"Fool."
Bibi Dong walked to the edge of the arena and looked down at him, her gaze cold and disdainful.
She put away the Death Spider God Scythe and folded her arms.
"When you saw a powerful opponent, you even forgot to use your Soul Ring skills."
"If this weren't a competition, you'd be dead on this arena!"
With that, she didn't spare Tang Hao another glance. She turned around and swept her gaze over the Clear Sky Sect disciples.
Sunlight fell upon her, gilding her figure with a faint sheen of gold.
She raised her right hand and beckoned with her little finger toward the crowd of Clear Sky Sect disciples. Her gesture was flippant, as if she were summoning a pet.
"Is anyone else going to test whether this Holy Maiden's blade is sharp?"
As soon as she spoke, the Clear Sky Sect's resting area fell utterly silent.
Dozens of Clear Sky Sect disciples, who usually walked around with their noses in the air and looked down on everyone, were now like ducks with their throats gripped. Not one of them could utter a word.
Some lowered their heads, others looked away, and still others pretended to be looking elsewhere. Not one dared respond.
Challenge her?
What a joke!
She was a Soul Saint!
A Soul Saint with a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring, no less!
Only their Ancestor Tang Chen possessed a blood-red Seventh Soul Ring like that anywhere in the entire Clear Sky Sect!
What could they possibly fight her with?
Faced with an opponent so far beyond anything they knew, even the biggest fools among them would never choose to humiliate themselves by challenging a woman.
Bibi Dong waited for a moment. When no one moved, the corner of her mouth lifted slightly, and she let out a soft laugh.
"The best sect in the world? Hah."
That soft, airy "hah" stung more than any other taunt could have.
She lowered her hand, took a chair out of her Soul Tool, and set it down in the middle of the arena.
Then, without a care in the world, she sat down, crossed one leg over the other, leaned back against the chair, and folded her hands over her abdomen. Her posture was lazy and casual.
She looked as though she didn't consider any of the other contestants human.
Below the arena,
with Tang Yuehua supporting him, Tang Hao managed to get back to his feet.
His face was as pale as paper, and blood still clung to the corner of his mouth. A large patch of his robe over his chest was soaked through with blood, and the left half of his body trembled faintly.
He stared at the woman on the arena, lounging with her legs crossed as if she were sunbathing in her own backyard. The fury in his eyes was almost tangible.
His teeth ground together, the veins at his temples bulged one by one, and his whole body shook violently. He nearly launched into that furious routine again: "eyes bloodshot, panting like an ox."
He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the churning blood and fury.
Now, all he could do was hope his big brother could restore some of his lost face by beating someone else.
As for himself, he needed to recover quickly, so he could claim an arena before sunset and advance to the next round.
He sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began circulating his Soul Power to heal his injuries.
Elsewhere, in the viewing area.
Qian Xunji stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his gaze fixed on the arena below. As he watched Bibi Dong send Tang Hao flying with a single move, the grin tugging at his mouth grew impossible to suppress, nearly stretching from ear to ear.
His eyes shone as if they were glowing, and he was so happy he could have leapt into the air.
It was the sort of satisfaction a father felt when the daughter he had raised all her life finally gave his sworn enemy a good, hard slap in the face.
Don't laugh. Don't laugh.
He admonished himself again and again. He was the Pope; he had to mind his image and his dignity. He couldn't let his delight show like some common street-dweller.
"Hahahaha—!"
But in the end, he couldn't hold it in.
His laughter burst from his throat, loud and hearty, echoing through the mountains and startling several nearby birds into flapping into the air.
He turned to Tang Zhen. The smile vanished from his face at once, replaced by an air of nonchalance.
"Sect Master Tang." His tone was calm and polite. "My undisciplined pupil is young and ignorant. She spoke out of turn and offended you. My apologies."
"Hmph!"
Tang Zhen flicked his sleeve and ignored Qian Xunji.
His face was livid, his brows furrowed into a deep crease. As he watched Tang Hao struggle to his feet below, he fell into thought.
With the Spirit Hall's resources, hunting a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast wouldn't be difficult.
But how had Bibi Dong, a Soul Saint, managed to absorb a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring?
That wasn't an ordinary Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring. It was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring, a treasure powerful enough to drive even Titled Douluo mad!
How could a Soul Saint's body withstand the energy surging from a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring?
And looking ahead, since Bibi Dong had already absorbed a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring as a Soul Saint, wouldn't she absorb two more once she became a Soul Douluo and then a Titled Douluo?
With the boost from three Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Rings and three Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Bones, even if his father Tang Chen returned, he would probably struggle to suppress her in a short time.
Tang Zhen's heart sank. And he wasn't the only one who had thought of it.
Ning Fengzhi, Yu Yuanzhen, Chen Xin, and the other Sect Masters and Titled Douluo present had all reached the same conclusion at nearly the same moment.
Their gazes fell together on the arena below, on the young woman lounging in a chair with her legs crossed as she sipped tea. Their expressions were impossibly complicated.
A Hundred-Thousand-Year Seventh Soul Ring was simply outrageous. In all their years, they had never seen anything like it.
Tang Zhen took a deep breath and looked toward the arena where Tang Xiao stood.
Now, all he could do was hope his eldest son could even the score and restore some of his lost face.
On the arena where Tang Xiao stood.
Tang Xiao had yet to make a move. He stood at the north end of the arena, his Clear Sky Hammer hanging at his side, the dark light around its head flickering on and off.
He had just witnessed Tang Hao's crushing defeat with his own eyes.
No, "crushing defeat" wasn't the right phrase. It had been a total rout.
Tang Hao hadn't even had time to put up a proper fight before Bibi Dong blasted him off the arena with a single move.
Tang Hao had lost too quickly, too suddenly, and it had silently increased the pressure weighing on Tang Xiao's shoulders.
If he lost too, the world would likely think that the Clear Sky Twin Stars weren't all that impressive after all.
He took a deep breath, raised his head, and looked at the woman standing opposite him.
Yan Lingji wore a fiery red dress. Her hair flowed like a waterfall, and she stood at the south end of the arena with a grace that captivated in every movement.
Tang Xiao straightened his back and spoke in a clear, confident voice, trying to regain the upper hand through sheer presence.
"Little girl, now that you've stepped onto this arena, you can't blame me, Tang, for bullying you with my strength."
Before the words had even faded, he struck first.
His Seventh Soul Ring flashed, and black light burst forth!
"Seventh Soul Skill—Clear Sky True Body!"
The instant the words fell, the Clear Sky Hammer in Tang Xiao's hand swelled against the wind. In just a few breaths, it had become a colossal hammer thirty meters tall!
Its head shimmered with dark light, hanging in midair like a small mountain. It cast a vast shadow across the ground, swallowing Yan Lingji's entire figure!
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