Chapter 1212 Arriving at the Imperial Capital

Then, with a flick of his right hand, the pebble flew out swiftly, turning into several afterimages, and pierced through several dark figures in the distance.

These dark figures quickly fell into pools of blood and fell silent.

Meanwhile, news of Tang Lan's ability to easily deal with those powerful evil spirit masters was relayed to the city lord's mansion by the city defense forces.

The city lord himself arrived here with a group of guards and happened to witness this scene.

This was a man who looked to be under thirty-five years old. After straightening his clothes, he dismissed the servants behind him and came to see Tang Lan in person.

"I am Zeng Wenqiu, the city lord of Jiuyue City, appointed by the Douling Empire. I humbly request that you all come to my residence for a chat, as a way of thanking you for your help!"

Zeng Wenqiu politely cupped his hands in greeting to Tang Lan and the others.

He could clearly see that these people were all subtly following Tang Lan's lead, and naturally he could tell who the leader was.

"In that case, let's make a trip to the City Lord's Mansion!"

Tang Lan wasn't in a hurry and readily agreed.

Led by Zeng Wenqiu, the group returned to the city lord's mansion and prepared a banquet to entertain Tang Lan and the others.

"What? You are all Soul Masters from the Tang Sect!"

"What a coincidence! We just received orders from above to cooperate with the Tang Clan disciples, but you have already appeared in my Jiuyue City."

After a pause, Zeng Wenqiu continued:

"Currently, the evil spirit masters have been divided into two groups. One group went east, while the other group was scattered to various places to create chaos in the surrounding cities and block the teams that were pursuing the Holy Spirit Cult."

"Even my Jiuyue City is suffering greatly from this. Do any of you Tang Clan experts have a way to deal with it?"

Now that he knew Tang Lan and the others' identities, Zeng Wenqiu was overjoyed and quickly asked them.

However, Tang Lan remained calm and instructed him, "In half a day, the experts from my Tang Clan will arrive here. At that time, you can cooperate with them to eliminate the evil soul masters around Jiuyue City."

"However, there is one thing you must remember: never listen to the slander of others, for if your heart is not upright, you will be doomed forever."

Tang Lan seemed to realize that Zeng Wenqiu was a person with a weak will, and if he listened to the evil soul master's slander, his end would be very tragic.

This advice was given by Tang Lan because of how hospitable this guy had been to them.

Tang Lan originally came here to see the strength of the evil soul masters hidden in the vicinity, but she did not expect that the strongest one was only a Soul Douluo.

Such people don't need their help at all; they can simply wait for the Tang Clan disciples to arrive and deal with them.

Next, Tang Lan and his companions traveled north, passing through several cities, but just like in Jiuyue City, they were frequently harassed by scattered evil spirit masters.

"I never imagined that the area near the capital would be in such chaos!"

"It seems that the Douling Empire is indeed on the verge of collapse, and its strength is no longer what it used to be."

Standing at the city gate of the capital, Tang Lan looked at the sparse crowds hurrying by and sighed.

The main purpose of Tang Lan and the others' trip north was to attend Xu Sanshi's coronation ceremony; other matters were just incidental.

As if they had anticipated Tang Lan and the others' arrival, several people dressed in the robes of high-ranking officials from the Douling Empire greeted them as soon as they reached the city gate.

"Distinguished guests, we have been waiting here for quite some time. Please come with me!"

"Let me introduce myself. I am Shu Yu, a first-rank official of the Douling Empire. The others are also generals and loyal subjects of the Douling Empire."

Shu Yu gave a brief introduction of Tang Lan to the people around him, and then led Tang Lan and her group through the city gate without any hindrance.

They then headed towards the palace under the escort of the Imperial Guard.

This time, no evil spirit masters came out to cause trouble, which Tang Lan thought made sense.

After all, if even the capital city is not peaceful, then the Douling Empire truly has no reason to exist.

An empire that cannot resist a powerful enemy may temporarily preserve itself, but this is ultimately not a long-term solution.

After passing through the bustling and magnificent imperial city, Tang Lan and his group finally arrived at the Golden Yuan Hall.

This is the main hall where the emperor of the Douling Empire holds court and discusses matters with his ministers every day.

Every so often, teams of Soul Masters at the Soul Saint level or above would patrol the area, with the team leaders possessing strength at the Soul Douluo level or above, in order to ensure the safety of the emperor in the palace.

"His Majesty is waiting for you all inside, so we won't go in!"

Shu Yu and the others stood aside and smiled politely at Tang Lan and the others, then made a gesture of invitation in unison.

Tang Lan led everyone into the main hall and saw a familiar figure sitting at the head of the table.

It was Xu Sanshi, whom Tang Lan and the others knew. At this moment, Xu Sanshi was sitting at the head of the table reviewing memorials, looking extremely tired.

Hearing footsteps, he looked up and saw Tang Lan and the others.

Xu Sanshi, his face beaming with joy, hurriedly put down the dossier, then walked down from the main hall and said, "You've finally arrived!"

"If I'm left here alone any longer, I might really not be able to hold on!"

"If I had known that being an emperor would be so tiring, I would have chosen to stay in the Tang Clan as an elder.

At this moment, Xu Sanshi smiled bitterly, recalling everything he had experienced during this period, and his face showed a hint of fatigue.

"This is your fate. Since you can't resist it, just accept it."

"With us here, no one can take your place."

Tang Lan, however, answered with a calm and unhurried smile.

Xu Sanshi then instructed the servants outside to bring over a few chairs, and he began a private discussion with Tang Lan and the others inside the main hall.

Although the Tang Sect and the Douling Empire are currently in a cooperative relationship, they are essentially one family, and Xu Sanshi's heart has always been with the Tang Sect.

This is why, right now, various regions are promoting and helping Tang Clan disciples to lay the foundation for their cities and towns, encouraging them to take root in their respective areas.

The declining Douling Empire alone is no longer able to manage so many places; the Tang Sect's help is necessary to accomplish this.

"Brother, your friends are here, why didn't you tell me?"

"I've prepared lots of things to give them!"

Just then, a woman dressed in a beautiful gauze dress suddenly appeared outside the main hall. Instead of being stopped by the guards outside, she swaggered into the main hall.

Upon seeing the young woman, Xu Sanshi's smiling face turned into a worried expression, accompanied by a bitter smile.

"she is."

Tang Lan glanced at the woman before asking her a question.

Xu Sanshi sighed softly and then explained, "This is my cousin, named Xueyue."

"After my cousin abdicated, it was thanks to Xueyue's help that I was able to take control of the government in such a short time."

Xueyue chuckled and greeted Tang Lan and the others.