Douluo: Starting from Source Castle, I am invincible

“Aponia!”

The moment he saw her, Tang Wulin’s mind was struck by lightning, and information about her rapidly surfaced.

The rise of the Apocalypse Church in the Douling Empire had become a powerful force to be reckoned with, even becoming the state religion of the Douling Empire.

How could Li Yunzhe be unaware of such a significant event?

Initially, during the joint action of the entire Douluo Continent to resist and suppress the Apocalypse Church, the Tang Sect was at the forefront, investing all its efforts and being extremely diligent.

To thoroughly understand the details of the Apocalypse Church, the Tang Sect mobilized a large amount of manpower, resources, and intelligence to collect various pieces of information about this mysterious sect.

They placed considerable importance on every possible powerhouse within the sect, especially someone like Aponia, who was suspected to be a Limit Douluo.

In the past intelligence gathered, Aponia's strength had always been speculated to be at the level of a suspected Limit Douluo, but due to her elusive whereabouts, like a ghost, rarely appearing in public, the Tang Sect had always found it difficult to make a definite judgment on her actual strength.

However, with the confirmation from Holy Spirit Douluo Yali at this moment, Tang Wulin was certain that the layer of "suspected" mist had finally been completely cleared.

The Aponia in front of him was, without a doubt, a genuine, one-hundred-percent Limit Douluo.

The Ouke, as a special and strange existence, have caused countless injury incidents, bringing great trouble and harm to the lives of ordinary people.

However, what is strange and puzzling is that the number of people who have died as a result of their evil deeds is relatively small.

In most cases, if an ordinary person unfortunately encounters an Ouke, there is about a 50% chance that they will be injured by the other party, but will eventually be able to save their lives, as if the Ouke seems to retain some subtle bottom line when doing evil.

Evil Soul Masters are different. Once an ordinary person encounters an Evil Soul Master outside, it is almost equivalent to stepping into the gates of hell, with absolutely no chance of survival.

This is the most significant and essential difference between the Ouke and the Evil Soul Masters.

The Tang Sect has extensive and deep connections and a solid foundation within the Federation of the Douluo Continent, so it is naturally clear about the Federation's distinction between the Ouke and the Evil Soul Masters.

Although there are certain differences in the behavior and the degree of harm caused by the Ouke and the Evil Soul Masters.

However, in the Tang Sect's perception, in essence, the two are basically birds of a feather, with no difference at all.

They are both evil forces that disrupt the harmonious order of the Douluo Continent and threaten the safety of the people's lives, and they are both objects that must be resolutely打击 and completely eradicated.

And now, this existence suspected of being the head of the Ouke actually appeared openly in the court, which inevitably made Tang Wulin think too much.

Could it be that the Douling Empire has given up and is already cooperating with these evil existences?

Dragon Duke quickly stepped forward a few steps and bowed, "Your Majesty, Tang Wulin, the Sect Master of the Tang Sect, has arrived."

Although everything on the outside is carried out according to tradition, the Douling Empire has actually undergone many changes.

For example, the point that subjects no longer need to kneel to the monarch is one of the important changes.

Even though it has fallen far behind, the Douling Empire is still struggling to catch up, otherwise, just the point of needing to kneel would be enough to make most powerhouses stay away from the Douling Empire.

Xue Zhonggao nodded expressionlessly to Tang Wulin, "Sect Master Tang has come from afar, you must be tired.

Please rest for a while, and after the court meeting is over, we will discuss it further."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Tang Wulin bowed slightly.

Naturally, someone brought a chair and invited Tang Wulin to sit in the frontmost position of the civil and military officials, only a step away from the high platform in front.

Li Yunzhe was invited to sit on the other side, while Yali and others were arranged to sit behind Tang Wulin.

Xue Zhonggao said, "Continue the court meeting. Regarding the Ministry of War, what is the status of the army deployment?"

A minister below stepped forward and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, everything is going smoothly at present.

The Empire's First, Third, and Seventh Legions have already been deployed to the border.

