Douluo Continent: The Eternal Order of the Azure Sky.

"It really is you!" After carefully recognizing you, Tang Ya's face lit up with a dreamlike surprise, but it was quickly overwhelmed by immense unease.

She lowered her head helplessly, her voice barely audible: "H-Hello. Do you...remember me? My name is Tang Ya."

Kong Tianxu's gaze lingered on her for a moment, and he had already made up his mind. But thinking about what he was about to do, he did not respond, but simply looked away.

Then, he took Xu Tianzhen's hand and continued walking towards the main hall of the sanctuary, leaving the three people with different expressions behind him.

Tang Ya stood there, clearly disappointed, but then she smiled to herself. It was normal for the other person not to recognize her since they had only met by chance.

Thinking of the miracles Kong Tianxu had once performed, the faint hope that had been born from the depths of her despair flickered slightly again because of Kong Tianxu's reappearance.

Today is the Holy Spirit Church's annual grand gathering, and believers have gathered from all over. The corridors, halls, and squares are filled with people, a mix of black and white robes.

As Kong Tianxu continued his journey, more and more people noticed him. Whispers of surprise, shock, and ecstatic awe exploded like bombs.

"The Holy Emperor...it's the Holy Emperor?!"

"The Holy Emperor has arrived?"

"He's the Holy Emperor? How could it be him?"

"Please save us, Your Majesty!"

"The Holy Emperor is eternal! The Holy Emperor is eternal!"

At first, there were only sporadic exclamations and whispers, but as more and more people recognized him and saw his appearance and demeanor, the calls began to slowly gather and gradually form a suppressed yet excited wave of sound.

More and more people stopped in their tracks, bowed involuntarily, and even knelt down.

Kong Tianxu kept his eyes straight ahead and his steps steady, ignoring all the calls and worship from those around him. He simply led Xu Tianzhen through the automatically parting crowd and headed towards the most brightly lit core of the sanctuary.

Xu Tianzhen followed closely beside him, watching as more and more Soul Masters, each with a different aura but none of them being powerful, appeared along the way, and she was filled with shock.

You should know that the total number of Soul Masters in the entire Douluo Continent is only fifty or sixty thousand, but just from what she has seen along the way, there are probably several thousand Soul Masters gathered here!

Moreover, many of them possessed powerful auras and astonishing soul power fluctuations.

What kind of huge and secretive organization is this?

They proceeded to the main hall of the sanctuary. The atmosphere within the magnificent hall, where light and darkness intertwined eerily, was solemn and tense.

The moment Kong Tianxu stepped into the hall, all eyes were instantly drawn to him. Behind him, the surging crowd naturally parted, vaguely revealing different formations and postures.

He walked straight to the high golden throne at the far end of the hall. On either side, Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui, both dressed in white, were already waiting quietly, while Cain stood silently in the shadows behind the throne.

Both are hidden in the shadows, but Tang Ya is integrated with the darkness, while Cain seems to be the shadow itself.

Below the steps of the throne, led by the sect leader Zhongli Wu and the vice sect leader Feng Ling, more than a dozen evil soul masters titled Douluo stood solemnly, each with a different expression.

Zhongli Wu stared intently at Long Ye and the other man, who were resting with their eyes closed, as if he were pondering something.

Following closely behind these evil spirit titled Douluo were a group of Soul Masters led by Elder Yin, whose auras were relatively peaceful, even carrying connotations of light or holiness. Among them, Ye Guyi and Yu Mengdi, two Soul Masters with Angelic Martial Souls, stood out particularly.

You can tell the current atmosphere within the Holy Spirit Cult just by looking at their expressions. In just a few short years, Elder Yin's face has grown dozens of deep wrinkles, while Yu Mengdi and Ye Guyi also have worried expressions.

But as Kong Tianxu passed by, both Zhong Liwu and Yu Mengdi's expressions gradually changed, turning into the same kind of astonishment, extreme astonishment.

