Spirit City, the Papal Palace.
Three people stood at the entrance to the Papal Palace.
One had fair skin, red lips, a slender waist, bright phoenix eyes, and a delicate, high-bridged nose. She wore a purple ceremonial gown and the Nine-Curved Purple Gold Crown, and held a staff over two meters tall. She was Bibi Dong, the Pope of Spirit Hall.
Behind Bibi Dong stood Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan in gilded light armor and Ghost Douluo Gui Mei in dark heavy armor.
As one, the three raised their heads and looked toward the sky.
"Three days. The time's almost here."
As Bibi Dong gazed at the object in the sky and murmured to herself, anticipation shone plainly on her face.
Three days earlier, a Golden Light Curtain had suddenly appeared in the sky. A string of numbers on it grew smaller with every passing second. It was clearly a countdown.
The Golden Light Curtain was extraordinary. Not only could the people of Spirit City see it, but people elsewhere across the continent could too. Every living soul could see it.
Because of its strange nature, some regarded the Golden Light Curtain as a divine miracle.
In a little while, the countdown would end.
What would happen then?
No one knew.
Countless people were curious.
At that moment, besides Bibi Dong and her two companions, many others were gazing upward at the Golden Light Curtain, waiting for the countdown to end. They included the teachers and students of Shrek Academy, the King of Slaughter in Slaughter City, the old dragon of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, Sea God Douluo and the Seven Pillar Guardians on Sea God Island, and the Sun-Moon Lord far away on Sun Moon Continent.
[00:00:03] [00:00:02] [00:00:01]
BOOM!!!
The instant the number changed from one to zero, a deafening sound rang out from the nine heavens.
It was like thunder suddenly exploding amid a spring rain, shaking everyone to the core.
Then the contents of the Golden Light Curtain began to change. The numbers gradually vanished, replaced, one by one, by words.
[The Golden Ranking appears, bestowing blessings upon all living things!] [The Golden Ranking's first ranking is the Heaven's Pride Ranking.] [Only human soul masters may enter the Heaven's Pride Ranking.] [The Heaven's Pride Ranking is divided into the Douluo Continent Prodigy Ranking and the Sun-Moon Continent Prodigy Ranking.] [Soul masters of any gender may enter. There is only one requirement: they must be under fifty years old.] [The greater a soul master's talent, the higher their rank.] [Each of the two rankings has ten places, without exception.] [Every soul master who enters a ranking will receive a brief introduction from the Golden Ranking.] [Once every soul master on both rankings has been introduced, the two will be compared. Whichever ranking boasts the greater prodigies will bring a small opportunity to the living beings of its continent, while its ranked prodigies will receive a great opportunity to defy fate. Such opportunities include, but are not limited to, Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones, Immortal Herbs, divine artifacts, secret arts, domains, and more.]
Of Bibi Dong's group of three, Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan was the first to react.
He promptly spoke to Bibi Dong, who stood before him, his face full of flattery.
"Your Holiness, with your talent for soul cultivation, you'll enter our Douluo Continent Prodigy Ranking with ease. I congratulate Your Holiness in advance on the great opportunity to defy fate that you're about to receive."
Alongside the flattery on Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan's face was a look of envy.
Immortal Herbs.
Secret arts.
Divine artifacts.
Domains.
Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones.
Every one of them was a treasure among treasures.
Unfortunately, Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan was already over fifty. Otherwise, he was certain he would have had a place on the Douluo Continent Prodigy Ranking. After all, his Martial Soul was the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, an immortal-grade medicinal herb Martial Soul!
At Yue Guan's words, the corners of Bibi Dong's mouth lifted into a smile.
The anticipation on her face grew stronger still.
In the Heaven Dou Empire, at Shrek Academy, on the balcony of the dean's office.
Two chairs stood on the spacious balcony.
In the chair on the left sat a bespectacled, middle-aged man with a hooked nose and the look of a crooked merchant. His name was Flender. He was the dean of Shrek Academy, a Soul Sage with seven Soul Rings, and was known as the Four-Eyed Cat Eagle.
