Movements of All Factions

"Oh my God—! Viewers, an emergency broadcast! Unprecedented breaking news! At this very moment, in the core region of the Star Dou Great Forest, the legendary common ruler of soul beasts, the foremost of the Ten Great Ferocious Beasts, the King of Beasts who rules that vast forbidden land—the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King, Di Tian—he... he is undergoing a tribulation! A phenomenon of heaven and earth, terrifying beyond compare!"

The news Soul Tool agency closest to the forest had practically deployed its entire staff. Braving enormous risks, they set up dozens of aerial recording Soul Tools at the farthest relatively safe distance and began a live broadcast, their excitement nearly cracking their voices. The footage shook violently, yet it still clearly captured the apocalyptic scene in the distance: Nine-Colored Tribulation Clouds, dark as ink and slowly rotating, with golden, purple, and black lightning dragons darting wildly within. They covered a vast expanse of sky as far as the eye could see. Even through the screen, the heavenly might that carried both destruction and majesty was enough to make every viewer hold their breath.

The camera suddenly swung toward the forest's outskirts. What had once been a lush region filled with towering ancient trees now looked as if it had been viciously struck by an invisible giant hand of a god, forming an enormous, irregular fan-shaped zone of destruction. Great trees had either been uprooted or reduced to dust. The earth was cracked, and rocks had melted. Even more alarming was the Spirit Pagoda branch built at the forest's edge, a symbol of humanity's frontier monitoring of soul beast territory. Half of its tower had completely collapsed, while the shattered walls and ruins smoked amid the residual energy. The remaining half looked ready to fall at any moment.

A reporter tremblingly held a microphone toward a Spirit Pagoda staff member who had just been dragged out of the rubble by rescuers. His face was covered in soot and blood, and his Soul Tool uniform was tattered beyond recognition. Extreme terror still lingered in his eyes. "We... we don't know anything! The monitoring Soul Tools only had time to issue the highest-level energy overload warning, and the next second... that indescribable force crashed over us like a tsunami! It was too fast! Too sudden! The entire branch... was gone in an instant!" He grabbed the microphone, his voice hoarse and trembling with the aftermath of survival and fear of the unknown, as he asked a question that made the hearts of every ordinary viewer tighten. "Di Tian... what will he do if he succeeds? Will he think humanity invaded his territory and come destroy us? Take revenge on the human world?! Like... like in the movies?!" That final sentence inadvertently revealed the profound impact the film Battle Against the Dragon King had had on public perception.

Underneath the surface, currents surged among the major factions.

Shrek Academy, Sea God Pavilion.

Pavilion Master Yun Ming stood before an enormous floor-to-ceiling window, gazing toward the Star Dou Great Forest. Even from distant Sea God Island, the energy disturbance in that direction could faintly be sensed. His brows were tightly furrowed. His aura was as deep and still as the sea, yet it carried a rare trace of uncertainty.

"Yun Ming." Holy Spirit Douluo Ya Li silently appeared at his side. Her gentle hand lightly rested on his arm, and her eyes held the same concern.

"Ya Li, something is wrong. Very wrong." Yun Ming's voice was low, carrying the sharpness of one who saw through the world. "The Evil Soul Masters have been lurking strangely for five years without a single sign. And now Di Tian... I have never fought him directly, but according to records through the ages and my own senses, given his cultivation and bloodline strength, there should still be at least tens of thousands of years before his next true great tribulation. Could the records be wrong? Absolutely impossible." He turned to Ya Li. "The laws of heaven and earth, the tribulations of soul beasts—all have their fixed order. This tribulation... has come without reason, yet with such tremendous force. It is as if... he deliberately summoned it, or some change forcibly brought it upon him early."

Ya Li sighed softly. Faint lightning from afar reflected in her beautiful eyes. "No matter the reason, the tribulation clouds have formed, and the continent's eyes are already fixed on them. Shrek cannot remain uninvolved. Come, let us take a look. What must come must be faced." Her voice was gentle yet resolute, soothing her husband while also representing Shrek's duty to watch over the world.

Tang Sect, rooftop outside the Douluo Hall.

