He was even more furious.
"Missing without a trace! How could they be missing without a trace?!" Bibi Dong clenched the scepter in her hand, her face twisting with rage.
She turned and shouted at Lingyuan Douluo beside her.
Feeling the aura radiating from Bibi Dong, Lingyuan Douluo—who had already been bowing—bent even lower.
"I... I don't know, either."
"But it's true that Elders Ju and Gui are missing."
Bibi Dong's face had darkened like a storm cloud looming overhead. She looked furious.
The next moment,
a sudden, shrill burst of laughter filled with mockery, madness, and boundless malice erupted from Bibi Dong.
"Ha ha ha ha ha!"
"Good! Good! Very good!"
"I merely sent them to search for information on the Bright Realm, and they never came back."
"Could it be... could it be that they defected?"
At her words, Lingyuan Douluo abruptly raised her head.
She stared at the graceful figure before her in disbelief.
Her eyes were filled with shock and a sense of utter absurdity.
Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo were known throughout Spirit Hall for their absolute loyalty to the Pope. How could they...
But Bibi Dong's gaze, cold as ten thousand-year-old ice, had already fixed firmly on Lingyuan Douluo.
There wasn't a trace of warmth in her eyes—only scrutiny, suspicion, and an almost tangible pressure.
When she finished speaking, Bibi Dong looked sharply at Lingyuan Douluo and said in a voice as cold as ten thousand-year-old ice:
"They have both betrayed Spirit Hall. Send people to hunt down Ju Hua Guan and Gui Mei at once!"
"Demon Bear and Ghost Leopard have already woken up, haven't they? Have them personally search for Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo."
Bibi Dong forced the final words through clenched teeth, her voice brimming with murderous intent:
"If they find them, kill them on sight!"
"This..." Lingyuan Douluo hesitated, uncertain. "Isn't that too rash?"
"After all, after all..."
But Lingyuan Douluo didn't dare continue.
She could clearly feel the murderous intent growing in Bibi Dong's gaze as it settled on her.
The change made her break out in a cold sweat.
"Are you questioning me?"
Hearing Bibi Dong's chilling words, Lingyuan Douluo shuddered.
She hastily explained, "I wouldn't dare! I'll take care of it right away, right away."
Without waiting for Bibi Dong to respond, she hurriedly fled the scene.
Only after she had left the Papal Palace grounds and reached the sunlight outside did Lingyuan Douluo dare to stop.
She braced herself against a cold pillar in the corridor and looked back, still shaken.
The towering Papal Palace stood before her.
At that moment, it seemed to be shrouded in an invisible, heavy cloud. Even the sunlight could not pierce through, and an unsettling gloom seemed to emanate from it.
Lingyuan Douluo swallowed, her dry throat burning.
An indescribable chill shot up from the soles of her feet to the crown of her head.
She felt that their Pope had changed.
She was no longer the ruler she had once been: cold in her methods, but clear in her goals, still rational, and fair in her rewards and punishments.
Now she could no longer tell right from wrong. She was volatile and quick to anger, almost... almost deranged.
She had become so deranged that even an old hand like Lingyuan Douluo felt a sense of unfamiliarity and fear.
It was as if the Pope of old had vanished completely.
In her place stood a complete madwoman.
At the thought, Lingyuan Douluo broke into a cold sweat.
Daring not to dwell on it any longer, she turned and hurried away.
[Twelfth on the Combat Strength Ranking: War God Douluo Qin Tian] [Affiliation: Bright Realm] [Martial Soul: War God Xingtian Armor] [Level: Rank 98 Assault Type Super Douluo] [Evaluation: War God Douluo Qin Tian is the chief instructor of the Bright Realm's Xingtian Battle Team. With his terrifying psychic energy and immense Soul Power, he is the second-strongest warrior upholding the Bright Realm's laws of justice. His Martial Soul, War God Xingtian, represents overwhelming firepower and an unyielding will to fight. His offense, defense, and speed are all exceptionally balanced, with no weaknesses, and he also has control-type skills to support him in battle. Unfortunately, he has yet to summon the Bright Realm's legendary weapon, the War God Blazing Fire Sword, which limits his strength. Thus, he ranks twelfth.] [Reward: Soul Power Increased by One Level; all Soul Ring Lifespans increased by nine thousand years; one 90,000-year-old Right Arm Soul Bone; a great increase in spiritual energy]
The Combat Power Board's latest change once again stirred up waves across the continent.
"Rank 98—another Rank 98 Super Douluo!"
"And they're both from the Bright Realm! Just how many Rank 98 Super Douluos does the Bright Realm have?"
"From what we've seen, the Bright Realm's strength has probably already surpassed Spirit Hall's, hasn't it? That's terrifying."
"They have such incredible strength, yet they've managed to stay hidden for so long... The more you think about it, the scarier it gets!"
While people across the continent discussed the matter,
at the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan,
Yu Yuanzhen and Yu Luomian stared at the Heavenly Screen in silence once more.
"Second Brother, has Ning Fengzhi replied?" Yu Yunzhen asked, his throat dry.
Yu Luomian shook his head numbly. "The person we sent to deliver the message said Sect Master Ning isn't at the sect right now."
"What about the people we sent to search for information on the Bright Realm? Have we heard anything?"
At his elder brother's question, Yu Luomian gradually came back to his senses.
He shook his head with a sigh. "Big Brother, the Bright Realm isn't somewhere we can find so easily."
After a moment's thought, Yu Luomian slowly continued:
"Given the situation, if we don't join either Spirit Hall or the Bright Realm..."
He didn't need to finish. Yu Yuanzhen understood the consequences.
Never mind the Bright Realm—Spirit Hall alone would never spare the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
"Big Brother, why don't we seal off the mountain?"
"Let's do what the Clear Sky Sect did and withdraw from the world." Yu Luomian spoke up suddenly.
Yu Yuanzhen stroked his chin, caught between two choices.
"Let me think it over. Let me think."
Inside the Clear Sky Sect,
"S-Sect Master, should our Clear Sky Sect still come out of seclusion?"
The Clear Sky Sect's Second Elder finally tore his gaze away from the Heavenly Screen and looked at Sect Master Tang Xiao with a strange expression.
The other elders were all deeply shocked as well.
There were so many Rank 98 Super Douluos, and eleven ranked above him.
Even though the Clear Sky Sect possessed many peerless techniques left behind by their ancestors, such as Exploding Ring and the Great Sumeru Hammer,
they no longer dared to boast.
Otherwise, they feared the Clear Sky Sect would be destroyed by their own hands.
Tang Xiao's expression was also grim.
At last, he let out a mocking laugh, as if ridiculing their earlier arrogance.
"Come out of seclusion? What would we even come out for?"
"To let others wipe out the Clear Sky Sect? Ha ha ha!"
Tang Xiao shook his head and let out a long sigh.
"Recall the people we sent to look for Younger Brother Hao, too."
"Let's stay in seclusion, just as before."
Before you continue