Chapter 37: The Ice Empress and Snow Empress Fall in Love; Such an Endless Pride Is Too Handsome!
Above in the Sky Screen, the scene gradually returned to calm.
Although that earth-shattering battle had already come to an end, the apocalyptic spectacle it left behind was something every living being on the Douluo Continent would never forget.
Immortal Kings.
And not just one of them.
When they saw the terrifying figures stepping out one after another from the dark void behind An Lan, even though they were only watching through the Sky Screen, the people of Douluo Continent still felt their scalps go numb.
Every one of those existences carried an aura even more ancient and decayed than An Lan's.
It was as if they were living fossils that had crawled out from the dust of history.
Yet what truly made their scalps tingle was the mysterious master of the Primordial Immortal Court, Jiang Chen, who had never even shown himself.
With only a single giant hand that stretched across endless space and time, reaching out from billions upon billions of miles away, he had actually blocked the joint attack of the two Immortal Kings, An Lan and Yu Tuo.
Not only that, but he had done so without falling into a disadvantage, retreating calmly afterward.
"What kind of power is that?"
"Fighting two at once, and treating them as if they were nothing."
...
At the same time, Shrek Academy.
Everyone was still digesting the shocking battle they had just witnessed.
Only one figure quietly slipped out of the crowd and, under the cover of night, entered the dense forest behind the academy alone.
It was Tang San.
At this moment, Tang San's face was so gloomy that it seemed water could drip from it.
He found a smooth piece of large bluestone and sat down. Under the faint moonlight, he pulled out the book he treated as a priceless treasure from his chest.
The Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record.
In the past, whenever he touched this book, what surged in his heart was endless pride.
Because it contained the ultimate techniques of the Tang Sect.
It was the very foundation that allowed him to establish himself in this foreign world, and also his greatest advantage in surpassing his peers.
But now, looking at the thin booklet in his hands, a trace of disgust appeared in Tang San's eyes for the first time.
"Mysterious Heaven Skill, Hundred Interpretations of Hidden Weapons…"
"Heh, what does this even count as?"
Tang San let out a self-mocking laugh.
In his mind, the image of Ye Qingyu with white hair dancing wildly, tearing apart a True Immortal with one hand, involuntarily surfaced.
"In front of that mortal named Ye Qingyu, these so-called ultimate techniques of mine are nothing more than children playing house."
"Mysterious Jade Hands? Even if cultivated to the extreme, they're only as hard as iron. But that man possesses a divine body capable of resisting immortal weapons!"
"Purple Demon Eyes? They claim to see through illusions, yet he can shatter the heavens with a single glance!"
"Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track? How could it ever compare to that speed, like a roc soaring through the skies?"
The more he thought about it, the more unbearable it felt.
Especially that enormous sense of disparity, which made his heart burn with jealousy.
"And that Yu Xiaogang…"
Tang San suddenly turned his head, looking through the gaps in the forest toward the training field.
Yu Xiaogang was still slumped on the ground there, muttering endlessly about impossibilities and things that defied logic.
In the next moment, Tang San shook his head with faint ridicule.
"Yu Xiaogang, Yu Xiaogang…"
"Your so-called Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls are nothing but nonsense in front of that higher-dimensional world."
"If I keep following a frog at the bottom of a well, like you, I, Tang San, will never see the real sky in this lifetime."
Thinking of this, Tang San took a deep breath, and the look in his eyes gradually became ruthless.
"A wise bird chooses the right tree to roost in. A capable minister chooses the right lord to serve."
"If Douluo Continent has no future, why should I continue following this useless teacher?"
"I'm going to that world and joining the Primordial Immortal Court."
"Even if I can only become a registered disciple, it would still be better than staying here as some so-called Titled Douluo!"
"But before that, I still need to make some preparations."
With that thought, Tang San no longer hesitated.
He quickly took out everything he had accumulated over the years from the Twenty-Four Moonlight Bridges.
Various rare metal ores, unrefined poisonous herbs and toxins, and the half-finished hidden weapons he had painstakingly crafted day and night.
"If I'm also chosen by the sky screen, these will be my greatest assets."
Tang San organized his belongings while calculating silently in his heart.
"Although the cultivation system of that world is powerful, it seems they don't possess such exquisite mechanical hidden weapons."
"If I can present the blueprints of Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus, and Torrential Pear Blossom Needles to that Immortal Lord…"
"Perhaps I could also gain his favor, reshape my body, and step onto the true path of immortal cultivation!"
After organizing everything, Tang San tightened the Twenty-Four Moonlight Bridges around his waist and took one final deep look in the direction of Shrek Academy.
His companions were there.
His teacher was there.
But in the face of immortality and absolute power, all of those bonds were nothing more than burdens in his eyes.
"Xiaogang, don't blame me for being ruthless."
"You're simply too weak. You cannot teach me the truly invincible method."
"If one day I return as an immortal, perhaps I'll burn some paper money for you to thank you for recognizing my talent back then."
Under the moonlight, Tang San had already prepared himself to abandon everything at any moment.
All he needed to do now was wait for that golden light to descend upon his head.
...
Spirit Hall, Spirit City.
Compared to Tang San's decisiveness, Spirit Hall, the hegemon of the continent, responded with astonishing efficiency.
