Douluo: I, the Sun God

In a luxuriously adorned carriage, Xu Yang lay with his head resting on Dugu Yan's lap, enjoying her massage while listening to Yu Tianheng discuss the changes in this year's Soul Master Tournament. Yet, despite their speculation, none of them could make sense of it.

At that moment, Yu Tianheng turned to the relaxed Xu Yang and asked urgently, "Xu Yang, why do you think the finals are being held at the Spirit Hall's Supreme Pontiff Palace?"

Xu Yang replied calmly, "No idea. No one can truly guess what the Supreme Pontiff Bibi Dong is thinking. Maybe it's just absolute confidence in the Spirit Hall team. After all, the reward Spirit Hall is offering this time is three soul bones—and those three soul bones happen to perfectly match the martial spirits of the three members of their so-called Golden Generation."

Truthfully, Xu Yang couldn't comprehend Bibi Dong's madness. Even though she was aware of his strength, she still followed the original trajectory from the canon—setting the finals in the Supreme Pontiff Palace and even publicly displaying the soul bone rewards.

Was it that she truly believed she could defeat him? Or perhaps she intended to eliminate him along the way, like she once tried with Tang San in the original timeline? But that seemed even less likely. Xu Yang was not Tang San, and this time, the Heaven Dou Imperial convoy included two Titled Douluo—Dugu Bo and Chen Xin. And Chen Xin had even reached Rank 98.

In fact, under Xu Yang's guidance, Chen Xin had started experimenting with Resonant Dual-Core Synchronization in hopes of forming a second soul core. If successful, he could become the second person in the world to achieve Ultimate Douluo through independent cultivation—the first being Tang Chen.

As for Qian Daoliu and Bo Saixi, they didn't count; both were Grand Worshippers of their respective temples and had ascended through divine tests. The same likely applied to Bibi Dong—she might already be an Ultimate Douluo herself, but due to the constraints of the Rakshasa God's Trial, she couldn't unleash her full power.

All the more reason why Xu Yang found her decision puzzling. In the end, he could only assume that Spirit Hall didn't understand his current strength. After all, he hadn't made a move in over a year, which might've made Bibi Dong think she had a chance.

Yu Tianheng, hearing Xu Yang's explanation, didn't press further and instead fell into thought about Spirit Hall's motives.

Without Tang San in this timeline, their journey was uninterrupted—no assassins from Spirit Hall attempted to stop them. The trip was smooth, and they soon arrived at Spirit City.

Unlike typical square-shaped cities, Spirit City was built in a hexagonal layout. Although smaller in area, it was constructed to the standards of a capital city. The city walls alone reached thirty meters in height and were made entirely of granite—far more extravagant than even Heaven Dou City.

What's more, all the wall guards were soul masters. The Supreme Pontiff Palace stood atop a hill at the center of the city. It was constructed in the style of a grand Western cathedral, with shimmering golden architecture of unknown materials. In front of the palace stood a seventy-meter-tall golden angel statue—a woman with three pairs of wings—clearly representing the legendary Angel God.

The Heaven Dou and Star Luo teams were stationed at opposite ends of the city—east and west—with no opportunity for interaction. This was Spirit Hall's arrangement, deliberately keeping the two kingdoms divided.

Xu Yang was quite pleased with this result. The two empires were already rivals, and this minimized any unnecessary friction before the tournament.

Three days remained until the finals began. In the first round, the three seeded teams had a bye and did not need to compete. So Xu Yang didn't accompany Yu Tianheng and the others to watch the other teams fight. Instead, he leisurely wandered the streets of Spirit City.

"Xu Yang, is it? The Supreme Pontiff requests your presence."

Just as Xu Yang had strolled through a few streets, a Red-robed Bishop stepped into his path. His expression was haughty, eyes filled with veiled threat. A faint aura of pressure belonging to a Soul Sage emanated from him, pressing down on Xu Yang.

"Scram."

Xu Yang didn't even bother to be polite. A single cold word left his lips, his eyes flashing with killing intent as he brushed past the bishop and continued on his stroll.

The Red-robed Bishop stood frozen in place. Anyone watching closely would notice that his entire robe was soaked through with sweat, and his body was trembling uncontrollably. Beads of cold sweat rolled down his forehead.

"Is he really just a Soul Emperor?! That look just now... it felt like I saw death itself. If he wanted to kill me, I wouldn't have stood a chance. Is this the prodigy that even the Supreme Pontiff is wary of?!"

"Oh no! The Supreme Pontiff's orders!"

The bishop's expression twisted in disbelief, struggling to process what had just occurred. Then as if he suddenly remembered something, his face changed dramatically and he turned to chase after Xu Yang.

Meanwhile, Ning Haiyan, who had been secretly following Xu Yang, immediately reported this incident to Ning Fengzhi, who wasted no time and set off with Chen Xin, leaving the Heaven Dou rest area.

"You think I won't kill you?"

Xu Yang's right hand formed a knife-hand gesture and pressed it against the bishop's throat. Between his fingers, streams of crimson-gold sword intent flickered ominously. If the bishop said a single wrong word, Xu Yang would pierce his throat without hesitation.

Before he had absolute certainty, Xu Yang had no interest in meeting Bibi Dong, that lunatic. He wanted no part of her schemes. Strength was one reason. Personality was another.

The Rakshasa God represented ultimate evil, slaughter, and resentment. It ruled over all malice and negative emotions. Those who inherited this divine position were inevitably consumed by darkness—and few could remain sane.

While Xu Yang's Sun Power was the ultimate counter to Rakshasa's energy—pure Yang suppressing extreme Yin—the gap in strength between him and Bibi Dong was too vast. He wasn't confident he could escape her grasp.

From what he had observed of people like Ning Haiyan and Chen Xin, Xu Yang judged his current combat strength to be comparable to an average Titled Douluo. Against a Super Douluo, however, he'd be outmatched—but escaping was still within his capabilities.

As for Ning Fengzhi's estimate that he was merely a Soul Sage—that was only the tip of the iceberg. An Ultimate Attribute Soul Master could contend with a Titled Douluo as early as the Soul Sage stage.

Moreover, Xu Yang had refined his essence, energy, and spirit to perfection. With his control at the Subtle Insight level, his true combat power exceeded anything the continent had ever seen.

"The Supreme Pontiff wishes to meet with Lord Xu Yang privately. She has something to discuss—alone!"

The bishop who had previously acted with such arrogance was now bowing deeply, his spine bent, trembling with fear. Though the blade at his neck made him shiver, he still spoke with utmost humility, even a touch of pleading in his voice.

"Why the hell should I go with you?" Xu Yang's voice was cold as ice. "Don't forget, I'm from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan."

He didn't even flinch as several soul masters began to gather around them.

All soul masters in Spirit City were loyal to Spirit Hall. Upon seeing Xu Yang dare to strike someone within the city, every one of them wore a dark expression. Regardless of their strength, they all summoned their martial spirits. Multi-colored soul rings rose up beneath their feet—an impressive and dazzling display.