Above the Sky Screen, the images gradually settled.
Although that earth-shattering battle had already ended, the world-destroying scene had left every living being on the Douluo Continent unable to forget it for a long time.
Immortal Kings!
And there was more than one!
When they saw several terrifying figures emerge one after another from the dark void behind Anlan, everyone on the Douluo Continent felt their scalps prickle, even with the Sky Screen between them.
Each of those beings carried an aura even more ancient and decayed than Anlan's, as though they were living fossils that had crawled out of the dust of history.
But what made their scalps prickle even more was the master of the Primordial Immortal Court, Jiang Chen, who had never once shown his face!
With nothing but a massive hand that had reached across endless stretches of space and time, extending through countless millions of miles, he had blocked the combined attack of Anlan and Yutuo, two Immortal Kings. He had even held his ground and withdrawn with unruffled ease.
"What kind of might is this..."
"Facing two opponents at once, and treating them as if they were nothing."
Meanwhile, at Shrek Academy.
Everyone was still trying to process the astonishing battle they had just witnessed. Only one figure quietly slipped away from the crowd and, under cover of night, made his way alone into the dense forest behind the academy.
It was Tang San.
Tang San's face was so dark it seemed water might drip from it.
He found a flat boulder and sat down. In the faint moonlight, he pulled from his robes the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record, which he had treasured and studied day and night.
In the past, whenever he touched this book, boundless pride would well up in his heart.
These were the Tang Sect's unique skills, the foundation that had allowed him to establish himself in this otherworld—and the greatest advantage he had over his peers.
But now, as he looked at the thin booklet in his hands, a hint of disgust appeared in Tang San's eyes for the first time.
"The Mysterious Heaven Skill, the Hundred Explanations of Hidden Weapons..."
"Heh. What are these supposed to be?"
Tang San gave a self-mocking laugh, but the image of Ye Qingyu—his white hair whipping wildly as he tore apart a True Immortal with one hand—rose unbidden in his mind.
"In front of that mortal body named Ye Qingyu, all these so-called unique skills of mine are nothing but children playing house!"
"The Mysterious Jade Hand? At its peak, it can only make your hands as hard as iron. But that man has a divine body that can withstand immortal weapons!"
"The Purple Demon Eye? It can see through illusions? That's nothing compared to someone who can shatter the firmament with a single glare!"
"The Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track? How could it compare to the speed of that creature, swift as a kun or a roc..."
At the thought of all this, Tang San felt as though his heart were breaking.
The enormous gap between them made him unbearably jealous.
"And then there's that Yu Xiaogang..."
Tang San abruptly turned his head and looked through a gap in the trees toward the field, where that figure was still slumped on the ground, muttering over and over about how it was impossible and unscientific.
The next moment, he shook his head with a trace of scorn.
"Yu Xiaogang, Yu Xiaogang..."
"Your so-called Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul are nothing but bullshit in the face of that higher-dimensional world!"
"If I keep following you, a frog at the bottom of a well, I'll never see the real sky in this lifetime!"
At that thought, Tang San took a deep breath, his gaze gradually turning ruthless.
"A fine bird chooses a tree to nest in; a worthy minister chooses a lord to serve."
"If the Douluo Continent has no future, why should I stay with this useless teacher?"
"I'm going to that world and joining the Primordial Immortal Court!"
"Even as an outer disciple, that'll be better than being some so-called Titled Douluo here!"
"But before that, I need to make some preparations."
With that thought, Tang San no longer hesitated.
He quickly took everything he had accumulated over the years from the Twenty-Four Bridge Moonlit Night at his waist.
There were all kinds of rare metal ores, poisonous herbs and toxins he had yet to refine, and the unfinished Hidden Weapons he had crafted day and night.
"If I'm chosen by the Sky Screen too, these things will be my greatest advantage."
As he sorted them, Tang San secretly calculated in his mind.
"Although that world's cultivation system is powerful, it doesn't seem to have these intricate mechanical Hidden Weapons."
"If I can offer the designs for the Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus and the Pear Blossom Needle in Rainstorm to the Immortal Lord..."
