It was Chen Li's first time experiencing flight at such extreme speed, yet he felt little fear. Instead, he was more awed by the extraordinary speed and power of a Titled Douluo. He silently observed Yue Guan's flight path and use of Soul Power.
He did not know how much time had passed. Perhaps it had only been half a day when the outline of a towering city gradually came into focus on the horizon ahead.
Spirit City.
This city occupied an exceptionally unique location, situated right within the border buffer zone between the two great empires of Heaven Dou and Star Luo. Yet it remained independent of both empires, standing on its own.
It had not been built upon a plain, but around a modest yet imposing hill. From afar, its towering city walls formed a distinctive hexagonal outline, shimmering with a faint metallic luster beneath the sunlight, solemn and mysterious.
As they drew closer, Chen Li saw it more clearly. At the heart of the city, atop that hill, stood three of its grandest buildings, arranged in a triangular formation. Even from such a great distance, he could feel the solemnity and pressure they radiated.
Those were Spirit Hall's true centers of power... the Palace of the Pope, the Hall of Elders, and the Hall of Douluo.
They symbolized Spirit Hall's supreme authority, peak combat strength, and unparalleled glory.
Had it not been for Tang San, that variable in the original story, Bibi Dong's ambitions and schemes would likely have had no small chance of succeeding...
Chen Li pondered inwardly, comparing his memories from before his transmigration with the reality before him. Twin Martial Souls cultivated to their peaks, secretly undertaking the Rakshasa God Trial... Your Majesty the Pope herself was one of the foremost powerhouses and strategists of this era.
Just as his thoughts churned, Yue Guan brought him slowly down. Rather than flying directly into the city, he landed some distance from the enormous city gate, which stood eighty meters tall and was built entirely from granite.
"Within Spirit City, no one may fly without special permission or in an emergency, as a sign of reverence for the Palace of the Pope and the Hall of Elders," Yue Guan explained calmly, his tone carrying a matter-of-fact solemnity.
This was Spirit Hall's ironclad rule and a manifestation of its authority. Even an elder like him was no exception.
Chen Li planted his feet on solid ground and nodded slightly to show his understanding.
He looked up and saw a massive gilded plaque hanging above the enormous gate. It bore only two ancient, imposing characters: Spirit Hall.
The city gate was heavily guarded. Every soldier wore bright silver armor, with sharp, capable auras and keen eyes, utterly unlike the soldiers of the two great empires.
Yue Guan did not enter the city on foot. The moment he came to a stop, a luxurious carriage drawn by four magnificent snow-white horned horses silently rolled up before him. The carriage was entirely black, inlaid with golden patterns, while exquisite chrysanthemum motifs were carved onto its cabin, understated yet extravagant.
The driver was a middle-aged man dressed in the attire of a Spirit Hall deacon. He nimbly jumped down from the carriage and bowed deeply to Yue Guan. "Your Excellency Chrysanthemum Douluo, please board."
"Mm." Yue Guan gave a slight nod and led Chen Li aboard the carriage.
The interior was even more spacious and comfortable than it appeared from outside. Thick, soft carpeting covered the floor, a fixed table had been installed within, and there was even a faint fragrance of incense. The carriage started smoothly, passed through the heavy city gates, and entered Spirit City.
The streets were broad and clean, while the buildings on either side shared a unified, solemn style. There were quite a few pedestrians, but everything was orderly. Upon seeing the carriage bearing the chrysanthemum insignia, they all revealed respectful expressions and stepped aside voluntarily.
Through the window, Chen Li silently observed the inner scenery of this holy land of soul masters. He could sense that the concentration of Soul Power in the air seemed somewhat greater than outside, invigorating his spirit.
The carriage did not linger in the city. Instead, it followed the main road toward the foot of the hill at the city's center. The closer they came to the center, the grander the surrounding buildings became, and the tighter the security grew.
At last, the carriage stopped at the edge of an incomparably vast plaza. Its ground was paved with white jade as smooth as a mirror, and at its far end lay a long flight of stairs leading up the hill. Above those stairs, the outlines of the three majestic halls appeared especially sacred and oppressive against the blue sky.
"Get out. We'll need to walk from here," Yue Guan said, taking the lead as he stepped down from the carriage.
Chen Li followed behind him and stepped onto the plaza at the very heart of Spirit Hall. The faint chill of the jade beneath his feet, the incomparably solemn and tranquil atmosphere around him, and the invisible pressure emanating from the halls above all made his heartbeat quicken involuntarily.
He followed Yue Guan toward the stairway leading up the mountain, one step at a time. The instant the sole of his boot fully came down upon the first step, forged from some special dark metal mixed with jade,
[ Ding! ]
The cold, crisp electronic prompt that had remained silent for months suddenly exploded within the deepest recesses of his mind, as though it had crossed time and space!
[Detected that the host has arrived at a core power node of this plane, a place where special rules converge!]
[Special location: Spirit City · Palace of the Pope Front Hall Plaza · Stairway to Godhood. Sign-in conditions fulfilled!]
[Sign in immediately?]
Chen Li's steps paused almost imperceptibly. Deep within his pupils, lightning flashed alongside an uncontrollable surge of ecstasy!
It was here! Just as expected!
Without the slightest hesitation, he silently thought, Sign in!
[Sign-in successful!]
[Congratulations, host. You have received this sign-in reward: Devil Fruit · Paramecia, Munch-Munch Fruit (side-effect-free version)!]
[Detected that the host already possesses the Logia Type Rumble-Rumble Fruit (First Martial Soul). The Munch-Munch Fruit has automatically adapted into the Second Martial Soul!]
[Martial Soul fusion in progress... Fusion successful!]
[Warning: this system is a special location and event sign-in system. For the next sign-in, the host must independently explore and trigger a specific location or event node.]
Boom!
Another immense and strange torrent of information and source power surged into him!
Unlike the violent destruction of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, this power carried complex implications of containing, breaking down, reorganizing, and creating. Chen Li could clearly feel that, apart from the lightning core formed by the lightning fruit within his body, another Black Hole Core that seemed capable of devouring all things was quietly condensing elsewhere!
At the same time, he noticed that beside the system space, which had originally only been able to store soul rings, a new and more profound area had silently extended outward. It was faintly connected to that Black Hole Core, seemingly a workspace prepared for it to devour and process materials!
Yet all these drastic changes occurred only within his body and the depths of his consciousness.
To outsiders, Chen Li had merely paused for less than an instant. There was barely any change in his expression before he continued following Yue Guan, as though he had simply been overwhelmed by the imposing presence of the Stairway to Godhood upon stepping onto it for the first time.
Yue Guan's bewitching peach-blossom eyes briefly rested on Chen Li. Though he had not detected the secret of the drastic change in Chen Li's Martial Souls, he accurately caught the fleeting, nearly imperceptible gleam of joy in Chen Li's eyes.
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