"Ask you?"
Bibi Dong's words were devoid of any emotion.
Tang San remained standing in front of Xiao Wu.
The scab on the web of his right hand burst open when he clenched his fist, and fresh blood seeped out, trickling down the back of his hand.
But he stood straight, without the slightest hesitation.
Bibi Dong's gaze shifted from the trembling girl to his face.
"You have great talent, but..."
Her voice wasn't loud, but every word seemed to carry weight. The scepter tapped gently on the stone platform.
An invisible pressure emanated from her, precisely targeting Tang San, who was blocking Xiao Wu's path.
Tang San's body stiffened abruptly.
The Soul Power within his body seemed to be frozen, making even breathing difficult.
The meridians of the Mysterious Heaven Skill emitted a faint groan under the pressure, and the bones were pressed down layer by layer.
His knees were buckling, but he gritted his teeth and refused to back down.
Fine cracks appeared on the obsidian floor beneath my feet.
"Before you have sufficient strength, maintain due respect for the strong."
Bibi Dong looked at him with a calm gaze, as if she were looking at a stone.
"I didn't ask you."
Tang San's hands were trembling.
It wasn't out of fear, but because the oppressive force had drained him of even the strength to raise his hand.
He tried to speak, his lips moved, but no sound came out of his throat.
The girl behind him was still trembling; he could feel her fingers gripping the fabric of his shirt.
A sense of powerlessness washed over him again, and the crimson in his eyes grew even more intense and profound.
No one spoke.
Ten thousand people watched as the boy in black was pressed down until he was almost bent over, but no one thought he was shameful.
When the aftershocks of that oppressive aura swept across the stands, even the spectators sitting furthest away felt a tightness in their chests.
In the VIP section, Ning Fengzhi gripped his cane tightly.
Sword Douluo Chen Xin placed his hand on the hilt of his sword, his body radiating a sharp sword aura as he protected Ning Fengzhi in front of him.
Xue Qinghe sat motionless.
Her hand rested on the armrest, looking at Tang San Tang San, and also at the trembling girl behind him.
I was also watching the dark green figure who had already stepped out from the VIP lounge.
Dugu Bo stood there.
After his Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor condensed its " Soul Core," its Soul Power and poison levels both improved significantly.
However, he still felt a slight unease in his heart when faced with the oppressive aura emanating from Bibi Dong.
Sheng Hui within the Soul Ring suddenly spoke:
"This woman has already undergone the divine test, and at a considerable level."
Chen Jieqi did not respond.
Just as the atmosphere became tense and anxious, another person made a move.
"His Majesty."
A voice came from the Shrek area.
It wasn't loud, but everyone could hear it in the quiet stadium.
Yu Xiaogang the sidelines of the ring.
His face was pale, his lips were trembling, but his steps were steady.
Even though Liu Erlong was pulling him, he couldn't stop her.
He walked through the passage cleared by the Shrek Academy members, and as he passed Dai Mubai, Flender called to him from behind, but there was no response.
He walked up to Tang San, helped him up, and stood behind him.
He lacked Bibi Dong's strength; he was a "waste" who wasn't even Soul Elder.
He just stood there, blocking the students' way.
Only a few people noticed that Bibi Dong's oppressive aura dissipated when Yu Xiaogang came up.
"I am the leader of the Shrek Academy team."
Yu Xiaogang looked at Bibi Dong, his voice carrying a slightly unusual quality, but every word was spoken clearly.
"You can ask me any questions about this team."
Bibi Dong looked at him.
There was no surprise, no anger, not even a flicker of emotion in his eyes.
She looked at him as if he were an old ledger that had been turned over long ago.
" Yu Xiaogang," she said, "What do you have to offer me in this negotiation?"
Yu Xiaogang did not answer. He took something out of his Soul Tool and held it in front of him.
That was a token.
It is entirely black, with intricate patterns engraved on the edges, and only a hammer on the front.
The Elder Token of the Spirit Hall.
The entire hall fell silent once again.
Someone recognized the token and gasped.
That was Clear Sky Douluo's keepsake, left to Yu Xiaogang by Tang Hao, something that man had slipped into his hand when he entrusted his son to him.
"This Elder Token ..." Yu Xiaogang's voice steadied a bit more, "Is it enough?"
Bibi Dong didn't look at the token. She looked at Yu Xiaogang.
I looked at it for a long time.
So long that everyone thought she wouldn't speak again.
Then something flickered in her eyes.
Not anger, not surprise.
It's something deeper, buried at the very bottom of time, something she herself is unwilling to acknowledge.
She remembered something from a long time ago.
Back then, she was young, without this crown, without this scepter, without that thing churning within her day and night.
At that time, her name was Bibi Dong.
It's just Bibi Dong.
She remembered a long time ago, in the courtyard of the Spirit Hall, there was a wisteria trellis.
