Douluo Unrivaled: The Beginning Materializes the Black Abyss and White Flowers

Chapter 283 Dragon and Phoenix Combination
Even though the Sun Moon Empire, with Xingxiao's assistance, managed to get on the track of mecha development and put together their own mecha legion, they still seemed to be struggling in the face of true hard power.

The Sun Moon Empire's soul-guided technology was already inferior to that of Haiyuan City, and its industrial base was far behind, making it incomparable to Haiyuan City, which possessed the Black Tower.

Even though Xingxiao shared all his knowledge, offering the most cutting-edge mecha blueprints and design concepts without reservation, the limitations of materials and manufacturing processes were like two insurmountable mountains, tightly strangling the development of mecha in the Sun Moon Empire.

Those giant mechs that were expected to be built, even though they could theoretically unleash combat power at the level of a Title Douluo, were destined to be pitifully few in number due to production constraints.

According to Lu Jingming's estimate, managing to gather even a few dozen units would probably be the limit of the Sun Moon Empire's entire national strength.

If they attempt to gain an advantage in numbers, they must compromise on the performance of their mechs and drastically reduce their core configurations. As a result, their combat effectiveness will be greatly reduced, and they will pose no threat to Haiyuan City.

Lu Jingming knew perfectly well that it would be a long and arduous task for the Sun Moon Empire to bring its mecha forces up to par with the Molten Fire Knights' Molten Fire Mechas. Without hundreds or even thousands of years of technological accumulation and resource development, plus a stroke of incredible luck in finding suitable special materials, it would be nothing short of a pipe dream.

Moreover, the Molten Mech is currently only the first-generation product born under the research and development system of Abyss City.

With Black Tower, a genius who can be described as all-around, at the helm, the speed of iteration in the field of mechs in Haiyuan City far exceeds expectations. It is only natural to continuously update and replace the Molten Mech.

Let alone just performance upgrades, even if one day these steel torrents were upgraded into interstellar armor capable of traversing the stars, it would not be a pipe dream in the face of the Black Tower.

Admittedly, Haiyuan City is also currently limited by the overall material and manufacturing capabilities of the continent, and the Molten Fire Mech can only remain at its current technological level for the time being. However, given the current situation in Douluo Continent, such combat power reserves are sufficient to cope with challenges and threats from all sides.

"Sister Changli, you've had a hard time these past few days."

Lu Jingming's tone was so gentle it could melt hearts. His gaze fell on Chang Li, filled with undisguised affection and closeness, and his hand instinctively reached a little closer.

However, Chang Li seemed to have anticipated this. With a slight shift of her body, she gracefully slid off his legs and skillfully escaped his embrace.

A playful smile spread across her face, her slender fingers held up to her full lips, her eyes sparkling: "I'm not like those young girls around you, easily won over with a few sweet words."

The playful tone in her voice seemed to be a reminder to Lu Jingming that he would have to put in more effort if he wanted to win her over.

"Ok."

Lu Jingming showed a perfectly measured hint of regret, but he wasn't in a hurry. He hadn't expected to achieve success overnight anyway.

"But I'm telling the truth. Without you, Sister Changli, there would be no Haiyuan City today."

He knew very well what an important role Changli played in the operation of Haiyuan City; many complicated matters that he had no time to attend to were handled by her alone.

I originally thought I could take this opportunity to get close to her, but it seems I was overthinking it.

But it doesn't matter, there's plenty of time and patience in the future.

To deal with a woman like Changli, you have to treat her like you would Jingliu – slowly and deliberately, step by step, you can't rush it.

"You really want to thank me?"

Chang Li blinked his eyes, which seemed to be able to see into people's hearts, and then revealed a meaningful and unfathomable smile.

"Then you should take down my little apprentice first."

"Xixi?"

Lu Jingming was taken aback at first, then realized what was happening, and a look of bewilderment appeared on his face.

"Sister Changli, this is... a master-disciple rice bowl? Your way of doing it is quite unique... I like it!"

If the dragon and phoenix master and disciple duo could really be brought together, it would indeed be a fatal blow to him.

"If you like it, then you'd better work harder." Chang Li narrowed his eyes slightly, a mischievous glint in them.

She had been secretly observing Lu Jingming these past few days. His pursuit of Jin Xi was far too weak. Rather than being lovers, they were more like close friends. He had even gone so far as to ask Jin Xi to appease other girls and help them out. Chang Li saw this and was anxious.

