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According to Hai Bodong, that mysterious black shadow seemed to be restricted in some way and unable to truly descend into its real body.

What appeared at that time was merely a projection or avatar. Perhaps this is also why it only rescued Ye Xishui and didn't act further.

There must be something, somewhere, that is blocking it in the shadows.

The only thing Su Yu could think of was the world will of Douluo Continent.

Because that black shadow was not something belonging to the Douluo Continent, the entire continent was instinctively rejecting it.

If it could make Douluo Continent's will so alert, there was no doubt that these guys were anything but simple.

What had happened before also proved this point.

Even just a projection could easily block Hai Bodong's full-strength attack.

The true body of this being might well be an actual god.

Logically, at this point, such inexplicable things shouldn't be appearing.

Could it be because the God Realm was sealed?

But isn't that too quick? How long has it been since the God Realm was sealed?

And already other planes are eyeing the Douluo Continent?

In the original Douluo Dalu 3 story, the Abyss only discovered the Douluo Continent because Tang San deliberately lured them over.

But now, this speed was unusually fast.

The God Realm had just been sealed, and immediately some ambitious ones started closing in.

Su Yu once again had a strange feeling, as if there was a mastermind behind the scenes pushing everything forward.

Yet Su Yu knew nothing about it, not even qualified to investigate.

Anyone able to orchestrate all this was not someone he could comprehend at his current level.

He felt an inexplicable frustration inside but forced himself to calm down.

With a soft sigh, Su Yu said in a deep voice, "That black shadow may well be a true god-level expert."

"Most likely!" Hai Bodong’s expression was grave.

On Douluo's Continent, his strength was already at the pinnacle.

No one on the entire continent could threaten him anymore.

To call him the number one expert in the world would not be an exaggeration.

But when facing an unknown true god, even Hai Bodong had no confidence.

Gods and Ultimate Douluos were completely different levels of beings.

Hai Bodong was always proud, but he dared not boast he could handle a god.

He was confident but also realistic about his strength.

"A god?" Mu Wu's face changed slightly, his heart sinking under immense pressure.

Even though he was already an Ultimate Douluo with a complementary Yin-Yang dual soul core, facing a god, he still felt uneasy.

Shui Lingguang asked, "Why would that black shadow take Ye Xishui away? What is its intention?"

Why would a god care about someone like Ye Xishui?

This was what Shui Lingguang couldn't understand.

Hai Bodong frowned, "I don’t know either. There must be some kind of scheme here."

Su Yu tapped the armrest with his finger, lost in thought.

Black shadow, Ye Xishui, being restricted... Could it be?

Su Yu suddenly looked up as a thought struck him.

This scene seemed eerily familiar!

The boundary of the Douluo Continent blocked powerful and strange entities from descending easily.

So, they needed a coordinate, someone inside to cooperate and open the portal, or a vessel to descend into.

That black shadow chose Ye Xishui—this was probably the reason.

Who on the continent could fit this requirement better than Ye Xishui?

Powerful, bloodthirsty, murderous, mentally twisted, full of resentment, with an evil martial soul.

You could say Ye Xishui was the perfect candidate.

And as the Supreme Elder of the Holy Spirit Sect, with many evil soul masters under her, it would be easy for her to act.

Of course, there were other options besides Ye Xishui.

Like the Evil Emperor of the Evil Demon Forest, certain sea soul beasts, etc.

But either way, a problem was already at hand.

Su Yu’s eyes sharpened as he said solemnly, "I'm afraid Douluo Continent is in real danger."

"What!"

The three were all shocked.

Su Yu explained his guess, and all three of them widened their eyes, their faces changing drastically.

"If it's really as Young Master suspects, the consequences would be unimaginable!" Shui Lingguang gasped, unable to hide her panic.

If this was true, Douluo Continent would indeed face a great disaster.

"I never expected Ye Xishui to be such a calamity. If I’d known, I would've destroyed her completely. Young Master, I request permission to search the continent for Ye Xishui and eradicate her root and branch!" Mu Wu’s eyes were cold, his tone full of killing intent.

Su Yu shook his head. "Ye Xishui is an Ultimate Douluo. If she wants to hide, no one can find her."

