Vermilion Bird Master, Gan Feng!

Douluo Continent, Pope Palace.

Bibi Dong's heart, which had been hanging, relaxed slightly as she watched Ghost's clean and swift stealth movements on the screen.

She leaned forward, her beautiful eyes fixed on the screen.

Qian Daoliu, standing in the center of the great hall, also nodded slightly.

"Elder Ghost's stealth technique is indeed worthy of being the best in Douluo Continent."

Qian Daoliu stroked the beard on his chin, giving a very pertinent evaluation.

"He has completely assimilated his dark attribute with the surrounding shadows, even minimizing his soul power fluctuations."

"As long as he doesn't initiate an attack, it shouldn't be a problem for him to survive for a while in this unfamiliar place."

Hearing the Grand Elder's praise, the other Spirit Hall elders in the hall also breathed a sigh of relief.

They all felt that as long as they hid well enough, no matter how strong the people in the Renegade Immortal World were, they couldn't possibly pull them out of thin air.

However, the relief of the Douluo group hadn't fully settled.

On the Sky Screen, the sound of calm footsteps suddenly came from the picture.

Ghost hid in the shadow of a jade pillar, holding his breath.

He cautiously peeked out from the edge of the shadow.

He saw two young men emerge from a large hall in front of the square.

The young man walking in front wore a dark golden robe embroidered with a firebird with outstretched wings in red thread.

He had sharp eyebrows and starry eyes, a very handsome appearance, and an innate arrogance in his demeanor.

Half a step behind him was a round-faced youth in a red Taoist robe.

The two walked along, chatting.

"Senior Brother Gan Feng, has our master been in seclusion for a full half a year now?"

The round-faced youth lagged half a step behind, his tone laced with flattery.

The golden-robed youth, known as Gan Feng, raised his chin slightly, his hands clasped behind his back.

"How can your and my cultivation be fathomed by our master?"

Gan Feng's voice echoed in the empty square, carrying an unconcealable fervor.

"Our master, as the controller of this Vermilion Bird Planet and the inheritor of the successive Vermilion Bird Masters."

"Every time he goes into seclusion, he is comprehending the great principles of heaven and earth."

"When our master emerges from seclusion this time, the prestige of our Vermilion Bird Mountain will surely shock the entire cultivation planet again!"

Hearing this conversation.

Ghost, hiding in the shadows, felt his blood run cold.

"Vermilion Bird Planet... Vermilion Bird Master..."

Ghost repeatedly chewed on these two names in his heart, and a deep sense of powerlessness surged within him.

Although he didn't understand what a cultivation planet was.

He could understand the weight of the words "controller."

This vast palace complex was actually the dojo of this world's ruler!

Was his luck good or bad?

He had actually been teleported directly into the lair of the highest ruler!

Just as Ghost was filled with fear and prayed for the two young men to leave quickly.

Gan Feng, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped.

He stopped about ten meters away from the jade pillar where Ghost was hiding.

Gan Feng frowned, and a hint of doubt flashed in his normally calm eyes.

He turned his head, his gaze falling directly on the shadow beneath the jade pillar.

"Senior Brother, what's wrong?" the round-faced youth asked, somewhat confused.

Gan Feng sneered.

"The array maintenance on our Vermilion Bird Mountain is becoming more and more lax."

Gan Feng raised his right hand and casually pointed at the jade pillar.

"Even a small mouse without spiritual energy sneaks in, and the patrol disciples didn't even notice."

Hearing this.

Ghost's mind buzzed, as if it had been hit by a heavy iron hammer.

Discovered?

How is this possible!

He hadn't even leaked a sliver of soul power, so how could the other party have discovered him from such a distance?

Before Ghost could even begin to fathom the answer.

Gan Feng had already made his move.

He didn't even bother to form any extra incantations; he simply reached out and grabbed at the empty air toward that patch of shadow.

"Get out."

Accompanying this indifferent reprimand.

Ghost felt the surrounding air instantly solidify.

An irresistible, immense suction force pierced directly through his martial soul defense and took hold of his physical body.

His pride and joy, the shadow incarnation skill, was as fragile as a layer of window paper in the face of this suction.

"Rip!"

With the sound of tearing air.