Deputy Hall Master Zang Xin lay in his beloved old rattan lounge chair, idly playing with a crystalline throwing knife in his hand. He looked as though he were leisurely sunbathing, but his gaze was likewise fixed toward Star Dou. He clicked his tongue, then suddenly sighed and muttered to himself in a tone that was half complaint, half contemplation. "What is this? It was just a movie that artistically embellished the scene of him getting beaten a little. Did that really irritate the old man's fragile nerves so badly that he had to make such a huge spectacle to prove his strength?" Thinking of the world-destroying Dragon God's Claw in Battle Against the Dragon King, as well as its brilliant portrayal of the Tang Sect hidden weapon Guanyin's Tears—even though the actual history was not like that—Zang Xin's mouth twitched. He had to admit that the film was indeed entertaining, and it had won the Tang Sect quite a bit of goodwill.

"Forget it." He patted his clothes, rose to his feet, and stretched. His figure beneath the sunlight carried a carefree, slightly cynical air. "If it is a blessing, it is not a disaster. If it is a disaster, there is no avoiding it. There is no reason not to watch such a show. At the very least, he is an 'old opponent'—movie version only. Let's see what kind of act this Dragon King is putting on, and what he is really up to." As soon as he finished speaking, only a patch of warm sunlight remained on the rattan chair.

Spirit Pagoda headquarters, highest observatory.

Pagoda Master Qiangu Dongfeng stood with his hands behind his back, his luxurious robes stirring slightly in the wind created by the energy disturbance. He watched the tribulation clouds, whose oppressive presence could be felt even in Mingdu. His face revealed little, but a trace of gravity and calculation flashed deep within his eyes. Vice Pagoda Master Leng Yaozhu stood half a step behind him, her expression equally solemn.

"Pagoda Master, all the major factions will surely be going. We..." Leng Yaozhu began.

Qiangu Dongfeng raised one hand, cutting off her question. His voice was calm, yet carried unquestionable decisiveness. "Whether the King of Soul Beasts succeeds or fails in his tribulation, it will profoundly affect the continent's balance, especially the relationship between Soul Spirits and soul beasts, which is closely tied to our Spirit Pagoda. We must witness it ourselves, assess the risks, and make preparations early. Come, Yaozhu. Let us see what this old dragon intends to do, and just how far... he can go." His words were filled with the desire for control and farsighted calculation of one in a high position.

War God Hall.

The First God of War, Vast Sea Douluo Chen Xinjie, had just finished a high-level meeting when the Federation's emergency orders arrived in his hands. He stood upon the highest platform of the War God Hall, his military uniform immaculate and his gaze sharp as lightning as he stared toward Star Dou. Feeling the vast heavenly might from afar, powerful enough to make even his battle intent faintly boil despite the distance, this peak powerhouse who lived for battle showed no fear. Instead, a sharp glint of delight appeared in his eyes.

"King of Soul Beasts... Di Tian..." he murmured the name, slowly clenching his hand as space faintly twisted in his palm. "The Federation wants me to 'observe'? Perfect. I have long wanted to see with my own eyes whether the legendary Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King truly deserves the title of Beast God!" Before his words had even faded, the space before him was violently torn apart by an overwhelmingly domineering force. He stepped inside and vanished into the spatial rift, heading straight for the Star Dou Great Forest. His actions were swift and decisive, fully displaying a soldier's character.

Somewhere on the continent, in an unknowable abyss of darkness—the headquarters of the Holy Spirit Cult.

There was no tension or curiosity here regarding the heavenly tribulation, only a deathly cold silence and strange concentration. From the shadows at the highest point, a hoarse voice whose gender could not be distinguished slowly sounded, carrying a hint of amused interest. "Di Tian is undergoing a tribulation? Heh... interesting. But the Dragon Clan's heavenly tribulation has limited reference value for us. The past? It has no meaning."

The owner of the voice seemed utterly unconcerned with the distant upheaval of heaven and earth. Their attention was entirely focused elsewhere. Looking downward, in the deepest part of this enormous underground structure, a huge blood pool sealed beneath layers of evil runes was bubbling away.

