Meanwhile, in the Great Thousand World.
Across the tens of thousands of miles beyond that prosperous ancient city.
Dozens of sects and factions, large and small, occupied this region. Foremost among them was Tianyuan Manor.
The lord of Tianyuan Manor was a supreme expert who had entered the Lower Earthly Sovereign realm many years ago.
In this remote region, an Earthly Sovereign was already an unsurpassed existence at the pinnacle of the pyramid. Ordinarily, this manor lord stood high above others, deciding the lives and deaths of millions with a single word.
At that moment, he sat upright on the throne in the manor's main hall, fashioned from ten-thousand-year-old warm jade, listening to the elders' reports below.
"Manor Lord, we have collected all of Tianyuan Manor's tribute for this year. The neighboring small kingdoms have all..."
Before that elder could finish.
Without any warning, the clear sky abruptly changed color.
Half became interwoven black-and-white yin and yang energies, while the other half was completely shrouded in profound, purplish-black demonic light.
Immediately afterward, a terrifying pressure that did not belong to this dimension poured down like the celestial river cascading from the nine heavens, piercing straight through Tianyuan Manor's Sect-Protecting Grand Array, which supposedly could withstand an Earthly Sovereign's attacks.
Crack-
The great array, constructed with countless heavenly treasures and earthly precious materials, did not last even half a breath before shattering like an eggshell.
Thud!
The Tianyuan Manor Lord had no time to react. That invisible pressure slammed him straight off his throne and pinned him against the main hall's floor tiles.
He was not the only one.
Every elder inside the hall, along with more than ten thousand disciples throughout the manor, fell flat on the ground at that instant, unable to move even a finger.
"Th-this aura is..."
The Tianyuan Manor Lord's entire face was pressed against the floor, his body shaking like chaff in a sieve.
He was an Earthly Sovereign, so he understood what this pressure represented far better than ordinary people.
It was the manifestation of the laws of heaven and earth!
An unsurpassed realm that stood above the countless living beings of the Great Thousand World and truly governed the rise and fall of planes!
"Heavenly Sovereigns! Heavenly Sovereign lords have descended upon our backwater!"
The Tianyuan Manor Lord swallowed, his scalp prickling.
Moreover, the terrifying auras of the manifestations circling in the air clearly belonged to two beings!
Two supreme divine beasts at the Heavenly Sovereign level!
In an Earthly Sovereign's eyes, a Heavenly Sovereign was heaven itself.
A casual sneeze from them, or a mere wisp of residual force escaping during their battle, could wipe so-called top sects like theirs clean off the Great Thousand World's map.
Just then, several equally trembling divine-sense transmissions suddenly rang out in the Tianyuan Manor Lord's mind.
"Old Tianyuan, d-did you feel that?"
It was a transmission from the valley master of the neighboring Blood Sea Valley.
"Obviously! My Sect-Protecting Grand Array was shattered!" the Tianyuan Manor Lord replied through gritted teeth, his forehead covered in cold sweat.
"The source of those two auras seems to be the Purple Bamboo Forest outside the ancient city..."
The voice of another man, the Sword Pavilion master, was trembling too.
"Whichever mighty dragon has crossed into our waters, since they've descended upon our territory, we must pay our respects. If we displease them, we'll all be reduced to ashes!"
After this brief exchange, the Earthly Sovereign authorities instantly reached an agreement.
The Tianyuan Manor Lord struggled to climb off the floor, without even taking time to brush the dust from his clothes.
He charged straight into the sect treasury, haphazardly stuffed its greatest treasures into a Universe Bag, then stumbled out of the manor.
He dared not fly.
Flying under the pressure of Heavenly Sovereigns would be a grave insult to those unsurpassed experts.
This Earthly Sovereign, normally so imposing, simply took to his heels and ran toward the Purple Bamboo Forest outside the ancient city like a pilgrim, sweat pouring from his head.
Behind him, regional overlords such as the Blood Sea Valley master and the Sword Pavilion master likewise scrambled and stumbled along the ground.
They sought nothing else, only to kneel and kowtow before those two mighty beings departed, letting their faces become familiar enough to preserve the lives of everyone in their sects.
Meanwhile, in the Purple Bamboo Forest outside the ancient city.
Dai Mubai knelt on the bluestone paving, panting heavily.
Although those two divine beast manifestations had not targeted him directly, the slightest trace of their escaping aura had already severely injured his internal organs.
Hearing that eerily handsome man in the pavilion say he would cripple him, pull out his tongue, and throw him into a brothel as a servant.
An unprecedented fear welled up inside Dai Mubai.
No... I can't die here! I'm a prince of the Star Luo Empire!
He roared frantically inside.
His survival instinct actually allowed him to break free of that pressure's restraints for a brief moment.
Dai Mubai fiercely bit the tip of his tongue and spat out a mouthful of essence blood.
He burned the last of the White Tiger bloodline within him, transforming into a streak of blood-red light as he fled madly out of the Purple Bamboo Forest without looking back.
If I can escape into the ancient city, if I can blend into the crowds, there might still be a sliver of hope!
Seeing that Dai Mubai actually dared to flee.
