Spirit Hall.
The highest-specification hall today had been lavishly decorated.
An expensive red carpet, hand-stitched with dark golden thread, stretched from the broad white jade plaza outside the hall all the way to the foot of the sacred staircase at the highest point.
Exquisite flowers, so vibrant they seemed to drip with color, wound around the surrounding pillars.
Ever-burning lamps flickered gracefully, casting a resplendent glow over the entire hall.
Qian Daoliu wore a splendid robe of brilliant gold.
He strode up to the high platform and took his place there in person.
As the Great Enshrined of Spirit Hall, Qian Daoliu wore a solemn, dignified expression as he personally presided over this wedding that had drawn the attention of the entire world.
At the start of the red carpet.
Gu Sheng wore a well-tailored, pure-white suit that fit close to his frame, his posture as straight as a pine.
Beside him, Qian Renxue held his arm.
Today, her magnificent white wedding gown trailed along the ground.
Beneath her long veil, her breathtaking face was holy and beautiful beyond compare.
The two of them walked side by side along the long, expensive red carpet.
All around them stood the many elders and deacons of Spirit Hall, gathered to witness the ceremony.
The crowd stirred.
From among the guests below the platform came a flurry of hushed whispers.
Murmurs spread through the crowd.
"What do you think Her Highness the Saintess sees in that boy?"
A Cardinal lowered his voice and whispered to the colleague beside him.
Another deacon shook his head, his tone tinged with disdain.
"Who knows? Gu Sheng doesn't even have a Martial Soul. He's an ordinary person through and through."
"He's completely unworthy of Her Highness Qian Renxue."
"Exactly!"
An elder nearby chimed in.
"If he hadn't caused a golden radiance to shine and the earth to tremble when he awakened at six..."
"The commotion was so great that it alarmed the Great Enshrined, who usually kept to himself."
"For a useless cripple like him, there would have been no chance of entering Spirit Hall!"
Though they kept their voices low on purpose, their words still rang clear in the relatively quiet surroundings.
Every single word reached Gu Sheng's ears without fail.
Gu Sheng's expression remained unchanged.
Not even a ripple of emotion crossed his handsome face.
He paid no heed to the gossip.
As a transmigrator, he knew far more than these frogs at the bottom of a well.
Back then, the awakening ceremony had shaken heaven and earth, and strange phenomena had appeared one after another.
Yet in the end, no Martial Soul had manifested before the crowd.
The testing stele outside had clearly identified him as an ordinary person without a Martial Soul.
But only Gu Sheng knew the truth.
It wasn't that he lacked a Martial Soul. It was that the level of this Douluo World was simply too low.
Too low to bear the arrival of his Martial Soul!
During that grand ceremony, he had learned the name of that mighty Martial Soul deep within his soul.
Puni.
A king of the Holy Spirit Type, burdened with the Seven Seals.
It represented the absolute pinnacle of power.
Because its level was so high, that existence could not yet enter this low-dimensional world.
So the result displayed to the outside world became, "No Martial Soul; an ordinary person."
And it was precisely because of the awakening phenomenon that had alarmed the upper ranks back then...
That Qian Daoliu had made an exception and admitted Gu Sheng into Spirit Hall.
He had naturally become Qian Renxue's childhood friend, and the two had been together ever since.
On the high platform.
Qian Daoliu's sharp gaze swept across the guests below.
The pressure of a Peerless Douluo had barely leaked out...
When the chatter below abruptly stopped, everyone clamping their mouths shut at once.
Qian Daoliu looked at the two holding hands below and sighed inwardly.
For the sake of this relationship, Qian Renxue had faced the immense pressure of Spirit Hall's Elder Hall and chosen Gu Sheng without backing down.
And Qian Daoliu himself, because of the tragic events involving Bibi Dong back then, had always felt guilty toward Qian Renxue.
As long as his granddaughter could be happy, he had ultimately chosen to give his blessing to this marriage.
The wedding proceeded according to the established schedule.
One elaborate ritual followed another.
Just as the two were about to reach the foot of the sacred staircase...
Gu Sheng's steps suddenly slowed.
In that instant, his perception surged infinitely upward, breaking through the clouds.
High above, the God Trials in the Divine Realm were beginning!
The inheritances of several gods—including the Sea God, Asura God, and Rakshasa God—were stirring violently.
The immense power of the Divine Realm leaked through the cracks in the God Trials, spilling toward the mortal world.
Bathed in this escaping divine power...
The strength of the mortal plane surged dramatically at that moment.
The world's barriers grew more resilient, able to accommodate beings of a higher level.
Gu Sheng stopped and raised his head.
The opportunity he had awaited for so long had finally arrived.
Gu Sheng silently uttered a single word in his heart.
"Come!"
Rumble—!
Without warning, a deafening peal of thunder erupted across the cloudless sky.
In an instant, the sky above all of Spirit City went completely dark.
Inky clouds gathered at a terrifying speed, forming a vast vortex that blotted out the sky.
Brilliant golden lightning raced wildly through the vortex, crackling and snapping.
Everyone in the hall paled with shock and hurriedly looked up at the ceiling.
Before they could make sense of what was happening...
A dazzling pillar of seven-colored light shot straight out of Gu Sheng's body and into the sky!
The pillar was incredibly thick, piercing through the hall's ceiling in an instant and plunging into the vortex deep within the clouds.
Then...
Within that dazzling pillar of seven-colored light, a majestic phantom spanning heaven and earth slowly took shape.
It was Holy Spectrum Puni!
Holy light shone over the world, and the outline of its immense spirit form radiated an ancient, supreme aura.
Endless holy light poured down as if it were tangible, enveloping all of Spirit City.
Along with it came a mighty pressure that descended like the wrath of heaven.
Thump! Thump!
Inside the hall, the deacons who had been standing buckled at the knees and fell one after another.
The Martial Souls within them trembled violently.
The Soul Power coursing through their meridians grew sluggish, and they could not summon even the slightest bit of it.
Throughout Spirit City...
Soul Masters in great numbers, wherever they were, dropped to their knees the moment they felt this pressure, unable to control themselves.
They bowed toward the holy light in worship, their faces filled with reverence.
At the vast wedding venue, hardly anyone remained standing.
Only Qian Daoliu on the high platform and a few seasoned elders of profound strength managed to stay on their feet.
Qian Daoliu stared at the phantom spanning heaven and earth, shaken to the core.
His eyes, which had seen so much, glimmered with utter shock.
What kind of Martial Soul was this?
Everyone's gaze locked in place at the very center of the gathering light.
The Puni phantom in midair radiated a terrifying aura that left everyone breathless.
Pure holy light encircled it, and the rings of the Seven Seals revolved slowly. With each turn, they seemed to crush the laws of this world.
Its noble bearing, towering above all beings, filled every Soul Master who considered themselves a powerful expert with a deep sense of helplessness.
Gu Sheng stood at the source of the holy light, his figure straight as a sword.
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