The past.
Star Dou Great Forest, in a hidden realm at the bottom of the Lake of Life.
Gu Yuena sat cross-legged within, her silver hair drifting around her, a nine-colored halo flickering in and out of sight behind her.
The Heavenly Screen was above her as well.
People outside had already confirmed this: even in their own rooms, they could see the Heavenly Screen simply by looking up.
Each time the Heavenly Screen showed a powerful figure's progress in recultivating, her heart rose a little higher.
Bibi Dong, level zero. Qian Renxue, level zero. Sea Dragon Douluo, level zero. Golden Crocodile Douluo, level zero...
By the time it had gone through everyone, the Heavenly Screen had named every powerful figure on the continent except her.
Gu Yuena breathed a sigh of relief at first, her tense shoulders relaxing slightly.
Since she had not been exposed, she no longer had to worry about the gods of the Divine Realm discovering that she was hiding on the Douluo Continent.
But right afterward, a nameless fire flared up from the bottom of her heart.
"Why was I left out?"
Gu Yuena bit her lip lightly, her silver eyes fixed on the Heavenly Screen. The longer she watched, the more displeased she became.
She was the Silver Dragon King, after all, one of the two halves into which the Dragon God had split, and the sovereign of all Soul Beasts on the Douluo Continent.
The Heavenly Screen had shown those human Titled Douluo and divine inheritors one by one. It had even given time to the Angel God and Rakshasa God behind Wu Wei, who had only just been demoted.
Yet it had left her out.
"I want to know just how quickly my future self recultivates too!" Gu Yuena muttered, her voice full of indignation.
She believed her talent was inferior to no one's.
The Dragon God Bloodline, the body of the Silver Dragon King, and the power to control the elements would put her among the very best even in the Divine Realm.
If the Heavenly Screen showed her future recultivation speed, she was certain she would be faster than Wu Wei.
But the Heavenly Screen had not shown her.
"What a pity. If only divine punishment would descend here too!"
Gu Yuena then sighed regretfully.
She truly was looking forward to it.
In the past, she had hidden herself away, terrified of being discovered by the Divine Realm.
After the Dragon God War, the dragon race had been suppressed, and as the Silver Dragon King, she had become a major target wanted by the Divine Realm. For all these years, she had hidden in the deepest reaches of the Star Dou Great Forest, not daring to take even half a step away from the Lake of Life.
If divine punishment descended,
and all the gods of the Divine Realm were demoted to the lower realm,
then no one would be able to threaten her.
The only price she would pay was having her own level reset to zero, and she was more than willing to pay it.
That was because she was confident that, with her talent and world-shaking Wisdom, she would surely stay ahead of everyone else as she recultivated.
"There's not much hope for me now. With the Heavenly Screen's influence, those gods surely won't dare interfere with the lower realm anymore, so divine punishment won't descend either!"
"My future self, let me see just how far you can go!"
Gu Yuena's last words were addressed to her future self on the Heavenly Screen.
The Heavenly Screen continued playing. This time, it showed the Heaven Dou Empire's army attacking the Spirit Hall Empire.
The Heaven Dou Empire's vast army set out from Jialing Pass and advanced toward Spirit City.
Along the way, they encountered almost no resistance worth mentioning.
After losing Jialing Pass, the Spirit Hall Empire had pulled back its defenses across the board, abandoning all its outlying strongholds and concentrating all its forces in Spirit City.
On the third day of the army's march, the skyline of Spirit City appeared in the distance.
Its walls rose high and dark gray, like a silent giant beast crouching on the earth.
The walls were densely lined with crenellations and arrow towers, with a tall tower rising at regular intervals. Soul-tool crystals atop the towers glimmered coldly in the sunlight.
The whole of Spirit City was built against a mountain, and its moat was absurdly wide. A faint sheen shimmered across its surface; it was clearly no ordinary water.
