Unwilling to become someone else's Spirit Ring!
"Something's wrong..."
"Retreat, now!"
Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo sensed something was off and quickly fell back, ordering the surrounding Spirit Hall members to retreat as well.
A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast's self-destruction was no laughing matter.
Its power could surpass the full-force strike of a Super Douluo.
"Sixth Spirit Skill, Abyssal Slash of Space Rend!"
At that moment, Bibi Dong's red Spirit Ring lit up.
Two emerald-green blades of light crossed as they shot from her spider legs.
Space warped as they streaked through the air in flashes of cold light, crashing into Ah Rou.
"Boom!"
The self-destruction erupted in that instant. The violent energy swept outward, forming a powerful storm.
Wherever it passed, the earth was torn up.
Trees were ripped out by the roots and ground to dust in the storm.
At the Spirit Hall members' orders, everyone had already activated their Martial Soul Avatars and defensive abilities.
Even though they had retreated some distance, they were still caught in the energy's shockwave.
"Seventh Spirit Skill, Martial Soul Avatar!"
Before the storm arrived, the Cardinal beside Su Wen transformed into a giant eagle and shot into the sky.
Su Wen stood on the eagle-like man's back.
He looked down below.
By the time the storm dissipated, everything within several hundred meters had been destroyed. Dust billowed across the land, and the ground lay cracked and parched.
"Mom, Xiao Wu will avenge you..."
Xiao Wu, still fleeing, felt the energy and knew it had come from Ah Rou's self-destruction.
She didn't slow down. She darted into the bushes and ran toward Da Ming and Er Ming.
"Xiao Wen!"
Bibi Dong came over to Su Wen. Seeing he was unharmed, she relaxed her furrowed brows slightly, said nothing, then plunged back into the smoke.
"Damn it!"
Bibi Dong reached Ah Rou's side, but she had vanished.
A Spirit Bone lay on the ground, and a red Spirit Ring floated in the air.
At its center, the blast had left a deep crater.
Bibi Dong tried to draw the Spirit Ring with her Soul Power. The red ring responded to her summons and slowly drifted toward her.
"Thank goodness!"
Bibi Dong let out a breath of relief. She had delivered the final blow herself, but Ah Rou's self-destruction had already been imminent when she died, leaving her unable to control it.
"Yue Guan, Gui Mei!"
Bibi Dong's icy voice rang out. "Yue Guan, check on the others. Gui Mei, come protect me!"
"Yes!"
The blast had hurled Gui Mei and Yue Guan to the outskirts. At Bibi Dong's command, Gui Mei hurried over, looking somewhat battered but otherwise unhurt.
Chrysanthemum Douluo coughed twice in the smoke. He looked worse off than Gui Mei, with rabbit footprints all over him. He had clearly suffered minor injuries.
He followed Bibi Dong's orders and checked on the others.
After arranging everything, Bibi Dong began absorbing the Spirit Ring without hesitation.
The eagle-like man landed beside Gui Mei with Su Wen, then transformed back into the Cardinal.
As time passed, Yue Guan brought everyone over. They had all sustained varying injuries, and the fact that no one had died was a blessing.
The team's healing Soul Masters began treating them.
Just as the treatments were nearly finished, Bibi Dong's aura suddenly surged.
Her original configuration of five black rings and one red ring—
changed to five black and two red.
The sight of Bibi Dong's Spirit Rings left the Cardinals, Chrysanthemum Douluo, and Ghost Douluo shaken and envious.
Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo exchanged a knowing glance, astonishment clear in both their eyes.
This Spirit Ring configuration was practically beyond the Grand Pontiff's.
No—it already surpassed it.
Even if her final two rings were only Ten Thousand Year Spirit Rings, Bibi Dong now had two Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Rings, and her First Martial Soul had another one.
The two Douluos couldn't imagine anyone on the continent surpassing the Pope now.
"Congratulations, Your Holiness!"
As Bibi Dong rose, Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo led the others in dropping to one knee. The Cardinals were quick to join them.
Only Su Wen remained standing. He unwrapped a candy and popped it into his mouth, hands in his pockets as he watched them.
The corner of Bibi Dong's mouth lifted almost imperceptibly.
With a Martial Soul Avatar for her Second Martial Soul, she was one step closer to taking full control of Spirit Hall.
"Your Holiness, one Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast escaped. Should we continue the pursuit?"
Chrysanthemum Douluo asked.
"No need. She won't escape if she's still in the forest."
Bibi Dong glanced over the injured members of Spirit Hall.
Then she remembered that she still needed to digest the power she had just absorbed.
She shook her head.
She held out a hand, beckoning Su Wen over.
"Congratulations, Teacher!"
Su Wen walked over to Bibi Dong and looked up at her.
Just as he'd expected, Bibi Dong had certainly obtained the Spirit Ring.
It was a shame about Xiao Wu, but the encounter had also given him a new appreciation for the Soft Bone Charm Rabbit.
It was truly powerful!
Its life-saving skills seemed endless!
Unfortunately, Xiao Wu's combat strength had dropped far too much after she took human form.
Was love and food to blame?
"Xiao Wen, do you think you can make another contract?"
Bibi Dong took out Ah Rou's Spirit Bone. "That rabbit was unusual. She was probably the Soft Bone Charm Rabbit Emperor. Though she was still a rabbit, her means of staying alive were beyond imagination. If my Spirit Skill hadn't been so unusual, I might not have been able to take her down so quickly."
Seeing Su Wen hesitate, Bibi Dong smiled. "What is it... don't you like it?"
"Teacher, if I use my Spirit Skill on your Spirit Bone, I don't know if you'll still be able to keep it."
Su Wen remembered what had happened when he contracted Ah Yin.
Her body had been pulled straight into the Sea of Blood.
It would be a real shame if this Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Bone disappeared too.
Bibi Dong understood.
She paused to think.
A wave of spiritual power swept through the surroundings.
Soon,
Bibi Dong vanished from the spot.
When she returned,
she held a small bone in her hand. Su Wen couldn't tell which part of the body it came from, but he could feel traces of Ah Rou's aura lingering on it.
Bibi Dong explained, "This was left behind after the explosion. You can try."
"Okay!"
This time, Su Wen didn't hesitate. He summoned the Ghost Emperor of the Wedding Dress Martial Soul.
The Martial Soul appeared, and a wave of Yin energy surged around them.
A red wedding dress. A humanoid Martial Soul.
The Spirit Hall members who had never seen it before were astonished.
More than anything, they were shocked.
They could sense an aura more evil than the Pope's Martial Soul coming from it.
"First Spirit Skill, Underworld Marriage!"
A dark-red power spread outward from Su Wen.
The ground beneath him turned into a Sea of Blood.
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