As a provincial capital, Antonion City's infrastructure and population scale far surpassed ordinary cities, only slightly inferior to major national capitals.
Yet at this moment, this city of several hundred thousand people had fallen into temporary silence.
The nearly sixty-meter-high city walls appeared insurmountable to ordinary people, but compared to the five-hundred-meter-tall Buddha statue, they now seemed like merely a slightly elevated threshold.
An emotion named fear currently lingered in the hearts of everyone who witnessed the Buddha statue overlooking the city.
After a moment, as if someone had been startled awake, the city instantly descended into chaos, filled with terrified screams everywhere.
This emotion seemed contagious.
One after another, this ancient city of unknown age began to resemble an ant nest.
People could be seen scurrying around like headless flies everywhere, with many weak-willed individuals directly fainting on the spot.
"This is a divine miracle! Oh God! Please forgive our ignorance, pardon our disrespect toward you."
Someone kowtowed toward the Buddha statue, shouting loudly.
This situation immediately attracted imitators. Though frightened in their hearts, these people firmly knelt in place, one after another following the lead in bowing and kowtowing.
Standing atop the Buddha's head, Li Xun quietly watched everything, suddenly feeling a strange sensation welling up inside him.
"Are these people preparing to worship me as a god?"
Li Xun smiled: "Isn't this stealing the Angel God's faith? But it could be considered a path, though I don't know if it's actually feasible."
Currently, the only method circulating across the continent was inheriting godhood. Since Tang Shenwang's era, their entire family had consistently upheld this tradition.
It was as if the God Realm Committee was a family business, with old and new generations taking turns in positions.
And Tang Shenwang served as the chairman of the God Realm Committee.
However, if we trace Douluo's history further back, there might have been more than one method.
How were godhoods born? How did one become a god? How did the first generation accomplish it? How did the Sea God and Angel God achieve divinity? Why did they require faith?
Li Xun found these various questions quite interesting.
Gathering his thoughts, he turned his gaze back toward the city walls.
Many soldiers remained in the city who hadn't escaped in time, now imitating the common people by kowtowing to Li Xun.
Begging for their lives.
Li Xun wasn't a bloodthirsty person, nor did he take pleasure in tormenting ordinary people.
But the city gates still needed to be opened.
The Buddha statue slowly extended several arms, gently pounding against the city gates. With a thunderous crash, the extensive thick walls trembled slightly, and the gates instantly shattered.
"It seems Tang Xiao truly withdrew with the Clear Sky Sect."
In the distance, Sword Douluo saw this scene and quietly lowered his guard.
"If I were him, I would make the same decision. Moreover, the Clear Sky Sect's era is coming to an end." Bone Douluo stood behind Li Xun, his face full of emotion.
With the disappearance of the Clear Sky Sect and the empire's experts, the Star Luo defenders completely abandoned resistance.
The Heavenly Dou army flowed into the city like fish through a breach.
There was no intense clamor, nor any bandit-like behavior. Before arriving, Li Xun had already issued orders - those who harassed residents would be executed.
Previously, some might have entertained small ideas, but after the appearance of the giant Buddha touching the clouds, the soldiers' souls seemed to have been purified.
Each soldier stood tall and proud with unwavering gazes, carrying the demeanor of an elite force.
Atop the True Several Thousand Hands, Li Xun was about to retract his Martial Soul when he noticed a petite figure jumping up and down at the Buddha's feet, waving at him. Two others stood beside her.
Sword Douluo exchanged glances with his companions before silently flying toward the city.
Li Xun smiled, extended a giant palm downward until it touched the ground. Once the trio stepped firmly onto it, he willed the hand to ascend, bringing them upward.
"Brother, so this is the true form of your Spirit Avatar!" Ning Rongrong's eyes sparkled with admiration.
Zhu Zhuqing and Dugu Yan were equally astonished.
This was only the second time the three had witnessed Li Xun's Spirit Avatar. During their previous encounter at sea, they hadn't seen its full grandeur. The sixty-meter wooden figure they'd often seen before now seemed almost ordinary in comparison.
"Impressive, right? If you misbehave, I'll use this to hammer some sense into you," Li Xun teased, ruffling Ning Rongrong's hair playfully. Suddenly inspired, he leaned close to her ear and whispered: "..."
"Absolutely not! I'd rather you hammer me to death! Even if Zhuqing agrees, I won't!" Ning Rongrong's face flushed crimson at his whisper, shaking her head vigorously like a rattle-drum. "When did you become so... lustful?"
"Me? Lustful?" Li Xun crossed his arms with a roguish grin. "You haven't seen what I'm truly capable of yet."
Zhu Zhuqing, who had been admiring the distant scenery, caught their exchange and felt her earlobes grow warm.
Dugu Yan watched the scene with a pang of bitterness. Though the three of them had grown up together for ten years, ever since the incident at Seagod Island, she'd begun feeling like an outsider. That day, she'd merely been frightened—why couldn't this fool have comforted her too? She pursed her lips. He'd sneaked into both Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing's rooms, yet deliberately skipped hers—what was he implying?
The Heavenly Dou army's entry into the city caused no chaos, and the citizens of Antonio gradually settled their anxieties.
Night fell, and the city lord's manor glowed with lantern light.
Li Xun opened his eyes, concluding his daily cultivation as he prepared to visit Ning Rongrong's chamber. Since establishing relationships with both Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing, the two young women maintained separate quarters—a "kings shall not meet" arrangement. This left Li Xun unsettled; an invisible barrier had formed among them, and he wondered when they might regain the effortless closeness of their childhood, when they could share a room without hesitation. Shuttling between rooms daily was becoming tiresome.
Knock knock—
Just as Li Xun lost himself in thought, soft rapping at the door drew him back to reality.
"It's unlocked."
Dugu Yan took a deep breath outside before entering with a food container: "I tried a restaurant earlier—their dishes were quite delicious, so I brought you some."
She gently closed the door, the food container accidentally nudging the latch shut.
"What brings this sudden kindness, Sister Yan?" Li Xun narrowed his eyes with an amused smile. "No one offers favors without motive—what do you need?"
Dugu Yan arched her willow-leaf eyebrows, lifting the container as if offended. "Don't want it? Fine, I'll throw it away then."
"Eat? How could I refuse something Sister Yan brought?"
Li Xun quickly reached out to take it, gently placing the food container on the table. "It's just that I don't understand Sister Yan's intentions, so I feel somewhat uneasy in my heart."
"What? Can't I just come find you to eat some food and chat, or are you afraid I poisoned it?" Dugu Yan smiled ambiguously as she opened the food container.
She arranged plate after plate of exquisite dishes on the table, then poured each of them a cup of wine.
"Poison?"
Li Xun laughed. "Sister Yan, what do you take me for? Besides, you know I'm immune to all poisons."
Dugu Yan shot him a glance with her beautiful eyes and said with a light smile, "Since you have no concerns in that regard, I'm relieved. Come, little brother Li Xun, drink this cup, then have a chat with me."
(End of Chapter)