After the young man finished his report, the great hall fell into a silence that lasted half an incense stick.
The elders on either side of the hall exchanged glances, their expressions astonishingly varied.
There was shock, disbelief, but above all, the fury of feeling insulted.
"Absurd! This is the biggest joke under heaven!"
At last, an irascible elder seated at the head of the left row slammed his hand on the table and rose to his feet.
He pointed at the young man kneeling on the ground and berated him:
"What innate Supreme Bone? What Double Pupil?"
"A three-and-a-half-year-old brat—even if he'd started cultivating in the womb, he couldn't possibly possess a hundred thousand jin of strength!"
"And that so-called Shrouding the Heavens Universe, that Ancient Sacred Body—it's all nonsense!"
The elder was so furious that even his beard bristled as he shouted:
"Clashing against divine weapons with nothing but his bare fists? Challenging a Great Emperor?"
"What does he think his body is? The scales of a hundred-thousand-year-old True Dragon?"
"On the Douluo Continent, who doesn't know that our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan has the strongest Beast Martial Soul under heaven?"
"Our clan's direct descendants can awaken the Dragon Transformation Secret Skill as soon as they break through to level thirty. Their bodies are strong enough to tear steel apart!"
"He's just a storyteller, yet he keeps going on about mortals smashing stars with their bare hands. He's clearly belittling clans like ours, with our top-tier Beast Martial Souls!"
As soon as the elder spoke, the others chimed in one after another.
"Seventh Elder is right."
Another old man sneered and stroked his beard:
"In my view, this Su Chen is nothing but a charlatan seeking attention."
"The things he says can't stand up to scrutiny at all."
"Just listen to that Ruthless Empress he made up."
The old man's eyes were full of contempt and disdain:
"A little beggar girl who hadn't even awakened a Martial Soul and had no qualifications to cultivate."
"With some Heaven-Swallowing Demonic Art, she could devour those so-called top-tier physiques? And in the end, prove the Dao and become an emperor?"
"This is an insult to the very word cultivation!"
"If any Tom, Dick, or Harry could defy heaven and change their fate with a cultivation manual, then wouldn't the top-tier bloodlines our clans have passed down for millions of years be a joke?"
What the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was proudest of was the dragon blood flowing through their veins.
Bloodline above all—that was the faith etched into their bones.
Now a storyteller had suddenly appeared, telling them that a little girl who scavenged trash had risen to the pinnacle of the universe in an ordinary mortal body, trampling every top-tier bloodline beneath her feet.
How could their noble pride possibly stand for that?
It was even worse than having someone point at them and call them worthless!
"Not only that."
A third elder added, his face dark:
"That boy also mentioned some Innate Sacred Body Dao Fetus and some Emperor Wu Shi."
"Standing with his back to all living beings, suppressing the ages?"
"Pah!"
The elder spat viciously. "Just a few arrogant slogans! Does he really think he's the Creator?"
"Life Forbidden Zones, Dark Turmoil—he made them sound terrifying, but it's plain enough: he can't make it on the Douluo Continent, so he's making up all these bizarre stories to fool commoners who haven't seen the world!"
As the elders took turns disparaging Su Chen,
the young disciple kneeling on the ground trembled even harder.
He swallowed, then steeled himself and raised his head, his voice quavering:
"Honored elders... perhaps Su Chen really wasn't bragging..."
"Impudent!" The irascible Seventh Elder glared at him and roared, "You're bolstering the enemy and undermining our own morale?"
"No, that's not it!"
The young disciple hurriedly waved his hands and explained:
"Elder, Sect Master!"
"I saw it with my own eyes!"
"When Su Chen faced the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor's poison unleashed by Poison Douluo, he didn't release a Martial Soul or a Soul Ring."
"He just stood there, golden blood and energy erupting from his body, then casually waved his sleeve..."
"And, and he scattered Senior Dugu's pillar of poison with a single sweep!"
"Then, with just one hand, he lifted Poison Douluo—who had activated his Martial Soul Avatar—and smashed him into the ground, knocking him out like a little chick!"
The young disciple's words immediately quieted everyone.
He'd scattered a Titled Douluo's poison with a wave of his sleeve?
Knocked Dugu Bo unconscious with one hand while he was using his Martial Soul Avatar?
And all without using any Soul Power?!
"This... how is that possible?!"
The Seventh Elder's eyes nearly bulged from their sockets. He stared at the young man and roared, "Were you bewitched by some illusion, then came back to the clan to spread lies?"
"What kind of being is a Titled Douluo? Even if Dugu Bo is no great shakes, he's still a genuine level ninety-two!"
"Not even that woman from Spirit Hall could defeat a Titled Douluo with one hand and no Soul Power!"
"Please, elders, judge me fairly!"
The young disciple was so terrified that he repeatedly knocked his head on the floor. "Every word I've said is true! Hundreds of people saw it at Listening Rain Pavilion. Sect Master Ning and Sword Douluo from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan were there too. There isn't the slightest falsehood in this!"
When they heard that Ning Fengzhi had been there too, the elders in the hall fell completely silent.
If the disciple had been the only witness, they could have called it an illusion.
But if Ning Fengzhi had been there as well, then there was a very good chance this was all true!
For a moment, every elder felt a sheen of cold sweat break out across their back.
A monster with no Soul Power who could defeat a Titled Douluo with one hand?
Could it be... that Perfect World and Shrouding the Heavens Universe he spoke of were real?!
Could there truly be an Ancient Sacred Body that could challenge a Great Emperor with nothing but its physical body?
Could there really be a Heaven-Swallowing Demonic Art that devoured every bloodline?
Yet just as the atmosphere in the great hall grew unbearably oppressive, and everyone was shaken by Su Chen's strength,
"Enough."
A voice like muffled thunder suddenly boomed from above the hall.
Yu Yuanzhen, who had been sitting with his eyes closed on the Thunder Dragon Throne, had finally risen to his feet.
The elders below all felt their hearts jolt. They lowered their heads one after another.
"Sect Master!"
Yu Yuanzhen looked down at them from on high and said:
"Whether he truly has the ability or merely used some trick of the eye, it makes no difference."
"Nor does it matter whether the world he spoke of is real."
"On the soil of the Douluo Continent, he belittled my Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's Beast Martial Soul and praised those so-called mortal physiques."
"That is a provocation against the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan!"
With that, Yu Yuanzhen flung his sleeves and strode toward the exit.
"That old poisoner Dugu Bo relies on poison for all his skill. His physical body is weak to begin with. It's hardly surprising he was caught off guard at close range by a brute who knows a little body-tempering."
"Does he really think that defeating the weakest Titled Douluo makes him invincible under heaven?"
Yu Yuanzhen reached the entrance to the great hall and paused. His eyes, filled with lightning, turned toward Heavenly Dou Imperial City.
"Prepare a horse."
"I'll go meet this storyteller named Su Chen myself."
"Let's see whether that so-called physical might of his can withstand the thunderous Dragon Transformation of the strongest Beast Martial Soul under heaven!"
Before you continue