Speculation Abounds, the Announcement Begins

Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Ning Fengzhi and Gu Rong stood together, gazing at the mysterious Heavenly Curtain in the sky.

"Interesting. I wonder whether Rong Rong can make it onto this Peerless Beauty Ranking."

At Rong Rong's mention, Gu Rong smiled kindly.

"Of course she can. Our Rong Rong is no worse than anyone else!"

"Making the top ten definitely won't be a problem."

Gu Rong looked around, somewhat puzzled. "Where has Rong Rong run off to again?"

"She..." Ning Fengzhi, her father, shook his head helplessly. "She went to Heaven Dou City to look for her Big Brother."

Gu Rong was helpless as well.

A few years ago, that girl had somehow acknowledged a Big Brother from who knew where.

For seven or eight days every month, she would stick to him constantly, inseparable from him. It was enough to make them furious!

The precious jade cabbage they had carefully raised at home had actually been rooted up by some unknown brat.

But with Rong Rong fiercely defending him, they could at most grumble a few times and had never interfered too much.

Yet over the past half year, that person had suddenly stopped appearing.

Rong Rong had been unable to eat or sleep, growing thinner by the day.

They swore that once they found that brat, they would teach him a harsh lesson!

"How did she know he was in Heaven Dou City?"

"What else could it be? Naturally, I was the one who found out that information for her."

Ning Fengzhi sighed. A grown daughter could no longer be kept at home.

"So Chen Xin went to protect her in secret?"

"Yes."

"Bastard Brother!"

"Once I find you, I'm definitely going to hit you!"

"Hit you! Hit you, hit you!"

A carriage bearing the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's emblem traveled along the main road toward Heaven Dou City.

Inside the carriage sat a girl in a simple white dress. She was elegant and refined, carrying an ethereal air about her.

Yet her eyes were red and swollen, and her face was full of grievance.

She used her delicate little fists to pound a tiny doll resting on her lap, utterly uninterested in the Heavenly Curtain overhead.

Sunset Forest.

Dugu Bo stood near the crater, looking up at the Heavenly Ranking as he burst into laughter.

"Peerless beauty? How interesting. Yan'er, Grandpa thinks you have a chance of making the ranking too!"

Six years ago, Dugu Yan's snake poison had been cured by a young Little Friend.

From then on, she had no more worries. Not only had her Soul Power improved rapidly, but as she grew older—

Her figure and appearance had also changed enormously.

Though she wore a black-green robe, it could not conceal her graceful, curvaceous figure or her peach-blossom jade face, like a lotus emerging from clear water.

Dugu Yan silently watched the Heavenly Ranking, tears glimmering in her beautiful eyes.

"What's wrong, Yan'er?" Dugu Bo's laughter came to an abrupt halt.

"Grandpa..."

Dugu Yan lowered her head slightly, a trace of sorrow and loss hidden between her brows.

"If I make the ranking... will he come back to find me when he sees it?"

That single sentence left Dugu Bo silent.

After that Little Friend cured Yan'er, he had often kept her company, bringing smiles and joy into her life.

If things had continued developing that way, the two of them would surely have ended up together.

He had thought it was a good thing too.

But life was unpredictable.

Since their parting two years ago, that Little Friend had never appeared again.

Dugu Yan, once cheerful with a hint of pride, had become like a stone waiting for her husband.

Day after day, she waited for her beloved to return.

But repeated disappointment had turned her cold and distant. She guarded this Medicine Garden all day without taking a single step away.

She was afraid that if she left, she would miss their reunion.

"Alas..."

Over the past two years, Dugu Bo had exhausted every means at his disposal searching for the missing Little Friend.

But he had found no trace whatsoever.

Sometimes, he wondered whether his granddaughter was simply destined to endure hardships.

She had only just escaped snake poison, only to be afflicted by a love wound.

Skywater Academy.

This was one of the Five Great Elemental Academies of the Heaven Dou Empire.

It accepted only beautiful girls with water or ice attributes.

At that moment, many young and beautiful female students dressed in Water Blue School Uniforms were chattering away inside the academy, discussing who might be selected.

Their words were full of mutual praise, yet inwardly, none of them accepted the others as superior.