Ghost's body was pulled uncontrollably out of the shadows.

He tumbled twice in mid-air before landing in a heap on the red jade floor at Gan Feng's feet.

Douluo Continent.

The air inside the Pope Palace instantly froze.

Bibi Dong stood up abruptly, slamming her scepter heavily against the ground with a crisp "clang."

"This is impossible!"

Bibi Dong exclaimed in shock.

Qian Daoliu also widened his eyes, his face filled with disbelief.

They had just been praising Ghost's stealth techniques as peerless under the heavens.

Yet, a young disciple just passing by, without even looking closely, had plucked Ghost out like a chick with a single wave of his hand.

The speed of this slap to the face was so fast that no one even had time to react.

On the playground of Shrek Academy, Tang San gasped.

He realized that his assessment of the combat power in the Renegade Immortal World had once again deviated severely.

"That youth named Gan Feng is only a disciple..."

Tang San's voice was dry.

"A mere disciple can break the Martial Soul Avatar of a level ninety-five Title Douluo from across the air."

"Then just how ridiculously strong must that master of theirs, who controls planets, actually be?"

On the Vermilion Bird Mountain plaza.

Ghost lay on the ground, ignoring the pain throughout his body, and instinctively tried to counterattack.

"Ninth Soul Skill! Hellish Specter!"

He roared, his nine soul rings lighting up instantly as black mist surged wildly.

Countless pale arms erupted from the ground, clawing toward Gan Feng and the round-faced youth.

Facing the desperate strike of a Title Douluo.

Gan Feng didn't even lift an eyelid.

He even yawned, looking somewhat bored.

"Crude, mortal martial arts; you can't even borrow a shred of heaven and earth spiritual energy."

Gan Feng shook his head, his eyes filled with contempt.

Seeing this, the round-faced youth beside him immediately stepped forward, wanting to show off in front of his senior brother.

"Rest, Senior Brother. Leave this third-rate trash to me."

The round-faced youth snorted coldly and tapped his right foot lightly on the ground.

A visible red ripple centered on his right foot instantly expanded outward.

The moment those pale arms emerging from the ground touched the red ripple, they hissed like ice cubes dropped into boiling oil, vanishing into thin air as wisps of blue smoke.

Ghost's strongest attack hadn't even touched the hem of their clothes before it was extinguished by a single stomp.

The red ripple continued unabated, slamming directly into Ghost's chest.

"Pfft!"

Ghost spat out a mouthful of blood, his body flying backward like a kite with a broken string before crashing heavily into the jade pillar behind him.

Under the force of this terrifying impact, the nine spirit rings on his body emitted a series of brittle, strained cracks, their surfaces covered in a web of fine fissures.

"You..."

Ghost collapsed to the ground, clutching his chest, his eyes filled with despair and terror.

He was a Title Douluo!

He was one of the powerhouses standing at the very pinnacle of the Douluo Continent!

Yet, in front of this round-faced youth, he didn't even have the ability to fight back!

The round-faced youth clapped his hands, walked slowly toward Ghost, and looked down at him from above.

"There isn't a shred of spiritual power fluctuation on you, and the cultivation system you follow is quite bizarre."

The round-faced youth rubbed his chin, as if he were appraising a curious toy.

"However, your concealment technique is somewhat interesting. If I were to feed you to the mountain-guarding spirit beasts, it might provide them with some amusement."

Hearing that he was to be fed to spirit beasts, Ghost shuddered uncontrollably.

He struggled, trying to crawl up and beg for mercy.

Just then, the temperature of the entire Vermilion Bird Mountain soared without warning.

The originally dark red sky instantly turned a blinding, vivid crimson.

The fire-attribute energy in the air became incredibly violent, as if it could ignite at any moment.

Gan Feng and the round-faced youth's expressions changed drastically.

Ignoring Ghost on the ground, the two immediately turned around, faced the direction of the palace depths, and knelt down respectfully.

"Disciples welcome Master out of seclusion!"

Their voices were resonant, filled with genuine, heartfelt awe.

Ghost lay slumped on the ground, feeling an indescribable, terrifying pressure weighing down on his spine like a hundred thousand mountains.

He couldn't even lift his head, forced to stare fixedly at the red jade floor before him.

"Tap, tap..."

