Six-Year Pact

Yue Guan froze, blood trickling down his cheek and dripping to the ground.

He never would have guessed that Su Yan was Cheng Yaojin.

Ci Xue froze too, looking at Yue Guan in confusion.

Yue Guan spat out a mouthful of blood, clutched his chest, and cried, "Holy Maiden, don't worry about me. Take Su Yan and leave. I'll hold them off!"

Ci Xue understood at once. He leaped up and swung a fist at Yue Guan, but the force of his punch was actually aimed entirely at Su Yan.

"Stop!" Black scales covered Bibi Dong's body as she thrust out both palms, determined to withstand the might of a Titled Douluo with her Soul Saint strength.

In the blink of an eye, Ci Xue abruptly pulled back. He even dispelled his Martial Soul's possession, taking Bibi Dong's two blows with his bare body. He flew hundreds of meters away, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

The stench of blood soon filled the air.

Bibi Dong's eyes flickered. She turned and glared at Yue Guan, then dipped a finger into the "blood" on him and held it beneath her nose. "Yue Guan, explain. What exactly happened?"

Yue Guan dropped to his knees with a thud. "Pope, His Holiness wouldn't let you take a disciple..."

"Father, why won't you let Sister take a disciple?"

In the Main Martial Soul Hall, Qian Renxue stood in the corridor, blocking the Pope's way.

"Xue'er, you know about Dong'er's Bi's Training Method. Ordinary people can't endure it." The Pope raised a hand, and the people accompanying him all dispersed.

"You know there's a problem, but you've never arranged for anyone to teach Sister how to be a good master. Instead, you went straight to stripping her of the right to take a disciple. Isn't that making a mountain out of a molehill?"

Seeing that only he and his daughter remained, the Pope took out a tortoiseshell and handed it to Qian Renxue. "This is the divination of Dong'er's fate. See for yourself."

Qian Renxue took the tortoiseshell. Her pupils widened, and her arm began to tremble despite herself. "How is this possible... Fate Falls Lonely, Shallow Fortune. If she has children or grandchildren, they'll face Ten Deaths No Life!"

"You're saying that my master once read my fate and said I'd never have a disciple in this lifetime—and that if I took one, the disciple would die?" An image of a little boy lying in a pool of blood flashed through Bibi Dong's mind. Her whole body went cold.

Before her, Ci Xue and Yue Guan both knelt on the ground, their earlier arrogance gone. They looked like children who'd done something wrong, afraid to raise their heads.

"That's what His Holiness said, so..." Yue Guan explained. Then he turned and glared fiercely at Su Yan. "We were trying to save you, and this is how you repay us! You don't know a good thing when you see one!"

Alarm bells rang in Su Yan's mind. Sure enough, this had something to do with Qian Xunji.

"Don't blame me. I believe in science..." Su Yan felt the words catch in his throat. He could almost hear the roar of a Mud Truck.

"That was before. Now I believe people can overcome fate." He quickly changed his tune. "Even so, you could've just told us. Instead, you joined forces to put on a show and deceive Master."

"It was that ugly freak's idea." Yue Guan immediately pointed at Ci Xue. "I only went along with it."

"Don't pin this on me! That terrible idea was yours, you sissy!" Ci Xue shouted.

The two of them immediately started wrestling.

"That's enough! Quiet down!" Bibi Dong had a bellyful of anger with nowhere to vent it. No one had ever told her about something this important.

The two Titled Douluo snorted in unison and turned away from each other.

Su Yan couldn't help laughing at the two old men, earning a resentful glare from both of them.

Nearby, Tang Chi slowly poked his head out. Seeing that everything had settled down, he came over too.

Su Yan pointed at Ci Xue and asked, "Master, are you really going to marry him?"

"No." Bibi Dong answered firmly and briskly. "Ci Xue's father once saved my master. The two of them made a similar promise, but it was called off not long after."

"Why?" Su Yan's eyes narrowed. Could Qian Xunji have had a hand in this too?

Ci Xue seemed to remember something unpleasant. His face turned deathly pale.

Yue Guan smiled mysteriously. "I know. Ci Xue once got his hand pinched by a crab, so he's afraid of spiders."

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Ci Xue fumed. "Yue Guan got assigned to the women's dorm because he talks like a girl, and then he even..."

"You're talking nonsense!" Yue Guan pointed at Ci Xue with his index finger, though the little finger sticking up looked a bit odd.

The two of them started swatting at each other like a pair of small animals.

