"Yesterday, Xiao Wu's injury made me lose my temper. I hope you two can forgive me."
Oscar and Zhu Zhuqing looked at him coolly. Faced with such an insincere apology, they merely nodded without saying anything.
Just then, Zhao Wuji spoke up too. "All right, get ready to set out and hunt for Soul Beasts. Mubai, you lead the group."
Dai Mubai said nothing. He silently took his place at the front of the group and set off.
In the group, Xiao Wu's eyes began to dart around.
Back in the Star Dou Great Forest, she was confident she could escape.
Even if a Titled Douluo came after her, there would be nothing they could do.
If she was lucky, she might even find a way to hide the Soul Beast aura on her and continue staying by Tang San's side.
The Soft Bone Rabbit clan might have a special method for concealing their aura, but she hadn't discovered it yet.
After all, Xiao Wu's mother had also been a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast who took human form, and she'd reached a high level of cultivation before Bibi Dong discovered her.
Xiao Wu decided to return to the Star Dou Great Forest and see if she could find a way to conceal the aura on her.
Meanwhile, the head of the Martial Soul Hall Branch in the Balak Kingdom was meeting with Pope Bibi Dong.
Bibi Dong sat upright in her chair inside the palace. Two men stood on either side of the space below her seat.
They were Bibi Dong's trusted aides, Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan and Ghost Douluo Gui Mei.
Both were Level 95 Titled Douluo.
Yue Guan folded his arms and stepped forward. Looking at the branch head, who was trembling with fear, he spoke.
"Go on. What brings you before His Holiness the Pope? If it's something trivial, you know what the consequences will be, right?"
The man swallowed and said shakily, "Lord Chrysanthemum Douluo, I suspect I've spotted Tang Hao in the Balak Kingdom!"
"What? Tang Hao?!"
" Tang Hao!!!"
Yue Guan and Gui Mei cried out in surprise. That name left a deep impression on them.
They hadn't expected Tang Hao, who had been missing for over a decade, to finally show up again.
Yue Guan stepped forward and looked down at the man. "Be more specific. Did Tang Hao really appear?"
The head of the Martial Soul Hall Branch replied in a trembling voice, "Yes. Several days ago, two terrifyingly powerful Soul Power fluctuations appeared at an academy in Suotuo City, in the Balak Kingdom."
"One of them was a Crimson Dharma Idol wielding a Sky-Lifting Great Hammer as it fought another person. The battle ended quickly, but I still managed to make out the idol's appearance."
"It looked familiar, as if I'd seen it somewhere before. After searching through records over the past few days, I found that it looked exactly like the portrait on Tang Hao's wanted notice."
"So I rushed here without delay to report this to Your Holiness the Pope."
Bibi Dong's brows drew together slightly. Her eyes were deep as an abyss, a cold light glimmering in their darkness.
She gazed down at the man reporting to her, her eyes full of scrutiny and curiosity.
When she heard about the Crimson Dharma Idol, she was sure the man was Tang Hao.
After all, she knew the Divine Slaughter's Domain well.
But what puzzled Bibi Dong was why Tang Hao had exposed himself in such an insignificant place as the Balak Kingdom.
Even after more than a decade of decline, and despite being weaker than before, he was still a Titled Douluo.
Had someone in such a small place actually forced Tang Hao to use both his Martial Soul Avatar and Divine Slaughter's Domain?
What the branch head didn't know was that Tang Hao had even used Explode Ring.
"You said Tang Hao fought someone else? What was the result? Did Tang Hao win?"
Bibi Dong finally spoke, her voice cool and low.
Fine beads of sweat appeared on the branch head's forehead. He answered in a trembling voice, "Tang Hao lost!"
"Tang Hao lost? How is that possible?!"
Yue Guan and Gui Mei exchanged a glance, both seeing the shock in the other's eyes.
Bibi Dong raised an eyebrow. She hadn't anticipated this outcome.
The branch head described what he'd witnessed that night. Bibi Dong and the other two found it hard to believe.
