The sounds of fighting instantly drew attention, especially from the Titled Douluo-level experts.
"Fengzhi, something's happened over there."
Seated beside an elegant-looking middle-aged man, Chen Xin spoke to him.
"Mm."
Ning Fengzhi slowly nodded. He had noticed it too.
But this was the Heaven Dou Imperial Family's business, and they had no intention of interfering.
The members of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family exchanged glances. Many of them had noticed the disturbance over there.
Today was the Heaven Dou Empire's celebration, and delegations from the neighboring duchies and kingdoms were attending. If something went wrong, the Heaven Dou Imperial Family would lose face in a big way.
"Send someone to take a look."
Xue Ye spoke from the seat of honor at the head of the gathering.
"Yes!"
Two of the generals accepted the order.
Another dull thud rang out. Ge Long's body came to an abrupt halt, while Wei Fan staggered back more than ten meters before steadying himself.
Although Ge Long had gained the upper hand, he was still utterly horrified.
Even after he had used his sixth Soul Skill, this brat was still standing.
What the fuck!
Could five Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings really raise a Soul Master's strength to such a terrifying level?
"Seventh Soul Skill, Martial Soul Avatar!"
A resounding dragon's roar rang out, and Ge Long's body began undergoing a tremendous transformation. His limbs gradually became claws, and a thick layer of azure dragon scales completely covered his body.
In the blink of an eye, Ge Long had become an enormous azure dragon roughly nine meters long.
He had to end this quickly. If the fight continued like this, the violent commotion might throw the entire Heaven Dou Imperial Family into a panic.
Today was the Heaven Dou Imperial Family's grandest occasion. He could not bear the responsibility if anything went wrong.
The enormous dragon opened his bloody maw and spat out a mass of azure dragonfire. Its fierce, scorching aura instantly sent the surrounding air's temperature soaring.
Just then, the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud suddenly appeared. A dazzling burst of blue light erupted from it, then shot skyward and enveloped Wei Fan.
Rumble~~~
The mass of dragonfire was blocked in its entirety when it was still three meters from Wei Fan.
"The Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud?!"
Ge Long's expression changed in shock. Wasn't this the national treasure he was searching for?
Xue Ye had brought out the national treasure before. At the time, all the ministers had gathered around to study it, but none had found even a clue.
He had never imagined the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud could be used like this.
Today had truly opened his eyes!
But how had this thief learned of such a marvelous use?
He did not dwell on it. His immediate priority was to capture the thief, recover the national treasure, and report the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud's functions to Xue Ye.
That would be a major achievement for him!
The tremendous change finally made it impossible for Chen Xin and Ning Fengzhi to remain seated.
If the earlier disturbance had been a mere scuffle, a display of light on this scale was something else entirely.
"Fengzhi, there's a powerful expert over there."
"Don't rush!"
They were here as guests. If they acted without Xue Ye's instructions, wouldn't that be tantamount to saying the Heaven Dou Empire was full of useless fools?
Besides, waiting until the Heaven Dou Empire could no longer hold out before stepping in would truly demonstrate the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's importance to the empire.
Ning Rongrong's red lips parted slightly as she stared at the changes in the sky in surprise.
Could that be him?
No, no way!
How could that guy possibly be so strong?
By now, everyone was watching the changes in the sky. They could not even be bothered to look at the young women's sultry dancing onstage.
"Sect Master Ning."
Xue Ye could no longer bear it. If this continued, their celebration would not be able to proceed normally.
At this point, he could only turn to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect for help.
"Rest assured, Your Majesty!"
Before those words had even faded, Chen Xin was already riding the Seven Kill Sword through the air like wind and lightning.
"Eighth Soul Skill, Divine Dragon Transformation!"
Amid a resounding dragon's roar, the enormous azure dragon hovering in the air transformed once more.
He had now grown to well over ten meters long. At the same time, the muscles around his head abruptly bulged, light flashed in his azure slit pupils, and two azure beams shot from his eyes.
