Douluo Continent: Long Live the Spirit Hall

"Hahaha, you really think Sophia is some noble god-king? You're wrong. She's just a not-so-bright woman. That farcical tragedy back then was actually caused by her."

A strange smile suddenly appeared on Yan's lips, and then he whispered in Lucifer's ear, "The birth of Philyunna was not because a god blasphemed Sophia, but because she willingly degenerated and didn't even dare to express her love, choosing instead to drug her..."

"No, it can't be, this can't be..."

When Lucifer heard that name, he seemed to be shocked. Everything Yan said was too shocking to his worldview. He couldn't believe that the noble God-King Sophia would do such a thing.

“Lucifer, I dare to tell you this because it’s true. But if you go to Sophia to verify it, it will probably only make her want to kill you even more. Don’t doubt that. Ever since you almost killed Gabriel, she has been determined to kill you.”

Yan's reaction to Lucifer was not surprising. What he said would be made public sooner or later, and Sophia and Gabriel would inevitably have to take responsibility for what they had done and be brought down to earth.

He then added, "You can verify this matter slowly. By the way, what is the current situation in the Heavenly Realm and the Underworld? Has the Newcomer Competition between the two realms started yet?"

Lucifer looked up, somewhat bewildered, upon hearing Yan's question. "The situation is terrible. I have a feeling that the Third War of Gods and Demons is about to break out. After you entered the Soul Devouring Cave, Lei Xiang and that guy, Brahma Heavenly Dragon, recovered quickly."

When Brahma Dragon was in the Heavenly Realm, it seemed that he had another conflict with the God King. As soon as he woke up, he cursed Sophia. With the King of the Underworld fanning the flames, his anger became even more uncontrollable.

Brahma Heavenly Dragon wanted revenge, and Lei Xiang, that kid, actually acted impulsively as well. They infiltrated the Heavenly Realm once again, this time directly raising their banners and summoning the scattered divine beasts and wingless deities in the Heavenly Realm to form a large army.

Under the joint leadership of Lei Xiang and Fan Ri Tianlong, they launched a surprise attack on the Archangel Solent and the angelic forces stationed at the border, and successfully crossed the dividing line. They are now on the Underworld side, working with our garrison to deal with the pursuit from the Heavenly Realm.

Lord Hades took this matter very seriously and dispatched all twelve of his Hades sorcerers to the border. The Archangel Michael and the Charming Archangel Raphael also came to the border to provide support, but the three archangels, even working together, only managed to achieve a humiliating defeat, and the matter became deadlocked.

The strength of the Wingless Gods and the Divine Beasts is truly astonishing. Although the number of Divine Beasts is only around two thousand, nearly a hundred of them possess the strength of a Level Two God. The number of Wingless Gods is even greater, and there are quite a few Level Two Gods among them.

What's most terrifying is that their combined power has become a force capable of influencing the balance between the Heavenly Realm and the Underworld. The current situation between the Heavenly Realm and the Underworld has escaped the control of the God King and the King of the Underworld.

After the three archangels arrived at the border, they attempted to join forces to defeat the combined forces of the divine beasts and the wingless gods. At that time, the twelve witches of the underworld received orders from Hades to force them to join the underworld, so they chose to stand by and watch. However, the final result was unexpected.

Brahma Dragon and Lei Xiang blocked Michael and Raphael. The six elemental gods of the Wingless God System used some kind of formation to besiege the Archangel Solient, severely injuring him. The Phantom Sun Angel Legion was also severely damaged by the allied forces, and the Celestial Realm lost face.

No one expected that such a thing to happen. The combined forces of Lei Xiang and Fan Ri were close to the total strength of all the allied forces in the Underworld except for the King of the Underworld.

Such a massive force is operating outside, causing even Hades and God-King Sophia to be wary. The current situation has spiraled out of everyone's control. Therefore, Lei Xiang and Fan Ri dare not leave on their own, and have entrusted me to look after the Soul-Devouring Cave.”

"I see, this situation is rather troublesome!"

Yan hadn't expected Lei Xiang and Fan Ri Tianlong to cause so much trouble, but when Lucifer said that Hades was the one stirring things up, he couldn't help but laugh.

Hades' idea was good: to make the divine beasts and the wingless gods rebel and break away from the heavens, so that the underworld could naturally gain a great advantage.

