Gu Yuena forced down her doubts and that faint, indescribable pang of sourness, deciding to keep watching.
She wanted to see just how many of that man's hidden secrets the Sky Screen could expose.
On the ground, Xiong Jun's enormous body writhed restlessly.
He raised his mutated Behemoth left claw and slammed it hard into a nearby hill.
With a thunderous crash, the entire hill instantly crumbled into a cloud of dust.
Xiong Jun threw back his head and roared at the sky.
"This is the biggest joke under heaven! A mere fish that hides underwater blowing bubbles dares to rank above this king?"
"This king can tear open the void with one claw now. What's that lousy Great White Shark supposed to be?"
"If this king ever runs into it, I'll haul it out and chop it into fish paste!"
He was thoroughly dissatisfied with this ranking, convinced that his peerless divine might had been gravely insulted.
In front of Sea God Hall, on Sea God Island.
Bo Saixi held the Sea God Scepter, her usually graceful and dignified face now deathly pale.
She stared at the scene in the sky, both hands trembling uncontrollably. Even the scepter, a symbol of supreme authority, was humming along with them.
The Seven Sacred Pillar Guardian Douluo standing nearby all looked as if they had seen a ghost.
At that moment, the upper echelons of the entire Sea God Island fell into a deathly silence.
Demon Soul Great White Shark!
That name was an absolute taboo on Sea God Island.
The outside world had no idea that Sea God Island had been perpetuating a monumental lie for generations.
Back then, in order to become a god, the Sea God had deliberately raised a group of vicious Soul Beasts in the deep sea.
He secretly drove them to attack coastal civilians, creating one horrific disaster after another.
When the people had fallen into despair, the Sea God would descend in the guise of a savior.
He would drive off the Soul Beasts and quell the disasters, thereby reaping the people's faith as a matter of course.
This was Sea God Island's oldest tradition, and the filthy method by which the Sea God had gathered the power of faith to form his Godhood.
And that Demon Soul Great White Shark had originally been one of the tools raised by Sea God Island to attack the people.
But for some unknown reason, one day it broke free of the soul mark the Sea God had placed on it and vanished without a trace.
Not only that, but later, even the Sea God's most prized pet—the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King, which had dominated the seas—had mysteriously died in those waters.
The incident became the greatest stain in Sea God Island's history, and all information about it was sealed away.
Sea Horse Douluo clenched his teeth, stepped forward, and lowered his voice.
"High Priest, h-how is this possible? Xiao Bai isn't dead? And it's grown so terrifyingly powerful?"
"If it reveals what happened back then, and the world learns that we orchestrated all of Lord Sea God's divine miracles, the foundation of faith on Sea God Island will be destroyed!"
Bo Saixi took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down, but the chilling murderous intent in her eyes was impossible to hide.
"To break Lord Sea God's mark and kill the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King, it must have had an expert backing it."
"Whoever they are, anyone who dares ruin Lord Sea God's plans is courting death!"
"Send out the order: the entire island is to be placed on alert. I want to see who's pulling the strings and daring to oppose Lord Sea God!"
Beside the Pool of Life at Rainbow Academy.
Long Yun crouched down, holding a crystal that radiated rich spiritual energy. He casually tossed it into Xiao Bai's gaping maw.
Xiao Bai happily flicked its tail, churning up a spray of sparkling water that splashed all over the bank.
Looking at the pet whose existence had now been exposed by the Sky Screen, Long Yun's thoughts drifted far away.
It had happened many years ago.
Back then, the Sea God had run amok along the coasts of Douluo Continent in his pursuit of godhood.
The way he used innocent lives to obtain faith had been utterly disgusting.
Long Yun happened to be passing through the area at the time. Unable to stomach the bastard's behavior, he crossed the void and went looking for him.
In front of countless Sea Soul Beasts, he grabbed the Sea God by the collar and pinned him to the ocean floor for a savage beating.
That beating left the Sea God battered and bruised, and Long Yun had nearly shattered his still-forming Godhood with a single punch.
He had thought the fellow might learn his lesson, but the Sea God was incorrigible.
Once he had healed, he went to an even more remote island and continued using the same filthy methods to gather faith.
When Long Yun found out, he flew into a rage.
He sought out the Sea God a second time and, in front of the Sea God's fanatical followers, ground him beneath his heel all over again.
That time, he left the Sea God with an indelible psychological shadow. Terrified, the Sea God hid away on a remote island like a stray dog, never daring to come out and cause trouble again.
It was then that Long Yun casually erased the mark the Sea God had left deep in Xiao Bai's soul. He took the poor little shark as a pet and left it to grow in the Pool of Life.
Long Yun rubbed his chin and watched Xiao Bai gobble up its food, then sighed softly.
"I should've torn his Godhood apart."
Just then, the light curtain high in the sky changed once more.
Golden text burst open in midair like flames, spreading across half the sky.
[Battle Record of the Ninth-Ranked: Assisted in slaying a Million-Year Soul Beast, the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King!]
As soon as the words appeared, all of Douluo Continent fell into silence for a full half minute.
Then the barrage at the edge of the light curtain surged wildly, like a flood breaking through a dam.
Every line of text was filled with shock.
"What's going on? A Million-Year Soul Beast? Are my eyes broken?"
"There really are Million-Year Soul Beasts on Douluo Continent? Weren't those just things from myths, made up to scare children?"
"Good heavens, a million years! Even a legendary god descending to the mortal world might not be able to handle one, right?"
"So Xiao Bai has a heaven-defying record like this. It even helped slay a Million-Year Soul Beast. No wonder it qualified for ninth place!"
"Xiong Jun should shut up now, shouldn't he? This one's killed a Million-Year Soul Beast. What can you do against it, you black bear who struggles even with a hundred-thousand-year one?"
The Soul Masters and Soul Beasts across the continent held their breaths and stared at the Sky Screen, eagerly anticipating what would come next.
They were desperate to see what the legendary Million-Year Soul Beast looked like.
Golden light flashed across the Sky Screen, and a lifelike scene slowly unfolded.
It showed a pitch-black sea lashed by violent winds and rain.
The waves rose like upside-down mountains, crashing into the sea one after another with deafening roars.
At the center of the scene, Xiao Bai—still far smaller than it was now—was fighting for its life as it darted through the seawater.
The Sky Screen thoughtfully displayed a note beside it: back then, Xiao Bai's aura showed it to be only a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast.
Before you continue