The Dragon God Returns, Revealed Across the Sky!

The Far North.

A blizzard raged across the land.

Snowflakes hung motionless in the air. The wind had stilled, and even the distant glaciers seemed frozen in place.

All creation had come to a halt.

Before a palace of ice and snow.

Long Yao sat cross-legged on an icy platform, his slender fingers resting among the strings of a zither.

He wore a black-and-gold robe. Long hair fell past his shoulders, framing a face so handsome it hardly seemed real.

His golden eyes held the depth of ages—and secrets no one could fathom.

The sound of his zither flowed through the blizzard.

With each note, the snowflakes in the air slowly turned to its rhythm.

Below the icy platform.

The Snow Empress danced barefoot upon the snow, her white dress swaying with the music.

She spun to the melody, white hair streaming behind her.

Her beautiful eyes never left Long Yao.

The music gradually faded.

The last note vanished.

The suspended snowflakes fell once more. The blizzard swept across the ice fields again, and the Far North returned to its accustomed silence.

The Snow Empress finished her dance and came to rest beside the icy platform.

She looked at Long Yao and asked:

"What just happened?"

Long Yao did not answer at once.

He raised his head toward the heavens.

A moment ago, an exceedingly faint disturbance had come from deep within the sky.

It had vanished in an instant.

Even a God King would have failed to notice it.

But Long Yao had sensed it clearly.

"Something seems to have entered Douluo Continent."

The Snow Empress followed his gaze.

The sky remained a wash of gray and white, with the blizzard obscuring her view.

She did not doubt Long Yao.

"Do you need me to investigate?"

"No."

Long Yao put away his zither and said calmly:

"It's already here."

The Snow Empress nodded gently.

She trusted Long Yao's judgment.

No one knew that Long Yao was not native to this world.

Tens of thousands of years ago, he had crossed into Douluo Continent and become the reincarnation of the Dragon God.

At the time, the Dragon God had just been hunted down by the Divine Realm.

His immense divine body had been split in two, and the Golden Dragon King and Silver Dragon King had fallen separately to Douluo Continent.

The Dragon Clan had declined ever since.

The mighty clan that had once ruled the heavens had gradually faded into obscurity over the long years.

Long Yao had inherited the Dragon God's legacy, along with the debt left by the Divine Realm's assault on him.

To evade the Divine Realm's scrutiny, he had kept his presence hidden.

Tens of thousands of years passed.

He steadily restored his cultivation, rebuilt his divine body, and reclaimed the power the Dragon God had left behind.

Now, Long Yao had returned to the peak of a God King's power.

His strength far exceeded that of an ordinary God King.

If he chose to act, even the gods of the Divine Realm together might not be able to stop him.

But Long Yao had been waiting.

Waiting for a chance to raise the Dragon Clan to greatness again.

Waiting for the moment to settle accounts with the Divine Realm once and for all.

The Dragon Clan had lain dormant for too long.

It was time for them to rise again.

Long Yao lowered his gaze to his palm.

Golden divine power flashed across it, then faded.

He looked toward the heavens and said:

"Interesting."

The next moment.

The world suddenly changed.

Above the Far North, golden light tore through the thick clouds.

An enormous golden ranking stretched across the heavens. Arcane patterns covered it, and its golden radiance illuminated all of Douluo Continent.

For now, no names appeared on the ranking.

A vast will spoke from the heavens.

"The Heavenly Dao Golden Ranking has appeared."

"Those who make the ranking shall receive rewards from the Heavenly Dao."

"Today, the ten strongest on Douluo Continent shall be ranked."

Long Yao raised his head.

Interest stirred in his golden eyes.

Just as he had thought.

What he had sensed earlier was no illusion.

The heavenly ranking had appeared.

"Interesting."

Long Yao rose from the icy platform.

He looked at the golden ranking in the sky, his expression calm.

"It seems the time has come."

