After destroying all the surveillance equipment in the death row prison and knocking out all the personnel monitoring the devices as well as the patrolling guards—dragging them out one by one—
Ning Rongrong officially stepped into this prison, renowned as the largest death row facility since the founding of the Heaven Dou Empire.
The interior of the prison was dim and damp, the air thick with the smell of mold and rust. Water droplets clung to the walls, exuding a chilling aura.
The prison was structured in a circular layout, with heavy iron doors leading to individual cells stacked like birdcages, arranged from the ground all the way up to form a massive cylindrical structure.
Those imprisoned here were all dangerous Soul Masters or high-profile criminals.
The death row inmates were shackled with heavy handcuffs and leg irons—special iron restraints designed to suppress soul power.
Even so, these devices could only partially restrict the use of soul power. While they were effective in controlling Soul Ancestor-level prisoners, they were nearly useless against Soul King-level convicts.
However, with the surveillance of soul tools and the presence of numerous guards, incidents were rare. Still, to silently knock out all the guards and drag them away, Ning Rongrong had spent quite a bit of time.
On the Douluo Continent, the gap between a Soul Ancestor and a Soul King was vast, whether in terms of physical constitution or other aspects.
Reaching Soul King level and possessing a ten-thousand-year soul ring meant stepping into the ranks of formidable powerhouses, and one's cultivation speed would typically slow down considerably.
Ning Rongrong retrieved an exquisite mask from her soul tool and put it on, concealing her face.
The moment she stepped into the depths of the prison, she immediately sensed a cold, scrutinizing gaze.
From one of the cells, rough voices shouted, "A woman! It's actually a woman!"
This was followed by a string of vulgar taunts, but Ning Rongrong paid no attention, quietly surveying this place filled with despair and madness.
"2,856 Soul Masters, 421 ordinary death row inmates."
It was hard to believe this prison held so many people, especially the fact that the number of Soul Masters had reached four digits.
After all, the total number of Soul Masters across the entire Douluo Continent was only in the six-digit range.
This, the largest and most heavily guarded death row prison in the Heaven Dou Empire, actually housed so many Soul Masters.
Step by step, Ning Rongrong walked to the hollowed-out central area of the prison.
She raised the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda in her hand, and the pagoda began emitting a soft golden glow.
As the light spread, the prison was enveloped in a mysterious force.
Every cell block was locked onto by Ning Rongrong's spiritual power.
Within these small prison cells, black voids suddenly split open around the death row inmates.
Pitch-black arms slowly extended from within, like grim reapers sent from the underworld, inching closer to the prisoners confined in their cramped cells.
Screams and hoarse wails echoed through the prison.
"No! Please, spare me!"
"Ahhh—ahhhh—!"
"Get away! Get away from me!"
...
The cries rose and fell, but they did nothing to stop the countless arms from dragging them into the abyssal darkness.
Some of the stronger Soul King-level death row inmates desperately clung to anything they could to avoid being pulled down, but it was futile.
If one arm wasn't enough to drag them in, more arms would emerge from the dark void until the struggling Soul Masters were completely swallowed by the blackness and pulled into the depths.
A faint black aura rose from Ning Rongrong's body as a golden clock materialized behind her.
Her eyes slowly opened, her left pupil transforming into a miniature version of the clock in both design and color.
"Only this much recovered?"
Staring at the radiant Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda in her hand, Ning Rongrong murmured to herself.
"Too weak. The time these Soul Masters provide is nothing more than a drop in the bucket. The Soul Kings at least give a bit more."
Soul Emperors, Soul Sages, Soul Douluos, even Title Douluos…
Perhaps only beings of that level could provide substantial amounts of time.
"Thinking about it, it makes sense." Ning Rongrong sighed silently.
After two and a half years, she had barely recovered any strength—how could she expect to fully restore herself in such a short time?
Back when she had escaped from the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King, Tokisaki Kurumi hadn't been fully recovered to begin with.
Cheating was fun in the moment, and cheating all the time was even more fun.
But paying the price afterward? That was the hard part.
"Perhaps only the City of Slaughter would allow me to extract time more freely and without restraint."
"Still, another method might also work." Ning Rongrong pondered the insights she had gained from absorbing time through her cultivation.
"If I can find a soul beast with time-based abilities, that should also be highly effective."
But time-attribute soul beasts were even rarer than space-attribute ones, weren't they?
Aside from the Dark Devilgod Tiger, were there any other soul beasts capable of manipulating time?
Most beings that could influence time weren't soul beasts—they were god-level entities. If she already had god-like power, would she even need to be this cautious?
Suddenly, Ning Rongrong's entire body tensed, her hair standing on end.
Danger—extreme danger!
As a powerhouse nearing the peak of the Grandmaster level, her instincts screaming like this could only mean something major was coming.
In an instant, an overwhelming surge of time-based energy flooded in from all directions.
Like invisible tidal waves crashing violently, the entire prison seemed to be caught in the midst of a brewing storm at sea.
"Time and mental-type rules?"
Had someone discovered her?
Ning Rongrong's heart raced as the glow from her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda intensified.
"The enemy hasn't arrived yet—they're using some kind of long-range time-based technique."
In her mind flashed the pale-faced figure from the Soul Master Grand Tournament.
"It's him. It must be."
The Ten Thousand Demon King, a 500,000-year-old existence comparable to a Limit Douluo, did indeed possess a divine ability related to time.
"One Instant, A Thousand Years?" A technique that made the enemy experience a millennium in a single second while enduring all the attacks the Ten Thousand Demon King could unleash in that span.
Ning Rongrong gritted her teeth and immediately made a decision.
"Men don't get rich without windfalls; horses don't grow fat without night grazing."
"If you're delivering time-attributed power right to my doorstep, I'd be a fool not to take it. If I don't milk you dry, I'll change my surname to yours!"
Ning Rongrong closed her eyes, then opened them again moments later.
Her left eye remained a golden clock-like pupil, but her right eye now shimmered with a silvery-white light.
The silver-white and gold of her pupils perfectly mirrored the two clocks materializing behind her.
Like the "Zafkiel" and "White Queen" forms of Tokisaki Kurumi from Date A Live, representing time and space abilities respectively.
"My eyes, originally used for appraising treasures thanks to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda's traits, have turned into this… I really am becoming more and more bizarre."
Ning Rongrong couldn't help but mock herself.
Still, without Kurumi, she wouldn't have regained even her current level of strength from two and a half years ago.
Almost the moment her words fell, the two clocks behind her began rotating simultaneously, emitting a mechanical click-clack like the turning of gears.
The still-forming "One Instant, A Thousand Years" technique shattered instantly, its power completely absorbed into Ning Rongrong's Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.
After devouring this immense energy, the pagoda trembled faintly.
"Time to leave."
The space in front of Ning Rongrong rippled slightly.
An oval-shaped spatial rift split open. With a light tap of her toes, she leaped inside. Before disappearing entirely, she fired a single bullet from her gun toward the prison behind her, erasing all traces.
Meanwhile, on their way to the prison—
Qian Renxue and the Ten Thousand Demon King.
"Gah—!" The Ten Thousand Demon King spat out a mouthful of crimson blood, his fierce eyes filled with disbelief.
"No… this is impossible!"