While battle raged in the distant starry sky, Douluo Star also met its own bloody storm.
The butcher's blade swung from the Divine Realm had already descended silently over this land.
Xiu Puluosi, the Godslayer hailed as the strongest of the Douluo God Realm's Second-Level Deities, had arrived.
"By order of His Majesty the God-King, eradicate the rebels."
The moment his low, commanding voice rang out, it exploded with the force of countless thunderbolts. Rolling waves of sound spread layer upon layer across Douluo Star's heavens, making every living creature tremble deep within.
The voice carried the oppressive weight unique to the deities of the Divine Realm, and it had come without warning.
Every living creature on the Douluo Continent was bewildered. No one knew who the "rebels" spoken of by that lofty deity were, much less why this unprovoked divine punishment had suddenly descended upon their world.
Huo Yuhao and Xiao Xiao, who had been chatting in the street, also had their conversation interrupted by the sudden roar.
Xiao Xiao tilted her little face upward, confusion written all over it. Turning toward Huo Yuhao beside her, she asked with tentative uncertainty, "Could this be the conflict you were just talking about?"
Huo Yuhao did not answer immediately. He merely nodded, his expression grave, before finally cautioning her, "The cards are on the table now. What must come will come.
"I'll go out and meet him. You and the others stay here, and whatever you do, don't act rashly. I'll be right back."
Before Xiao Xiao could even react to this sudden turn of events, Huo Yuhao turned into a streak of light and vanished.
Barely an instant later, when Huo Yuhao reappeared, he was already above the towering clouds, standing firmly in the starry void beyond Douluo Star and