Douluo Dalu: From Bishop to Deity...

"Mmhm... Bring her here next time. Now, let's talk about your next task," Salas said.

Dugu promptly cupped his hands and replied, "Do tell me, my lord."

"Hmm... I'm planning to establish a pavilion. It'll be called the Eternal Crest Pavilion."

"I've decided to build it just outside this forest. For that, I want you to secure the land around the outskirts of the Sunset Forest. At the very least, I want a few miles ahead from here to fall under my control..."

"Since that land is under Heaven Dou Empire's jurisdiction, and you're 'good friends' with Xue Xing, I don't need to explain how to go about this," Salas added, sharing his thoughts plainly.

In the canon, when Tang San wanted to establish the Tang Sect, he directly took over the Strength Clan's manor—Tai Tan offered it willingly, so he didn't face much resistance. But later, when they wanted to expand, they had to purchase properties around the manor. It cost them a fortune.

Salas could go down the same route—buy the land. After all, he had millions in physical gold coins and billions stored in his card. But he didn't want to.

Why go through the front door when the backdoor exists? That was Salas's philosophy.

And from what Dugu Bo had told him, Xue Xing didn't even hesitate when asked for the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud—one of the Heaven Dou Empire's national treasures. The six-month delay was merely the time Xue Xing needed to operate and retrieve it from the imperial treasury.

As for how he did it—or whether the Emperor even knew—remained a mystery.

But one thing was certain: Xue Xing valued Dugu Bo immensely, and was willing to offer anything to keep him loyal.

That wasn't surprising, considering the current state of the Heaven Dou Empire. Dugu Bo was the only Titled Douluo on their side, after all.

"I understand, Lord. I'll complete this within a few weeks," Dugu Bo replied with confidence. This was an easy task for him.

Just a few miles? He could buy that outright. And on top of that, he had Xue Xing—his "good friend."

And if worse came to worst, couldn't he just affiliate himself with the royal family?

If word got out that he was willing to join them, Dugu Bo suspected the Empire would immediately confer him the title of prince and offer him land the size of a major city as his fiefdom. Honestly, even if they gave him territory the size of a small kingdom, it wouldn't be too shocking.

"Hm. While you're at it, head to the Broken Clan... Tell them to submit to me and join the Eternal Crest Pavilion. Use this as leverage. I'm sure once Yang Wudi sees this, he won't hesitate."

As he said this, Salas retrieved the Aromatic Silk Beauty Immortal Herb from his Wishful Treasure Bag and handed it to Dugu Bo.

Seeing the immortal herb, Dugu Bo's lips twitched slightly—but what could he do? Everything here now belonged to Salas.

"Yes, Lord," he replied without question.

"Mm... In a month or two, I may have to leave for a faraway place. My return could take a year or two. So, during that period..." Salas began by informing Dugu Bo of his departure, then proceeded to issue a few more instructions.

In total, Salas wanted three major tasks completed before his return.

First, the Eternal Crest Pavilion must be established. He explained in detail how the headquarters should be built, where it should be located, and other design specifications.

Second, he wanted Dugu Bo to clear out the area surrounding the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well and construct a large manor around it. That hundred-meter mountain where the well was located would be Salas's personal residence from now on. The existence of the well had to remain a secret—no one could find out. Dugu Bo was to personally oversee the entire construction process.

Third, Salas told him about his four disciples and instructed Dugu Bo to look after them.

In short, Salas was assigning Dugu Bo all the work—while he planned to reap the rewards.

By the time he finished giving instructions, the sun had already started to set.

"That's all. You may leave now..." Salas added a few final details before allowing Dugu Bo to take his leave.

"Alas... It pains my heart to make Dugu Bo shoulder everything. Sigh, if only I had a few more Titled Douluo under me..." Once Dugu Bo left the range of his spiritual domain, Salas dropped his formal demeanor and sighed with a hint of genuine regret.

He was seriously short on subordinates. To be precise, he only had one.

His grand ambition of turning the Douluo Continent into his personal backyard couldn't be realized with so few people. Salas understood that very well.

"Thankfully, I have Salas's lifetime of memories—handling affairs, political games, resource planning... Without them, with just my twenty-something years of experience on Earth, I doubt I could even build the pavilion properly, let alone become the hidden master of this continent... heh heh heh." He chuckled, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

Still, even if he didn't have Salas's memories, he would've just learned it all from scratch. Isn't it just learning how the world works? Salas said... it is simple for him.. The Provincial Chess Champion.

Of course, now he didn't need to learn. If anything came up, he only had to search through Salas's memories. Naturally, he wouldn't blindly follow the old Salas's way of doing things—he would evaluate and discard anything he found foolish. But overall, those memories were filled with valuable experience. That much couldn't be denied.

After reflecting a bit and supplementing some of his decisions, Salas decided it was time to take the next step.

"It's time for me to plant my seeds... Oh, Liu Erlong, I'm coming for you..."