Spirit Arena

Flying on a sword was certainly exhilarating, but it was ultimately too conspicuous. Blending into the torrent of merchants and travelers along the official road better suited his free-spirited nature.

Suddenly, a rapid, dense barrage of hoofbeats swept in from behind like a torrential downpour!

A sizable team of Soul Masters sped past his side like the wind.

All of them wore fitted combat attire. Though they bore no obvious insignia, their movements were disciplined, carrying the chilling aura of long training.

At the center of the group, they escorted a large yet relatively plain carriage.

Amid the wind, the suppressed yet excited whispers of young Soul Masters in the group drifted clearly into Zhao Linchuan's ears:

"Xiao Zhang! The Saintess herself is leading us this time! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

"That's right, A Wei! Even if I have to risk my life, I have to show the Saintess what I can do!"

"Saintess?" Zhao Linchuan's heart stirred, and he lightly tugged on the reins almost instinctively.

The perceptive White Snow immediately slowed her elegant pace.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, his sharp gaze falling upon the swiftly moving group. "Spirit Hall's Saintess? Bibi Dong?"

It was as though the strings of fate had been silently plucked.

Just as the group reached a point not far ahead of him, a fair, jade-like hand with distinct knuckles gently lifted one corner of the carriage curtain.

An incomparably beautiful profile, yet carrying the distant chill of ice jade, appeared through the swaying gap in the curtain.

Several strands of faint wine-red hair fell beside her cheek.

As though she had sensed the unusual, probing gaze cast upon her from outside, those deep purple eyes, like amethysts capable of piercing the human heart, shifted slightly.

In that instant!

Across the short distance between them, Zhao Linchuan, astride his white horse beside the official road, met the gaze of Spirit Hall's brightest jewel within the carriage—Bibi Dong!

Time seemed to be abruptly clenched by an invisible hand at that moment, freezing for half a breath.

Zhao Linchuan's gaze was deep and tranquil, carrying a trace of pure scrutiny and curiosity toward a figure of legend.

Bibi Dong's eyes first flashed with cold displeasure at being disturbed, before instinctively sharpening into an appraisal of an unfamiliar strong person.

Her gaze was astonishingly clear, yet sharp enough to pierce through appearances, carrying a penetrating force far beyond her years.

It was only a glance, so swift it seemed like an illusion.

The convoy moved at incredible speed. Flying hooves kicked up rolling clouds of dust, and in mere moments, it disappeared at the end of the official road, leaving only the fading echo of hoofbeats in the dry air.

"Bibi Dong..." Zhao Linchuan murmured her name as he looked toward where the dust had dispersed.

That fleeting glimpse of the young woman's face and those distinctive purple eyes had already been deeply etched into his mind.

One thought surfaced with absolute clarity: she had not yet met the liar who would drag her into the mire, Yu Xiaogang.

The gears of that tragedy had yet to begin turning.

An indescribable emotion quietly surged within him.

It was not mere pity. It was more like an innate rebellion against a "predestined path," the unwillingness of an "anomaly" to see another dazzling existence possibly fall.

Such a breathtakingly gifted existence, whose brilliance had only begun to emerge—her fate should not be sullied and twisted by lies and schemes, before finally plunging into the abyss of destruction.

The corner of his lips curved into an almost imperceptible smile, carrying a hint of amusement and a hint of defiance toward fate.

"Hyah!" Zhao Linchuan lightly patted the horse's neck.

White Snow, snow-white from head to toe, let out a clear neigh. As though she understood her master's intent, she elegantly tossed her mane,

then followed the faint lingering Soul Power Fluctuation and dusty scent of that group through the air, setting off with vigorous hooves—not hurriedly, yet with a clear destination.

A predestined path?

I wanted to see just how much I could disrupt it.

Three days later, at the Litang Great Soul Arena on the border of the Heaven Dou Empire.

The massive circular arena resembled a boiling volcanic furnace.

Deafening roars, frenzied cheers, and piercing whistles mingled with the pungent scent of sweat, dust, and excitement, crashing brutally against everyone's senses.

On the central main stage, beneath blinding soul-tool spotlights, a purple phantom streaked about at a speed beyond the limits of sight.

Her face was covered by an exquisite purple butterfly-wing mask, concealing most of her features and leaving only a cool jade-like chin and a pair of abyss-deep purple eyes burning with cold flames.

The nobility and disdain ingrained into every gesture could belong to none other than Spirit Hall's Saintess—Bibi Dong!

At that moment, she had already completed the Death Spider Emperor's Martial Soul Possession.

Purple-black armor that seemed almost alive tightly covered the vital parts of her arms, shoulders, neck, waist, abdomen, and legs,

rather than diminishing her exquisite figure, it outlined breathtaking curves and exuded a deadly, bewitching beauty. Cold, hard metallic gleams flowed along the armor's edges, while a heart-palpitating pressure silently spread.

Her opponent was a burly Soul Emperor whose Martial Soul was the Raging Giant Bear. Every full-force Spirit Skill attack carried the force to split mountains and shatter boulders,

yet he could only uselessly smash deep craters into the stage and send rubble flying.

The strength and speed he had been so proud of seemed as clumsy as a staggering child before Bibi Dong's ghostly movement technique.

"Too slow... laughably clumsy..." Bibi Dong lightly shifted aside, and the violent shockwave of Giant Bear Earthshaker could not even stir a single strand of wine-red hair by her cheek.

Her icy murmur was perfectly wrapped in Soul Power, allowing only her to hear the suppressed disappointment within it. "Completely... unchallenging."

At last, a trace of impatience pierced the ice deep within her purple eyes.

Beneath her feet, the deep purple Third Soul Ring suddenly lit up!

Bzz—!

A gigantic spiderweb woven from pure purple-black Soul Power instantly appeared out of thin air!

Its edges flowed with a venomous ghostly gleam as it shot forward like lightning, incomparably precise, covering the Giant Bear Soul Ancestor directly after he had just unleashed his Spirit Skill and fallen into a brief moment of stiffness!

The Soul Emperor was terrified beyond measure. His Soul Power erupted wildly as he tried to break free, but the spider silk was tougher and stickier than imagination!

Like an insect trapped in amber, he released only a muffled groan before being completely wrapped and Bound from head to toe, instantly becoming a Human Cocoon that could do nothing but wriggle uselessly, with only his eyes—widened in absolute terror—left exposed!

Bibi Dong spread the fingers of her slender right hand slightly, as if plucking invisible strings, then gently curled them back.

Bzz!

The Soul Power threads linked to the Human Cocoon instantly tightened!

With a casual flick of her wrist, the heavy cocoon containing the Soul Ancestor was effortlessly yanked from the ground by immense force. With a dull bang!, it smashed viciously onto the stage at her feet, sending dust billowing into the air!

She casually released the Soul Power threads, as though discarding an eyesore of a piece of trash.

Looking down from above at the "package" that could only writhe and struggle beneath her feet, the weariness in her purple eyes had become tangible frost.

"What a... disappointment."