Location: Spirit Hall – Inner Sanctum
Inside the golden cathedral walls of Spirit Hall, high-ranking officials whispered nervously. Reports had arrived—about villages vanishing overnight, shadow beasts spotted in the Star Dou Forest, and terrifying energy signatures that didn't match any known martial soul.
At the center of the chamber, Bibi Dong stood in silence, her face a mask of cold elegance.
"A new force?" she asked quietly.
"Yes, Your Holiness," a Cardinal said. "He's… different. Not a soul master. Not spirit beast. Something else."
Bibi Dong narrowed her eyes. "Send my daughter. If this power is real, I want to see it with my own eyes."
Location: Star Dou Forest – Shadow Fortress
Ren's fortress rose from the forest floor like a mountain forged from midnight. A twisted temple of obsidian stone and moving shadow, protected by elite shadow warriors—souls taken from the Pocket Hunting Dimension and reshaped with power.
Within, Ren sat on a throne. Not of gold, but of darkness, pulsing with life.
His new wives—three former 100,000-year soul beasts—stood at his sides. Their power hadn't diminished. If anything, their new forms gave them a freedom they had never known.
Ren's shadow stretched across the forest.
The commoner girls from the nearby villages were no longer commoners. Each trained under him daily, forging their spirits into weapons. He empowered them personally, guiding them through near-death training trials in the pocket dimension, where time flowed differently.
Some awakened martial souls no one had ever seen before—spirit beasts made of void, starlight, or flame-wrapped shadows.
He took particular interest in one: a quiet girl named Lin, once mocked for being talentless. Under his care, she awakened a Shadow Phoenix martial soul, and had already reached Spirit Elder in a matter of months.
To Ren, every one of them mattered.
Every woman he brought into his world—he made stronger, protected, and cherished.
They weren't tools.
They were his legacy.
Location: Spirit City – Arrival of Hu Liena
She was the jewel of Spirit Hall. A prodigy. Dangerous, beautiful, seductive.
And she had been sent to investigate.
Hu Liena entered the Star Dou Forest expecting a rogue beast or an overzealous rogue master. What she found instead was a man unlike any she had seen before—sitting atop a dark throne, surrounded by beautiful women, and emanating pressure that made even her blood chill.
Ren met her gaze, intrigued.
"You don't bow?" he asked.
"I bow to no man," she replied.
Ren smirked. "That's a shame. I only take those who look up to me."
Hu Liena stepped forward, her aura flaring. "You're dangerous. But you're not untouchable."
And then he moved.
In a blink, he was in front of her—his shadow wrapping around her wrist, not harming, but locking her in place. Their eyes met again. Her spirit flared instinctively… but he simply smiled.
"Not yet," he said. "But you'll come to me. They always do."
She left shaken—but intrigued.
Location: Heaven Dou City – Tang San's Inner Circle
The news of a "Shadow Emperor" reached even Tang San.
"He's corrupting the forest," Grandmaster said. "Using dark power to manipulate spirit beasts and women alike."
Tang San clenched his fists. "We'll stop him."
But inside, Tang San was already curious. Worried. The strength required to tame a 100,000-year beast… was that even possible?
Tang Hao, however, looked grim.
"He's not just another threat. If we don't stop him soon… he'll own this world."
Final Scene: Star Dou Forest – Midnight
Ren stood at the peak of his fortress, staring at the moon.
His empire was just beginning.
He had the beasts. He had the loyalty of the once-forgotten. Soon, even the daughters of Spirit Hall would be his.
And Tang San?
He would watch everything he believed in burn.
End of Chapter 41