Saintess Hall, bedchamber.
Bibi Dong took off her heavy papal robes and changed into a lightweight purple nightdress. She reclined against the window on a cushioned couch.
After the meeting at Elder Hall ended, Bibi Dong had returned here.
The renovations at Pope Palace were in full swing. The gaudy, glittering decorations that made her sick were being stripped away one by one and replaced with the purple-and-gold color scheme she liked.
Even though she had already avenged herself, she didn't want to see a single trace of Qian Xunji before her eyes. Otherwise, she felt nauseated.
"Phew..."
Bibi Dong let out a long breath. She had just cut a swath through the meeting at Elder Hall, commanding the room with her imposing presence, but once she had calmed down, the "hidden dangers" Nan Feng had deliberately glossed over began circling in her mind again.
"Nan Feng, I still think this plan is too risky."
"The Clear Sky Sect is, after all, the greatest sect under heaven, with unfathomably deep foundations. And besides... the Upper Three Sects have always stood together. That's been the consensus in the Soul Master World for hundreds of years. Spirit Hall has made such a huge stir this time. Will the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan really stand by and do nothing?"
"Those proud dragons of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan are one thing. They've always disdained associating with other sects. But the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect... That old fox Ning Fengzhi is best at smoothing things over and keeping the balance."
A hint of apprehension flickered in Bibi Dong's eyes. "The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is richer than a kingdom, and it's on close terms with the Heaven Dou Imperial Family. If he steps in..."
"Steps in? What could he possibly use to step in?"
In the Sea of Consciousness, Nan Feng lay on the bed, looking thoroughly unconcerned. "Is he going to smash people with his Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda? Or buy us off?"
"Little Dongdong, you're giving this so-called solidarity far too much credit."
"Ning Fengzhi is indeed a clever man, but he's also a shrewd businessman. What matters most to businessmen? Profit and risk assessment."
"What's the situation now? Spirit Hall's Pope is dead! The former Pope was beaten to death by Tang Hao!"
"It's like the emperor of a country being murdered, and the new emperor ascending the throne and sending troops to avenge him. Then the chancellor of a neighboring country comes over and says, 'Oh, come now. Peace is best for everyone. Don't fight, don't fight.'"
"Do you think that's possible?"
"This is a blood feud! A national hatred that can only be settled with blood!"
"Whoever dares to mediate now would be disrespecting Spirit Hall, challenging its bottom line, and bringing the fire down on their own head!"
"Ning Fengzhi is a clever man. He understands that better than anyone."
"He won't just avoid trying to mediate; he'll have to pretend he knows nothing—or send someone with a gift to offer condolences for Qian Xunji, to show that he 'regrets what happened, but you do as you please.'"
Bibi Dong paused, then nodded.
Indeed, the dead deserved respect. Qian Xunji's death had given Spirit Hall a casus belli that no one could refute.
"What about Tang Hao?"
Bibi Dong was still uneasy. "Tang Hao has only just become a Titled Douluo, but he was able to fight three opponents at once and leave Qian Xunji and Chrysanthemum and Ghost in that state. If he shows up while we're attacking the Four Great Clans, something could really go wrong."
"Darling, do you misunderstand Ring Detonation?" Nan Feng sounded even more exasperated. "Do you think Tang Hao is Tang Chen? Or that he's some kind of perpetual-motion machine?"
"An infinite mana bar? Infinite revivals?"
"What is Ring Detonation? It's the Clear Sky Sect's desperate forbidden technique! A life-or-death move that deals a thousand wounds to the enemy at the cost of eight hundred to yourself!"
"He'd only just reached Level 90. Even with the special energy field of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast's sacrifice, and that reckless secret technique, he only managed to beat three Titled Douluo by the skin of his teeth."
"But at what cost?"
"After Ring Detonation, his Soul Rings shattered and needed a very long time to recover. Tang Hao's probably still far from having fully restored his Soul Rings. His Soul Power might still be in a weakened state, too. What could he possibly show up with?"
"His head?"
"Even if we take it a step further..."
A crafty glint flashed through Nan Feng's eyes. "Officially, Tang Hao was the one who killed Qian Xunji. Even in reality, Tang Hao was an accomplice in this. If he hadn't beaten Qian Xunji half to death, could you have finished him off?"
"If Tang Hao really dares to show up, do you think Qian Daoliu will stand by and do nothing?"
"His own son was hammered to death, and his enemy is right in front of him. If Qian Daoliu can still hold back, then he might as well give up his title of invincible in the sky and call himself a Ninja Turtle instead."
"So, with Qian Daoliu keeping Tang Hao in check, we don't need to worry about that threat at all."
Bibi Dong listened to Nan Feng's analysis point by point. It seemed a little rough around the edges, but when she thought it through, it was impossible to find a flaw.
