What About the Second Lesson You Learned?

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"Jiang Bai! Come to the back mountain!"

The voice transmission carried an unquestionable command, instantly raising goosebumps all over his body.

Jiang Bai abruptly stopped in his tracks.

Soul Power voice transmission? That voice was—?

Who could it be at this hour?

He furrowed his brow, his mind racing.

A name surfaced in his mind, sending a sudden chill down his spine.

Go or not?

Jiang Bai gritted his teeth, a glint of resolve flashing through his eyes.

He straightened his collar, pushed open the dormitory door, and silently melted into the night.

Jiang Bai quickly headed in the direction from which the voice transmission had come.

Relying on his familiarity with the back mountain's terrain from all these years, he moved through the darkness.

After passing through the forested area of the back mountain, the view suddenly opened up before him.

An open clearing lay ahead. At its edge ran a broad river, its waters glimmering with a dark sheen beneath the moonlight.

Following the river's course, he saw a massive waterfall not far away, its thunderous roar clearly audible.

Beyond the waterfall lay the endless dark outline of the Star Dou Forest, like a slumbering beast lurking in the night.

This was already the boundary between the back mountain and the forest beyond. Few students normally came this far.

Jiang Bai stopped and warily scanned his surroundings.

The only sounds in the clearing were the rustling grass in the wind and the distant, muffled roar of the waterfall.

"Senior, what business do you have with Jiang Bai so late at night?"

He called out loudly, his voice echoing across the empty riverbank.

What answered him was the sound of high heels striking the ground.

Tap, tap, tap.

The sound came from the darkness of the forest, neither hurried nor slow. Every step was precise and steady, carrying the calm composure of someone in complete control.

In the silent night, the sound was exceptionally clear, each step seeming to strike Jiang Bai directly in the heart.

A figure slowly emerged from the shadows.

Moonlight spilled through a gap in the clouds at just the right moment, illuminating the visitor's face and her distinctive long robe.

The exquisite scepter in her hand emitted a dark gleam.

Bibi Dong!

Jiang Bai's pupils contracted sharply, and every muscle in his body instantly tensed.

Though he had already suspected it, seeing the Pope of Spirit Hall appear on the back mountain in the dead of night nearly froze his blood.

He forced himself to calm down, quickly bowed, and did his best to keep his voice steady. "Greetings, Your Holiness the Pope!"

Bibi Dong did not respond immediately.

She slowly walked to a point roughly ten meters before Jiang Bai and stopped, neither too close nor too far.

Moonlight fell upon her breathtakingly beautiful yet icy face. There was no warmth in those violet eyes, only unfathomable darkness.

She stared silently at Jiang Bai for several seconds before a mocking curve suddenly formed at the corner of her lips.

"But I feel," she said slowly, her voice colder than the night wind, "that you don't seem to hold me in much regard."

Before her words had even faded, she lightly tapped her scepter against the ground.

There was no deafening sound, no dust flying into the air, yet an overwhelming aura swept toward him like a tangible tsunami!

Jiang Bai let out a muffled groan. His body slid back several steps against his will, carving two shallow furrows into the dirt beneath his feet.

He felt as though a mountain were pressing down on his chest.

Cold sweat instantly beaded on his forehead, while the fabric on his back clung tightly to his skin.

So this was the pressure of a Title Douluo—

He barely forced out a smile, his voice trembling slightly under the pressure.

"Not at all. This student has always kept Your Holiness the Pope in his heart!"

"Oh?" Bibi Dong raised a brow, the mockery in her voice deepening. "In your heart?"

"The first lesson in life this student learned was loyalty!" Jiang Bai answered quickly, his mind racing as he tried to find even a sliver of survival.

"This student will never forget Your Holiness the Pope's grace in nurturing me!"

The words sounded grand and righteous, so much so that even he found them hypocritical.

But at the threshold of life and death, any words that could buy time and create an opportunity were worth trying.

Bibi Dong gave a disdainful snort.

She stepped forward, and the pressure intensified severalfold.

Jiang Bai's knees buckled, and he nearly fell to the ground, barely holding himself up through sheer willpower.

"Then let me ask you," Bibi Dong said, narrowing her eyes as a dangerous cold glint flashed through her violet gaze, "what was the second lesson in life that you learned?"

The second lesson?

The second lesson was, of course, forgetting where you came from!

But did he dare say that now?

"This student—" Jiang Bai swallowed, his throat so dry it hurt. "This student's experience is still shallow, and I have yet to comprehend—"

"Yet to comprehend?" Bibi Dong repeated those four words, the curve of her lips turning cruel and cold. "Fine."

She paused, and her voice abruptly sharpened. "Then I shall make you comprehend it right now!"

Before her words had even faded, the pressure that had been enveloping Jiang Bai suddenly surged!

This was no longer a probing suppression, but a full-force eruption!

The terrifying aura of a Title Douluo poured forth without reservation like raging waves of an angry sea!

"Puh—

—"

Jiang Bai spat out a mouthful of blood. It felt as though an invisible massive hammer had struck him, sending his entire body flying backward!

He barely adjusted his posture in midair. When he landed, he rolled several times before dissipating the force, then spat out another mouthful of bloody foam. His blood and qi churned violently in his chest and abdomen, while agonizing pain wracked him as if his internal organs had shifted out of place.

Before he could catch his breath, a violet blur flashed before his eyes!

Bibi Dong appeared before him like Gui Mei, so fast that Jiang Bai had no time to react!

She did not even use a soul skill. She merely raised her fist and threw a simple punch at Jiang Bai's chest!

Bang!

Her fist struck his chest solidly, and Jiang Bai heard the crisp crack of his own ribs breaking.

Excruciating pain instantly drowned out all his senses. He was sent flying backward again, smashing heavily through an ancient tree.

"Agh—"

Jiang Bai collapsed limply on the ground, blood continuously spilling from his mouth.

His vision began to blur, and his ears rang incessantly.

Was he going to die?

No—he couldn't die—

The instinct to survive overwhelmed everything else.

Jiang Bai struggled to raise his head, a vicious gleam flashing through his eyes.

He no longer hesitated, nor did he conceal anything. Before an absolute threat of death, no secret mattered anymore.

"Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda—!"

With a low roar, dazzling radiance bloomed from his palm!

The pagoda's body flowed with a glazed luster, breathtakingly beautiful beneath the moonlight.

But what truly made Bibi Dong's pupils contract were the three Spirit Rings slowly revolving around the pagoda.

Purple, purple, purple.

Three deep-purple Spirit Rings, like three magnificent halos of starlight, made the pagoda appear even more mysterious and noble.

This completely defied the common knowledge of the soul master world!

How could the first and second Spirit Rings possibly be thousand-year rings?!

Bibi Dong's breathing stopped for an instant.

Countless scenes flashed through her mind.

Yu Xiaogang holding that notebook, animatedly explaining his "Ten Core Competencies Theory."

He had sworn with absolute certainty that the limit for a soul master's first Spirit Ring was four hundred and twenty-three years—

Yet now, the twelve-year-old boy before her had shattered the conviction he had held his entire life with three purple Spirit Rings.

Xiaogang's theory—was wrong?

No—impossible—

Then it could only be—