Tang Hao had actually been taken down in a single move!
He'd even been crippled and forced to flee toward the Star Dou Great Forest?
"This Seat understands. You may leave."
Bibi Dong's words were like a pardon to the branch head. He withdrew carefully, not daring to hesitate for even a moment.
"Your Holiness the Pope, would you like us to go look for Tang Hao?" Yue Guan asked.
Bibi Dong lightly tapped the armrest of her chair with one finger. After a long pause, she spoke.
"Of course. This is the perfect opportunity to kill him."
"Yue Guan, Gui Mei, the two of you will go search the Star Dou Great Forest. Try to find Tang Hao and kill him."
"If you can't find him, go to the Balak Kingdom and seek out the person who defeated Tang Hao. Get him to join Spirit Hall."
"If he refuses, I shouldn't have to tell you what to do, should I?"
Her tone was calm, but left no room for question.
Yue Guan and Gui Mei obeyed Bibi Dong's orders without question. They carefully left the palace to carry out their mission.
Once she was alone, Bibi Dong gently closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair.
A moment later, she slowly opened them again. The chill in her gaze had grown even stronger.
"My plan cannot suffer even the slightest setback. Anything that stands in my way will be destroyed!"
Bibi Dong still didn't have overwhelming power, so she needed to eliminate every unstable factor that might sabotage her plan.
Never underestimate any Titled Douluo. Otherwise, you'd pay a heavy price.
Lan Minghua, who had left Dugu Bo's home earlier, finally reached a hotel on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest before nightfall, after traveling for most of the day.
The hotel was a two-story building. The first floor was a simple restaurant, and the second held guest rooms.
Lan Minghua looked the hotel over and murmured, "A two-story building? Isn't this the hotel where the Shrek Seven Devils and Canghui Academy clashed? Am I really that lucky?"
There were several hotels on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest. He'd picked one at random and hadn't expected to find this one.
After sensing carefully, he noticed several familiar traces of Soul Power inside the hotel.
"Is that Old Zhao and the others? They've already reached the hotel?!"
As soon as he spoke, Lan Minghua turned into a streak of lightning and rushed into the single room where Zhao Wuji was.
To make sure nothing went wrong with the Soul Hunting trip, Zhao Wuji was standing by the second-floor railing, quietly watching Oscar and the others downstairs.
Because of the Soul Fighting matches and other matters, the Shrek Seven Devils had split into three groups.
Oscar and Zhu Zhuqing; Tang San and Xiao Wu; Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun; and Ning Rongrong, on her own.
Everyone at Shrek had seen how fierce and willful Ning Rongrong could be. She couldn't fit in with any of the groups.
She was as stubborn as a mule, too.
As the young lady of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, she thought she'd be the center of attention wherever she went.
But that wasn't the case at Shrek Academy.
In terms of both strength and talent, she was arguably the weakest student at Shrek, with no rival for last place.
She had neither strength nor talent.
And with such an arrogant personality, it was no wonder she couldn't fit in.
Although they sat at the same table, they were each lost in their own thoughts.
The place was packed, with no spare tables, so they'd been forced to sit together.
Seeing them, Zhao Wuji couldn't help sighing. "Sigh, Little Monsters, can you really become a team?"
Lan Minghua silently appeared on the second floor. Seeing Zhao Wuji's worried expression, he smacked him on the shoulder.
Feeling the force on his shoulder, Zhao Wuji's face changed dramatically. Instinctively, he swung a fist behind himself.
Lan Minghua caught the incoming fist with one hand and asked in confusion, "Old Zhao, what are you doing?"
At the sound of his voice, Zhao Wuji took a closer look.
He nearly scared himself to death. He quickly pulled his fist back.
"P-Predecessor?!"
"Why 'Predecessor'? Didn't I already tell you to call me Huazi?"
Lan Minghua ignored him and turned to look downstairs, studying the Shrek group and their strange atmosphere with interest.
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