"Qinghe, what... what did the Sky Screen just say? My Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect..." Ning Fengzhi finally couldn't hold on any longer. After saying half a sentence to Qian Renxue, his legs gave way, and he collapsed straight onto the ground.
"Teacher!"
"Fengzhi!"
Qian Renxue and Chen Xin hurried to help him up.
"The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect... all the disciples were killed. Uncle Bone, and Sword Uncle and I were also... Heavens, is this really what the future will look like?" Ning Fengzhi cried out in despair.
He had always presented himself as calm and dignified, but this time, he had been dealt a truly devastating blow.
His Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect would be wiped out by Spirit Hall in the future, and he would be killed by Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo. How... how was he supposed to accept that?
Nearby, Sword Douluo's expression was also grave, his heart filled with conflicting emotions.
Damn Spirit Hall, and that scheming...
Chen Xin glanced at Qian Renxue, but ultimately didn't say what he'd been about to.
After all, the crown prince on the Sky Screen had been looking for him and Fengzhi out of goodwill. He hadn't expected Spirit Hall to follow behind and use the empire's manpower to search for the two of them.
Chen Xin was reasonable enough to make excuses for Qian Renxue in his mind.
But Qian Renxue didn't see it that way.
"Much of the credit for destroying the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and pursuing Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin goes to the young master's plan." That was what Chrysanthemum Douluo had said to Bibi Dong on the Sky Screen.
What did that mean?
It meant she had done it on purpose—deliberately leading Heaven Dou Empire's army into the mountains to help the two of them, so they could find Ning Fengzhi and Chen Xin.
The reason she had looked so displeased on the Sky Screen when Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo appeared was that she had been putting on an act. At the time, she had been leading Heaven Dou Empire's army as Xue Qinghe, but behind that disguise, she must have been laughing inside.
Laughing because the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was about to vanish for good, and because Spirit Hall would have one less rival.
So, awkward.
This was a little awkward. She was sitting here watching the Sky Screen alongside the "teacher" she would one day bring to ruin, destroying her sect and killing her people.
How should she put it? She felt a little guilty.
Together, they helped Ning Fengzhi to his feet.
Once he was standing, Ning Fengzhi first gave his troublesome disciple a complicated look. Then his eyes blazed with hatred, and he gritted his teeth. "Spirit Hall... I, Ning, will fight you to the death!"
His hatred was genuine, and so were his words, but... Ning Fengzhi was truly afraid now. If he had to go up against Spirit Hall again right now, he would have to think twice.
At that moment, the Sky Screen continued playing.
[Inside Pope's Palace.
"Your Holiness the Pope, we were wronged! We agreed to help Xue Hen hunt Soul Beasts because we each got what we wanted. We absolutely never meant to betray Spirit Hall!" Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo, standing beneath Bibi Dong's pressure, continued to protest their innocence.
"Hmph!" Bibi Dong gave a cold snort. Considering that she needed capable people at the moment, she decided a mild warning was enough and didn't press them further. She withdrew her pressure and said to the two, "In view of your past contributions, I'll let this go for now. If there's a next time, I won't show you any mercy!"
"Yes, thank you, Your Holiness the Pope," the two replied quickly.
The scene shifted. Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo were walking side by side down a street in Spirit City.
"Old Ghost, don't you think that shrew Bibi Dong is sticking her nose into too much? The Grand Elder already said not to make an enemy of Xue Hen, but she keeps calling him an enemy and insisting on making trouble for him. We took his things and helped him hunt Soul Beasts—that was just a deal! And she still scolds us and pins us down with her pressure. Was I supposed to give up my Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum Immortal Herb? What a joke!" Chrysanthemum Douluo grumbled to Ghost Douluo as he rubbed his shoulders.
"Exactly. That Ghost Shadow Lingzhi would be a great help to me, too. Xue Hen offered us that price to get us involved; there was no reason for us to refuse."
"Right? We got something out of it, and we didn't betray Spirit Hall's interests. Yet she still had all kinds of things to say and reprimanded us. What a nerve! She cares so much about Spirit Hall, so why did she assassinate Chi Xue and She Long, who were protecting the young master, in the first place? She cost Spirit Hall two Titled Douluo combatants for nothing!" Chrysanthemum Douluo said with displeasure and disdain.
At that, Ghost Douluo was startled. He hurriedly clapped a hand over Chrysanthemum Douluo's mouth, then looked around. Only after seeing that everyone nearby was a good distance away did he breathe a sigh of relief.
Then he warned Chrysanthemum Douluo, "You can't go around saying things like that. It'd be bad if word got back to the young master, understand?"
"I know. I won't go around saying it. I just can't stand how Bibi Dong does whatever she wants to consolidate her own power, even if it harms Spirit Hall's interests, while we're not allowed to help someone hunt Soul Beasts in exchange for an Immortal Herb. What a double standard!" Chrysanthemum Douluo complained angrily, like a child.
"Ah!" Gui Mei shook his head helplessly.]
"What?" Qian Renxue's eyes widened beneath the Sky Screen. Her earlier embarrassment instantly turned to shock.
Then she clenched both hands into fists.
Uncle Chi Xue and Uncle She Long would, in the future, be killed by that woman...
Nearby, Ning Fengzhi burst into laughter, his expression almost crazed. "So Spirit Hall is tearing itself apart from within, too. How ironic. How truly ironic!"
"Hmph. Let the dogs fight," Chen Xin said with a cold snort.
Neither of them paid any attention to Qian Renxue's reaction. They assumed she was shocked that Spirit Hall was so divided internally, and that its own Pope would even assassinate two of its Titled Douluo.
To be honest, they were pretty shocked, too.
Then they remembered a rumor that had begun spreading rapidly over the past few days: Spirit Hall's former Pope, Qian Xunji, hadn't been killed by Clear Sky Douluo, but by his beloved disciple—Bibi Dong, the current Pope!
The Sky Screen had shown a scene related to Qian Xunji's death earlier. There hadn't been much to it, but Bibi Dong did seem suspicious.
And the "young master" Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo had mentioned should be Qian Renxue, right?
Bibi Dong had assassinated the two Titled Douluo protecting Qian Renxue to consolidate her own power. She was cutting off Qian Renxue's wings, afraid she would one day take the position of Pope back from her!
Bibi Dong treated her teacher's child so cruelly. Perhaps Qian Xunji really had been... (They still didn't know Qian Renxue was also Bibi Dong's daughter.)
On a concealed rooftop not far away.
"Chi Xue, did you hear that? We'll die at that woman Bibi Dong's hands in the future!" Snake Lance Douluo said to Porcupinefish Douluo beside him, his expression utterly grim.
Porcupinefish Douluo gazed at the Sky Screen without a word. He simply nodded and murmured his assent, but his clenched fist showed just how unsettled he was.
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