The battle at Bianhong City shook the entire continent within mere days.
After severing the head of the Clear Sky Clan's Second Elder at his Titled Douluo Grand Banquet,
Sword Wine Douluo Li Zhexian had now slain the Spirit Empire's Super Douluo, Yue Guan!
If one included his hand in bringing down the Devil Bear Douluo
and the killing of the Clear Sky Clan's Seventh Elder in the secret realm—
Li Zhexian alone had slain three Titled Douluo.
For a time—
The name Sword Wine Douluo Li Zhexian overshadowed all others.
Meanwhile, Dugu Bo, having killed Ghost Douluo, had completely washed away the title of "weakest Titled Douluo,"
and stepped into the ranks of true peak experts capable of contending at the Heavenly Rigdge Martial Tournament.
...
In Heaven Dou City
The whole city was overflowing with celebration.
The Spirit Empire's rising shadow had long loomed over the two empires; the people were starved for a victory—
and this was a victory that shook the heavens.
Across from a small noodle stall,
a large crowd surrounded a storyteller.
"Such magnificence from His Excellency Sword Wine Douluo!"
PAH—!
The storyteller slapped his wooden block; his voice rang like bronze bells shattering the clouds.
"But see—he opened his mouth and recited the Heavenly Mandate!"
"Hah!"
"A hundred miles of cloud sea boiled like snow thrown into scalding water—crashing apart!"
"And deep within that swirling cloud vortex…"
He slowly pushed open his folding fan, leaning forward as if witnessing the scene firsthand:
"A colossal Qinglian sword tore through the heavens, frost-cold and dazzling, illuminating the sky…"
When he finished the stanza—
The entire audience erupted.
Copper coins showered the stage like rain.
"Marvelous!"
"Sword Wine Douluo is truly the greatest prodigy of ancient or modern times!"
"To cut down Spirit Hall Elders—Sword Wine Douluo defies the heavens!"
Zhu Zhuqing, Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong (who had returned), Dugu Yan, Ye Lingling, and the other seven of the Emperor Team were in the crowd, cheering excitedly.
They were shaken by Li Zhexian's slaying of Chrysanthemum Douluo—
but even more relieved that he had returned alive.
Zhu Zhuqing flicked her slender fingers, sending a gold coin in a graceful arc that landed lightly on the storyteller's desk.
"Zhuqing, why are you doing that?"
Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong asked curiously.
Before she could answer, Dugu Yan spoke, envy in her tone:
"That's Zhexian's habit."
"Zhuqing—he asked you to do that for him, didn't he?"
Zhu Zhuqing nodded with a soft smile.
Compared to the excitement around them—
Only the Spirit Master standing listlessly beside the storyteller looked miserable, clapping half-heartedly.
What do I do…
Feels like I'm going to lose my job…
He had wanted to follow Sword Wine Douluo to Star Luo,
but the mission was too classified—he couldn't be brought along.
Sigh…
He suddenly missed the old days traveling the continent with the storyteller.
"After taking the immortal herb His Excellency Sword Wine Douluo gave me, my body's getting stronger every day."
"At this rate, telling stories for twenty more years, wandering for twenty more years—totally possible."
"Traveling the continent… my future's looking good."
...
Heaven Dou Imperial Palace
Emperor Xue Ye was radiant, even the lingering poison in his body seeming to fade slightly.
"Hahahahaha!"
"With Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo fallen, the Spirit Empire has been dealt a crippling blow!"
"Sword Wine Douluo and Poison Douluo are truly Heaven Dou's pillars!"
Ning Fengzhi smiled and sighed:
"Zhexian said that if he went to Star Luo, he would return with a Titled Douluo's head."
"And now…"
"His strength has already reached the realm of a Super Douluo."
Feng Bailong stroked his beard and exhaled:
"To reach Super Douluo at barely twenty years of age… Zhexian's talent is terrifying."
...
Spirit Hall — The Grand Hall
Bibi Dong sat upon the imperial throne, enveloped in a faint purple glow of Spirit Power that elongated her silhouette and radiated suffocating pressure.