But that Hades probably never dreamed that the power of the divine beast plus the wingless divine system would be so outrageous, almost equivalent to the sum of all the power he currently possessed in the underworld.

Such a massive force is about to merge into the Underworld. Not only will his own rule be in jeopardy, but the Heavenly Realm's reaction will also be quite intense. The third war between gods and the Underworld might break out at any moment. He's probably having a headache right now about how to handle the situation.

Chapter 689 Approaching the Border Again

"Let's go straight to the border between the two worlds!" Above the Soul Devouring Cave, Yan made the decision after learning about the current situation from Lucifer.

“Go yourself! After all, I am the great demon god of the underworld, and I must obey the orders of Lord Hades.” Lucifer shook his head.

"Lord Hades has secretly mobilized the three great legions of the Underworld—the Cyclops Legion, the Vampire Banshee Legion, and the Underworld Witch Legion—to secretly assemble, ready to launch an attack at any moment. The commotion caused by Lei Xiang and Fan Ri has given him an opportunity to overthrow the Three Realms, but if an unprecedented war were to break out, it would be bad for all three realms. Therefore, I hope you can stop all of this." Xin Yan remained silent for a moment before replying, "Alright! I will find a way to resolve these matters." After discussing a few more words with Lucifer, he ascended into the sky, heading straight for the border between the Underworld and the Celestial Realm. Lucifer watched his departing figure, sighed, and then flew towards the direction of Hades City.

...In the Celestial Realm, in the City of Angels, at the Palace of the God-King. God-King Sophia and Zi Yan, whose memories were temporarily sealed and who became Sophia, sat facing each other. The energy of the Angelic Sun continuously poured into the Palace of the God-King from the sky.

A pale blue beam of light shot down from the top of the God King's Palace, landing on Zi Yan. Zi Yan's body was completely enveloped in the beam of light, and a strong holy aura emanated from her. Her body floated in mid-air, and the extremely pure holy light permeated the entire God King's Palace.

Zi Yan's eyes were lifeless, seemingly devoid of emotion. A faint blue light emanated from her, a melodious chant rising from her lips, soft and beautiful, exceptionally pleasing to the ear.

"I am Sophia, the angel of Zhanxing." As her voice fell, a great light shone brightly, and the God-King Sophia revealed a knowing smile on her face, seemingly very satisfied with the situation.

The light emanating from Zi Yan gradually dimmed. She folded her six wings and slowly landed back in front of Sophia. The wisps of blue light gradually dissipated, and her eyes regained their brilliance.

"Mother, are you alright?" Zi Yan, who is now Si Feiya, noticed that God King Sophia's complexion was not good and quickly asked with concern.

"It's nothing, it's just that I've been helping Gabriel recover from his injuries lately, and it's taken a lot of effort." Sophia shook her head. She looked noticeably more haggard than usual, and the recent events had indeed been giving her a headache.

She never expected that the Wingless Gods and the Divine Beasts would suddenly rebel, and even severely damage her three archangels and her legion of angels.

This internal strife in the Celestial Realm directly led to an imbalance of power between the Gods and the Underworld, turning them from having an absolute advantage to being at a disadvantage. The key to all of this was Gabriel, who caused her immense headaches.

The allied forces of the Divine Beast lineage and the Wingless Gods are currently locked in a standoff with the Angel Legion at the border, while Hades is also stirring up trouble. Based on Sophia's understanding of him, he is waiting for an opportunity, and once the time is right, he will definitely lead his army to launch the Third War of the Gods and the Underworld.

The Celestial Realm has now lost its divine beasts and wingless divine lineage. With this shift in power, it may be unable to withstand the Underworld.

Furthermore, they also have to worry about whether the alliance between the divine beasts and the wingless gods will take advantage of their misfortune. If Lei Xiang and his group join forces with Hades, then the winged gods will be in real danger.

Thinking of this, Sophia sighed inexplicably and murmured, "Could it be that I really did something wrong?" Sophia was startled and whispered, "Mother, what are you saying?" Sophia snapped out of her reverie and covered up, "Ah! Nothing. It's just that there have been too many things lately, and I haven't been able to keep up. But for now, these things are still under control. Although the rebel forces are not weak, with you, Sophia, we now have five first-level deities. Neither those rebels nor those from the underworld will be a match for us in the Heavenly Realm."

