Near the entrance of Sea God Island, Coral Family Water Abyss.
The colorful Coral Douluo bushes exude a faint light in the dark sea water, making the figure of Coral Douluo, the new High Priest, who has just returned and has not yet changed out of his plain white High Priest robe, look somewhat illusory.
With unconcealable fatigue and heaviness in her brows, she was about to step into the quiet room deep in the family's forbidden area to digest everything that happened today alone - the fall of High Priest, her own "order in danger", as well as the heavy "credit" from the deep sea and the deeper constraints that followed.
However, just when her fingertips were about to touch the forbidden rune, a low, calm voice that almost froze the blood in her body sounded from very close behind her without any warning:
"Back?"
Coral Douluo turned around suddenly, her pupils shrinking suddenly! Not far behind her, in the water that should have been empty and distorted by the light and shadow of Phantom Color Coral, Kraken's iconic gray-robed figure seemed to "separate" from the shadows, floating there quietly! Under the hood, those ice-blue eyes were watching her calmly, like a master who had been waiting for a long time.
"Kraken!" Coral Douluo whispered, her voice tight with extreme shock and a hint of fear. She glanced around subconsciously to make sure there was no other breath, and lowered her voice anxiously and angrily, "Why are you here?! This is outside the Coral Family forbidden area. Surrounded! Aren't you afraid of being sensed by Soul Master who is patrolling the island, or... being sensed by Sea God's Power?!" Although the other party was "Master", the fact that he appeared so directly and without cover in the hinterland of Sea God Island still made her tremble.
"Afraid?" Kraken's voice contained an almost inaudible sneer. He floated forward slowly, his gray robe motionless in the weak current, "Looking for you, now I'm 'High Priest', no better than In the past, it was too troublesome to go to the Sea God Hall in person, or contact Concealment, and it was easy to leave traces. It would be better to just wait here. Anyway, you always have to come back, right?"
He stopped a few steps in front of Coral Douluo, and his icy blue eyes seemed to be able to Penetration her forced calm appearance and see the Surging Waves panic in her heart. "Follow me." He said no more, turned around, and drifted toward an underwater cave area that was completely opposite to the entrance to the Coral Family forbidden area, more remote and dark, and rarely visited by even the core members of the family. He seemed to know the terrain here very well.
Coral Douluo's heart was beating wildly, and an ominous premonition arose. But she had no choice. The Soul Bone Poison in her body, as well as the other party's unfathomable methods and the terrifying energy that had just been shown to "invite" Di Tian to attack and kill High Priest, made her dare not disobey. She bit her lower lip, quickly gathered her breath, and followed quietly.
The interior of the cave is winding and deep, with jagged rocks and no light at all. Only a glimmer of ice-blue light occasionally leaked from the sleeves of Kraken's gray robe, barely illuminating the way forward. After twists and turns, a place appeared ahead. The relatively open cave has several night-light pearls emitting pale cold light inlaid on the cave wall, reflecting the two figures who have been waiting in the cave - none other than Sea Swallow Douluo and Sea Turtle Douluo!
Both of them had changed out of their battle attire and were wearing regular clothes, but their faces looked equally solemn under the cold light, even... with a hint of indescribable tension and expectation. When they saw Coral Douluo and Kraken coming in, they immediately straightened their bodies and looked at Coral Douluo with complicated eyes.
"Sea Swallow? Sea Turtle Douluo? Why are you here too?" Coral Douluo was really surprised this time. She originally thought that Kraken was looking for her alone, but she didn't expect that the other two "companions" had also arrived. And judging from their appearance, they didn't seem to be coerced, but more like... insiders, maybe even "invited".
"Let those two little guys come out." Kraken did not answer Coral Douluo, but lightly ordered Sea Swallow and Sea Turtle Douluo.
Sea Swallow and Sea Turtle Douluo looked at each other and nodded. Sea Swallow turned around and waved gently towards the shadows deeper in the cave. After a moment, two children, one boy and one girl, who looked to be about six or seven years old, with beautiful faces, but with a calmness beyond their years and a hint of timidity in their eyes, walked out of the shadows hand in hand.
They were wearing simple but clean cloth clothes, obviously the children of ordinary residents of Sea God Island, but Coral Douluo recognized them at a glance. These were the most talented direct grandchildren among Sea Swallow and Sea Turtle Family respectively! They were the children she watched grow up!
"Xiao Yu? A Yan? You..." The ominous premonition in Coral Douluo's heart was even worse.
"Release your Spirit Empire and Soul Ring and show it to Coral Douluo...High Priest." Sea Turtle Douluo said to the two children in a dull voice, with a complicated tone.
The two children nodded obediently and closed their eyes. The next moment, faint Soul Power fluctuations emanated from their young bodies. A slightly illusory but agile light blue swift shadow appeared behind the boy, and behind the girl was a thick and steady small Black Tortoise shadow. Then, a scene appeared that made Coral Douluo instantly feel like it was struck by lightning--
At the feet of the two children, a Soul Ring slowly rose from each.
The color is deep, solid, and exudes heart-stopping energy fluctuations - black!
Ten-Thousand-Year The first ring!
"This... how is this possible?!" Coral Douluo exclaimed, her beautiful eyes filled with disbelief. She looked sharply at Sea Swallow and Sea Turtle Douluo, and then at the expressionless Kraken, "What did you do to them?! Forced infusion? This... this will destroy their foundation!"
"No, Coral Douluo, you see clearly." Sea Swallow Douluo's voice was a little dry, but his eyes burned with an almost fanatical and suppressed light, "Their foundation is very stable, Soul Power operates smoothly, and Spirit Empire shows no signs of rejection or damage. This... this is real, the perfect first ring of Ten-Thousand-Year! It was given by Master..."
The perfect fit Ten-Thousand-Year's first ring? Granted? Coral Douluo feels that her knowledge is being subverted. She herself has been through it, Sacred Pillar's assessment is so difficult, her first ring was only a century-old level, Ten-Thousand-Year first ring? Even if Mu Yun accepted God Trial, the first ring did not reach Ten-Thousand-Year! What kind of terrifying energy control, bloodline adaptation and Spirit Empire understanding is required to achieve this?
"Coral Douluo," Kraken finally spoke again, his voice like an icy spring pouring on Coral Douluo's boiling mind, "You are a smart man. You have also seen how 'biased' Sea God is towards that Mu Yun. In just a few months, Soul Ring Configuration has soared, and his cultivation has skyrocketed. Look at you..."
His icy blue eyes swept over Sea Swallow and Sea Turtle Douluo, "In your Sacred Pillar assessment, there was no narrow escape from death. If it weren't for...'help', you wouldn't be where you are today, nor would you be alive now."