#646 - Negotiate conditions

Chapter 640: Negotiating Conditions

“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 rising to become the state religion of the Douling Empire. With such a major event, how could Li Yunzhe be unaware of it?

Back then, in the joint action of the entire Douluo Continent to resist and suppress the Apocalypse Church, the Tang Sect was at the forefront, sparing no effort and putting in a great deal of effort.

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

They paid considerable attention to every possible powerhouse in the sect, especially Aponia, who was suspected of being a Limit Douluo like the one in front of them.

In the past intelligence gathered, Aponia's strength had always been speculated to be at the level of a suspected Limit Douluo, but because her whereabouts were erratic and ghostly, and she rarely appeared in public, it made it difficult for the Tang Sect to make a definite judgment on her actual strength.

However, with the affirmation of Holy Spirit Douluo Yali at this moment, Tang Wulin was certain in his heart that the fog of “suspicion” had finally been completely dispelled.

The Aponia in front of him was undoubtedly a genuine, one hundred percent Limit Douluo.

Thinking of this, Tang Wulin's heart couldn't help but beat faster, and an invisible pressure came over him like Mount Tai.

Due to Aponia's long-term mysterious whereabouts, even the Tang Sect, whose intelligence network spread across the Douluo Continent like a dragnet, only had a very limited understanding of this mysterious powerhouse.

But one thing that the Tang Sect firmly believed was that this Apocalypse Church definitely had inextricable connections with the Oxers.

Nowadays, in the federal region of the Douluo Continent, after long-term unremitting research and meticulous observation, the Federation has successfully and clearly distinguished between the two dangerous groups of Oxers and Evil Soul Masters.

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

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

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

Evil Soul Masters are different. Once ordinary people encounter Evil Soul Masters outside, it is almost like stepping into the gates of hell, with absolutely no chance of survival.

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

The Tang Sect has extensive and profound connections and a solid foundation in the Federation of the Douluo Continent, and is naturally well aware of the Federation's division of Oxers and Evil Soul Masters.

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

However, in the Tang Sect's perception, in essence, the two are basically the same, with no difference. They are both evil forces that disrupt the harmonious order of the Douluo Continent and threaten the lives of the people, and they must be resolutely打击(dǎ jī) and completely eradicated.

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

Could it be that the Douling Empire has broken the pot and cooperated with these evil existences?

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

Although everything on the outside is done according to tradition, in fact, the Douling Empire has undergone many changes. For example, the fact that ministers no longer need to kneel before the monarch is one of the important changes.

Even though it has fallen far behind, the Douling Empire is still struggling hard. Otherwise, the need to kneel would be enough to keep most powerhouses away from the Douling Empire.

Xue Zhonggao nodded expressionlessly at Tang Wulin, "Sect Master Tang has come from afar and worked hard. Please rest for a while, and we will discuss it after the court meeting is over."

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” Tang Wulin bowed slightly.

Naturally, someone brought a chair and invited Tang Wulin to sit in the front row 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. Ministry of War, how is the troop deployment going?"

A minister below stepped out and said, "Reporting to Your Majesty, everything is going smoothly at present. The Empire's First, Third, and Seventh Army Corps have been deployed to the border. The Swan Fleet and the Xuanwu Fleet have also completed joint exercises. 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 emergencies that may arise.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” A minister from the civil officials, standing in the third position, came out and responded respectfully.

What followed were some issues related to people's livelihoods. Tang Wulin sat there quietly listening. The ministers of the Douling Empire gave people the feeling that they were very efficient, and various affairs were handled with skill. Xue Zhonggao, as the emperor of the empire, only played the role of making decisions.

This is an imperial country! However, 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, and they have to put aside their prejudices against each other and band together for warmth.

Tang Wulin sat there without looking sideways, 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 Xue Zhonggao, step by step.

Looking at Tang Wulin, who had undergone a simple makeover and maintained a masculine appearance, Xue Zhonggao laughed heartily, "Although I am not young anymore, I don't think I'm that old yet. Let's go, we'll go to the back hall to sit down."

It seemed that the attitude of this Douling Empire Emperor was quite good. At least he didn't show any rejection towards Tang Wulin.

Tang Wulin and his party followed the Empire Emperor to the back hall, where servants had already prepared tea and snacks. The back hall was also magnificent, with various decorations that were grand and luxurious, giving people a sense of imposing momentum.

Xue Zhonggao sat in the main seat, and Li Xiao Chou still sat beside him. Tang Wulin was in the lower seat, while Aponia was opposite him.

Xue Zhonggao smiled and said, "Sect Master Tang must be tired from his journey. I wonder how your rest was?"

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

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

"Oh? I wonder which terms Your Majesty thinks need to be amended?" Tang Wulin asked without showing any emotion.

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, besides 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 causing suffering to the people. In fact, in the previous 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 used by them."

"The Holy Spirit Cult has become more and more active in recent years, creating many disastrous terrorist attacks in the Federation. There is no doubt that they are plotting something big. Now it can be confirmed that they are working with the Spirit Transfer Pagoda, which makes it even more difficult. 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, "This is inevitable. They are hiding in the dark, waiting for the war to come. The more tragic the war, the more beneficial it is for them. Moreover, the overall strength of the Holy Spirit Cult will be stronger than we imagine."

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

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

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

"Although your country has many soul master powerhouses, it lacks top-notch powerhouses. I'm afraid it's impossible to deal with one or even several hidden Limit Douluo…"

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

After all, who knew if there were other powerhouses from the Holy Spirit Cult besides the Dark Blood Demon lurking here.

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

These people from the Holy Spirit Cult secretly lurked in the Douling Imperial Palace, acting as the royal family's consecrations. He could easily guess what their plans were.

But it didn't matter. According to Aponia, these spies from the Holy Spirit Cult, after being exposed by her, immediately began to "cry bitterly," "repenting" for their past crimes, and expressed their willingness to dedicate themselves to the Douling Continent and die for it.

Since they had already admitted their mistakes, Xue Zhonggao was willing to forgive them. After all, the Douling Continent was really lacking in high-end combat power right now.

As for whether these evil soul masters had really 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 experience of the pain, 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 Holy Spirit Cult's main force was probably more concentrated on the Douluo Continent.

If viewed 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 turned his head slightly and looked at the middle-aged man, "May I ask who you are?"

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

Tang Wulin said, "Your Excellency Li Xiao Chou, it is still better 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. That's why 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 Empire Emperor's decision, or to propose conditions for Tang Sect to consider comprehensively.

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

To this end, Tang Sect will encrypt all the provided weapons and equipment, and only the password provided by Tang Sect can be used. This is a great restriction. After spending money to buy equipment, it cannot be used at will.

This restriction is a bit too much. It is equivalent to the right to use the weapon completely depending on Tang Sect's mood. Otherwise, the Douling Empire would have no reason to refuse to purchase powerful soul-guided devices.