As the door opened, Zhu Zhuqing and Zhu Zhuyun turned almost simultaneously to look toward the doorway.
Jiang Wanwan and Jiang Xiaoxiao stepped into the room side by side. Both women looked calm, but a faint trace of murderous severity lingered between their brows.
"Sister Wanwan, Sister Xiaoxiao!"
Zhu Zhuqing rose first, curiosity flashing in her cool, feline eyes:
"The Heaven-Questioning Bell rang three times just now. Did something major happen?"
Zhu Zhuyun also hurried forward. Though she said nothing, her gaze was equally inquisitive.
Jiang Wanwan gently closed the door, then turned to face Zhu Zhuqing and Zhu Zhuyun.
"You little kittens really are curious."
As she spoke, she said mildly, "It's nothing particularly serious, really. Some ancient races simply failed to recognize their betters, so the Heavenly Court will launch a punitive expedition against them and let them know..."
"Who truly rules this heaven and earth."
At this point, Jiang Wanwan could not help sighing. "His Majesty is still so merciful. Only seven killed out of ten..."
Jiang Xiaoxiao shook her head. "We can't kill them all, can we?"
"After all, among them are respectable beings like the Qilin Ancient Emperor, who never unleash dark turmoil."
As the sisters Zhu Zhuqing and Zhu Zhuyun listened to Jiang Wanwan and Jiang Xiaoxiao's casual words...
They instinctively exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with shock.
They had never imagined that the Heavenly Court really would wage war against others.
And...
That Heavenly Emperor was merciful?
Killing seven out of ten in a war still counted as mercy?
This simply rewrote the sisters' understanding of the word "mercy."
Douluo Continent.
Listening to the conversation on the screen in the sky, countless people exchanged glances. Many wore expressions of horror and incomprehension.
Inside Shrek Academy.
"Gasp! Killing seven out of ten... still counts as mercy?"
Oscar sucked in a cold breath. "This... just what sort of person is this Heavenly Emperor? Isn't his standard for 'mercy' a little too..."
Ma Hongjun smacked his lips too. "Good heavens, casually killing seventy percent."
"If that happened here, wouldn't he have long since been condemned as an unparalleled fiend?"
Dai Mubai's eyes were full of delight at kicking someone while they were down as he agreed, "Looks like that Heavenly Emperor Hao Lin Hao is a tyrant through and through!"
"But..."
Ning Rongrong furrowed her delicate brows. "What if those people are all really evil?"
"Didn't you hear Jiang Wanwan and Jiang Xiaoxiao mention 'dark turmoil' or something? That sounds like something terrifying!"
Ning Rongrong did not believe that someone as handsome as Lin Hao could be a tyrant.
"Maybe Lin Hao has difficulties of his own?" Xiao Wu also spoke instinctively.
"What difficulties could he possibly have?"
Yu Xiaogang shook his head. "However terrifying dark turmoil might be, could it be more cruel than Lin Hao killing seven out of ten? Surely dark turmoil can't just be indiscriminate slaughter?"
Hearing this, Tang San, Dai Mubai, Yu Xiaogang, Flender, and the others all nodded instinctively.
In their minds, there was no doubt that Lin Hao was a tyrant.
Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong remained unconvinced.
Eastsea City, Eastsea Academy.
At that moment, Gu Yuena sat in a chair, watching everything happening on the screen in the sky.
She did not care at all how many Lin Hao intended to kill. After all, she understood perfectly well...
Great undertakings always required sacrifices. As long as it was worthwhile, killing them all was fine.
She was more curious about something else. "Qilin Ancient Emperor, qilin..."
"Could he be a qilin?"
"And with such an imposing name, is he a being like those Ferocious Beasts deep within our Star Dou Great Forest?"
As Gu Yuena considered this, her eyes filled with anticipation. "If the Qilin Ancient Emperor really is a qilin, then that Shrouding the Heavens World..."
"It seems there should be quite a few Demonic Beasts like that!"
"If I could subdue them, then lead them back to Douluo Continent..."
For a moment, Gu Yuena's eyes were filled with anticipation.
Spirit Hall, Pope's Hall.
"A punitive expedition against the ancient races... declaring who truly rules heaven and earth..."
Bibi Dong's voluptuous figure remained elegant. She quietly watched the screen in the sky, while her fingertips unconsciously stroked the gem symbolizing power atop the Pope's Scepter.
She realized that even though she considered herself domineering enough...
She still fell far short of Heavenly Emperor Hao Lin Hao's unquestionable dominance, which seemed to look down upon everything from on high.
Moreover, Jiang Wanwan and Jiang Xiaoxiao's tone had been so casual...
The depth of the Heavenly Court's reserves and the Heavenly Emperor's will that lay behind it simply set Bibi Dong's heart surging.
Bibi Dong could imagine the sheer boldness and absolute confidence required to make such a decision.
It was not merely immense strength, but a "momentum" that stood above the rules of all ages, a will that dared establish rules for heaven and earth and make those rules reality.
Heavenly Emperor Hao... Lin Hao...
She silently repeated the name in her heart.
She said nothing more. Only her grip on the Pope's Scepter tightened slightly, while a glimmer of admiration and unusual brilliance flashed through her eyes.
And just as everyone on Douluo Continent was discussing a single command from Lin Hao...
On the screen in the sky, Jiang Wanwan and Jiang Xiaoxiao had already finished discussing that subject.
Jiang Wanwan looked at the still somewhat dazed Zhu sisters and smiled. "All right, little girls. These aren't matters you two should concern yourselves with right now."
"What matters most for you two at present is to familiarize yourselves with the Heavenly Court's basic rules as soon as possible, and... learn how to serve His Majesty well."
"Yes, Sister Wanwan (Sister Xiaoxiao)."
Hearing this, Zhu Zhuqing and Zhu Zhuyun gathered their thoughts somewhat and answered respectfully.
For the time that followed, Zhu Zhuqing and Zhu Zhuyun stayed beside Jiang Wanwan and Jiang Xiaoxiao, beginning to learn the Heavenly Court's various rules of etiquette, divisions of duties, forbidden grounds and taboos, and so on.
No detail was too small.
The sisters studied with utmost seriousness. After all, this was their first step toward establishing a foothold in this world.
Zhu Zhuqing was especially focused. She regarded all of this as part of the knowledge and power she had to master to change her fate.
Zhu Zhuyun, meanwhile, paid somewhat more attention to reading expressions and turning things over in her mind, trying to glimpse the framework of the Heavenly Court's power structure through these rules.
Time slipped quietly by as they learned.
Night deepened over Douluo Continent, and many people could no longer fight off their drowsiness and fell into a deep sleep.
Then, late into the night, when all was still...
The screen high above Douluo Continent, beyond the boundless firmament, once again emitted a low, resonant sound that spread across the entire continent.
[Ding! Detected that the unlocking of basic information about the "Shrouding the Heavens World" has reached the preliminary threshold.] [The third random transmigration will begin shortly. Number of slots: three.] [Those selected, upon successfully surviving in the Shrouding the Heavens World for three full months, may choose to return to Douluo Continent temporarily or permanently, and may bring back all power, knowledge, and items acquired during that time!] (Note: those selected will automatically be adapted to meet the most basic survival requirements of the Shrouding the Heavens World.)
In an instant, the cold, grand notification from the screen in the sky startled everyone sleeping on Douluo Continent awake...
Countless people sprang upright in bed, looking up at the screen in the sky with nervous anticipation.
"Again? Who will it be this time?"