If things continue like this, when will Jinxi and Lu Jingming finally get married? You know, even the robin already has children.

Changli felt a sense of disappointment and frustration towards both Jinxi and Lu Jingming. It was precisely because of this that she had to personally intervene and use the slightly provocative "master-disciple rice bowl" method to entice Lu Jingming and force him to take the initiative.

"I understand, Sister Changli."

Lu Jingming immediately patted his chest and made a guarantee. Spurred on by Chang Li's words, and with his own longing for the "master-disciple rice bowl" relationship, he felt that he could no longer let things take their course.

"I promise, as soon as this Holy Grail War is over, I will take action and definitely win over Xixi!"

To achieve this goal, he felt it necessary to change his strategy and strike hard against Jinxi.

"Oh? Then I'll be watching closely."

Chang Li crossed her arms over her chest; this simple gesture accentuated her already stunning curves, making them even more breathtaking and firmly capturing Lu Jingming's gaze.

Although he always felt that the girlish type like Robin and Keqing was to his liking, the mature, voluptuous, and charming type like Changli, well, the beauty of it is something that those who understand will understand.

Putting aside these personal feelings, Lu Jingming was actually quite concerned about the overall development of Haiyuan City, which was not limited to the improvement of the combat power of the three legions and the Molten Knights.

Today, Haiyuan City is like a giant magnet, attracting the attention of countless Soul Master families on the Douluo Continent.

After all, this is the birthplace of the Holy Mark, and this brand-new power system of the Holy Mark has begun to gradually replace the traditional way of hunting soul beasts to obtain soul rings, becoming a new way for soul masters to improve their strength.

In order to be able to customize their own exclusive Holy Marks as soon as possible, for the better development prospects of their families, or simply because they are attracted by the increasingly favorable living conditions and safe and stable social environment of Haiyuan City, a large number of Soul Master families have moved to Haiyuan City from afar.

Haiyuan City welcomed all the families who came to seek refuge.

Their arrival brought not only abundant resources but also ample manpower, and even a large number of mid-to-low-level combat forces, which was undoubtedly a timely help for the expansion and development of Haiyuan City.

The three legions now number 50,000 and are still expanding.

Lu Jingming had a grander vision: if he could build a new empire in the future, a million-strong army would be the most basic requirement.

Of course, this million-strong army cannot be composed entirely of fusion warriors; the resources required would be astronomical and simply unsustainable.

Therefore, it is necessary to recruit a large number of ordinary soldiers or low- to mid-level Soul Masters to bolster the army.

Just like the three major legions now, not all of their members are fusion warriors; it can only be said that their core strength consists of fusion warriors. This ensures both the loyalty of the army and absolute control over the three legions. Even so, there are also members of other soul master families and sect disciples who have relocated to Haiyuan City within the three legions.

For example, Yu Mengdi and Ye Wuqing, as well as the Lan family to which Lan Susu and Lan Luoluo belong, have many members who hold positions in the three major legions and serve Haiyuan City.

The composition of a power is never purely monolithic.

As the scale continues to expand, it will inevitably form a community interwoven with the interests of multiple parties.

After all, as long as one is human, it is inevitable to have selfishness and bias. This is human nature and cannot be avoided. Lu Jingming has never hoped to eliminate this phenomenon.

All he needed to do was to seize absolute power and ensure that everything was under his control.

For example, the pilots of the Molten Knights are all loyal fusion warriors he personally trained. At this stage, it is absolutely impossible for members of other Soul Master families to become Molten Knights.

Of course, this is only the current situation.

If he were to gain even greater power in the future, enough to deter all unstable factors, it wouldn't be impossible to consider lifting the entry restrictions for the Molten Knights.

Lu Jingming knew very well that if everyone lost their own thoughts and ideas and blindly followed his will, then Haiyuan City would become a stagnant pool, devoid of any vitality.

He didn't want the vast power he had built up to eventually become a "giant baby" that required him to do everything himself.

He needs to cultivate a variety of outstanding talents so that they can shine in their respective positions, share the pressure and solve the problems for him and Changli, instead of running to him for instructions in a panic whenever something happens.

It was based on this consideration that Lu Jingming decided to delegate power appropriately, freeing Changli and Keqing from complicated affairs, so that he could also be a relaxed "hands-off manager".

One must firmly grasp the major powers, but there is no need to cling to minor, insignificant powers.

