What Was the Spirit Hall?

The moment his voice fell, another strange change took place.

A huge spatial rift tore open above the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

Several figures flew out, spreading across the area with a clear purpose and surrounding Bone Douluo in an instant.

Only then did Gu Rong belatedly react. He stared around wide-eyed, his scalp prickling as if every hair on his body had stood on end.

As someone with the Spatial Traversal Soul Skill, he could clearly tell that the technique just used was a profound spatial ability.

And the people who had been transported here were monstrously powerful. Their unmistakable auras all revealed that they were at the ninth rank—and there were six of them!

"The Spirit Hall?!"

Gu Rong's expression twisted.

Even his voice trembled slightly.

With what he knew, he couldn't think of any other possibility, but he was still clear-headed enough.

Without the slightest hesitation, he decided he had to run. No matter how powerful he was, he couldn't take on six opponents at once!

Still in his enormous Bone Dragon form, he flapped his wings, turned nimbly, and tried to break through without a moment's hesitation, choosing the shortest route out.

But things weren't that simple.

If you bullied the younger generation, you had to face the wrath of their elders.

Blocking his only way out was a gray-haired old man, his whole body radiating tremendous power.

Seeing Gu Rong's terrifying form charging toward him with overwhelming force, the old man remained unruffled. He slowly raised the Holy Sword in his hand and swept it out in a slash of holy light.

The skin that had taken the full strength of the Dawn of Light team to break now seemed as thin as paper, a gash opening in it with ease beneath the energy's strike.

Blood sprayed as the impact stopped Gu Rong in his tracks.

With a scream, his dragon-shaped body wavered on the brink of collapse.

As he crashed to the ground with a rumble, a voice, cold and edged with murderous intent, reached his ears.

"Is bullying the younger generation fun?"

Gu Rong struggled to his feet and looked up.

He saw the six brats he had fought not long ago eagerly gathering around the old man.

They were clearly familiar with him and began chatting right in front of Gu Rong. Just a few brief remarks nearly made him forget his pain.

"Senior, did only your Special Operations Team come?"

"I thought His Majesty would call my grandpa and the others too."

Long Haochen greeted him politely. Anyone could see the tension drain from him; he was nothing like the nervous young man from before.

Gu Rong knew that look well. Whenever Ning Rongrong got into trouble and he stepped in to help, the scene was much the same.

"His Majesty is far-sighted. He surely has his reasons."

"It's just an outpost. The six of us are enough."

"But you little ones still have a lot of work to do. You couldn't even handle this little problem?"

The gray-haired old man was naturally Chen Zidian, the original leader of the Demon Slayer Fallen Hunting Squad, and now the captain of the Federation's Special Operations Team.

He smiled at the Dawn of Light team, his tone noticeably gentler. Long Haochen sheepishly scratched his head, while Chen Ying'er beside him continued to shout.

"Grandpa Chen, you have to avenge us!"

"That old man is so annoying. He's obviously strong, but he still resorted to a sneak attack."

Hearing this, Gu Rong's dragon-shaped face twitched slightly from the pit below.

But he didn't dwell on it. His attention quickly shifted elsewhere. That was a lot to take in.

The term Special Operations Team was easy enough to understand. It was probably some kind of special combat unit, and its members were likely all powerful.

Their words also suggested there was more than one team. Apart from the Spirit Hall, who else could gather that many strong fighters?

But the question was... why did they call someone "His Majesty"?

On Douluo Continent, that title referred to an emperor.

Bibi Dong of the Spirit Hall, on the other hand, was more often addressed with the honorific "Your Holiness." It sounded strange.

Of course, Gu Rong had no time to think for long. The thoughts flashed past, and he immediately tried to flee again.

Unfortunately, before he could make a move, he heard Chen Zidian reply to Chen Ying'er from the sky, his tone once again tinged with fury.

"Don't worry. I'll avenge you."

"That Martial Soul ability... it is quite unusual."

"From what I saw, it seems suited to physical attacks and comes with exceptionally high defense."

Chen Zidian murmured, quickly summing things up. The next moment, he dove with the Holy Sword in hand, aiming straight for Gu Rong in his dragon form.

Brilliant holy light poured from his sword, blazing with dazzling radiance. The two clashed again, and the difference in their strength was plain to see.

Just as Long Xingyu had grown stronger than in the original story after receiving Lin Feng's personal instruction, Chen Zidian was the same. His every gesture seemed to move heaven and earth, carrying the aura of some kind of law.

He beat Gu Rong black and blue with ease. In the face of such an overwhelming gap, Gu Rong's proudest asset—his defense—made little difference.

After several more clashes, Chen Zidian broke apart Gu Rong's Ninth Soul Skill fusion. Gu Rong returned to human form, and his Bone Dragon Martial Soul quickly faded. He no longer had any chance to escape.

"You... cough... who are you?"

"Someone as powerful as you can't possibly be unknown!"

"Could you be one of the legendary experts from the Worship Hall within the Spirit Hall?"

"I am Gu Rong of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Since I'm about to die, may I at least learn your name?"

Gu Rong stood on the ground, chest heaving, his aura fading to almost nothing. His Soul Power was nearly depleted.

He had completely given up hope of escaping and was even prepared to be killed to silence him.

In his mind, the Spirit Hall had held back for years. Now that it had finally acted, it would surely sweep across the world.

How could it possibly let him go?

It seemed Dugu Bo was probably doomed as well.

But Gu Rong was truly curious: who had defeated him?

Dying wasn't frightening. Dying without knowing why was. He hadn't even seen his opponent's Martial Soul from start to finish. It was unbearably frustrating!

That was why he had asked. He stared intently at Chen Zidian, hoping for the answer he wanted.

"The Spirit Hall? What's that supposed to be?"

Chen Zidian frowned and looked at Gu Rong as if he were an idiot.

It wasn't that he hadn't activated his Martial Soul. He simply didn't have one.

And he had only just arrived on Douluo Continent. He hadn't even had time to get any information from Long Haochen and the others.

Naturally, he knew nothing about the Spirit Hall. He had reflexively asked Gu Rong what it was, and the atmosphere froze on the spot.

"Y-you said what?"

Gu Rong nearly choked.

He had never imagined he would hear such an answer.

He had thought the old man would at most deny it or refuse to answer, but he hadn't expected him to say something like that.

Even more absurdly, as a Titled Douluo, he had a vague feeling the other man wasn't lying. But how could that be?

Apart from the Spirit Hall, who else on Douluo Continent could produce so many powerful fighters? Even the Clear Sky Sect, once the foremost of the Upper Three Sects, couldn't manage it!

"Senior, the Spirit Hall is a power in this world."

"I've heard it's pretty strong. This guy must have misunderstood."

Long Haochen couldn't listen any longer. He hurriedly explained the Spirit Hall to Chen Zidian, summing it up in just a few sentences.

Chen Zidian's expression instantly cleared with understanding. He gave Gu Rong a strange glance but didn't explain anything further.

Gu Rong was only a prisoner. He had no right to learn that much—not until His Majesty Lin Feng gave his approval.

"All right, the farce is over."

"Restrain him and ask how we should handle this."

"From here on, the Special Operations Team will take over defense. Haochen, you can continue inscribing the array patterns."

"Let's finish the teleportation array as soon as possible and spread His Majesty Lin Feng's radiance across this new land!"