Have a taste of this big prize!
Wei Fan spoke inwardly.
He slapped both hands against the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud, pouring all his Soul Power into it at once. A dazzling beam of blue light shot skyward, painting half the sky above the Heaven Dou Imperial Family's grounds blue.
As it spun, the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud rapidly expanded to more than a hundred times its original size, and a brilliant blue beam shot from it like lightning.
Rumble~~~
The intense blue light instantly engulfed Ge Long. The next moment, his body was blasted away like a cannonball.
He crashed into the wall behind him, smashing a huge hole through it.
Wei Fan seized the opening, activated the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud's invisibility ability again, and fled into the distance.
"What happened?"
Chen Xin had only just gracefully descended from the Seven Kill Sword when he saw a bedraggled Ge Long crawling out of the rubble.
"A petty thief sneaked into the palace to steal something."
Ge Long did not reveal that the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud had been stolen. Ultimately, this was an internal matter of the Heaven Dou Empire. Today was also the empire's celebration; if he revealed what had happened, the Heaven Dou Empire would suffer a tremendous loss of face.
With a slight stir of his will, Chen Xin released his spiritual power and scanned everything within a thousand meters.
A moment later, he shook his head helplessly. "He's already gone!"
Ge Long was stunned to hear that!
He escaped?
He escaped just like that?!
Of course, he would not question Sword Douluo Chen Xin's words.
But that thief was merely a Soul King. How could he have fled so quickly?
Most importantly, that bastard had stolen their national treasure, the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud.
How was he supposed to answer for this?
Ge Long was utterly miserable!
He had clearly had a chance to capture the thief, but the sudden appearance of the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud had allowed him to escape. Most infuriating of all, Ge Long had been the one to suffer.
And the thing that had knocked him flat was their own national treasure.
What rotten fucking luck!
The Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud had sat gathering dust in the Swan Tower for so many years, yet only today had he learned its true purpose.
He did not intend to tell Xue Ye about the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud's abilities just yet. If he revealed what it could do, Xue Ye would feel its loss even more keenly, and Ge Long's guilt would increase accordingly.
Fortunately, the Royal Knights had all been outside during the battle and had not seen exactly what had happened within.
He alone knew about this!
"Who was the intruder? Did you see him?"
"He wore a mask. I didn't see his face."
"What was his Martial Soul? How strong was he?"
"A Soul... Soul King, holding a trident."
"A Soul King?"
Chen Xin lost his composure.
Although he had arrived a step too late, a Soul King could never have escaped his Spiritual Detection.
What kind of joke was this!
"He really was a Soul King!"
Ge Long was miserable too. A Soul King had escaped from his grasp.
That was a resounding slap to his face.
"He definitely wasn't a Soul King. He must have used some kind of deceptive trick."
Chen Xin spoke with absolute certainty.
He refused to believe the claim that the thief was a Soul King. The clash just now made it clear that such power was beyond anything a Soul King could unleash.
Even taking ten thousand steps back, if that thief truly was a Soul King, he absolutely could not admit it.
If word spread that a Soul King had slipped through his grasp, people would laugh their teeth out.
That old bastard Gu Rong, in particular, would surely mock him all day long from then on.
"You're right, Your Eminence. I also think he wasn't a Soul King."
Since Chen Xin had said so, Ge Long took the offered step and climbed down.
At least this would save him a little face!
"Thank you for intervening, Your Eminence. I can handle things from here."
Although Chen Xin had not actually helped him, he still had to exchange a few polite words when courtesy demanded it.
"Mm."
Chen Xin nodded lightly. With a flash of sword light, he vanished from the spot.
"Everyone, hear my order! Keep searching!"
"You must find that thief for me!"
Ge Long scratched his head as he paced in circles.
He did not believe the thief had already escaped the palace.
All he hoped for now was to recover the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud before the celebration ended.
Before you continue