“I understand, Mother.” Sophia nodded, and after a moment of contemplation, she said, “Mother, there’s something I’ve always wanted to ask you. It’s about that person who suddenly appeared at my investiture ceremony last time…” Sophia was startled and said sternly, “Ya’er, you don’t need to concern yourself with his affairs. I’m telling you, he is an enemy of our divine race. He has tried to harm your Uncle Gabriel several times, and he has long since defected to the Underworld. You are not allowed to mention him again.”

“Mother.” Sifia called out softly, then froze. She didn’t understand why her mother, who was always so kind to her, would suddenly become angry.

Sophia realized her lapse in composure and, after calming herself down, said to cover it up, "Ya'er, your mother has enough on her mind right now and really doesn't want to bring up those trivial matters anymore. You just need to know that that person is an enemy of our divine race..."

“Okay, okay.” Sophia replied, bowed to Sophia, and then turned and left the God King’s Palace. However, she still had many questions in her mind, including about that figure that had left a deep impression on her.

...On the desolate sky above the border between the divine and the underworld, a figure swiftly headed towards a settlement that shimmered with divine light.

Yan was in the desolate border sky, and he could see that the originally barren land below was now unusually lively.

Beams of divine light flew and surveyed the sky, while two massive camps faced off at the border between the divine and the underworld.

Yan's current position is naturally closer to the allied forces of the wingless pantheon and the divine beast lineage. He can see that the allied forces' camp here is filled with a variety of gods, which is quite different from the uniform angels on the winged pantheon side.

Several divine birds were patrolling the sky above the allied camp. They had blue feathers, red eyes, and wingspans of up to two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters). They all possessed a strong divine aura, and these should be the same type of divine beast.

After patrolling along a specific route, these divine birds slowly descended into a valley, where various divine beasts could be seen dwelling. Under the illumination of the Demon Sun, their bodies reflected various divine lights, making them appear exceptionally magnificent.

"Huh! It's you, Brother Fanri's friend, right? You've come here representing the Wingless God?" Just as Yan's figure approached the core of the valley, a figure appeared in front of him. It was a Dark Blood Qilin with a dark red light flashing all over its body, and its eyes showed a hint of doubt.

"Where is Fanri?" Yan glanced at the Dark Blood Qilin after appearing. Although he did not deliberately hide his figure, he did reduce his presence. The fact that the Dark Blood Qilin could find him so easily shows that its supernatural power is quite remarkable.

"Come with me." The Darkblood Qilin led the way, until they reached the cliff at the end of the valley.

"Brother Fanri is inside. You yourself... no, why did I bring you here? Who exactly are you?!" Dark Blood Qilin suddenly woke up, a sense of terror rising in his heart. He had actually followed Yan's words so naturally, leading him all the way to Fanri Tianlong without a single sign of suspicion along the way. This was very abnormal.

"You should take care of your own business first!" Yan didn't even turn his head, just said casually. The struggle in the Dark Blood Qilin's eyes flashed by, and then it obediently left the cliff cave, as if nothing had ever happened.

"Fanri, come out and greet the guests." As Yan walked to the cave entrance in front of the cliff, he felt a wave of scorching air rush towards him, giving him the feeling of being back in the underground caves of the Western Continent.

"You are Yan? How did you become like this?" Brahma Dragon poked his head out from inside the cliff. The first thing to appear was his fiery red horn. A terrifying energy light was contained within him. He had subconsciously sensed a threat just now, so he remained vigilant, and the Death Wave was ready to be unleashed.

"Fanri, send someone to summon Lei Xiang." Yan waved his hand, dispelling the suffocating heat in the cave. He then found a clean stone, carved a stone chair, sat down, and began to instruct and reprimand Fanri Tianlong.

"What's wrong with you two? What did I tell you before I went into seclusion? I repeatedly warned you not to act impulsively and to wait until I came out. But you two almost caused a war between the three realms, leading the wingless gods and divine beasts to besiege the winged gods. Why didn't you just attack Angel City directly?" Brahma Sun Dragon said somewhat embarrassedly, "Well, Yan, we just acted impulsively. Besides, we didn't really fight those winged gods to the death. That's why we've come back to the Underworld."

"You two are really something, leading over five thousand gods to escape to the Underworld. Do you really think this is a good thing?" Yan stared at Fan Ri Tianlong as if he were looking at idiots.

