The Divine Realm, Evil Soul Masters!

Jiang Che was still rather curious about Huo Yuhao. Everyone knew that Huo Yuhao was the chosen one of the Douluo Continent's destiny—a man for whom even Tang San had been willing to use his own daughter as bait.

Ice Empress was Huo Yuhao's most important early cheat, but Jiang Che had already snatched her away ahead of time. He was curious whether Huo Yuhao would acquire something else to take her place.

But while Jiang Che was running all over the Far North with Huo Yuhao, an unexpected incident occurred.

The Douluo God Realm: clouds churned across the heavens, divine light shimmered, and the gods' residences lay peaceful and still, suffused with the eternal aura of the God Kings.

Inside the temple shared by Sea God Tang San and Asura God, who possessed Dual Godhood, Tang San stood atop the clouds. His blue-and-gold robes fluttered in the wind. His expression was warm, yet carried an aura of supreme authority. In his eyes seemed to lie a boundless galaxy and endless cycles of reincarnation as he gazed down upon the countless planes below.

At that moment, however, his gentle brows furrowed slightly. His normally clear and tranquil mind stirred with the faintest ripple.

As the God King who governed the Douluo Plane, he had long been connected to the Douluo Continent by countless threads. The flow of destiny across the entire plane and the fortunes of its living beings were all within his perception.

But just moments ago, his connection to the Douluo Continent had developed a blurry blind spot. The threads of destiny in the direction of the Far North, once clear, had suddenly become chaotic, as if an invisible force had forcibly concealed and disrupted them. No matter how intently he focused, he could no longer see through them.

A strange feeling stirred in Tang San's heart. His fingers curled slightly as a wisp of Sea God Divine Power, restrained to the utmost, quietly gathered. He dared not let it show in the slightest.

The rules of the Divine Realm were strict. The gods were not permitted to interfere in the affairs of the lower realms at will, lest they disturb the order of a plane and shatter the balance of time and space. But now his plans had been disrupted, and the chosen one of destiny had slipped beyond his control. He could not simply stand by.

He closed his eyes. Divine light flickered between his brows as he compressed his divine sense to the size of a needlepoint, carefully piercing the planar barrier between the Divine Realm and the Douluo Continent. Like a gentle drizzle, it silently descended toward the lower realm, heading straight for the Far North.

He concealed all his pressure and suppressed his divine power to its faintest trace. He only wanted to quietly discover what had happened without alerting the other gods.

Yet no matter how deeply his divine sense tried to penetrate, the Far North remained enveloped by an obscure, icy silver-blue barrier of laws. It showed no fluctuations of divine power, yet firmly blocked all outside scrutiny. The moment his divine sense touched it, it was silently repelled. After several attempts, he still could not glimpse anything within. Instead, the planar barrier rippled with faint energy.

Tang San's brows furrowed even deeper, his suspicions mounting. No ordinary power of the lower realms could resist the hidden probing of a God King like him. This complication was far more troublesome than he had expected.

Just as he withdrew his divine sense, a cold, imposing voice tinged with the aura of destruction suddenly rang out above the temple, shattering the Divine Realm's silence.

"Sea God Tang San, do you know your crime?"

Tang San's aura tightened slightly. He slowly turned and saw the God of Destruction standing above the sea of clouds, clad in a dark-purple God King's robe and wreathed in the aura of destruction. His purple-gold eyes fixed icily on Tang San as his pressure spread faintly outward, aimed directly at him.

Tang San's heart sank. He knew that the God of Destruction, also a God King, had ultimately noticed his covert probing of the lower realm.

"Destruction, what do you mean by that?" Tang San's expression remained calm. He silently erased every trace of his divine power and asked in a grave voice.

"What do I mean?" The God of Destruction sneered and strode forward. A gentle surge of Destruction Divine Power brought the image of the ripples in the planar barrier into being overhead. "The Divine Realm's laws clearly state that the gods must not use their divine authority to interfere in the lower realms, nor may they secretly use their divine sense to probe a plane and disrupt the balance of destiny. You are one of the Divine Realm's law-enforcement committee members, yet you knowingly broke the rules and secretly pierced the planar barrier to investigate the lower realm. You've violated the laws of the Divine Realm. Do you still intend to deny it?"