The Heaven Dou army made camp beneath Spirit City, felling trees and building siege equipment. Xue Beng rode a white horse around the city, looking up at its towering walls with little expression on his face before returning to the central command tent.
That night, the central command tent was brightly lit as Xue Beng summoned all his generals to a council.
"Ge Long, you speak first." Xue Beng sat in the seat of honor.
Ge Long stood, his expression troubled. "Your Majesty, I sent men around Spirit City. The walls are too high, and the moat is too wide. If we assault it head-on, casualties will be heavy."
"How heavy?"
"At least... this many." Ge Long held up one hand, all five fingers spread.
Xue Beng stared at his hand for a while without speaking.
"Moreover, Your Majesty, there is something else I must say." Ge Long hesitated, but spoke up anyway. "The generals in the army... their thoughts are not quite where they should be."
"What thoughts?"
"Everyone is thinking about recultivation." Ge Long lowered his voice. "Everyone's cultivation was reset to zero. What concerns the generals most now is how to cultivate it back, not fighting a war. Especially now that the Spirit Hall Empire has retreated to defend Spirit City and clearly has no intention of fighting for supremacy anymore, everyone feels... there's not much need to keep fighting."
Silence filled the tent for a while.
Xue Beng's fingers tapped lightly on the tabletop. Once, twice, three times.
"What else?"
"Supplies are running short too." Ge Long steeled himself and continued, "The supply line from Heaven Dou to Spirit City is stretched too long. And ever since divine punishment descended, the empire has been in chaos everywhere. People need to be sent back to maintain order in every region. Half of the several hundred thousand troops we brought need to return. Otherwise, the empire may collapse before we can even crack Spirit City."
Xue Beng still said nothing.
Another general stood. "Your Majesty, I also agree with General Ge Long. The Spirit Hall Empire is a turtle now, clearly determined to hunker down and never come out. There is simply no way for us to take Spirit City quickly."
Then, one after another, the generals stood and said much the same thing, all recommending a withdrawal.
Xue Beng sat in the seat of honor, listening to each of them finish, his fingers tapping lightly on the table all the while.
Xue Beng was silent for a long time before slowly rising to his feet.
"Pass down the order." His voice was not loud, but everyone in the tent heard him clearly. "We march back to the capital."
"We won't attack Spirit Hall City... anymore."
Xue Beng was not particularly willing to withdraw, but chaos had broken out repeatedly throughout the empire because of the descent of divine punishment. If the army did not return to restore order soon, the Heaven Dou Empire might be gone first.
Spirit City.
Bibi Dong received word of the Heaven Dou Empire army's withdrawal immediately.
She was not surprised. Everything had gone as she had anticipated.
If Spirit City could not have been defended, she would have abandoned it long ago.
Bibi Dong then decisively announced another major decision.
"Pass down the order."
"Announce it to the outside world!"
"The Spirit Hall Empire... is disbanded."
"From now on, Spirit Hall will be Spirit Hall alone. It will no longer take part in the struggle for supremacy over the continent."
"From this day forth, Spirit Hall will close its gates. All Soul Masters are to remain in Spirit City and recultivate. Spirit Hall will no longer involve itself in any disputes in the outside world."
The gates of Spirit City slowly closed, the portcullis fell, and the drawbridge over the moat rose. The guards who had stood watch on the walls withdrew as well. The whole of Spirit City lay quietly upon the earth, like a giant beast curled up.
Deep within Spirit City, in a secret chamber of the Pope's Hall.
Bibi Dong sat alone in the darkness. No lamp burned before her; there was only a sliver of light coming through the crack in the door.
Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was steady.
After a long time, she opened her eyes and spoke softly.
"The Spirit Hall Empire is gone."
"But Spirit Hall remains."
"And so do I."
She stood, her phoenix eyes frighteningly bright in the darkness.
"It's only recultivation. If I could cultivate to level one hundred once, I can do it a second time."
"Just wait."
"Next time, you won't be so lucky!"