Chapter 292

In the span of a month, besides refining pills together with Yang Wudi, Gu Xuan spent his time deepening his relationships with several women.

Of course, the matter of searching for a soul bone for Ning Rongrong was not neglected; it was just that Gu Xuan himself did not go personally.

Now Ning Rongrong already possesses a left arm bone soul bone; although one month is short, relying on the current power of the Seven Treasure Glazed Sect, she has also found three suitable soul bones for Ning Rongrong.

The three soul bones are the right arm bone, left leg bone, and skull, all of which are gem‑type soul bones, and they are basically an excellent match for Ning Rongrong.

Among them, the skull is a treasure stored by the Seven Treasure Glazed Sect; moreover, this soul bone was originally prepared by Ning Fengzhi for Ning Rongrong. Ning Fengzhi had kept this skull bone so that when Ning Rongrong encountered a bottleneck, she could absorb it to help her break through.

However, Ning Rongrong's progress was too rapid; she never got to use it, and now she is already close to rank ninety.

The other two soul bones were collected from within the Tian Dou Empire, costing a total of ten million gold soul coins.

In fact, the value of these two soul bones far exceeds ten million gold soul coins, but because the Seven Treasure Glazed Sect is now powerful, they offered the soul bones merely to curry favor with the sect, so only the gold soul coins were taken.

This is the advantage of a major power: although it may generate some profit‑sharing transactions with the other party, it indeed makes things much more convenient.

After Ning Rongrong absorbed the three soul bones and added a month of arduous training, she has already broken through to rank ninety; she only needs to obtain a ninth soul ring, and the content of the eighth trial is considered half completed.

She only needs to find a suitable trunk bone and right leg bone, and Ning Rongrong will be able to complete the eighth trial.

Although these last two soul bones seem not difficult, they are actually not simple at all, because soul bones are not like Chinese cabbage—you cannot just find someone selling them.

Fortunately, the time limit for Ning Rongrong's eighth trial is three years, and there is plenty of time to search for soul bones, so there is no need to worry excessively.

One month passed in a flash; the Tian Dou Empire's army has finished assembling and has formally launched a campaign against the Xingluo Empire.

On the eve of the campaign, Gu Xuan, as Regent Prince, sent a letter of persuasion to surrender to the Xingluo Empire, aiming to achieve victory without fighting.

However, the situation in the Xingluo Empire has slightly changed: the struggle between the Third Prince Dai Mubai and the Crown Prince Dai Weisi has just reached a white‑hot stage, and the appearance of Bi Bi Dong, Tang San, and others has given Dai Mubai confidence and hope.

Facing the Tian Dou Empire's invasion, the two brothers decisively chose to temporarily cease hostilities and present a united front outward.

But just as they were about to muster their armies, the Tian Dou Empire's troops moved.

At this moment, the Xingluo Emperor finally realized that earlier, the movements of the Tian Dou Empire's army were not internal conflict but had long been prepared for a campaign against the Xingluo Empire.

In fact, when the Tian Dou Empire suddenly assembled a million‑strong army, the Xingluo Empire could not possibly fail to notice; Gu Xuan merely used a few minor tricks.

Now the kingdoms and duchies within the empire have all come under the control of the Seven Treasure Glazed Sect, but the news has not yet reached the Xingluo Empire.

Therefore, when the army was gathering, the banners they raised were those of rebellion or pacification; although the Xingluo Empire had many spies, no one knew the core secret.

Thus, when the army had fully assembled and Gu Xuan sent the surrender letter, the Xingluo Empire, when it tried to react, was already a step behind.

Moreover, because of the struggle between the two princes, the Xingluo Empire has already expended part of its strength; although this loss does not affect the empire's overall power, for the two princes it amounts to a serious injury to their muscles and bones.

Although the two princes temporarily united under the Xingluo Emperor's command to organize a counterattack, their speed remains slow.

On the third day after the Xingluo Emperor received the surrender letter, the Tian Dou Empire's army had already pressed the frontier; just as they were beginning to organize resistance, teams led by Titled Douluo, with Soul Douluo as foot soldiers, directly annihilated the Xingluo Empire's generals and commanders.

Then, under the leadership of nine Titled Douluo, the army swept through the Xingluo Empire's territory as if entering an uninhabited land.

Every time they captured a city, the Tian Dou Empire's troops quickly occupied it and then launched another attack in the manner of "war feeds war".

The reason the Tian Dou army is so swift is also that they completely ignore grain and logistics issues; their battle plan is precisely "war feeds war".

Although this consumes most of the grain and grass resources of cities within the Xingluo Empire, they have not harmed civilians, so the impact is not great.

