"F*ck, who do you think you're messing with?!"
The Pope, having just arrived, rushed in and caught the blow aimed at Fire Phoenix Douluo. He immediately released his martial soul—three pairs of pure white wings appeared behind him, and a blazing Angel Sword formed in his hand. With a sweep of his right arm, a wall of flame rose around Ning Qin and the others, forming a sturdy barrier of fire to protect them.
"Tch, Qian Daoren, where'd you find this helper?"
Xue Qing clicked his tongue as he realized he wouldn't be able to capture those below. Then he seemed to think of something and canceled his martial soul possession, starting to chat amicably with the Pope while signaling with his hand behind his back. The signal told the other four to retreat quickly, leaving only the two Super Douluos on his side behind.
"Let's go. We'll settle this some other time."
Tang Tie patted the furious Feng Wuxiao on the shoulder. Though Feng Wuxiao wanted to confront Xue Qing on the spot, he knew their side couldn't beat him right now. He had no choice but to swallow his anger and flee with Tang Tie.
"Tch, pretty boy, you think you can sweet-talk me? I'm warning you—get lost now while you still can."
The Pope was not fooled by Xue Qing's demeanor and remained extremely vigilant in case of a sudden attack. Fire Phoenix Douluo subtly moved closer to Lin Xuan, while Lan Xin also regrouped with the wounded disciples. Xue Qing's smile widened—his face seemed to be silently declaring that his scheme had succeeded.
"What are you waiting for, Viscount Tuo Dun? Your family is still waiting for you!"
Xue Qing suddenly shouted toward Tuo Dun, who stood among the crowd. Instantly, everyone turned their gaze to him—except Lin Xuan, who was still absorbing his spirit ring. Tuo Dun's expression darkened. He had no idea what the Pope was talking about. If this was a setup, then there was no way he could escape unscathed.
"What's wrong? As a noble of the Heaven Dou Empire, are you going to back down now? Kill Lin Xuan!"
As soon as Xue Qing finished speaking, he reactivated his martial soul and engaged the Pope again. The Pope wasn't worried. His disciples were holding off the two enemy Super Douluos. Lin Xuan was being guarded by his son and Xingbu Ji. Tuo Dun, a mere three-ring Soul Elder, wasn't a threat. All he had to do was focus on Xue Qing.
"Tuo Dun, move ten meters away from us. Everyone else, get to Lin Xuan and protect him!"
Xu Yibai was the first to respond. Qian Mo Shang and Lan Luoluo immediately moved to cover three sides around Lin Xuan. Xingbu Ji and Lin Fan quickly joined them. Finally, Qing Qing cast an uncertain glance at Tuo Dun, then moved to Lin Xuan's side as well.
Just as Tuo Dun was about to speak, he caught Xu Yibai signaling to him with his eyes. This reassured him, and he quietly backed ten meters away to watch the scene unfold.
"Stand behind me."
Lin Fan gently pulled the heartbroken Qing Qing behind him. She lowered her head and gave a soft "mm" in reply. But Lin Fan didn't see it—her lowered face was already twisting into a sinister grin.
"Big Brother Lin Fan, could you hug me? I'm scared."
Qing Qing spoke in a delicate, pitiful voice. Xingbu Ji frowned but said nothing. Lin Fan was visibly awkward—he didn't know how to react to her expression. Still, he ultimately gave in and hugged her. He still hadn't completely let go of his feelings for her.
Xu Yibai and Qian Mo Shang immediately looked displeased. Inwardly, they cursed Lin Fan for being a fool and not seeing the bigger picture. Lin Fan, of course, had no clue. The truth was only known by Xu Yibai and his two senior classmates.
"Big Brother Lin Fan, I know you like me. But we can't fall in love with a food-type soul master, so I forced myself to love Tuo Dun. But in the end, the one I truly love is still you. Kiss me, okay?"
Qing Qing clasped Lin Fan's hand, fingers interlocked, gazing into his eyes. Lin Fan's brain was instantly overwhelmed. He felt like it was about to explode—he just wanted to kiss her. And so, he did. The two of them embraced passionately, the battle raging in the background fading into irrelevance.
"Idiot! Hahahahaha!"
After half a minute, Qing Qing suddenly pushed Lin Fan away and burst into maniacal laughter. She immediately spun around, pulling out a gleaming dagger, and lunged at Lin Xuan, who was still absorbing his spirit ring. Xingbu Ji reacted too late. Lin Xuan was in grave danger, completely defenseless during absorption.
"No! Big Brother Lin Xuan!"
Lin Fan, vomiting blood, was sent flying as he screamed in fury. He hadn't expected Qing Qing's kiss to be poisoned. The toxin had invaded his internal organs. As his consciousness began to fade, he watched helplessly as Qing Qing stabbed at Lin Xuan. His feelings had nearly caused Lin Xuan's death.
"Shut up! Focus on suppressing the poison!"