Within the blood pool, a Mutated Blue Silver Emperor completely unlike any other Blue Silver Grass swayed eerily. Its entire body was wrapped in dark crimson and pitch-black patterns. Every blade of grass seemed to breathe, devouring the indescribable nutrients and energy within the blood pool. Around it, countless Evil Soul Master researchers in black robes silently and fervently recorded data and adjusted the formation.

"Your task is to accelerate the research on 'it.'" The voice in the shadows rang out once more, leaving no room for doubt. "The disturbances outside have nothing to do with us. The true 'gift' requires time before it can be perfectly presented."

Central region of the Star Dou Great Forest, Eye of the Storm.

The clamor at the outskirts and the shock spreading among the various factions seemed to have nothing to do with this region. Bi Ji, Myriad Demon King, Scarlet King, Zi Ji, and Bear Lord had long since retreated to a safe area at the edge of the lightning tribulation's range. They were not idle. Each of them had activated high-precision energy collection and shielding devices that had been specially modified and disguised as ordinary protective Soul Tools. The energy of tribulation lightning, especially the power of lightning tribulation containing a trace of the laws of heaven and earth, was incomparably precious in every strand. If captured, it would hold immeasurable value for their future cultivation, Soul Tool research, and even dealing with the tribulations that might one day come for them.

Meanwhile, Demon Spirit had already escorted the not-yet-fully-recovered Huo Yuhao back safely through a prearranged secret spatial passage to the hidden room of the Rain Spirit Grilled Fish Shop in Eastsea City. At this moment, Huo Yuhao and Demon Spirit sat before a Soul Tool screen as it switched between live feeds from various news stations, closely monitoring the situation.

At the center of the storm, Di Tian stood with his head raised high. He had long since put away his human form, revealing part of his true Black Dragon body—a dragonman form over thirty meters tall, covered in heavy black dragon scales streaked with flowing Dark Gold patterns. A light sweep of his dragon tail carved deep trenches into the ground. He looked up at the Nine-Colored Tribulation Clouds descending ever lower, their pressure growing increasingly terrifying. Not only did he show no fear, but his Dark Gold dragon eyes instead blazed with incomparably fervent excitement and arrogant pride that looked down upon the world.

He could clearly sense powerful auras rapidly approaching from every direction across the continent. They stopped beyond the "safe distance" at the edge of the forest, like honored guests seated in an audience.

"Hahahaha!" Di Tian suddenly threw back his head and laughed. His dragonlike laughter pierced through the thunder about to erupt and echoed clearly between heaven and earth. Through certain secret techniques of high-level soul masters, it even faintly reached the ears of those "spectators" at the outskirts. "Quite a crowd! Friends from the human world, have you all come to watch the show? Fine! Then witness with your own eyes the might of the Dragon Clan! Witness... true power!"

His laughter was filled with exhilaration, untamed defiance, and the absolute confidence and indifference of one declaring, I undergo my tribulation here, and all of you are merely background. It was as though this heavenly tribulation that made all living beings tremble was nothing more than a grand performance for him to display his power to the world!

Rumble—!

As though utterly enraged by Di Tian's arrogance, the center of the Nine-Colored Tribulation Clouds suddenly lit up. The blinding radiance instantly overexposed every live broadcast feed! Then, a Nine-Colored Chaos Thunderbolt, impossible to describe accurately by color, as thick as a pillar supporting the heavens and seemingly filled with countless dragon-shaped bolts of lightning racing and roaring within, tore through the sky. Carrying the ultimate will of judgment and destruction, it crashed down upon the fearless black dragon silhouette below!

At the exact instant the thunderbolt descended—

Crackle—!!!

Every Soul Tool screen broadcasting the live feed, regardless of where it was located or how powerful its signal source was, was instantly disrupted by the violent energy of heaven and earth and the laws of the lightning tribulation. After the images warped violently, they all turned into blinding static and harsh electronic noise!

The signal had been cut off!

The lightning tribulation had officially begun!

And the confrontation between Di Tian and the heavenly tribulation—the truly fate-deciding, world-shaking spectacle—was no longer something ordinary technology could observe. Only supreme powerhouses present at the scene's edge could resist the residual waves with their cultivation and witness this unprecedented tribulation! At this moment, the nerves of the entire continent were stretched to their limits!