The Contest

"Talented people emerge in every generation, and the pace of progress is too fast. When we were young, Tang Hao, who became Titled Douluo in his early forties, was enough to shock the entire continent. Then your Pope became Titled Douluo before he was even 40 and succeeded as Pope of the Spirit Hall. I originally thought that the geniuses in this world were just like those two. But seeing the two of you today, I truly feel powerless."

After being manipulated by Shui Bing'er to be absorbed in front of him and released from the frozen state, the Emperor of the Xingluo Empire seemed to have briefly escaped from the influence of the evil soul master's secret technique. After waking up, his eyes showed a mixture of emotions, including frustration, wonder, and mostly emotion.

"I know that Mubai is about the same age as you. He's not even 30 yet, and he's already reached the pinnacle of this continent. I accept defeat wholeheartedly."

Perhaps it's because they've grown so fast, and the people around them are all top-tier geniuses of their time, that they haven't felt this way. It's only today, after hearing what the Emperor of the Star Luo Empire said, that they realized that Titled Douluo isn't something so common; it's the goal that ordinary people strive for their entire lives.

Yu Tianshuang didn't delve into the matter, indulging his sentimentality. She glanced at Star Luo City in the distance and said, "The victor is king, the loser is villain. Since you've already lost, I'm sure you know what to do next."

His meaning was clear: these eleven Titled Douluo were the Star Luo Empire's last trump card, and now that they had all been lost, a wise person would understand that surrender was his only option.

"Hmm... it's time to let go of my dreams of unifying the continent... From now on, I'll hand the kingdom over to Weisi; he's more suited to be king than I am..."

This man, who once stood at the pinnacle of power on the continent, now looked so desolate, as if he had aged instantly. He took one last deep look at Yu Tianshuang and the other, nodded, and said nothing more. He silently turned around and flew towards Star Luo City, but his back view gave people a sense of old age.

The five of them said nothing, giving the emperor the final respect, and silently followed behind him. When they arrived above Star Luo City again, the emperor hovered in the air, looking at the huge city below. He closed his eyes, and memories from childhood to adulthood began to surface in an instant, like a fleeting glimpse.

"Let's go, let Weisi ascend the throne first, and then let him announce the submission of the Star Luo Empire, oh no, the Star Luo Kingdom. I... I still don't have that kind of vision and magnanimity, please..."

He had originally intended to do all of this himself, to see it through to the end, but now that he was actually standing here, he realized that he wasn't as open and honest as he thought; there was still a Sisi of resentment...

Yu Tianshuang waved her hand, indicating, "It's alright, the process isn't important to us, as long as the result is the same."

Perhaps I haven't experienced such a huge sense of loss, so I can't truly understand what he's feeling right now, but I can still try to understand him to some extent.

The group flew into Star Luo City. Inside the tightly closed houses, people would occasionally peek out and whisper among themselves, watching them. This made the Star Luo Empire Emperor's expression even more complicated. He lowered his head, ignoring the whispers that, though quiet, were deafening to him, and sped towards the Crown Prince's residence.

Two rows of Soul Master stood guard at the entrance of the Crown Prince's residence. These were royal guards who had been modified by the secret methods of the Holy Spirit Cult. They were the ones he had sent to monitor Dai Weisi. He waved his hand, signaling the tense guards to put down their weapons, and then had them open the gate.

Just then, an unexpected event occurred. As soon as the door opened, a dark figure flashed out. Ice mist swirled beneath Yu Tianshuang's feet, and she instantly appeared in front of the Star Luo Empire's emperor, throwing him toward Shui Bing'er and the others. Then, she exchanged a palm strike with the dark figure.

After the dark figure was effortlessly repelled back to the Crown Prince's residence, they finally recognized him as Zhong Meng who had fought Yu Tianshuang. He raised his right hand, which was now shrouded in icy mist, and flicked it playfully, saying mockingly, "Oh, kid, your reflexes are still pretty quick..."

"Protect His Majesty!!!" Only then did the guards at the gate react and stand in front of the Emperor of the Star Luo Empire.

Inside the Crown Prince's residence, Zhong Meng and Ye Yuxuan, a tall woman in red with her face covered, were holding Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun hostage. Behind them were more than a dozen people dressed in black and wearing black hoods.