Lan Luoluo appeared behind Lin Fan and barked at him. Her four spirit rings lit up, and the Nine-Hearted Begonia bloomed in her hands, beginning treatment. Lin Xuan was never in real danger—they'd all been watching Qing Qing closely. There was no way she'd be allowed to succeed.
"Xuanming Swap!"
Xu Yibai's fourth spirit ring lit up. Instantly, he and Lin Xuan switched places. Qing Qing's dagger stabbed into Xu Yibai's Black Tortoise Shield, creating a shower of sparks. Her sneak attack had failed.
"Tch."
Qing Qing clicked her tongue. Xingbu Ji's attack followed immediately, forcing her to retreat. In that instant, her speed exploded with the agility of a Soul King. Qian Mo Shang laughed heartily—he had already recognized his old friend.
"Clear Sky Possession!"
Qing Qing's left hand summoned a massive warhammer, and five spirit rings appeared: two yellow, two purple, one black. Qian Mo Shang also released his Angel Martial Soul, eyes gleaming with excitement.
"Tang Die! So you joined Spirit Hall… Fortunately, we spotted you early."
Xu Yibai retreated to Lin Xuan's side and stood beside Qian Mo Shang, speaking in a low tone. Tang Die, Heaven Dou Empire's number one prodigy and a twin martial soul user, had never appeared in the previous tournament. Her second martial soul had always concealed her true identity, so Spirit Hall never paid her much attention. But she'd single-handedly changed the outcome of the tournament, causing Spirit Hall to lose the championship, and then vanished without a trace.
"Fatty, so you did recognize me. No wonder you didn't drool when you saw me being all cute."
Tang Die smirked seductively at Qian Mo Shang. Lan Luoluo, still healing Lin Fan, curled her lips—this fox spirit was always good at seducing men. Tang Die noticed but didn't respond. What she truly feared was Xu Yibai. If he swapped her into enemy lines, she'd never get away.
"Big Sis is leaving for now. See you in two years~"
With that, Tang Die retreated at top speed. Xingbu Ji tried to pursue but was stopped by Ning Qin. While she could catch Tang Die, they couldn't rule out hidden reinforcements. And they hadn't suffered any real losses—besides, he didn't want to kill her. Someone like her would only motivate the younger generation even more. She was just a twin soul master, after all.
"Tch, lucky you. Next tournament, make sure to have three spirit bones ready—we're reserving them."
Xue Qing sighed, seeing that Tang Die had failed. The Pope frowned but didn't say anything. With a hearty laugh, Xue Qing left the battlefield. The two remaining Super Douluos landed a final strike on Fire Phoenix Douluo, then retreated. The battle had ended.
The outskirts of Star Dou Forest were in total disarray. Within a ten-mile radius, all spirit beasts had fled in fear. A few hundred-thousand-year beasts sensed the weakened state of the fighters and stirred restlessly. The Pope snorted coldly, and all those beasts reluctantly backed down.
"Sigh… You all go rest. I'll help these kids finish absorbing their spirit rings, then return."
The Pope looked at his disciples and sighed. They had it rough. Seven Super Douluos were struggling to maintain the entire Spirit Hall. He hadn't been able to recruit any wandering Title Douluos either.
"Understood, Teacher."
Senior Brother saluted, then left with his juniors. The Pope watched them go, then vanished into the shadows. He couldn't join Ning Qin's team directly—he could only assist from the dark, helping them deal with spirit beasts beyond their strength.
"Is Lin Fan alright?"
Ning Qin walked over to check on Lin Fan's condition. His poison had been mostly stabilized. A few days of rest and detox, and he'd be fine. Still, Ning Qin asked Lan Luoluo to be sure there were no hidden dangers.
"He's fine."
Lan Luoluo gave a firm reply, and Ning Qin finally relaxed. The group set up camp to prepare for their first night in the forest. Two hours later, Lin Xuan finished absorbing his spirit ring. He had broken through to Soul Elder. Having trained hard for two months to suppress the bottleneck, he jumped from level 31 to level 32. To stabilize his soul power, he didn't even have time to ask what had just happened and continued cultivating until midnight.
"Come eat."
Qian Mo Shang had long since begun roasting spirit beast meat next to Lin Xuan. At the smell, Lin Xuan's stomach growled loudly. He took the meat and began devouring it ravenously. Qian Mo Shang laughed and joined him in a meat-eating contest.
"Brother Lin, you missed a great show today."
Qian Mo Shang munched as he recounted the day's events. Lin Xuan fell silent after hearing everything. At last, the day's drama wasn't directly caused by him. Ever since arriving at Spirit Hall, trouble had followed him like a shadow. Qing Qing—no, Tang Die—had tried to kill him only because she couldn't kill Qian Mo Shang in one blow.
"Is this Tang Die really that powerful?"
The moment Lin Xuan asked that, Qian Mo Shang's smile froze.
(End of Chapter)