"Maybe I'll earn the Immortal Lord's favor, reshape my body, and set foot on the true path of immortal cultivation!"
After organizing everything, Tang San tightened the Twenty-Four Bridge Moonlit Night around his waist, then took one last deep look toward Shrek Academy.
His companions and his teacher were there.
But in the face of longevity and absolute power, all those ties seemed like nothing but burdens to him.
"Xiao Gang, don't blame me for being heartless."
"You're too weak to teach me the true way to invincibility."
"If I return as an immortal someday, perhaps I'll burn a little paper money for you, in gratitude for recognizing my talents back then."
Under the moonlight, Tang San had already prepared himself to abandon everything at a moment's notice.
All he had to do was wait for that golden light to descend upon his head!
Spirit City, Pope Palace.
Unlike Tang San's resolute decision, Spirit Hall, the hegemon of the continent, responded with remarkable efficiency.
The vast council hall blazed with lamplight, as bright as day.
Pope Bibi Dong sat high upon her jeweled throne, clutching her scepter tightly, her face stern.
"Pass down my orders!"
"From this moment on, Spirit Hall is to enter its highest state of military readiness!"
"Gui Mei! Yue Guan!"
"This subordinate is here!"
At Bibi Dong's command, two figures instantly appeared in the center of the hall and dropped to one knee, their expressions uneasy.
Even as Titled Douluo, after watching the Sky Screen's broadcast, their Dao Hearts had nearly shattered.
Even a God King had been snatched up in one grasp. What did a few Titled Douluo like them amount to?
Bibi Dong rose to her feet. Her purple robe trailed across the floor, and every step she took seemed to land on the hearts of those present.
"Bring out every bit of Spirit Hall's accumulated resources from the past thousand years!"
"Whether it's top-grade Soul Bones over ten thousand years old, legendary ancient Soul Tools, or unidentified treasures dug out of ruins..."
"Bring them all out!"
Hearing this, Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan couldn't help asking in a trembling voice,
"Your Holiness the Pope, you intend to..."
"Prepare for war!"
Bibi Dong narrowed her eyes, a trace of madness flashing in them.
"Since the Sky Screen chooses at random, Spirit Hall has more Soul Masters than anywhere else on the continent. Naturally, we have the greatest chance of being chosen!"
"So, for now, our greatest concern should be how to ensure our people survive in that world after they're chosen."
As she spoke, Bibi Dong walked to the center of the hall and looked at the massive Angel Statue, letting out a cold laugh.
"Nana has already been chosen. That gives us the first move."
"But it's not enough!"
"I want every member of Spirit Hall who might be chosen next to carry something that could improve their chances of survival!"
"If they can bring back even one cultivation manual from that world—even a beginner's Body Forging Technique..."
"Then everything we've spent will have been worth it!"
At that, Bibi Dong abruptly turned around and fixed her gaze on all the Cardinals and elders present. "For Spirit Hall!"
Her words instantly sent the entire hall into an uproar.
That's right!
That world was so powerful it was enough to make people despair.
But precisely because it was so powerful, even a little of what spilled from there would be a supreme elixir to the Douluo Continent!
If they could survive there for a year, even as beggars asking for food—or bring back a single bowl of that Spirit Crystal Rice—it would all be worth it!
"We obey the Pope's decree!"
Heaven Dou Empire, a sheer cliff deep in the mountains.
Iron chains stretched across the cliff.
Sect Master Tang Xiao of the Clear Sky Sect stood before the enormous Stone Stele at the sect's entrance with five elders, letting the biting wind whip their hair and beards into disarray.
Before them stood a group of sect disciples, drenched in sweat as they frantically swung their Clear Sky Hammers.
"Did you come here without eating? Put some strength into it!"
"The Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer isn't for blacksmithing! It's for killing!"
An elder roared as the whip in his hand mercilessly lashed a disciple whose movements had slowed.
In the past, the Clear Sky Sect had been strict, but never this cruel.
But after today's broadcast, everything had changed.
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