Ye Yuxuan, veiled in a thin gauze, gracefully walked forward a few steps. Her slender figure, combined with the barely visible red dress, made her appear incredibly Charm. The veil partially concealed her face, revealing glimpses of her sensual, rosy lips parted slightly. "Yu Tianshuang, it's been a long time. You're still as amazing as ever. Eleven Titled Douluo, plus our Emperor, were all defeated by you. Luckily, we had a backup plan. Now, let's make a deal."

Her beautiful, red eyes revealed undisguised admiration as she stared at Yu Tianshuang, seemingly forgetting the day she had been nearly brought to tears by him. She continued, "Hand over His Majesty to us, and in exchange, I will give you these two people, and then you can leave Star Luo City safely."

After Ye Yuxuan finished speaking, she lightly touched the ground with her delicate lotus feet. In an instant, bright red blood energy spread out, enveloping the entire Crown Prince's residence. With this action, Zhong Meng and the dozen or so men in black behind her also released a powerful black death aura, which pressed down on Yu Tianshuang and the others.

"Class of '97..."

Yu Tianshuang frowned. In such a short time, Ye Yuxuan and Zhong Meng's levels had increased by 2 levels. It should be noted that after level 95, the difference in strength between each level of Soul Power increase is huge. Similarly, the difficulty of increasing the level is also very difficult. Yu Yuanzhen, with his level 96 strength, was seriously injured by Sword Douluo at level 97. Although there were various factors involved, the gap between levels became more and more exaggerated as time went on.

"The people behind her are all Titled Douluo, and I can clearly sense that they... are genuine new-stage Title Douluos, unlike the Half-Step Titled Douluo Titled Douluo just fought."

Shui Bing'er and the others immediately became alert. Sensing the aura emanating from these people, she spoke softly to Yu Tianshuang with a solemn expression.

These people, like the royal family members of the Star Luo Empire, must have recently used the secret techniques of Evil Soul Master to advance to the Titled Douluo realm. However, unlike those people, they are Evil Soul Master themselves, so their strength is genuine and they are true Titled Douluo.

Yu Tianshuang scoffed disdainfully, then took a step forward, his icy blue Soul Power bursting forth instantly, and then confronted the blood-red and black-gray intertwined Soul Power that Ye Yuxuan and the others had condensed. With his own strength alone, he was actually on par with them.

"You think you can take us for granted? What if I say no?"

Ye Yuxuan was also surprised. Their battle outside the city should have been very taxing, yet Shui Bing'er hadn't even released her Soul Power to fight them. So what was going on with this person? Although they hadn't used their full power, how could he possibly fight them all by himself?

Ye Yuxuan frowned slightly, but quickly relaxed, smiling brightly as she spoke. Then, she raised her slender, snow-white arm and clenched her fist slightly in the air. "Actually, the result is the same, it's just a bit more troublesome."

"Ah..." With her action, the emperor of the Star Luo Empire instantly knelt on the ground in pain, his face contorted with bulging veins, his entire body exuding a thick aura of blood. Seeing this, Yu Tianshuang and the others understood that the Holy Spirit Cult had long ago prepared a backup plan and had already controlled the emperor of the Star Luo Empire through some unknown secret method. At this moment, his life and death were in their hands.

No wonder she said the outcome would be the same. Even if she didn't hand over the Star Luo Empire's emperor to them, Dai Weisi would still be in their hands. Supporting him to the throne would be the same thing. Or it would be easier to just find a more obedient member of the royal family. Her current actions are actually a way of doing herself a favor. After all, because of Zhu Zhuqing, she couldn't possibly watch her sister and brother-in-law be killed.

Having understood all this, Yu Tianshuang waved her hand frankly and said, "Since that's the case, then I thank Cult Master Ye for his kindness. However, although I appreciate your favor, I will still not hold back if we meet on the battlefield in the future."

Ye Yuxuan knew he was a smart man and understood her reasons for doing so. However, hearing his words, she was still somewhat dissatisfied. She gave him a charming and coquettish glance and said, "You man, how could you be so heartless? Fine, if you don't appreciate it, you don't appreciate it. Who knows who will win in the future?"

On the way back, Dai Weisi and Zhu Zhuyun sat on Shui Bing'er's Ice Phoenix, looking at Yu Tianshuang beside them, who stood solemnly beside them, shrouded in the Heavenly Frost Cold Qi. After exchanging a glance, Dai Weisi said apologetically, "Yu Tianshuang, I'm sorry. If it weren't for me and Zhu Yun, you might not have had to go through all this trouble..."