Lin Yan raised an eyebrow inside the pavilion, but made no move to rise and pursue him. Instead, he smiled as though watching a good show.
Seated on the railing, Lin Jing curled her lip too.
"This uncle is so stupid. He's actually trying to run in front of two Heavenly Sovereigns?"
Just as Dai Mubai had fled barely a dozen yards.
The space ahead of him suddenly rippled like water without any warning.
It was a rhythm so utterly natural that it seemed this was simply how the Great Dao should be.
Then a green lotus emitting a cool, clear radiance slowly bloomed at the center of those ripples.
A flawless bare foot, as pale as mutton-fat jade, gently stepped onto that azure lotus.
Then an exquisitely beautiful woman in a pale gauze dress, her face covered by a thin veil, appeared out of thin air directly in Dai Mubai's escape route.
Her bearing was ethereal and transcendent, like the Heavenly Maiden of the Nine Heavens untouched by the mortal world's smoke and fire.
She merely stood there quietly, and the surrounding Purple Bamboo Forest seemed to have been frozen in place.
The wind stopped, and the bamboo leaves ceased swaying.
Even the two divine beast manifestations circling in the air quietly reined in their auras, as though expressing their respect for her.
Dai Mubai's pupils abruptly contracted at the sight of the woman on the azure lotus who had suddenly appeared before him.
Unable to stop in time, he could only grit his teeth and push his speed to its limit, trying to charge straight through.
Yet the veiled woman did not even spare him a proper glance.
She merely lifted her slender, jade-like fingers, delicate as young scallion shoots, and gently pressed downward in Dai Mubai's direction.
Hum.
Space gave a faint hum, and Dai Mubai was slapped straight onto the ground.
This time, it was not merely pressure.
As the woman pressed down with that finger, Dai Mubai's meridians and bones, and even the Soul Power vortex he took such pride in, broke apart inch by inch!
"Aah!"
A scream so agonized it no longer sounded human escaped Dai Mubai's throat.
He lay in the dirt like a flattened toad, his blood staining the ground, completely crippled.
Casually, without the slightest effort.
A level-thirty-seven Battle Soul Elder, a prince of the Star Luo Empire, had been crushed into a ruined heap by a single casual movement of an exquisite woman's finger.
Only after doing all this did the woman slowly withdraw her jade-like hand.
While everyone on the Douluo Continent was still guessing who this fairy-like figure might be.
Over by the pavilion.
Lin Jing, who had been watching with one leg crossed over the other, suddenly brightened.
She jumped straight off the railing, casually setting aside even the Void Thunder Cat in her arms, and flew toward the veiled woman like a cheerful little sparrow.
"Mother!"
Lin Jing hugged the woman's arm and affectionately rubbed against it, her bright, limpid eyes full of delighted surprise.
"You've come out of seclusion too?"
Mother?!
The instant that word left Lin Jing's mouth, everyone beyond the Sky Screen on the Douluo Continent went numb.
Everyone's mind stopped working at that moment.
Even Lin Diao and Lin Yan in the pavilion abandoned their earlier casualness and rose to their feet.
Lin Diao put away his folding fan, and Lin Yan set down his wine gourd.
These two unsurpassed mighty beings, whose names shook the Great Thousand World and who possessed Heavenly Sovereign-level divine beast manifestations, actually cupped their fists toward the woman on the azure lotus, their voices carrying a trace of respect.
"Sister-in-law."
Spirit City, the Pope's Hall.
Bibi Dong drew in a sharp breath, her beautiful eyes filled with unprecedented shock.
"She called that girl Mother, and the two mighty Heavenly Sovereigns called her Sister-in-law..."
For a moment, even Bibi Dong's voice trembled.
"Could this woman be the other wife of the legendary Martial Ancestor, Lin Dong?"
"The other Mistress of the Martial Realm?"
Beside her, Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan was so frightened he could no longer even hold his Orchid Finger pose. His legs gave way, and he dropped to his knees.
The Star Luo Empire, the imperial palace square.
Watching the scene on the Sky Screen, Dai Tianfeng's eyes rolled back, and he actually fainted outright from fright.
The surrounding members of the Imperial Family cried for their fathers and mothers, descending into chaos.
They had utterly despaired.
Just what sort of divine lineup had that fool Dai Mubai provoked with his advances?!
A simple shopping trip.
And secretly guarding her nearby were two Heavenly Sovereign uncles possessing supreme divine beast manifestations.
As if that were not enough, even the Martial Realm Matriarch, whose motherly dignity graced the world and whose cultivation reached the heavens, had personally accompanied her in secret to protect her!
Any single member of a bodyguard lineup like this could toss the entire Douluo Continent back and forth like food in a wok hundreds of times!
Yet Dai Mubai, a mere Soul Elder in his thirties.
Had actually dared to say, right in front of these unsurpassed titans, that he would rob their little princess and even make her serve him?
This was no longer a matter of kicking an iron plate.
This was fucking courting death!
Just as countless living beings across the Douluo Continent were shocked blank by this terrifying lineup of bodyguards.
Within the Sky Screen's image, another ripple passed through the space outside the Purple Bamboo Forest.