Among them, the two most beautiful girls—also sisters—Shui Bing'er and Shui Yue'er were quietly competing as well.

"Eldest Sister, with your looks, making the ranking is inevitable."

Shui Yue'er spoke with a smile, though there was a trace of chill in her tone.

She had Dark Green Short Hair, a petite figure, smiling eyes, and shallow dimples at the corners of her lips.

Even at Skywater Academy, she was considered one of the finest young beauties.

But standing beside her was Skywater Academy's most outstanding girl.

She was also her half-sister.

Shui Bing'er's long water-blue hair fluttered in the breeze. She had almond eyes and peachy cheeks, fair skin and beautiful appearance.

Her exquisite features were framed by her drifting water-blue hair.

It gave her a hazy beauty that made it impossible to look away.

Shui Bing'er first tucked a strand of water-blue hair behind her ear before speaking indifferently.

"What? Are you afraid you won't be able to compete with me in the future?"

"Uh..." Shui Yue'er choked on her words, then snorted angrily.

"Hmph! I won't give up."

"Since Eldest Sister is the captain, what would be wrong with you taking the initiative to withdraw and let me have it?"

Shui Bing'er looked up at the Heavenly Curtain. Was he also looking up at this sight at this very moment?

"You can have anything else, but when it comes to him, I won't yield an inch."

Sea God Island.

Inside Sea God Hall, the High Priest Bo Saixi wore a red dress.

Her soft blue hair cascaded down her back. With blue eyes and red lips, a voluptuous and alluring figure—

She radiated mature beauty, dignified and graceful, gentle and warm.

At that moment, she too gazed quietly at the Heavenly Curtain, her expression solemn.

Beside her stood the Seven Sacred Pillars of Sea God Island, all wearing grave and confused expressions.

"High Priest, creating such a Heavenly Curtain has already surpassed the limits of us Titled Douluo."

"Could this be the work of a god?"

Sea Horse Douluo voiced the question everyone wanted answered.

"No... This is a power even stronger than the gods."

Bo Saixi remained silent for a long while before answering him.

The Seven Sacred Pillars all revealed shocked expressions.

"What makes you say that? Could it be even more formidable than Lord Sea God?!"

"I'm afraid so, because..."

Bo Saixi paused, as though sensing something.

"I can no longer call upon Lord Sea God. This Heavenly Curtain seems to have blocked off the God Realm."

"Hiss..." The Seven Sacred Pillars drew sharp breaths. It had blocked off the God Realm?

How was that possible?!

But these were the High Priest's words. She could not possibly deceive them.

For a moment, none of them dared act rashly, afraid of inviting disaster upon themselves.

"Still, this Heavenly Curtain appears to merely be compiling some information about our Douluo Continent."

"Perhaps things will return to normal once the announcement is over."

Bo Saixi speculated. After all, since the Heavenly Curtain had appeared, no living being had encountered danger.

"The High Priest makes sense."

The Seven Sacred Pillars nodded in agreement and decided to wait and see.

"Judging from the information on this Heavenly Curtain, with the High Priest's beauty and temperament—"

"You will certainly make the ranking, perhaps even the top three!"

Sea Horse Douluo said sincerely.

He had traveled across both sea and continent, yet he had never seen a woman more beautiful than the High Priest.

The other Douluo smiled as well, easing the tense atmosphere.

"After all, the High Priest's charm once drew the pursuit of two peerless Douluo from the continent!"

"I'd say the number one spot can belong to none other than the High Priest!"

"But what does this Yin Yang Fusion mean? Could it be some kind of special reward?"

As Bo Saixi listened to the people behind her, a faint ripple stirred in her heart.

She recalled the figures of those two old friends. Since that farewell, they had never met again.

At her age, she had no interest whatsoever in whether she made the Peerless Beauty Ranking.

As for rewards?

The only thing that could interest her was anything related to the path of becoming a god.

Just as every faction was speculating, the Heavenly Curtain stirred once more.

The old writing gradually faded, while new golden characters began to emerge.

"Is it finally going to be announced?"

"Honestly, I'm already prepared for them to pursue me."

"Just thinking about those twenty-five peerless girls all pursuing me... how am I supposed to choose? What a headache!"

"Quit joking around, will you? Someone with dark urine, come wash his face."

```