Bibi Dong

He found the scene before him—Ning Fengzhi's deliberate arrangement and Ning Rongrong's discomfort—far more interesting than the boring banquet itself.

Ning Fengzhi caught the fleeting interest in Duanmu Ci's eyes when he looked at his daughter, and inwardly rejoiced. This was exactly the effect he wanted.

He immediately found an excuse and gave Xue Ye and Duanmu Ci a slight bow:

"Your Majesty, Young Master Duanmu, I have a few old friends over there whom I need to greet. Please excuse me for a moment. Rongrong, stay here and keep Young Master Duanmu company. Young people have more to talk about."

With that, without giving Ning Rongrong any chance to refuse, he smiled and turned to merge into another circle of nobles.

Xue Ye lavishly praised Duanmu Ci and Ning Rongrong beside him a few times, then also prepared to leave.

In one corner of the inner hall, only Duanmu Ci and Ning Rongrong remained. The atmosphere instantly became somewhat stifling.

Ning Rongrong took a deep breath. Looking at Duanmu Ci's calm face, she thought of Dai Mubai lying in agony on his sickbed, and the angry looks in her companions' eyes. A question she had suppressed for a long time finally burst from her lips, her voice trembling with restrained agitation:

"Why?" She stepped closer, staring fixedly into Duanmu Ci's eyes.

"Why did you do that to Dai Mubai? You severed his arm!

How exactly did our Shrek Team offend your Imperial Dou Team 3, that you had to be so ruthless?"

Duanmu Ci raised his brows slightly, seemingly unsurprised by Ning Rongrong's sudden outburst. He even found it only natural.

He did not answer immediately. Instead, he unhurriedly picked up a cup of clear wine from a nearby servant's tray and gently swirled it, carrying an almost lazy arrogance.

He tilted his head back slightly, as though recalling some insignificant triviality.

Only after a moment did he turn his gaze back to the indignant Ning Rongrong. "Miss Ning, it seems Dai Mubai did not tell you everything?"

He set down his wine cup and looked toward Zhu Zhuqing, who stood quietly waiting nearby, signaling with his eyes before turning back to Ning Rongrong. His tone carried a trace of cold mockery:

"Zhu Zhuqing is the heir of the Zhu Clan of the Star Luo Empire. Dai Mubai is a prince of the Star Luo Empire. They were once betrothed, and behind that engagement lies Star Luo Empire's cruel succession rule—victors live, while losers die or are imprisoned for life."

"Zhuqing bore her family's fate and her own life and death on her shoulders when she traveled thousands of miles to the Heaven Dou Empire to find her fiancé. What she hoped for was a companion who would fight beside her and resist fate together.

But what did she find?"

His gaze suddenly sharpened.

"A worthless fool who frequented every pleasure house, indulged in drink and women, caroused every night, and had long since willingly fallen into depravity!

A coward who treated her future and her very life as nothing!

Miss Ning, if you were her, and learned that you had to bind your fate to such a person, that you might even suffer irredeemable ruin because of him, what would you do?

Would you continue to endure it all, or sever those shackles?"

Duanmu Ci's words struck Ning Rongrong's heart again and again.

Of course she knew about Dai Mubai's conduct!

When Shrek first arrived in Suotuo City, she had seen Dai Mubai's reputation and behavior with her own eyes.

It was only after they became companions that this past was deliberately or inadvertently glossed over.

Now that Duanmu Ci had laid it bare, together with the brutal background of Zhu Zhuqing's fate, the anger on her face receded like the tide, replaced by shock, realization, and a trace of indescribable... shame.

She looked at Zhu Zhuqing. The girl who had always been quiet and reserved now appeared entirely different in her eyes.

That was not indifference, but the weight of unimaginable shackles upon her shoulders.

Everything Zhu Zhuqing had done was not cruelty without cause, but a defense of her own right to survive.

Ning Rongrong fell silent. Her lips moved a few times, but no sound came out.

