Golden Ranking Fifth, Bibi Dong!

On the screen, the battle between the two Deities was cataclysmic.

Tang San wielded the Sea God's Trident. With a single move, Unpredictable Waves, he immobilized Bibi Dong's Rakshasa Domain.

Immediately afterward, the Martial Soul Avatar of the Clear Sky Hammer appeared. With a strike of the Great Sumeru Hammer, gathering all the divine power in his body and carrying an unstoppable momentum, he smashed down fiercely!

Bibi Dong activated her Rakshasa Divine Power and defended with all her strength.

"Rumble—!"

The entire Sky Screen shook violently.

Divine light and demonic aura collided madly. The aftermath of that energy alone was enough to effortlessly level an entire mountain range.

In the end, amid that blinding radiance—

People saw the main blade of the Golden Trident pierce through Bibi Dong's heart.

And Tang San's chest was also impaled by the Rakshasa Demonic Scythe.

Both sides had suffered grievous injuries!

Yet, relying on the Sea God's Heart and the formidable restorative power of the Blue Silver Emperor, Tang San still clung to life.

Meanwhile, the divine light around Bibi Dong rapidly dimmed. Her purple-black armor shattered inch by inch, finally turning into specks of light and vanishing between Heaven and Earth.

She had lost.

The scene ended there.

The Sky Screen returned to calm.

But the entire Douluo Continent fell into an unprecedented Dead Silence.

Spirit Hall.

Bibi Dong sat quietly upon her throne, utterly motionless.

There was no expression on her face.

Inside the grand hall, one could hear a pin drop. Not a single person dared make the slightest sound.

Everyone could sense that beneath that calm lay a volcano on the verge of eruption—a storm capable of destroying everything.

Time seemed to have frozen.

Suddenly—

"Boom!"

With a deafening explosion, the Pope's Throne beneath Bibi Dong, along with the white jade floor tiles beneath her feet, was instantly blasted into the finest dust by a violent surge of Soul Power!

Amid the swirling smoke and dust, Bibi Dong slowly rose to her feet.

Her voice seemed to rise from beneath Nine Nether, carrying bone-deep chill and frenzied killing intent.

"...I would lose?"

"I would lose to some brat who also has Twin Martial Souls?"

"Tang San..."

She pronounced the name one word at a time, as though she wanted to chew it to pieces and swallow it whole.

Shrek Academy.

Tang San was still standing there in a daze, his mind A Blank Slate.

What had he just seen?

His future self had become a god?

His future self possessed two supreme Martial Souls—the Clear Sky Hammer and the Blue Silver Emperor—wielded a Divine Artifact, and fought a divine battle against the Pope of Spirit Hall?

His future self had ultimately... defeated her?

An immense surge of ecstasy and excitement coursed through his limbs like an electric current.

So that was how it was?

So I was the protagonist of this era!

He unconsciously clenched his fists. The determination in his eyes had now transformed into fiercely burning ambition and confidence.

The Pope of Spirit Hall, a genius with Twin Martial Souls, the future Rakshasa God...

In the end, she was merely an opponent I had defeated.

Tang San raised his head, his blazing gaze fixed on the Golden Ranking in the sky.

His heart had never burned so fiercely.

Even an opponent I defeated could rank fifth.

Then I...

Who else could be first on this Talent Ranking besides me, Tang San?!

Just as Tang San's heart surged with excitement and he became convinced that he was the one chosen by fate, the Golden Ranking high above the nine heavens descended with divine radiance once more.

That dazzling light was unlike the vast spectacle from when it had played the images earlier. Instead, it condensed into a pure golden pillar of light that pierced straight down toward Spirit City.

Immediately afterward, ancient words slowly appeared across the Sky Screen, announcing the reward belonging to fifth place.

[Rewards for Fifth Place on the Talent Ranking are being distributed!]

[Reward One: God-Bestowed Soul Ring x2!]

[Note: God-Bestowed Soul Rings can replace the First Spirit Ring of a Spirit Master's First Martial Soul and Second Martial Soul. Their age limit is related to the Spirit Master's endurance limit.]

[Reward Two: Hundred Thousand Year Rakshasa Demonic Spider Left Arm Bone x1!]

[Reward Three: Divine Artifact · Rakshasa Nether Thorn x1!]

Every word of the rewards was clearly reflected before the eyes of everyone across the continent.

In an instant, the Dead Silence brought about by the Battle of Two Gods was replaced by an even fiercer uproar.

"God... God-Bestowed Soul Rings?!"

"What are those? They can directly replace spirit rings?"

"And there's a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone! My god! Fifth place already gets a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone!"

"The most terrifying one is the third reward. What is that... a Divine Artifact?!"

The entire Douluo Continent erupted completely.

If Ye Lingling's inheritance from a Deity still seemed like some distant, ethereal legend—

Then Bibi Dong's rewards were a terrifying enhancement that could be tangibly and instantly converted into combat power!

This Talent Ranking was not merely a ranking. It was a Great Opportunity!

Spirit Hall.

As Bibi Dong sensed the vast Divine Power descending from the heavens and locking onto her, her face, which had been twisted by the images of her defeat, actually flushed with an unusual red.

Her breathing quickened slightly.

Her anger and humiliation had not faded, but an even more intense excitement and desire began to grow wildly from the depths of her heart.

God-Bestowed Soul Rings, a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone, a Divine Artifact!

With these, she could become stronger!

Strong enough to change the future, strong enough to crush that brat named Tang San from the images into dust before he could grow up!

Yet at the same time, a chill quietly crept into her heart.

She was only fifth place, yet the rewards were already this earth-shattering.

Then the four people ranked above her...

How much better would their rewards be?

Were their talents truly above her own?

Murderous intent and fanaticism intertwined in Bibi Dong's eyes.

"Pass down my order!"

"This Seat will immediately enter Closed-door Cultivation. No one is to disturb me!"

She did not hesitate in the slightest. Her top priority was to fully absorb these rewards at once and transform them into her own strength.

As for who the top four were, she would settle accounts with them one by one after she emerged from Closed-door Cultivation!

Shrek Academy.

"God... God-Bestowed Soul Rings!"

Yu Xiaogang's mouth hung wide enough to fit an egg inside. The hand holding his glasses trembled faintly, and his entire body had fallen into a state of excited academic fervor.

"Teacher, what are God-Bestowed Soul Rings?"

Oscar hurriedly asked.

Yu Xiaogang took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the excitement in his heart as he explained in an almost dreamlike tone:

"That is something which, in my theories, existed only as a conjecture!"

"A Spirit Master's spirit rings come from Spirit Beasts. That is common knowledge. But gods are existences beyond common knowledge!"

"A God-Bestowed Soul Ring, as its name implies, is a spirit ring bestowed by a Deity! It does not require killing a Spirit Beast and can directly fuse with one's martial soul!"

"Most importantly, its age depends on the Spirit Master's own endurance!

"That means that as long as your body is strong enough, your First Spirit Ring could even be... ten thousand years! Or higher!"

Yu Xiaogang's words made everyone from Shrek draw a sharp breath.

A ten-thousand-year spirit ring as the First Spirit Ring?

This Completely overturned everything they knew!

"Then wouldn't Bibi Dong be..."

Dai Mubai said in a grave voice.