Conspiracy

Morning, nothing much to do. Bibi Dong moved a recliner to the window, leisurely flipping through a book in her hands. The sunlight fell on her, warm and comfortable.

Bibi Dong squinted comfortably, turned to a new page, and read seriously.

"Haah~"

Bibi Dong let out a big yawn, casually closed the book, shook her head, found a comfortable angle, and dozed off.

"Knock knock"

She didn't know how long she'd slept when a flurry of urgent knocks startled Bibi Dong awake from her nap.

"Who is it?" Bibi Dong opened her bleary eyes, rubbed them, and asked casually.

"Holy Maiden, the Elder Hall has ordered you to go out on a mission."

"What mission?"

Bibi Dong slowly rose, stretched lazily, and walked over to open the door.

"Oh, Niya?"

Bibi Dong looked at the girl standing with her head down at the door and spoke.

"Greetings, Holy Maiden." Niya bowed, then looked up with a smile at Bibi Dong. "I'm here to deliver the Elder Hall's orders. Your mission is to track down a defector. A servant from the outer hall stole two Soul Tools. The Elder Hall orders you to pursue him. The specific mission details are written on this."

Niya took an envelope from her pocket and handed it to Bibi Dong.

"Mm, I understand. I'll set off immediately." Bibi Dong took the envelope, opened it, pulled out a letter, and read it as she replied.

"Then I'll take my leave, Holy Maiden." Niya bowed once more, turned, and walked away.

"Mm-hmm, okay," Bibi Dong replied casually.

Hearing Bibi Dong's response, Niya, turning away, curled the corner of her mouth into a playful smirk.

"So..." Bibi Dong looked up at a dilapidated little village in front of her. "Why would someone run here after stealing something?"

Shaking her head, Bibi Dong quietly raised her guard, tensed her whole body, ready to release her Martial Soul at any moment, and cautiously entered the village.

As she scanned her surroundings, Bibi Dong searched for traces of the servant.

"Something feels off..." Bibi Dong frowned and muttered to herself. "What exactly is wrong?"

"Crack"

A crisp sound rang out. Bibi Dong looked down at the dry branch broken in two under her foot, and her alertness spiked.

It was the sound! It was too quiet! Not a single chirp of an insect or a bird. That was impossible, unless...

"Whoosh"

Bibi Dong suddenly dodged to the side, rolling to avoid an arrow shot from a window nearby.

Unless... there was an ambush!

Bibi Dong's face turned serious, her eyes cold and sharp as she stared at the shattered window not far away.

"Come out!" Bibi Dong barked sternly.

Her answer was a hail of arrows flying through the air.

"Damn it!" Bibi Dong's pupils contracted sharply. With a fierce shout, her Martial Soul had already manifested. Soul Rings emerged—yellow, purple, black, black, black, black—six Soul Rings bursting with dazzling light.

The first Soul Ring, and the only yellow one, flickered. Bibi Dong felt all the hairs on her body stand on end. Her body instinctively followed her intuition, making evasive maneuvers, continuously performing difficult movements to dodge the arrows flying from all directions.

"No, impossible." In a house some distance away, a middle-aged man ground his teeth, his arms trembling uncontrollably. With a "crack," he crushed the arrow in his hand.

"Wasn't Bibi Dong supposed to be a Strength Attack type? Why is she so agile, dammit!"

The middle-aged man furiously threw the fragments in his hand to the ground and shouted viciously:

"Hey, all Soul Masters, attack! I don't believe a Soul Emperor can dodge the attacks of a group of Soul Emperors and Soul Kings!"

"Yes!"

Several low shouts came from the houses, and then Soul Masters burst through the windows one after another, charging at Bibi Dong with battle cries.

"Hah!" A burly Soul Emperor, his left arm wrapped in a massive blade, suddenly appeared behind Bibi Dong and slashed down fiercely.

"Dodge... can't dodge." Bibi Dong gritted her teeth, glancing at the attacker behind her. "I'll have to take it head-on."

"Whoosh" Her fourth Soul Ring flashed behind her. A thick, hard layer of armor covered in spikes enveloped her body.

Bibi Dong forcibly twisted her body to face the attacker, raised her arms, and blocked the incoming heavy blade.

"Boom"

Bibi Dong's feet plowed two deep furrows into the ground.

Wiping a trace of blood from the corner of her mouth, Bibi Dong thought, "Again with this. I'm a Strength Attack type, and I'm getting no respect at all."

"Ah!"

Bibi Dong's face twisted with anger. A layer of armor condensed on her right arm. Her sixth Soul Ring flashed behind her, and a strange ripple enveloped her right arm. Bibi Dong's feet moved like the wind as she charged at the attacker, and before he could react, she punched him square in the stomach.

"Ugh"

His eyes bulged, a mouthful of blood spraying out as his body curled into a shrimp-like shape. Bibi Dong did not stop her steps; she followed up with short, quick strides, twisted her body, and kicked him in the side of the neck. A crack sounded, and his head flopped limply to one side, connected to his body only by a strip of skin—clearly beyond saving.

After swiftly and cleanly killing the intruder, a layer of green light flickered over Bibi Dong, and her complexion improved considerably.

Standing upright, Bibi Dong reached up and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, surveying the enemies slowly encircling her with an angry expression, though they were momentarily cowed.

"It seems someone wants to cause trouble," Bibi Dong said, a disdainful smile curling at the corner of her mouth. "Don't they see what kind of trash they are?"

Even though she usually appeared gentle and approachable, she still had her own pride.

"Won't you come out and let me see? Let me see just who it is?"

"As expected of the Holy Maiden—truly formidable." From behind the crowd of Soul Masters came a round of applause, and a middle-aged man with a cold, gloomy face stepped forward with feigned elegance.

Bibi Dong narrowed her eyes and let out a scoff. "I remember you. You're that little girl Niya's servant, aren't you?"

The middle-aged man's movements stiffened, his expression turning sour.

"Hmph, I don't need to say anything to you. You're already a dead man anyway. Once you're gone, the lost Soul Tool will be retrieved by my master. Then, with the Holy Maiden position vacant, given my master's strength and merits, the seat will naturally fall into her hands."

"I see," Bibi Dong said thoughtfully. "So that's the plan you've cooked up. Too bad." She muttered under her breath.

"Too bad what?" The middle-aged man grew tense, suspecting Bibi Dong had some trick up her sleeve.

"Nothing. Just... do you have enough strength for it?"

"Arrogant!" The middle-aged man let out two cold, sinister laughs, then composed his expression, waved his hands, and shouted, "Go! Teach our Holy Maiden a proper lesson."

Though Bibi Dong spoke dismissively of these people, she was still somewhat worried inside. She watched the crowd warily, took a deep breath, and the Soul Rings behind her began to pulse faster. She crouched slightly, slammed one palm against the ground, and her fifth Soul Ring flashed. Swarms of tiny spiders burst forth from the earth, scurrying on their little legs toward the crowd.

Relying on their numerical advantage, the many Soul Masters dismissed these little creatures as insignificant—but they soon paid the price for that arrogance...