Qian Lei's Summoning Gate Finally Arrived! (Please Vote! Please Send Monthly Tickets!)

Meanwhile, elsewhere...

Tianluo Star, Douluo World, Primary Examination Grounds.

The air reeked of sulfur and scorched earth. Heat waves warped the view, and beneath the gray-white virtual sky, dozens of crimson Lava Hounds formed a semicircle, low growls rumbling in their throats.

At the center of the grounds, three figures stood back-to-back.

"Qian Lei, are you done yet?" Liu Feng forced the words through gritted teeth, his White Dragon Spear held across his body, its tip trembling slightly.

He was almost completely spent. That last sweeping strike had wrung every remaining scrap of strength out of him.

"Almost, almost! Stop rushing me!" Qian Lei was drenched in sweat. He pinched the Summoning Coin in his right hand, his wrist shaking as golden flecks of light sprayed from its edges.

Lan Xuanyu stood at the front, gold and silver Blue Silver Grass winding alternately around her hands. Ice covered her left arm, while golden light flowed around her right.

She shielded the other two from the encircling pack of three hundred-year Lava Hounds and dozens of ten-year Lava Hounds, her breathing already ragged.

Boom!

Another fireball hurtled toward them.

Lan Xuanyu gritted her teeth and crossed her arms over her chest. The ice shattered, the golden light dimmed, and the blast sent her flying backward, her back about to slam into Qian Lei.

We're done for.

The same thought flashed through all three of their minds at once.

But just as Lan Xuanyu was about to collide with Qian Lei, she instinctively stretched out her left hand—the one covered in silver-patterned Blue Silver Grass—and grabbed the fading golden doorframe.

A bizarre sight unfolded.

Lan Xuanyu felt her mind blur for an instant. Something flashed deep within her eyes, that glimmer of silver piercing the depths of her pupils like a needlepoint.

A strange connection suddenly formed between her aura and the Summoning Gate.

Then the summoning was complete.

The golden doorframe abruptly expanded, and silvery-white light poured out from within.

A delicate, fair foot stepped through the gate.

Deep blue hair was tied into a ponytail behind her head. She wore a white short-sleeved shirt, and her deep blue eyes still held the bewilderment of someone who had yet to grasp what was happening.

Then she saw the pack of Lava Hounds lunging toward her, their gaping maws wide open.

"Ah!"

Dong Qianqiu screamed and thrust both hands forward.

A thick wall of ice instantly formed before her, sending the five or six ten-year Lava Hounds at the front flying backward.

She caught her breath and looked around in confusion.

"Where is this? Who are you?"

Qian Lei stared, his face brimming with excitement. "Wow, you're so pretty! Fight the enemies first, my summoned beauty! Kill all these Lava Hounds first!"

"Why should I listen to you?" Dong Qianqiu frowned.

"Because I'm your host! I'm the one who summoned you with the Summoning Gate!"

Barely had Qian Lei finished speaking when the silver gate of light, which had not yet fully closed, suddenly rippled violently again.

A tall, slender figure stepped through.

He had black hair, black eyes, and a white short-sleeved shirt, and was even better-looking than the girl before him. His expression was much calmer than Dong Qianqiu's. After emerging, he first surveyed their surroundings, then settled his gaze on the three of them with a somewhat odd expression before glancing at Qian Lei.

"You, fatty. Watch what you say, or I'll eliminate you myself."

His tone was casual, without much menace, but Qian Lei inexplicably felt a chill at the back of his neck and instinctively hunched his shoulders.

At the same time, Lan Xuanyu, Qian Lei, and Liu Feng all froze.

"But, wait... isn't the Summoning Gate only supposed to summon one? Why did two come through?" Qian Lei stammered.

Lan Xuanyu was stunned as well. Her gaze lingered on Ye Zhiqiu, then shifted to Dong Qianqiu before turning toward the gate of light, which had now vanished completely.

Dong Qianqiu visibly relaxed when she saw Ye Zhiqiu appear. She hurried to his side and said, "Ye Zhiqiu, you came over too? What is this place? How do we get back?"

