Douluo Continent, Pope Palace.
Watching Ghost Elder's clean, decisive concealment on the screen, Bibi Dong felt some of the tension leave her heart.
She leaned forward slightly, her beautiful eyes fixed on the screen.
Qian Daoliu, standing in the middle of the hall, also nodded faintly.
"Ghost Elder's concealment technique truly is peerless on Douluo Continent."
Qian Daoliu stroked his beard and gave a very fair assessment.
"He completely melded his own dark attribute with the surrounding shadows, even suppressing his Soul Power fluctuations to the bare minimum."
"As long as he doesn't take the initiative to attack, he should be able to lie low in this unfamiliar place for a while without trouble."
Hearing the Great Enshrined's praise, the other Spirit Hall elders in the hall also breathed a sigh of relief.
Everyone thought that as long as he hid well enough, no matter how powerful the people of the Renegade Immortal World were, they couldn't simply conjure someone out of thin air.
However, before the people of Douluo Continent could catch their breath.
A steady set of footsteps suddenly sounded from the scene on the Sky Screen.
Ghost Elder hid in the shadow of a jade pillar, holding even his breath.
He peered carefully through the edge of the shadow.
He saw two young men emerge from a great hall at the far end of the plaza.
The young man in front wore a dark gold robe embroidered with a red-winged firebird, poised to take flight.
He had sharp brows and bright eyes, and was exceptionally handsome, with an innate air of arrogance between his brows.
Half a step behind him was a round-faced young man dressed in a red Daoist robe.
The two chatted as they walked.
"Senior Brother Gan Feng, has Master been in seclusion for a full six months now?"
The round-faced young man trailed half a step behind, his voice tinged with ingratiation.
The young man in the golden robe, addressed as Gan Feng, raised his chin slightly and clasped his hands behind his back.
"Master's realm is beyond you and me to fathom."
Gan Feng's voice echoed across the empty plaza, brimming with unconcealed fervor.
"Master is the ruler of Vermilion Bird Planet, and the inheritor of the Vermilion Bird Master lineage through the generations."
"Every time he enters seclusion, it is to comprehend the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth."
"Once Master emerges from seclusion this time, the renown of Vermilion Bird Mountain will once again shake the entire cultivation planet!"
Hearing this conversation.
Hidden in the shadows, Ghost Elder felt the blood in his veins nearly freeze.
"Vermilion Bird Planet... Vermilion Bird Master..."
Ghost Elder turned the two names over and over in his mind, and a profound sense of helplessness welled up inside him.
He didn't understand what a cultivation planet was.
But he understood the weight behind the word "ruler."
This enormous palace complex was actually the domain of this world's supreme ruler!
Was his luck good or bad?
He'd been teleported straight into the lair of the highest authority in the land!
Just as Ghost Elder was filled with dread, praying that the two young men would hurry past.
Gan Feng, walking in front, suddenly stopped.
He halted barely a dozen meters from the jade pillar where Ghost Elder was hiding.
Gan Feng frowned, a flicker of confusion crossing his otherwise calm eyes.
"Senior Brother, what's wrong?" the round-faced young man asked, puzzled.
Gan Feng gave a cold laugh.
"The upkeep of the formations on Vermilion Bird Mountain has grown more and more lax."
Gan Feng raised his right hand and casually pointed at the jade pillar.
"Even a little rat with no spiritual energy sneaks in, and the disciples patrolling the mountain don't notice."
At those words.
Ghost Elder's mind went "buzz," as if someone had smashed it with a giant hammer.
He'd been discovered?
How was that possible!
He hadn't leaked even a trace of Soul Power. How had the other man detected him from so far away?
Before Ghost Elder could figure it out.
Gan Feng had already made his move.
He didn't even bother forming any unnecessary hand seals. He simply reached toward the shadow and made a grabbing motion in the air.
"Come out."
With a calm rebuke.
Ghost Elder felt the air around him solidify in an instant.
An irresistible, tremendous suction force pierced straight through his Martial Soul defenses and seized his body.
His prized ability to transform into shadow was as flimsy as a layer of window paper before that force.
"Riiip!"
With the sound of tearing air.
Ghost Elder was forced out of the shadows and sent flying.
He tumbled twice through the air before crashing awkwardly onto the red jade tiles at Gan Feng's feet.
