Bathed in golden light, Yu Xiaogang felt more confident and spirited than ever.
He slowly surveyed his surroundings, his gaze sweeping over those who had once looked down on him before finally settling on Tang San. He gave a slight nod and struck a pose of solemn teacherly dignity.
"Xiao San, watch closely."
"This time, I'm going to a higher-dimensional world to scout the way for you."
"There are no useless Martial Souls, only useless Soul Masters."
"Even in that so-called Battle Through the Heavens World, I'll prove with facts that wisdom is the greatest power of all!"
After saying this, he even reached out toward the Sky Screen of his own accord, his face radiating confidence and pride.
At this moment, who knew how many people across the continent were watching him?
Some were eager, some were jealous, and others wore complicated expressions.
"Xiao... Xiaogang..." Watching the familiar yet unfamiliar figure on the light screen, Bibi Dong felt her heart clench. She murmured, "That world probably isn't as simple as you think."
[Personnel selection complete!] [Teleportation commencing!]
The Sky Screen appeared and vanished in a flash, giving no one much time to react. After space twisted violently, the five figures enveloped in golden light disappeared into thin air.
Immediately afterward, the image on the Sky Screen shifted again, splitting into five separate viewpoints. It began broadcasting their encounters on the Douluo Plane in real time.
For a moment, everyone across Douluo Continent held their breath.
They desperately wanted to know what this higher-dimensional world—the one that had filled Grandmaster Yu Xiaogang with such confidence—was really like!
Above the Douluo Plane, high in the sky.
The spatial ripples left by the teleportation gradually subsided, and the five enormous live-feed screens finally became crystal clear. Even the dust floating in the air was sharply defined.
Countless eyes across the continent fixed on this first glimpse of the higher-dimensional world.
They hadn't even begun exploring, yet the environment in the background alone was enough to plunge all of Douluo Continent into deathly silence.
Then came a chorus of sharp gasps.
The image showed an ancient, untamed forest. Towering trees, each as thick as a city wall, stretched up into the clouds, their crowns blotting out the sky.
But what shocked them most was the faint mist visibly drifting through the air.
It wasn't water vapor. It was spiritual energy so concentrated that it had liquefied!
"Hiss... Is this a fairyland?"
"I can feel that terrifying energy making my Martial Soul tremble, even through the screen!"
At the same time, on the Sky Screen, viewpoint one.
A villager from the Heaven Dou Empire, Wang Er Mazi.
Wang Er Mazi was crouched in a thicket, trembling all over.
But he soon stopped shaking, because he caught a strange, sweet fragrance.
He looked up and saw that beside an inconspicuous weed in front of him grew a bright-red fruit, glistening like a ruby.
It was only the size of his thumb, yet it gleamed with an alluring luster.
"Gulp..."
Wang Er Mazi swallowed. Remembering the Sky Screen's earlier claim that life-extending treasures could be found everywhere, greed overcame his fear. He snatched the fruit and stuffed it into his mouth, dirt and all.
"Is that a Vermilion Fruit? No, it's even better than a thousand-year-old Vermilion Fruit!"
Inside the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace, Dugu Bo, who had been following the broadcast closely, widened his green eyes and cried out in shock.
But the next second, Wang Er Mazi's eyes suddenly bulged, and his skin turned as red as a glowing iron bar.
"Ah! It's hot! So hot!"
Then he let out a bloodcurdling scream, his whole body swelling rapidly like an inflated balloon.
"Bang!"
Just a few seconds later, Wang Er Mazi exploded in a muffled blast, bursting into a cloud of blood mist. Not even a whole body remained.
Wang Er Mazi, deceased!
Less than three minutes after arrival, the first explorer had greedily eaten a fruit and exploded!
Meanwhile, back on Douluo Continent.
The atmosphere in the main hall of the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace was heavy.
Xue Ye, whose face had been flushed with excitement, turned deathly pale at the sight. He gripped the armrest so tightly that his knuckles turned blue.
"He... exploded?"
"Just one fruit? It made someone's body explode?"
Xue Ye's voice trembled. "How terrifying must its medicinal power be? If it were diluted a hundredfold and I took it, could it really extend my life by a hundred years?"
At his side, Poison Douluo Dugu Bo was also grave. His usually sinister eyes were filled with shock.
"Your Majesty, that fruit would be considered an Immortal Herb of at least ten thousand years in our world... No, perhaps even more potent!"
"Without Soul Power to guide it, an ordinary person couldn't withstand such domineering power. It seems that although this higher-dimensional world is full of treasures, it's also full of death warrants!"
Elsewhere, at Spirit Hall.
The moment the blood mist burst across the screen, Bibi Dong, who had been sitting upright in the Pope Palace, sprang to her feet. She nearly crushed the scepter in her hand.
Her beautiful face turned deathly pale.
"How can this be? The energy in that world is so domineering?"
At once, Bibi Dong's gaze locked onto the fifth screen, where Yu Xiaogang appeared.
"Xiaogang, you only have level twenty-nine Soul Power. What if you accidentally eat something like that too..."
She didn't dare think any further. Although she claimed to the outside world that she would destroy everything, and acted cold and heartless toward Yu Xiaogang, the love and fixation buried deep in her heart had never faded.
"Elder Chrysanthemum! Elder Ghost!"
"Keep your eyes fixed on Yu Xiaogang's screen! If anything happens, notify me immediately!"
Even though she knew she couldn't interfere across planes, the gnawing worry kept her from sitting still.
"Damn it, why did you have to be chosen? With your pitiful strength, going there is as good as throwing your life away!" Watching Yu Xiaogang on the Sky Screen, Bibi Dong bit her red lip, her nails nearly digging into her palm.
The image shifted, quickly turning to another live-feed screen that remained lit. It showed Cuihua, the daughter of a wealthy merchant from Heaven Dou City.
Cuihua seemed to be having terrible luck. She hadn't landed in an empty forest; instead, she had appeared beside a dusty mountain road.
Before she could react, the clatter of hooves and a burst of raucous laughter reached her.
"Whoa—"
"Big brother, look! There's a woman here!"
Seven or eight burly men, dressed in beast-hide armor and riding unicorn-like beasts, surrounded Cuihua in an instant.
A savage, bloody aura clung to them. Faint yellow light covered each man's fists—the sign of Dou Qi.
"Oh? Such delicate skin, and those clothes are strange, too."
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