The laughter stopped abruptly, and a dark figure slowly emerged from the shadows.
The newcomer was a humanoid Giant-Toothed Shark dozens of meters tall, radiating a terrifying aura.
"But unfortunately, none of you will be leaving this place.
" Giant-Toothed Shark glared viciously at Tang San and Qian Fan, saliva dripping between his sharp teeth.
Tang San and Qian Fan stood side by side, a flicker of grim resolve in their eyes. They knew a fierce battle was inevitable. Qian Fan clenched his fists, Soul Power surging ceaselessly through his body.
Tang San released his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, preparing for battle. Giant-Toothed Shark opened his blood-red maw and lunged at Tang San.
Crackle, crackle, crackle! The palace, which had offered unobstructed passage moments before, was suddenly shrouded in an enormous bolt of lightning suffused with a purple aura of destruction.
The lightning stood like an impregnable city wall, blocking the immense Giant-Toothed Shark's path.
Faced with such terrifying heavenly lightning, Giant-Toothed Shark had no choice but to halt his ferocious assault.
He paced before the lightning net for a long time before finally giving up.
Time ticked by. After roughly a quarter of an hour, the lightning net gradually dissipated, and the scene before them returned to its original splendor, gleaming with gold and breathtaking beauty.
Giant-Toothed Shark shook his head helplessly and let out a long sigh.
"Ah... this damned lightning net has imprisoned me here for two hundred whole years! In those two hundred years, I witnessed countless changes, countless rises and falls."
His eyes held endless weariness and the weight of time, as though those long years had stripped him of his yearning for freedom.
Yet deep within his heart, an unyielding force still burned, waiting for the day he could break his shackles and regain his freedom.
Qian Fan withdrew his Martial Soul as well. Looking at the pitiful shark before him, he slowly said,
"We don't belong to this world either, but three days ago, someone named Xu Fangyuan kidnapped me and brought me here. Yesterday, he threw me into this place."
Tang San nodded beside him, affirming Qian Fan's account.
"What?! Xu Fangyuan! It was him?!"
Giant-Toothed Shark's eyes, which had already lost the spark of freedom, instantly went dull at the mention of Xu Fangyuan's name by Qian Fan. Even the Soul Power he had released receded by more than half.
Giant-Toothed Shark then transformed into human form and, from the other side of the heavenly lightning net, began telling Qian Fan and Tang San about the past.
"Ah, two hundred years ago, I had only just broken through to the Transcendent God Realm and was preparing to enter seclusion to stabilize my cultivation.
I never expected those shameless beasts on land to take advantage of my seclusion and send their armies against my territory. That war lasted at least three full days and nights, with screams ringing endlessly in the air. By the time I emerged..."
When I saw the scene before me, the bodies of my kin lay scattered every which way in front of the great hall. The storerooms, once piled high with treasures, had been plundered bare.
Not a single member of my clan remained alive, apart from the gifted prodigies who had gone to compete in the Celestial God Tournament.
Even my wife-the gentle, kind woman with whom I had shared countless wonderful moments-had been brutally slain in her own palace.
At this point, Giant-Toothed Shark could no longer suppress his grief and rage. He clutched a nearby pole, his body trembling uncontrollably as tears poured from his eyes like water through a broken dam.
Qian Fan could not help being moved, his heart filling with sympathy and pity.
Giant-Toothed Shark was truly so pitiful!
Tang San released his Blue Silver Grass, instantly illuminating everything around them. Giant-Toothed Shark's voice rang out again.
"I had gone mad by then. Starting from what is now the Asentaya Trench, I massacred every village along my path with merciless brutality. No one could stop me. Those wretched humans could not withstand a single blow from me.
When I reached the twenty-eighth city in my slaughter, a human named Xu Fangyuan appeared. He had only just broken through to supergod second tier, but against me, who had used a secret art to forcibly raise my cultivation to supergod third tier,
Xu Fangyuan's Star Martial Soul displayed astonishing power, beating me until I could not even fight back.
In the end, I was gravely wounded and nearly sent to the Yellow Springs. Yet Xu Fangyuan did not kill me. Instead, he brought the finest physician of that era to treat me and entrusted me with guarding what is now the Atlantis Secret Realm.
But all that really meant was that I was imprisoned here, and my cultivation was permanently sealed at... supergod second tier."
Meanwhile,
Seven Star Domain
Xu Fangyuan was subjected to a blistering scolding from his granddaughter, Xu Yuan'er.
"Grandpa! How could you do something like that? You actually drove Brother Qian Fan away!
You've gone too far! If you can't bring Brother Qian Fan back within twenty days, I'll run away from home and look for him myself! Hmph!"
Xu Yuan'er's eyes were wide, her face full of anger and dissatisfaction.
She clenched both fists and leaned forward, as though determined to argue with her grandfather to the bitter end.
Xu Fangyuan, standing opposite her, looked rather helpless and embarrassed. He lowered his gaze to the ground, apparently considering how to answer his granddaughter's accusations.
Tension hung in the air. Xu Fangyuan knew he was in the wrong, yet he did not know how to explain his decision to his granddaughter.
He inwardly lamented that the girl was growing more willful by the day. Yet faced with her resolute attitude, he also realized how serious the problem was.
After all, Xu Yuan'er had always been someone who stood by her word. If she truly ran away from home, it would likely cause even more trouble.
Xu Fangyuan took a deep breath, trying to soothe his granddaughter's anger.
He said gently, "Yuan'er, calm down first. Will you listen while Grandpa explains?"
Xu Yuan'er snorted coldly, refusing to accept that.
She continued glaring at her grandfather, waiting for a reasonable explanation. Seeing this, Xu Fangyuan could only steel himself and continue.
"It's not as simple as you think. Grandpa has his difficulties too..."
He began explaining why he had sent Qian Fan away, hoping to gain his granddaughter's understanding.
But Xu Yuan'er would not listen at all. She interrupted her grandfather and shouted,
"I don't care what difficulties you have! I just want Brother Qian Fan back! Nothing else matters to me!"
With that, she turned and ran back to her room, slamming the door with a bang.
Xu Fangyuan stared at the tightly shut door and shook his head helplessly.
"Yuan'er, that fellow harbors secrets even I cannot see through. All I can do now is raise that boy Qian Fan's strength as quickly as possible, so that in the future, when-they-attack, our Seven Star Domain will have a slim chance of survival..."
Before you continue