Imprisoned in the Dungeon

Hearing this, Tang San forced a smile.

Seriously, buddy, have you lost track of your own standing? You're just a little brat, how can you spout such nonsense in front of these adults?

"Tianyi, aren't you being a bit too confident? Or is it that you've encountered the same situation as Xiao Wu?"

Tang San didn't shut him down completely, asking instead with subtle implication.

Ling Chen couldn't exactly say he knew, could he? Just that line, "Revive! My beloved!", was already enough to leave a legacy of infamy for ten thousand years.

Before Ling Chen's avatar could even speak, it dissipated into nothingness.

Tang San sighed and opened the envelope, unable to fathom what kind of medicine Ling Chen was hiding in his gourd.

Full conditions for resurrection:

Basic three conditions:

1. Three medicinal items:

Ten-Thousand-Year Holy Soul Grass: To awaken the dormant soul.

Ten-Thousand-Year Nine-Grade Ginseng King: To reshape the physical body and replenish the origin of life.

Ancient Spirit Beast Inner Core: To unify soul and body, and stabilize the soul.

2. Strength must reach Title Douluo: Only the soul power of a Title Douluo can strip away one's own Soul Rings and Soul Bones to reverse-infuse them, and withstand the soul backlash.

3. Sacrifice one's own Soul Rings + Soul Bones.

Sky Azure Bull Python and Titan Giant Ape leaned in to take a look; it must be said, it matched their own thoughts exactly.

"How could that kid know about these things?"

Sky Azure Bull Python began to grow suspicious of Ling Chen—the monstrous killing intent, the massive blood mist that could plunge others into illusions, and the domain that could even affect them, Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts.

All signs indicated that Ling Chen was not as simple as he appeared on the surface.

Tang San shook his head; he didn't know either. The only one who had spent a significant amount of time with Ling Chen was Sword Douluo.

But now, Ling Chen had been taken away by Martial Soul Hall, and Xiao Wu had sacrificed herself; Tang San's resentment toward Martial Soul Hall grew even more intense.

"He once broke out of Slaughter City with me. At that time, he hadn't even awakened his Martial Soul. I don't know how he knew these things."

"But he was captured while covering for us. No matter what, I must bring him back!"

Tang San tucked the Soft Bone Rabbit into his Wishful Treasure Pouch. There was still one thing left to do: that Man Faced Demon Spider!

Tang San could use the toxins injected through his Eight Spider Soul Bone to track the location of that spider, and then it would be a one-sided slaughter by Tang San.

Late at night, Martial Soul City, Martial Soul Hall.

The grand, imposing force that had set out to find a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast had returned with only six people.

As the five of them walked toward the main hall of Martial Soul Hall, the rage in Yan's heart could no longer be suppressed.

"Grandpa Ghost, I want to crush him! He severed my arm and killed so many of our Soul Saints, why are you still keeping him alive!"

As Yan spoke, he moved to strike the unconscious Ling Chen.

Chrysanthemum Douluo blocked him, his androgynous, feminine voice ringing out.

"Fool, he is now the disciple of Sword Douluo Chen Xin. Having him in our hands makes him our hostage. Furthermore, he is one of the targets of Her Majesty the Pope."

Hu Liena also stepped forward and patted Yan on the shoulder.

"We failed the mission this time, but bringing Li Tianyi back means we didn't labor in vain."

Hearing these words, the fire in Yan's heart dimmed slightly. He knew very well that Martial Soul Hall rewarded and punished clearly; the rise of the new Red-Robed Cardinal was a prime example.

Intelligence required verification, but spoils of war only needed to be surrendered to gain a tilt in resources.

One cannot have both fish and bear's paw; as long as they didn't return empty-handed, Bibi Dong would punish them lightly.

Deep in the night, Bibi Dong was still laying out her plans. So far, she had only pulled out two thorns in her side; with the Clear Sky Sect in seclusion, she had no way to strike at them.

She could only change the current situation on Douluo Continent by re-ranking the sects.

Seeing the return of Elder Chrysanthemum, Elder Ghost, and the Golden Generation, Bibi Dong's expression sank.

"Only the five of you returned?"

Bibi Dong's brows furrowed slightly as she waited for Hu Liena's reply.

"Yes, Your Majesty the Pope! The mission failed, but we have brought Li Tianyi back!"

Hu Liena stepped forward and bowed; she chose the path of honesty.

"Speak, what exactly happened!"

Bibi Dong's expression improved slightly, though she couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache at the thought of so many Soul Saints falling. After all, even Holy Soul Village had only produced one Soul Saint; with that ratio of output, it would be strange if she didn't feel the loss.

An hour later, after hearing Hu Liena's account, Bibi Dong looked at the unconscious Ling Chen with a grave expression.

"Truly unexpected. This child actually possesses such terrifying strength. It seems the intelligence from Spirit Kite Douluo and the others was indeed true."

Bibi Dong suddenly felt that the sacrifice of those Soul Saints was quite worth it. Although the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast hadn't been captured, with such a demonic child, why worry about not catching one?

"Very well, I shall consider your merits and faults as balanced. After all, things like sacrifices are not something you can control. Keep this child for now; he is a very important chess piece!"

After setting Ling Chen down, the five of them left to go get some rest.

"Alright, everyone is gone, there's no need to keep up the act!"

Bibi Dong slammed her scepter down, and a surge of power instantly enveloped Ling Chen as he lay on the ground.

Ling Chen offered a wicked smile; he hadn't expected Bibi Dong to see through him so quickly.

"The Pope is truly as legendary as they say, to have seen through me!"

Bibi Dong exchanged a smile with him and stepped to Ling Chen's side.

"You are no simple character! The losses suffered by the majority of our Martial Soul Hall spirit masters are all because of you!"

Ling Chen did not refute this; in terms of the sheer number of spirit masters, neither of the two great empires could compare to Martial Soul Hall. Because of this, Ling Chen had managed to harvest quite a bit of Martial Soul Origin.

"We are one and the same; compared to your ambitions, Your Holiness, my actions are merely child's play."

Whether it was the bloody purging of sects or the hunting of spirit beasts, wasn't it all for the benefit of Martial Soul Hall? Ling Chen had only ever been defending himself passively; his occasional Killing Intent Perception was proof enough that he had constantly been teetering on the edge of life and death.

Are you allowed to kill people for Martial Soul Hall, but I am not allowed to kill you in return?

"Sharp-tongued! Since when is it your place to point fingers at the actions of your superiors?"

Bibi Dong felt a flicker of irritation, yet she still maintained control over her emotions.

Ling Chen remained noncommittal; since he had come here, he naturally had things to attend to. Otherwise, he would have preferred to stay by Sword Douluo's side, even if he couldn't utilize his martial soul or killing intent.

That would have given him enough time to adapt to his Green Steel Sword and perhaps obtain some opportunities from Tang San.

But now, it all depended on how Bibi Dong chose to deal with him.

"I wasn't pointing fingers. You all went through the trouble of dragging me here, can't I complain a little? Besides, now that I've arrived, you haven't even offered a welcome ceremony."

Looking at the disheveled Ling Chen, Bibi Dong couldn't help but laugh.

"As a hostage, you should have the awareness of a hostage! Since you want a welcome ceremony, then I shall welcome you to Martial Soul Hall!"

Ling Chen suddenly felt his body become paralyzed, forced to watch helplessly as he was dragged into a mysterious dungeon.

As the heavy doors slammed shut, Ling Chen was locked away in the depths of the dungeon.