The Dragon Clan had lain dormant for so long.

It was time to make this world remember their name.

Meanwhile.

At Spirit Hall.

Behind the Pope's Palace.

Mist rose slowly from a spacious bathing pool.

Bibi Dong emerged from the water.

She wore a purple robe, her damp hair clinging to her back and shoulders.

Her skin was fair and delicate. Through the mist, her long legs and slender waist formed an elegant silhouette.

She was tall and graceful, with a full figure and the allure of a mature woman.

Bibi Dong picked up a white shawl nearby and draped it over her shoulders.

She raised her head toward the golden ranking that had suddenly appeared in the sky.

Surprise flickered in her beautiful eyes.

Then delight lit her face.

"The Heavenly Dao Golden Ranking."

"The ten strongest on Douluo Continent?"

Bibi Dong watched the ranking, confidence filling her eyes.

She was now the Pope of Spirit Hall.

She possessed Twin Martial Souls, formidable strength, and an exalted position.

Across all of Douluo Continent, few could compare with her.

She certainly deserved a place on the ranking.

And not near the bottom, either.

"I should rank among the top few, at the very least."

Bibi Dong put on her outer robe and left the bathing pool.

News of the Heavenly Dao Golden Ranking soon spread across Douluo Continent.

Lines of golden text appeared across the sky.

"Is that the Heavenly Dao Golden Ranking? How amazing!"

"Surely only powerful Douluo qualify for a place on it."

"Was that Spirit Hall's Pope, Bibi Dong, speaking just now?"

"Pope Bibi Dong is incredibly powerful. She's certain to make the ranking!"

Within Spirit Hall.

Bibi Dong looked at the words in the sky, and her expression shifted slightly.

She had not expected her words to appear directly overhead.

A moment later, she regained her composure.

Such was the Heavenly Dao Golden Ranking.

Its methods were beyond her understanding.

Bibi Dong lifted her eyes to the ranking.

"I won't merely make the list."

"I'll be among the top few, at the very least."

Across Douluo Continent.

Countless Soul Masters looked up at the heavens.

Some stood in their sects' plazas.

Some stopped in city streets.

Others had been hunting Soul Beasts.

Now they all set aside what they were doing and waited for the first name to be announced.

The light on the golden ranking gathered.

A line of large golden characters slowly appeared.

[Heavenly Dao Golden Ranking: Tenth Place.]

[Bibi Dong!]

The golden characters hung in the heavens, their light shining across the continent.

Within Spirit Hall.

Bibi Dong stood before the Pope's Palace, staring up at the words.

For a moment, her expression froze.

"Tenth place?"

She possessed Twin Martial Souls, had become a Titled Douluo at a young age, and now wielded Level 98 Soul Power.

Across all of Douluo Continent, few could surpass her.

Yet the Heavenly Dao Golden Ranking had placed her tenth.

A chill flashed through Bibi Dong's eyes.

"The ranking must be wrong."

She refused to accept it.

"How could I be only tenth?"

In the Far North.

Atop the icy platform.

The Snow Empress gazed up at the sky, her white hair stirring gently in the blizzard.

"Bibi Dong is only tenth."

Long Yao sat at the edge of the icy platform, lightly tapping a zither string.

"She is strong, to be sure."

"But as she is now, she may not rank among the top few."

The Snow Empress turned to Long Yao beside her.

"Where do you think I'll rank?"

Long Yao did not answer immediately.

His gaze rested on the golden ranking, Bibi Dong's name reflected in his golden eyes.

"We'll know when the ranking reveals more."

The Snow Empress nodded gently.

She lifted a snow-white fruit from the ice platform and held it out to Long Yao.

"Eat something first."

Long Yao glanced at the fruit, then reached out and took it.

The Snow Empress sat beside him and picked up another. She lowered her head and took a small bite.

They sat side by side before the palace of ice and snow, waiting for the Heavenly Rankings to continue.