Ju and Ghost, the two Titled Douluos, had been crushed into the dust by a single finger.
Beneath the enormous gate, more than ten thousand people stood in utter silence.
Spirit Hall's red-robed bishops looked ashen. Supporting one another, they carried Gui Mei and Yue Guan out of the pools of blood.
Those two Titled Douluos, who normally stood so high above everyone else, could not even lift their eyelids now. Only the faint rise and fall of their chests remained.
"Go... hurry, go..."
Someone shouted first, and Spirit Hall's people hastily withdrew, supporting the half-crippled Ju and Ghost Douluos.
Sword Douluo Chen Xin released his grip on his sword hilt. He stood there for a long while, his expression complicated, then turned and entered his tent.
"Let's go. Since the [Lord of All Living Beings] has spoken, we guests should naturally obey."
Yu Yuanzhen had also lost his earlier imposing air. He looked at the finger-shaped crater, dozens of yards wide, then glanced at the sky. His throat bobbed before he finally squeezed two words through his teeth: "Go back."
Overnight, more than half the people beneath the enormous gate dispersed.
The remaining few who still clung to wishful thinking moved their tents another mile back. No one dared look up at the sky anymore, much less mention "exclusive possession."
At the cliff's edge on the Back Mountain.
Li Hanqiu slowly withdrew the All Living Beings Seal.
The azure light that had condensed the power of a single finger had already reverted to an ancient seal, obediently settling into his palm.
He held the seal close and gently blew on its surface. Looking at the three-inch [All Living Beings Seal] in his hand, he loved it more with every glance.
"This thing..." Li Hanqiu smiled faintly. "It really is