In less than half a day, news of the Purple Gold Marriage Contract descending upon Spirit City had spread across the entire Douluo Continent, faster than any battle report.
Spirit Hall, Elder Hall.
More than a dozen Titled Douluo sat on either side, the atmosphere as heavy as lead.
Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan spoke first, his aged face full of confusion and irritation.
"Taixu Temple? Ancient Celestial Master?"
He slapped the armrest, his voice echoing through the great hall.
"I've lived for nearly two hundred years and traveled to every corner of the Douluo Continent. I've never heard of any Taixu Temple!"
He glanced around at the elders seated there.
"Has anyone here ever heard the name Shen Yichen?"
No one answered.
Ghost Douluo Gui Mei sat across from him and had said nothing.
The old ghost was always gloomy and taciturn, but today there was an unmistakable gravity to his silence.
After a long while, he finally spoke.
"It doesn't matter whether we've heard of him."
Ghost Douluo's voice was hoarse and low.
"What matters is the power emanating from that Marriage Contract."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone present.
"Everyone, you felt it at the time. When that pressure descended, was there anyone among you who could move?"
The Elder Hall fell silent for a moment.
No one could answer the question.
Because the answer was too humiliating—no. Not one of the Titled Douluo present had been able to retain their combat strength under that pressure.
Ghost Douluo continued.
"That power was terrifying. Even His Holiness the Pope felt wary of it. This Shen Yichen is undoubtedly the strongest person below the god level."
He paused, his voice growing even lower.
"He may even have... already touched the threshold of godhood."
Those words struck the stagnant waters like a stone. The elders' expressions all changed.
Heaven Dou Empire, imperial palace.
Emperor Xue Ye sat upon the dragon throne as the entire court remained utterly silent.
News of the Purple Gold Marriage Contract had already reached them, and everyone present was still trying to digest the absurd information.
Someone had proposed to the Holy Maiden of Spirit Hall?
And with the Heavenly Dao as matchmaker?
A bespectacled, middle-aged man stepped forward from one side of the hall.
Yu Xiaogang.
"Your Majesty, I have something to say."
He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, his expression far more solemn than that of the gentle scholar he usually appeared to be.
"According to ancient texts, a lineage of Celestial Masters did indeed exist in ancient times."
The entire court erupted in an uproar.
Yu Xiaogang raised a hand to quiet them and continued.
"The Celestial Master lineage commanded the karma of heaven and earth and understood the transformations of yin and yang. They once made an alliance with the progenitors of the ancient Soul Beasts. Their strength could not be measured by Soul Rings or Soul Power, but was founded upon the 'Dao'—an unfathomable power."
"I never imagined that, after ten thousand years, there would still be an heir alive."
The temperature inside the great hall seemed to drop by several degrees.
Sea God Island.
Tang San sat cross-legged in the middle of Sea God Hall, his whole body enveloped in golden divine light. The Sea God Trident floated before him, radiating immense divine power.
The Eighth Sea God Trial was underway.
His Soul Power was steadily rising, while the Blue Silver Emperor Martial Soul within him slowly melded with the Sea God's Power.
Everything had been progressing according to plan—until a sudden stab of pain struck without warning.
"Hss—!"
Tang San let out a muffled groan, his brows knitting sharply.
The Blue Silver Emperor Martial Soul trembled violently within him, sending a sharp pang of pain through his body, as though something were tearing at his very foundations.
Something was wrong.
He steadied his mind and tried to sense the source of the disturbance.
An inexplicable unease welled up inside him. He couldn't explain it, but he felt that something important was slipping away from him.
His fortune... was being restrained?
Just then, hurried footsteps sounded outside the hall.
A Sea God Island disciple knelt at the entrance, his voice tense.
"Urgent news from Spirit City!"
Tang San opened his eyes.
After hearing the full report—
The Purple Gold Marriage Contract had descended from the sky. The master of Taixu Temple, Shen Yichen, had sent betrothal gifts to Hu Liena, with the Heavenly Dao as matchmaker and eighteen layers of betrothal gifts—he fell silent for a long time.
He didn't know Shen Yichen, but he could clearly feel an unseen force suppressing his fortune.
His cultivation was slowing down. This wasn't his imagination.
"Senior Bo Saixi." He rose to his feet and turned toward the depths of Sea God Hall.
A golden figure emerged from the light.
Bo Saixi—the guardian of Sea God Island and one of the mightiest Titled Douluo.
She had clearly already heard the news, because she had never looked so grim.
"Tang San, listen to me."
Bo Saixi's voice was unusually grave.
"The Celestial Master lineage is a presence that even the Divine Realm regards with great wariness."
Tang San's breathing hitched slightly.
Bo Saixi looked him in the eye and spoke each word distinctly.
"Whatever you do, don't provoke that Shen Yichen. The consequences would be unthinkable."
Star Dou Great Forest, Lake of Life.
The lake's surface shimmered, and two enormous figures stood on its shore.
Daming, the Sky Azure Bull Python, raised its massive head and gazed toward Spirit City, complicated light glinting in its vertical pupils.
"I felt it."
Its deep, resonant voice sent ripples spreading across the lake.
"The aura of an Ancient Celestial Master... and the bloodline fluctuations of the Qingqiu Fox Clan."
Erming, the Titan Giant Ape, stood beside it and scratched his head, unease plain in his voice.
"That Celestial Master... could he pose a threat to our Star Dou Great Forest?"
Daming pondered for a long time, then slowly shook its head.
"Hard to say. But since he chose Hu Liena, he probably won't meddle in the mainland's conflicts without good reason."
"Probably?"
Erming snorted, clearly dissatisfied with such a vague answer.
Daming said nothing more. A trace of worry flickered in the depths of its vertical pupils.
With the emergence of the Ancient Celestial Master, the balance of the continent was bound to undergo a drastic change.
And all they old-timers, who had lived for tens of thousands of years, could do was wait and watch.
Spirit City, private chamber of Pope Palace.
After the elders left, only two people remained in the vast hall.
Bibi Dong stood before Hu Liena, her gaze fixed on the pale-purple Nine-Tailed Fox Seal between Hu Liena's brows. For a long time, she didn't look away.
Hu Liena felt thoroughly ill at ease under her teacher's gaze.
Ever since it appeared, the Fox Seal had been faintly warm between her brows, as though it were alive and resonating with her Martial Soul.
She had tried to dispel it with Soul Power and suppress it with her will. Neither had worked.
This thing had latched onto her.
"Teacher, I..."
"This Fox Seal..."
Bibi Dong interrupted her, her voice tangled with several conflicting emotions.
"It has become completely bound to your Martial Soul."
Hu Liena's body stiffened.
Bibi Dong reached out, holding her fingertip just above Hu Liena's brow as she sensed the aura emanating from the Fox Seal: delicate, gentle, yet unfathomably deep.
She drew her hand back.
"Whether you like it or not, Nana, you're already entangled with that Shen Yichen."
Hu Liena clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms.
"Teacher, I won't—"
"This matter..."
Bibi Dong looked at her. Her eyes held concern and wariness, along with something Hu Liena had never seen in her teacher before—helplessness.
"I'm afraid it won't be so easy to resolve."
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