Divine Punishment

The air at the scene suddenly grew taut.

Raiden Ei did not turn around, nor did she even raise her eyes to look at the people beside her.

Her gaze was lowered, fixed on some nameless void. It was as though all sounds and all existence around her had already been annihilated, unable to stir the slightest ripple in her deep violet eyes.

Yet a soundless pressure had already spread like a tide.

The air seemed to freeze, then was torn apart with brute force.

The arcs of electricity that had merely lingered around Raiden Ei suddenly broke free, surging into the sky.

At almost the exact moment the electric arcs around her reached their peak and began to hum, a deep, thunderous answer came from the horizon.

Lead-gray clouds swallowed the azure sky at a visible speed. In an instant, boundless dark clouds completely blanketed the heavens.

The attack Qian Qizhou had launched earlier relied on the remnants of Ei's power left within him, combined with his own strength, so its might had been limited.

But this time, she was wielding her own power. Even if only a projection of her was present, it was far more terrifying than before.

The difference was plain from the strange phenomenon alone. The dark clouds hung so heavily they seemed ready to crush the mountains, and their breadth and depth far surpassed the spectacle Qian Qizhou had summoned earlier.

The clouds spun wildly, forming an enormous vortex.

Gathering within that vortex was a heavenly might powerful enough to make all creation tremble.

Qian Daoliu could clearly feel the powerful energy surging through Ei's body, compressing like thunderclouds building before a storm.

Qian Xunji forced down the turmoil in his heart, shifted his gaze from the sky, and looked at Qian Qizhou, unconscious and supported by Ei.

His Adam's apple bobbed. His voice carried a faint, almost imperceptible rasp. "Your divine might is unfathomable. If you wish to take him, you may simply leave."

When he had finished speaking, deathly silence fell around them. Only the muffled rumble of thunderclouds rolling overhead and the suffocating pressure remained.

Just as the oppressive silence seemed ready to crush everyone, Qian Daoliu slowly stepped forward.

The aura he had kept restrained abruptly soared. His vast, boundless golden Soul Power surged out like a tide, forming a solid barrier that barely held Ei's pressure at bay.

Ei did not look at Qian Daoliu. She glanced at Qian Xunji and spoke indifferently. "If you brought him into the world but never raised him, why pretend to care?"

"He has made his own choice. No one else needs to interfere."

As her words fell, she casually raised her free hand and lightly swept a slender finger toward Qian Xunji.

There was no incantation, no buildup, not even any unnecessary movement.

High above, the heart of the violent thundercloud vortex suddenly blazed with blinding light.

A thick purple pillar of lightning, so immense it stole the breath, tore through the sky like divine punishment and plunged straight down!

It moved faster than sound. Almost the instant her finger swept through the air, that destructive radiance was upon Qian Xunji.

Qian Xunji's pupils contracted. The shadow of death engulfed him in an instant.

With a hoarse roar, he desperately unleashed his Martial Soul. His dazzling Soul Rings lit up wildly, and the Angel Phantom hurriedly shielded him.

Just as the destructive pillar of lightning was about to swallow Qian Xunji whole, two shrill cries rang out at once.

"His Holiness the Pope!"

Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo hurriedly flew over, releasing their Martial Souls to help Qian Xunji withstand the attack.

But in an instant, the pure, overwhelming might of heaven and earth descended.

"Pfft—!"

The two Douluo spewed blood at the same time and were flung backward even faster than they had come. Their bodies were charred black as they slammed heavily into the ground, their lives hanging in the balance.

The ground where Qian Xunji had stood was now scorched and molten, with searing smoke rising from it.

He had been blasted dozens of meters away, crashing heavily into the ruins.

His clothes were torn to shreds. Much of his skin had been charred and carbonized, filling the air with a pungent, burnt stench. He looked like a dead branch scorched by raging flames; only his faintly twitching body showed that he was still alive.

It had all happened too quickly.

The several Enshrined Elders behind them finally recovered from their utter shock.

"Outrageous!"

"Protect the Pope!"

Golden Crocodile Douluo roared, and the enormous phantom of the Golden Crocodile King surged into the sky. The other Enshrined Elders also raised their Soul Power to its limit without hesitation.

Along with Qian Daoliu, who had suppressed his shock and driven his vast Soul Power to its peak, they gathered all their strength in that instant, sparing no cost.

Even so, they could only just barely form a wavering Soul Power barrier beneath that irresistible heavenly might.

"Rumble—!!!"

The pillar of lightning slammed into the barrier.

The indescribable crash burst everyone's eardrums. Blood seeped from their ears.

The Soul Power barrier twisted violently, flickering in and out. Spiderweb-like cracks instantly spread across it, as if it would collapse completely the next moment.

Every Titled Douluo supporting the barrier turned deathly pale, their bodies trembling violently. Those with weaker cultivation even spat blood, their Soul Rings dimming.

Together, they had only barely managed to withstand the aftermath of that single strike...

Ei slowly lowered her hand. The electric arcs around her and the thunderclouds roaring overhead had not weakened in the slightest.

At last, she raised her eyes. For the first time, those deep violet eyes truly swept over the people facing her in battle readiness. Wherever her gaze fell, even Qian Daoliu felt his soul shudder.

They had actually managed to withstand her attack. It seemed this projection could only unleash a limited amount of her power.

Still, it was not her place to pass judgment. The story's conclusion should be written by its protagonist.

She turned her gaze away from Qian Daoliu and the others, letting it fall once more on the unconscious Qian Qizhou.

Even with her power, he was still only a six-year-old child. His body was too frail to withstand such an excessive burden of energy.

If he did not receive proper treatment soon...

Ei casually raised her hand and lightly swept it through the space before her.

"Rip!"

A dark violet rift appeared out of thin air. Without the slightest hesitation, she took Qian Qizhou with her and stepped into it.

Then the spatial rift began to close rapidly. The lightning faded, as if it had never appeared.

Just as the rift was about to vanish completely, Guang Ling seemed to come to his senses and blurted out, "Where are you taking Xiao Zhou?!"

But it was obvious he would get no answer.

The terrifying thunderclouds that had pressed down on everyone vanished quietly from the sky like an illusion, revealing the heavens as they had been before. It was as if the world-shattering pressure of moments ago had been nothing but a nightmare.

Golden Crocodile Douluo watched the spatial rift disappear and the thunderclouds disperse. After a long while, he let out a heavy sigh.

The surging Soul Power around him slowly subsided, but his body remained tense.

He turned to Qian Daoliu, whose expression was gravely solemn, shock still lingering in his eyes, and asked with a troubled look, "That person just now..."

He had never felt such suffocating pressure, not even when facing the three Peerless Douluo at the height of their power.