Ninth Place: Yu Tianheng, the Golden Sacred Dragon

Inside the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, Yu Tianheng sat with several clan elders, watching the Sky Screen rankings.

When they saw Yu Tianheng ranked ninth, the Third Elder slammed the table. Far from pleased, his face was full of anger:

"What kind of joke is this ranking? Our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan is one of the Upper Three Sects. Who besides Spirit Hall could possibly rank above us?"

"Third Brother, watch your words!"

The Fourth Elder hurriedly pulled the Third Elder back, urging him to calm down.

"The Sky Screen possesses power beyond anything we imagined. It wouldn't falsify a ranking like this.

"I'm afraid the Douluo Realm has quite a few hidden powers stronger than us."

"Third, you're too impulsive. Don't you understand that beyond every person stands another, and beyond every sky lies another sky?"

The First Elder gave the Third Elder a sharp rebuke, then looked back at the Sky Screen:

"The rewards are a five-level increase in Soul Power, five hundred years added to his Soul Rings, and a Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone.

"With those, Yu Tianheng will have a chance to vie for the title of strongest in the younger generation."

"True. Let's look at the rewards first."

Under the elders' expectant gazes, the writing on the Sky Screen continued to scroll.

[Rewards: All Soul Rings gain 500 years; Martial Soul evolves once.]

"Eldest Brother, there's no Soul Power Level increase this time. Isn't our ranking higher than that boy's from the Star Luo Empire?"

The Third Elder scratched his head as he read the rewards on the Sky Screen.

"Quiet!"

Before the Third Elder could finish, the First Elder had already roared and turned toward a bewildered Yu Tianheng.

"Everyone, get away from Tian Heng! Don't disturb him! All of you, outside to stand guard! And send for the clan leader at once—tell him to leave seclusion!"

"No need. I'm already here. Do as the First Elder says."

At some point, Yu Yuanzhen, leader of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, had appeared nearby. He, too, began standing guard over Yu Tianheng.

As a beam of golden light descended, Yu Tianheng felt as though he had sunk into a hot spring. Every inch of him felt wonderfully comfortable.

Then the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon appeared behind him and roared at the heavens.

"Worthy of the continent's foremost Beast Martial Soul. Its presence is impressive."

Inside Spirit Hall, several enshrined elders sat with Bibi Dong in the Worship Hall, discussing the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.

At the head of the room, Great Enshrined Qian Daoliu had finally emerged from seclusion. He held a teacup and sipped from it.

"A pity. The Martial Soul may be fine, but the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan hasn't produced a single worthy member in all these years.

"How many years has their clan leader been stuck at level ninety-five? He'll never amount to much."

A level ninety-five Titled Douluo was just one step from becoming a Super Douluo.

Such a powerhouse ranked among the very best in the entire Douluo Realm.

Yet the speaker made him sound like a disappointing child.

No one present showed the slightest surprise.

This was Spirit Hall's Worship Hall, where even the weakest member was a level ninety-six Super Douluo.

The speaker was Spirit Hall's Second Worship, Golden Crocodile Douluo.

Golden Crocodile Douluo had reached level ninety-eight, and he was even Qian Daoliu's senior.

With his strength and standing, he had every right to judge the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.

"The continent's foremost Beast Martial Soul? That's just them plastering gold on their own faces. There are plenty of Beast Martial Souls stronger than theirs."

Fourth Worship Mighty Lion Douluo spoke with undisguised disdain.

"Keep watching. Since the Sky Screen's reward is Martial Soul Evolution, that means this Martial Soul can still grow stronger.

"The more we learn about them, the easier it will be for our Soul Hunting Plan to succeed."

As soon as Bibi Dong spoke, the enshrined elders fell silent in unspoken accord.

If she had merely been the Pope, they could have ignored her.

But Great Enshrined had also given his approval to the Soul Hunting Plan.

On the Sky Screen, as golden light continued to pour into Yu Tianheng, the presence of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul behind him grew ever stronger.

Yu Yuanzhen and the First Elder stared at Yu Tianheng without blinking.

Finally, when the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon's presence reached its peak, a dazzling golden radiance erupted and swallowed Yu Tianheng whole.

At the same time, the clan's many Beast Martial Soul Masters stiffened, as though a Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast had fixed its gaze on them.

When the golden light faded, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon behind Yu Tianheng was gone.

In its place stood a fearsome dragon, golden from head to tail, its scales flashing with a metallic sheen.

"Yes, yes! It really evolved. That's the Golden Sacred Dragon!"

Feeling the pressure radiating from Yu Tianheng's new Martial Soul, the First Elder beamed with delight.

Beside him, Yu Yuanzhen finally let out a long breath.

"The Golden Sacred Dragon?"

Seeing the other elders' confused looks, the First Elder hurried to explain:

"Yes, the Golden Sacred Dragon. It appears in ancient texts as the evolved form of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul.

"Of course, our clan has records of it, but no Golden Sacred Dragon has appeared in so many years that we've all treated it as a legend.

"I never thought I'd live to see a Golden Sacred Dragon appear!"

"It's that powerful? Then what grade is the Golden Sacred Dragon Martial Soul?"

The Fourth Elder pressed him for an answer.

"According to the ancient texts, the Golden Sacred Dragon has crossed that threshold. It surpasses even top-grade Martial Souls.

"In other words, it's a legendary divine-grade Martial Soul!"

"What? A divine-grade Martial Soul!"

The entire Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan erupted in joy. Inside Spirit Hall, Mighty Lion Douluo's face fell.

He had just said their Martial Soul was nothing special, and now it had undergone a spectacular evolution. How was that fair?

Even through the Sky Screen, Mighty Lion Douluo could feel the terrifying potential within the Golden Sacred Dragon.

Why couldn't such good fortune fall into his lap?

"A Golden Sacred Dragon—and one of exceptional quality. This child's Martial Soul has surpassed the top grade and reached the divine."

Qian Daoliu set down his teacup and looked at the fearsome sacred dragon on the Sky Screen.

Sky Screen, Sky Screen, where did you come from?

With a single burst of power, you made a Martial Soul cross an entire threshold. How terrifying.

The stronger a person was, the better they understood how difficult it was for a Martial Soul to evolve.

And this time, the Sky Screen had evolved one directly to divine grade.

The gulf between top grade and divine grade was wider than the gulf between the weakest Martial Soul and a top-grade one.

Thinking back to the fluctuation in Tang Chen's Soul Power he had sensed earlier, Qian Daoliu felt a rare sense of urgency.

"Put Spirit Hall on a war footing. Be ready to launch the Soul Hunting Plan at any moment."

"Yes!"

Spirit Hall's upper ranks immediately sprang into action, while the younger generation's prodigies were still reeling from Yu Tianheng's transformation.

"Whoa, what kind of Martial Soul is that? It's so cool."

Yan stared at the fearsome Golden Sacred Dragon, drool running from the corner of his mouth.

"I want one too! If I had that Martial Soul, I'd ride it around everywhere, every single day!"