On both sides of the hall—
The Sect Masters and newly appointed Spirit Douluo-level Elders knelt deeply, bodies trembling, walking on thin ice.
At the center—
A messenger knelt, robes already drenched in cold sweat.
"Speak."
Bibi Dong parted her red lips, uttering just one word.
The messenger jolted, raising the blood-stained war report with shaking hands:
"Your Majesty…"
"Our Spirit Master army marched to Bianhong City. Heaven Dou Empire's Sword Wine Douluo Li Zhexian and Poison Douluo Dugu Bo joined the battle."
"Elders Yue Guan and Gui Mei… fell gloriously… in service to the Empire."
"Five thousand Spirit Masters… were entirely… annihilated."
"After resting one day… the Star Luo army… reclaimed Wangtian City yesterday…"
When he finished—
His entire body collapsed, forehead pressed against the freezing marble floor.
The grand hall plunged into deathly silence.
The air grew heavy as iron—
even breathing became difficult.
After a long time—
One Sect Master finally stepped forward, teeth clenched, bowing deeply:
"Your Majesty, this minister believes…"
"With the fall of Yue Guan and Gui Mei, our Spirit Empire's top-tier power now falls… behind Heaven Dou."
"The urgent priority is to stay our advance and recuperate. When we have gathered our strength once more, we can again pursue dominion over the continent."
Once someone spoke—
Voices followed:
"This minister seconds!"
"This minister seconds!"
Bibi Dong's beautiful face remained calm, unmarred,
her lips even curling into the faintest of smiles.
She seemed entirely unruffled by the catastrophic loss.
But that smile was cold, eerie—
sending chills up every spine.
"Li Zhexian can slay a Super Douluo?"
Between a Super Douluo and an ordinary Titled Douluo
lay a gulf that could not be crossed through Spirit Power alone.
Even if Yue Guan had never obtained the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum and thus his Martial Soul was imperfect—
He was still a Super Douluo.
"Such talent… is indeed frightening."
Bibi Dong's gaze swept across the trembling figures prostrated on the ground.
She said nothing more.
She simply tapped her scepter lightly.
BOOM—
A dull sound echoed.
A faint black miasma rolled outward like a tide, sweeping across the hall in an instant.
Everyone felt a piercing chill.
The ever-burning lamps on both sides flickered dark, plunging the hall into a gloomy, foreboding shadow.
"Your Majesty…"
The Sect Master who had spoken earlier still wished to persuade her.
But then—
Heavy footsteps echoed from outside.
Thud—
Thud—
One step.
Then another.
Each one carrying an indescribably sinister pressure.
Everyone turned toward the entrance—
And their pupils shrank violently.
A chilling terror exploded in their chests, sending several stumbling backward.
"Y-you…"
Someone's teeth chattered so hard the words barely formed.
From beyond the hall, four figures slowly walked inside.
They were—
Yue Guan, Gui Mei, Devil Bear Douluo, and Ghost-Leopard Douluo—
all of whom had already died.
The four had ashen, corpse-gray faces; from their wounds protruded blackened flesh with no blood flowing at all.
A suffocatingly sinister aura seeped from their bodies.
"Heh…"
Yue Guan let out a low, eerie chuckle.
He suddenly raised his hand—
and seized the sect master by the throat.
"Who said… I died?"
BOOM!
Black mist burst from his palm.
The sect master didn't even scream before he exploded into blood and bone fragments.
The four undead Douluo stepped behind Bibi Dong and stood motionless,
their murky eyes sweeping coldly across the hall.
With imperial authority, Bibi Dong's voice echoed again:
"The Spirit Empire has never feared an enemy."
"If Heaven Dou supports Star Luo—then we turn our blades toward Heaven Dou."
"Mobilize and prepare for one month.
In one month, we march on Heaven Dou."
"YES!!"
No one dared object.
Only frantic voices echoed through the hall.
—
As she left the grand hall—
Bibi Dong did not return to her palace.
Instead, she ascended the stone steps of the divine mountain alone,
moving toward the mist-shrouded supreme sanctuary—
the Angel Temple.