“There are differences between the gods and the underworld beings, and the environments of the celestial realm and the underworld are the same. Although high-level powerhouses can survive unaffected by these differences, staying in the underworld for a long time will inevitably affect their strength. Lucifer was like that back then; the environment of the underworld could not help him grow, so he had to make choices, and thus he eventually became a fallen angel. You led the wingless pantheon and the divine beast lineage away from the divine realm, seemingly gaining freedom, but in reality, it is irresponsible towards these gods…” When Lei Xiang arrived at the cave, he heard Brahma Dragon being scolded by Yan like a son. Listening carefully to Yan's words, he had the urge to dig a hole in the ground and crawl into it.

What Yan said was absolutely right. He had led the Wingless Gods in the Underworld for so long before he realized the problem. The environment of the Underworld was not suitable for gods. It wasn't that they couldn't survive there, but the difference in the elemental energy caused most gods to lose strength.

Lei Xiang had been troubled by this matter for a long time. At this moment, he walked directly into the cave and asked, "Yan, now that you have discovered this problem, is there any solution?" Yan pointed in the direction of the Heavenly Realm and said in a deep voice, "The solution is very simple: fight back to the Heavenly Realm and establish a base there. The environment of the Heavenly Realm is suitable for the development of the Wingless God System and the Divine Beasts."

Chapter 690 Tearing Gabriel Apart

"This matter is probably going to be a bit troublesome." Lei Xiang frowned slightly after hearing Yan's suggestion. They had finally managed to escape from the Heavenly Realm with their men from both sides, and it wouldn't be easy for them to fight their way back now.

"No matter how troublesome this matter is, you must do it. It is your responsibility as leaders of the Wingless Pantheon and Kings of Divine Beasts." Yan's gaze still slid over Brahma Dragon and Thunder Soar.

"The angels are currently stationed on the border, with the three archangels in command. It is indeed difficult to launch a direct attack, but it is not without a chance. Since I came out of the Soul Devouring Cave, my strength has greatly improved, and my cultivation is no weaker than yours. With the combined strength of the three of us, plus the power of the Wingless God System and the Divine Beast Lineage, defeating the three archangels and the angel legion should not be difficult. If we can set up a trap, we might even have some unexpected gains."

"Yan, Fanri and I will listen to you." Lei Xiang and Fanri Tianlong exchanged glances and nodded. They were fed up with this standoff at the border. They were stuck because of the overwhelming strength of the other party. Now that Yan was helping them come up with ideas and solutions, they naturally had to cooperate.

“Alright, let’s set off immediately.” Yan made the decision right away, and Lei Xiang and Fan Ri Tianlong did the same without hesitation, quickly gathering the army of wingless gods and divine beasts.

The mighty army of gods set off, with more than five thousand divine beasts and gods joining forces. The intense commotion immediately alerted the angel legion and the underworld witch legion on the border.

Brahma Sun Dragon returned to its true form, which was twenty feet long, with scorching red light swirling around it, making it look extremely imposing.

On his back stood Yan and Lei Xiang, their three figures radiating a dangerous aura. The six elemental gods followed Brahma Sun Dragon like stars surrounding the moon, while the other wingless gods followed in neat formation behind them, as did numerous divine beasts, creating a magnificent and awe-inspiring procession.

The midline boundary between the underworld and the heavenly realm, a clear dividing line, was presented in the eyes of the gods. A huge circular platform with a diameter of over a hundred feet spanned the underworld and the heavenly realm, with one half in the heavenly realm and the other half in the underworld.

This is the competition venue for the Second Newcomer Competition. At this moment, countless teams are facing off on both sides of the circular platform.

Within the celestial realm, tens of thousands of angels with snow-white wings floated in the air. In the center of the angels, there were three very conspicuous golden figures. In the middle was Michael, the chief archangel after Lucifer, the angel of freedom, and the angel of battle.

He had a solemn expression. To his left was the charming angel Raphael, and to his right was the war angel Solient, who wore golden armor, had six pure white wings on his back, and had a scar on his face.

When this de facto supreme commander of the celestial realm saw the divine beasts and the wingless divine alliance appear, his eyes immediately turned to the six elemental gods following Brahma Sun Dragon, his eyes filled with rage.

