Pope, Warming Up!

The Pope was warming up!

Bibi Dong was speechless.

She glared at Qian Renyu, her expression utterly grim.

She had guessed at Qian Renyu's intentions, and could almost be certain of them.

Yet hearing the answer straight from Qian Renyu's mouth still left her unable to hide her shock.

He had considered every last detail.

The teams from the advanced Spirit Master academies were bound to have core members. Those members were the key to victory in the end.

Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan all belonged to the Golden Generation. They were the core of the Martial Soul Academy Team.

But under Qian Renyu's current plan, the core represented by the Golden Generation had become utterly insignificant.

Whether Hu Liena was there or not really didn't matter anymore!

Yue Guan belatedly came to his senses.

He looked at Qian Renyu as though he were a monster, Qian Renyu's teasing words to Bibi Dong still ringing in his ears.

Scenes began to play out in his mind, one after another.

In the finals of the Spirit Master Tournament, the Martial Soul Academy Team would be missing its core, Hu Liena, and would ultimately lose to Shrek Academy.

And then—

With all eyes upon him, Qian Renyu would sit on the towering Throne, gazing down at the people of Shrek, who were already convinced they would win the championship.

Yue Guan's mouth twitched uncontrollably, and he couldn't help shuddering.

The Pope was warming up. That was one hell of a sight!

With Qian Renyu himself taking the field, and the reigning Pope personally leading the Martial Soul Academy Team, how could there be any suspense about who would win the championship?

Would anyone say Qian Renyu was breaking the rules?

It didn't exactly seem to count as breaking them.

Strictly speaking, Qian Renyu was still registered as a member of Martial Soul Academy. There was a paper trail to prove it, and the arrangement would stand up to scrutiny.

He hadn't even been promoted to teacher at Martial Soul Academy. He was still a student, fully eligible under the Spirit Master Tournament's rules.

In all the previous Spirit Master Tournaments, no Pope had ever personally taken the field. But the rules had never prohibited students above a certain level of strength from competing.

Hu Liena's breathing quickened.

Like Bibi Dong, once she fully understood Qian Renyu's intentions, she couldn't help avoiding his gaze.

She had been certain that she was irreplaceable on the Martial Soul Academy Team, and that if the team wanted to win the championship, Qian Renyu—Pope or not—would never lay a hand on its most essential core member.

Her beautiful dream hadn't even begun to take flight before it sank beneath the sea.

"Your Holiness, I wasn't trying to defy your wishes. I only wanted to become stronger before the finals..."

"Mm..."

Hu Liena hurriedly tried to explain.

Before she could finish, Qian Renyu's hand came mercilessly toward her face.

His fingers clamped over Hu Liena's face, cutting off any further excuses. Qian Renyu regarded her with a cold, assessing gaze.

"I've already told you: don't try to show off your little cleverness in front of me!"

"You pride yourself on being a genius, and now you want to use a genius's way of thinking—claiming you had a sudden insight—to refute my order!"

"Hu Liena, do you know that newborns are as numerous as fish crossing a river on the Douluo Continent, year after year?"

"Among all those newborns, there are geniuses every year!"

"Only a genius who grows up can truly be called a genius!"

"And right now, you can only be called talented!"

Qian Renyu spoke lightly.

As he spoke, he kept his hand clamped over Hu Liena's face and lifted her off the ground.

Qian Renyu was taller than Hu Liena. He only had to raise his arm to lift her until her feet dangled in the air.

With such overwhelming strength, Hu Liena couldn't react at all.

Her feet off the ground and her face held in his merciless grip, she struggled to breathe.

A deep unease swept through Hu Liena, and the feeling of suffocation enveloped her every moment.

"Your... Your Holiness..."

Hu Liena grabbed Qian Renyu's arm, trying to draw in more fresh air and force out a few more words.

Qian Renyu didn't let Hu Liena's dream come true. His cold, merciless eyes stared impassively at her restless hands.

His fingers tightened, and red marks began to appear on Hu Liena's face where they pressed into her flesh.

"If we're talking about geniuses, everyone in Spirit Hall who has become a Titled Douluo is a genius—and a successful one at that!"

"Even if you reach that level, you still have no right to act recklessly in front of me!"

"You haven't even grown up yet. Tell me, who gave you the courage?"

Qian Renyu continued in a soft voice.

No matter how Hu Liena struggled, he wouldn't loosen his grip. The crushing pressure of suffocation never let up.

Hu Liena's mind was in a haze. Qian Renyu's words fell into her head like heavy blows from a hammer.

Each blow made her heart and mind tremble uncontrollably.

"Why... why is this Your Holiness so different from my teacher?"

"E-even my teacher recognizes my talent, and believes in what I can achieve in the future."

"This Your Holiness doesn't play by the rules!"

"Am... am I going to die?"

Hu Liena thought in a panic.

The strength in her struggling hands dwindled.

Her Soul Power was inferior to Qian Renyu's, and so was her physical strength.

The sudden suffocation seemed to drain every bit of strength from her body. She couldn't summon even a fraction of her usual poise.

Through the gaps between his fingers, her eyes appeared and disappeared. The bright light in them began to fade, taking on the dullness of someone close to death.

Yue Guan didn't dare speak. He watched Hu Liena being held up by Qian Renyu, his heart in his throat. He kept an eye on her condition, then glanced toward Bibi Dong.

Bibi Dong glared straight ahead, noticing Yue Guan cautiously sizing her up.

Fury surged through her.

Yue Guan's scrutiny was more unbearable to Bibi Dong than being killed outright.

Understanding what he was thinking, Bibi Dong realized that her position was under serious threat.

If she watched Hu Liena die before her eyes, she would lose all authority. It would be more than just another blow to her already weakening influence.

If something like this happened, Bibi Dong knew that even if she remained in Spirit Hall, she would no longer hold much higher a position than Yue Guan and the others.

If she couldn't even protect her own disciple, she had no right to preside over Pope's Palace, nor could she expect every Titled Douluo in Spirit Hall to submit to her!

Without that authority, staying in Spirit Hall would be meaningless. She would never fulfill her long-held wish of carving out a domain where no one could question her rule!

Bibi Dong gripped the Pope's Scepter tightly, took a deep breath, and let her eyes flash with a cold light as she shouted, "Qian Renyu, that's enough!"

"I can let you have your way on other matters, but don't think you can keep provoking my limits!"

"My patience has its limits!"