Tang Hao Stands Up for His Son, the Elder Arrives After the Younger is Beaten

Inside the great hall, Sea Dragon Douluo keenly sensed the violently fluctuating aura emanating from the High Priestess.

He was so terrified that he prostrated himself on the ground, not daring to even draw a full breath.

After a long, long time, that raging pressure finally began to slowly recede.

Bo Saixi closed her eyes once more and took a deep, steadying breath.

When she opened her eyes again, the turmoil in their depths had been forcibly suppressed.

Bo Saixi then turned around, not sparing the massive Sea God Statue another glance.

Instead, she gripped her scepter and walked, step by step, toward the exit of the Sea God Hall.

"High Priestess?"

Seeing this, Sea Dragon Douluo hurriedly lifted his head, staring at Bo Saixi's back with a face full of astonishment.

"Pass down my order."

Bo Saixi stood upon the high steps of the temple, her gaze crossing the endless ocean, fixed firmly in the direction of the Heavenly Dou Imperial City on the mainland.

The sea breeze whipped her crimson robes, causing them to snap loudly.

"Activate the Sea God Island barrier."

"This Seat shall personally make a trip to the Tiandou Empire."

"I shall go and meet this..."

"This Mr. Su who does not even hold the gods in his eyes!"

Meanwhile, in the deepest reaches of the Star Dou Forest.

The Life Lake.

This was the absolute forbidden zone in the hearts of all Soul Beasts on the entire Douluo Continent, and the very core of this vast forest.

The emerald-green lake water, like a massive piece of flawless jade, lay quietly embedded among the towering ancient trees.

A layer of faint white mist permeated the surface of the lake, formed by the condensation of heaven and earth energy that had reached its peak.

It was calm and profound, yet it exuded a sense of oppression that even a Titled Douluo would not dare to approach lightly.

However, today, this silence, maintained for countless days and nights, was shattered by a black shadow descending from the sky.

Whoosh!

Accompanied by a sharp sound of air being torn apart, a giant avian with a wingspan of seven or eight meters, covered in cyan iron feathers, stumbled and landed on the shore of the Life Lake.

This was a Green Wind Eagle with a cultivation age reaching fifty thousand years.

Relying on its high intelligence and concealment abilities, it had wandered the edges of the Star Dou Forest for years, occasionally even taking human form to infiltrate human cities to gather information.

But at this moment, this fifty-thousand-year Soul Beast, usually so high and mighty, could not even stand steady.

"Great... Great King!"

The Green Wind Eagle did not even bother to preen its feathers; it prostrated itself on the shore and let out a shrill cry toward the calm lake.

Gurgle, gurgle...

Following the Green Wind Eagle's cry, the Life Lake, which had been like stagnant water, suddenly began to boil.

Immediately after, a black shadow as massive as a mountain stepped out from the dense forest behind the Green Wind Eagle without any warning.

It was an ape, its body as huge as a hill!

Its muscles bulged high, stacked layer upon layer, radiating a terrifying power.

The king of the Star Dou Forest, the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, the Titan Giant Ape, Er Ming!

With every step Er Ming took, the earth around the Life Lake trembled violently.

"Panicking like this, what kind of decorum is that!"

Er Ming looked down from above at the Green Wind Eagle cowering on the ground, two thick jets of white air spraying from its nostrils.

"Have the human soul masters invaded in force again? Or has that woman from the Martial Soul Hall come back?"

The Green Wind Eagle shivered all over and shook its head repeatedly.

"No, it is not that, Great King Er Ming!"

"It is news from the Heavenly Dou Imperial City; a monster has appeared in the human world!"

Then, the Green Wind Eagle took a deep breath and poured out everything it had heard in the Heavenly Dou Imperial City regarding Perfect World and Shrouding the Heavens, spilling the information like beans from a bamboo tube without missing a single word.

From the hundreds of millions of miles of territory in the Eight Regions of the Lower Realm to the innate Supreme Bone.

From the Heaven-Swallowing Demonic Art to the Ancient Sacred Body.

And when the Green Wind Eagle mentioned that Su Chen, in the Listening Rain Pavilion, had brought up the so-called Holy Fighting Ape clan just to refute Tang San, Er Ming's body suddenly stiffened.

"What did you say?"

Er Ming lowered its head, its yellowish-brown eyes burning with rage.

"That human named Su Chen said that ten thousand hundred-thousand-year Titan Giant Apes aren't even fit to carry the shoes of these so-called Holy Fighting Apes?"

"With a single strike of the staff, ten thousand Titan Giant Apes would be reduced to a mist of blood!"

Listening to the Green Wind Eagle's trembling, stuttering repetition, Er Ming's already volatile temper was ignited in that very instant!

ROAR!!

Er Ming threw his head back and began to pound his chest with frantic intensity.

In an instant, a terrifying sonic wave surged outward in all directions, as tangible as a physical force.

The towering ancient trees surrounding the Life Lake, which would normally require a dozen men to encircle, were snapped in half, row after row, by the sheer power of that sound wave!