Before Ye Zhiqiu could answer, Qian Lei cut in. "You'll go back when the summoning ends. This is Douluo World. I guess you're creatures from another world. You wouldn't understand even if I told you."

Dong Qianqiu looked puzzled. "Douluo World? You mean the world inside the Simulation Pod?"

At those words, Qian Lei and the other two were dumbstruck.

Lan Xuanyu looked at her in surprise. "You know about it?"

Dong Qianqiu turned toward Lan Xuanyu. As their eyes met, she briefly froze. "It was you... your aura guided me here. Not him. He's lying, isn't he?" She pointed at Qian Lei beside her.

Qian Lei immediately cried out, "No! It was me! I'm the one who summoned you!"

Dong Qianqiu said, "It wasn't you."

"The Lava Hounds are coming!" Liu Feng called out.

The three hundred-year Lava Hounds and over a dozen ten-year Lava Hounds pressed forward together, smoke swirling in their mouths as fireballs began to form.

Ye Zhiqiu glanced at them and said softly, "Let's deal with them first."

Dong Qianqiu nodded, and the two stepped forward at the same time.

Two Soul Rings, one yellow and one purple, rose from beneath each of their feet.

Two yellow hundred-year soul rings and two purple Thousand-Year Soul Rings—all four lit up at once.

Lan Xuanyu's pupils contracted slightly. "Two Two-Ring Soul Grandmasters?" she exclaimed.

The first soul ring beneath Dong Qianqiu's feet flashed, and an ice-blue spear formed in her right hand, its tip gleaming coldly. She pushed off the ground and shot forward like a streak of ice-blue light.

First Soul Skill, Ice Element Control.

She pointed her spear forward. The ice wall exploded into dozens of ice blades that shot in every direction, covering a five-meter area before her. More than half of the ten-year Lava Hounds were caught within it and dissolved into light.

At the same time, Ye Zhiqiu moved as well.

He turned his right hand over, and the Absolute Blade appeared in his palm. The long white blade traced an exceedingly faint arc of light through the air.

However, he had no intention of killing every Lava Hound in one go.

As the blade passed over the foreleg of the hundred-year Lava Hound at the front, he gave it only a light slash. The Absolute Blade was simply too sharp. Even though he used only thirty percent of his strength, it still cut a deep gash into the hound's foreleg, and red, magma-like blood poured from the wound.

The Lava Hound let out an agonized howl and collapsed, struggling but failing to get back up.

Ye Zhiqiu did not deliver a finishing blow.

He drew back his blade and retreated, pushing off the ground with his toes to glide lightly to Dong Qianqiu's left, where he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with her.

"Leave one alive. Don't kill them all." His voice was low, just loud enough for Dong Qianqiu to hear.

Dong Qianqiu paused, her spear tip faltering briefly, but she soon understood what he meant.

Although she did not know why he had said that, after fighting alongside him for so long, she had already developed the habit of doing whatever he said first and asking questions after the battle.

She did not unleash Ice Blade Storm again. Instead, she turned her spear tip, sweeping the Ice Spear through a spray of ice shards and freezing half the bodies of two charging ten-year Lava Hounds, immobilizing them without killing them.

Lan Xuanyu, Qian Lei, and Liu Feng stood behind them, watching the scene in bewilderment.

"Why aren't they... killing them all?" Liu Feng asked between breaths, gripping his White Dragon Spear.

Lan Xuanyu frowned as well but said nothing. She had seen Ye Zhiqiu's slash just now. He clearly could have cut off that hundred-year Lava Hound's head with a single stroke, but at the last moment, he had held back some of his strength, only cutting its leg and leaving the beast alive.

Qian Lei simply shouted, "Bro! Sis! What are you doing? Kill them! We'll pass once they're dead!"

That was one of his Douluo Coins!

Ye Zhiqiu ignored him and surveyed the battlefield. Only after confirming that one hundred-year Lava Hound and seven or eight ten-year Lava Hounds remained did he speak unhurriedly.

"If we kill them all, the examination will end. I have a few questions."