"And even if you found her and killed her, then what?"

"If it’s not Ye Xishui, it’ll be someone else. The problem isn't Ye Xishui anymore—it's the one behind her."

Hai Bodong asked, "Young Master, do you know where those black shadows come from?"

Su Yu smiled bitterly and shook his head, "Elder Hai, you think too highly of me. How could I know where those things come from?"

The development of the Douluo Continent had long since gone in unknown directions; what he used to know was no longer reliable.

Su Yu had suspected the Abyss, but couldn't be sure.

There were countless similar planes in the universe; he couldn't just conclude it was the Abyss.

Besides, this thing didn’t even feel like the Abyss in his memory.

"So even Young Master doesn’t know..." Hai Bodong sighed.

Su Yu looked at Hai Bodong, a trace of hope in his eyes, "Elder Hai, if one day an unknown god descends, could you handle it?"

Hai Bodong’s expression turned grim. He hesitated for a moment and said, "Young Master, I’m afraid I would need some time."

Su Yu’s eyes lit up. Wait, he was just asking casually—did Hai Bodong have confidence?

Su Yu became interested and opened Hai Bodong’s information panel.

‘System, show Hai Bodong’s data.’

[Ding, Hai Bodong’s data is as follows.]

Name: Hai Bodong

Age: 125

Title: Ice Emperor

Martial Soul: Emperor of Ice

Level: Peak Quasi-God (Power evolving)

Spirit: 50,000

Techniques: ?????, Ten Thousand Frost Art (Earth Rank, low)

Soul Rings: Red, red, red, red, red, red, red, red, red

Soul Bones: Full set of 100,000-year ice-type soul bones

Skills: ?????, Thousand Shadows Frost Kill (Earth Rank, low), Ice Dragon Soar (Profound Rank, high), Ice Strangulation (Profound Rank, high), Ice Mirror Condensation (Profound Rank, mid), etc.

Items: Sword of Winter, Storage Ring, Hundred Herbs Wine, Jade Crystal Wine, Dou Techniques Scroll, etc.

[]

Looking at this bizarre information panel, Su Yu had question marks floating over his head.

What was with all those question marks on Hai Bodong?

‘System, explain this?’

Su Yu was puzzled and asked the system directly.

Wasn’t Hai Bodong’s soul ring ratio five black and four red? When did it become all red?

And what did "power evolving" mean?

Su Yu really couldn’t figure it out.

[Host, there is an unknown power affecting Hai Bodong. Even this system isn’t sure.]

Su Yu: "..."

You brought him here, and now you’re telling me you don’t know what’s going on either?

Su Yu felt like he’d been trolled.

How could such strange things be happening to Hai Bodong?

Is this even Hai Bodong anymore?

Su Yu was getting a headache. He asked, ‘What do those question marks mean? Has Hai Bodong’s cultivation and skills changed?’

[They’ve changed somewhat, but not completely. These powers are still latent. Hai Bodong himself hasn’t fully mastered them, and the system can’t truly detect them right now.]

Su Yu’s eyes narrowed. Even the system can't detect it?

What the heck is going on with Hai Bodong?

Su Yu was completely unsettled.

Even when that mysterious black shadow appeared earlier, he could stay calm.

But now, he was getting anxious.

This was the first time something had happened that the system couldn’t explain.

Su Yu felt like he’d fallen into a huge mystery, one he couldn’t solve no matter how he tried.

At this moment, he was less interested in the black shadows and completely focused on the mystery surrounding Hai Bodong.

Seeing Su Yu’s dark and gloomy face, Hai Bodong, Mu Wu, and Shui Lingguang were all a bit puzzled.

Shui Lingguang softly called, "Young Master?"

Perhaps Shui Lingguang’s voice pulled Su Yu out of his thoughts. He looked up, "What is it?"

"Young Master, you..."

"I’m fine."

Su Yu waved his hand and looked at Hai Bodong. "Elder Hai, have you had anything strange happen around you recently?"

Hai Bodong looked confused. "No, Young Master, why do you ask?"

