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**
The chaos continued.
All kinds of Dou Qi energies blossomed across the grand hall like bursts of fireworks. As time went on, the battle for the scrolls grew fiercer and fiercer. Several scrolls had already been successfully seized, and with fewer remaining, the struggle became even more frenzied.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Xiao Yan and the two girls quickly flashed back, returning to Wei Yang's side, their eyes sharp as they watched the raging battle across the hall.
Just moments ago, Xiao Yan had successfully taken hold of the crimson scroll—and in the process, had also slain the Sect Master of the Profound Xuan Sect, a Two-Star Dou Zun.
As for the Human Puppet, Qing Lin and Zi Yan had lured it away, successfully shaking it off. Though these things were powerful, they lacked true intelligence. They attacked anyone they saw without distinction, targeting everyone in the hall rather than a single person.
Regrouping, Wei Yang and the others quickly scanned their surroundings. Not far away, the Burning Flame Valley group had also stopped fighting and withdrawn from the contest. They, too, had successfully captured one scroll.
The Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan and Wind Lightning Pavilion had also each obtained a scroll and chosen to cease fighting. Two more scrolls had fallen into the hands of strong, lone Dou Zun experts.
Now, only four scrolls remained unclaimed, still darting wildly through the air.
"Four left. Should we go grab another one?" Zi Yan asked eagerly, rubbing her fists.
"Forget it," Qing Lin pulled her back and shook her head softly. "Let's quit while we're ahead. Taking one is enough. If we get greedy, we'll draw too much attention. Haven't you noticed? Everyone who's gotten a scroll has already stopped fighting."
Indeed, whether lone experts or members of major factions, anyone who had obtained a scroll had chosen to stop.
With their current strength, no one would object to them claiming one. But if they kept going, trying to grab another, it would be a different story entirely. At that moment, Wei Yang transmitted his voice, "Besides… these ten scrolls don't feel like Heaven Grade Dou Techniques to me."
"You felt that too, Brother Wei? I thought the same," Xiao Yan frowned slightly, replying in kind.
"You two mean… all ten scrolls are fake?" Qing Lin and the others were startled.
"These scrolls definitely contain powerful techniques or cultivation methods—High-Level Earth Grade, maybe even Quasi-Heaven Grade—but none of them are true Heaven Grade Dou Techniques," Wei Yang said, shaking his head.
"Seems we've all been played." Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes. Hearing that, Qing Lin and Zi Yan froze, then clenched their teeth in frustration.
So, in the end, there was no real Heaven Grade Dou Technique at all.
Just then, Xiao Yan suddenly froze, his eyes flicking toward the center of the hall. "Brother Wei, look! What are those Hall of Souls bastards trying to do?"
Wei Yang and the others followed his gaze—only to see Qiong Tian Zun and several other Hall of Souls experts quietly surrounding the massive stone throne in the middle of the hall.
Taking advantage of the ongoing chaos, they were moving stealthily toward the Dou Sheng skeleton seated upon it.
"Looks like their target is the Dou Sheng skeleton too," Xiao Yan said in a low, serious tone.
"Oh? So they're finally making a move?" Wei Yang's eyes glimmered faintly as a thin smile tugged at his lips.
"Should we stop them?" Zi Yan asked, clearly itching for a fight.
"No, don't stop them. Let them go." Wei Yang grabbed her arm, taking a few steps back.
This little girl… I'm more than happy to let the Hall of Souls test the waters for me. Why would I stop them?
Seeing this, Xiao Yan and the others also began retreating slowly with Wei Yang, their eyes fixed tightly on the skeletal figure seated cross-legged upon the throne.
"The remnant soul of a Dou Sheng, huh?" Xiao Yan thought to himself, his gaze growing solemn.
Anything that could make Wei Yang this cautious could only be that Dou Sheng's lingering soul.
Moments later, everyone's pupils contracted sharply. Because just now, in that very instant—they could've sworn they saw the skeleton's finger twitch slightly.
