"What did you say? The Ascension Pavilion is closed?"
In a massive castle built on a mountain peak, two tall middle-aged men sat facing a young man in a gray robe.
The one who had just spoken had short, dense hair like steel needles, and a faint golden light flickered in his brownish-yellow eyes.
"Big Brother, did that person encounter danger?"
Hearing the report from his Sect Disciple, the middle-aged man suddenly stood up, his eyes filled with fierce light. With a raise of his right hand, a strong golden light burst forth, and nine spirit rings—seven black and two red—rose from his feet.
"Sit down!" the other middle-aged man sitting beside him reprimanded.
His azure eyes merely glanced over, and an aura of unchallengeable authority emanated from him.
"If that person truly encountered danger, neither of us can help."
"But Big Brother, just sitting here waiting... I can't rest easy."
"Our sitting here, protecting everything here and Wang Dong'er for him, is the best help we can give him."
The short-haired man paced back and forth anxiously for a few steps, then glanced at the azure-eyed man, finally sighing and sitting heavily in his seat. He picked up the tea on the table and drained it.
"You may leave first," the azure-eyed man finally said to the gray-robed person.
---
In a valley, blue-gold Blue Silver Grass covered the entire area. In front of a few simple thatched huts, a young woman in plain clothes sat, holding some vines, seemingly weaving something.
In front of her, a continuous clanging sound echoed as a middle-aged man constantly swung the hammer in his hand. The woman would occasionally look up, a smile gracing her face.
Suddenly, the sound of the hammer striking metal abruptly stopped. Both of them simultaneously looked up at the sky, then exchanged glances.
In the Fiend Forest, at the Holy Spirit Cult headquarters, Ye Xishui and Dragon Xiaoyao also opened their eyes simultaneously. As a Level 99 Limit Douluo, even without the attention of the God Realm, they could vaguely sense certain things.
Although they didn't know exactly what had happened, they could feel that the current Douluo Continent was different from usual.
At Shrek Academy, the towering Golden Tree reappeared. Its massive branches swayed continuously in the air, though no one noticed its change.
---
In a dense forest on the Sun Moon Continent, the Shrek Academy group was resting.
Along the way, relying on spirit tool detectors and Huo Yuhao's spiritual detection, they avoided the cities and various patrols of the Sun Moon Empire, quietly arriving south of the Jingyang Mountain Range. They took many detours, and several Disciples with lower cultivation had consumed a lot of spirit power.
Wang Nan had a Soul Core within him, and each rotation of the Soul Core surpassed the meditation of ordinary Spirit Masters, so he didn't experience much consumption.
After a round of aerial reconnaissance, he returned to where everyone was resting.
"It's relatively safe here. There are some Spirit Beasts nearby, but no Spirit Master Aura has been detected."
Zhang Lexuan nodded upon hearing this, but her gaze fell on Wang Dong'er, who was in Xiao Xiao's arms.
"Is Wang Dong'er still not awake?"
"Not yet," Xiao Xiao shook her head.
Hearing this, Zhang Lexuan's brows furrowed unconsciously.
To avoid detection by the Sun Moon Empire, they hadn't flown too high. However, as they were traveling, Wang Dong'er's magnificent wings suddenly vanished, and she plummeted towards the ground.
If Huo Yuhao hadn't been constantly observing their surroundings with his spiritual detection and quickly caught her, she might have been seriously injured.
Wang Nan's gaze swept over Wang Dong'er, then looked towards the Qiankun Asking Love Valley. Although obscured by thick fog, he could vaguely see the figure holding a trident. Wang Dong'er had no injuries, and her spirit power was abundant. The sudden change was likely related to that figure.
Huo Yuhao, who had the immense spirit power of the Ice Empress sealed within him, took advantage of meditation to absorb some of it. His spirit power was the first to recover.
However, he didn't get up immediately but looked at his right hand.
The moment he caught Wang Dong'er in his arms from mid-air, his spirit power passed through her body and subtly generated a mutual attraction with her internal spirit power.
Spirit Fusion.
He was no longer the same person who had just entered the Academy. Having studied at Shrek Academy for many years, he naturally understood what this situation meant.
However, he knew his own unique situation; he could be considered to have three Spirits, yet someone else could still fuse with his spirit power.
While contemplating, he looked up at the unconscious Wang Dong'er again, his thoughts swirling.
As everyone rested, Wang Nan's heart suddenly stirred, and he looked north.
In his spiritual sea, the Evil Breaking Dragon had already raised its head, golden light shining in its eyes, and Wang Nan's gaze went straight north.
Although he couldn't see the specific situation, the dense evil Aura rising into the sky was getting closer and closer to them.
"Evil Soul Masters are coming."
At these words, everyone looked at Wang Nan.
Huo Yuhao also tried to look north, but he saw nothing.
"Everyone, move immediately." Zhang Lexuan glanced at Wang Nan. Although she hadn't detected anything, she didn't doubt Wang Nan's judgment.
However, just as everyone started to move, they all heard several distant thunderclaps.
The entire sky seemed to darken for an instant, and dark-purple lightning instantly crossed dozens of kilometers toward the Shrek group.
"It should be a high-altitude detection spirit tool."
He Caitou suddenly spoke.
The lightning's purpose was clear; their whereabouts had been exposed.
Wang Nan looked up. It was clearly thunder, yet there was no righteousness one would expect from "thunder." The instant the thunder sounded, a chill passed through him. The thunder sounded more like the high wailing of several wronged souls.
"You all go first."
With a grab, the Coiling Dragon Staff was in his hand. A golden giant dragon encircled him, eight spirit rings rose one by one, and three golden patterns on the eighth blood-red spirit ring were particularly striking.
Zhang Lexuan's gaze lingered on Wang Nan for a moment, then she quickly nodded.
This was not the time for hesitation; Wang Nan's combat power was already the highest among them.
Wang Nan, holding the golden light, shot into the sky. Then, a clear Phoenix cry sounded behind him, and as the surrounding temperature rose, another figure followed.
"What are you doing here?"
"Why did you come to the Sun Moon Empire?"
Wang Nan glanced at the Shrek group, his gaze finally falling on Ma Xiaotao.
"Then do you think I would still leave?"