Appropriate distribution of power can actually invigorate the entire force, making the massive "Sea Abyss City" operate more smoothly and efficiently.

Lu Jingming's guiding principle is "power is fist." As long as he holds absolute power, everything will be under his control, and there is no need to worry about things getting out of control.

Those Soul Master families who come to seek refuge in Haiyuan City inevitably use their positions to seek benefits for their own families.

In such cases, as long as it's not too outrageous and doesn't cross the line, Lu Jingming can actually turn a blind eye.

After all, as long as they continue to contribute to Haiyuan City, some harmless selfishness can be tolerated.

At least for now, the relocated Soul Master families and sects have behaved quite well, working honestly for Haiyuan City and acquiring resources and benefits through legitimate means.

Lu Jingming was quite generous in this regard, and ten-thousand-year holy marks, or even one-hundred-thousand-year holy marks, would occasionally appear on the exchange list in Haiyuan City.

As long as the merit is sufficient, any reward, even creating a titled Douluo on the spot, is not impossible.

All of this is predicated on loyalty to Haiyuan City and to Lu Jingming, and serving him as a dutiful "ox or horse".

If you can do this, you will have everything you could want in terms of wealth and honor.

It is precisely under such enormous profit incentives that Haiyuan City has been able to maintain such a rapid pace of development and has enough financial resources to support behemoths like the three legions and the Molten Knights.

It is well known that maintaining an army is always extremely expensive, especially a powerful elite army. The resources required to maintain its combat effectiveness are immeasurable.

Therefore, what Haiyuan City lacks least now is "oxen and horses" willing to serve it.

In order to secure a job in Haiyuan City, countless people travel thousands of miles, just to find a place for themselves here.

"I feel like I'm becoming more and more like an evil capitalist."

Standing in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window, Lu Jingming looked down at the bustling scene of Haiyuan City outside the window. The traffic was heavy and the people were noisy. He couldn't help but sigh.

Controlling a behemoth like Haiyuan City, a single word from him could instantly destroy countless families and change the fate of an unknown person overnight.

The feeling of controlling other people's fate is indeed addictive, but Lu Jingming always maintained a sliver of clarity in his heart and was not completely corrupted by the taste of power.

At least in Haiyuan City, no civilians will die from hunger or cold, and there is no need to worry about being attacked by soul beasts or harassed by evil soul masters.

Here, Soul Masters dare not bully commoners at will, and even so-called "nobles" are absolutely not allowed to bully commoners without sufficient reason.

After all, the existence of the Golden Guard is to maintain the order of the city. They don't care whether the other party is a Soul Master or a nobleman. As long as they break the rules, they will be severely punished.

In Haiyuan City, although commoners are still at the bottom of society, at least they have basic dignity. They no longer have to toil day and night for food and clothing, nor do they have to worry about encountering unreasonable soul masters or nobles and being killed at will.

Moreover, their humble origins do not limit their opportunities to find work.

Furthermore, if a child in the family awakens a martial spirit and possesses soul power, they may have the opportunity to study at St. Freya Academy or join the army, changing their destiny through their own efforts.

In Haiyuan City, there is a free martial soul awakening institution, and living allowances are also provided to low-level soul masters below the Soul Venerable level in the city.

Lu Jingming actually drew inspiration from the Spirit Hall ten thousand years ago for this rule.

Back then, the Spirit Hall relied on this method of providing free spirit awakening for commoners and subsidies for low-level spirit masters to gather almost the vast majority of commoner spirit masters on the continent, and at one point controlled more than 70% of the number of spirit masters on the continent.

A force that can control 70% of the Soul Masters on the continent has an immense influence; it can almost be considered the uncrowned king of the continent.

The Spirit Hall's ultimate downfall had a variety of complex reasons, but it had nothing to do with its policy of free spirit awakening and subsidies for low-level spirit masters.

Strategically speaking, this is an excellent move.

The effects of this policy were immediate in Haiyuan City.

The common people's sense of belonging to Haiyuan City has increased dramatically, and even low-level Soul Masters are grateful to Haiyuan City and are willing to contribute their strength to it.

In the entire Douluo Continent today, only Haiyuan City offers free martial soul awakening to all commoners and provides subsidies.

This policy undoubtedly attracted a massive influx of ordinary people to Haiyuan City.

Even if it means leaving their homes, they came to Haiyuan City just to give their child a free chance to awaken their martial spirit and a possibility to change their destiny.

(End of this chapter)