Di Tian's voice echoed through the vast cave.
At the call, the enormous Silver Dragon slowly opened her eyes.
They were a pair of exceptionally beautiful purple eyes, though at that moment, they held a deep weariness.
Hum.
A gentle silver light flashed.
The massive dragon vanished.
In her place stood a woman dressed in a long silver gown.
She was barefoot, and her long silver hair fell all the way to her ankles.
Her features were breathtakingly beautiful, flawless in every way, but her complexion was sickly pale.
She was none other than Gu Yuena, the Silver Dragon King in human form.
Gu Yuena walked over to a smooth crystal slab and sat down. Looking at Di Tian kneeling below her, she spoke in a cool voice.
"Didn't you go to Heaven Dou Imperial City to investigate that Storyteller's background?"
"Why are you back so soon?"
Di Tian raised his head, his tone filled with utmost respect.
"Reporting to Lord, I not only investigated him, but also met Mr. Su in person."
At Di Tian's words, a flicker of surprise crossed Gu Yuena's purple eyes.
"You met him?"
"He didn't rely on that so-called Listening Rain Pavilion formation. He met you directly?"
"Yes."
Di Tian nodded, then began to report in great detail.
"Lord, I've already examined the jade slip Da Ming brought back. Da Ming and Er Ming are also studying it by the lakeside."
"The Bone Text Precious Technique recorded in that jade slip completely surpasses the laws of our world."
"It doesn't rely on Soul Rings. Instead, it directly imprints the laws of heaven and earth into one's bones and blood."
The more Di Tian spoke, the more solemn his tone became.
"I can say with certainty that the inheritance in Mr. Su's possession can absolutely disregard the Heavenly Dao's suppression of Douluo Continent."
Gu Yuena said nothing as she listened to Di Tian's report.
She raised a pale finger and gently pressed it against her chest.
The Dao wound there tormented her every moment.
"If he has such methods..."
Gu Yuena looked at Di Tian.
"Did you ask him for a way to heal me?"
Di Tian lowered his head, not daring to meet Gu Yuena's eyes.
"I did."
"I even promised that the entire Star Dou Forest would honor him as our master for generations to come. I was willing to offer him my Dragon Core if necessary."
Gu Yuena furrowed her brows slightly.
"He refused?"
"He didn't refuse."
Di Tian swallowed, his voice dropping low.
"But he didn't agree, either."
"He only said one thing."
Di Tian paused, then steeled himself and repeated Su Chen's exact words, without leaving anything out.
"Mr. Su said... if you want your wound healed, you should come to Listening Rain Pavilion and see him yourself."
"He also asked if you thought yourself so important that he needed to personally deliver medicine to your door."
The moment those words fell, the temperature inside the entire Crystal Cave plummeted to freezing.
The silver light around Gu Yuena surged violently, and an extremely wild dragon might spilled out of her, beyond her control.
Crack!
Several hard crystals along the edge of the cave shattered into powder beneath that pressure.
Di Tian bowed his head even lower. A layer of cold sweat had already seeped across his back.
He knew how deeply those words would offend his Lord.
As a part of the former Dragon God and the supreme deity of the Soul Beast Clan, Gu Yuena's pride ran deep and could not be questioned.
But to Di Tian's surprise, Gu Yuena didn't fly into a rage.
The dragon might around her lasted only a few seconds before she forcibly reined it back in.
"Have me go see him myself."
Gu Yuena repeated the words softly.
She wasn't angry. On the contrary, a serious, contemplative look appeared in her purple eyes.
"Di Tian, did you tell him about my injuries?"
"I did."
Di Tian answered at once.
"I told him that if Lord left the lake by force, the Dao wound in your body would draw the attention of the God Kings in the Divine Realm, who would come to hunt you down."
"I thought he might be wary when he heard the names of the God Kings of the Divine Realm."
As Di Tian spoke, his breathing grew somewhat ragged.
"But after hearing that, he showed not the slightest hint of caution. He was even disdainful."
"He said..."
Di Tian raised his head and looked at Gu Yuena.
"He said that as long as you stepped over the threshold of Listening Rain Pavilion..."
"Even if the entire Divine Realm came out in force, if he forbade it, the Divine Realm wouldn't dare send down a single bolt of lightning over Heaven Dou Imperial City."
"If the Divine Realm dared to send down lightning, he'd write his surname backward."
At that, the Crystal Cave fell into a long silence.
Gu Yuena sat there, her long silver hair spilling across the ground.
The light in her purple eyes flickered fiercely.
The entire Divine Realm could come out in force, and still wouldn't dare send down a single bolt of lightning?
Such outrageous words were something even the Dragon God at the height of his power would never have dared to say.
If an ordinary person had said such a thing, Gu Yuena would have thought him a madman.
But the one who had said it was someone who could casually produce a technique capable of changing the fate of the Soul Beast Clan, someone who could tell of the vast and magnificent Perfect World.