Every spring when the flowers bloom, the whole yard is covered in pale purple petals, and when the wind blows, the petals fall everywhere.
She liked to sit under the wisteria trellis and read.
She wasn't reading that day; she was waiting for someone.
Waiting for a boy in blue.
Her name is Yu Xiaogang, a direct descendant of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, whose Martial Soul Mutation failed.
Being sent to the Spirit Hall for "exchange and learning" was actually a way of saying that he was disliked by his family and wanted to change his situation through learning.
Everyone laughed at him. "Useless," they called him.
She didn't.
Not only because she was kind, but also because when she first saw him, he was squatting in a corner of the library.
Write and draw on the paper with a pen.
She walked over and took a look; it was a complex diagram of the flow of Soul Power.
She asked, "What are you doing?"
He looked up and glanced at her.
"We are studying the evolutionary laws of Martial Soul."
Is it useful?
"I don't know," he said, "But someone has to do it."
She moved closer to him and looked at the blueprint together.
That was the first time they spoke.
She didn't remember much about what happened after that, only that the wisteria flowers bloomed and withered, then bloomed again.
They discussed Martial Soul Theory together, stayed with her late at night at the training ground, and were chased all over the yard while secretly eating osmanthus cakes from the kitchen.
He was the first person not to regard her as a "saint".
He was also the first person who wasn't afraid of her spider Martial Soul, and the first person who didn't mind the way she looked after her Martial Soul Possession.
Just because she is Bibi Dong, she has many firsts.
He told her, "There are no useless Martial Soul, only useless Soul Master."
She smiled.
That was one of the few genuine laughs she ever had in her life.
To help him realize his theoretical dream, she used her status as a saintess to show him many of the secrets of the Spirit Hall.
Her days were fulfilling and happy, and she thought they would continue like this forever.
She was wrong.
Qian Xunji discovered it.
That day he called her to his study, closed the door, and spoke calmly:
"You've been getting too close to that Blue Lightning kid."
He's just my friend.
"Friends?" Qian Xunji smiled.
"You are the Holy Maiden of the Spirit Hall, so who is he?"
"Just ordinary friends? You used the Saintess's permission to examine the Spirit Hall's secret archives?"
She did not answer.
"Stay away from him," Qian Xunji said.
"Otherwise, I cannot guarantee his safety."
That night, she disobeyed her teacher's orders for the first time.
She went to see Yu Xiaogang. What exactly did she say?
She couldn't remember exactly, but it was something like he was told to be careful, not to get too close to her, and not to let anyone see their relationship.
He looked at her without saying a word, and finally nodded.
She stood alone under the wisteria trellis; the wind was strong, and petals fell to the ground.
That night, a divine thought from beneath the Angel God Statue approached her for the first time.
It whispered in your ear, "You are in pain."
She didn't answer, she ignored her.
It said, "I can give you strength so that you will never have to listen to anyone again."
She closed the door, but the crack was already there.
What happened next...
Qian Xunji intensified his surveillance on them and put pressure on Yu Xiaogang, forcing him to leave the Spirit Hall.
When she found out, she went to Qian Xunji, which was the first time she had ever directly argued with her teacher.
Qian Xunji looked at her, and something in his eyes changed; it wasn't anger.
It was something she couldn't understand, something that sent chills down her spine.
"Are you pleading for him?" he said.
Do you know what you're doing?
She knew that she simply didn't care anymore and wanted to choose for herself this time.
That night, that divine thought knocked on the door a second time.
This time she didn't close it tightly.
And then...
She wanted to elope with him.
They agreed on a time and a place, and she waited all night in the rain.
He didn't come.
She later learned that Qian Xunji had gone to see him after she left.
No one knows what was said; all she knows is that Yu Xiaogang left Spirit City the next day.
He didn't turn around.
She didn't chase after him.
She waited her whole life for him to say, "I'll take you away."
He didn't say anything; he ran away.
From then on, her smiles gradually diminished, and she reverted to her former saintly demeanor.
The divine thought knocked on the door for the third time.
This time, it didn't wait for her reply.
It's coming in.
Bibi Dong closed her eyes.
When I opened my eyes again, there was nothing there—no girl, no wisteria, no figure in the rainy night.
Only the Pope.
Her gaze fell on Yu Xiaogang, who stood there, blocking Tang San's path, holding the token in front of him.
My hands were shaking, but I didn't back down.
" Yu Xiaogang ".
Her voice wasn't loud, but every word was like a shard of ice.
"You used to run so fast, now you've learned to stand in front of others."
Yu Xiaogang's face paled slightly.
Behind him, Liu Erlong, who had caught up, gripped his sleeve tightly, her body trembling slightly.
Bibi Dong's gaze swept over that hand, and the corner of her mouth curved slightly.
"Is it for her? Or for your pathetic pride?"
The entire hall fell silent.