As soon as he finished speaking,
the two Fatui Pyro Agents hurriedly fled the scene.
Only seconds after they had left, the Knights of Favonius came rushing over.
Jean led the group, with Barbara, Kaeya, Klee, Diluc, and numerous other Knights of Favonius in tow.
But—
by the time they arrived, all they saw were Lumine and Venti lying unconscious on the ground, along with Emergency Food frozen into a block of ice.
"Traveler!"
[Chen Fan, contestant for the Star Dou Great Forest faction, has successfully seized the Anemo Gnosis!] [Mission rating: Perfect!] [Personal reward: All of Chen Fan's Spirit Rings have increased by ten thousand years, and he has obtained the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone, the Soul-Hooking Right Arm Bone!] [Soul-Hooking Right Arm Bone: Deals additional damage to the spiritual sea of those belonging to the Douluo Continent, grants a certain damage bonus against Teyvat's inhabitants, and increases the user's resistance to elemental power!] [Faction reward: All members of the Star Dou Great Forest faction have gained a thousand years of cultivation!] [Additional faction reward: Intelligent Soul Beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest have gained an additional ten thousand years of cultivation.]
One streak of light after another shot down from the sky. At that moment, the entire Star Dou Great Forest blazed with dazzling radiance.
Because of the time difference, night had already fallen over the Douluo Continent, leaving it cloaked in darkness.
And—
since the Star Dou Great Forest lay south of the Heaven Dou Empire, north of the Star Luo Empire, and directly west of the Spirit Hall Empire,
the moment those streaks of light descended, almost the entire continent could see them clearly.
"No way. He actually managed to snatch it?"
"That was the Eighth Harbinger of the Fatui, who had beaten the god ruling Mondstadt into the dirt. He actually managed to go toe-to-toe with her and hold out for several exchanges?"
"What's that compared to what he did before? He snatched the Gnosis right out of the hands of La Signora, the very woman who had beaten a god into the dirt!"
"Stealing something from a god—if I remember right, two people from the Heaven Dou Empire already paid for that with the lives of two Titled Douluo!"
The soldiers of the three great empires were utterly shaken, while their leaders, by contrast, sat in stunned silence.
"Can someone tell me why Chen Fan appeared on the side of the Star Dou Great Forest?"
The Star Luo Empire.
From the moment the fourth stage had opened, the court had fallen into dead silence, and it had remained that way until now.
At last,
the Star Luo Emperor could no longer contain himself. He fixed the officials below with a fierce glare and demanded, "Why!?"
The ministers exchanged glances, looking from one to another, until they all chose to shut their mouths and lower their eyes to the tips of their shoes.
How were they supposed to know?
"Your Majesty!"
The Nether Duke, Zhu Xiaoxian—the father of Zhu Zhuqing and Zhu Zhuyun—cupped his hands. "Perhaps Bibi Dong cannot abide even the smallest speck of grit and drove him out of the Spirit Hall Empire faction."
"I heard earlier that Bibi Dong had shelved his coronation ceremony and sent him to the rear to sit on the bench. Perhaps, then—he didn't feel much loyalty to the Spirit Hall Empire?"
The Star Luo Emperor narrowed his eyes. "Even so, surely Bibi Dong wouldn't just let him leave so easily?"
He knew all too well what a threat the escape of a Peerless Douluo could pose to an empire.
Besides—
according to their informants in the Heaven Dou Empire, the six Enshrined who had fought for the Spirit Hall Empire at the Jialing Pass front had nearly all perished. Only the two weakest remained.
A great many of the other Titled Douluo had died as well.
In other words, the Spirit Hall Empire now had fewer than ten Titled Douluo.
Under those circumstances, there was no way they would let Chen Fan leave, was there?
The Star Luo Emperor knew Bibi Dong's character well. Even if she had killed Chen Fan herself, she would never have let him escape so easily.
"Your Majesty."
The Nether Duke spoke with pointed meaning. "Morale in the Spirit Hall Empire is low right now. Bibi Dong naturally wouldn't dare deal with him openly, so she most likely tried to take care of him in secret."
"But—"
"Your Majesty and the other lords all saw Chen Fan's strength earlier. Perhaps—that's the reason?"
At those words, nearly all the ministers snapped their heads up, their faces filled with shock!
A Peerless Douluo, holding his own against a god?
"Go investigate Chen Fan's whereabouts immediately. Win him over at any cost!"
Unlike the Star Luo Empire, the Heaven Dou Empire was focused on something else—
"The Star Dou Great Forest faction? What the hell? Isn't the Star Dou Great Forest home to nothing but the Forest King, the Titan Giant Ape?"
"Exactly. I heard the Spirit Hall Empire had already killed it. How did the Star Dou Great Forest become a faction?"
"Don't tell me Chen Fan can communicate with Soul Beasts and founded a faction in the Star Dou Great Forest?"
The Heaven Dou Empire's generals chattered among themselves, but the command tent was silent.
They knew better than anyone else!
Especially Ning Fengzhi!
The last person who dared choose Divine Might had already been reduced to a pile of ashes!
Yet Chen Fan had actually resisted a god with the strength of a Peerless Douluo—and even exchanged blows with one?
Was Chen Fan really that terrifying?
"Now that Chen Fan has that special Hundred Thousand Year right arm bone, his strength will probably be even greater."
After a long silence, Yu Xiaogang finally managed to state the obvious.
Tang Xiao, Dugu Bo, and the other Titled Douluo couldn't be bothered to acknowledge him.
"Your Majesty, perhaps we could try to bring Chen Fan into the Heaven Dou Empire faction?"
Yu Xiaogang perfectly embodied the saying, If he wasn't embarrassed, then the awkwardness belonged to everyone else. Nobody paid him any attention, but he didn't seem embarrassed at all. "He defected from the Spirit Hall Empire, so he must resent them. I think we can definitely win him over!"
Just then,
the solemn voice of the Teleportation Gate rang out once more!
[The journey through Mondstadt—the first act—has now concluded perfectly. All Douluo Continent contestants who took part in this stage will receive a Soul Bone of their choice, with an age between fifty thousand and ninety thousand years. The age of all their Spirit Rings will increase by a thousand years.] [The second act's first stage will now begin: Take part in the Rite of Descension and survive safely for three days and three nights!] [Mission type: Group mission (all factions may participate, but each faction may send no more than three people)] [This stage will begin in one day. Contestants from all Douluo Continent factions, please prepare!]
The Star Dou Great Forest, the forbidden zone.
Beast God Di Tian felt the cultivation within his body—now a staggering eight hundred and ten thousand years—and his expression turned dazed.
Before this, his cultivation had been 799,999 years.
But he was already over eight hundred thousand years old. A Soul Beast's age, note, only counted once it had consciousness and intelligence.
In truth, he might have lived much longer.
And now—
in the space of a mere moment, his cultivation had risen to eight hundred and ten thousand years, enough to equal more than ten thousand years of painstaking cultivation!
At this rate—perhaps godhood was not so far beyond his reach after all?
Before you continue