Gu Yuena rose to her feet and took two steps across the crystal slab, still barefoot.
"He doesn't take the God Kings seriously."
Gu Yuena murmured softly.
"That isn't arrogance. It means he stands on a plane far above the Divine Realm, looking down upon this universe."
She stopped and reached out to touch her chest.
The Nine-Colored Core there was aching faintly.
For hundreds of thousands of years, she had hidden at the bottom of this lightless lake like a prisoner, clinging to life.
She was tired of living in hiding.
She wanted revenge. She wanted to lead the Soul Beast Clan back to the pinnacle of this continent.
And now, hope lay waiting in that little teahouse in Heaven Dou Imperial City.
"Lord."
Watching the shifting expressions on Gu Yuena's face, Di Tian ventured a cautious question.
"Are you really going?"
"Though Su Chen's methods are beyond the heavens, Heaven Dou Imperial City is still human territory."
"The people of Spirit Hall and the Tiandou Empire are there, and even people from the Star Luo Empire have gone there."
"If you go in person, and your aura is exposed..."
Di Tian didn't finish, but his meaning was clear.
If the Silver Dragon King's aura was exposed, the pinnacle human experts across the entire continent would swarm toward her like rabid dogs, and the Divine Realm would immediately unleash its killing move.
Gu Yuena turned around and looked at Di Tian.
Her gaze had become utterly resolute.
"Di Tian, we have no way back."
Gu Yuena's voice was clear, but held an unshakable determination.
"You've already seen that Bone Text Precious Technique."
"If he can produce something like that, it means he truly has the ability to heal my Dao wound."
"And if he dares to make such a promise, claiming he can keep me safe, why shouldn't I risk it?"
Gu Yuena walked up to Di Tian.
"Pride and airs are worthless in the face of absolute power and life or death."
"He wants me to go see him. That's exactly the bearing an exalted figure should have."
"If I don't go, then I'll truly be cutting off the Soul Beast Clan's last hope."
Hearing Gu Yuena's words, Di Tian knew that his Lord had made up her mind, so he stopped trying to dissuade her.
"Then I'll make arrangements at once."
Di Tian rose to his feet.
"I'll gather Da Ming, Er Ming, Emerald Swan, and our other core forces to stand by outside the imperial city and assist you at any moment."
"No need."
Gu Yuena cut him off at once.
"Bringing that many people will only make the humans wary."
"Just the two of us."
Gu Yuena raised her hand, and a silver light gathered at her fingertips.
She pressed it against herself.
The terrifying aura that belonged to the Silver Dragon King, powerful enough to make heaven and earth change color, was instantly suppressed to the very limit.
She tied her silver hair back with a simple ribbon.
The cold pride and authority on her face were also completely concealed.
Now, she looked like an ordinary noble human girl of exceptional beauty and bearing.
"Isn't he a storyteller?"
Gu Yuena looked toward the exit of the Crystal Cave, anticipation showing in her purple eyes.
"Then tomorrow, we'll go to Listening Rain Pavilion."
"As two well-behaved listeners."
"I want to see for myself just what sort of person this Mr. Su is, the one who doesn't even take the Divine Realm seriously."
The next day.
At dawn, the streets of the southern part of Heaven Dou Imperial City were still packed with people.
The news that yesterday the Sea God had unleashed divine punishment, only for it to be effortlessly destroyed by a willow leaf, had already spread across the entire continent as if it had grown wings.
There were more than twice as many people at Listening Rain Pavilion today as there had been yesterday.
Two figures in the crowd stood out for how inconspicuous they were.
Gu Yuena wore a simple white dress, her silver hair loosely tied behind her head with a cloth ribbon.
She had concealed her aura completely and looked like a cool, beautiful girl from the neighborhood.
Di Tian followed at her side, half a step behind, his head lowered in utmost respect.
When Gu Yuena reached the entrance to Listening Rain Pavilion and looked up at the ordinary wooden sign, she stopped abruptly.
A deep shock flashed through her purple eyes.
To anyone else, this was just an ordinary teahouse.
But to her, a former Dragon God, an extremely profound aura of laws lingered around the teahouse—one that even surpassed the Great Dao of heaven and earth!
Simply standing outside its threshold had caused the Origin Dao Wound that tormented her to miraculously stop worsening.
"Lord?" Di Tian reminded her in a barely audible voice.
Gu Yuena took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed the storm in her heart.
"Let's go in."
The two of them entered the main hall with utmost discretion and found a secluded seat in the corner.
By now, the leaders of the various major factions had already arrived.
Emperor Xue Ye, Bibi Dong, Dai Tianfeng, and the others were all seated in the front row.
Everyone's eyes were fixed on the empty table on the raised platform.
And in a cluster of independent cultivators in the middle of the hall,
Tang San sat there with his head lowered, wearing a bamboo hat that completely concealed his face.
