"A pack of remnants. Who gave you permission to leave the Primordial Ancient Mine?"
In White Emperor City, on White Jade Heavenly Street.
Lin Hao did not even raise his head. His golden Double Pupils merely swept a casual glance toward the void.
There were no ripples of Magic Power, no dazzling divine light, no interwoven laws of the Dao...
Yet deep in the void, among the stars.
The discussion among those shadows stopped abruptly.
To their shock, they discovered that they suddenly could not move... no, it was not that they could not move.
Their very "existence" was being erased.
Scales peeled away, flesh dissolved, bones weathered...
Their entire bodies became the finest dust, then the dust broke down into more fundamental particles, until even those particles dissipated...
An instant.
In a single instant, the shadows among the stars vanished completely, without leaving even a trace of their presence, as though they had never existed.
Only then did Lin Hao's calm voice ring out again, crossing the void and echoing through the Primordial Ancient Mine:
"Corpse Emperor, Golden Ancient Emperor, remember to come in person next time."
Yet upon hearing Lin Hao's voice, the Primordial Ancient Mine fell deathly silent.
Only when they sensed Lin Hao's divine sense withdraw.
Did furious voices instantly erupt within the Primordial Ancient Mine.
"Lin... Heavenly Emperor Hao! Your blood and Qi are in decline, and you are no longer at your peak, yet you still dare provoke our Primordial Ancient Mine! I will slay you!"
"He hasn't acted in thousands of years. The passing years have probably long since worn away his edge!"
"Even an emperor cannot escape the erosion of time!"
"Everyone, you say that now, but why didn't I hear any of you speak when Lin Hao was here just now? If you have the guts, go shout it in White Emperor City!"
"Qilin Ancient Emperor, you..."
On the Douluo Continent, at Shrek Academy.
"Huh? Just now, that Heavenly Emperor..."
Tang San knitted his brows, staring fixedly at Lin Hao's casual glance on the Heavenly Screen. "He seemed to glance at the sky?"
Yu Xiaogang nodded. "He did glance at it, but there was nothing there... it was probably unconscious?"
Listening to Yu Xiaogang's analysis, Flender, Ma Hongjun, Oscar, and the others nodded instinctively.
After all, it had only been a glance. If it was not unconscious, could he possibly have annihilated a group of powerhouses with that single glance? How was that possible?!
Just then, Ning Rongrong suddenly cried softly, "Wait! Look at His Majesty Lin Hao's eyes!"
Everyone focused their attention and looked.
In the image on the Heavenly Screen, as Lin Hao glanced toward the void, a trace of golden light rose deep within the pupils of his eyes, which had originally been as profound as the stars.
Stranger still, his pupils seemed to... overlap?
"Double Pupils?"
Yu Xiaogang was somewhat surprised. "Is this some special Soul Skill... uh, spell?"
Tang San grew thoughtful. Could it be an eye ability like my Purple Demon Eye?
I wonder how far my Purple Demon Eye would fall short compared to Lin Hao's Double Pupils?
Meanwhile, Dai Mubai remained crouched in the corner, his face green, muttering something under his breath.
In the Shrouding the Heavens World, in White Emperor City.
Lin Hao withdrew his gaze, paying those capering clowns no further attention.
His original desire to stroll around had been interrupted-after all, since those ancient remnants had dared to come, how could the deaths of a few scouts possibly be enough?
"It seems that after several thousand years without taking action, they really have all forgotten my strength..."
Lin Hao shook his head lightly. Neither joy nor anger could be heard in his voice, yet the Black Empress beside him involuntarily shrank his neck.
"Let's go."
Lin Hao spoke to the Black Empress and took a step.
Without any spatial fluctuations or flickering Dao patterns, the man and dog vanished into thin air from White Jade Heavenly Street.
Even after Lin Hao vanished, the surrounding crowd remained silent, all gazing in the direction he had departed, their eyes filled with longing.