She had always stood from Shrek's perspective, angry over what had happened to her companion, yet had never truly tried to understand the circumstances of Zhu Zhuqing, this "outsider."

Now, the truth had been spread before her in such a cruel manner, and she finally understood what kind of despair and resolve lay behind that seemingly merciless strike.

As the young sect mistress of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, she too often felt bound by responsibility, but compared to Zhu Zhuqing's life-and-death choices and the strife within her clan, her little lack of "freedom" seemed so insignificant—and so fortunate.

Duanmu Ci took in every complex change of expression on Ning Rongrong's face and knew his words had achieved their effect.

Duanmu Ci's gaze did not linger on Ning Rongrong. His figure passed by calmly as he returned directly to Zhu Zhuqing and the others.

The noisy banquet bored him to no end. He merely sat quietly to one side, waiting for this round of social obligations to end.

Before long, Qian Renxue approached with a radiant smile, Princess Xue Ke following at her side.

The way Xue Ke looked at Duanmu Ci held the undisguised admiration of a young girl—his exceptionally handsome appearance truly drew attention.

Unfortunately, in his eyes, Xue Ke was merely an immature little girl and could not stir the slightest interest in him.

Night finally enveloped Heaven Dou City completely, and this long, tedious banquet at last came to an end.

Several days passed in the blink of an eye.

The five competing teams began their journey to Spirit Hall.

Much like in the original storyline, Spirit Hall indeed dispatched men with the intent of assassinating the elite Spirit Masters competing in the tournament along the way.

However, none of this turmoil or murderous intent had anything to do with Duanmu Ci.

In a sense, he had belonged to Spirit Hall from the very beginning.

Not long after arriving in Spirit City, an invitation from the Pontiff's Palace was delivered to Duanmu Ci.

This immediately prompted the other teams, as well as their teachers, to begin whispering among themselves.

"His Holiness the Pontiff summoned him personally? The moment he arrived in Spirit City?"

"Just who is this person?"

"..."

A trace of contemplation also crossed Duanmu Ci's mind.

Bibi Dong had summoned him? For what reason?

But it did not matter.

As it happened, he was also deeply interested in exploring Spirit Hall.

The towering, majestic Pontiff's Palace reflected a cold, imposing gleam beneath the sunlight.

Two rows of armored guards stood solemnly along the path leading to the main hall, as still as statues.

Led by one of the guards, Duanmu Ci stepped across the polished floor and walked forward step by step.

He released his powerful senses and began probing everything within Spirit Hall.

A vast expanse of familiar Spirit Beast Jinchuriki fluctuations flowed throughout Spirit Hall.

Among them were several Spirit Beast auras that were at least eighty or ninety thousand years old.

He walked while sensing his surroundings, only stopping once he reached the Pontiff's Palace.

Bibi Dong, the female Pontiff who controlled the continent's most powerful Spirit Master organization, was also sizing up the approaching Duanmu Ci.

Her peerlessly beautiful face was bathed in sunlight, making her all the more breathtaking.

"May I ask why Your Holiness the Pontiff has summoned me?"

Duanmu Ci stopped and spoke first, his voice calm and unruffled.

Bibi Dong did not answer immediately.

A terrifying pressure, vast and unfathomable as an abyss, suddenly erupted from her body!

The immense Soul Power of a peak Titled Douluo bore down upon Duanmu Ci below the steps!

The air seemed to freeze in an instant. The invisible pressure was enough to make an ordinary Spirit Master drop to their knees at once.

Yet Duanmu Ci remained standing straight where he was.

When the pressure fell upon him, it vanished without a trace, unable to stir even the slightest ripple.

Not even the hem of his robes fluttered. His expression remained so calm that it was as though he felt no pressure at all.

After a long while, the tsunami-like pressure suddenly withdrew, as though it had never existed.

Only then did Bibi Dong's cold, authoritative voice ring out again:

"Duanmu Ci. If you are willing to officially join Spirit Hall, then I... can let bygones be bygones."