Ye Guyi's gaze towards Kong Tianxu at this moment was filled with an indescribable complexity.

Kong Tianxu did not stop walking. He walked straight up to the high platform and sat down peacefully on the newly built Holy Emperor's Throne, which symbolized the supreme authority of the Holy Spirit Church.

Xu Tianzhen didn't speak, but stood quietly beside him.

The moment Kong Tianxu sat down, Ye Xishui bowed first, her clear voice resounding throughout the hall:

"Welcome back, Holy Emperor!"

Immediately afterward, Long Xiaoyao nodded slightly, and Cain knelt on one knee. Below the stage, led by the titled Douluo of Ye Xishui's lineage, vast swathes of people knelt like waves of wheat bent by the wind, and a deafening roar erupted:

"Welcome back, Holy Emperor!!!"

The roar was deafening, causing the soul-guiding lamps on the dome to sway slightly. Amidst this frenzied clamor, a sharp glint flashed in Zhongli Wu's eyes, but his face quickly hardened with almost devout respect. After gesturing to the people behind him, he too bowed slowly and knelt down with the others.

Kong Tianxu leaned back on the throne, his gaze calmly sweeping over the dark mass of kneeling people below.

He did not immediately tell everyone to stand up, but simply let the thunderous shouts of worship echo and subside in the hall.

Today marks the first purge by the Holy Spirit Church.

Chapter 258 Holy Spirit Team and Judgment

When the noise subsided and a suffocating silence returned to the hall, Kong Tianxu slowly spoke:

"It's been a long time since I've been back here. To be honest, I'm seeing many of these faces for the first time, especially the young people. There seem to be a lot more of them now."

"So, have the participants for this year's Continental Elite Advanced Soul Master Tournament been finalized?"

A brief silence.

Soon, seven figures of different shapes emerged from different locations and arrived at the center of the hall.

Among them was Tang Ya, whose face was still pale, standing in the second position from the left.

Seeing the seven of them walk out, Nan Qiuqiu, standing in the crowd, pouted unconvinced.

In her opinion, although her soul power level was slightly inferior, she was definitely qualified to compete for one of the seven in terms of combat ability and the uniqueness of her martial soul. However, her mother, Nan Shuishui, strictly forbade her from participating in this selection, which is why she was unable to fight.

Kong Tianxu's gaze swept over the seven people one by one, finally settling on the few youths whose auras were the most violent and sinister. Then, he propped his cheek up with his elbow, a mocking smile playing on his lips:

"Five years ago, I issued a clear decree for the first time: members of the Holy Spirit Church shall no longer kill people at will for cultivation purposes unless it is for the purpose of eliminating evil and protecting the safety of the church members."

"Did you...kill them?"

The third from the left, the tallest and most robust young man stepped forward, head held high, his voice booming, even with a hint of arrogance:

"Kill them! Of course we'll kill them! Killing soul beasts is nothing compared to the thrill of killing human beings!"

Immediately, an uncontrollable commotion and murmur arose from the crowd. Most people were extremely shocked, a very few even burst into laughter, but some remained silent, simply lowering their heads further.

Kong Tianxu leaned forward slightly, and his right hand, which was originally supporting his cheek, changed to gently tapping the lifelike golden dragon head carved on the armrest of the throne with his index finger, producing a regular and clear "tap, tap" sound.

The knocking sound wasn't loud, but it seemed to possess some strange magic, piercing through the noise of the crowd.

Seemingly sensing the displeasure and coldness contained in the knocking, the crowd quickly quieted down, and an invisible tension began to spread.

He looked at the tall, muscular young man with great interest and spoke again: "I guess your name is Lu Genggeng?"

“Not bad!” Lu Genggeng grinned maliciously, meeting Kong Tianxu’s gaze without flinching.

As he finished speaking, three more people stepped out from behind him, their auras connected, exuding a sinister aura.

"I, Gilly, killed too!" a short young man shrieked.

"And me, from the Tang Dynasty."