"Huff, huff..."
Accompanied by hurried panting.
Several somewhat disheveled figures came scrambling and stumbling from the ancient city into this tranquil Purple Bamboo Forest.
The arrivals were none other than the Tianyuan Manor Lord and several other Earthly Sovereign powers who ruled this region, including the Blood Sea Valley master.
In their usual fashion, their appearances would have been accompanied by the fullest pomp, auspicious clouds and radiant colors, and even young attendants clearing the way.
But now?
These overlords whose might shook the region had mud all over their luxurious brocade robes, and even their topknots were somewhat disheveled.
They did not dare use Spiritual Energy to shake the dust from their clothes, fearing that the slightest energy fluctuation might anger the important figures ahead.
The moment they rushed into the Purple Bamboo Forest and clearly saw that holy, graceful figure on the azure lotus before the pavilion, along with the two divine beast manifestations beside her.
Thud!
Thud!
Without the slightest hesitation, these normally lofty Earthly Sovereigns bent their knees and knelt in perfect unison on the muddy ground.
They even struck with such force that they smashed several deep pits into the bluestone tiles.
"This lowly one is the lord of Tianyuan Manor..."
"This lowly one is the master of Blood Sea Valley..."
"We kowtow before the Martial Realm Matriarch! We kowtow before Lord Marten Venerable and Lord Flame Venerable!"
The Earthly Sovereigns pressed their heads deep against the ground, their voices trembling uncontrollably.
The Tianyuan Manor Lord held a Universe Bag radiating astonishing Spiritual Energy fluctuations in both hands, raising it high above his head.
"Unaware that your unsurpassed lordships were descending here, this lowly one failed to welcome you from afar. My crime deserves ten thousand deaths!"
"These are a few humble tokens from this lowly one's manor. I hope your lordships will not disdain them..."
For a moment, both within the Purple Bamboo Forest and on the Douluo Continent beyond the Sky Screen.
Everything fell silent.
Collapsed in the muddy water like a cripple, Dai Mubai struggled to open his blood-blurred eyes.
When he saw those old men kneeling and frantically kowtowing, his mind stopped functioning entirely.
Although Dai Mubai had been crippled, he could still clearly sense just how vast and boundless the energy within these old men was, even as they knelt like old dogs begging for mercy!
Never mind a Soul Elder in his thirties like him-even if his father, the Star Luo Emperor Dai Tianfeng, stood here.
A casual breath from any of these old men could level the entire Star Luo Imperial City!
These were true gods who could destroy heaven and earth with a turn of their hands!
Yet this was a group of beings whom even the god kings of the Douluo Continent's Divine Realm had to look up to.
Now, like slaves who had done something wrong, they were kneeling before those mortals he had just insulted-and even threatened to claim for himself-not daring to breathe loudly?
"J-just who have I offended..."
Dai Mubai opened his mouth, and blood mixed with fragments of his internal organs surged out. He lost consciousness completely.
As Ling Qingzhu looked at the Earthly Sovereigns kneeling all over the ground, not a ripple crossed her stunning face beneath her gauze veil.
She merely swept a cool glance over them before withdrawing her gaze.
"Rise."
Ling Qingzhu's voice was ethereal, like celestial music.
"We're merely accompanying Jing'er on an outing to unwind. There's no need to muster such forces."
Hearing the Mistress speak, the Tianyuan Manor Lord and the others felt as though they had been granted a grand pardon. Still, they dared not straighten their backs, only retreating to one side with their waists bent, repeatedly murmuring their assent.
At that moment, Lin Diao also rose inside the pavilion and walked out, slowly waving the Folding Fan.
He glanced at Dai Mubai sprawled on the ground, the corners of his lips curling into something between a smile and a smirk.
"Old ghost Tianyuan."
At the mention of his name, the Tianyuan Manor Lord shuddered and hurriedly stepped forward, nodding and bowing.
"This humble one is here. What are your orders, Lord Marten Venerable?"
Lin Diao pointed at Dai Mubai with the Folding Fan.
"This bug from the lower realm just said he would cripple the two of us brothers and seize what belongs to my Martial Realm."
"My second brother just said to pull out his tongue and throw him into the Spring Breeze House in the Ancient City to work as a servant."
"I'll leave this to you. No problem, right?"
At these words, the Tianyuan Manor Lord froze for a moment, then wild joy instantly burst into his eyes.
He would be carrying out a task for an important figure of the Martial Realm!
What an opportunity, as vast as the heavens!
Never mind dealing with a piece of trash without any Spiritual Energy-even if he were told to wipe out a sect of the same level as his own, he would not hesitate in the slightest!
"Rest assured, Lord Marten Venerable! Leave this trifling matter to this humble one!"
The Tianyuan Manor Lord thumped his chest in assurance, then turned to look at Dai Mubai on the ground, instantly narrowing his eyes.
As a dignified Earthly Sovereign, he normally stood high above others.
Now that he had finally found an opportunity to curry favor with the Martial Realm, he naturally had to carry out the task flawlessly.
"You dared disrespect the Martial Realm's little princess? Those dog eyes of yours must be blind!"
Before you continue