A steady sound of footsteps echoed from the depths of the palace.

The footsteps were not heavy, but with every step, it felt as if someone were treading on Ghost's heart, making his breathing increasingly difficult.

Then, an aged voice, yet one imbued with supreme majesty, slowly resonated across the empty plaza.

"Gan Feng, bring that little insect inside."

The voice was not loud, but it carried an irresistible will.

The moment the words fell.

The nine spirit rings on Ghost's body finally could no longer withstand the impact of this pressure.

"Bang, bang, bang..."

Nine consecutive muffled sounds rang out.

The nine spirit rings, representing the highest combat power on the Douluo Continent, shattered into fragments across the sky under the gaze of billions of living beings across the continent.

Ghost's vision went black, and he passed out completely.

At the same time, in Spirit City, at the Pope Palace.

The vast palace was silent, so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.

Bibi Dong slumped onto the throne that symbolized supreme power, her face as pale as paper.

Her beautiful eyes were wide open, filled with disbelief, staring at the light screen in mid-air, having even forgotten to breathe.

Spirit rings!

They were the lifeblood of every spirit master on the Douluo Continent.

They were the sources of power that they had painstakingly hunted spirit beasts for in the forests, risking their lives against backlash to absorb.

It could be said that if a spirit ring shattered, a spirit master was reduced to a complete cripple.

Yet now, that old monster, who hadn't even shown his face, had merely spoken a single sentence from behind a door.

Nine Title Douluo-level spirit rings had shattered just like that, as if they were made of paper.

Qian Daoliu stood below the steps, his hands tucked into his wide sleeves, trembling incessantly.

He took a deep breath, feeling his throat ache with dryness, finding it difficult even to swallow.

"The gap is too vast..."

This peerless Douluo let out a long sigh, his straight back hunching slightly, as if he had aged ten years in an instant.

"He didn't even show his face, didn't even lift a finger."

"This kind of completely unreasonable power has long since surpassed our understanding of cultivation systems."

Yue Guan stood beside Qian Daoliu, watching his old partner pass out on the light screen, tears streaming down his face uncontrollably.

A wave of lingering fear washed over him, mingled with a profound sense of relief.

If he had been as unlucky as Ghost, teleported into the lair of such a powerful figure.

His current fate would surely be a hundred times more miserable than Ghost's.

The images on the Sky Screen continued to play slowly.

After an unknown amount of time.

Ghost slowly regained a sliver of consciousness.

His body felt as if it had fallen apart, every bone aching as if it would break through his skin.

His chest felt particularly heavy, making it hard to breathe. Any slight movement felt like a knife twisting inside him.

He struggled to open his eyes.

His vision was blurry at first, but gradually cleared.

He found himself lying face down on a fiery red jade floor.

The floor radiated an astonishing heat, burning his face and making his clothes, already soaked with sweat and then dried, cling to his skin in a wrinkled mess.

Gritting his teeth against the pain, Ghost pushed himself up with his hands, inch by inch.

What greeted his eyes was the interior of an exaggeratedly large palace.

Thick pillars lined the sides of the palace, all a dark red and carved with strange, never-before-seen flying birds.

At the front of the grand hall, nine levels of red stairs ascended.

At the very top of the stairs sat a massive Fire Lotus Throne.

On the throne sat an old man.

The old man wore a casual red robe, half his hair already white, draped loosely over his shoulders.

Deep wrinkles creased his face, making him appear ancient, as if he could die at any moment.

Yet, his eyes were terrifyingly bright.

They seemed to hold two eternally burning flames, and a single glance felt like it could ignite one's very soul.

This old man was the true master of Vermilion Bird Planet, the mighty Vermilion Bird Master!

To the left of Vermilion Bird Master stood Gan Feng, the golden-robed youth who had dragged Ghost out from behind the pillar.

And to Vermilion Bird Master's right stood a young woman.

She wore a fiery red dress with a long hem that trailed across the red jade floor.

Her skin was as white as snow, making her stand out strikingly against her red attire.

She was beautiful, with exquisite features, but an indescribable coldness emanated from her eyes, making her unapproachable.

She held a small feather fan, idly fanning herself in front of her chest, her gaze fixed on Ghost on the floor, as if observing an interesting dead object.