"Elder Yue Guan... was he really still alive?"
Qian Renxue stared blankly at the sky screen, her pale face filled with disbelief.
Ripples spread through her once-lusterless golden eyes, as though a stone capable of changing everything had finally been cast into a pool of dead water that had lain still for years.
To Qian Renxue, that name now felt impossibly distant, yet all too familiar.
An elder of the former Spirit Hall, a Titled Douluo who had once wielded immense power, had now reappeared on the sky screen as White Impermanence!
Not only that, but according to the mysterious voice, he seemed to have transcended death entirely and even embarked on the path to godhood!
How could such a thing be possible?
After all, bringing the dead back to life was no easy feat, even for the once-lofty Spirit Hall.
What was more, the power Yue Guan now displayed had clearly surpassed anything she had known before!
"If Elder Yue Guan can be resurrected..."
Qian Renxue murmured to herself, her heart pounding uncontrollably.
A thought she had never dared hope for before suddenly sprouted in her long-desolate heart, growing wildly like a tender shoot breaking through the soil.
If Yue Guan could be resurrected, then what about the others?
What about Elder Gui Mei?
And... her mother, Bibi Dong! Her grandfather, Qian Daoliu!
At that thought, Qian Renxue's breathing suddenly quickened.
Scenes from the past flashed through her mind like a revolving lantern.
They were everything she had once possessed, only to lose with her own hands.
Some people had been separated from her by life and death before she even had time to properly say goodbye.
There were things she had once thought she would still have a chance to make right, but by the time she truly came to her senses, everything had changed beyond recognition.
Over the years, Qian Renxue had buried all her feelings deep in her heart, as though only by numbing herself could she go on living beneath these cold heavens.
Yet now, Yue Guan's appearance alone on the sky screen had let her see hope again!
"If I really can bring Mother and Grandpa back to life..."
By the end, Qian Renxue's voice was trembling slightly.
She did not dare think any further.
That hope was simply too precious, so precious that she feared it might all be joy in vain.
And yet, a flame had finally kindled in her lifeless eyes.
It was the flame of hope, a sign that her long-silent heart was coming back to life!
At that moment, Qian Renxue slowly clenched her fists.
No matter what else the sky screen revealed, no matter what power the so-called Underworld possessed, she had to keep watching!
She had to find out how Yue Guan had come back to life and how he had become the so-called White Impermanence!
Only then might she find a way to resurrect her mother and grandfather!
"I hope... everything turns out as I wish."
Murmuring softly, Qian Renxue raised her head again.
This time, her gaze was no longer lost.
Her eyes, which had once lost their luster, finally shone again.
But she did not know that the truth the sky screen was about to reveal was far more astonishing than she imagined!
Meanwhile.
The Underworld, Fengdu Grand Hall!
Unlike the excited Qian Renxue, the Underworld presented a very different scene at that moment.
Netherworld Qi surged, and dark clouds covered the heavens.
A towering, ancient hall stood amid the endless netherworld. Above it, the myriad manifestations of the world rose and fell, while the spectral forms of countless departed souls flickered in and out of sight in the distance.
Austere! Solemn! Vast!
This was the heart of the Underworld, Fengdu Grand Hall!
And now, figures were gathering there.
Yama kings, judges, ghost attendants...
They stood in rows on either side, a heart-stirring divine might emanating from them.
Old acquaintances from the former Spirit Hall had gathered here once more.
As Bibi Dong looked at those familiar figures, even she, who had once held the continent in awe and ruled Spirit Hall, could scarcely contain her emotions.
Glistening tears rolled down her cheeks.
She had thought that once certain people were lost, she could never see them again.
Yet now, her old acquaintances stood before her once more.
The joy of regaining what she had lost was far beyond words.
At last... they were reunited!
By comparison, Qian Daoliu appeared much calmer.
He stepped forward slowly, swept his gaze over the emotional crowd, and said in a deep voice, "Everything in the past has passed, after all."
"Whether it was Spirit Hall or our old grudges, all have vanished like smoke with the passing years."
"From this day forth, we are members of the Underworld."
"Since we have been given a chance at a new life, we should cherish the present rather than remain lost in the past."
Qian Daoliu's voice was not particularly loud, but it carried the composure of one who had weathered life's storms.
Hearing his words, everyone in the hall gradually calmed down.
That was right. They were no longer the members of Spirit Hall they had once been.
Now they had entirely new identities and bore entirely new missions.
Although Qian Daoliu said this, however, his gaze involuntarily turned to the sky screen above the hall.
With the aid of Chen Yuan's divine power, they could clearly see the images on the sky screen and hear everything conveyed by the mysterious voice.
"I never expected such a wondrous thing to exist in this world."
At his side, Black Impermanence Ghost Douluo, holding a black mourning staff, could not help speaking up.
A trace of surprise appeared on his already rather sinister face.
Even for beings like them, who had already embarked on the Underworld Divine Path, the sky screen was something extraordinarily special.
Even with all their knowledge and experience, they could not easily see through its mysteries.
"It can reflect the myriad heavens, reveal secrets, and even display different threads of cause and effect before all living beings..."
Black Impermanence Ghost Douluo narrowed his eyes slightly.
"I fear its origins are not as simple as we imagined."
"Indeed."
Ning Lingxiao, the Wheel-Turning King, picked up the conversation, a thoughtful look appearing on his face.
