Outside Jialing Pass, war drums thundered, their sound shaking the heavens.
Spirit Hall's assault came without warning, like dark clouds looming over a city. In an instant, the towering fortress was shrouded in a murderous atmosphere.
At the Shrek camp, Tang San had been preparing his troops to snatch Xiao Wu back from Neuvillette. The sudden military alert stopped him in his tracks.
A scout, covered in blood, stumbled into the command tent and fell to his knees with a thud.
"Report!"
"Your Highness, Blue Haowang! Spirit Hall... Spirit Hall's army is at our gates!"
"Bibi Dong is personally leading the Sacred Dragon Legion in an all-out assault. The Heaven Dou Empire's defenses on the front line are in grave danger!"
The killing intent on Tang San's face faltered, then quickly darkened.
He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails nearly dug into his palms.
On one side was his beloved Xiao Wu, humiliated and now of uncertain fate.
On the other was the empire's defense line, hanging by a thread, and the Tang Sect he had built with his own hands—a foundation he had meant to make famous that very day.
If he split his forces to attack Skywater City now and Jialing Pass fell, Spirit Hall would sweep straight in, and all his previous plans would come to nothing.
"Damn it!"
Tang San slammed his fist down on the table, his eyes full of resentment.
Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang had already bandaged his wounds. Though pale, he forced himself to his feet and grabbed Tang San by the arm.
"Xiao San, the greater good comes first!"
"Skywater City isn't going anywhere, and neither is Neuvillette."
"But if we lose Jialing Pass, we're truly finished!"
"Drive them back first, then rescue her!"
Tang San drew a deep breath, forcing down the urge to kill that surged within him.
He turned and looked through a gap in the tent at the words that had just appeared on the Golden Ranking List in the sky.
[Rank Eighth: Qian Renxue.]
[Treasure: Angel Sacred Sword.]
Seeing those words, Tang San's gloomy mood unexpectedly improved.
He even felt a surge of irrepressible superiority.
The successor to the mighty Angel God, and her divine weapon ranked only eighth?
That arrogant Qian Renxue was nothing special after all.
If a divine weapon of the Angel Sacred Sword's caliber could only take eighth place, then what sort of heaven-defying treasures occupied the seven spots above it?
More importantly, if the Angel Sacred Sword was eighth and the Rakshasa Demon Scythe was ninth, then his Seagod Trident was sure to rank near the top—perhaps even take first place!
At the thought, Tang San's lips curled upward despite himself.
The thrill of having his formidable enemies beneath his feet eased much of his anger.
"Well, well. Eighth place."
Tang San gave a cold laugh, his eyes glinting.
"It seems the Continent Rare Treasure Ranking has some sense after all."
"Spirit Hall is nothing. What right do they have to claim the top spot?"
Another thought came to him, and greed and excitement burned in his eyes.
There were so many spots between eighth and first. Apart from his Trident, if the rest of those treasures could all fall into the Tang Sect's hands...
What could stop him from achieving his great ambitions?
As for that Neuvillette...
Tang San sneered inwardly.
Once he had dealt with Spirit Hall and claimed the top-ranked reward, he would flatten Skywater City and crush that charlatan beneath his feet. Then he would show him who truly ruled this continent!
"By my command!"
Tang San spun around, his long blue hair stirring in a windless tent as he resumed the air of a commander who had everything under control.
"All Tang Sect disciples, assemble!"
"Follow me to the walls of Jialing Pass and face Spirit Hall!"
Meanwhile, in Spirit Hall's central command tent outside Jialing Pass, the atmosphere was strangely tense.
Bibi Dong held Iudex's Cane and stared at the enormous number "eight" in the sky. Bewilderment filled her beautiful face.
Qian Renxue, standing beside her, was equally stunned. Her grip tightened around the Angel Sacred Sword.
Eighth place?
How could that be?
This was the divine weapon of the Angel God, the supreme symbol of light and holiness.
How could it rank only eighth?
"Mother..."
Qian Renxue turned to Bibi Dong, disbelief in her eyes.
"Could there be something wrong with the ranking?"
"How could my Angel Sacred Sword..."
Bibi Dong was just as unsettled, but as the Pope, she was far more practiced at keeping her composure than Qian Renxue.
She quickly concealed her shock, her gaze turning deep and dangerous.
The Rakshasa Demon Scythe was ninth, and the Angel Sacred Sword was eighth.
That meant at least seven treasures in this world surpassed the divine weapons wielded by her and her daughter.
For Spirit Hall, whose ambition was to unite the continent, this was certainly no good news.
Especially since the identities of the top seven remained unknown.
If one of them was Tang San's Seagod Trident, that would be one thing.
But if they were in the hands of that mysterious Skywater City...
Bibi Dong dared not pursue the thought.
No matter what, their urgent priority was to seize Jialing Pass and crush the resistance of the two great empires.
Once the continent was united, even Skywater City—with all its hidden strengths—would be unable to withstand the army's iron hooves.
"Enough."
Bibi Dong swept Iudex's Cane through the air, her authoritative voice carrying across the troops.
"Rankings are merely empty titles. Strength is what matters."
"Now that the war has begun, we'll use our enemies' blood to prove who the true strong are."
She looked at Qian Renxue, her tone stern.
"Xue'er, put your doubts aside."
"Come with me to battle!"
"Today, I'll make the streets of Jialing Pass run red with blood!"
Qian Renxue drew a deep breath, determination returning to her golden eyes.
"Yes, Mother."
At her two orders, Spirit Hall's Soul Master army rumbled into action like a finely tuned war machine, surging toward Jialing Pass in a tide of troops.
Skywater City, City Lord Mansion.
Unlike the tense standoff at Jialing Pass, this place remained as peaceful as ever.
The Snow Empress stood silently in the corner of a room, her gaze resting on the crystal-clear ice sculpture before her.
Inside the ice, Xiao Wu remained frozen in a look of terror, lifelike in every detail.
Through the thick layer of black ice, the Snow Empress could make out the texture of each strand of Xiao Wu's hair and the despair in her eyes.
As the ruler of the Far North Ice Plains, the Snow Empress had a cold heart.
But now she was looking at Xiao Wu, who, like her, had once been a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form.
Their species were different.
One was a rabbit, the other a Heavenly Snow Woman.
But both had once been Soul Beasts, struggling to survive through the long years.
Now one of their kind had met such a fate, frozen into a sculpture and put on display as a trophy.
The Snow Empress raised her hand, a point of icy-blue light gathering at her fingertip.
If she wished, she could break the black ice at any moment and set the girl inside free.
But just as her fingertip was about to touch the sculpture, the Snow Empress's hand stopped in midair.
The softness in her icy-blue eyes quickly faded, replaced by reason and clear judgment.
No.
She couldn't free her...
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