Douluo Continent: My Martial Soul is the Black Dragon, I am the Lord of the Gods

……

The Death Cell is located deep underground on the outskirts of Wuhun City, with its entrance hidden in a desolate stone forest.

As the heavy stone door slowly opened, a cold, damp smell mixed with the stench of mildew and blood wafted out. Tang Yuehua instinctively covered her nose, her brows furrowing.

"Why is this place so dilapidated?" she couldn't help but ask in a low voice.

Given the current prosperity of Wuhun City, even a prison should be a modern facility filled with the technology of soul guidance, bright and clean.

But the gloomy and terrifying passageway before them, with its dim and flickering torches, was clearly the most primitive and oppressive dungeon from decades ago.

The last time she came to see Bai Chenxiang, she was in the outer guard cell; she didn't even come here.

Ning Fengzhi led the way, and upon hearing this, he gave a wry smile and explained, "Lady Yuehua, this is indeed an old prison left over from the time of the Spirit Hall. After the establishment of the Spirit Empire, although the city has expanded several times over, this prison... has never been touched much."

"Why?" Tang Yuehua asked, puzzled.

“Because… it’s not needed.” Ning Fengzhi’s voice was somewhat low. “In previous years, when Her Majesty the Empress… that is, Her Majesty Bibi Dong, ruled the empire, it could only be described as a bloodbath.”

“Back then, tens of thousands of people were executed every day for various reasons. Those who resisted the empire were killed; those who were corrupt were killed; those who failed in their duties were killed… His Majesty’s methods were swift and decisive. For criminals, there was never any need for argument; they were all executed.”

"So, there was no need to imprison prisoners back then. Because all the prisoners were dead."

Tang Yuehua was terrified and subconsciously glanced at Xuan Ming beside her.

"Later on, although the killings decreased, the empire's authority had taken deep root in people's hearts," Ning Fengzhi continued. "In addition, with the implementation of the new laws and the popularization of soul guidance technology, the crime rate was extremely low. Occasionally, a few fools would be executed on the spot. So, this prison remained abandoned until... the people from the Haotian Sect were brought back."

As they spoke, the group had already passed through the long passageway and arrived at the area where the Haotian Sect members were imprisoned.

There wasn't the heavily guarded place I had imagined, with sentries every three or five steps.

Even the rusty iron fence looked flimsy, as if it could be pushed open with just a little force.

"Just keep them locked up like this? Aren't you afraid they'll escape?" Tang Yuehua asked, somewhat surprised.

After all, those imprisoned here are the elites of the once number one sect in the world, even the remnants, including many experts at the level of Soul Emperor and Soul Saint.

"run?"

Ning Fengzhi shook his head and pointed to the people in the cell with empty eyes and ashen faces, "They dare not run away."

“From the first day we arrived, the warden here established a rule: if anyone dares to escape, even just by taking one step out of the cell, the escapee will be executed by slow slicing, and everyone remaining in the cell will be punished and killed.”

“This is a plan to wipe out the entire sect,” Ning Fengzhi sighed. “Anyone who dares to run away is a sinner who will cause the death of the entire sect. So, not only does no one dare to run away, but even if someone has that thought, the others in the cell will hold them down tightly.”

Upon hearing this, Tang Yuehua felt a pang of sorrow.

The once mighty Haotian Sect has fallen to such a state that even the courage to resist and escape has been completely extinguished.

"arrive."

Ning Fengzhi stopped in front of the largest cell.

Through the iron fence, you can clearly see that it is packed with people.

Most of them were dressed in rags and looked haggard, but the moment they saw Tang Yuehua, their previously lifeless eyes instantly blazed with disbelief.

"Moonlight...moonlight?!"

"It's Aunt Yuehua! Auntie has come to save us!"

"Young Miss! It really is Young Miss!"

The cell erupted in commotion, filled with cries and shouts.

Xuanming stopped and didn't go any further. "Go ahead. I'll wait for you outside. There are some things I don't want to hear."

Tang Yuehua glanced at him gratefully, nodded vigorously, and then strode towards the prison cell door.

