At that moment, it was not just Zhu Zhuyun...
Across the Douluo Continent, countless people watching everything that had just happened on the sky screen were likewise stunned and utterly bewildered.
Heaven Dou Empire, Shrek Academy.
On the training grounds, the Shrek Six Monsters gazed up at the sky screen, their expressions a spectacular sight.
"Holy shit!"
Ma Hongjun was the first to cry out. "That strange bird... just vanished like that? Not even a scrap left?"
Oscar swallowed. "Isn't the Moon-Escaping Immortal Palace's defense way too broken?"
"And did you notice? There wasn't any Soul Power fluctuation throughout the whole process. That completely contradicts how Soul Tools work, doesn't it?"
Tang San's brows knitted tightly as he pushed his Purple Demon Eye to its limit, trying to see through the mysteries of the Moon-Escaping Immortal Palace, but...
He found nothing.
"That isn't a Soul Tool."
Still, Tang San had finally confirmed one thing. He said slowly, "The Moon-Escaping Immortal Palace probably isn't a Soul Tool!"
"At least, not a Soul Tool as we understand them."
"I can't understand how that power operates at all..."
Star Luo Empire, Zhu Family.
Zhu Hongfeng stood rooted to the spot, his face filled with disbelief.
He had already prepared for the worst-his daughter might be gravely injured or even killed by the "Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast's" attack...
Yet reality had given him an answer he could not understand at all.
"What happened?"
"That ferocious, strange bird, with a wingspan of over ten meters, turned to drifting ash without any warning just as it was about to strike the Moon-Escaping Immortal Palace?"
"This... what kind of Soul Tool has that power?"
Zhu Hongfeng muttered to himself, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
He had never heard of any Soul Tool capable of erasing a "Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beast" so silently and so overwhelmingly.
Defensive Soul Tools on the Douluo Continent mostly took the form of Soul Power barriers, with Soul Power visibly circulating through them and ripples and light appearing when they were attacked.
Yet on the sky screen, there had been nothing.
That strange bird had simply "disappeared" into thin air.
After a long while, Zhu Hongfeng drew a deep breath. "The good news is, Zhu Yun... is safe for now."
"But that world seems even more dangerous than I imagined, and even more mysterious..."
Spirit Hall, Pope's Hall.
Clack~
Bibi Dong gently laid the Pope's Scepter in her hand on the armrest of the papal throne.
A trace of gravity appeared in her violet eyes.
"No Soul Power fluctuations, no barrier appearing, no ripples of energy..."
Bibi Dong slowly rose, descended the steps from the papal throne one by one, and came to the doorway, tilting her head back to gaze at the sky screen.
"That 'Soul Beast' was 'erased' when it reached a point roughly ten meters outside the Moon-Escaping Immortal Palace..."
"Starting from its head, it turned to drifting ash inch by inch. The process took less than... a single breath?"
Bibi Dong had thought that the Moon-Escaping Immortal Palace was, at most, a high-grade Soul Tool, with defenses perhaps capable of withstanding a Soul Douluo's all-out strike.
But now it seemed...
She had been completely wrong! Outrageously wrong!
"What exactly is that invisible 'wall'?"
Bibi Dong's brows knitted tightly. "Some kind of magic I cannot comprehend?"
"Shrouding the Heavens World..."
After a long while, Bibi Dong softly spoke that name, a complex light flickering in her eyes.
"What exactly is your cultivation system? And where... does the upper limit of your strength lie?"
"What level would a Titled Douluo rank at in your world?"
"And how many secrets does that so-called 'White Emperor City' hide?"
Countless questions surged through Bibi Dong's mind.
She had a powerful premonition-this "other world" that had suddenly appeared in the skies above the Douluo Continent would completely overturn the existing order.
And Spirit Hall had to seize the initiative amid this upheaval.
"Pass down my orders."
Bibi Dong turned, her voice regaining its usual cold authority. "If any more Spirit Hall disciples enter the Shrouding the Heavens World, they must do everything they can to gather all information related to the 'Shrouding the Heavens World'!"
"Especially information about its 'cultivation system' and 'levels of power.'"
"Yes, Your Holiness!"
A figure silently withdrew into the shadows.
And just as everyone on the Douluo Continent was filled with curiosity and shock...
In the Shrouding the Heavens World, atop the Moon-Escaping Immortal Palace.
Jiang Xiaoxiao walked out with languid steps, sunlight falling just so upon her ink-black hair as it cascaded like a waterfall, tracing a hazy halo.
"Ah... what's wrong, Little Zhu Yun?"
She raised a hand to cover her mouth and gave a long yawn, her voice husky from waking, tugging at the heartstrings.
"What happened to interrupt my afternoon nap?"
"Don't you know that lack of sleep is us women's greatest enemy?"
"I have to take good care of my looks to prepare for receiving His Majesty's favor someday~"
Seeing Jiang Xiaoxiao appear, Zhu Zhuyun hurried forward, lingering tension still on her face:
"Sister Xiaoxiao, you don't know what just happened..."
Zhu Zhuyun soon recounted what had just happened to Jiang Xiaoxiao, including the strange bird's appearance, attack, and annihilation...
Listening to Zhu Zhuyun's account, Jiang Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes prettily.
She extended a slender finger and lightly tapped Zhu Zhuyun between the brows, chiding her:
"You're making such a fuss over something this trivial?"
Her fingertip was slightly cool against Zhu Zhuyun's forehead, yet it made Zhu Zhuyun feel a strange calm spreading from between her brows, and most of her earlier tension miraculously dissipated.
"The Moon-Escaping Immortal Palace is guarded by the Moon-Escaping Formation. Ordinary Demonic Beasts can't break through its defenses at all."
Jiang Xiaoxiao withdrew her finger and casually smoothed her long hair.
"If there had really been any danger, I would have appeared long ago."
"Remember!"
"Don't call me over something this trivial next time."
As she spoke, Jiang Xiaoxiao yawned again, complaining with a hint of petulance.
"Ah, you interrupted what was a perfectly good afternoon nap."
With that, she turned to look east. "Forget it..."
Jiang Xiaoxiao shook her head, her tone suddenly turning expectant. "We're finally almost at White Emperor City!"
"White Emperor City?"
At those words, a gleam of curiosity flashed through Zhu Zhuyun's eyes.
Zhu Zhuyun was curious, but the people on the Douluo Continent wore particularly strange expressions at that moment.
Tang San, Oscar, Ma Hongjun, and the others exchanged glances...
After all, they had already seen White Emperor City's true appearance through the sky screen's live broadcast:
An immortal mountain and divine kingdom towering amid clouds and mist, a miracle forged jointly by the workings of heaven and earth and supreme might!
Its walls soared into the clouds, looking to be at least a thousand zhang tall...
"Only Zhu Zhuyun is still in the dark."
Oscar rubbed his chin, an amused gleam flashing through his eyes.
Ma Hongjun chuckled. "She's the only one who can't watch the sky screen's live broadcast, so naturally she's the only one who doesn't know..."
"What kind of expression will she make when she sees that magnificent, immortal-like White Emperor City?"
"That sight will probably make her jaw drop, won't it?" Tang San also gave a rare smile.