"The world is vast, and nothing is too strange to exist."
"But more than the sky screen itself, what concerns me is what it will reveal next."
At that, Ning Lingxiao's gaze sharpened slightly.
"If we can use the sky screen's power to make the living beings of Douluo Star aware of the Underworld's existence, it would undoubtedly be an excellent opportunity for us."
"When the time comes, the Underworld will no longer have to remain hidden on the dark side of the world."
"We can appear openly and honorably before all living beings!"
At those words, the hall fell silent for a moment.
Then one gaze after another turned to Chen Yuan, seated on the high throne.
They all understood what Ning Lingxiao meant.
The Underworld had lain dormant until now and had long since accumulated a sufficient foundation.
Whether its underworld soldiers and ghost generals or its increasingly complete divine path system, it already had what it needed to take a further step.
And now, the appearance of the sky screen had undoubtedly opened an entirely new door for them!
If they could seize this opportunity to make the beings of Douluo Star aware of the Underworld, and even understand its power, their future actions would surely go much more smoothly.
At the very least, they would no longer have to remain hidden in the netherworld as they had in the past.
At that thought, even the usually most composed gods could not help feeling their hearts surge.
Chen Yuan, seated high in Fengdu Grand Hall, had shown little emotion from beginning to end.
He simply watched the sky screen in silence.
Only after a moment did he slowly speak.
"Whatever happens, the Underworld must eventually emerge from the shadows and formally enter the world's sight."
"This sky screen is an excellent opportunity."
His calm words seemed to carry an unquestionable force.
In an instant, all the gods in the hall bowed as one.
"We obey the Great Emperor's command!"
Their voices joined together, making the whole of Fengdu Grand Hall seem to tremble.
Netherworld Qi roiled without end.
The era of the Underworld seemed about to begin!
At the same time, on Douluo Star.
As the sky screen continued to reveal information about Yue Guan, it stirred up raging waves across the entire continent.
For the present-day Douluo Continent, Spirit Hall had long since become a name both familiar and distant.
Once, that giant had reached almost every corner of the continent.
From Soul Masters high above the masses to ordinary people living at the very bottom, all had once had countless ties to Spirit Hall.
This was especially true of commoners with neither backing nor resources.
Spirit Hall had once been their only way of coming into contact with the world of Soul Masters.
As long as they were eligible to awaken a Martial Soul, they had a chance to change their fate.
Even those of ordinary talent could obtain the basic resources for Soul Master cultivation with Spirit Hall's help.
For ordinary people who were not even Soul Masters, Spirit Hall's protection had once been an indispensable safeguard.
But what about now?
With Spirit Hall's decline, those former benefits had long since disappeared.
Without Spirit Hall's unified administration, even awakening a Martial Soul had become fraught with difficulty for ordinary people.
As for low-ranking Soul Masters from impoverished backgrounds, they had lost the support they had once relied on to survive.
They had no powerful sects to back them and no sufficient resources for their cultivation.
In the eyes of those lofty powers, they were not even qualified to fight for an opportunity!
"Alas, if only Spirit Hall were still around."
In a remote little city, a young Soul Master in shabby clothes looked up at the sky screen and could not help sighing.
"At least back then, ordinary Soul Masters like us still had a chance to get ahead."
"But what about now? With no backing and no resources, what good is having Soul Power?"
"In the end, we're nothing but ants in the eyes of those great powers!"
Similar voices rang out across the continent.
More and more commoners began to miss the days when Spirit Hall existed.
Even low-ranking Soul Masters who had once resented Spirit Hall could not help feeling a measure of sentiment.
To them, Spirit Hall had certainly not been perfect, but it had at least given them a chance to change their fate.
Now, that chance had gradually vanished with Spirit Hall's decline.
How could they not miss it?
However, the thoughts of ordinary people did not represent everyone's attitude.
To the powers that had once fought endlessly against Spirit Hall, the name still meant a threat.
Those with close ties to Shrek Academy in particular were absolutely unwilling to see Spirit Hall rise again!
Inside Shrek Academy, Yu Xiaogang listened to the discussions around him, his expression immediately darkening.
He snorted coldly, his eyes full of disdain.
"Spirit Hall?"
"They're nothing but a bunch of losers!"
"So what if Yue Guan really did become a god?"
Yu Xiaogang straightened his chest, as though merely mentioning Tang San gave him the confidence to crush everything before him.
"My Little San is a God King!"
"With Little San around, what waves could a mere Spirit Hall possibly stir up?"
By the end, he even looked somewhat smug.
In Yu Xiaogang's view, as long as Tang San remained at the pinnacle of the Divine Realm, neither Spirit Hall nor the so-called Underworld could possibly become a real threat.
He simply did not believe that Tang San, already a God King, would lose to a White Impermanence who had only just been revealed!
Yet before Yu Xiaogang's words had fully faded, a magnificent voice suddenly rang out from the sky screen.
The voice seemed to descend from the ninth heaven, bearing boundless divine might as it instantly drowned out the clamor across the continent.
In the next moment, golden light flowed across the sky screen, and ancient characters slowly emerged.
[Tenth place: White Impermanence Yue Guan!] [Affiliation: The Underworld!] [Strength: Level 150, God King level!] [Guiding the good and evil, bringing fortune at first sight; life and death are inconstant, good and evil are repaid!]