"Did you—did you see that? That Dou Sheng skeleton—it looks alive!" Zi Yan's voice trembled through sound transmission, her tone high and shrill.
Everyone sharply inhaled, their hearts tightening.
Wei Yang's eyes narrowed, watching as Qiong Tian Zun and his group drew closer and closer to the throne. His eyelids couldn't help but twitch. In the next instant, he suddenly grabbed Qing Lin and Zi Yan by the arms and said in a deep voice, "Retreat!"
Swish!
As soon as the word left his mouth, his foot tapped the ground and he shot backward, dragging the two girls with him and leaving streaks of afterimages behind. Xiao Yan and Ah Da immediately followed suit, and as they retreated, Xiao Yan sent a quick voice transmission to warn Tang Zhen.
Wei Yang's abrupt, strange reaction left Tang Zhen confused—but he didn't hesitate. Though puzzled, he didn't slow down; he quickly gathered the Burning Flame Valley members and retreated toward the hall's exit.
Just as Wei Yang and the others withdrew—Qiong Tian Zun's group stepped into the area within a single zhang of the stone throne. Qiong Tian Zun's eyes burned with a feverish light as he stared at the jade-white skeleton seated cross-legged upon the stone throne.
A Dou Sheng's remains — even for a high-ranking Dou Zun like him — carried an irresistible allure. To be a Dou Zun was to stand at the peak of this continent's power. But compared to the Dou Sheng realm… it was still an insurmountable chasm.
The difference between Dou Zun and Dou Sheng was one of true transformation — a leap from mortal to divine, from earth to heaven.
"The remains of a Dou Sheng…"
Qiong Tian Zun's gaze grew even hotter. His tongue slipped out to lick his dry lips as his withered hand stretched greedily toward the skeleton.
Hiss!
Just as his palm was about to touch the bones, the space before him suddenly distorted — twisting, writhing, as if alive. An instant later, countless razor-sharp spikes of space energy erupted outward, stabbing violently into Qiong Tian Zun's desiccated hand.
The sudden pain caught him completely off guard. He froze for a split second before yanking his hand back. When he looked down, blood was flowing freely from his palm — and several drops splattered onto the white skeleton before him.
The instant that blood touched bone, a chill ran through his heart. A deep, primal unease began to rise from within his chest.
"Qiong Tian Zun, what's wrong?"
Several Hall of Souls Dou Zuns rushed up behind him, confused by his sudden hesitation.
But Qiong Tian Zun didn't answer. His eyes were locked on the skeleton — on the blood that had fallen upon it. Before their eyes, the droplets began to sink in… absorbed into the bone like water into dry sand.
When the blood fully merged into the jade-white skeleton, Qiong Tian Zun's pupils constricted sharply. Because in that moment, he felt it from within the corpse that had been dead for countless ages a faint pulse of life.
"Not good! Fall back—now!"
His reaction was fast — the instincts of a battle-hardened powerhouse kicking in the instant danger reared its head. Without hesitation, he stomped down, Dou Qi erupting beneath his feet, blasting him backward like a streak of lightning.
At the same time, a roar tore from his throat.
But though Qiong Tian Zun moved quickly, the other Hall of Souls experts were a heartbeat too slow. They blinked in confusion, just beginning to retreat—and that was when the cross-legged skeleton on the throne trembled.
Clack…
From within the hollow skull, two faint blood-red flames flickered to life — dim, ghostly, yet unbearably terrifying. Then—
"RAAAAHHHHH!!!"
A thunderous roar exploded from the depths of the hall, so loud it made the very walls quake. The skeleton's mouth opened wide as that roar transformed into a shockwave of pure, destructive sound.
In the blink of an eye, the soundwave condensed into visible ripples, surging outward from the throne like a storm made of thunder itself.
The air trembled.
The world trembled.
In that instant the entire hall was swallowed by the wrathful awakening of a Dou Sheng!
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