Become stronger!
Reach for the supreme divine throne!
Those words instantly struck a nerve in Dugu Bo.
His eyes widened, disbelief and shock flooding them. His mind could barely keep up.
Do you even know what you're saying? Even if you're bullshitting, at least make it logically consistent!
Dugu Bo grumbled inwardly, but kept it off his face.
He stared at Long Xingyu with a strange look.
Then he noticed the fierce confidence between the other man's brows. He didn't look like he was talking nonsense at all.
Could this unheard-of Holy Demon Federation really possess unimaginable power, even have ties to the legendary gods?
Dugu Bo was secretly taken aback, yet somehow it all seemed perfectly reasonable.
After all, Lin Feng was unfathomably mysterious, and everyone worshipped him with boundless fervor.
It seemed that only the power of faith could create such a phenomenon. The more Dugu Bo thought about it, the more alarmed he became.
His curiosity about the Holy Demon Federation had been thoroughly ignited. Just how powerful was this organization he'd been forced to join?
"Heh, wondering if I'm joking?"
"Never mind. Since you've already joined us, I don't mind letting you in on a little."
"To put it simply, His Majesty has over a hundred people like you, who've just entered the ninth rank."
"Even I'm not strong enough to make the top ten. I'd be ranked somewhere beyond twentieth. Understand?"
Long Xingyu's voice remained perfectly calm.
He sounded as if he were stating an ordinary fact.
But to Dugu Bo, those words were terrifying. What did it mean to have a hundred ninth-rankers?
Forget the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire. Even if you counted Spirit Hall and added every hidden expert across the continent, all of them together wouldn't reach that number.
Yet Long Xingyu claimed the Holy Demon Federation could muster that many!
In the world of cultivators, the strong were the best proof. If all of this were true, Lin Feng could sweep across the continent!
"What, you don't believe me?"
Long Xingyu wasn't surprised in the least.
How could a frog at the bottom of a well understand His Majesty's greatness?
He had unified the Holy Demon Continent at lightning speed, brought humans and demons together in coexistence, and allowed them to recuperate for centuries.
That was how they'd reached their strength today. The Douluo natives before him clearly couldn't keep up.
"Sorry, I'm not trying to question His Majesty Lin Feng."
"It's just that what you've told me sounds too fantastical."
"Douluo Continent doesn't have that many ninth-rankers, and neither the Heaven Dou nor the Star Luo Empire has an 'emperor' named Lin Feng, so..."
Dugu Bo's meaning was clear.
He had already guessed that they'd come from some unknown region.
Otherwise, there was no explaining where so many experts had come from.
Never mind the ninth-rankers he'd described. Long Xingyu and the Dawn of Light team alone were enough to rule out most possibilities.
"About that, all you need to know is that we're an independent, transcendent faction. I can't say more for now."
"That's enough for now. If you want to learn more, show your worth and earn His Majesty's trust. Then you'll know everything."
"One more thing: I wasn't exaggerating when I mentioned your 'reward' earlier... Come on. How do we get to the City of Slaughter?"
Long Xingyu grinned, his smile playful.
He didn't bother explaining further, deliberately leaving Dugu Bo hanging.
The mystery gnawed at Dugu Bo, and the revelations had shaken him to the core. What did it mean that he hadn't exaggerated about the "reward"?
Did that mean it was possible to become stronger, even to reach for the supreme divine throne? He swallowed unconsciously at the thought.
"Uh, this way. There's a secret informant post nearby."
"I don't know the exact location of the City of Slaughter either."
"Luckily, it's hard to get out of that place, but getting in is very easy. Follow me."
Dugu Bo reined in his emotions for the moment and obediently chose to comply, leading Long Xingyu away.
He couldn't tell whether those words were true, but he had a feeling he'd soon learn the truth.
And before then, since he'd already been branded, he might as well do as he was told. Maybe one day he'd be glad he'd made this decision.
In an instant, the two disappeared around the street corner.
Meanwhile, at the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.
After ending his call with Lin Feng, the Dawn of Light team, led by Long Haochen, continued working diligently.
The large-scale teleportation array had extremely complex runes. Any one node or pattern could cause it to fail.
They had to work with absolute concentration, which meant that after Long Xingyu left and before the Special Operations Team arrived, the security around them was somewhat thin.
When Bone Douluo set out from Heaven Dou City and raced all the way here, he carefully approached the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. He didn't alert anyone else, concealing his aura as he watched from the shadows.
"Hm? What are they doing?"
Gu Rong raised an eyebrow, staring in puzzlement at the patterns on the ground.
He had a rudimentary understanding of formations, but he wasn't proficient.
He assumed the six youngsters below were setting up some kind of defensive trap, but he hadn't expected to arrive before they finished.
"Strange. The old poisoner doesn't seem to be nearby. Where did he go? Was he really killed?"
"And who are these boys and girls? Judging by their auras, every one of them seems to be at level eighty. They're exceptionally talented!"
"But there's no way they could've defeated Dugu Bo on their own. Did a stronger expert leave, or is there some kind of misunderstanding?"
Gu Rong muttered to himself, pondering the situation.
He was quite interested in Long Haochen and the others.
With the insight of a ninety-fifth-level expert, he quickly gauged their approximate strength and was just as astonished as Dugu Bo had been.
In another situation, he might even have stepped out to greet them and asked if they'd like to join the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Unfortunately, now wasn't the time to recruit them.
Instead, a certain thought grew ever more vivid in his mind.
Soul Master resources were exceedingly scarce in the Heaven Dou and Star Luo Empires. They couldn't possibly have raised geniuses like these.
Could Spirit Hall really be making trouble in secret, deliberately ambushing Dugu Bo to provoke an all-out war?
At the possibility, Gu Rong's spirits sank. He worried deeply about the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's future, and his aura wavered slightly.
Although he steadied his emotions a moment later, Long Haochen and the others below weren't helpless little lambs. That tiny trace was more than enough.
The entire Dawn of Light team went on alert at once.
They stopped what they were doing and turned their eyes toward the same spot.
With perfect coordination, they took their positions in the blink of an eye, forming a standard six-class formation.
"Who's there? Get out!"
Sima Xian, his head shaved clean, shouted.
Gu Rong then slowly stepped out, no longer hiding himself.
Layer upon layer of Soul Rings appeared from his legs, rising upward as Soul Power swirled around him.
A colossal ancient dragon, far more imposing than the Jade Phosphor Serpent Emperor, coiled above his head. He was ready for battle in an instant.
"Ah, I hadn't planned on fighting."
Gu Rong shrugged helplessly, pretending to be relaxed and casual.
He'd already confirmed that there were no other hidden experts nearby.
If it was just these six youngsters, he had nothing to worry about. He unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.
"Children, can one of you tell me what happened here not long ago? Where did Poison Douluo Dugu Bo go?"
His tone was teasing, but Gu Rong wasn't actually underestimating them. What if he slipped up and got himself into trouble?
As he spoke, he spread his Soul Power outward, locking onto the Dawn of Light team and trying to overwhelm them with his presence.
Unfortunately for him, Long Haochen and the others weren't falling for it. The pressure of an ordinary ninth-ranker was nothing compared to a single hair on His Majesty's head.
As the most outstanding younger generation of the Holy Demon Federation, they'd often been personally trained by Lin Feng.
"Pah! What are you putting on airs for?"
"So what if you're a ninth-ranker? It's not like we've never fought one!"
"Want to squeeze information out of us? Beat us first!"
Before you continue