Watching Tang Yuehua's figure disappear from sight, Xuan Ming turned around and casually leaned against the damp stone wall.

"Speaking of which, how is Shrek Academy doing?" Xuanming suddenly asked.

Ning Fengzhi was stunned for a moment, clearly not expecting that Xuanming would still care about this name that had long disappeared into the river of history.

He gathered his thoughts and answered truthfully, "Shrek Academy... no longer exists."

"Ever since the Heaven Dou royal family announced that it would no longer resist and voluntarily merged into the Spirit Empire, those forces that had once been attached to the royal family or those that had changed sides with the wind began to launch a massive attack on all the old forces related to the Heaven Dou royal family in order to show their loyalty to the empire."

“Shrek Academy, which bears the name of the Heaven Dou Royal Family, is naturally the first to be targeted.”

"Not long after, the academy was forced to disband. The teachers and students all dispersed and disappeared without a trace."

Xuanming nodded, not surprised.

When a wall falls, everyone pushes it down; this is an eternal truth.

"Where are Flanders and the others?"

"According to the information I've received, Dean Flander and the others... seem to have gone to the Sun Moon Continent with Liu Erlong some time ago," Ning Fengzhi sighed. "Perhaps for them, this Douluo Continent has become a place of sorrow. Leaving is also a kind of relief."

"It's good that they're gone," Xuanming said calmly. "What about those students? Apart from Tang San, who got himself into a death row, how are the others doing now?"

Ning Fengzhi pondered for a moment and said, "Oscar... that food-type Soul Master, he left Heaven Dou City after the war between the two countries and has been missing ever since. However, some time ago, I heard from a scout in Hanhai City that a very strange food-type Soul Master appeared there, nicknamed Uncle Big Sausage, who specializes in providing supplies to adventurers who go out to sea, and his cultivation level seems to have reached the Soul Saint level."

"A Soul Saint... not bad at all," Xuanming commented.

“As for Ma Hongjun…” Ning Fengzhi’s expression turned somewhat strange, “That fat guy is quite surprising.”

"A few years ago, he went to Seagod Island with Tang San. There, he seemed to have undergone some kind of test from the Seagod. Not only did his cultivation greatly improve, but he also successfully resolved the flaws of his Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul and became... well, quite a handsome young man."

Xuanming raised an eyebrow: "Oh? That fatso actually has this kind of perseverance? That's really strange."

"However, later, Tang San and the others left Seagod Island because of Yu Xiaogang's matter, and Ma Hongjun also went to Sun Moon Continent. But after arriving there, he didn't seem to join Tang San and the others in their antics; instead, he disappeared without a trace."

"Judging from his talent and current situation, he is at least a Soul Douluo now, and may even have already touched the threshold of Title Douluo. He must be doing very well in some corner of the Sun Moon Continent."

Xuanming nodded, not entirely surprised by the result.

Out of consideration for Liu Erlong, he gave Flander some Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow. Regular use of that stuff could effectively suppress Ma Hongjun's evil fire. However, he had to cultivate like crazy, otherwise he would be doomed once he ran out of it.

Since Ma Hongjun is still alive, it means he really did cultivate relentlessly.

"Where is Dai Mubai?" Xuanming asked again.

Ning Fengzhi shook his head. "Dai Mubai... he's dead."

"died?"

“Yes, he died many years ago,” Ning Fengzhi sighed. “He died in the struggle for succession in the Star Luo Empire.”

"Back then, when the Martial Soul Empire's army pressed in, the Star Luo royal family also experienced violent turmoil. Davis... who is Dai Mubai's brother, launched a coup in order to surrender to the empire."

"During that coup, Dai Mubai, as a rival, was personally killed by Davis."

"Now, Davis, as the representative of the forces that have voluntarily surrendered to the Spirit Empire, has been appointed as the governor of the Star Luo Province, in charge of managing that area."

Xuanming remained silent for a moment, then said, "The victor is king, the loser is villain; it's fate." (End of Chapter)