Soul Land, border!
A grand army was marching in an orderly fashion, an invisible aura of killing intent enveloped them...
The banners floating above represented none other than the Xingluo Empire...
Clearly, this army was acting under the orders of the Xingluo Empire's Emperor, arriving to support Soul Land!
At this moment, a middle-aged man of high rank, seated on horseback, suddenly gave a cold command, "Halt the march!"
In an instant, all the soldiers of the army stopped their steps and turned their gaze toward the front...
After careful observation, they found that the personnel guarding this place numbered only a few thousand, several times fewer than usual...
"So strange, for Soul Land's border to be defended by so few people—what exactly happened here?"
"Isn't it obvious? It's certainly because of that abyssal creature army—everyone has been reassigned elsewhere!"
"Tsk tsk tsk, the folks of Soul Land sure have confidence. With numbers like this, if our Xingluo Empire wanted to invade, it'd be ridiculously easy!"
"Shhh… Keep your voice down! You don't want to be misunderstood, do you?"
The man at the forefront heard this and sternly reprimanded, "Everyone, quiet down!"
Once the army quieted down, he loudly declared toward the front, "In the name of the Xingluo Empire's Emperor, we come to reinforce Soul Land—please grant us passage!!"
Soon, the members of Soul Land's army noticed their presence and began gathering together...
Although these Xingluo Empire soldiers stated their intentions clearly, they couldn't be entirely trusted just yet!
The man temporarily filling in as commander understood the urgency of the situation and strode forward confidently without the slightest hesitation...
He spoke with calm and composed words, "Please wait for a moment, we need to confirm with the Federation."
Soon enough, one of the soldiers contacted the Federation to verify the matter!
After confirming that the Xingluo Empire's army bore no hostility, the acting commander raised his hand and shouted, "Grant them passage!"
Only then did the Xingluo Empire's army successfully enter the Soul Land border, heading toward the city...
Watching them disappear into the distance, the members of Soul Land's army couldn't help but feel a sense of foreboding in their hearts...
"For the Xingluo Empire to send troops for reinforcements—it feels fishy to me!"
"Who knows? With how thin our border defenses are now, if the Xingluo Empire had any ulterior motives, they'd be unstoppable!"
"Come on… this army acts under the Emperor's orders; surely they wouldn't stoop to such despicable behavior, would they?"
"Naive—don't forget, our Soul Land holds the strongest overall power, which is bound to make the other two empires envious!"
"Everyone, relax. Just this one army—even if they had other intentions, they wouldn't amount to much. Right, Vice Commander?"
The leader shot him a glare, "Whether they have other intentions or not, our job is to defend the border and prevent any other empire from seizing the opportunity!"
"Alright, everyone, stay alert and focused!"
...
Finally, Xie Xie successfully absorbed the heavenly treasure entirely. Sensing the explosive growth in his soul power rank, he couldn't help but burst into laughter...
"This heavenly treasure is incredible! I actually broke through two ranks at once. I'm now a level 97 Hyper Douluo—hahaha!"
Tang Wulin immediately came over, genuinely happy for him, "Congratulations, Xie Xie, on your strength advancing by leaps and bounds!"
Xie Xie froze for a moment, then clasped Tang Wulin's shoulder and exclaimed excitedly, "Wulin, did you hear what I just said? I broke through to level 97 Hyper Douluo—level 97! It's something I couldn't even dream of!"
Tang Wulin didn't want to dampen his enthusiasm, so he could only smile awkwardly and say, "I heard you loud and clear, Xie Xie, but please don't be so worked up!"
Xie Xie forced himself to calm down, then asked with a hint of boasting in his tone, "By the way, Wulin, I haven't asked you yet—what's your current rank?"
Tang Wulin thought for a moment and answered, "Me? I've now broken through to level 98 Hyper Douluo—just one step away from Ultimate Douluo!"
"Crack!"
At that moment, Xie Xie felt his soul freeze...
His excitement vanished into thin air...
He originally wanted to brag about his three-rank breakthrough after absorbing the treasure, but Tang Wulin's progress was even more outrageous!
Noticing Xie Xie's odd expression, Tang Wulin hesitated and asked, "Xie Xie, are you okay?"
Xie Xie glared at him weakly and said, "I'm fine… I should've known better than to compare myself to a freak like you. Anyway… where's everyone else? How are they doing?"
Tang Wulin answered honestly, "You're the second one to finish absorbing the treasure—the others haven't finished yet!"
Xie Xie instantly became spirited again, rubbing his hands together, "What? I'm the second to finish, which means I'm stronger than the others!"
Not comparing with Wulin, but surely he could outclass everyone else, right?
As he indulged in this fantasy, Yue Zhengyu's annoyed voice sounded...
"Xie Xie, what were you yelling about just now? Don't you know you're disturbing people?"
Xu Xiaoyan yawned and stretched before standing up, "Yes, I was woken up too—I planned to cultivate for a bit longer!"
Xie Xie gave an intense stare at them, "You don't understand! I broke through three ranks all at once, and now I'm at level 97 Hyper Douluo!"
The moment those words came out, Yue Zhengyu and Xu Xiaoyan looked at him with surprise...
Then, they responded with an extremely nonchalant "Oh."
This reaction made Xie Xie even more irritated, and he growled, "What the hell are you 'oh'-ing about?! Don't tell me you're jealous of my giant breakthrough…"
Yue Zhengyu couldn't hold back and burst into laughter...
"Xie Xie, are you kidding? Who'd be jealous of you? Also… are you seriously thinking our soul power ranks are lower than yours?"
"Right, Xiaoyan?"
Xu Xiaoyan nodded in agreement, "Hmm, even I've already broken through to level 97!"
That statement was like a dagger stabbing straight into Xie Xie's heart...
He covered his eyes with his hands, utterly crestfallen, "You all… I don't want to live anymore!"
These lunatics were all so ridiculously strong—he felt like a clown in comparison!
Out of sympathy, Yue Zhengyu patted his shoulder to comfort him, "Hey, isn't there still Ye Hui, Xing Lan, and Xu Lizhi who haven't finished absorbing yet? You still have a chance!"
Unable to watch any longer, Tang Wulin contradicted him, "Zhengyu, don't keep crushing Xie Xie's hopes! Ye Hui and Xing Lan's absorption effects certainly won't be bad; they might even advance straight to Ultimate Douluo!"
At that, the last shred of hope in Xie Xie's heart was utterly extinguished...
He muttered bitterly, "Wulin, I appreciate your input—please don't say anything next time!"
So basically, aside from Xu Lizhi, the support-class Soul Master, he couldn't outmatch anyone?
…