The Spirit Hall dungeon.
A heavy stench of urine permeated the air, making one wonder what torments the imprisoned criminals had to endure every day.
At night, strange sounds often drifted out of this place.
Here, time seemed to slow to an unbearable crawl, every second passing in an endless wait that left Grandmaster in agony.
There were no lamps in the cell, only pitch darkness. No sky, no ground, no people could be seen; rats, cockroaches, and geckos crawled about in the night. All his life, Grandmaster had feared neither wolves nor tigers. What he feared were those little "rats" that would suddenly grow hard in the darkness.
At that moment, Grandmaster lay in a corner of the dungeon, his eyes vacant and his body reeking of urine. A full twenty-four hours had passed since he had been locked in this prison. Heaven only knew how he had survived them.
During that time, he had suffered inhuman torment at the hands of over a hundred death-row prisoners.
Meanwhile, the finals of the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament being held outside were drawing to a close. Spirit Hall Academy had suffered a crushing defeat, and after a brief period of recovery, the people from the Pope's Hall helped them away.
Only Jia Nan Academy remained in the square.
Pride shone on the faces of Xiao Yan and the others. They were the champions, the final champions.
Pope Bibi Dong and all the Titled Douluos rose to their feet. Glancing at Qian Renxue out of the corner of her eye, Bibi Dong announced with a seemingly calm expression, "The champions of this year's All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Elite Tournament are Jia Nan Academy. Congratulations, gifted young soul masters."
The moment she finished speaking, cheers surged across the square before