The next morning, Spirit City was shrouded in an unexpected thin fog.
The outline of the Angel God Statue was blurred by the mist, making it look less like a statue from a distance.
It resembles a figure standing on a cloud, eyes lowered and silent.
Chen Jieqi got up earlier than everyone else.
He stood in the courtyard for half an hour, and his body had recovered to about 80 or 90 percent. The healing abilities of the Spirit Hall's Soul Master were indeed not just for show.
But what truly needs recovery is never the body.
The breakfast table at Huangdou's place was unusually quiet.
Yu Tianheng held the chopsticks with his left hand. The bandage on his right arm had been removed, leaving only a faint red mark.
The Shi Mo and Shi Mo brothers continued eating with their heads down as always. Osler and Yu Feng occasionally exchanged glances, but neither of them spoke.
Finally, Dugu Yan broke the silence.
" Xiao Qi," she said, pushing a glass of milk towards Chen Jieqi.
"You didn't sleep last night."
Chen Jieqi picked up his cup.
"I've been thinking about something."
"Is it related to Shrek?"
"Um."
To what extent should we be on guard?
Chen Jieqi put down his cup, and everyone stopped eating.
"No need to be on guard," he said.
"If we play normally, we won't lose. There's no need to put pressure on ourselves."
Yu Feng breathed a sigh of relief and was about to say something when Chen Jieqi added a sentence.
"But before we start, I need you to know what I'm talking about."
He got up and walked to the window.
" Shrek's success today is not due to its strength on paper."
It's a set of instincts that were forced out of us, enabling us to constantly turn the tide in desperate situations.
The hardest part of playing against an opponent like that isn't winning, but not getting caught up in their rhythm while trying to win.
"So my only tactic after that was..."
We will suppress them with all our might from the very first second, giving them no chance to turn the tide.
"Using your Soul Skill without holding back is not an insult, but a sign of respect."
He turned around, his gaze sweeping over everyone.
"Any more questions?"
No one spoke.
Dugu Yan looked down at the ripples spreading in her cup.
She noticed that Chen Jieqi's eyes were cold when he said "we won't hold back."
But that coldness wasn't directed at Shrek.
It's aimed at something much further away.
On Shrek's side, Xiao Wu didn't sleep a wink all night.
It was because she was waiting, waiting for that thing inside Tang San to breathe again.
It did not disappoint her.
It was captured again in the early hours of the morning.
It moved, just for a moment.
Like a giant beast submerged at the bottom of the water turning over, causing only a slight ripple on the surface.
Tang San's breathing rhythm skipped a couple of beats, but then returned to normal.
Xiao Wu opened her eyes and looked in his direction through the gap in her eyelashes.
She confirmed one thing: the whispers from last night were not a hallucination.
That thing inside him is awakening.
Moreover, it knew she was watching him.
After having breakfast, Xiao Wu made an excuse to go out.
She didn't tell Tang San, nor did she tell Ning Rongrong.
She walked alone on the streets of Spirit City, letting her feet lead her, without thinking about her destination.
The fog hadn't lifted yet.
There weren't many pedestrians on the street, but occasionally Soul Master who recognized her team uniform would point and whisper.
Shrek's reputation as a dark horse has spread.
But she ignored it.
She was thinking about a question.
If the substance within Tang San's body and that within Bibi Dong's body share the same origin, what does that mean?
Two answers.
First: Tang San is becoming the second Bibi Dong.
Second: Bibi Dong was once an "ordinary person" just like Tang San.
She didn't know which was more terrifying.
She stopped at the street corner.
A faint floral fragrance drifted from the depths of the alley.
She recognized the fragrance; it was from a wildflower unique to the Star Dou Great Forest called Nightrest Grass, which blooms only under moonlight.
No Soul Beast would eat it, because its scent would give all predators a brief sense of peace.
It's as if it's a reminder that this place was once peaceful.
Mom likes this flower.
Xiao Wu stood at the entrance of the alley, without going in.
She suddenly realized that she had been away from the Star Dou Great Forest for far too long.
So long that she had become accustomed to living as a human being, and to "loving" someone as a girl.
But at that moment this morning, when the thing inside Tang San turned over...
Her first reaction wasn't the girl's worry, but the Soul Beast's alertness.
That kind of instinctive vigilance against "natural enemies" that's ingrained in one's bones.
She is not anyone's "sister".
She is a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, standing in the center of the most dangerous city on the entire continent.
The person closest to her is becoming someone she can no longer recognize.
As the midday bells rang in the Pope's Palace, Dai Mubai knocked on Tang San's door.
Someone is looking for you.
Tang San raised his head.
"People from the Pope's Palace."
His hand froze in mid-air.
The messenger was dressed in the robes of a deacon from the Spirit Hall, with a smile on his face, and spoke with the utmost respect as if he were serving an elder of his own family.
" His Holiness the Pope was very pleased to hear that the son of Clear Sky Douluo was participating in the competition in Spirit City."
