The First Divine Lady Returns

Both of them signaled they were ready.

"Then let the duel begin!"

As soon as the words fell, Jenna Summers struck without hesitation.

Right from the start, she unleashed her full Divine Power.

And she went straight for a killer move.

Her Divine Power transformed into a howling hurricane, swirling and twisting, forming a tornado like a black dragon that surged toward Lily Bai.

"Oh my!" gasped a lady from the Lumina Realm. "Wasn't this supposed to be a friendly spar? Why such a show of force right out of the gate? That wind technique is called the Dragon-Devouring Vortex—it's seriously dangerous."

"It's not just the technique that's scary!" another lady said, her face tense. "There are countless hidden poisoned needles inside."

"For someone so young, the Second Heir-Consort already has this level of cultivation. I don't think I could handle it! How is the Crown Princess supposed to block that?"

"The real question is—she didn't dodge! Why isn't she dodging?" Up in the seats, the ladies were all shocked, whispering and speculating.

Down below, the demon beasts and demonlings roared across the plaza: "Go, Crown Princess!"

"Crown Princess is the best!"

"Crown Princess, take her down!"

Amidst the chorus of excited shouts, the storm swept right over Lily Bai.

In an instant, she was swallowed up completely by the black storm.

She disappeared—just like that.

The demon beasts had been shouting at full volume, but suddenly, they all fell silent.

Wait, this isn’t what anyone expected.

Wasn’t she supposed to whip out some crazy talisman and block the storm—or even send it flying back at Jenna Summers?

Getting swallowed—what kind of plot twist is that?

Suffocating silence.

Absolute quiet.

"Hahaha! Keep shouting!" The Chief Divine Attendant suddenly burst out laughing. "Go on, shout louder! The louder the better!"

The demon beasts all shrank back, glancing at each other, and finally looked toward the Crown Prince.

Even the Dragon Lords turned their eyes to the Crown Prince.

What was going on here?

Given the gap in strength between Lily Bai and Jenna Summers, this outcome was totally normal.

But wasn’t it a little too normal?

If this was all it took, why make such bold claims? Why even agree to the duel?

Yet the Crown Prince stayed expressionless, simply looking up at the sky.

Why was he looking up at the sky?

Last time he looked up like that, he was crowned Crown Prince.

Is he about to ascend again?

Just as everyone was wondering, Tribulation Clouds started gathering overhead.

"No way! This is freaky!"

"Those are Tribulation Clouds!"

"Whose Tribulation Clouds are those?"

"Judging by the aura, they're for someone ascending to High Goddess!"

"Who's about to ascend to High Goddess?"

"Did you see? The center of the lightning is right over the dueling platform!"

"That means Divine Lady Jenna Summers is about to ascend!"

"The Second Heir-Consort is about to become a High Goddess!"

"If she actually ascends, the Crown Princess is really..."

"Crown Princess? What Crown Princess? She's probably already been shredded by that Dragon-Devouring Vortex! But why hasn't the vortex dissipated yet? It's still swirling, wrapping around her!"

...

As they spoke, the Tribulation Clouds gathered, and a massive bolt of lightning struck down.

It hit the swirling Dragon-Devouring Vortex directly.

Finally, the vortex dispersed. People saw Jenna Summers standing there, perfectly unharmed, eyes wide with shock.

Not far in front of her stood a woman, covered in pitch black.

Who else could it be but Lily Bai?

The High Goddess’s tribulation lightning—was actually aimed right at her!

"Can someone please explain what just happened?" Illusion Dream pinched her own cheek hard. "How does an Immortal ascend straight to High Goddess? Aren’t there supposed to be demigod and god stages in between?!"

One bolt after another struck Lily Bai—six times in all. She staggered, but somehow managed to stay standing.

Then, the Tribulation Clouds slowly dispersed.

Lily Bai looked down at her own body.

Familiar blood, familiar power.

The First Divine Lady has returned.