The celestial realm was led by the three archangels, while the underworld's side appeared to be even more imposing, with tens of thousands of men in black at the center. They were all dressed as wizards, holding long wooden staffs in their hands; these were Hades' true loyal followers, the Hades Wizard Legion.

At the forefront of the Underworld Legion and countless armies of the Underworld, twelve figures filled with the aura of death floated in the sky; these were the Twelve Underworld Witches.

"Let's go!" Yan gave the order to Brahma Sun Dragon. This most ancient divine beast king in the Mad God Universe immediately let out an excited dragon roar, and the single horn on its head immediately splashed red light. The Death God Wave struck the three angels at the forefront of the angel legion.

"Brahma Sun Dragon, you're courting death." Battle Angel Michael blocked Brahma Sun Dragon's Death Wave with a punch, but before he could retaliate, a figure blocked his way.

"Lei Xiang, you hold off Raphael first. Brahma, you deal with the still-injured Solent. Leave Michael to me." Yan had already given the instructions when he stood in front of Michael. Lei Xiang immediately went to find Michael, while Brahma Dragon blocked the Archangel Solent.

"Quickly, stop them!" With the three archangels blocked, the allied forces led by the six elemental gods and powerful figures like the Dark Blood Qilin immediately rushed into the angel legion, creating chaos. The angel legion, leaderless, had no way to resist. The archangel Solien was anxious but helpless.

Brahma Heavenly Dragon unleashed a burst of dragon breath.

"Hehe! You bastard, your opponent is me. I let you get away last time, but this time I'll make you pay the price."

"Damn it..." Solient had been suffering setbacks recently, and his anger had nowhere to go. Provoked by the Brahma Dragon, he charged forward like a mad lion, his whole body exuding a strong holy aura, and threw a punch straight at the dragon's breath.

Despite his rage, he still displayed the true power of an archangel. On the surface, it appeared to be a frontal attack, but his divine power had already surged up from all directions, intending to seal off all of Brahma Dragon's variations.

"Stop right there." Brahma Dragon lowered its head, and its blood-red horn collided with Solient's fist. A flash of golden-red light appeared, Brahma Dragon swayed, and Solient was sent flying backward.

The battle between Fanri Tianlong and Solient was fierce, while the fight between Lei Xiang and Raphael was even more intense, with the two exchanging blows repeatedly.

Lei Xiang had long recognized Raphael as the same person who had tricked him before. Old and new grudges surged into his heart at the same time, and each punch he threw was a heavy blow without regard for the consequences.

Raphael was struggling to withstand Lei Xiang's strength; while trying his best to resist, he became confused.

"This guy is clearly a newly promoted first-level god, but why is his power so strong? Is the amplification of the Mad God Armor really that strong?" Brahma Sun Dragon and Lei Xiang were fighting fiercely, but at the very center of the battlefield, the space between Michael and Yan was constantly distorting, yet the area within a hundred feet of them was extremely quiet.

Yan smiled calmly and said, "Aren't you going to make a move? If we keep waiting, the entire angel legion might be wiped out." Michael didn't respond to him, but the anxiety that flashed in his eyes didn't escape Yan's notice. He was very worried about the current situation, while Yan, on the contrary, wasn't afraid of dragging it out at all.

"Boom!!!" Michael finally made up his mind to make a move. A strong golden light shot straight at Yan's head. Under the illumination of the Angel's Sun, the power of his punch was astonishing, even faintly surpassing the scope of a first-level god.

"Your move is interesting, but what's the point if it doesn't hit anyone?" Yan chuckled as he dodged Michael's attack. His body would sometimes become ethereal, causing Michael's attacks to miss. Although he hadn't used any offensive techniques yet, this seemingly real yet illusory spacetime technique had really given Michael a lot of trouble.

...While the three archangels and the allied forces of the wingless pantheon and divine beasts were locked in fierce battle, several figures were rapidly heading towards the border from the direction of Angel City. "Lord Gabriel, we are now very close to the border."

'The long-absent angel of death, Gabriel, has finally appeared. With the help of the god-king Sophia, who disregarded the consequences, this guy who was twice seriously injured and on the verge of death has recovered. At this time, he is naturally in a hurry to rush to the border camp.

“I know, but we still need to move at full speed. They’ve already started making moves at the border.” Gabriel gave the order, and the remaining angels who were providing support were greatly encouraged. They sped up as if they had been injected with adrenaline, and quickened their pace toward the border.