Boom!
A deafening explosion resounded in the skies above Star Luo City, as streaks of lightning continuously flashed through the clouds.
From their original blue hue, they shifted to a mix of cyan and blue, then back again, before evolving into a fusion of cyan, blue, and violet.
And the colors continued to multiply.
In the next instant, Gu Yue and Xia Yi appeared in the sky above the Star Luo Hotel.
In Xia Yi's hands, twin Creation Hammers pulsed with the energy of heaven and earth, and the surrounding life force had grown so dense that it was beginning to condense into a liquid form.
Before him was a forging table.
With Xia Yi's ever-refining forging skills, he now typically used his Fox Mind Technique to suspend metals in the air, rarely resorting to an actual forge.
As he continued hammering away, the lightning in the sky intensified.
"He's performing Heavenly Forging?!"
A startled shout rang out, and in an instant, terrifying auras erupted into the sky.
The powerful individuals who had come for the Demon Chapter King Soul Spirit now revealed themselves prematurely.
Even though the idea of Xia Yi being a Divine Blacksmith seemed absurd, they all knew one undeniable truth—only Heavenly Forging could attract a Heavenly Tribulation.
Even Divine Blacksmith Zhen Hua, the highest authority in the field, had only ever drawn a five-colored tribulation.
But Xia Yi...
The Heavenly Tribulation above him had already reached seven colors.
Red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, violet!
And deep within the clouds, faint traces of black and white lightning were beginning to form.
"Nine colors… Is he going to break the record for Divine Blacksmiths?! Damn it, couldn't he have found a more secluded place?"
Ya Li stared blankly at the sky.
She recalled that when Zhen Hua had crafted her Four-Word Battle Armor, he had once mentioned—throughout all of history, no Divine Blacksmith had ever drawn more than a seven-colored Heavenly Tribulation.
Legend had it that only the Heavenly Forging of an alloy combining nine different metals would summon a Nine-Colored Tribulation.
Metals of that caliber were considered god-tier metals.
And in all of history, no Divine Blacksmith had ever successfully forged one.
Yet now, they were witnessing it with their own eyes.
In an instant, wave after wave of terrifying spiritual power surged toward Xia Yi's forging table.
Upon seeing the metal he was forging, the powerful figures were stunned.
There was only one block of metal on the forge—but it was enormous.
It wasn't just enough for one battle armor component…
If they cut it into smaller pieces, it could likely forge an entire set of Four-Word Battle Armor!
Immediately, their eyes—and their spiritual senses—burned with greed.
This was a Heavenly Forged metal large enough to craft an entire Four-Word Battle Armor set! Who wouldn't be tempted?
Even Star Luo Empire's National Advisor, the God Domain Douluo, was no exception.
Though he possessed Four-Word Battle Armor, his was not crafted from Heavenly Forged metal. Instead, it had been forcibly enhanced from Three-Word Battle Armor using secret techniques.
Such artificial Four-Word Armor was fundamentally inferior to armor made from Heavenly Forged metals.
For this, he had once crossed the sea to the Douluo Continent in search of Zhen Hua.
However, the strategic value of Four-Word Battle Armor surpassed even a Tier-9 Fixed Soul Cannon, rivalling even a Tier-10 Fixed Soul Cannon.
Something so precious, how could Zhen Hua possibly forge it for Star Luo Empire's soul masters?
If he had, the Blacksmiths' Association would have been branded traitors.
Not just Four-Word Armor, even standard Heavenly Forged metals were something Zhen Hua refused to sell to Star Luo Empire.
The red mechas Star Luo Empire had in their forces only contained Heavenly Forged components because they were purchased from Tang Sect.
Even the Green Skeleton Organization had red mechas.
Star Luo Empire had their suspicions about the connections between Tang Sect and the Green Skeleton Organization, but unwilling to completely sever ties with Tang Sect, they chose not to investigate further.
Even when the Northern Sea Tang Sect Airship Incident occurred, and Star Luo Empire had evidence that Tang Sect was supplying weapons to Green Skeleton, they turned a blind eye.
