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"Qiangu Dongfeng, do you plead guilty?"
Hearing the judgment pronounced against him, Qiangu Dongfeng nodded weakly, his gaze drifting toward a corner of the grand stadium where Qiangu Zhangting was seated. Disguised, the young man had managed to sneak in. The reason he hadn't been implicated was simple—Qiangu Zhangting had been entirely unaware of his grandfather's actions.
"Live well, Zhangting..."
Reading his grandfather's lips, Qiangu Zhangting's tears fell silently. The name "Qiangu" had long become synonymous with infamy across the Douluo Continent, so much so that even he had been forced to abandon it, adopting a new identity to survive.
At this moment, he harbored no thoughts of revenge. His eyes swept over Tang Wulin, Gu Yuena, and the others seated in the place of honor before he rose silently and left. Perhaps the rest of his life would be spent in obscurity, living quietly under an assumed name.
The lingering affection he once held for Gu Yuena had been utterly extinguished by this cataclysmic turn of events. Great upheavals force maturity upon a person. Qiangu Zhangting had fallen from the pinnacle of glory into the abyss. Whether he could rise again depended entirely on himself.
Gu Yuena watched the scene with a sigh. How unpredictable fate was. Who could have imagined that the once-revered master of the Spirit Pagoda, the illustrious Qiangu family, would be reduced to ruin in just a few short months? The name Qiangu Dongfeng was now nailed to the pillar of shame, condemned for eternity.
She stood and announced, "Since this matter is concluded, I shall take my leave."
"Wait... Na'er."
Gu Yuena frowned. "Hmm? Does the Tang Sect Master have further instructions?"
"You're aware that Bai Xu's whereabouts remain unknown since that day, correct?" Tang Wulin probed cautiously.
"I am. I participated in the search operation myself. No trace of Bai Xu's body was found. Or... are you implying that I secretly hid his corpse to monopolize the secrets of the Otherworldly Demon?" Gu Yuena countered.
The upper echelons all understood the significance of the Otherworldly Demon. With the current technological capabilities of Douluo Continent, Bai Xu's remains could potentially unveil the secrets of another plane. The fact that Bai Xu had achieved power surpassing that of a Limit Douluo in such a short time meant his secrets were invaluable—perhaps even containing methods to help Limit Douluos break through planar restrictions and ascend to godhood.
"Not at all. I merely wished to consult you. We plan to expand the search across the entire Federation and hope the Spirit Pagoda will cooperate."
Gu Yuena remained impassive but nodded in agreement. "Very well."
With that, she turned to leave.
"Na'er..." A soft sigh halted her steps.
Yali stepped forward, her voice pleading. "Are you still the same Na'er from before?"
Gu Yuena did not turn back. "She is well. There's no need for concern."
---
Time passed swiftly.
Yuanen Yehui had found her family and uncovered the truth about her origins—including the circumstances of her mother's death. The Fallen Angel martial soul could not be cultivated beyond the 90th rank, for doing so would open a portal to another plane, summoning forth a demonic legion.
Tang Wulin and Er Ming had come to the ancestral home of the Yuanen family to resolve this impending catastrophe.
Night fell.
As Yuanen drifted into slumber, subtle transformations began to manifest in her aura. A faint, crystalline glow shimmered across her skin as her soul power flowed naturally into her soul core, refining itself. The rhythmic pulsations of her soul core caused the once-gentle energy to surge like a raging river.
The shackles within her mind shattered. The bottleneck restraining her cultivation broke effortlessly, as if it had been destined all along.
A pale yellow radiance enveloped her body as her soul rings materialized one after another—until finally, the ninth ring appeared.
In her dreams, she saw her mother.
"Darkness descends; only through falling can you find freedom. Awaken, my daughter. The boundless demonic power sleeping in your blood awaits." Her mother's voice lured her forward, step by step, into the abyssal depths of darkness.
A frigid, frenzied will surged into her spiritual sea, seeking to merge with it. Alongside it came a flood of violent emotions—bloodlust, slaughter, terror, madness.
Hunger for killing. An insatiable thirst for blood.
At this moment, Yuanen Yehui advanced relentlessly toward a world of ice and shadow. A pair of massive wings unfurled from her back as all nine of her soul rings darkened into a sinister purple-black.
Curved horns sprouted from her forehead, and dense dark energy flooded the room. With a beat of her wings, she soared into the night sky, rousing everyone from their slumber.
"Darkness shall prevail; only through falling can there be freedom."
Ninth Soul Skill—Demon Portal!
A swirling purple-black vortex rose as her incantation summoned a colossal gate of the same hue.
But what followed in the spiritual realm was not the rewards of a Demon Monarch—only desolation.
"Run... flee!" Whispers of demonic voices urged, desperate to sever the connection.
Yet in her mind's eye, Yuanen Yehui glimpsed a fragment of the demon plane. Half of that world had withered into lifelessness. The earth was barren, the oceans dried up, and the once-ubiquitous dark elements had vanished.
Seated in the sky, a figure radiated iridescent light. Any demon that dared approach was instantly shredded by its brilliance.
Streams of life force drifted toward Bai Xu, absorbed without resistance—even the plane's origin energy was not spared.
"Bai Xu?"
Confronted by such absolute ruthlessness, the demonized Yuanen seemed to regain a sliver of clarity. The darkness in her eyes receded, replaced by disbelief. The mighty Demon Monarchs had been effortlessly annihilated.
Her gaze fell upon Tang Wulin and her clansmen below, poised for battle.
After a long pause...
Two goat-horned demons, each barely a meter tall, stumbled out of the portal, their expressions dazed with relief. Then, the gate closed behind them.
Silence.
The two demons exchanged bewildered glances, utterly lost. Even Tang Wulin, who had prepared a Grade-9 fixed soul cannon, was baffled. Where was the promised demonic army? Why just these two—mere imps with power equivalent to Soul Ancestors?
"Avenge... me..."
The lingering will of the Demon Monarch echoed within Yuanen Yehui, but its shattered spirit could no longer control a Titled Douluo. The darkness cloaking her dissipated entirely, leaving her standing in stunned silence.
Sensing her calm, untainted aura, Tang Wulin approached cautiously. "Yuanen?"
"It's me. I'm not under their control."
"Thank goodness!" Tang Wulin grinned, signaling to the distant forces to stand down. The armed soul cannons were gradually withdrawn.
As they descended, Yuanen addressed Tang Wulin, Er Ming, and her family's elders solemnly. "Captain, Elders... at the moment of my fall, I saw visions—ones that felt both real and illusory. The demon plane... Bai Xu has conquered it. He slaughtered every last demon and now sits at its heart, immersed in some form of cultivation. I even sensed the remnants of the Demon Monarch's will—urging me to take revenge."
"What?! Is this true, Yuanen?" Tang Wulin's shock was palpable. No one could have imagined Bai Xu had fled to another plane.
---
Elsewhere...
"Hmm? Noticed me, did you?" Bai Xu sensed the fleeting intrusion but paid it no mind, closing his eyes once more.
Within his inner world...
Time accelerated. Species evolved. Continents expanded, oceans swelled—as if on the verge of forming an entire planet.
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