Chapter 64: Xu Jiujiu

The time Xu Jiujiu spent absorbing the ten-thousand-year soul ring was indeed a bit long; it lasted from yesterday afternoon until this evening before it barely concluded, but the harvest gained was truly pleasantly surprising.

The soul power remaining from previously absorbing a seventy-thousand-year soul bone, combined with the amplification brought by the soul ring's energy, actually pushed Xu Jiujiu's soul power directly to level 45.

This was truly astonishing. In less than a week, Xu Jiujiu's soul power had completed a rapid leap from level 38 to level 45, which could almost be said to have saved a year of bitter cultivation.

However, this situation would likely only happen this once. In subsequent cultivation, even if she were to leapfrog to absorb higher-age soul rings again, the amplification brought would be far inferior to this time.

Actually, this is easy to understand. From the first time one absorbs a soul ring beyond their rank, it signifies that the soul master's physical fitness, soul power quality, and even the body's capacity to bear the total amount of soul power are already far higher than soul masters of the same level.

In subsequent soul ring absorptions, if one continues to leapfrog to absorb soul rings, the amplification brought is actually no different from an ordinary soul master absorbing a soul ring of an appropriate age.

After all, your soul power quality and the total amount of soul power you can bear are already set there. What is considered leapfrog absorption in the eyes of others is, in front of you, actually just absorbing a soul beast of an appropriate age; the amplification that can be brought is naturally not as terrifying and considerable as the first leapfrog absorption.

Even so, Xu Jiujiu was still extremely happy. Just as she herself said, after completing this breakthrough, the speed at which her own Star Crown martial soul absorbs starlight energy also gained an increase of nearly thirty percent. Coupled with the fact that she can use auxiliary soul tools to absorb starlight energy in advance and store it, she can now perform moderate cultivation even during the day. Her cultivation speed cannot be said to be much faster than before, but at least there will be some changes.

Of course, while deciding to leave Star Luo City to search for opportunities on the continent, Shu Yan still had to go and give Xu Jiawei a bit of a pep talk.

After all, leaving Star Luo City this time meant taking someone else's sister along. As an older brother, one always has a special concern and worry for their sister, and although Xu Jiawei is the Emperor, it is still inevitable.

Regarding this, Shu Yan could not say much, so he had to guarantee that he would not take too many risks, and only then did he barely manage to put Xu Jiawei at ease.

As the time for departure neared, Xu Jiujiu appeared very happy. As a princess, she had been trapped in Star Luo City almost since birth. She had many things to learn and be exposed to on a daily basis, and rarely had the opportunity to go out, let alone roam the continent. Therefore, Xu Jiujiu attached great importance to this journey and could not hide her excitement.

After handling the affairs of Star Luo City, Shu Yan went to meet Qian Gu Chaosheng once more and obtained an ancient cowhide map from his hands. Before leaving, Xu Jiawei wanted the Nebula Douluo to follow, but after looking at the Ice Snow Dual Emperors on the side, he finally helplessly dismissed this idea.

Just like that, under Xu Jiawei's personal farewell, the four of Shu Yan soon left the scope of the imperial palace and headed toward the bustling city outside...

As they were about to leave the city gate, the four finally picked up Luo Qinghan, who had been pushed by Tian Ling and was waiting at a beverage shop by the street.

After briefly introducing the Ice Emperor to her, Shu Yan did not say anything more. Luo Qinghan was a smart person; even if Shu Yan did not reveal any key information, she knew what she should ask and what she should not. After getting into the carriage and greeting everyone in turn, she sat cross-legged in a corner by herself and began meditation cultivation, not saying a single extra word.

Shu Yan did not disturb her either. He held the ancient map obtained from Qian Gu Chaosheng in his hand and then studied it carefully.

Due to the continental plate collision thousands of years ago, the current continent has undergone great changes compared to ten thousand years ago.

Many iconic landmarks and even cities have disappeared into the long river of history, and even the original Heaven Dou Empire has long since split into the two great empires of Heaven Soul and Dou Ling today.

On top of these former ruins, later generations built new cities, and the population gradually migrated to those brand-new lands. Therefore, the current continental map has many more cities and new terrain such as mountain ranges and plains compared to the ancient map in Shu Yan's hands.

In addition, because of the prosperity and dominance of the Tang Sect in the past, many places of origin related to them were not allowed to appear on the map. Legend has it that this was a divine oracle passed down by that Sea God. Although there were occasional complaints on the continent, most people could only helplessly accept it.

