Ninth Place on the Golden Rankings Revealed!

Ma Xiaotao folded her arms.

"Joining someone else's team is too much trouble."

"Can't Xiaoya and I form our own team?"

Qian Renxue looked at her.

"I can find a way."

"But if you don't join an established academy team, you'll have to rely on yourselves."

"In the team competition, every other team will field a full lineup."

"There are only two of you."

Tang Ya said at once, "Two are enough."

Qian Renxue frowned slightly.

"The Soul Master Tournament brings together geniuses from across the continent."

"Anyone representing an academy will be at least a Soul Elder."

Tang Ya raised a slender hand.

Blue Silver Grass grew from her palm.

Five Soul Rings rose in succession.

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black.

"Level fifty-two control-type Battle Soul King, Tang Ya."

Qian Renxue's gaze sharpened.

Tang Ya looked only fifteen.

A fifteen-year-old Soul King had already surpassed the Spirit Hall Golden Generation.

Beside her, Ma Xiaotao stepped forward.

Scorching Soul Power swept across the street.

Six Soul Rings slowly revolved around her.

"Two yellow, two purple, two black."

"Level sixty-seven Power Attack System Battle Soul Emperor, Ma Xiaotao."

Qian Renxue fell silent for a moment.

Even across all of Spirit Hall, she could not find another person with talent like that.

At last, she understood why the two dared to form a team with only two members.

Ma Xiaotao withdrew her Soul Rings.

"Still think we're short on people?"

Qian Renxue shook her head.

"With your cultivation, numbers truly don't matter."

"I can arrange your entry into the tournament."

Tang Ya broke into a smile.

"Then it's settled."

"We'll form our own team!"

"I want to test Tang San's strength myself in the arena."

Heaven Dou City.

Inside a tavern.

Ye Xishui sat beside Long Yuan.

She looked up at the Golden Rankings, turning her wine cup lightly between her slender fingers.

"The Snow Empress?"

"She's the Heavenly Snow Woman Brother Long saved, isn't she?"

Long Yuan glanced at her.

Ye Xishui had not called him that in many years.

Since becoming his disciple, she had usually called him Master.

"Yes."

"That's her."

Ye Xishui leaned a little closer.

Her elegant gown hugged her waist, and her purple-red hair slipped over her shoulder.

"I remember that ten thousand years from now, the Snow Empress seemed to like Brother Long too."

Long Yuan lifted his cup.

"What makes you say that?"

"A woman knows another woman."

Ye Xishui reached out to pour him more wine.

"Her expression changed every time she saw you."

"She was simply too reserved to ever say it aloud."

Long Yuan took a sip.

"Tang Ya and Xiaotao went out to look around."

"Why didn't you go with them?"

Ye Xishui set down the wine flask.

"What is there to see in Heaven Dou City?"

"Those buildings, streets, and shops don't interest me."

She raised her eyes to Long Yuan.

"I only want to stay with Brother Long."

They were already sitting close.

Long Yuan could catch the faint fragrance of her hair.

Ye Xishui had delicate features and a tall, graceful figure.

Time had left no trace on her face. Instead, it had given her a mature allure.

Today she wore a red gown.

Beneath its hem, her legs were long and shapely, her fair skin looking even more delicate under the golden light.

Long Yuan set down his cup.

"Xishui, you're bolder than usual today."

Ye Xishui did not look away.

"Before, I always thought I had no chance."

"Master was already with Gu Yuena, so I could only hide my feelings."

Her slender hand came to rest on Long Yuan's sleeve.

"But this is ten thousand years ago."

"Gu Yuena hasn't met Master yet."

"And Master isn't with her."

"So why can't I be the first to stay by Master's side?"

Long Yuan looked at her.

"You want to use this shift in time and space to get ahead of Gu Yuena?"

Ye Xishui nodded softly.

"I do."

"Will Brother Long refuse me?"

Long Yuan did not answer at once.

Ye Xishui did not move away.

She picked up the wine cup and held it before him.

"If Brother Long won't answer, I'll take that as permission."

Long Yuan accepted the cup.

"You're getting better and better at taking a mile when given an inch."

"I've waited all these years."

Ye Xishui moved a little closer.

"If I don't take the initiative now, I'll only miss my chance again."

Their eyes met.

This time, Ye Xishui did not hide her feelings as she had before.

Just then.

High above the nine heavens, the Golden Rankings blazed with light once more.

The Snow Empress's name gradually faded.

New golden characters appeared one after another.

[Douluo Power Rankings, ninth place: Evil-Eyed Tyrant!]

[Species: Evil Eye Clan. Cultivation: 790,000 years!]

[Dwells in the Evil Demon Forest on the Sun Moon Continent and is the forest's true ruler!]

[The Evil-Eyed Tyrant possesses mental power among the strongest in the world and is known as the land Soul Beast with the greatest mental power!]

[Signature ability: Evil Eye Gaze!]

[Evil Eye Gaze attacks the Sea of Consciousness directly. An ordinary Titled Douluo's consciousness would collapse after a single strike!]

[Ultimate technique: Light of Time and Space!]

[Light of Time and Space can alter the flow of time, briefly freezing the area around its target!]

[The Evil-Eyed Tyrant will soon face its 800,000-year Soul Beast Tribulation. It must preserve its core power and cannot maintain its peak combat strength for long!]

[For these reasons, it ranks ninth on the Douluo Power Rankings!]

[Reward: one Tribulation-Transcending Pill!]

[Consuming the Tribulation-Transcending Pill allows a Soul Beast to pass one Soul Beast Tribulation unconditionally!]

[Divine artifact reward: Thousand-Eyed Golden Light!]

[Thousand-Eyed Golden Light can manifest a thousand divine eyes that release golden radiance at once, suppressing the Sea of Consciousness and binding Soul Power and movement!]

Sun Moon Continent.

Evil Demon Forest.

Countless ancient trees towered into the sky, blotting it out.

Dark red mist filled the depths of the forest.

A massive eye floated in midair.

It measured over three hundred meters across.

Its enormous pupil was dark red, and dozens of thick tentacles grew around it.

At the tip of each tentacle sat a smaller evil eye.

Waves of mental power spread from the pupil.

The entire Evil Demon Forest fell silent.

Countless evil eye Soul Beasts crouched on the ground, not daring to look up.

This was the Evil-Eyed Tyrant.

The Evil Demon Forest's sole ruler.

"I only ranked ninth?"

Its central pupil slowly contracted.

The Snow Empress had ranked tenth only with the help of the Far North's environment.

The Evil-Eyed Tyrant had believed it would at least make the top five.

Yet it had ended up only one place above the Snow Empress.

"There are eight beings stronger than me?"

The Evil-Eyed Tyrant looked toward the final lines of text.

The expression in its central pupil changed.

"What generous rewards."

"A Tribulation-Transcending Pill?"

"With this pill, I won't have to worry about my 800,000-year Soul Beast Tribulation."

Soul Beasts could not become gods through ordinary means.

Every hundred thousand years, they had to face a tribulation.

At 790,000 years of cultivation, the Evil-Eyed Tyrant had reached the limits of its lifespan and bloodline.

If it continued cultivating, it would face the 800,000-year tribulation.

If it remained where it was, its core power would still decline with time.

There was no retreat left for it.

Now, a single Tribulation-Transcending Pill had solved every problem.

Once it crossed the 800,000-year threshold, its lifespan, mental power, and core power would all rise again.