In just one month, the Xingluo Imperial City has been surrounded; Ju Gui Douluo, the Left Wing, Mi He, Long Wu, and five others have already encircled the imperial city, with the main army closely following.

Adding the army led by Dugu Bo, a total of fifteen Titled Douluo took the field, including the Sword Bone Douluo and two super‑Titular Douluo, Ning Fengzhi, Yang Wudi, Youming Luo, etc., who did not deploy; thus the Xingluo Empire has already completely collapsed.

As Regent Prince, Gu Xuan also arrived outside the Xingluo Imperial City; the Xingluo Empire now has no room left for resistance.

The Xingluo Imperial Family possesses only three Titled Douluo; apart from them, there are no more high‑rank combat forces.

Fifteen against three—no matter how they fight, it is a crushing victory.

What Gu Xuan does not know is that, even before the army invaded, Bi Bi Dong, Tang San, and others, who had originally come to the Xingluo Empire to plot slowly, had already slipped away.

Because there had been no news of Bi Bi Dong and others beforehand, Gu Xuan remained unaware, never even thinking of Bi Bi Dong, which allowed them to escape the encirclement early.

When Bi Bi Dong left, she took Hu Liena, Tang San, and Dai Mubai with her; they remained hidden for a full week before the Xingluo Emperor discovered them. Such covert actions made it even more impossible for Gu Xuan to know.

The Xingluo Emperor is also deeply disappointed in his son Dai Mubai who fled, but this is not entirely bad; at least Dai Mubai escaped, preserving the last bloodline of the Xingluo Empire.

After the army pressed the border, the Xingluo Emperor did not choose to surrender but swore to fight to the death; finally, Gu Xuan stepped forward and, by himself, dueled the three Titled Douluo of the Xingluo Imperial Family, ending the empire's royal authority.

Thus, what should have been a earth‑shattering war ended just like that; the two empires were unified, all placed under the Tian Dou Empire, and Gu Xuan, as Regent Prince, has surpassed the capabilities of all empires in Douluo Continent's history through this achievement, displaying his ability.

After the war ended, the army quickly began collecting the spoils within the Xingluo Empire and then handed them over to the national treasury.

Three months later, Gu Xuan's fame spread to every corner of the continent; the earlier groundwork began to take effect. On this day, after unifying the two countries, Gu Xuan established the sole empire, proclaimed himself emperor, founded the Sun and Moon Empire, and took the era name Ming.

Meaning "wherever the sun and moon shine, the rivers and mountains belong to the Great Ming".

The capital was set at the former Tian Dou City of the Tian Dou Empire, because the Sunset Forest lies beside Tian Dou City; although Tian Dou City has already begun reconstruction, its area and scale have expanded threefold, incorporating one‑third of the Sunset Forest into the new capital, which is named Mingdu.

In fact, Gu Xuan's state name and empire name are borrowed from the Sun and Moon Empire of ten thousand years later in the original work, but not entirely, because in his previous life Gu Xuan most admired the splendor of the Great Ming; now that he has become emperor, it is fitting to use that name.

Because whether it is "Sun and Moon" or "Great Ming", the meaning matches Gu Xuan's inner thoughts, and moreover, no copyright fees are required; after discussion with Ning Fengzhi and others, it was finally settled.

However, the Douluo Continent has no Mount Tai, nor does it have the various reverse‑locking processes of Gu Xuan's previous life; he merely drafted a proclamation, and on the newly built Altar of Heaven and Earth outside Mingdu City, he ascended the throne!

Today the sky is cloudless, the heavens are clear, countless masses have gathered outside the city, and Gu Xuan's enthronement ceremony begins!

One sees the procedures proceed; Gu Xuan stands at the center of the Altar of Heaven and Earth and loudly proclaims:

"Heavenly God, Earth Goddess. The late emperor died suddenly; civil and military officials, elders, soldiers and civilians, jointly petitioned for his ascension, stopping at the third. But now the country has just been unified, the people are in turmoil; to quell chaos and pacify the populace, mindful that the heavenly mandate cannot be refused and that ministers cannot be without a lord, your humble servant follows the heavenly way above and obeys the people below, never forgetting the kindness of three generations of rulers; therefore, at this time, I announce to heaven and earth, sacrifice to the ancestors, and ascend the emperor's throne!"

(This is adapted from a passage in *The Ravagers*; the author felt it had great atmosphere and suited Gu Xuan's current situation, so he slightly modified it for use here.)

Amid the ongoing procedures, Gu Xuan finally ascended the throne as the Sun and Moon Great Emperor, the state name Great Ming, and the Douluo Continent is now unified.

ps: Typos will be corrected later.

No filler words, straight to the point.

(End of chapter)