Bibi Dong was used to this. Her beautiful eyes stayed fixed on Su Yan. "Xiaoyan, I think..."

"Master, you don't need to say anything more. A master for a day is a father for life." Su Yan interrupted her. "I used to believe in science. Now, I still believe in it—at least halfway."

"But my master's divinations have never been wrong."

Su Yan looked up and met the uncertainty in Bibi Dong's eyes. "If something really happens to me, won't you come save me?"

"I will. I definitely will!" Bibi Dong clenched her fists and nodded.

Just then, a thunderous crash rang through the sky, and a golden dragon made its dazzling entrance.

"Palace Master! The Palace Master's here," Ci Xue said.

Golden light fell, and a burly man with sharp brows and bright eyes slowly emerged from within, shining with blinding radiance.

He pointed at Su Yan, and the first words out of his mouth were, "Holy Maiden, to prepare for the Martial Soul Hall Junior Soul Master Competition, I need him on my team."

Before Bibi Dong could speak, Su Yan shouted, "I refuse!"

He stood half a step in front of Bibi Dong and had to tilt his head back to see the man's face. "You're Palace Master Yu Xiaogang?"

"That's me." Yu Xiaogang looked down at the child, his tone full of arrogance. "What would it take to make you agree?"

"Nothing. I won't agree. I have only one master, and that's Bibi Dong." Su Yan pointed at Yu Xiaogang. "You stole two of Master's disciples. A master might put up with it, but I won't! I challenge you!"

For a moment, the surroundings fell utterly silent.

Yue Guan looked as if he'd seen a ghost. "That kid's got some nerve!"

Ci Xue scoffed. "Palace Master is the youngest Titled Douluo!"

"Xiaoyan, you..." Bibi Dong's beautiful eyes trembled, and a strange feeling stirred in her heart.

"Since you said you're preparing for the Martial Soul Hall Junior Soul Master Competition, then we'll settle this at the competition." Su Yan stood his ground, as if no army could stop him. "If you win, I'll become your disciple. If you lose, I want you to shout three times right there: 'I'm no match for Bibi Dong!'"

Yu Xiaogang sneered. "Fine. Six years from now, at the Martial Soul Hall Junior Soul Master Competition, I'll be waiting for you."

With that, he transformed into a dragon and soared away.

Yue Guan looked Su Yan up and down as if he were some kind of monster. "I've got to hand it to you, little guy. You're pretty bold."

"Exactly." Ci Xue pursed his lips. "To put it broadly, the current Holy Son is Palace Master's eldest disciple. To put it more narrowly, the third Twin Martial Souls ever recorded has just become his disciple. What do you have to compete with that?"

Bibi Dong said nothing. Her heart thumped wildly, and Su Yan's small figure in her eyes seemed as towering as a mountain.

"Master, Tang Chi, let's go." Ignoring the two Titled Douluo's mockery, Su Yan headed toward the Notting City Martial Soul Hall without looking back.

Bibi Dong hurried after him. "I'm the master!"

"Why are you asking me to come along? I'm going to the Main Martial Soul Hall." Tang Chi said, then saw the two Titled Douluo still kneeling on the ground and ran after them. "Wait for me!"

Once the three had gone, Ci Xue and Yue Guan both stood up. They looked at each other, snorted, turned away, and went their separate ways.

Deep within the Worship Hall of the Main Martial Soul Hall stood a little wooden house, surrounded by clear streams, birdsong, and fragrant flowers.

Dressed in finery, Qian Xunji went to the little wooden house and knelt before an elderly white-haired man. "Father, I can't see through Dong'er's fate anymore."

The old man wore a plain white robe and held a watering can, carefully tending the flowers and plants before him. "Ji'er, if fate cannot be defied, go with the flow and adapt as things change."

"I know." Qian Xunji stood and took out a tortoiseshell. "Father, the fortunes of Spirit Hall have changed too."

The old man's movements paused.

But only for a moment.

"Ji'er, rise and decline are set by fate. Hold fast to your principles, keep your conscience clear, go with the flow, and adapt as things change."

"I know, Father." Qian Xunji took out another document, a letter of appointment. "I plan to pass the position of Pope to Xue'er."

The old man said nothing more. Qian Xunji bowed again, then silently left.

The water in the watering can soon ran out too. The old man carried a pot of tea and sat beneath the Gourd Vine.

"Grandpa, Grandpa."

The colorful gourds swayed in the wind. The old man rarely let a smile show, and answered, "Yes!"