cylindrical object from his storage-type soul tool.
In the next moment, a flare shot into the sky, exploding into brilliant fireworks in the night sky.
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