Douluo Continent.
The air in Pope Palace froze in an instant.
Bibi Dong sprang to her feet, her scepter striking the floor with a sharp clang.
"That's impossible!"
Bibi Dong cried out.
Qian Daoliu's eyes widened too, his face full of disbelief.
They'd just been praising Ghost Elder's concealment as peerless under heaven.
Yet some young disciple who'd merely happened to pass by had casually raised a hand and plucked Ghost Elder out like a chick, barely even bothering to look.
It had happened so fast that no one had time to react.
On the field at Shrek Academy, Tang San drew in a sharp breath.
He realized his estimate of the Renegade Immortal World's strength had once again been wildly off the mark.
"That young man named Gan Feng is only a disciple..."
Tang San's voice sounded dry.
"A disciple could break the Martial Soul Avatar of a ninety-fifth-level Titled Douluo from a distance."
"Then just how absurdly powerful must their Master be, the one they call the ruler of a planet?"
On the plaza at Vermilion Bird Mountain.
Ghost Elder crashed to the ground, but ignoring his pain, he instinctively tried to fight back.
"Ninth Soul Skill! Hellish Specter!"
He roared. The nine Soul Rings at his feet lit up, and black mist surged wildly.
Countless pale arms burst out of the ground, clawing at Gan Feng and the round-faced young man.
Faced with the desperate strike of a Titled Douluo.
Gan Feng barely even lifted an eyelid.
He even yawned, looking bored.
"Crude mortal techniques. They can't even borrow a trace of the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth."
Gan Feng shook his head, his eyes full of contempt.
Seeing this, the round-faced young man beside him immediately stepped forward, eager to show off in front of his senior brother.
"Take a rest, Senior Brother. This kind of third-rate trash is beneath you. Leave him to your junior brother."
The round-faced young man gave a cold snort and lightly stamped his right foot on the ground.
A ring of visible red ripples instantly spread outward from his foot.
The pale arms that had burst from the ground touched the red ripples and sizzled as if ice had fallen into boiling oil, dissolving into wisps of green smoke.
Ghost Elder's strongest attack hadn't even touched their clothes before it was crushed with a single stomp.
The red ripples continued onward without slowing, crashing straight into Ghost Elder's chest.
"Pfft!"
Ghost Elder spat out a great mouthful of blood and flew backward like a kite with its string snapped, smashing hard into the jade pillar behind him.
Under the force of the terrifying impact, the nine Soul Rings around him let out a series of strained cracks, their surfaces covered in fine fissures.
"You..."
Ghost Elder collapsed on the ground, clutching his chest, despair and fear written all over his eyes.
He was a Titled Douluo!
A powerhouse standing at the pinnacle of Douluo Continent!
Yet before this round-faced young man, he couldn't even fight back!
The round-faced young man dusted off his hands and slowly approached Ghost Elder, looking down at him from above.
"There isn't the slightest trace of spiritual energy in you, and your cultivation system is strange as well."
The round-faced young man stroked his chin, as if sizing up an unusual toy.
"Still, your concealment technique is a little interesting. If we feed you to the spirit beasts guarding the mountain, you might give them a bit of amusement."
Hearing that he was going to be fed to spirit beasts, Ghost Elder shuddered all over.
He struggled to get up and beg for mercy.
Just then, the temperature across Vermilion Bird Mountain suddenly soared without warning.
The originally dark red sky turned a glaring scarlet in an instant.
The fire-attribute energy in the air grew violently turbulent, as if it could catch fire at any moment.
Gan Feng and the round-faced young man's expressions changed dramatically.
They stopped paying attention to Ghost Elder, immediately turned around, and knelt respectfully toward the depths of the great hall.
"Your disciples welcome you out of seclusion, Master!"
Their voices rang out, brimming with heartfelt reverence.
Collapsed on the ground, Ghost Elder felt an indescribable, terrifying pressure bearing down on his back like ten thousand mountains.
He couldn't even lift his head. He could only stare fixedly at the red jade tiles before him.
"Tap, tap..."
A steady set of footsteps came from the depths of the great hall.
The footsteps weren't heavy, but each step seemed to land on Ghost Elder's heart, making it harder and harder for him to breathe.