The Swan Fleet and the Xuanwu Fleet's joint training has also been completed.

Various weapons have been equipped."

"Well, if there are any problems with the allocation of materials, the Ministry of Revenue should cooperate in a timely manner to ensure that the frontline soldiers can be in the best condition to meet any possible emergencies."

"Yes, Your Majesty." The minister standing in the third position on the civil official side came out and responded respectfully.

Next, they dealt with some livelihood issues.

Tang Wulin sat there quietly listening. The ministers of the Douling Empire gave people the impression that they were very efficient, handling various affairs with competence.

Xue Zhonggao, as the emperor of the empire, played more of a role in making decisions.

This is an imperial country! It's just that this is very different from the traditional imperial system.

The ministers obviously have a lot of say, but they still maintain the necessary respect for the royal family.

It seems that this war has also given the officials of the Douling Empire a strong sense of crisis.

They have to put aside their prejudices against each other and stick together for warmth.

Tang Wulin sat there without squinting, neither showing contempt nor appearing to listen carefully, everything seemed natural.

The court meeting lasted for two full hours before it ended.

When Xue Zhonggao announced the end of the court, many civil and military officials already had fatigue on their faces, but the emperor was still energetic.

The civil and military officials retreated, and he walked down from the high platform.

Aponia and Li Xiaochou followed closely behind Xue Zhonggao.

"I'm sorry, Sect Master Tang, I've kept you waiting," the majesty on Xue Zhonggao's face disappeared, and the smile on his face seemed very gentle.

"It should be. It is our arrival that has affected Your Majesty's time.

After the court meeting just now, does Your Majesty want to rest for a while?" Tang Wulin said with a smile, maintaining the necessary humility, but not being excessive.

Looking at Tang Wulin, who had undergone a simple makeover to maintain a masculine appearance, Xue Zhonggao chuckled, "Although I am not young anymore, I don't consider myself old yet. Let's go, we'll go to the back hall to sit down."

It seemed that the Douling Empire's Emperor had a rather amiable attitude, at least not showing any rejection towards Tang Wulin.

Tang Wulin and his group followed the Emperor to the back hall, where servants had already prepared tea and refreshments. The back hall was equally resplendent, with grand and luxurious furnishings, giving off an imposing aura.

Xue Zhonggao sat in the main seat, with Li Xiaochou still seated beside him. Tang Wulin sat in the seat of honor, while Aponia was opposite him.

Xue Zhonggao smiled and said, "Sect Master Tang must be tired from his journey. I wonder if you have rested well?"

This was just polite conversation, and Tang Wulin replied, "I rested very well. Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty."

"Hmm. I am well aware of the purpose of Sect Master Tang's visit. I have also reviewed all the terms and conditions. Relatively speaking, most of them are within a reasonable range, and Douling is very grateful for Tang Sect's continued support. However, some of the terms are worth discussing."

"Oh? I wonder which terms Your Majesty believes need to be modified?" Tang Wulin asked calmly.

Xue Zhonggao smiled slightly, but did not answer the question immediately. Instead, he asked, "These can be discussed later, but I would like to ask, apart from those terms, does Sect Master Tang have any other requests?"

Tang Wulin's heart stirred, "Our Tang Sect only hopes that this war will not happen, so as to avoid the suffering of the people. In fact, in the recent battle at the Spirit Transfer Pagoda, we encountered people from the Holy Spirit Cult. War is most beneficial to the Holy Spirit Cult. All casualties will be exploited by them."

"The Holy Spirit Cult has become increasingly active in recent years, causing multiple disastrous terrorist attacks in the Federation. Without a doubt, they have great ambitions. Now that it can be confirmed that they are working with the Spirit Transfer Pagoda, it is even more棘手."

"Therefore, we must not allow them to profit from the war."

Xue Zhonggao frowned slightly, "Are you saying that people from the Holy Spirit Cult have infiltrated our empire?"

Tang Wulin nodded without hesitation, "That is inevitable. They are hiding in the shadows, waiting for the war to come. For them, the more tragic the war, the more beneficial it is. Moreover, the overall strength of the Holy Spirit Cult will be even greater than we imagine."