A similarly tall but slender young man followed closely behind. The moment he stepped forward, a thin old man with uneven eyebrows behind Zhongli Wu was terrified.

"Gu Yu." The last person to step forward was a short, stocky young man, almost square in shape, with a deep, booming voice.

Tang Ya looked back in shock, her face even paler. Meanwhile, Yan Feng slowly moved his feet, keeping a certain distance between himself and Lu Genggeng and the others.

The three men announced their names, their faces full of arrogance. The young man named Jili added with utter disdain:

"I know you, aren't you that Kong Tianxu? What are you pretending to be? The Holy Emperor's decree? Do you think evil soul masters are vegetarians if they don't kill? It's through killing that I went from a second-level innate soul power to a sixth-ring soul emperor in less than eight years!"

Seemingly not satisfied, he suddenly turned to the crowd behind him, spread his arms, and roared wildly:

"Evil Soul Masters should kill! Killing is the fastest and most satisfying way to cultivate! This is the true path for us noble Evil Soul Masters!"

However, to his surprise, his words received no response. Even the evil spirit masters who were supposed to respond to him at this moment were now motionless, as if they had been choked.

The entire hall was eerily silent. Only Gilly's slightly shrill voice echoed, then awkwardly faded into the silence.

Kong Tianxu listened quietly, the ambiguous smile on his face remaining unchanged.

However, what was originally a light tapping motion with his index finger quietly turned into tapping with all four fingers in turn, slowly and steadily tapping on the dragon head armrest.

"Tap...tap...tap...tap..."

The rhythm was steady, yet it inexplicably made me uneasy.

"it is good."

It was like hearing the roar of a dragon.

It was as if a dormant volcano had suddenly erupted, or as if a sleeping ancient giant had opened its eyes!

A terrifying pressure, a mixture of sacred, majestic, and destructive auras, swept through the entire sanctuary hall like a tangible tsunami, centered on Kong Tianxu.

The air seemed to freeze, and the space itself seemed to tremble. Even Zhongli Wu felt his heart stop beating for a moment.

What made his soul tremble even more was that seven dazzling red soul rings, as if formed from burning blood, appeared without warning from beneath Kong Tianxu's feet, making him appear like a demon god descending to earth.

Kong Tianxu's hand, which was rhythmically tapping the armrest, had already transformed into a ferocious dragon claw covered with magnificent purple-gold scales. Behind him, a purple-gold dragon phantom, seemingly above all living beings, clung to the equally majestic golden throne, slowly revealing its form and opening a pair of indifferent purple-gold eyes.

Like two burning suns!

"what--!"

Lu Genggeng, Jili, Tang Dai, and Gu Yu simultaneously let out a terrified scream! They were horrified to discover that their bodies had completely lost control, and they were forcibly lifted off the ground by an invisible and absolute force, their limbs spread out, suspended in mid-air, unable to move.

Watching the four people struggling and writhing in the air, Kong Tianxu's four fingers, transformed into dragon claws, maintained their steady and deadly striking rhythm, his voice as calm as if he were stating a trivial matter:

"I never cultivate myself by killing people."

"So, who among you..."

"As fast as me?"

The moment he finished speaking, the four fingers on his dragon claw, which had been moving rhythmically, suddenly stopped.

"boom--!"

Red gold!

Pure as the fire of judgment descended from heaven, and blazing as if it could purify all the filth and evil in the world, it burst forth from every pore of Lu Genggeng, Jili, Tang Dai, and Gu Yu's bodies without any warning!

That was no ordinary flame; it was a divine punishment flame containing the purest light and divine purification power, possessing absolute restraint and judgment over evil!

"Aaaaaaahh ...

A piercing scream, so shrill it was inhuman, instantly echoed throughout the hall, piercing the eardrums of everyone present.

The four humanoid torches twisted and convulsed wildly in the air, but could not break free from the cross-like binding of life and death. They could only endure the boundless pain of their flesh, bones and even souls being burned bit by bit!