Falling Realm

"Ran into trouble? Then figure it out yourself." Dr. Ratio gave Bibi Dong a calm glance without the slightest softening of heart, then turned and walked straight into the bedroom.

"Smack...!"

Bibi Dong braced herself against the floor with both hands, her face deathly pale.

The ferocity had vanished from her beautiful face, leaving behind only helpless confusion.

Dr. Ratio's words continued to echo through her mind.

Those words became blades, spears, swords, and halberds, slicing through her already battered heart again and again.

She seemed to see Yu Xiaogang from decades ago.

Yu Xiaogang's image grew clearer and clearer: busy and troubled, making no progress in his research, tearing at his hair, complaining to her about how difficult things were.

Those were all her memories, and they perfectly matched Dr. Ratio's words.

From beginning to end, Yu Xiaogang had never been a genius scholar, much less worthy of the title of Master.

She had given Yu Xiaogang a shortcut to becoming a Master.

The clearer those memories became, the less she could continue deceiving herself.

"Pwah...!!!"

Bibi Dong spat out another mouthful of blood. Her hands could no longer support her, and her body crashed heavily onto the floor.

Her Soul Power began to fall, quickly dropping from Rank 95 to Rank 94. More than ten minutes later, it fell again to Rank 93.

Put simply, Dr. Ratio's words had shattered Bibi Dong's state of mind, causing her realm to plummet.

"No... I can't..."

"My Soul Power, give it back to me, give it all back..."

Bibi Dong moaned softly. The Soul Power she treasured most was draining away beyond her control.

This punishment was far too severe for her!

She clutched her chest, yet could no longer feel any solidity beneath that thick, soft flesh.

Panic uncontrollably appeared on her face.

At that moment, she was no longer the lofty Female Pope, but a helpless and desperate pitiful woman.

The arrogance she had shown toward Dr. Ratio moments ago had now become nothing but wretchedness.

She was like a fish stranded on shore, cut off from the water.

She floundered helplessly, yet could change nothing, only sinking deeper into despair!

"Teacher!!!"

A startled cry rang out from the doorway. Seeing Bibi Dong collapsed in a pool of blood, Hu Liena hurried inside and lifted her up without caring about the filth.

When Hu Liena saw the panic on Bibi Dong's face, tears began streaming down uncontrollably.

She had never seen her teacher like this before.

Helplessness, confusion, despair, regret... all sorts of negative emotions had dragged Bibi Dong down from her pedestal, making her look like nothing more than an ordinary pitiful woman.

"Teacher, how are you? I'll go find a doctor for you..." Hu Liena cried.

Hearing Hu Liena's voice, Bibi Dong suddenly came to her senses. She seized Hu Liena's arm like a drowning person clutching a lifeline and urgently asked:

"Na Na, tell me, is he... is he greedy for fame and profit?"

Bibi Dong's bloodshot eyes stared fixedly at Hu Liena.

The only thing that could make her feel better now was to slander Dr. Ratio's character.

Only then could she keep deceiving herself that Dr. Ratio had merely been talking nonsense!

Hu Liena froze for a moment before honestly replying, "Teacher, Dr. Ratio isn't that kind of person. He doesn't care about those things at all. He even..."

Hu Liena told Bibi Dong everything that had just happened.

Bibi Dong's pupils contracted. She suddenly began gasping for air, clutching her chest as pain filled her face.

She would rather never have heard Hu Liena's account!

How could Dr. Ratio not be greedy for fame and profit?

Why wasn't he a hypocrite?

Why did the fame and fortune Yu Xiaogang had dreamed of seem like worn-out shoes to Dr. Ratio?

Could it be that Dr. Ratio truly deserved the title of Master more than Yu Xiaogang?

Then what exactly had she been deceiving herself about?

"Pwah...!!!" Bibi Dong cried out miserably again, suddenly vomiting a large amount of blood. Her eyes rolled back, and she fell completely unconscious!

"Teacher!!!"

Hu Liena screamed.

Outside the Pope's Palace.

The more than one hundred thousand onlookers departed in an orderly fashion. Although they had not achieved their goal, they had now met Master Ratio and seen a new theory unveiled, so they were quite satisfied.

"Master Ratio is good in every way, except his temper is awful. I heard it's because his face was ruined that he became like this."

"Ah, let's talk about that Bloodline Inheritance Spirit theory. Now that we have the initial formula, it shouldn't be hard to derive the rest, right? There are so many people in the Soul Master Realm. We can't all be idiots, can we?"

"Why couldn't he just give us the whole thing at once? Master Ratio, honestly. He just had to keep things hidden."

"..."

They continued discussing it as they left.

The vast majority spoke of Master Ratio with deep admiration.

Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo also left the Pope's Palace. Amid the crowd, they did not stand out.

Having just been "criticized" by Dr. Ratio, Ning Fengzhi did not take it to heart. His face was still full of excitement.

"Uncle Sword, we really made the right choice coming to Spirit Hall this time! Meeting a prodigy like Master Ratio and keeping Spirit Hall from burying his talent is a blessing for the entire Soul Master Realm!"

Sword Douluo nodded slightly and smiled. "Master Ratio truly is impressive. And I have a vague feeling that Master Ratio is not so simple..."

"Of course he isn't simple, or he wouldn't be worthy of the title of Master."

Ning Fengzhi smiled and continued, "Once we return, we must help Master Ratio build his reputation. We must let the entire Soul Master Realm—no, the entire Douluo Continent—know of Master Ratio!"

Sword Douluo smiled as well, fully approving of Ning Fengzhi's plan.

Spirit Hall claimed to represent all Soul Masters. If they wanted to restrain Spirit Hall, the best way was to harness public opinion.

Just like earlier, when two hundred thousand people had demanded to see Master Ratio, would Spirit Hall have dared refuse?

At the Pope's Palace, the higher-ups were still standing at the first-floor entrance, watching the crowd depart with relief written all over their faces.

Even powerful Soul Masters like them had broken into a cold sweat over what had just happened!

"It's finally over. Now, that meeting from earlier will probably have to be scrapped. Master Ratio's rise is already unstoppable!"

"That's only natural. We all know Master Ratio's theoretical expertise."

"But Master Ratio is still the same as before—far too proud! I wonder what theory he'll release next. Ah, that kid Xie Yue hasn't left yet. Hurry and ask him!"

"..."

A group of Spirit Hall higher-ups gathered around Xie Yue without prior agreement.

Feeling countless curious gazes fall upon him, Xie Yue's scalp went numb. The weakest among them were all Soul Douluos—it was practically deadly!

"Xie Yue, what is the Three Elements Fusion Skill?"

Light Feather Douluo asked.

Xie Yue's mouth twitched as he spread his hands. "I haven't figured it out yet. My lords, could you let me leave first?"