Five Thunder Drum! Thunder Emperor!

"Now that Xue'er had grown up and become strong, let Xue'er carry Father on her back for once, alright?"

Qian Renxue's words struck Qian Yu's heart like a heavy hammer.

Looking at his daughter's tear-streaked face and the pure filial affection in her eyes, every principle and insistence in his heart crumbled at that moment.

"Ah..."

Qian Yu let out a helpless yet indulgent sigh and gently wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.

"You little crybaby. You always use this trick against Father."

He put on a stern expression.

"Father agreed. Is that enough?"

"Really?"

Qian Renxue's eyes instantly lit up. Her face, cloudy with gloom just a moment ago, bloomed into a radiant smile the next.

She threw her arms around Qian Yu's arm and happily rubbed against it.

"Father is the best!"

Beside them, Gongsun Li put away her Red Leaf Umbrella, folded her arms, and watched the father and daughter's interaction with a faint smile on her lips, saying nothing to disturb them.

Just then, Bzzz—!

An unusual hum rang out between heaven and earth. The Heavenly Screen, which had already dimmed, suddenly burst forth with ten thousand rays of golden light!

The dazzling golden radiance instantly dyed the entire sky in a sacred shade of gold.

Brighter than daylight, more resplendent than the blazing sun.

Inside and outside Jialing Pass, countless Chariot Soldiers and Spirit Masters locked in confrontation, as well as Soul Beasts deep within the Star Dou Great Forest, residents of Sea God Island upon the Vast Sea, and icy creatures of the Extreme North...

At that moment, every gaze across the continent was drawn to this sudden change and turned toward the sky.

Qian Yu stopped walking and slowly raised his head. His deep gaze pierced through the layers of golden light and settled upon the Heavenly Screen.

Qian Renxue also straightened up and looked toward the heavens alongside Gongsun Li, her beautiful face filled with astonishment.

The ranking... was being updated again?

Under the gaze of countless beings, golden words slowly formed upon the Heavenly Screen.

Line after line of fresh text, brimming with supreme majesty, appeared clearly before every living creature.

[Spirit Ranking, Twelfth Place: Five Thunder Drum!]

[Owner: Si Kongzhen (Great Tang Empire)]

[Spirit Description: Temper one's body with Thunder Power to attain an Overlord Body impervious to all techniques. Its drumbeats carry the might of heaven, capable of intimidating the heart and controlling the soul.]

[With a wave of the hand, it summons the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder. Countless bolts of lightning surge forth and obey its wielder as readily as limbs. When attacking, its Thunderous Might is unstoppable; when defending, lightning coils around the body, driving back all evil.]

[Ranking Commentary: Beyond a God-level Spirit! Whoever possesses this spirit is like the Thunder Emperor descending upon the world—every gesture is Heavenly Punishment! At a single thought, ten thousand bolts of thunder are born! At a single movement of the mind, heaven and earth collapse!]

[Ranking Reward: Sixfold Spirit Power Solidification! The age of all Spirit Rings increases by one hundred thousand years! Obtain the Godly Skill: Thunder God Awakening!]

Star Dou Great Forest, Lake of Life.

The tranquil lake surface rippled from the Heavenly Screen's sudden upheaval. Gu Yuena, who had only recently awakened, reflected the golden light in her silver eyes, her face displaying an unprecedented gravity.

"Five Thunder Drum?"

She softly repeated the unfamiliar name, her voice full of confusion.

"What kind of Spirit was this? I had never seen it in any records, not even in the Dragon God's inherited memories."

Beside her, Bi Ji, the Jade Swan with the greatest affinity for life force, had also gone pale with shock.

"Si Kongzhen... that name is equally unfamiliar. Since when had such a powerful figure appeared on the continent?"

Di Tian, the Black Dragon King, stared fixedly at the description on the Heavenly Screen with his golden dragon eyes, his voice low as thunder.

"Thunder is the most unyielding and yang force between heaven and earth, incomparably tyrannical."

"Ordinary Spirit Masters, even those with lightning-attribute Spirits, can only guide and borrow a trace of lightning's power.

"Yet this Si Kongzhen... the commentary actually used the words 'command and wield.' That meant he could perfectly control lightning!"

Gu Yuena's heart shook violently as she listened to Di Tian. She thought of the thing the Soul Beast Clan feared most.

Her voice carried a slight tremble.

"We Soul Beasts must undergo a Thunder Tribulation every hundred thousand years, with survival all but impossible.

"That destructive thunder is the deepest fear etched into our bloodlines."

"This Si Kongzhen... his Five Thunder Drum could actually command lightning, and the Heavenly Screen even called him the 'Thunder Emperor descending upon the world'?"

Those words silenced every ferocious beast present.

An existence capable of commanding Thunder Tribulations was simply a natural nemesis to the Soul Beast Clan!

Jialing Pass, Shrek Academy camp.

"Five Thunder Drum?"

"A Super God-level Spirit?!"

The Shrek group gathered together and gazed up at the Heavenly Screen, every face filled with shock.

Yu Xiaogang's expression changed again and again. He adjusted his glasses, staring fixedly at the Heavenly Screen as his lips trembled slightly.

"My Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan is known as the finest Beast Spirit in the world, and it too can control lightning."

He muttered to himself, his voice filled with bitterness.

"But... compared to this Five Thunder Drum, it was simply... simply worlds apart!"

"One was a firefly, the other the Bright Moon!"

Ning Rongrong covered her mouth with her little hand, her glasslike eyes full of amazement.

"What a powerful Spirit! It had an Overlord Body, could control lightning, and possessed such terrifying offensive power... Yet a Spirit like this was only ranked twelfth?"

Liu Erlong took over, her Tyrant Dragon Spirit actually feeling a trace of instinctive fear.

"Rongrong is right. I had never seen or heard of such a powerful Spirit. It was only ranked twelfth. I truly wonder what kind of earth-shattering existences those ranked above it would be?"

Tang San's gaze was incomparably grave, his fists unconsciously clenching.

The appearance of the Heavenly Screen had overturned his understanding time and time again.

"Si Kongzhen? Thunder Emperor?"

He pronounced each word slowly, a thoughtful gleam flickering in his eyes.

"This man was truly extraordinary. If Shrek could recruit him, then in our fight against Spirit Hall, we would gain wings like a tiger."

Xiao Wu tugged at the hem of Tang San's clothes and asked worriedly.

"Brother, look, it says after his name... Great Tang Empire?"

Zhu Zhuqing, who had remained silent all this time, finally spoke. Her clear voice carried a trace of solemnity.

"This Great Tang Empire is extremely mysterious."

"When I was in the Star Luo Empire, I heard my father and brothers mention it. Many years ago, the Star Luo Empire attempted to expand eastward and once sent troops against it. In the end... they suffered a crushing defeat. Instead, three cities were seized from them, and they had yet to reclaim them."

The moment those words were spoken, everyone was shocked once more.

What sort of entity was this Great Tang Empire, to make even a vast empire return in defeat?

At the easternmost end of Douluo Continent lay a vast territory that the continent's Spirit Masters had never known.

Great Tang Empire, Chang'an City.

Within a majestic palace, even grander and more magnificent than Spirit Hall's Pope Palace.

A woman dressed in dragon robes and wearing an imperial crown sat upon the Nine Dragon Throne. Her beauty was exquisite, yet she radiated an imposing authority even without anger.

She was Wu Zetian, the Empress of the Great Tang Empire.