In the chair on the right sat an ordinary-looking middle-aged man with a crew cut, stubble on his face, and plain black clothes. His name was Yu Xiaogang. Though not yet fifty, he was a rank twenty-nine Soul Grandmaster, nicknamed Grandmaster.
As Flender watched the words on the Golden Light Curtain overhead, he asked Yu Xiaogang a question.
"Xiao Gang, which of Shrek Academy's seven children do you think can enter the Douluo Continent Prodigy Ranking?"
Yu Xiaogang smiled and answered with confidence.
"Which of them? In my opinion, all seven! They're already exceptional, and every one of them has taken an Immortal Herb."
Yu Xiaogang was not finished with his answer.
"I don't know how the Douluo Continent Prodigy Ranking will place them, but in my eyes, leaving aside the other three who make the ranking, Xiao San comes first, Xiao Wu second, and Oscar third. The reason is simple: all three had Innate Full Soul Power."
"Even without an Immortal Herb to help them, soul masters with Innate Full Soul Power will become Titled Douluo at the very least. With Immortal Herbs, their advantage over others their age is on an entirely different plane."
"Fourth would be Ning Rongrong, and fifth Ma Hongjun. I place them there because their Martial Souls are immensely powerful. One has the Nine-Treasure Glazed Pagoda, and the other the Fire Phoenix. Both are top-tier Martial Souls."
"As for sixth and seventh, that goes without saying: Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing."
Flender nodded, clearly agreeing with Yu Xiaogang.
Suddenly, an idea flashed through Flender's mind.
He spoke again, posing Yu Xiaogang another question.
"Then, Xiao Gang, how do you think our Douluo Continent Prodigy Ranking compares to that Sun-Moon Continent Prodigy Ranking? Which is stronger?"
This time, disdain joined the confident smile on Yu Xiaogang's face. He answered with even greater certainty.
"The Douluo Continent Prodigy Ranking is stronger."
"The Sun-Moon Continent Prodigy Ranking is weaker."
In the Heaven Dou Empire, beneath the trees in the courtyard of Crown Prince Xue Qinghe's residence at the Heaven Dou Palace.
A young man stood in the shade.
He stood tall and straight, with handsome features and long, sword-shaped brows. He wore vermilion brocade threaded with gold and a gilded jade pendant at his waist. The characters Qinghe were carved into the pendant. He held a folding fan and was using it to cool himself.
The young man's name was Xue Qinghe.
He was the crown prince of the Heaven Dou Empire.
Like countless others, Xue Qinghe had fixed his gaze on the Golden Light Curtain in the sky. As he read its contents, he spoke silently to himself.
Barring any surprises, I should be first on the Douluo Continent Prodigy Ranking. I wonder who'll be first on the Sun-Moon Continent Prodigy Ranking. Are they stronger or weaker than me, and by how much?
Curiosity appeared on Xue Qinghe's face as he pondered it.
Soon, the contents of the Golden Light Curtain changed again.
This change was different from the last.
This time, a voice rang out with effortless authority.
Its words echoed across the whole of Douluo Continent.
[The two prodigy rankings?] [First, the Douluo Continent Prodigy Ranking will be revealed!] [Tenth on the Douluo Continent Prodigy Ranking: Zhu Zhuqing of Shrek Academy!]
On Sun Moon Continent, in the Sun Moon Empire's Sun Moon Imperial Palace.
A gleaming golden dragon throne stood at the far end of the palace hall.
On it sat a young man in black-and-gold dragon robes.
His name was Xu Que. He was the ruler of the Sun Moon Empire, and he was painting.
What was he painting?
Portraits of his meritorious subjects.
He had founded Lingyan Pavilion.
He had named twenty-four meritorious subjects.
Each had rendered outstanding service in the founding of the Sun Moon Empire.
The first portrait was of the Golden-Winged Great Peng, Li Yuanba.
The second was of the Hegemon of Western Chu, Xiang Yu.
The twenty-fourth portrait was of the Divine Fist Protector, Qin Qiong.
After finishing his painting and hearing the commanding voice, Xu Que smiled.
"The Douluo Continent Prodigy Ranking comes first? Fine by me. The main character usually appears last, after all."
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