The dust had settled on the sparring match at the Training Grounds, and Spirit City gradually returned to its usual order. Yet the towering waves stirred up by that clash at the pinnacle continued to spread among the continent's powers, like a boulder cast into the heart of a lake, raising ripple after overlapping ripple.
Night fell like ink. Under cover of the deep darkness, dozens of inconspicuous figures slipped quietly out of the city sheltered by golden light-they were spies planted in Spirit Hall by the various powers. Carrying accounts capable of shaking the continent, they raced off in different directions like arrows loosed from their strings, bringing word to their respective masters.
Dawn had barely broken, but the imperial study in the Heaven Dou Empire's palace was already brightly lit, candlelight casting wavering silhouettes onto the paper windows.
Xue Ye gripped the silk dispatch sent back by his spies, his knuckles whitening and even trembling slightly from the force.
The handwriting on the silk was hurried but legible, recording every collision between Qian Daoliu's and Golden Crocodile's soul skills in detail. In particular, the moment the protective barrier shattered during their final clash of Martial Soul Avatars was described as "heaven and earth changing color, as though the end of days had descended."
"Seventh Brother, see for yourself." Xue Ye handed the silk to Prince Xue Xing, his voice heavy with undisguised exhaustion and gravity.
Prince Xue Xing skimmed it hastily, his face turning deathly pale as he cried out, "A full-force clash between l-level 99 Peerless Douluos? Qian Daoliu's Six-Winged Angel has actually evolved to such a degree? And that old bastard Golden Crocodile still isn't dead-he's reached level 99 too?"
He slammed his palm onto the desk, jolting the teacup into the air and spilling tea