"Li Zhexian... became a Titled Douluo?"
Yu Xiaogang stayed silent for a long time, his voice cold as iron.
"His Spirit Power hasn't reached the level yet, but his combat strength indeed matches that of a Titled Douluo."
Liu Erlong's tone carried helplessness.
"The news came two days ago."
"Li Zhexian has been appointed the Chief Sword Elder of the Wind Sword Sect, representing the sect in the Seven Sect Re-Selection."
"In the secret realm, he slew the Clear Sky Clan's Lie Yang Douluo, helping the Wind Sword Sect replace the Clear Sky Clan and rise into the ranks of the new Upper Three Sects."
Each word struck like a hammer—
Landing heavily in Yu Xiaogang's heart.
To reach the combat power of a Titled Douluo without reaching the corresponding Spirit Power Level…
was even more terrifying than ascending to the Title normally.
The muscles around his eyes twitched uncontrollably.
"Li Zhexian has become… this strong?"
In truth—
Yu Xiaogang held no personal grudge against Li Zhexian.
But the Shrek Seven Monsters he had poured his heart into training
were utterly crushed by Li Zhexian.
He wanted to use the Spirit Master Tournament
to prove to the entire continent, to his father, to the family that never acknowledged him—
that his theories were right.
But all his hopes
were effortlessly shattered by Li Zhexian.
Even the Shrek Seven Monsters fell apart because of this, unable to reunite again.
Every time he thought of Li Zhexian's monstrous talent,
a wave of powerlessness—and even despair—rose in Yu Xiaogang's chest.
He admitted…
He could not train a student capable of defeating Li Zhexian.
Crack…
Crack…
His clenched fists creaked, joints popping.
"It isn't that I am incapable…"
"It's that this world has no second genius like Li Zhexian."
"If I had such a disciple…"
"With my guidance, he would absolutely defeat Li Zhexian!"
"Xiaogang…"
Seeing his pained expression, Liu Erlong bit her lip and said:
"Then… should we refuse—"
"No."
Yu Xiaogang's eyes snapped open.
"We are going."
"But I am not going because my father said so!"
"If they want Yu Xiaogang to bow his head, then have Li Zhexian cure Zhao Wuji first!"
Liu Erlong froze.
Her gaze instinctively shifted toward the low hut beside the training field.
From within came beast-like growls
and the sharp crash of ceramic shattering.
Zhao Wuji…
Back then, because Li Zhexian crippled Ma Hongjun,
Zhao Wuji had gone out in the rain to kill the then Spirit Grand Master level Li Zhexian.
Li Zhexian did not die.
But Zhao Wuji was captured by the royal family.
When he reappeared—
his meridians were broken, his body filled with strange poisons.
Every rainy night, he suffered worse than death.
Liu Erlong hesitated:
"Li Zhexian is not someone easy to negotiate with."
"No matter."
Yu Xiaogang brushed dust from his shoulder and began walking toward the Dean's Office, his tone flat:
"Zhao Wuji is already a cripple."
"With Li Zhexian's current status, he will never, in front of countless witnesses at his own Titled Douluo grand banquet, make a move against Zhao Wuji."
"And with the continent about to fall into chaos, the Heaven Dou Empire will need a strategist to oversee the war."
"If he is willing to cure Zhao Wuji, I will agree to take that post."
"Li Zhexian is not a man who disregards priorities. He won't refuse."
Hearing the quiet certainty beneath his cold tone,
Liu Erlong's eyes filled with admiration.
She hurried to follow him.
...
The Spirit Hall announced the founding of its empire.
One month later—
Pope Bibi Dong was crowned Empress.
Immediately after—
The Heaven Dou Empire issued a proclamation to the world:
Ten days later, Li Zhexian and Feng Bailong will hold their Titled Douluo banquet.
On that day—
Li Zhexian would also claim his Title, his name to be carved into history.
Two thunderclaps rattled a continent already roiling with tension.
Every sect understood the meaning clearly:
War was coming.
At such a moment of rising storms—
To attend one faction's banquet
was to become the enemy of the other.
This was not merely attending a ceremony—
It was choosing a side.
Within Heaven Dou City, lanterns and banners filled the streets, silk carpets covered the roads, and the city looked more prosperous than ever, awaiting the grand banquet's opening.
But across the continent, the atmosphere resembled a bowstring pulled taut—
a dead silence before a storm.
No matter how turbulent the outside world became,
no matter which factions chose which side—
Li Zhexian's old friends and comrades
had already departed from all corners of the world,
rushing toward Heaven Dou City.
...
At the border of the Heaven Dou Empire—
There lay a small town called "Sleepless Night."
Its name wasn't because night never came,
but because bandits were so rampant
that they dared to rob travelers even in broad daylight.
Until one day—
A mercenary group arrived.
And within half a year,
they wiped out every bandit in the surrounding mountains.
...
"Holy crap! Boss wasn't lying?! You really look like this?!"
The mercenaries crowded around a youth whose face, now clean-shaven, revealed strikingly handsome features.
Oscar cursed with a grin:
"Get lost, get lost! Don't get in my way!"
"Hehehe!"
The mercenaries only came closer.
"Boss, you bragged before— that terrifyingly strong Title-level Lord Zhexian… he's your big brother?"
Oscar paused as he picked through clothes, then laughed:
"Yeah!"
"Why else would I clean myself up this much?"
"I'm going to my brother's Titled Douluo grand banquet!"
Those words ignited the room.
"Boss, take me with you!"
"Let us see the big world too!"
"Is it true Lord Zhexian killed a Titled Douluo?!"
"Damn, I heard Lord Zhexian's friends are all geniuses or Titled—
we're just a bunch of rough guys…"
Oscar smacked the last speaker on the head.
"Watch your damn— hey, don't say it like that!"
He'd been a mercenary too long—rough language came naturally.
But now he needed to restrain himself.
"My brother doesn't care about that stuff. If he likes someone, even a small-time merchant can chat and drink with him!"
"You guys followed me for half a year—not that we did anything earth-shaking, but we wiped out bandits and cleared hideouts. We did plenty of heroic things!"
"With that alone, even if I didn't bring you, you could still go drink a bowl of wine at my brother's banquet!"
Oscar was speaking with heroic pride when—
Footsteps sounded outside the door.
A mercenary poked his head in and shouted:
"Boss, that girl's here again!"
"She's carrying grain she grew herself, insists on giving it to you!"
"Ohohoh, how many times is this now?"
The mercenaries burst into laughter.
"Out, all of you! What are you cackling for?"
Oscar cursed while waving them away—
but couldn't hide a trace of helplessness.
The girl had a pitiful past—
her parents killed by bandits,
she herself taken to the mountain stronghold.
It was Oscar's group that arrived in the Sleepless Night Town and saved her.
Since that day—
She came every day.
...
Northeast of the Heaven Dou Empire—
In the mountains where the Clear Sky Clan resided.
Boom—
Tang Xiao's exhaled breath suddenly surged,
shattering the refined steel suspended before him into dust.
His eyes snapped open, the terrifying aura shaking the stone chamber.
"Li Zhexian is holding a Titled Douluo grand banquet?!"
"And using the Seventh Elder's life to earn that title?!"
"Good… good… GOOD!"
"I will personally attend!"
After several elders withdrew—
Tang Xiao slowly stood.
He looked at the stone flower in the chamber—an immortal blossom that had never withered in a hundred years.
But now, its petals had fallen away.
He froze, then closed his eyes.
His broad, powerful frame trembled lightly.
"If…"
"If Grandfather were still here…"
"If only brother Hao were here..."
"How could the Clear Sky Clan have fallen to this point…"