Countless low-level soul beasts were so terrified that they lost all control of their bowels, collapsing limply to the ground.

"That's a load of bull-crap!"

Er Ming slammed a fist violently into the earth.

The ground shattered instantly, and a terrifying fissure hundreds of meters long spread out like a spiderweb.

"My Titan Giant Ape clan is born with the pinnacle of strength; we are the absolute overlords of this Star Dou Forest!"

"Even human Title Douluos, when facing my heavy fists, can only flee like stray dogs!"

"A mere human storyteller dares to spout such nonsense, using my Titan Giant Ape clan to elevate some dead monkey that crawled out of nowhere!"

Er Ming's eyes were bloodshot, his chest heaving violently.

The pride of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast made it impossible for him to endure such demeaning humiliation.

What was this about killing ten thousand with one strike?

This was like throwing his dignity onto the ground and then stomping on it twice for good measure!

"I'm going to the Heavenly Dou Imperial City right now to tear that foul-mouthed human into pieces!"

With a furious roar, Er Ming turned around, ready to charge out of the forest.

However.

Splash!

Just as Er Ming took his first step, a massive column of water erupted from the boiling surface of the Life Lake.

Following that, a colossal, cyan-colored bull's head, adorned with two coral-like dragon horns, slowly emerged from beneath the surface.

As the head appeared, a massive serpentine body, a hundred meters long and as thick as a water vat, slowly coiled up from the depths, sending sprays of water into the air.

The Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, the Sky Azure Bull Python, Da Ming!

"Er Ming, stand down."

Da Ming's voice was not as explosive as Er Ming's, but it carried a profound sense of majesty.

Yet, this single, calm sentence caused Er Ming, who was on the verge of a rampage, to stop dead in his tracks. He turned his head, looking toward the lake with a face full of resentment.

"Big Brother! That human insulted me so deeply; I cannot swallow this anger!" Er Ming said through gritted teeth.

Da Ming ignored Er Ming's fury.

Instead, those massive, cyan eyes remained locked onto the trembling Green Wind Eagle on the shore.

"You just said..."

"In the world that storyteller speaks of, there are Primordial Remnants?"

"There are Sacrificial Spirits for entire nations?"

"And even the Human Emperor of the Eight Regions of the Lower Realm, whose body is wreathed in Imperial Dragon Qi, is actually a True Dragon incarnate?"

The Green Wind Eagle nodded repeatedly, burying its head deep into the mud.

Upon hearing this, Da Ming slowly closed his eyes.

His massive serpentine body rolled unconsciously in the lake, kicking up enormous waves.

Compared to Er Ming, who only focused on his own insult, Da Ming—as a unique creature possessing a faint trace of dragon bloodline—heard something far more profound.

In this Douluo Continent, what is the fate of a soul beast?

It is to be born as prey for humans!

No matter how many years you cultivate, no matter how powerful your bloodline, your final destination is merely to become a soul ring or a piece of soul bone beneath a human's feet.

Even he, Da Ming, with a hundred thousand years of cultivation and the title of Emperor of the Star Dou Forest, had to constantly guard against greedy human Title Douluos and hide in this Life Lake, barely clinging to life.

Yet, in the words of that human named Su Chen, in that place called the Perfect World, those so-called Primordial Remnants and powerful beasts were actually beings worshipped by billions of humans!

They were revered as Sacrificial Spirits, enjoying the fortune and offerings of entire nations.

They stood high above, capable of swallowing billions of humans in a single gulp!

This reversal of status, this unbridled and flamboyant way of living, made even Da Ming feel a surge of excitement.

Why not?

Why must we soul beasts be born inferior, destined to be reduced to mere soul rings?

And yet, in that world, beasts could become existences akin to gods?

"And that True Dragon..."

Da Ming muttered to himself.

The greatest obsession of his life was to shed his serpentine form and transform into a True Dragon that could soar through the nine heavens.

Yet, according to Su Chen, that sacred and inviolable True Dragon was actually reduced to nothing more than a strand of Imperial Dragon Qi upon the body of a human emperor?

These words undoubtedly tore Da Ming's worldview to shreds.

Just as Da Ming's mind was reeling, the Green Wind Eagle on the shore swallowed hard, then dropped the most explosive bombshell of the day.

"Two Great Kings..."

"That Su Chen, he didn't just talk the talk."

"He... he actually took action!"

"Poison Douluo Dugu Bo attacked him inside the Listening Rain Pavilion, intending to wipe him out with poison."

"But there wasn't a shred of soul power fluctuation coming from Su Chen!"

"With a single flick of his sleeve, he swatted away the Poison Douluo's attack."

"Then, with one hand, he smashed the Poison Douluo—who had unleashed his Avatar of the Martial Soul—into the ground, leaving him in a state between life and death!"

Hearing this, the previously furious Er Ming suddenly stiffened, his eyes widening until they were like copper bells.

"What did you say?!"

"No soul power? Smashed a Title Douluo unconscious with one hand!"

Er Ming instinctively glanced at his own thick, muscular arms.

His Titan Giant Ape clan took the most pride in their physical strength.