Only after a long while did those around them come back to their senses and exclaim:
"So this is His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor! The most astonishingly gifted being in the world..."
"Double Pupils are themselves an invincible path!"
Jiang Wanwan also came back to her senses then. She took a deep breath and glanced once more toward where Lin Hao had vanished before turning to Zhu Zhuqing beside her.
The black-haired girl was likewise staring spellbound in the direction Lin Hao had vanished. Shimmering light rippled through her cool eyes, and the blush on her fair cheeks had yet to fade...
Her red lips were slightly parted, and she looked utterly lost in a daze.
"Ahem." Jiang Wanwan coughed lightly.
"Ah!"
Zhu Zhuqing snapped out of her daze. Seeing Jiang Wanwan's half-smiling expression beside her, she looked as though she had been caught doing something guilty. Her cheeks flared even redder, and she hurriedly lowered her head:
"S-sorry, Sister Wanwan, I..."
"All right, all right."
Jiang Wanwan could not help laughing and waved a hand. "Almost everyone looks just like you the first time they meet His Majesty. I'm used to it."
"But-"
Her tone shifted as she said seriously, "Little girl, don't spend all your time swooning."
"Remember to learn the rules of White Jade Capital properly. Once you've been properly trained and passed the assessment, you'll truly be able to go up to White Jade Capital to serve."
"Then you'll be able to see His Majesty often."
"See Lin Hao often..."
At those words, Zhu Zhuqing hurriedly nodded hard, her eyes brimming with determination. "I understand, Sister Wanwan! I'll definitely work hard to learn White Jade Capital's rules!"
If Zhu Zhuqing had previously felt some resistance and unease about becoming a Heavenly Court maid and serving Lin Hao, then now...
That resistance had long since vanished like smoke and clouds, replaced by an unprecedented sense of anticipation.
But soon, Zhu Zhuqing shook her head sharply again and patted her flushed cheeks, thinking:
Zhu Zhuqing, what are you thinking!
You came here to cultivate and grow stronger, to change your fate, not... you're not working hard for His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor!
"All right, stop letting your thoughts run wild."
Just then, Jiang Wanwan smiled and ruffled Zhu Zhuqing's hair. "Come on. I'll take you to report to the Heavenly Court's base first. You'll have plenty of time to think things over afterward."
"Yes!"
Soon, the two left White Jade Heavenly Street and headed deeper into White Emperor City.
The closer they came to the city's center, the more magnificent the surrounding buildings became.
Towers soaring into the clouds, palaces floating in midair, and gardens with flowing Divine Springs could be seen everywhere.
The streets were woven thick with pedestrians, cultivators of various races mingling together, yet everything remained orderly. From time to time, silver-armored Heavenly Court patrols passed by, their presence imposing.
After walking for roughly an hour, the view ahead suddenly opened up.
An incomparably vast white jade plaza lay before them. At its far end, nine immense, heaven-reaching towers rose from the ground, piercing straight into the clouds.
Zhu Zhuqing's pupils abruptly contracted, and she stood rooted to the spot.
Those nine towers...
Each stood thousands of zhang tall, its entire structure cast from an unknown divine jade, flowing with a faint, lustrous white glow.
Profound Dao patterns covered the towers. From time to time, phantoms of Immortal spirits such as true dragons, Divine Phoenixes, and qilin appeared, spiraling around them.
The tower spires disappeared deep into the clouds. Stars could faintly be seen circling them, while visions of the sun and moon shining together manifested above their summits.
The nine towers were arranged in a nine-palace formation, connected to one another by divine rainbows, forming an incomparably enormous formation.
Merely standing at the edge of the plaza, Zhu Zhuqing could feel the vast pressure radiating from the formation, as though she were facing the starry rivers of the nine heavens, or looking up at the firmament of eternity.
"Th-this is the Heavenly Court's base?" Zhu Zhuqing's voice trembled.