"I have encountered two of the Holy Spirit Cult's Dark Heavenly Kings, both of whom are Title Douluo experts around level ninety-eight, and above them, there are at least five more powerful evil soul masters."

"Including the Dark Blood Demon that we remotely clashed with in the Douling Empire this time. Although we didn't fight head-on, his cultivation is very likely to have reached Limit Douluo."

Mentioning the Dark Blood Demon, Tang Wulin's eyes suddenly turned cold. This was the great enemy who killed his parents.

"Although your country has many soul master experts, it lacks top-tier experts. I'm afraid it will be impossible to deal with one or even several Limit Douluo-level experts hiding in the dark…"

The words were not finished, but Tang Wulin's meaning was already very clear. It was simply impossible to rely on the Douling Empire's experts to fight against the Holy Spirit Cult.

After all, who knows if the Holy Spirit Cult has other experts lurking here besides the Dark Blood Demon.

"Holy Spirit Cult!" Xue Zhonggao was no stranger to this name. During the recent palace coup, several Super Douluo in the palace's Enshrinement Hall were found to be members of the Holy Spirit Cult.

He could easily guess what the Holy Spirit Cult was planning by secretly infiltrating the Douling Imperial Palace and acting as the royal family's enshrinement.

But it didn't matter. According to Aponia, after these spies from the Holy Spirit Cult were exposed by her, they immediately began to "cry bitterly," "confessing" their past crimes and expressing their willingness to dedicate themselves to the Douling Continent until their deaths.

Since they had already admitted their mistakes, Xue Zhonggao was willing to forgive them. After all, the Douling Continent was currently in dire need of high-end combat power.

As for whether these evil soul masters had truly repented?

Xue Zhonggao had no doubts about this, because he had great faith in Aponia. Since she had said so, then those evil soul masters must have truly "repented."

To some extent, although those evil soul masters had committed many evils, evil soul master incidents on the Douling Continent were extremely rare. Without personal suffering, the Douling Empire would naturally not care too much about them.

At this time, the bald man sitting next to Xue Zhonggao smiled slightly and said, "Sect Master Tang, aren't you being a bit alarmist? Even if the Holy Spirit Cult has infiltrated our empire, their main force should still be in the Douluo Federation."

Compared to the Douling Continent, the main force of the Holy Spirit Cult was probably more concentrated in the Douluo Continent.

From the perspective of national conflicts, the Holy Spirit Cult's harm to the Federation was not a bad thing for the Douling Empire.

Tang Wulin glanced sideways at the middle-aged man, "May I ask who you are?"

"I am Li Xiaochou, the new Prime Minister of the Douling Continent," the bald man, or rather, Li Xiaochou, said.

Tang Wulin said, "Your Excellency Li Xiaochou, it is still prudent to be cautious. Chaos is most beneficial to the Holy Spirit Cult. It is hard to say that they are not fueling the flames in this war."

"According to the latest news, the Federation has blockaded the entire coastline, closed all detection radars, and is conducting large-scale monitoring."

"Now, no one knows when the Federation fleet will appear on the sea. Therefore, we came here in a hurry, hoping that Your Majesty can make a decision as soon as possible."

She had already said what needed to be said. As for the other conditions, Li Yunzhe had already sent them to the Douling Empire before she came.

Now, what is more important is to wait for the Emperor's decision, or to propose conditions for the Tang Sect to consider comprehensively.

The Tang Sect is not simply selling weapons. The most important requirement is that the use of these weapons must be approved by the Tang Sect. They can only be used when necessary and cannot be used in proactive wars.

To this end, the Tang Sect will encrypt all the provided weapons and equipment, and only the password provided by the Tang Sect can be used. This is a great constraint. You spend money to buy equipment, but you cannot use it at will.

This restriction is a bit too much. It is equivalent to the right to use the weapon completely depending on the Tang Sect's mood. Otherwise, the Douling Empire would have no reason to refuse if it were just buying powerful soul tools.