Saintess Candidate Zhao Xiaoya

"Let me go!" the young girl roared, unwilling to submit.

"Speak, why did you ambush us?" Pressing the girl down next to the two of them, Gu Rong asked that common question like a standard interrogator.

The girl suddenly went quiet, looking at Gu Rong as if he were an idiot.

"I'm an Evil Soul Master, isn't it normal for me to ambush you? Do you even need to ask?"

Gu Rong increased the pressure on his hand, causing the girl to yelp in pain.

"You're still being mouthy after I've said a few words to you!"

Another round of wailing followed.

Repeating this process, the girl was tortured half to death by Gu Rong until she finally quieted down.

It was the first time Ning Rongrong had seen someone openly call themselves an Evil Soul Master with such righteous indignation.

Looking closely at the girl before her, she still appeared to be around sixteen years old...

Eh? Why did she think "still"?

Forget it, never mind. Ning Rongrong didn't dwell on it, shook her head, and heard Ning Fengzhi's question: "Who are you? Do you have any accomplices?"

"Hmph, I won't tell you any—ahhh!"

The girl's plan to make a comeback was extinguished by Gu Rong.

She looked at the three of them, her scalp tingling, and finally relented:

"Before I answer your questions, can I ask you one first?"

"You are in no position to bargain!" Gu Rong said sternly, preparing to increase the pressure.

"Let it be, Uncle Bone, there is no harm in letting her ask." Seeing the girl's aggrieved expression, Ning Fengzhi couldn't help but think of Ning Rongrong's own aggrieved look, and he felt a bit of pity.

The girl looked puzzled and said, "Why did you come to this space? Logically speaking, you shouldn't have the ability to do so; I don't even know how to get out myself."

"Didn't you invite us in?"

Ning Fengzhi had previously thought the stone near the Great Soul Arena was their invitation and provocation. Now, looking at it, it didn't seem to be the case at all. So how did this stone...

"What invitation?" The girl was even more confused.

The stone was still in Ning Fengzhi's hand, and he hesitated. Seeing her father's hesitation, Ning Rongrong realized something was wrong.

She absolutely could not allow anything regarding the stone to be exposed. It would arouse suspicion and ultimately lead to the Holy God reversing time!

So, she interjected: "Alright, you've already asked your question, hurry up and state your identity."

Gu Rong was stunned, the girl was stunned, and Ning Fengzhi was stunned as well.

Ning Fengzhi looked at Rongrong, feeling a mix of approval and unease.

He had almost revealed information to the enemy, which was a major taboo. But wasn't this stone used by the enemy to lure them in? Could there be some hidden story?

Ning Fengzhi considered for a moment and decided not to mention the stone for now, asking instead:

"Right, who are you?"

The girl's eyes widened, clearly not accepting Ning Rongrong's dismissal.

But feeling the pressure on her shoulder, she finally spoke: "My name is Zhao Xiaoya, I am Zhao Asi's... granddaughter, and the last survivor of this space."

When Zhao Xiaoya said the word "granddaughter," she was clearly reluctant.

They didn't have a good relationship? Ning Rongrong speculated. She knew of Zhao Asi; back at the soul arena, she had heard the voices outside, and Zhao Asi was that Title Douluo Evil Soul Master.

Eh? Does that mean Zhao Asi is dead?

Ning Rongrong's eyes lit up, and she quickly pressed: "Your grandfather is dead?"

Zhao Xiaoya rolled her eyes at Ning Rongrong.

"He's dead, are you happy now?"

Having received the answer she wanted, Ning Rongrong nodded with satisfaction.

Very good, the biggest threat was gone—no, rather, there was no threat left at all.

This Saintess Ritual must have been ruined; the host was gone, and the Evil Soul Masters were gone. Although she didn't know what had happened, it was truly for the best.

Seeing that Ning Rongrong had no more questions, Ning Fengzhi continued: "What happened here? Why did they die, and why is there so much Smoke here?"

After Zhao Xiaoya was captured, the Smoke had not dissipated, which aroused Ning Fengzhi's suspicion.

Zhao Xiaoya raised her head, her words tinged with grievance: "It's my grandfather's soul skill. This soul skill can fill a certain area with this kind of Smoke, and only designated personnel are unaffected. It was meant for concealment, but for some reason, this Smoke reacted with the purple fire and caused an explosion. Everyone except me died, including my grandfather. And after my grandfather died, the soul skill didn't cancel."

"Why didn't you die?" Ning Fengzhi asked.

"How would I know?" The girl spread her hands innocently. "Maybe my grandfather had a change of heart and regretted nailing me to the cross?"

"Cross?" Ning Rongrong immediately grasped the keyword. Saintess Ritual, cross—it was easy to combine them into one term: Saintess Candidate.

She stared at Zhao Xiaoya, looking her up and down, before saying: "You were nailed to a cross earlier?"

"Yeah." The girl nodded slightly. Fortunately, Gu Rong had eased his supervision, or she wouldn't even have been able to react. Her eyes darted around, and she continued, "They seemed to say I was a Saintess Candidate, to be sacrificed to the Holy God."

"Sacrificed... is it?" Ning Rongrong looked at Zhao Xiaoya suspiciously. She clearly saw Zhao Xiaoya's eyes shift, which was truly quite suspicious.

Furthermore, the word "sacrifice" felt strange to her. During the Saintess Ritual she had experienced, Donald and the others had referred to it as a "welcoming."

What was even stranger was that this Saintess candidate openly called herself an Evil Soul Master; even Tang Twelve didn't put it that way. According to her understanding, a Saintess candidate was supposed to be an innocent existence.

Ning Rongrong shook her head and said, "I don't believe you."

"Oh, why would I lie to you? My grandfather's corpse is right there."

Zhao Xiaoya pointed to the corpse that Ning Rongrong and Ning Fengzhi had confirmed earlier.

"But that doesn't prove anything. We still don't know why you are an Evil Soul Master, or why you attacked us," Ning Fengzhi added from the side.

"How funny, both of you asking the same thing... Ouch, I was wrong, don't do that." Zhao Xiaoya had intended to mock them, but Gu Rong increased his pressure significantly. "I'll talk. My grandfather was an Evil Soul Master, so my father was naturally an Evil Soul Master, and so I am naturally an Evil Soul Master."

"Have you ever killed anyone?" Ning Rongrong interrupted.

"I don't think so. In my memory, I haven't... even if I did, I didn't succeed." Zhao Xiaoya's eyes darted elsewhere as she thought for a moment before speaking.

Ning Rongrong let out a sigh of relief and continued, "Then why did you attack us?"

"After I woke up, I found that everyone was dead. After searching for a way out to no avail, I was just about to tidy up my grandfather's corpse—he is my grandfather by blood, after all—when you walked in. So, naturally, I was on guard, right?" Zhao Xiaoya said as if it were a matter of course. "Right, can you let me tidy up my grandfather's body? I'm a good person, you know. I'm sure there must be some misunderstanding between us."

Hearing this, Ning Rongrong looked at Ning Fengzhi, then at Gu Rong.

The two men shook their heads, signaling that she should not be trusted, but they could play along to see what happened.

The three of them escorted Zhao Xiaoya as they approached the corpse of Zhao Asi on the ground.

Watching the fall of a former Spirit Douluo powerhouse, Ning Rongrong felt an indescribable sensation.

Listening to Zhao Xiaoya's description, it sounded like an accident, but there were too many suspicious points.

Ning Rongrong vaguely felt that something was wrong.

The most crucial piece of evidence was that this Zhao Asi was simply too poor.

The previous Donald, at the very least, had a Holy Spirit Scroll and a Holy Spirit Pill...