Still, she was somewhat unwilling to accept it—or rather, she was used to planning everything in advance and leaving nothing to chance. She instinctively resisted plans that involved this kind of gamble.
"What if the Clear Sky Sect really does refuse to come out?"
Bibi Dong raised her final question. "What if Tang Xiao really abandons all shame and announces that the sect will seal its gates and withdraw from the world, refusing to save even the Four Great Clans? Then even if we wipe out those four clans, we'll only vent our anger. We won't have struck at the Clear Sky Sect's foundations."
"Instead, people across the land will think Spirit Hall only dares to bully the weak and vent its anger on affiliated clans."
"Ah..."
Nan Feng let out a long sigh, his voice full of exasperation. "Little Dongdong, you're usually quite clever. Why do you always get hung up on details at critical moments like this?"
"Could you stop using your own utterly rational way of thinking to judge these Soul Masters with muscles growing in their brains?"
"You think this plan is riddled with holes? But as I see it, its only flaw is that you underestimate just how important face is to the so-called greatest sect under heaven."
"What is the Clear Sky Sect? It's the number-one sect that has stood unshaken on the Douluo Continent for a thousand years! And what is the Clear Sky Hammer? The greatest tool-type Martial Soul in the world!"
"People from a sect like that, even the guy guarding the gate, have the arrogance of men who think the world belongs to them baked into their bones."
"That arrogance is both their source of strength and their greatest weakness."
"If Spirit Hall's army bears down on them, slaps them in the face, and threatens to wipe out their affiliated clans, but they don't even dare let out a peep and just seal their gates like turtles..."
"By the next day, the whole Soul Master World will drown them in spit!"
"So this is the greatest sect under heaven? They won't even save their relatives? They don't even dare leave their own doors? What a bunch of useless cowards!"
"Do you think Tang Xiao, the sect master, could bear that kind of public scorn? Could the elders?"
"Once they do that, the Clear Sky Sect will lose its people's hearts, and its faith will crumble. That would hurt worse than killing them!"
"So there's no question they'll fight at least one battle."
Nan Feng spoke with certainty. "Whether it's to protect their reputation or to silence the radicals within their sect, the Clear Sky Sect will definitely send people out first to fight Spirit Hall."
"They'll make sure everyone sees that they didn't refuse because they were afraid, but because they really couldn't win."
"Being unable to win and being afraid to fight are two different things."
"If they fight and lose, then Spirit Hall is throwing its weight around and bullying the weak. After all, everyone knows Spirit Hall is in the wrong from beginning to end."
"But if they don't even fight and just hide..."
Nan Feng gave a cold laugh. "Then they're spineless! A bunch of cowards!"
"The Soul Master World reveres the strong and admires courage. If the Clear Sky Sect loses and is forced to seal its gates, people will only sympathize with them and think Spirit Hall went too far. At least they'll have preserved the dignity of a defeat with honor."
"But if they run away outright..."
"Will Spirit Hall just let it go? Impossible!"
"We'll only press our advantage and march straight to Clear Sky Peak. Then they'll lose face and standing alike, and die even more miserably!"
"So this is a dead end."
"No matter what they choose, they'll have to follow our script."
As Bibi Dong listened to this analysis, the worry in her eyes finally faded away, replaced by a glint of understanding and ruthlessness.
That was true.
Sometimes, face mattered more than life.
Especially for ancient sects that valued "glory" above everything else.
"Who are you, really?" Bibi Dong suddenly asked, staring hard at Nan Feng in the Sea of Consciousness with her purple eyes. "A Soul Beast that's lived in Death Canyon for years couldn't possibly understand human schemes, human nature, or even such tangled webs of conflicting interests so clearly."
"You seem more like a human who's spent half a lifetime struggling in the world of power than I do."
"Me?"
Nan Feng lay on the bed with one leg crossed over the other, humming an unknown tune as he answered carelessly. "I'm just an ordinary Soul Beast. I spend every day eating, sleeping, and watching the show."
"Watching the show?"
"Yeah. Death Canyon is a forbidden zone, but it isn't completely sealed off. Over the years, plenty of self-important humans have wandered in to hunt for treasure, hunt Soul Beasts, or... escape for their lives."
Nan Feng rolled over and looked at Bibi Dong, a teasing glint in his eyes.
"When people are desperate, they'll say anything and let any secret slip. I've heard enough of it, so naturally I've learned a thing or two."
"And besides..."
Nan Feng pointed to his head. "Didn't I tell you? Our souls have merged. Your memories are my memories."
Bibi Dong's face darkened. "How much did you see?"
That was what bothered her most: her past, her humiliation, the secrets she never wanted exposed.