Prince Xue Xing looked toward the Sky Screen and was the first to break the silence.
"Your Majesty, Bibi Dong was already a Peerless Douluo."
"After she receives these rewards, Spirit Hall's strength will surely rise again."
"The Heaven Dou Empire needs to prepare early."
Xue Ye naturally understood the reasoning.
But against a Bibi Dong who was about to become a god, ordinary measures would no longer be of much use.
Spirit Hall had the greatest number of Soul Masters on the continent.
The two empires could rely on their armies and territories to maintain a balance, but they could not withstand a god-level powerhouse.
More importantly, these were only the rewards for tenth place.
The nine ahead of her would surely receive even more precious things.
Xue Ye spoke slowly:
"Send people to investigate every powerhouse on the ranking immediately."
"No matter which faction they come from, do everything possible to befriend them."
A minister hurriedly asked:
"What if they have close ties to Spirit Hall?"
Xue Ye looked at him.
"Send gifts all the same."
"The Heavenly Dao Ranking has appeared. The old state of affairs should change as well."
The Star Luo Empire's imperial palace.
Dai Tianfeng made a similar decision.
The Star Luo Empire revered strength.
Thus, they understood the influence a top powerhouse could exert even better than the Heaven Dou Empire did.
A Titled Douluo could protect a clan.
A Peerless Douluo could determine the course of a war.
As for a true god, one was already powerful enough to subdue an empire.
Dai Tianfeng stood before the palace, looking at the Rakshasa Demon Halberd in Bibi Dong's hand.
"Everyone on the Powerhouse Ranking is worth winning over for the Star Luo Empire."
"Tenth place alone receives a divine weapon."
"If we can establish ties with the powerhouses at the top of the ranking, it will be worth any price."
An imperial court retainer immediately bowed and accepted the order.
The Clear Sky Sect.
Before the mountain gates that had been sealed for years, the elders gathered.
Tang Xiao stood at the very front, his broad palm resting on the stone railing.
The gazes of the elders behind him remained fixed on the Million-Year Soul Ring.
The seventh elder spoke first:
"Rewards like these actually went to Spirit Hall's Supreme Pontiff."
"If they had fallen into the Clear Sky Sect's hands, would our sect ever have had to seal its gates?"
The second elder looked at the Rakshasa Demon Halberd, making no attempt to conceal the envy in his eyes.
"A divine weapon can bring a qualitative transformation to a Peerless Douluo's combat strength."
"And a Million-Year Soul Ring is utterly unheard of."
"If we obtained even one of these rewards, the Clear Sky Sect would have the confidence to emerge into the world again."
At the mention of emerging again, all the elders present fell silent.
A moment later, an elder let out a long sigh.
"If only Lord Tang Chen were still alive."
"With Lord Tang Chen's strength, he would surely make the Powerhouse Ranking."
"Once he received the Heavenly Dao's rewards, the Clear Sky Sect could return to the pinnacle of the continent."
Tang Chen.
The name changed the look in everyone's eyes.
He was the Clear Sky Sect's previous sect master.
He was also the most powerful figure in the Clear Sky Sect's history.
A Level 99 Peerless Douluo.
With his Clear Sky Hammer, Tang Chen had once stood at the pinnacle of the entire Soul Master World.
But he had been missing for years.
No one knew where Tang Chen had gone.
Much less whether he was still alive.
Tang Xiao raised his head and gazed at the Sky Screen.
"Grandfather wouldn't die."
All the elders looked at him.
Tang Xiao continued:
"I've always had a feeling that Grandfather is still alive somewhere on the Douluo Continent."
"Perhaps something has trapped him, preventing him from returning to the sect all this time."
The seventh elder immediately pressed him:
"Sect Master, are you saying Lord Tang Chen might appear on the ranking?"
Tang Xiao did not give a definite answer.
"We'll know if we keep watching."
The elders turned their gazes back toward the Sky Screen.
The anticipation in their eyes grew ever stronger.
Heaven Dou City.
Inside the hotel where the Shrek group was temporarily staying.
Ma Hongjun looked at the three rewards on the Sky Screen, envy practically spilling from his face.
"A Million-Year Soul Ring!"
"Why couldn't this ranking have appeared a few decades later?"
"Give me time to cultivate, and I'll definitely become a Titled Douluo too!"
Oscar glanced at him.
"Figure out how to break through to Soul Ancestor first."
Ma Hongjun immediately retorted:
"I'm just young."
"Once I grow up, I'll join the ranks of the continent's powerhouses too."
Dai Mubai braced both hands on the windowsill.
Although he said nothing, his gaze remained fixed on the Rakshasa Demon Halberd.
A divine weapon.
Who wouldn't want one?
For a Battle Soul Master, a powerful divine weapon was enough to raise their strength by several tiers.
The Shrek Seven Devils were called monsters.
Every one of them believed they possessed talent far beyond that of ordinary Soul Masters.
Given enough time, it was not impossible for them to make the Powerhouse Ranking.
Yet the ranking had descended at precisely this moment.
They could only watch helplessly as those renowned powerhouses received rewards.
The more Ma Hongjun thought about it, the more disgruntled he became.
"The Heavenly Dao is unfair!"
"Bibi Dong is already at Level 99, yet it still gives her a Million-Year Soul Ring and a divine weapon."
"Wouldn't these rewards be put to better use if they were given to us?"
Xiao Wu sat to one side, not arguing as she usually did.
The words "Million-Year Soul Ring" kept her from calming down.
Tang San looked at the Sky Screen, an intense longing rising in his heart as well.
He possessed twin martial souls.
If Bibi Dong could reach Level 99, he certainly could too.
If he could obtain a Million-Year Soul Ring and combine it with the Clear Sky Hammer, his strength would surely far surpass Soul Masters of the same level.
Unfortunately, his current cultivation was too low.
His name could not possibly appear on the Powerhouse Ranking.
Yu Xiaogang stood beside the table, his brow tightly furrowed.
Bibi Dong's achievements had once again proven the power of twin martial souls.
Tang San possessed Blue Silver Grass and the Clear Sky Hammer.
As long as he cultivated according to Yu Xiaogang's theories, he would surely surpass Bibi Dong in the future.
If the Heavenly Dao Ranking had appeared twenty years later, Tang San would have had a chance to receive the same rewards.
Then he would be able to tell everyone himself.
"I raised a god."
At the thought of that scene, Yu Xiaogang's breathing quickened.
There was no reason Tang San could not accomplish what Bibi Dong had.
What's more, Tang San had his guidance.
Just as everyone was staring at the Sky Screen, a fluctuation of soul power suddenly appeared in the room.
A streak of seven-colored radiance rose from the corner.
Everyone turned around at once.
Ning Rongrong sat cross-legged on the bed.
She wore a pale green dress, its hem draping over the edge of the bed and revealing a pair of slender legs clad in long white stockings.
His smooth, long hair fell behind his shoulders, and the seven-colored light made his fair cheeks look even more delicate.
Between his hands floated a small bronze tower.
The tower was only the size of a palm.
A dense Xuanhuang radiance flowed around the eaves of every tier.
Above Ning Rongrong's head, an Ancient Tower Projection dozens of zhang tall slowly took shape.
The Ancient Tower was Xuanhuang in color throughout.
Mountains and rivers encircled its base, while stars revolved above its summit.
The seven-colored radiance continually gathered before this Ancient Tower, finally becoming a ring of light that merged into Ning Rongrong's body.
His soul power rapidly rose with it.
Level 33.
Level 35.
Level 38.
Only when it reached Level 40 did his rapidly climbing soul power finally stop.
Before you continue