Chapter 554: Surging National Power

More than a year passed once again.

Due to the three-way standoff, none of the three forces dared to rashly start a war.

Because of Tang San's disruptive actions a year ago, the Tang Sect was met with resistance across the entire continent. After all, this Douluo Continent still leaned toward a feudal society; although the status of a Title Douluo was extremely high, to ordinary people, a Title Douluo was too distant, and those who governed them were, in the end, still the state.

Therefore, many people still held the idea that royal power was supreme. In such a society, attacking the royal family without cause was absolutely a major taboo.

Nan Feihuang seized the opportunity to act. Under the management of Xun Yu, the dust settled within three months. In half a year, the government returned to normal operation, and after another half year, it was completely incorporated as an affiliate of the Gu Lei Kingdom.

Today, the Gu Lei Kingdom already controlled territory equivalent to three provinces.

One must know that within the Heaven Dou borders, there were only ten provinces in total, among which the Heaven Dou Empire occupied five, and the four major affiliated kingdoms as well as the Tianshuang Principality each occupied one.

The area of the Gu Lei Kingdom was already equivalent to more than half of the Heaven Dou Empire.

Next, Feihuang prepared to take action toward Star Luo, to occupy another one or two provinces of Star Luo. By then, the area of Gu Lei would be completely inferior to neither of the Two Great Empires, which would provide the capital to declare an empire.

As for the army and resources, there was now absolutely no shortage.

During the years that Xun Yu managed the government, the national treasury had become more than five times richer than it was initially. Added to this were three collateral-line girls Lan Xue had requested from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect; their ability to appraise treasures with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda might not be as powerful as Ning Rongrong's, and they could not identify overly precious treasures.

But if it were just about making money, it was easy and effortless. Nan Feihuang arranged for them to be responsible for the management of the mining areas.

In other words, it was stone gambling.

Different worlds might have different currencies, but there was one thing in common: gold, jewelry, diamonds, and the like were all very valuable.

They had earned an unknown amount of money for the Gu Lei Kingdom.

Xun Yu divided the tax revenue, the money earned from stone gambling, and other income into two parts: 30% was deposited into the national treasury for emergencies, and the remaining 70% was used entirely to recruit soldiers and buy horses.

Originally, the Gu Lei Kingdom only had an army of 100,000; now, it had reached around 300,000.

The number of Spirit Masters also surged.

Back then, Nan Feihuang had consecutively defeated six Title Douluo of the Spirit Hall, led the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon and the Brute Force Sect to seize two positions among the Upper Three Sects, and also subdued the Element Academy. It could be said that his momentum was extremely strong, attracting a large group of people to come and join.

This was only the improvement of the kingdom's own strength.

There were still the Hagendas Kingdom and the Tianshuang Principality.

The strength of the Hagendas Kingdom was slightly stronger than the original Gu Lei Kingdom, with an army size of about 150,000. As for the Tianshuang Principality, being a principality one level lower than a kingdom, plus the harsh climate and small population, the army was naturally even smaller, with only 80,000 Frost Army soldiers.

However, this Frost Army was an iron army capable of fighting in extreme weather and was one of the famous strong armies on the continent, not inferior to the Heavy Armored Iron Cavalry trained by Ge Long. With the three parties combined in this way, the number of troops possessed by the Gu Lei Kingdom surged to over 500,000, already surpassing Ba La Ke, which was known as a military kingdom.

During the Gu Lei Kingdom's morning court session, the civil and military officials all arrived in high spirits. The increase in national strength also increased their cohesion; now they were all proud to be citizens of the Gu Lei Kingdom.

Nan Tianchen sat upright on the king's throne, with the Crown Prince Nan Feihuang and the head of the officials, Xun Yu, standing on both sides. A eunuch stepped forward and shouted, "Present your memorials if you have matters, retire from court if you do not!"

"Reporting to the King and His Highness the Crown Prince, this humble official has a matter to report!" A military general stood out. This person was a member of the Xu family, the younger brother of Xu Rong, Xu Guang, the current head of the Xu family after Xu Rong's death.

Unlike Xu Rong, he was absolutely loyal to the Gu Lei Kingdom. The best evidence was his Glory Shield; not only had he broken through to Spirit Saint this year, but his cultivation speed had not slowed down in the slightest. With this cultivation progress, it was not impossible to become a Spirit Douluo or even a Title Douluo in the future.

Only a Glory Shield loyal to the country could utilize the power of the Gu Lei Kingdom's surging national fortune to increase cultivation speed so quickly.

"What matter does the beloved official wish to report?" Nan Tianchen asked.

"Your Majesty, our country's national strength is now robust, our soldiers are elite and our provisions are ample. His Highness the Crown Prince and the Queen are invincible in single combat, Senior Dugu Bo is peerless in group battles, we occupy two of the Upper Three Sects, and you yourself are a noble Title Douluo. The title of kingdom is no longer sufficient to demonstrate our country's prosperity. This humble official implores Your Majesty to establish an empire and declare yourself Emperor, so that you may follow the will of Heaven above and respond to the hearts of the people below." Xu Guang had long been unable to wait; if the kingdom became an empire, his Glory Shield could be cultivated even faster.

In this way, he would also have hope of avenging his elder brother.

He did not know about Xu Rong's secret betrayal, thinking only that Xu Rong had died due to the war between the Spirit Empire and the Star Luo Empire, and thus he was filled with pent-up anger.

"Declare an empire? What do you ministers think? Is it too early?" Nan Tianchen said.

It was not that he did not want to declare an empire; he dreamed of it, having thought about it for decades. He only worried that once he declared an empire, it would cause the situation on the continent to change abruptly.

Could the Gu Lei Kingdom withstand this storm then?

"Your Majesty, General Xu's words are reasonable. Although our army size is currently slightly inferior to Heaven Dou and Star Luo, we have His Highness the Crown Prince, the Queen, as well as Duduoluo Mianxia and Thunder Sect Mianxia. How can Heaven Dou and Star Luo compare to us in terms of top-tier combat power?"

"Exactly, exactly. That Bibi Dong of the Spirit Hall is merely a woman, yet she dared to build a nation and declare an empire. Now that our Gu Lei Kingdom has the support of the people and strong national power, how can we not?"

"Please, Your Majesty, establish the nation and declare an empire! We will surely be loyal to the country!"

For a time, the discussion in the court was heated and impassioned. It could be seen that these ministers truly hoped for the Gu Lei Kingdom to become the Gu Lei Empire, at which point they would all be ministers who followed the dragon's rise.

Nan Feihuang smiled slightly and raised his arm to press down gently. The court immediately fell silent. His majesty and status in the country were now only higher, not lower, than those of Nan Tianchen, the King.

After all, he possessed combat power comparable to a Limit Douluo and was now the true pillar of the Gu Lei Kingdom.

Seeing this, Nan Tianchen asked, "My son, what are your thoughts?"

"Father, the words of all the ministers are very much to my liking. If we want to unify the world, we must have a legitimate name. Clearly, the word 'kingdom' is not enough; we must become an empire. However, an established empire must also be worthy of its name. Our country's national strength is sufficient, but our territory is not enough. The Spirit Hall obtained the support of about five kingdoms in one go, and its territory area was similar to the two great empires, only then did it establish the Spirit Empire. Our territory must at least not be smaller than theirs," Nan Feihuang said. "Father, your son already has a plan. Give me another year, and I guarantee that from now on, on the Douluo Continent, there will be no power that can contend with our Gu Lei Kingdom!"

(End of chapter)