His Majesty said that Clear Sky Douluo had a deep connection with the Spirit Hall in the past, and now the son of an old friend has come from afar.
"If I could meet him, it would fulfill one of my wishes."
He paused, then added.
"Your Majesty is free this evening. If you would be so kind as to grace us with your presence, the Pope's Palace awaits you."
Tang San did not answer immediately.
He glanced at Dai Mubai. Dai Mubai's expression was simple: Don't go.
But then he thought of something else.
Yesterday afternoon, on the stage, Bibi Dong's gaze swept across the entire arena, lingering on him for a moment.
He wasn't unaware of it at that moment, but he was too preoccupied with the churning of the substance within him to pay attention.
Looking back now, that look didn't seem like it was directed at a contestant.
Like looking in a mirror.
"Good."
"Mistress!" Dai Mubai interrupted him in a low voice.
Tang San raised his hand to stop him and calmly said to the messenger:
"Please inform Your His Holiness the Pope Tang San will arrive on time for the appointment this evening."
The deacon withdrew, satisfied.
After the door closed, Dai Mubai gritted his teeth and asked, "Do you know what kind of place that is?"
"Know."
"Then why..."
"She's seen me," Tang San interrupted him.
Yesterday afternoon, the way she looked at me wasn't like she was looking at a junior; it was like she was looking at herself.
He looked down at his right palm. The stinging pain that had lingered since being disturbed by the holy light was slowly seeping into his very bones.
"I need to know why she looked at me like that, and—what exactly is inside me?"
Dai Mubai remained silent.
For the first time, he saw an indescribable look in Tang San's eyes.
It wasn't fear, it wasn't anger, it was hunger.
Night finally fell.
The candles in the Pope's Palace lit up one by one, illuminating the entire palace in a golden glow.
Tang San followed the deacon who was leading the way, passing through a series of golden gates at a leisurely pace.
He was counting.
There are several blind spots at the corners of the corridor, the height of each window corresponds to which building outside, and the approximate interval between guard shift changes.
This is a habit that comes with being in an unfamiliar place.
It's the instinct etched into the bones of someone who survived the hellish world of Tang Sect Hidden Weapons.
The last door opened.
Bibi Dong sat at the other end of the long table.
There was no Pope, no scepter, and no Titled Douluo standing by his side.
She was all alone, dressed in a deep purple gown, like a spider lily blooming in an empty room.
"Sit."
Tang San sat down in the chair opposite her.
A long table made of nanmu wood separated the two people. There was no tea or snacks on the table.
There was only a single, lonely candle flame.
Bibi Dong looked at him for three seconds.
"You look a lot like him," she said. " Tang Hao."
Tang San did not respond.
"He's just like you; he's never afraid of opponents stronger than himself."
Bibi Dong paused, then added, "But that was his stupidity."
Tang San met her gaze.
" His Holiness the Pope summoned me here to criticize my father's folly?"
Bibi Dong's lips curved slightly.
No. It's to tell you...
You don't have to follow his path. The Clear Sky Hammer isn't everything to you.
There's something else inside you.
The candlelight flickered in her deep purple pupils.
Tang San remained completely still.
I don't understand what you mean.
"You understand." Bibi Dong's voice was low, yet it felt like it was right next to my ear.
You just don't know what to call it.
I can tell you, a part of it is Rakshasa."
The candle flame flickered violently.
"And inside me, I am whole."
Her purple eyes flickered for a moment in the firelight.
"But what's inside you isn't just that. There's something else."
Tang San had no expression, but the fingers of his hand hanging under the table had turned blue and white.
Bibi Dong leaned back in her chair.
"I called you here not because you are the son of Clear Sky Douluo."
Rather, you are the only person I've ever met who can awaken something on its own without me having to put it in myself."
It chose you.
"Just like it did back then, it chose me."
Tang San did not answer.
He looked at Bibi Dong, at those deep purple eyes that shared the same quality as the thought within him.
Then he said something.
What do you want me to do?
Bibi Dong smiled.
That was the only time Tang San was certain he hadn't misread anything during the entire conversation.
That smile was real.
It's late at night.
When Tang San walked out of the Pope's Palace, the lights in Spirit City were going out one by one.
He stood on the long steps in front of the palace for a long time, the night breeze wiping away the sweat from his forehead.
The thing inside my body was responding to the conversation we just had.
It wasn't fear, it wasn't excitement, it was longing.
Bibi Dong said she wanted to win him over. He believed her.
Bibi Dong said she would mentor him. He believed her.
Bibi Dong said that the Rakshasa had chosen him, and he believed it even more.
Because he sensed that when she uttered the word " Rakshasa,"
The thing inside him finally revealed its complete outline.
It is neither a thought nor a breath.
It is a will.
A will that is willing to say "yes".
Tang San slowly raised his right hand, watching the moonlight filter through his fingers.
The burn mark on his palm, stung by the holy light, was slowly turning purple.