Li Xin stared at the words on the Heavenly Curtain and was slightly taken aback.
The Heavenly Dao Ranking List?
He knew this plot well.
A little interlude meant to make this world more interesting?
"Chief, what is that?"
Gongsun Li rose to her feet and looked at the strange sight in the sky, her beautiful eyes filled with curiosity.
She could sense that the power contained within that ranking list did not seem to belong to this world.
"An interesting toy."
Li Xin withdrew his gaze, a teasing curve forming at the corner of his lips.
He was neither surprised nor the least bit afraid.
At the absolute pinnacle of power, any unexpected development was merely a diversion in his life.
"Let's go, Ali."
"Let's join the fun too."
"And see where this so-called Power Ranking places our Great Tang."
Li Xin reached out and naturally wrapped an arm around Gongsun Li's slender waist.
The young girl's body went soft as she leaned into his embrace.
Their figures flashed, and they vanished from where they stood.
Spirit City, Papal Palace.
This was the sacred ground in the hearts of Soul Masters across the continent, yet at this moment, it was Deathly Stillness.
On the lofty Pope's throne, Bibi Dong sat elegantly with her legs crossed.
The slit in her Purple-Gold Pope Robe rose high, revealing her fair, voluptuous thigh beneath it. Her skin was whiter than snow, radiating the fatal allure unique to a mature woman.
She gripped her scepter, her eyes fixed intently on the Golden Ranking in the sky.
For the first time, a grave expression appeared on her stunning face.
"The Heavenly Dao Ranking List..."
Bibi Dong's red lips parted slightly. Her voice was somewhat husky, yet it carried boundless majesty.
Even as the inheritor of the Rakshasa God, she felt a tremor of fear before the sudden Heavenly Curtain.
This power far exceeded her understanding.
"I hope it won't affect Xue'er's plans."
A trace of worry flashed through Bibi Dong's eyes.
Her gaze seemed to pierce through space itself, looking toward the distant eastern city known as Chang'an.
The Great Tang Empire.
It was an Enigmatic Existence.
Its territory was not large—one could even call it tiny—occupying only a single plain.
They rarely interacted with the outside world and never took part in the continent's disputes.
Yet in the intelligence reports of every major power, it was an absolute Forbidden Land.
Twenty years ago, a red-robed cardinal of Spirit Hall had relied on his Soul Douluo cultivation and attempted to infiltrate the Great Tang Imperial Palace to gather intelligence.
The result was—
Less than half an hour after he entered, his Life Tablet shattered.
Not even his corpse was found.
Later, Qian Daoliu personally made a trip to the Great Tang border. Upon returning, he issued a Death Order:
Unless absolutely necessary, do not provoke Great Tang.
"That place hides a Great Terror."
Bibi Dong took a deep breath, the fullness of her chest rising and falling slightly with it.
All she hoped for now was that this so-called Heavenly Dao Ranking List would not lift Great Tang's Mysterious Veil.
Otherwise, the situation across the continent would truly descend into chaos.
Chang'an City, Daming Palace.
Within the resplendent golden hall, the atmosphere was taut with tension.
Above the high platform hung a curtain of golden beads, behind which a peerless figure could vaguely be seen seated.
She was a woman clad in an Imperial Robe.
Though her face could not be seen clearly, the aura of one who could Dominate the World made everyone present struggle to breathe.
The Great Tang Empress, Wu Zetian.
Simply sitting there, her perfect curves were faintly visible, and even the loose Imperial Robe could not conceal her proud figure.
Especially the occasional glimpse of her smooth calf beneath the hem of her robe—fair as jade and exquisitely shaped. A single look left one dry-mouthed, yet no one dared entertain the slightest disrespectful thought.
Below the great hall stood two groups.
On the left was a stunning woman dressed in golden palace attire.
Qian Renxue.
She possessed brilliant golden hair, features as exquisite as a painting, and a noble, frosty temperament, like an Angel descended into the mortal world.
At this moment, she held her chin slightly high and looked arrogantly at those opposite her.
On the right stood a group that appeared somewhat bedraggled.
At their head was a middle-aged man with a stiff expression and a crew cut.
Yu Xiaogang.
Behind him stood Dai Mubai, Oscar, Ma Hongjun, and the other members of Shrek's Seven Devils.
Only Tang San, the child favored by fate, was absent.
"Your Majesty."
Yu Xiaogang stepped forward and clasped his hands in salute. Though his tone was respectful, his back remained ramrod straight, bearing the Scholarly Arrogance of a learned man.
"The Spirit Hall Empire has acted perversely and launched war, plunging all living beings into misery."
"Great Tang is a Land of Etiquette and possesses immense power. It should follow the will of the Heavenly Dao and aid our Two Great Empires in eradicating evil, restoring a clear and bright world to the continent!"
Yu Xiaogang spoke with righteous conviction, spittle flying.
In his view, since Great Tang had secluded itself from the world, it must long for peace.
As long as he occupied the moral high ground and appealed to reason and emotion, he would surely be able to persuade this Empress.
"Heh."
A cold laugh rang out.
Qian Renxue shot Yu Xiaogang a disdainful glance, her red lips parting slightly.
"This so-called Grandmaster, what can he do besides wag his tongue?"
"The victor becomes king and the loser becomes a bandit. This is an eternal truth."
"My Spirit Hall Empire seeks to unify the continent in order to establish a better order."
After saying this, she turned toward Wu Zetian behind the bead curtain and dipped into a slight bow, her posture elegant.
"Your Majesty, my Spirit Hall Empire is willing to form an Eternal Alliance with Great Tang."
"So long as Great Tang remains neutral, once my empire unifies the continent, we are willing to divide the world equally with Great Tang!"
This was their bottom line.
It was also the Spirit Hall Empire's sincerity.
Behind the bead curtain, Wu Zetian lounged lazily against the Dragon Throne, turning a jade seal over in her hand.
She found the quarrel between the two sides nothing but grating.
If Li Xin had not instructed her before entering seclusion to maintain the continent's balance, she would have had these flies thrown out long ago.
Just then.
In the shadowy place in the corner of the hall, space twisted slightly.
Two figures appeared without a sound.
They were Li Xin and Gongsun Li.
They did not alert anyone, as though they had been standing there all along.
But as the master of Daming Palace, Wu Zetian naturally sensed them at once.
At that instant.
The Empress, who had originally seemed so lofty and imposing, suddenly trembled.
A delighted light instantly burst from her phoenix eyes.
That familiar aura!
He succeeded?
Wu Zetian instinctively rose, wanting to rush down from the high platform and greet the man who had haunted her dreams.
The Empress's dignity, the envoys of the two nations—none of it mattered in her eyes at that moment.
Just as she lifted her long, jade-like leg and prepared to step forward.
Li Xin's gaze pierced through the bead curtain and fell upon her.
A single look.
Calm and gentle, yet carrying a soothing power.
Wu Zetian understood what that look meant.
She took a deep breath, forcibly suppressed the excitement in her heart, and sat back down on the Dragon Throne.
Only, on her previously indifferent face, there was now a faint tenderness and smile that was difficult to detect.
Neither Yu Xiaogang nor Qian Renxue, still occupied with their argument, noticed this subtle change.
Before you continue