After all, whether it was fighting the Green Skeleton Organization or contending with the Sun-Moon Federation's military pressure, Star Luo Empire depended on Tang Sect's weaponry.
The God Domain Douluo and Dai Tianling narrowed their eyes.
At this moment, they both thought of Tang Sect and Shrek Academy's Long Yeyue—and their past dealings.
Long Yeyue might no longer be able to act directly.
But Tang Sect still could.
Tang Sect didn't want Xia Yi to leave Star Luo Continent alive—
Neither did they.
With Xia Yi's talent, if he survived, who knew how much power he could bring to the Sun-Moon Federation in the future?
"Everyone, Four-Word Battle Armor must be forged specifically for an individual soul master. It must incorporate their unique soul power attributes to be truly compatible. Even if Master Xia Yi's forging is indeed Heavenly Forging, none of you could wear the armor anyway. Please, do not disturb him. We should simply witness this miracle. If Master Xia Yi truly possesses this ability, you can always request his services in the future."
A gentle voice rang out—it was Ya Li.
She had an inkling of Tang Sect and Long Yeyue's plans.
She was sure Xia Yi did too.
And because of this, she resented Xia Yi's actions.
Revealing such overwhelming talent—was he not practically inviting his enemies to eliminate him?
Did he really believe that Cold Rainlai alone could protect him?
For now, her only choice was to calm the situation as much as possible—before things spiraled into outright chaos.
Above them, Xia Yi and Gu Yue had fully unleashed their Martial Souls.
Xia Yi focused on forging, while Gu Yue formed hand seals, summoning seven-colored elements that swirled around her in radiant streams, mirroring the Nine-Colored Tribulation in the heavens.
As her hand seals completed, elemental energy surged toward Xia Yi's forging metal, merging into it.
Suddenly—
"ROAR!"
A beastly bellow shook Star Luo City.
On the metal Xia Yi was forging, an image of thousands of beasts stampeding emerged.
BOOM!
The Nine-Colored Heavenly Tribulation fully formed and descended upon him.
"ROAR!"
A deafening roar resounded once more.
The metal on Xia Yi's forge suddenly morphed on its own—without him even shaping it—transforming into a massive, three-legged, two-eared cauldron that soared into the sky.
The cauldron expanded in size, rapidly growing to over a hundred meters in diameter.
As the terrifying Nine-Colored Lightning struck down, the cauldron swallowed it whole.
Then—
It broke through the clouds, devouring the remaining tribulation lightning before it could even descend.
"A divine weapon—it must be a divine weapon!"
Seeing the cauldron's astonishing power, all eyes burned with insatiable greed once again.
"What is that?" someone shouted. The nine-colored tribulation lightning had just dissipated, and in the next instant, a metallic ring suddenly appeared in the sky.
That metallic ring was entirely white, and the moment it appeared, it radiated a brilliant incandescent light.
An indescribable strange sensation instantly surged through Xia Yi's perception.
He felt the Earth Cauldron in his hands tremble violently before it slipped from his grasp uncontrollably and flew toward the metallic ring.
"Hmph!" A cold snort rang out as a terrifying Dark Phoenix swept toward the metallic ring.
"So, you're only at rank ninety-seven. I don't know how you managed to come and go without a trace, but at a mere rank ninety-seven, you are not enough. If you had remained hidden, you might have held some deterrence. But now? You are nothing. This cauldron belongs to our Green Skull Organization."
A Five-Colored Qilin appeared in the sky, and the divine light of the Five Elements shrouded the Dark Phoenix.
"Then how about adding me to the mix?"
The person in charge of the Spirit Pagoda on the Star Luo Continent, Ghost Flame Douluo Zhang Geyang, emerged in the sky.
Xia Yi and Gu Yue were still members of the Spirit Pagoda, and at this moment, no matter what, he had to step forward to protect them.
"Since when did the student of Divine Realm Douluo and the Qilin Douluo of Monster Academy become members of the Green Skull Organization?"
Zhang Geyang raised his hand, and terrifying thunderbolts struck toward the Five Elements Divine Light.