Then an aged voice, imbued with supreme authority, slowly rang across the empty plaza.
"Gan Feng, bring that little bug inside."
The voice wasn't loud, but it carried an unyielding will.
The instant the words fell.
The nine Soul Rings around Ghost Elder finally buckled under the pressure.
"Bang, bang, bang..."
Nine muffled booms in succession.
The nine Soul Rings that represented the highest combat power on Douluo Continent burst into countless fragments under the gaze of the hundred billion living beings across the continent.
Ghost Elder's vision went black, and he passed out completely.
At the same time, in Pope Palace, Spirit City.
The enormous hall was utterly silent. It was so quiet that the sound of a needle falling to the floor would have carried clearly.
Bibi Dong had slumped onto the papal throne, which symbolized the highest authority, her face as white as paper.
Her beautiful eyes were wide with disbelief as she stared at the Sky Screen hanging in midair, forgetting even to breathe.
Soul Rings!
They were the lifeblood of every Soul Master on Douluo Continent.
They were the source of power Soul Masters painstakingly absorbed into their bodies after hunting Soul Beasts in the forest, risking death from the danger of being overwhelmed by the beasts' power.
It was no exaggeration to say that when a Soul Ring shattered, a Soul Master became a complete cripple.
And yet now, that old monster who hadn't even shown his face had merely said a few words from behind a door.
Nine Soul Rings at the Titled Douluo level had burst apart just like paper.
Qian Daoliu stood beneath the steps, his hands tucked into his wide sleeves, trembling nonstop.
He drew a deep breath. His throat felt painfully dry, and even swallowing was a struggle.
"The gap is too great..."
The Peerless Douluo let out a long sigh, his straight back drooping slightly as though he'd aged ten years in an instant.
"He hasn't even shown his face or lifted a finger."
"This kind of utterly unreasonable power has long surpassed our understanding of cultivation."
Yue Guan stood beside Qian Daoliu. Watching his old partner unconscious on the screen, he couldn't stop the tears from streaming down his face.
He felt a rush of lingering fear, but at the same time, a deep sense of relief welled up inside him.
If, back then, he'd been as unlucky as Gui Mei and been transported to the lair of some great bigshot like this...
His fate now would surely have been a hundred times more miserable than Gui Mei's.
The images on the Sky Screen continued to play, slowly.
Who knew how much time had passed?
Gui Mei slowly regained a little awareness.
His body felt as if it had been smashed to pieces, every bone aching from the inside out.
His chest was especially bad. The pressure made it hard to breathe, and even the slightest movement felt like someone was twisting a knife inside him.
He struggled to open his eyes.
His vision was blurry at first, but gradually cleared.
He realized he was lying face down on a floor of fiery-red jade.
Wave after wave of scorching heat rose from the floor, stinging his face. His clothes had long since been soaked through with sweat, dried by the heat, and left crumpled against his skin.
Gui Mei gritted his teeth against the pain and pressed both hands to the ground, slowly lifting his head inch by inch.
What met his eyes was the inside of a palace on a staggering scale.
Thick pillars stood on either side of the palace, their surfaces a dark red, carved with strange flying creatures he had never seen before.
At the very front of the great hall stood nine red steps.
At the top of the steps sat a colossal Fire Lotus Throne.
An old man sat upon it.
He wore a casual red robe, and half his hair had turned white, hanging loosely over his shoulders.
Deep wrinkles scored his face. He looked ancient, as though he might die of old age at any moment.
But his eyes shone with a frightening brightness.
It was as if two flames that could never burn out were hidden in those eyes. Just one look from him made Gui Mei feel that even his soul would be set alight.
This old man was the true ruler of Vermilion Bird Planet, the mighty Vermilion Bird Master!
Standing to Vermilion Bird Master's left was the golden-robed young man who had dragged Gui Mei out from behind the pillar earlier: Gan Feng.
And standing to his right was a young woman.
She wore a fiery-red gown, its long hem trailing across the red jade floor.
Her skin was as white as snow, and against her red gown, it stood out all the more.
She was beautiful, with delicate features, but a chill lingered between her brows and eyes, making people afraid to approach her.
She held a small feather fan, lazily fanning herself in front of her chest. Her gaze rested on Gui Mei on the floor, as if he were some amusing dead thing.