Thus, as time gradually passed, the Tang Sect slowly declined, and some of the original inheritances also disappeared into history. Until today, many people have even forgotten those secret places that disappeared from the map for no reason. Even if someone remembers, they are too lazy to spend time looking for them.

After all, in this current era, the hidden weapons and the remaining parts of the inheritance passed down by the Tang Sect are simply too backward compared to the brand-new soul tool system and the increasingly developing technology and economy. The prestige of the Tang Sect had long since perished in their corruption and conservatism; this is an unchangeable fact. Of course, even if someone wanted to change it, Shu Yan would not agree.

The backward products that have already been submerged in the tide of history should just stay in the trash heap obediently; it would be quite impolite to run out again...

Along the way, Shu Yan had been studying this map and thinking about things. Xu Jiujiu sat beside him, looking at the scenery outside in a daze. The Snow Emperor sat opposite, resting her chin on one hand and taking a nap, while the Ice Emperor was holding a pile of small snacks, eliminating them while watching the outside to pass the time. For a moment, the carriage was strangely quiet.

Shu Yan sighed helplessly, then closed his eyes and entered a state of meditation.

Judging from the direction they left the city, following this road all the way north, they would be able to reach the so-called Xuanyu City by evening today. Around the imperial capital, Star Luo City, there are four small cities that are not very large in scale, arranged in the order of Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow. The function of these four cities is to guard the imperial capital from being violated during wartime, so in these four cities, there is a powerful soul master team and some armored cavalry; their combat power is not to be underestimated.

As they got further and further away from Star Luo City, some small villages and towns gradually appeared in the surroundings.

Because these villages and towns were closer to Star Luo City compared to other villages and towns, they looked clean and tidy, and there were no buildings that were too backward or dilapidated. But in the final analysis, the problem was actually very obvious: this village had at least several hundred people, yet the number of people possessing soul power did not even exceed the number of fingers on one hand; the ratio could be described as terrifyingly disproportionate.

Xu Jiujiu looked at everything outside and could not help but sigh softly.

Shu Yan also woke up from his shallow meditation at this time. Looking at Xu Jiujiu's slightly furrowed brows and then at the scene outside, he roughly guessed the reason for Xu Jiujiu's change in expression.

After thinking for a while, he said softly:

"Jiujiu, don't think too much about it; this matter has nothing to do with you."

Xu Jiujiu raised her eyes, her expression somewhat low, and then said: "Actually, the problem of commoners within the empire being unable to awaken their martial souls has existed for a long time. My Imperial Brother had many ideas in his early years, such as learning from the Spirit Hall of the past to recruit low-level soul masters to perform martial soul awakening work, but the reason for the final failure was also ridiculous. A-Yan, do you know why?"

Shu Yan rubbed Xu Jiujiu's head and then said slowly: "If I am not mistaken, the problem lies with the high-level officials of the empire and the noble class..."

Xu Jiujiu nodded and said in a deep voice:

"Yes, at that time, as soon as my Imperial Brother proposed this plan, nearly seventy percent of the older generation of nobles in the empire stood up to oppose it, because once this measure was implemented, it would mean that the bottom-level people who had been oppressed by them for generations would have a chance to turn things around. This would undoubtedly have a great impact on their interests."

"On the other hand, there is the financial problem. In recent years, the situation on the continent has become increasingly chaotic and dangerous. The Sun Moon Empire in the west is restless, and the empire stands on the front line of resisting the Sun Moon Empire, so naturally, it needs an army that is strong enough to resist foreign enemies."

"Therefore, the amount of gold soul coins the empire spends on the army every year is a figure so huge that it is unimaginable. Such terrifying military and political expenditure means that the empire simply does not have the extra funds to support this idea. Besides that, the vigorous development of soul tools in the country also requires a large amount of funds. Don't look at the tax revenue collected by the empire every year, which is enough to rival the integration of the other two great empires, but in reality, there are not a few worms in the dark... The empire is in a troubled time, and it is truly powerless to deal with these things. Sometimes it is really difficult to take the overall situation into account..."

Speaking of this, Xu Jiujiu leaned on Shu Yan's shoulder and smiled sarcastically, then continued:

"It can be said that many times it is not that the empire is unwilling to do so, but that the empire simply cannot do so, or to put it more bluntly, the empire dares not do so. But with you, A-Yan, I feel that all of this can be changed in the future..."

Shu Yan smiled helplessly upon hearing this, and for a moment, he did not know how to answer Xu Jiujiu...

(End of this chapter) ===== CHAPTER 65 =====