Su Yu frowned. "Elder Hai, your recovery has been too fast. You should be at peak quasi-god by now, right?"

Hai Bodong laughed, "Things have gone smoothly lately. I’ve already reached peak quasi-god."

"Given more time, even a god might not be impossible to fight."

Su Yu spread his hands. "See, that’s the problem. Elder Hai, this is too fast."

"Have you not felt anything unusual lately?"

"Nope!"

Hai Bodong shook his head again, smiling, "If anything, I’ve just been dreaming a lot lately."

"Dreams? What dreams?"

Su Yu asked quickly.

"I dream of a figure and a white lotus."

"And I feel like the figure is familiar."

Hai Bodong smiled.

Su Yu: ??????

A figure, a white lotus?

What is this even supposed to mean?

Su Yu pressed for more detail, but Hai Bodong couldn’t say anything else.

Helpless, Su Yu had to put the matter aside for now.

But he made a mental note to keep an eye on this.

Things so far out of his control would keep bothering him if he didn’t get to the bottom of them.

Especially since even the system couldn’t figure it out, Su Yu was deeply unsettled.

"Young Master, what should we do next?" Shui Lingguang asked.

Su Yu took a deep breath, pushed aside his worries, and said, "A storm is coming. Dramatic changes may happen soon."

"All we can do now is improve our strength as quickly as possible."

"If disaster does strike someday, at least we’ll have some chance of fighting back."

"Next, I plan to return to the Ice God Palace and complete the Ice God trial to raise my level as soon as possible."

"Lingguang, tell Mingli and the others that we probably won’t stay in Radiant City for long."

"Lingguang understands!"

Shui Lingguang nodded.

Su Yu nodded slightly and was about to say more when someone knocked at the door.

The group exchanged glances. Shui Lingguang went to open it and saw Zhang Lexuan and the others.

"Let’s leave it at that," Su Yu said.

Mu Wu nodded and left with Hai Bodong.

Su Yu watched Hai Bodong’s back, frowning, confused and puzzled.

"Xiao Yu, are you all right?" Zhang Lexuan came up, looking concerned.

Su Yu smiled and shook his head, chatting with the girls.

Not long after, Xu Jiujiu also came by.

And not just her—even Weina joined in.

Three major factions gathered in one villa.

…

Meanwhile—

In a remote mountain.

A crack suddenly opened in space, and a figure was spat out.

The figure’s clothes were in disarray, blood-red hair hanging loose, exuding a strong bloody aura.

Those blood-red eyes hid utter madness and distortion.

Her expression was so ferocious she looked ready to bite someone.

This was none other than the rescued Ye Xishui!

"Mu Wu! Su Yu! Ice God Palace! You all deserve to die!!!"

"I’m going to kill you! Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Ye Xishui howled wildly, like a lunatic.

She screamed and raged, her mind utterly unstable—she looked like a complete madwoman.

"What good is your impotent rage?"

"Those people aren’t going to die just because you scream here."

"Ye Xishui, with your strength, you are still a hundred thousand miles from taking revenge!"

A mocking voice came from the void, a black shadow faintly appearing.

Ye Xishui’s furious roar stopped abruptly. Her eyes blazed with killing intent. "Are you mocking me?"

"Mocking you?"

"What do you have that’s worth my ridicule?"

"If it weren’t for me, you’d be a corpse already."

"You couldn’t even self-destruct. I pity you!"

The black shadow said indifferently.

"Shut up!"

Having her sore spot poked, Ye Xishui almost jumped up.

She already hated Mu Wu for crushing her, and now the black shadow was rubbing salt in her wounds.

It was meant to provoke her.

And Ye Xishui fell for it—she was completely riled up!

"I won’t shut up! I’m just stating the facts. Ye Xishui, you’re pathetic!"

"I said shut up!!!"

Ye Xishui screamed, unleashing her Ultimate Douluo aura.

But her so-called aura did not affect the mysterious black shadow.

The black shadow let out a strange laugh. "Tsk tsk, you are pathetic and weak!"

"No wonder you lost so miserably!"

"Your enemy is much stronger than you imagine."

"Ye Xishui, don’t you want another chance for revenge in this lifetime?"