Douluo Jueshi: Picking up Firefly at the Beginning

Chapter 26 Mingdu
Although the soul masters of the Sun-Moon Empire were very dissatisfied with the prejudice against traditional soul masters, it was also a fact. In the past thousands of years, there had not been a single Ultimate Douluo among soul masters, and the legendary tenth-level soul master was still just a theory. However, in the original Douluo Three Kingdoms, Ultimate Douluos had never been absent. Every head of the Sea God Pavilion of Shrek Academy was an Ultimate Douluo. Other sects had occasionally produced Ultimate Douluos in the past thousands of years, and they had all been glorious in the past.

It is not without reason that traditional soul masters look down on soul instructors and despise soul guides.

Liu Xing certainly would not look down on soul engineers, nor would he despise soul guides. He knew very well how terrifying the development of technological products like soul guides would be. Once they were used in war, the consequences would be unimaginable.

But in Liuxing's opinion, Douluo Continent is a world where the strong are respected and the pursuit is to become strong. Soul guides are indeed an external force. In such a world, soul guides do have a feeling of taking the wrong path.

However, Meteor does not exclude the use of external objects and tools.

After understanding the cultivation system of this world, Liu Xing thought that it would be better if traditional soul masters and soul mentors were combined, just like the dual cultivation of magic and martial arts in fantasy novels. It must be stronger than a simple soul mentor or a traditional soul master.

The combination of the two has both the powerful combat capability of a traditional soul master and the varied combat methods of a soul engineer, suitable for both long and short distances. It is a perfect hexagonal warrior. Isn't that great?
But Liu Xing also knew that this was difficult. Cultivating soul power, exercising the body, and tempering mental strength would already take up most of a soul master's time, not to mention learning to make soul guides. A person's energy is limited, and it is impossible to do everything unless one cheats.

Liuxing had seen it on some forums. Although the second-generation protagonist of Douluo Continent was known as the most miserable protagonist in history, he was also the protagonist with the most outrageous cheats. It was thought that he was a dual-cultivation soul master and soul mentor, cheating all the way and finally suppressing an era.

Not everyone is the protagonist. Without cheats, we can only honestly choose a path that suits us, instead of having everything.

The shortest route from Longcheng to Mingdu is to cross the Tianhun Empire, then cross the Ice Sea, and finally enter the border of the Sun and Moon Empire.

Luan Yu took Liuxing and Liuying all the way across the Tianhun Empire. When they passed by Tiandou City, the capital of the Tianhun Empire, he took them on purpose to take a detour. After all, it was unrealistic to fly over a country's capital from a high altitude, which could easily cause trouble, so it was better to take a detour.

The three of them stopped and walked along the way, passing through Tiandou City, Tianling City, and Fengye City. It took them three days to finally reach the seaside. Along the way, Luanyu took Liuxing and Liuying on a detour, and occasionally dropped from the sky to take the two into the city to rest and experience the customs and culture of the Tianhun Empire.

Otherwise, with the speed of a ninth-level flying soul guide, it wouldn't take three days at all.

The Ice Phoenix spread its wings, carrying meteors and fireflies across the sky, and finally arrived at the Ice Sea. Luan Yu brought the two of them to land on the beach. The oncoming sea breeze was salty, rolling up waves. The silver waves sparkled in the sun, as if countless diamonds were jumping on the sea.

Occasionally, a seagull would fly over the sea, stirring up a series of splashes of water. Under the sunlight, the sea water showed different shades of blue, like a huge gem inlaid in this world.

The three of them did not stay for too long. After a short rest, they rose to the sky again. Meteor overlooked the sea below in the blue soul guide shield. They saw the rippling waves, and some sea soul beasts occasionally surfaced and quickly dived into the seabed.

This time, Luan Yu flew even higher. No one knew how many sea soul beasts there were in the icy sea. Flying too low would risk being attacked by sea soul beasts. If they were unlucky enough to encounter a 100,000-year-old sea soul beast, that would be dangerous. 100,000-year-old soul beasts were extremely rare on land, but not so rare in the sea. The sea was boundless, and the number of sea soul beasts far exceeded that of land soul beasts. The number of 100,000-year-old soul beasts was also far greater than that of land soul beasts.

Humans rarely set foot in the ocean. Even the Sun-Moon Empire, which has developed soul-guided warships, only dares to operate near the coast and does not dare to go too deep. The ocean is the domain of sea soul beasts and is also a forbidden zone for humans.

The coastal cities of the Sun-Moon Empire close to the ocean are always guarded by a Soul Master Corps to defend against the invasion of sea soul beasts. Every year, sea soul beasts come ashore and invade human cities in the coastal cities of the Sun-Moon Empire, so the Soul Master Corps is needed to be on duty all year round. Sea soul beasts are also a resource, and no one would dislike having too much soul beast meat. After all, soul masters can improve faster if they have soul beast meat to eat.

Sea soul beasts are a little different from land soul beasts. Most of them live in groups, so once they cause chaos, it will be very troublesome. The Sun-Moon Empire can only send out the Soul Instructor Corps to suppress the chaos of sea soul beasts.

As time passed, the area where the sea and the sky met became hazy. That was the territory of the Sun and Moon Empire. Although it was far away in the horizon, it was close at hand.

Luan Yu controlled the Ice Phoenix Wings, increased its speed, and flew rapidly towards the land against the sea breeze.

Finally, we're almost there! Meteor breathed a sigh of relief. Above the ocean, there was nothing but the ocean. It was too boring. On land, they could enjoy the scenery or land in the city to play, but on the ocean, they didn't dare to land at all, and there was no landing point. They could only speed up and cross the ocean as quickly as possible.

As the distance got closer, meteors and fireflies were able to overlook the entire Mingdu from high in the sky.

Mingdu, the capital of the Sun-Moon Empire, is a unique city on the Douluo Continent. Without the protection of walls, it welcomes visitors with an open attitude. Tall buildings rise like a steel forest, shrouded in clouds and mist, appearing and disappearing. Sunlight shines on the glass curtain walls, reflecting a dazzling light that makes the meteor feel familiar.

Whether it was Longcheng, the first city I came into contact with in this world, or Tiandoucheng, the capital of the Tianhun Empire that I visited on the road, or Tianlingcheng and Maple Leaf City that came later, compared to Mingdu, they all felt like they were behind the times.

If the architectural style of the Tianhun Empire is similar to the ancient times of his world, then the Mingdu of the Sun and Moon Empire is not much different from the modern times of his world, with the same high-rise buildings and the same steel city.

The difference is that Mingdu’s modern style is also mixed with a touch of fantasy, which makes Liuxing’s eyes shine brighter compared to the modern cities he is already familiar with.

"We're here. This is Mingdu, the most prosperous and advanced city in Douluo Continent."

Luan Yu brought the two of them down from a high altitude, with a barely perceptible pride in his tone. Luan Yu, who had traveled around the continent for many years, had basically visited all the cities in other empires, even the Shrek City, which was known for its permanent neutrality.

(End of this chapter)