Inside the massive council hall, lights burned brightly, illuminating the chamber like daylight.
Pope Bibi Dong sat high upon the jeweled papal throne, gripping her scepter tightly with a solemn expression.
"Pass down the order!"
"From this moment onward, activate Spirit Hall's highest level of wartime alert!"
"Gui Mei, Yue Guan!"
"Your subordinate is here!"
As Bibi Dong gave the command, two figures instantly appeared in the center of the hall and knelt on one knee, their expressions uneasy.
Even though they were Titled Douluo, after watching the live broadcast on the Sky Screen just now, their Dao hearts had nearly shattered.
Even a God King had been seized with a single hand.
What did Titled Douluo amount to in comparison?
Bibi Dong stood up.
Her purple robes dragged along the ground, each step seeming to land on the heartbeat of everyone present.
"Bring out all the foundations Spirit Hall has accumulated over the past thousand years!"
"Whether it's top-grade soul bones over ten thousand years old, legendary ancient soul tools, or the unknown secret treasures excavated from ancient ruins…"
"Bring them all out!"
Hearing this, Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan could not help but ask with a trembling voice,
"Your Holiness… are you planning to…"
"Prepare for war."
Bibi Dong narrowed her eyes, a hint of madness flashing within them.
"Since the Sky Screen selects people randomly, and Spirit Hall possesses the largest number of soul masters on the continent, the probability of our people being chosen is naturally the highest."
"So what we should be considering right now is how to ensure that once our people are chosen, they can survive in that world."
As she spoke, Bibi Dong walked to the center of the hall and looked up at the massive angel statue, letting out a cold laugh.
"Nana has already been chosen. That is our first advantage."
"But it is not enough."
"I want every member of Spirit Hall who might be selected next to carry items that can increase their chances of survival."
"As long as we can bring back even a single cultivation technique from that world, even if it is merely an introductory Body Tempering Technique…"
"Everything we spend will be worth it."
At this point, Bibi Dong suddenly turned around, her gaze sweeping across every red-robed bishop and elder present.
"For Spirit Hall!"
The moment those words were spoken, the entire hall erupted into excitement.
Yes.
That world was too powerful.
So powerful that it inspired despair.
But precisely because of that, even the smallest scraps flowing from that world would be supreme divine medicine for the Douluo Continent.
If someone could survive there for just one year, even as a beggar, and bring back a single bowl of that spiritual crystal rice, it would be worth everything.
"We obey the Pope's decree!"
...
Heaven Dou Empire, deep mountain cliffs.
Iron chains stretched across the vast gorge.
Sect Master Tang Xiao of the Clear Sky Sect stood before the massive stone stele of the sect alongside five elders, letting the fierce mountain wind whip through their hair and beards.
Before them, a group of sect disciples were drenched in sweat, frantically swinging their Clear Sky Hammers.
"Did you skip your meal? Put more strength into it!"
"The Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer Method isn't for forging iron. It's for killing!"
One elder roared angrily, his whip striking mercilessly across the back of a disciple who had slowed down slightly.
In the past, although the Clear Sky Sect was strict, it would never have been this cruel.
But everything had changed after today's broadcast.
"Sect Master…"
The Second Elder looked at the disciples who were coughing blood from training, yet still dared not stop. A trace of reluctance flashed through his eyes.
"Is this... really going to work?"
"You saw Tang Hao, too. He couldn't even beat a chicken."
At the mention of Tang Hao, Tang Xiao's originally resolute face flashed with embarrassment and anger.
Tang Hao.
Once the pride of the Clear Sky Sect.
The youngest Titled Douluo on the entire continent.
Yet in the Sky Screen broadcast, he had looked like a complete joke, sent flying by a village chicken.
That scene had not only slapped Tang Hao in the face.
It had slapped the entire Clear Sky Sect in the face.
"Precisely because of that, we must train even harder!"
After saying that, Tang Xiao took a deep breath and suddenly waved his hand.
"Hear my order!"
"From today onward, the Clear Sky Sect will fully unseal itself!"
"All direct disciples, aside from eating and sleeping, must spend every remaining moment cultivating!"
"If anyone is selected by the Sky Screen, no matter what, they must cling to life in that world!"
"Even if you die, die while searching for opportunities!"
"Yes!!!"
In an instant, hundreds of Clear Sky Sect disciples roared in unison, their voices shaking the mountain valley.
...
Extreme North, icy wilderness.
The snowstorm here seemed even fiercer than usual.
Yet amid the endless snowfall, two breathtaking figures sat atop a crystal-clear ice mountain, swinging their jade-like feet while gazing up at the Sky Screen.
"Wow…"
The Ice Empress's emerald eyes were now filled with sparkling stars.
Her usual cold and domineering demeanor had completely vanished, replaced by the appearance of an excited fangirl.
"Big Sister Xue, did you see that?"
"That Immortal Lord never even showed his face, but the shape of that hand and the lines of those fingers are simply perfect!"
"And with just one slap, that Immortal King and his ancient golden spears were all bent!"
"So handsome. He's really too handsome!"
"If I could be held in the hands of such a strong man…"
As she spoke, the Ice Empress suddenly blushed for no reason.
She covered her burning cheeks with both hands, looking exactly like a young girl in love.
End of Chapter