His right hand was hidden discreetly inside his oversized sleeve.
Beneath the sleeve, the concealed Hidden Weapon loaded with the Tang Sect's most potent poison was ready to fire at any moment.
Tang San's breathing was steady, but beneath his bamboo hat, his eyes were filled with an intensely cold killing intent.
He had been calculating the distance the whole time.
This was less than thirty paces from the raised platform.
At this distance, all he had to do was trigger the mechanism, and the poisoned needle would pierce the Storyteller's throat in an instant!
"Little San, stay calm."
Beside him, Yu Xiaogang, disguised as an ordinary old man, gave Tang San's arm the faintest nudge.
"Wait until the story reaches its most exciting part, when everyone's attention is focused. Then make your move."
Tang San said nothing, only nodding slightly.
The hour of the Dragon had just begun.
The curtain behind the raised platform was lifted.
Su Chen emerged slowly from backstage, dressed all in white, a folding fan in his hand.
He sat down naturally at the table.
He picked up his teacup, gently blew away the floating tea leaves, and took a sip.
Then he set the cup down and reached for the Gavel on the table.
Crack!
The sharp sound rang out, and the hall fell utterly silent.
"Yesterday, we left off with Shi Hao at the end of the Void God Realm, setting foot on the ancient road that led to the Upper Realm."
Su Chen's unhurried voice drew everyone's thoughts into that vast world.
"On that ancient road, a phantom radiating the aura of an Upper Realm overlord blocked his way."
"The phantom stood high above, looking down at Shi Hao."
"'Sinful Blood from the lower realm, and you dare dream of ascending to the heavens?'"
Su Chen's gaze swept across the audience.
"Many of you must be wondering: who was this phantom?"
"He wasn't one person."
"He was a law imprint left in the Void God Realm by the Great Sects of the Upper Realm—the very sects that had once persecuted the Sinful Bloodline and divided up its Fortune, joining forces to leave it behind!"
"The imprint's purpose was to sever the path to the Upper Realm for every descendant of the Sinful Bloodline in the lower realm!"
At this, the Spirit Masters in the hall all furrowed their brows.
Xue Qinghe couldn't help asking, "Mr. Su, isn't that too tyrannical? They won't even leave them a way to live?"
Su Chen glanced at him.
"That's the cruelty of the Upper Realm."
"If you don't pull up the roots, the grass will grow back when the spring breeze blows. Those overlords had done shameful things, so naturally they feared someone in the lower realm might turn the tables."
"Faced with this law imprint, which embodied the will of several Great Sects..."
"Shi Hao didn't back down."
Su Chen's folding fan snapped open.
"He looked at the phantom and gave it just one word."
"Get lost!"
"Then Shi Hao unleashed every trump card he had, holding nothing back."
"His left hand transformed into a golden Kunpeng—the speed and ferocity of one of the Ten Primordial Evils!"
"His right hand crackled with lightning: the annihilating tribulation of the Thunder Emperor Precious Technique!"
Su Chen's voice rose, and his pace quickened.
"With a mortal's body, he slammed headlong into that lofty law imprint!"
"Boom!"
"The ancient road trembled, and the void collapsed."
"That law imprint had called itself the ruler of the Upper Realm and regarded the lower realm's people as ants."
"Under Shi Hao's all-out, utterly domineering punch..."
"It was blasted apart, scattering into a rain of light!"
"Good!"
The people in the hall felt their blood surge at the sight of it.
Dai Tianfeng nodded again and again.
Now that was a peerless prodigy!
Who cared if you were some Upper Realm overlord? If you blocked the way, one punch would smash you to pieces!
On the raised platform, Su Chen stood up at just the right moment.
"The imprint shattered, and the boundary wall was forcibly torn open."
"At last, Shi Hao crossed that heavenly chasm and entered the territory of the Three Thousand Provinces of the Upper Realm!"
Su Chen swept his folding fan through the air.
"Yet the moment he set foot in the Upper Realm..."
"He discovered that he had fallen into an utterly terrifying trap!"
Everyone in the hall felt their hearts leap into their throats.
A trap?
They stared fixedly at the raised platform, waiting for Su Chen to continue.
And at that very moment...
Everyone in the hall was utterly absorbed. Not a soul made a sound.
In a corner of the crowd...
Tang San, who had kept his head bowed, suddenly unleashed a terrifying killing intent from his eyes.
Now!
Tang San's right hand, hidden beneath his sleeve, abruptly triggered the mechanism!
Whoosh!
A piercing yet almost imperceptible sound of something cutting through the air suddenly rang out in the hall.
A flash of black light, trailing a thick, foul stench, shot toward Su Chen's throat on the raised platform like a black bolt of lightning!
Too fast!
The Tang Sect Supreme Hidden Weapon's explosive speed, combined with the element of surprise, meant that even Dai Tianfeng and Bibi Dong, seated in the front rows, only reacted after the hidden weapon had been fired.
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