"After what happened back then, I was no longer part of Monster Academy." Qilin Douluo Tong Yu said indifferently.
The consequences of robbing the Spirit Pagoda were something the Star Luo Empire could not afford to bear.
If Divine Realm Douluo hadn't spoken up, he wouldn't have stepped forward and pretended to be part of the Green Skull Organization.
"Heavenly Dou Mountain Shattering Fist!"
A deep, low roar rang out as a colossal, dark-red figure wearing a straw hat appeared in the sky.
In just a brief instant, he unleashed thousands of golden fist imprints toward the Star Luo Palace.
Meanwhile, his own body shot through the sky like a meteor.
He ignored Leng Yulai and Zhang Geyang, paid no heed to Qilin Douluo's attempt at framing him, and did not concern himself with Xia Yi's Earth Cauldron.
His eyes were fixed solely on the metallic ring in the sky.
This had always been their divine artifact—it was just taken by the Star Luo Empire in the past.
To them, this metallic ring was more important than anything else.
That's right—this was none other than the Star Luo Empire's national treasure, the Vajra Bracelet.
"Heavenly Kui Douluo, Qilin Douluo, you traitors of the Green Skull Organization have some nerve daring to enter Star Luo City!"
Outside the Star Luo Imperial Palace, a soul power barrier appeared, blocking all of Heavenly Kui Douluo's attacks.
"You traitors, today I will wipe you all out!"
A pillar of holy light descended from the Star Luo Imperial Palace.
Divine Realm Douluo En Ci flipped his hands, and a Holy Light Dragon surged toward Heavenly Kui Douluo.
As for Qilin Douluo Tong Yu, he was completely ignored.
"Then let's see what choice you will make, Poison Locust."
A chilling voice rang out, and a cloud of black mist rose from a corner of the Star Luo Empire.
Wherever it passed, agonized screams echoed.
One could see that within the black mist, the flesh of those caught inside was being corroded, exposing their bare white bones.
Countless black locusts swarmed from the mist, forming a dense, dark cloud that left even more screams of misery in its wake.
"Ghostwood Douluo, you court death!"
Divine Realm Douluo had no choice but to flip his hands, dispersing the Holy Light Dragon to release pure light energy that purified Ghostwood Douluo's poisonous mist and locust swarm.
Just as Heavenly Kui Douluo was about to seize the Vajra Bracelet, a Five-Colored Qilin suddenly turned and slapped toward him.
Leng Yulai was at rank ninety-seven, Heavenly Kui Douluo at rank ninety-eight, and Zhang Geyang was also at rank ninety-eight.
Even in a three-on-one fight, Qilin Douluo was unafraid.
By the time Divine Realm Douluo finished dealing with Ghostwood Douluo, who had only just broken through to a Hyper Douluo, Heavenly Kui Douluo wouldn't be able to escape either.
As for Leng Yulai and Zhang Geyang, the Star Luo Empire was not yet confident enough to act against them.
"Heh heh, a divine artifact? We are very interested in that as well."
A sinister, piercing voice echoed as a massive wraith emerged in the sky, stretching out its hand to seize both Xia Yi's Earth Cauldron and the Vajra Bracelet of the Star Luo Empire.
"Dark Blood Demon!"
Yali's eyes turned ice-cold.
Even though she could clearly sense that Dark Blood Demon's aura had reached the rank of Limit Douluo, she still stepped forward without hesitation.
With the support of her four-word battle armor and the suppression from her martial soul, unless Dark Blood Demon achieved Quasi-Godhood, she had nothing to fear.
Ding ding ding…
The crisp sound of bells rang out, sending a tremor through everyone in the sky.
Another Heavenly King of the Holy Spirit Cult—Nana Li—had also made her move.
The Earth Cauldron had only been forged for a few seconds, yet in that short time, the sky above Star Luo City had already become engulfed in terrifying soul power.
Chaotic energies raged across the heavens, creating soul power fluctuations so terrifying that the people of Star Luo City felt as if the sky was about to collapse.