Tang San's gaze turned cold. He and the God of Destruction had always clashed in their beliefs and kept each other in check. Now that he had been caught red-handed, there was no way to deny it, even if he wanted to cover it up.

He knew the God of Destruction would never let this opportunity to restrain him pass. His unlawful probing had left the other man with leverage.

Above the sea of clouds, the auras of the two God Kings confronted each other. Even the Divine Realm's peaceful radiance grew stagnant as an invisible clash between God Kings began.

Jiang Che had no idea that the World Shielder he had just obtained had caused a conflict between two God Kings. If he had known, he probably would have laughed himself awake.

Jiang Che, Ice Empress, and Huo Yuhao had trekked across nearly half the Far North, but they hadn't found a single opportunity—or even the trace of a single spirit-type Soul Beast.

By now, Jiang Che and the others had stopped flying. Just as Jiang Che began to think that even the chosen one of destiny had a fixed allotment of opportunities, the unexpected happened.

The cold wind of the Far North abruptly turned fetid. A thick stench of blood mixed with the smell of decay and came rushing toward them on the wind. Huo Yuhao's face paled, and he instinctively shrank behind Jiang Che. The smell in his nostrils made his stomach churn.

Jiang Che's expression darkened as silver-blue Soul Power quietly enveloped him. Ice Empress also furrowed her brows, her icy gaze sweeping toward the nearby Ice Valley.

Deep in the valley, more than ten black-robed figures were huddled together. Ink-black Soul Power surged around them, carrying an eerie, sinister pulse.

Several Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts lay sprawled across the ground, their bodies covered in a strange black mist.

"Evil Soul Masters?" Jiang Che murmured, a hint of surprise in his voice.

The Far North was cold and remote, long the domain of ice-type Soul Beasts. Evil Soul Masters preferred dark, filthy places. What were they doing in this frozen wilderness?

Just as Jiang Che and the others spotted the group of Evil Soul Masters, the group noticed them too. Apparently sensing that Jiang Che was no weakling, they didn't act rashly. Instead, they frowned and discussed what to do.

"Second Brother, what kind of godforsaken place did you pick? We've barely arrived, and someone's already found us," the old man in the lead asked the man beside him, who looked about his age.

"Big Brother, you can't blame me for this. There were several Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts here to begin with, including one that was eighty thousand years old. By all rights, nobody should have come here," the old man called Second Brother said, aggrieved.

"Forget it. There's a Titled Douluo over there, and we don't know whether he has any backup nearby. If we fail, we'll be in trouble."

After speaking, the old man in the lead sent one of his men over to talk to Jiang Che.

P.S. To all the big shots, I've read the recent comments. Most of them say I'm holding back the levels, so first of all, I want to apologize!

But I don't know if I misunderstood Peerless Tang Sect when I read it. I've always felt that absorbing a Soul Ring or Soul Bone doesn't really increase your Soul Power by much. When I used to read fanfiction, I did see characters casually absorb a Soul Ring and gain five or six levels.

But those characters had been stuck at their level for ages before absorbing the Soul Ring. After breaking through, they'd wait who knew how long before hunting a Soul Beast. I don't want to write it that way, but I know that's what you all want to see.

Unfortunately, this book can't be changed now. The cost would be too high, and it wouldn't be worth it. So I'm planning to start another one in the next few days. I've learned from this experience and will write according to your comments. I'm determined to write a proper, satisfying Peerless Tang Sect fanfiction. But the next one won't start with the protagonist already being a Titled Douluo. At this rate, he'd become a god before the book even goes on sale, and I wouldn't know how to keep writing.

Finally, this book goes on sale tomorrow. Your college student here is begging you all on his knees: please give me a follow tomorrow!