Douluo Continent.
Heaven Dou Empire, Suotuo City.
A dazzling pillar of white light descended from the sky without warning, landing within Suotuo City.
As the light gradually faded, a figure slowly emerged.
It was Cuihua.
The Cuihua before them had long since shed the timid, cowardly, self-abasing appearance of a village girl from half a year ago.
She wore a dark blue, high-tech, form-fitting Combat Suit that outlined her fit and well-proportioned figure. Her hair was tied into a neat ponytail, and her eyes were calm yet sharp, carrying the decisiveness forged through life-and-death battles in the Wilderness Zone.
As the only Explorer who had received a legitimate inheritance from a High-Dimensional World and returned alive to Douluo Continent, she had, at this moment, become the very center of the storm sweeping the entire continent.
Cuihua naturally knew that the moment she appeared, she would become the focus of everyone's struggle.
The instant the Sky Screen descended, she directly activated her Spiritual Force and unleashed her throwing knives!
Several handleless throwing knives forged from refined steel hovered at her sides, drawn by her Spiritual Force as they silently circled through the air like living fish.
The surroundings instantly fell so quiet that even the sound of the wind was crystal clear.
Yet Cuihua's Spiritual Force had already spread out like radar. She could clearly sense several powerful presences lying in wait on the pitch-black rooftops and within the alleyways around her.
Ning Fengzhi of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, along with Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo, had long changed into ordinary night clothes. They concealed their auras and hid within the shadow of a tall building on the western side of the square, waiting for an opportunity.
Snake Lance Douluo and Pufferfish Douluo of Spirit Hall were also lurking silently on the second floor of the tavern opposite them like two cold, venomous snakes.
Although the Clear Sky Sect had declared that it would seal itself off from the world, the Cosmic Origin Energy capable of breaking the limits of the physical body was too important. They had still secretly dispatched two powerful elders to lie in ambush beneath the night sky.
Besides those two top-tier factions, the Heaven Dou Royal Family and the Star Luo Empire had both sent Soul Saints and Soul Douluo-level experts to watch from the shadows.
They all knew that the odds of snatching Cuihua from the jaws of Spirit Hall and the Upper Three Sects were minuscule.
But if they could fish in troubled waters amid the chaos and obtain even a little of the cultivation methods of a Spirit Master, it would be an enormous gain.
Just as Cuihua had arrived and the pillar of light had yet to fully dissipate—
A sudden change erupted!
"Hehehe, what a Spirit Master. Your reaction was surprisingly quick."
A slightly shrill, somewhat seductive laugh shattered the silence.
Golden light blazed in midair.
Golden chrysanthemum petals drifted down from the sky, carrying a strange fragrance as they blanketed the entire area. A delicate-featured man dressed in luxurious robes slowly descended upon the petals.
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black.
Nine Soul Rings radiating terrifying pressure lit up beneath the man's feet one after another.
It was Spirit Hall's Chrysanthemum Douluo, Yue Guan!
He did not choose to hide. Instead, he openly appeared under the banner of Spirit Hall!
Yue Guan held a Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum in one hand and looked kindly at Cuihua. "Little girl, I am Yue Guan, a Title Douluo under Spirit Hall."
"By order of His Holiness the Pope, I have come to invite you to join Spirit Hall."
"As long as you agree to join Spirit Hall, His Holiness has promised that Spirit Hall will spare no effort in nurturing you. Every resource will be made available to you."
Cuihua was slightly startled.
A Title Douluo!
Legend said that Douluo-level experts above rank ninety possessed their own unique titles!
Before the Sky Screen had chosen her, she might not have met even one Title Douluo in her entire life. Yet now, a Title Douluo stood before her, extending his hand and kindly inviting her into Spirit Hall!
Relying on the steady temperament she had tempered in the world of Swallowed Star, she forcibly calmed herself down.
Just as she opened her mouth, ready to agree—
Boom—!
A thunderous sonic boom came from behind and to the side.
A gigantic pitch-black iron hammer, as large as a water vat, tore through the air with a violent gale and smashed toward Chrysanthemum Douluo in midair like a meteor.
"Spirit Hall wants to keep her for itself? Dream on!"
Two elderly men shrouded in black robes, their faces obscured, charged fiercely out of the darkness!
Though they were wrapped up like dumplings, it was still obvious that both were burly and heavily muscled!
Each of them gripped an awe-inspiring Clear Sky Hammer, while equally dazzling Soul Rings belonging to Title Douluo-level experts flashed around their bodies.
Two of the Clear Sky Sect's Five Great Elders!
A great battle erupted in an instant.
"Two rats hiding in the dark dare ruin my plans!"
Chrysanthemum Douluo snorted coldly. The Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum in his hand instantly transformed into countless golden blades, crashing head-on into the two Clear Sky Hammers.
Blinding sparks and shockwaves from the collision of Soul Power shattered several nearby buildings. Miserable screams rang out from inside!
When Douluos fought, ordinary people suffered!
Seeing Chrysanthemum Douluo tightly entangled by the two elders of the Clear Sky Sect and unable to break free, a thin figure shrouded in black mist silently twisted into existence from Cuihua's shadow!
Ghost Douluo, Gui Mei!
Without wasting words, he directly took out Spirit Hall's highest-ranking Elder token from his robes, engraved with the image of a Six-Winged Angel, and handed it to Cuihua.
"Girl, come with me."
Gui Mei's voice was hoarse and low, carrying a bone-chilling coldness.
Cuihua glanced at the token and made up her mind.
Back then in Suotuo City, she had accepted the free awakening offered by a Spirit Hall deacon, only to learn that she possessed no Soul Power.
Though she was useless, that was not Spirit Hall's fault. At the very least, without Spirit Hall helping awaken her martial soul, she would not even have known what her martial soul was.
In Cuihua's heart, Spirit Hall had always been a selfless organization.
Only by joining such an organization could she survive!
Cuihua gritted her teeth.
She knew that the various factions fighting over her were, in essence, fighting over the Spirit Master cultivation method she had brought back from another world. Once she handed over that cultivation method, she would no longer hold much value.
Moreover, Cuihua had gained experience now and naturally understood that a wise bird chose the tree it perched in.
Spirit Hall was recognized as the foremost power on Douluo Continent. With its deep foundations, following them was undoubtedly the safest choice and the one that would maximize her benefits.
Cuihua nodded and was about to step forward to follow Gui Mei.
In that flash of lightning.
Clang—!
A clear, soaring sword cry rang through the night sky above all of Suotuo City.
A silver-white sword aura dozens of meters long seemed ready to split the dark night in two. Carrying incomparably sharp killing intent, it slashed directly at Gui Mei's outstretched arm.
Gui Mei's expression changed drastically. His body instantly turned into a cloud of black mist and retreated more than ten meters, barely evading the fatal strike.
An elderly man dressed in snow-white robes, his beard and hair equally white, stood between Cuihua and Gui Mei like an exiled immortal. He held a completely silver-white sword upside down in one hand.
Sword Douluo, Chen Xin!
"Old Ghost, this girl isn't one of your Spirit Hall people yet. Taking her away won't be so easy, will it?"
Ghost Douluo gave a chilling laugh. "Enough nonsense. Let's settle this with our hands!"
Before you continue