Yu Tianshuang was actually wondering why Ye Yuxuan hadn't taken advantage of their weakened state to capture them. Hearing Dai Weisi's somewhat guilty voice, she turned to the two of them and smiled, saying, "It's alright, you don't need to blame yourselves so much. Actually, even if I hadn't switched you out, the result would have been the same. But the fact that she didn't take advantage of their situation and instead let us leave safely shows that this woman is quite proud..."

Shui Bing'er's Soul Power had recovered by now. Thinking about how this woman, who had seemed harmless not long ago, had changed so much in such a short time, and how confident and smug she was, it was definitely due to the significant increase in her strength. The Holy Spirit Cult was more dangerous than she had anticipated.

After thinking for a moment, she said, "The reason we were let go is that we don't want to completely break ties with the Spirit Hall Empire. They probably still need time to build up their strength. Right now, they don't want to have a direct battle with us. Killing us would certainly reduce the Spirit Hall Empire's strength, but on the surface, there are only three Titled Douluo among us, Ling Yuan. If killing us causes the Worship Hall to attack us at all costs, that's not what they want to see."

Inside the Crown Prince's residence in Star Luo City, Zhong Meng hesitated for a moment as he looked at Ye Yuxuan, who was reinforcing the Blood Plum Gu for the Star Luo Empire's emperor. He then said, "Sect Leader, I think we should have seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to kill that brat. I bet the Spirit Hall Empire won't launch a full-scale war against us because of him. The Worship Hall rarely intervenes; who knows if those old guys are still alive..."

Zhong Meng was genuinely wary of Yu Tianshuang, because he was the only one who had personally fought against him and knew how terrifying this young man was. Compared to his own strength, which had increased through the secret techniques of the Holy Spirit Cult, this kid's strength had also increased significantly. He had a feeling that if he let him go today, this person would definitely become the biggest obstacle for the Holy Spirit Cult in the future.

Ye Yuxuan withdrew her delicate hand from the Star Luo Empire Emperor's head, turned to Zhong Meng, and said, "We dare not gamble now. First, we cannot be sure if the Worship Hall will intervene. Second, I am not sure if we could have stopped them even if we had made our move. He is a smart man; since he dared to enter the city, he must have known we were there. Given that, his fearlessness suggests he has something to rely on. So, to be on the safe side, we might as well do him a favor. Moreover, instead of gambling on these uncertainties, we should seize the time to strengthen ourselves. Time is what we lack most right now."

In fact, she had considered taking down Yu Tianshuang and the others immediately, but she was still a little uneasy. If the Spirit Hall Empire were to launch a full-scale attack in the future, their current strength would not be enough to stop Bibi Dong and the Worship Hall. Moreover, judging from the strong confidence on Yu Tianshuang's face, she could not be sure whether her side could keep him here.

Moreover, she has a kind of confidence, confidence in herself. Given enough time, she will be fearless, so why take risks now?

Pope's Palace in Spirit City, now known as the Imperial Palace, Bibi Dong, having just finished dealing with the affairs of the Empire, rested her cheek on her hand wearily, leaned back in her chair, closed her eyes, and pretended to doze off for a moment.

After a long while, she sensed a fleeting golden, holy aura and entered the Angel Temple. She opened her eyes, somewhat bewildered, "Why is she back again? Did something happen again?"

Thinking about it, she couldn't help but worry, and her body involuntarily stood up, wanting to go check on him. But after taking only one step, she laughed self-deprecatingly, looking at her palm and saying, "Bibi Dong, what are you pretending to be, this good mother? Even if you go now, they might not even pay you any attention..."

In fact, her feelings were always complicated. On the one hand, she felt that she shouldn't blame Qian Renxue for everything and transfer her hatred for Qian Xunji onto her, since Qian Renxue was innocent. On the other hand, she had indeed unconsciously and invisibly thrown these things at Qian Renxue, and her attitude towards her all along had said it all.

But she was still a little worried. She knew her daughter well; something must have happened to make her come back. But she couldn't just run over and ask her, then play the role of a good mother and comfort her, could she? Nor could she go back to the front lines; that would be too obvious.

"Report!!! Your Majesty, military report from the front lines of the Star Luo Empire!"

Just as she was caught in a dilemma, the sound of a scout came from outside the door, which immediately made her happy, and she quickly let him in.