Ash to Ashes, Is This the Mortal Spirit Realm?

Zhao Hei's display of overwhelming might was broadcast clearly through the heavenly screen to every person on the Douluo Continent.

At that moment, unprecedented cheers erupted across the entire Douluo Continent!

Star Luo Empire, imperial palace hall.

Star Luo Emperor Dai Tianfeng abruptly slapped the armrest and rose to his feet, his dignified face flushed with excitement.

"Good! As expected of a soul master from my Star Luo Empire!"

Dai Tianfeng laughed loudly. "That sword cultivator from some Covering Moon Sect was probably just one of the few supreme experts in that world."

"Look at those low-level cultivators now. Before a Soul Ancestor of my Star Luo Empire, they are simply no match at all!"

"Guards, immediately send generous rewards to Zhao Hei's family!"

"As long as he survives there for half a year and brings back an opportunity, I shall guarantee him a lifetime of wealth and honor!"

The ministers below all echoed their agreement, each of them beaming with delight.

The gloom brought by Li Si's instant death was completely swept away by Zhao Hei's overwhelming counterattack.

Everyone seemed to have regained the pride and confidence that belonged to soul masters.

Balak Kingdom, Shrek Academy.

The gloom on Yu Xiaogang's face had completely vanished, replaced by a confident smile that suggested he had the entire situation under control.

With his hands clasped behind his back, he swept his gaze over the Shrek Seven Monsters before him, his tone brimming with smugness.

"Well? What did I say just now?"

Yu Xiaogang deliberately raised his voice, as though announcing to the entire world that his theories were correct.

"Li Si's death was merely due to his own carelessness and bad luck in encountering a high-level expert who happened to be passing through that world."

"Look at Zhao Hei. With only forty-second-level soul power, he was able to slaughter his way through a marketplace in that world."

Yu Xiaogang raised a finger and began analyzing the matter with apparent logic.

"What does this prove? It proves that the overall combat power of the cultivation world is extremely weak."

"Their style of fighting, which requires chanting spells and casting so-called techniques, has far too many openings."

"Before the instantaneous explosive power of our soul masters' martial soul possession, they do not even have a chance to resist!"

Hearing Yu Xiaogang's analysis, the Shrek Seven Monsters repeatedly nodded.

Dai Mubai in particular let out a sigh of relief. "So they are merely a bunch of useless fools who cast spells too slowly."

"If I were dealing with those three rogue cultivators, I would not even need to use my third soul skill."

Ma Hongjun rubbed his hands together at the side, his chubby face filled with longing.

"Hey, did you see that glowing stone Zhao Hei seized?"

"Just looking at it through the screen makes my whole body feel comfortable."

"If Fatty here got chosen and went over there to grab a pile of them, would I still have to worry about suppressing my evil fire?"

Tang San also let out a long breath of stale air. He touched the Silent Sleeve Arrow on his wrist and spoke in agreement.

"Teacher's analysis is truly incisive, every word striking at the heart of the matter."

Tang San secretly calculated to himself, That youth who flew on a sword was indeed absurdly powerful, but the entire cultivation world of mortals cannot possibly be filled with people of that level.

As long as I do not provoke any major sects, it would be absolutely easy to thrive in a marketplace like that with my hidden weapons and poisons.

And if I have the chance to come into contact with that world's cultivation techniques, then fuse their power system with my Mysterious Heaven Technique...

At that thought, Tang San's heartbeat quickened.

At this moment, the major powers across the Douluo Continent were all celebrating.

Within Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong also relaxed slightly, and the wariness in her eyes diminished considerably.

Only a small number of truly levelheaded Title Douluo still felt a faint unease in their hearts, but it was quickly drowned out by the continent-wide atmosphere of optimism.

Because Zhao Hei on the screen was living far too comfortably.

During this short day of broadcast time, Zhao Hei had relied on his strength as a four-ring Soul Ancestor to become the local tyrant of that marketplace.

Not only had he taken over the best stone house in the marketplace, he had also seized a large number of low-grade spirit stones and several basic cultivation manuals.

Those low-level rogue cultivators at the Qi Refinement stage did not dare provoke him at all. A few female cultivators of low cultivation even voluntarily stayed by Zhao Hei's side to serve him in exchange for protection.

With women in both arms, Zhao Hei ate spirit-rich beast meat from the marketplace and drank spirit wine, living as happily as an immortal.

These scenes made countless soul masters on the Douluo Continent turn red with envy, and they wished they could rush into the heavenly screen at once and take Zhao Hei's place.

Just as everyone believed that this journey into the cultivation world would be a one-sided plundering of a lower-dimensional world, that majestic voice rang out once more in the minds of everyone on the Douluo Continent.

[The third explorer's livestream perspective is ready.]

[Since the second explorer, Zhao Hei, has stabilized his survival in the human realm marketplace, a dual-stream perspective is now being activated.]

[Perspective Two locked: Elephant Armored Sect, Rank 55 Soul King, Huyan Lie.]

[Teleportation destination: Mortal Cultivation World, Spirit Realm (wilderness outside Abyssal Heaven City).]

As the announcement fell silent, the enormous light screen that had filled the sky split in two down the middle.

On the left remained the carefree scene of Zhao Hei throwing his weight around in the human realm marketplace.

Meanwhile, the screen on the right lit up with a dim, dark-red sky.

The instant the image appeared, a terrifying pressure that made people feel suffocated even through the screen left every viewer on Douluo Continent unable to breathe!

"W-Where is this place?"

Within Heaven Dou City, Ning Fengzhi clutched his chest, his face somewhat pale.

On the screen, Huyan Lie, whose burly build resembled a mountain of flesh, stood amid a dark-red wilderness.

This Rank 55 Soul King, renowned across Douluo Continent for his defenses—so formidable that even Soul Emperors struggled to break through them—now looked like a fish out of water.

He could not even summon his martial soul.

The spiritual energy density here was simply too high—so high that the strength of the spatial barrier was utterly incomparable to that of the human realm!

Simply standing there, the Spirit Realm's spatial gravity, hundreds of times stronger than the human realm's, along with its violent spiritual energy pressure, made Huyan Lie's bones crack incessantly!

"Help... help me..."

Huyan Lie's eyes widened in terror. His knees gave out, and he slammed heavily to the ground.

Yet what truly drove the people of Douluo Continent to despair was the sky before Huyan Lie.

A monstrous bird over a thousand zhang long, as massive as a mountain range, was leisurely flying overhead.

The bird did not even spare Huyan Lie on the ground a glance. A stray aftershock from one casual flap of its wings turned into a faint stream of cyan air and drifted lightly downward.

At the sight of that cyan airflow, everyone on Douluo Continent felt their scalps go numb.

On the screen, that cyan airflow drifted down.

It appeared slow, but it was actually incomparably fast, directly locking onto the space where Huyan Lie stood.

"Roar!"

At the brink of death, Huyan Lie erupted with an unprecedented will to survive.

He fiercely bit through his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood, forcibly breaking free from the terrifying pressure restraining him.

A massive phantom of a Diamond Mammoth abruptly appeared behind him, while five soul rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black—flashed in succession.

"Fifth Soul Skill, Mammoth Golden Body!"

The ten-thousand-year black soul ring shone brilliantly. Huyan Lie's muscles swelled like rock, and his body became covered in a hard, diamond-bright layer of keratin.

This was the absolute defense in which the Elephant Armored Sect took such pride.

Huyan Lie was confident that he could withstand even the full-force strike of a seven-ring Soul Sage.