Douluo: Starting from the Nine-Curved Vine Dragon

Chapter 383 Who's Not Giving Face to Whom
Lin Rong reached out and grabbed at the void again. Amidst the spatial distortion, a coffin descended from the sky and crashed down in front of the two Spirit Hall elders with a bang.

"Take a look for yourselves, the young master you want is lying inside."

Upon hearing this, the three worshippers' weary eyes filled with tears, and they shakily pushed open the heavy coffin.

Although all his meridians were destroyed, his physical strength remained, so pushing open the coffin was not a difficult task for him.

There was no bloodshed as expected.

Qian Renxue lay dignifiedly in the coffin, her hairstyle and clothing meticulously arranged.

Even though his head and right arm had been stripped of their soul bones, there were no visible wounds.

"Thank you!"

Although it sounds strange, the third and fourth offerings still sincerely expressed their gratitude.

They understood that treating the young master after extracting his soul bone was a favor, not their duty.

"Since everything is alright, you should leave as soon as possible. If your good second brother is defeated by Grandpa Yu, leaving Tiandou City safely will not be as simple as paying more money."

Having been ordered to leave, the third and fourth worshippers did not linger any longer. After silently glancing up at the sky, they carried the coffin and hurried away.

After they left, Lin Rong disappeared from the spot and soared straight into the sky. When he reached the top of the clouds, he saw a golden light disappear into the distant horizon.

"Grandpa Yu, how's the battle going?"

The old butler flew behind Lin Rong and said solemnly:
"In terms of raw strength, the opponent is not as good as this old servant. However, the God of War lives up to his name, growing stronger with each battle. With this ability, the Golden Crocodile eventually reached a level of strength almost equal to that of this old servant."

"There's one more thing."

The old butler paused for a moment and said:

"The God of War wields the weapon of war, and its enhancement effect on the army is far greater than that of Hong Jun's Heavenly Phoenix Profound Sound. Jin E told the old servant that he would not interfere in the war between the Heavenly Dou Empire and the Sea God Empire, but in exchange, the old servant could not interfere either."

"Young Master, what do you think?"

"Grandpa Yu, I understand."

Lin Rong turned to look at the old butler and said:
"Golden Crocodile doesn't want you to get involved in this war, simply because he wants me and Poseidon to fight to the death. He, the Spirit Hall, would be happy to see either of us die as a result."

“As an empire, I have already announced my personal campaign. If I were to break my word, it would damage the empire’s prestige. This is a calculated move.”

"However, even without the Spirit Hall's blatant scheme, I never intended for Grandpa Yu to get involved in this war."

"I need to use this war to establish the emperor's unparalleled prestige, to intimidate the world, and at the same time, to help me gather the faith of the people on the mainland."

"With so many divine artifacts at my disposal, even if Poseidon were to use the power of the ocean, she would only be able to save her life in front of me. So, Grandpa Yu, you don't need to worry about this."

After hearing this, the old butler said:
"It's good that the young master is confident; that puts this old servant at ease."

Listening to the old butler's slightly somber voice, Lin Rong understood that the old butler was still blaming himself for not being able to suppress the Golden Crocodile. He didn't need to be able to kill the other party; as long as he could threaten the other party, he wouldn't have resorted to this open scheme.

So he took the old butler's hand and said with a smile:

"Grandpa Yu, I just got some good tea. Come on, let's brew some together!"

……

Several days have passed since the Spirit Hall group left Heaven Dou City.

The assembly of the million-strong army was more than 80% complete, and the army's logistics were also nearing completion. In about half a month, the army would be fully assembled and ready to embark on its westward expedition. On this day, a message reached Lin Rong.

"Your Majesty, Luo Minghua, the vice-captain of the Void Battle Team, has defected to the Spirit Hall. The God of War, Golden Crocodile, personally received him and granted him protection."

Yunhui took this news to Lin Rong.

Since Lin Rong inherited the throne of Tian Dou, everyone except the old steward has addressed him as "Your Majesty" with the respectful title. Even Du Qianyuan only calls his grandson by his nickname when no one else is around.

"Only Luo Minghua has defected to the Spirit Hall. What about Xu Keming?"

Lin Rong, sipping his Yunmiao Jinhao tea, asked without looking up.

"No, it's said that their conflict intensified after the competition, and they soon went their separate ways, each going their own way and not interfering with each other."

"Furthermore, after the news of Luo Minghua being protected by the God of War spread, everyone in the world was watching the spectacle, wondering if our Heavenly Dou Empire would cancel the arrest warrant for him because of this."

"Your Majesty, should we give Golden Crocodile this face?"

"No!" Lin Rong put down her teacup and resolutely refused.
"Give him face? Then who will give us face?"

"Since he slapped us in the face first, why should we expect him to give us face?"

"However, the wanted poster still needs to be changed. Since Luo Minghua's whereabouts are no longer a secret, the reward for clues should be canceled, and the other rewards should be increased to the same level as Tang San's."

"The world is full of desperate people who lick blood from the edge of a knife. Some people are afraid of the power of the gods and dare not take action, but some people only have interests in their eyes and have no regard for class or hierarchy."

"I refuse to believe that in the vast Douluo Continent, there isn't someone who isn't tempted by the bounty!"

"Yes, I will give the order right away."

Yun Hui bowed and left.

Although she did not hold a specific official position, her status as a divine successor was enough to deter anyone from disrespecting her, even without mentioning her identity as a confidante of the new emperor.

The person currently in charge of Nie Zheng's power is her master's maternal grandfather. In order to save face and authority for Nie Zheng, this matter was naturally told to him and he was asked to send someone to carry it out.

This matter was handled very quickly.

In less than half an hour, the change in information about Luo Minghua, the second most wanted person, had spread throughout Tiandou City and, through spies from various forces, quickly spread across the continent.

As one of only two places in the Douluo Continent where gods reside, news from Tiandou City is delivered via the highest-level express communication.

Within two or three days, the news reached Xingluo City, which is also the residence of another deity.

With the destruction of Wuhun City and the subsequent order from the Heaven Dou Empire to reclaim the territories of its vassal states, rebuilding Wuhun City on its original site would not only be time-consuming and laborious, but its strategic position would also shift from the center of the continent to the border of the Heaven Dou Empire.

Therefore, the God of War, Golden Crocodile, chose the main hall of the Spirit Hall in Xingluo City of the Star Luo Empire as the current headquarters of the Spirit Hall.

Of course, under the might of the gods, the Star Luo royal family had no choice but to submit to the tyranny of the Golden Crocodile, and to recognize the Spirit Hall as the state religion, whose power and status surpassed that of the Star Luo Empire.

Star Luo City, Martial Spirit Hall.

The offering hall was moved from the ruins of Wuhun City.

"Second brother, Tian Dou really didn't give you any face."

The fourth retainer entered carrying an updated wanted poster, followed by several other retainers.

(End of this chapter)