But if he were asked to knock out a Title Douluo who had unleashed their Avatar of the Martial Soul using nothing but raw muscle, without utilizing a single drop of soul power...

He couldn't do it; he absolutely couldn't do it!

A Title Douluo's Avatar of the Martial Soul carried the dual defenses of both laws and soul power.

Without soul power to negate it, smashing into that with pure physical force was no different than punching a blade.

No soul power, relying solely on the physical body.

"Could it be that the golden blood he spoke of, that physical limit of a hundred thousand jin in a single arm, is all true?"

At the thought of this, Da Ming couldn't help but gasp.

If this were true, it would be a revolution for the world of soul masters and for their own soul beast clan.

If humans no longer needed to hunt soul beasts to obtain soul rings, and could suppress everything with their physical bodies alone, then could their soul beast clan also cultivate such a method?

If he could achieve that so-called physical limit, or even condense that golden blood and qi, what would he have to fear from the hundred-thousand-year lightning tribulation?

He could even tear through the lightning tribulation directly, forcibly transform into a True Dragon, and ride the wind to leave.

Thinking of this, Da Ming's state of mind, calm for a hundred thousand years, was thrown into complete disarray.

Splash!

Da Ming's massive body suddenly rose from the waters of the lake, bringing with it a sky-filling waterfall.

Then, he lowered his head to look at Er Ming below.

"Er Ming."

"Big Brother?" Er Ming was stunned.

"Transform."

"We are leaving the Star Dou Forest."

"We are going to the Heavenly Dou Imperial City."

As soon as these words were spoken, Er Ming and the Green Wind Eagle were both struck as if by lightning, left completely dumbfounded.

"Big Brother, you've gone mad!"

"The outside world is full of human Title Douluos. The moment we step out, the aura of our hundred-thousand-year soul rings won't be able to be hidden!"

"That's just walking to our deaths!"

"Besides, Sister Xiao Wu is still in the human world. If we get targeted too..."

"Shut up."

"To hear the Truth in the morning, one can die content in the evening."

"Trapped in this Life Lake for a hundred thousand years, all that awaits is to be reduced to ashes in the next lightning tribulation."

"If that Su Chen truly possesses the method to break the rules of this world..."

"If he can truly tell us how to become a Sacrificial Spirit of that nation, how to shed this mortal coil and transform into a True Dragon..."

"Even if it means death."

"It would be worth it for me to see with my own eyes what that magnificent Perfect World he speaks of is truly like!"

Meanwhile, night had fallen.

Heavenly Dou Imperial City had shed the clamor of the day, gradually sinking into a profound silence.

On the top floor of the Listening Rain Pavilion, inside a quiet bedchamber.

Su Chen was sitting cross-legged upon the bed.

At this moment, there were no candles lit in the room, yet the entire space was illuminated by an extremely soft, golden halo.

Through his jade-like skin, one could faintly see the golden blood within his body surging like a rushing river, emitting low, thunderous rumbles.

Above his head, a phantom of a Grotto-Heaven, resembling a volcanic crater, hovered silently, continuously inhaling and exhaling the spiritual energy of the world.

The ultimate power of one hundred and eight thousand jin in a single arm, combined with this Grotto-Heaven that plundered the fortune of heaven and earth, caused Su Chen to radiate a supreme majesty, as steady and imposing as a deep pool or a towering mountain.

As the blood and qi within his body completed several major cycles, Su Chen slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a white arrow of air that seemed almost tangible.

The air arrow, like a sharp blade, tore through the air in front of him, leaving a visible ripple that lingered for a long time.

"The Grotto-Heaven Realm is truly profound."

Su Chen clenched his fist, feeling the terrifying power brimming to its limit within his body, and a trace of satisfaction flashed in his eyes.

Just as he was about to stand up to pour a cup of tea.

Suddenly, the autumn insects that had been chirping occasionally outside the window were seemingly intimidated by some terrifying presence, their calls coming to an abrupt halt.

Following that, a heavy sense of oppression silently enveloped the entire backyard of the Listening Rain Pavilion.

This aura was hidden extremely deep; if an ordinary Soul Douluo were here, they would likely find it difficult to detect.

But to Su Chen, who had already opened his Grotto-Heaven, it was glaringly obvious.

Sensing all this, Su Chen's movement of pouring tea paused slightly.

Then, he set down the teapot and sneered:

"It really is: beat the small one, and the old one comes."

Having said that, Su Chen pushed open the door and walked unhurriedly onto the open-air balcony of the top floor.

The bright moonlight spilled down, and the cold night wind brushed against Su Chen's snow-white robes, causing them to snap and flutter.

He raised his head, his gaze calm as he looked toward a certain spot in the air above the backyard.

"Since you've come, why hide like a rat? Get out here." Under the night sky, Su Chen spoke indifferently, calm and composed.

As Su Chen's voice fell, a man appeared in the patch of shadow in mid-air that had previously been empty.

The man was extremely tall and draped in a tattered black cloak, with most of his face hidden beneath a hood; one could only see his long, hay-like matted hair and the messy stubble on his chin.