That night was dark and windy, a night filled with murder.
Xu Mingxi lowered his gaze to the stars in the sky, then looked toward the City Lord's Mansion, a hint of satisfaction in his eyes.
"Action."
Two figures headed toward the Spiritual Guidance Research Institute in the city. Xu Mingxi brought the Ninth Elder with him. After estimating that the two elders were almost at the Sunrise Research Institute, they flew straight out of the hotel and landed atop the City Lord's Mansion nearby.
A massive beam of golden-red light descended from the sky, and a thunderous roar echoed throughout Risen City. A fire broke out in the City Lord's Mansion, and people fled in panic everywhere.
The city lord slowly rose into the air, violently coughing up a mouthful of blood, and glared at the two figures before him. If it weren't for his habit of carrying an eighth-level stress-type soul guide protector even while sleeping, he would have certainly died.
He didn't sense the pressure of Titled Douluos from the two in front of him. A soul guide cannon appeared in his hand, gathering a massive amount of energy, intending to hold them off until other powerful individuals in the city arrived.
Xu Mingxi wouldn't give him that chance. Golden Crow wings appeared behind him and flapped fiercely, placing him right behind the city lord. The Fire Sun Cannon exploded directly on the city lord's head, completely obliterating it.
The headless body of the city lord fell from the sky. The soldiers below dropped their weapons and fled. Even the powerful experts rushing to the scene halted and reconsidered whether to leave first.
Xu Mingxi retrieved the city lord's storage items, exchanged a glance with the Ninth Elder, and the two began searching for soul clues and related images inside the city lord's mansion. No one dared stop them.
Meanwhile, as Xu Mingxi acted, the other two elders entered the Sunrise Soul Guidance Equipment Research Institute simultaneously and quickly killed the director who had just reached the Soul Douluo level.
The Eighth Elder trapped the other researchers, and the two took all the soul guidance research materials from the institute.
The power of the Sun-Moon Empire was greater than that of the two western empires combined, and the interior region of Risen City had long enjoyed peace.
Despite the earlier incident, no one expected anyone would dare risk being hunted by the Sun-Moon Empire just to attack Sunrise City. No one expected that the city lord and the director of the Sunrise Research Institute—both a Soul Douluo and an eighth-level soul master—would die so easily.
The four regrouped in Risen City. Xu Mingxi and the Grand Elder exchanged glances. Then, massive stars and beams of golden-red light descended from the sky, destroying half of Risen City.
...
"What did you say? They dared to appear and destroy Risheng City? Do you know what you're saying?"
Xu Zilong suddenly stood and smashed a table ornament right onto the head of the kneeling official, causing him to bleed.
The official was also a Soul Douluo, but at this moment, he didn't dare resist at all. He didn't even dare to use his soul power to heal his injuries. He looked up at Xu Zilong, blood covering his face.
"Your Majesty, among the four intruders was a Titled Douluo. With such a surprise attack, no city except Mingdu could withstand it.
They took all soul guidance information from Risheng City this time. I suspect they came from Otto and the Orlan Empire. They clearly covet the soul guidance technology of our Sun-Moon Empire."
Xu Zilong calmed his rage and sat back down, rhythmically tapping the table with his right hand. He knew that those who inherited the power of the Sun and Moon Gods wouldn't die so easily in the Demon Forest, but the fact that the man was wearing a mask meant he had been severely wounded back then.
He was pondering how to lure those four out when a soldier suddenly barged in without announcement, reigniting his fury.
"Xu Zheng, you'd better have a good explanation. Don't think I won't kill you just because you come from the Silver Moon bloodline."
The man ignored Xu Zilong's anger, staggered to his knees, his expression filled with panic and fear.
"Your Majesty, Yuesheng City has fallen, and City Lord Ye Ling has been possessed by a demon."
"Bastard!!!"
On the way to the Orlan Empire, Xu Mingxi also heard the news of Yuesheng City's destruction—but the story behind it shocked him. The city, once seemingly pure and sacred, had harbored immense corruption.
Ye Ling's martial soul, the city lord of Yuesheng City, was in fact a vampire bat—a special martial soul that enhanced cultivation speed through blood consumption.
He could've drawn blood from beasts, but ultimately chose human blood for its effectiveness and ease of access.
To break through to the Titled Douluo level, he used his soul guide to seal off Yuesheng City and drained the blood of its citizens.
The surrounding villages were destroyed by Ye Ling, but he ordered the city to remain sealed for a long time. By the time nearby major cities learned of it, most of the city's population was gone—and they were all ordinary people. It could be said that Yuesheng City had been utterly destroyed.
Xu Zilong was furious. Risheng City and Yuesheng City—two major cities of the Sun-Moon Empire—had been destroyed one after another. These people clearly held no regard for him.
The Sun-Moon Empire's war machine began to move, initiating a total lockdown. The five wanted criminals had to be found. All city lords feared they might be the next target and did everything in their power to hunt them down.
Ye Ling didn't get far; his thirst for human blood drove him to kill again. Eventually, the Sun-Moon Empire's forces tracked him and surrounded him.
In the end, Xu Zilong took action personally, using the Mie Tian Sword to behead Ye Ling and hang his head above Mingdu's city gates—to intimidate every ambitious individual within the Sun-Moon Empire.
Ye Ling had drawn far too much attention from the empire. Xu Mingxi and the other three had safely reached the border between the Sun-Moon Empire and the Orlan Empire and immediately crossed into the Orlan Empire.
Even so, the incident wasn't entirely without benefits for the Sun-Moon Empire. A Soul Douluo soldier discovered two teams in the minor soul beast forest. They surprisingly resembled the Silver Moon royal lineage and could use Sun and Moon power. Among them were two Titled Douluos.
The discovering Soul Douluo respectfully invited them to the palace, and the Soul Douluo of the Silver Moon bloodline personally welcomed them.
However, he found that the two newly arrived Titled Douluos were actually useless. Not only were they completely ignorant of soul guidance technology, their strength was also weak. As Titled Douluos, they couldn't even defeat a high-level Soul Douluo in a one-on-one fight.
When Xu Zilong heard the news, he immediately lost interest in these two bloodlines and handed them over to the Silver Moon lineage to deal with as they wished.
Though no strong individual from the two bloodlines emerged from the Sun-Moon Valley, their martial souls—Yangyanwu and Hanyueniao—bestowed upon them by the two gods, could still be considered high-grade martial souls. Their next generation could still be cultivated.
The two clans were forced to intermarry and produce offspring. Their descendants would forever serve the Silver Moon lineage loyally, thus increasing the wealth and strength of the Sun-Moon royal family.