Star Luo City.
The ancient, sprawling imperial capital was now immersed in an unprecedented celebration.
Just a few hours ago, air raid sirens had been wailing throughout the city.
Families had fled into underground shelters, while the sky was shrouded in the gloom of war and death.
Everyone knew that the Sun Moon Federation's three great fleets were already at the city gates. The Star Luo Empire was at the final, desperate brink of life and death.
And yet, a miracle had arrived.
There had been no long coastal defense, no blood-soaked meat grinder of a battlefield.
Only a brilliant white light, brighter than the sun, flaring at the edge of the horizon.
Then came the astonishing news, destined to go down in the history of the Douluo Continent: the Federation's three great fleets had been completely annihilated!
And the one who had brought this legend to life wasn't the Monster Academy, pride of the Star Luo Empire.
Nor was it one of the lofty elders of the Sea God Pavilion.
It was a new recruit in the First Legion, previously unknown to anyone, and the steel behemoth he called the Vanguard Titan!
"Have you heard? It was the prince consort who did it!
One shot! Just one shot, and he blew that Vast Sea Douluo and over a hundred warships to kingdom come!"
"Prince consort? He's the empire's savior!
Didn't you see? His Majesty issued an order in the middle of the night, opening the entire imperial treasury's top-tier resources to him!"
Princess Dai Yun'er is so lucky!
That Tang Sect master didn't know what was good for him and broke off their engagement. Turns out, heaven was saving this peerless genius for our Star Luo Empire!"
The streets and alleys, the taverns and teahouses, were filled with excited discussion.
Meanwhile, the Star Luo Grand Palace was decked out in festive lanterns and decorations, with red carpets spread across the floors.
Emperor Dai Tianling waved a hand, skipping all the tedious formalities of a royal engagement.
He announced that Dai Yun'er and Luo Feng would have the grandest royal wedding in three days!
In stark contrast to the festive decorations throughout Star Luo City
was the group of young people on the eastern coast of the Star Luo Empire, who had just escaped the deep sea by the skin of their teeth.
"Cough, cough... We finally made it ashore."
Xie Xie collapsed onto a reef, gasping for breath. His clothes reeked of sea salt and smoke.
Tang Wulin withdrew the phantom of the Sea God Trident. His face was as pale as paper.
Although he had successfully broken through to Titled Douluo and used the Super Divine Artifact to protect everyone,
the shockwave from that Level 11 Fixed Soul Guidance Cannon had still left him with serious internal injuries.
Gu Yue quietly went to Tang Wulin's side and used her pure elemental power to regulate his disordered Soul Power.
A rare solemnity showed in her eyes.
"Wulin, that explosion's power... The Federation couldn't possibly control anything like that right now.
Its ability to instantly erase all matter even surpassed the Godslayer-class weapon that destroyed Shrek."
"I know."
Tang Wulin took a deep breath and gazed in the direction of Star Luo City.
Vast Sea Douluo Chen Xinjie's reaction didn't seem fake, and the Federation itself had been caught off guard.
That power was fired from within the Star Luo Empire."
"The Star Luo Empire? If they had a weapon like that, would the Federation have been able to push them around all those years ago?"
Yuanen Yehui frowned, unconvinced.
"Whatever the truth is, we need to go back to Star Luo City."
A resolute glint flashed in Tang Wulin's eyes.
"The destruction of the Federal Fleet will mostly be blamed on the Tang Sect and Shrek. We have to speak with the Star Luo Emperor and at least find out what's happening!"
So the surviving elites from Shrek Academy, burdened by exhaustion and questions, set out on the road back to Star Luo City.
But once they disguised themselves and entered the city, they were completely dumbfounded.
There was no citywide lockdown, no troop deployment. Red silk hung everywhere, and firecrackers boomed in the streets.
And the name the people were shouting with such fervor wasn't that of some hidden Limit Douluo.
Instead, it was a name that was both familiar and utterly strange to them—Luo Feng!
"Luo Feng? That guy with the weird mecha?"
Xie Xie's eyes widened as if he'd heard the most absurd thing imaginable.
"They're saying the Level 11 Soul Guidance Cannon that destroyed the three great fleets was something he 'built by hand'?
Has the world gone mad?"
Tang Wulin's heart lurched.
He remembered the Vanguard Titan, which had taken a blow from his Three-Word Battle Armor outside the Star Luo Hotel, and Luo Feng's unfathomably calm gaze.
"Let's go to the palace."
Tang Wulin said gravely, his steps suddenly weighed down by an indescribable heaviness.
Thanks to his status as Tang Sect master, Tang Wulin and the others weren't stopped. They were soon ushered into the main hall of the Star Luo Grand Palace.
But the instant Tang Wulin stepped inside, he felt an intense pressure, almost enough to suffocate him!
It wasn't coming from Emperor Dai Tianling, seated high on the throne.
It came from the young man standing to the throne's lower left, dressed in the immaculate uniform of an imperial marshal.
Luo Feng!
The reserve he'd shown as a "new recruit" was gone.
He stood there casually, yet the Abyssal aura pouring from him seemed almost tangible.
It was the pressure created by the perfect fusion of the [Fullmetal Alchemist] Martial Soul Avatar and Soul Power at the peak of Soul Douluo, level 88!
"Level 88?! How is that possible?!"
Gu Yue's pupils contracted sharply behind him.
As the Silver Dragon King, she was exceptionally sensitive to energy.
She clearly remembered that just a few days earlier, Luo Feng had been a level-twenty-something Soul Grandmaster—not even a Soul Elder.
But now, the Soul Power fluctuations around him were as vast as an ocean, and he was only a hair's breadth from becoming a Titled Douluo!
It defied every basic law of the Douluo Continent!
"Ah, that?"
Before the emperor could speak, Luo Feng chuckled and spoke up.
His voice was very gentle, but to the people from Shrek, it carried an air of condescension.
"I just tossed out a firecracker to hear it go off. I misjudged the yield and accidentally vaporized a few hundred pieces of scrap metal.
I hope the Tang Sect master wasn't hurt?"
"So it really was you..."
Tang Wulin stared hard at Luo Feng. "A Level 11 Fixed Soul Guidance Cannon?
Do you have any idea what this kind of weapon would do if it fell into the wrong hands? It would bring suffering to the entire continent!"
"Master Tang, that's an interesting thing to say."
Suddenly, a clear voice rang out, edged with a hint of coldness.
It wasn't Luo Feng who spoke, but Dai Yun'er.
The little princess of Star Luo let go of Luo Feng's arm and took two steps forward, meeting Tang Wulin's gaze.
There was none of her former infatuation or humility in her eyes.
Instead, they held the pride of an imperial princess and the unwavering resolve to defend the man beside her.
"The Federation's fleet was about to reach our doorstep. Were we supposed to line up and wait to die?
If it weren't for Ah Feng, it would be the millions of people in our Star Luo Empire who were suffering right now!"
"Still, as the empire's princess, I welcome you to my wedding with Ah Feng. He happens to be one groomsman short. I wonder if you..."