Yan Also Likes Shui Bing'er, Want to Fight For Her?

"Did you all hear what Yan said just now?" Bibi Dong's voice was devoid of any emotion.

"Yes." Yue Guan, the Chrysanthemum Douluo, replied in his slightly shrill voice, "Twin spirits, a nine-story pagoda, Ring Reduction... it is truly shocking. I never expected the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect to produce such a figure."

"The Seven Treasures Glazed Sect... Ning Fengzhi... he has hidden this so deeply." The voice of Gui Mei, the Ghost Douluo, was hoarse and low, like sandpaper rubbing together.

Bibi Dong slowly stood up and walked to the massive floor-to-ceiling window on the side of the hall. Looking down at the magnificent Spirit City below, her voice was cold and resolute:

"I will not allow such a variable to emerge from the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect. My plan to unify the continent must never suffer any unexpected obstacles!"

She turned around, her gaze like a torch, and looked at the two Douluos: "How are your preparations coming along? When can you strike?"

Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo exchanged a glance. Chrysanthemum Douluo stepped forward and replied respectfully:

"Reporting to Your Eminence, the layout against the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family has been advancing steadily. However, to ensure there are no slip-ups and to completely eradicate two of the Upper Three Sects, we require a more meticulous plan and more thorough preparation. Conservatively estimated... we need at least another six years."

"Six years..." Bibi Dong's brows furrowed slightly, seemingly dissatisfied with this timeframe.

But she also knew that destroying the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family was by no means an easy task.

Especially the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect, which had Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo—two Super Douluos—holding the fort, along with vast wealth and connections. It had to be a fatal blow in one strike, or there would be endless trouble.

"Six years..." she repeated in a low voice, a flash of cold light crossing her eyes.

"Fine, I will wait another six years. After six years, I want the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family to disappear from this continent entirely!"

"During these six years," Bibi Dong's gaze shifted to the two Douluos, carrying an unquestionable command, "Keep a close watch on the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect, especially that child named Ning Xiaochun. I want to know all his movements and all his hidden cards! If necessary... you may employ some 'special means' to test his depth, or... stifle him in the cradle!"

"As you command!" Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo bowed again, their figures slowly dissipating into the hall like smoke.

In the empty Pope Palace, only Bibi Dong remained.

She walked back to the window and watched the sunset on the distant horizon. The blood-red afterglow seemed to portend a coming storm of blood.

"Twin spirits... nine-story pagoda... Ring Reduction..." she murmured these words, her eyes flickering with a complex and inscrutable light.

"Ning Fengzhi, you have raised a good son... pity that he was born in the wrong era and... stands on the wrong side."

"Since he cannot be used by me, then... destroy him."

The cold words echoed in the empty hall, carrying a trace of undeniable killing intent.

A conspiracy against the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect, and especially against Ning Xiaochun, had already begun to brew quietly at the highest level of Spirit Hall.

Far away in the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect, Ning Xiaochun, who was excitedly planning the blueprint for the "Soul Device Research Department" and fantasizing about changing the world with technology, knew nothing of this.

He held a charcoal pencil, sketching one strange-looking part after another on a white sheet of paper, muttering to himself:

"Hmm... this energy storage core could use a high-quality soul device crystal... this firing array requires precision machining... as for the drive core, perhaps I can try using the soul core of a ten-thousand-year soul beast as an energy source..."

He had no idea that he had already been targeted by the most powerful and dangerous woman on the continent.

On the path of steady growth, a few more unknown variables and dangers seemed to have been added.

Outside the exclusive cultivation hall of the Golden Generation in Spirit City.

Yan hurried to catch up with Hu Liena, his face wearing a rare expression that mixed nervousness with a strange sense of anticipation, and blocked her path.

"Nana! Wait a second!"

Hu Liena stopped and frowned, her tone carrying a hint of impatience: "Yan, what is it now? Haven't you said enough in front of His Eminence the Pope?"

She assumed Yan was pestering her again. After all, she was well aware of Yan's feelings for her, though she had never responded to them.

However, to her surprise, a look of bashfulness and awkwardness appeared on Yan's face, completely unlike the arrogant and overbearing Flame Lord soul master he usually was.

He rubbed his hands together, his eyes darting around, and after hesitating for a long while, he stammered: "Nana... later... did you follow those people? That... that Ning Xiaochun, and that blue-haired girl... what... what happened to them?"

Hu Liena was stunned, and a strange look flashed in her eyes. She looked Yan up and down as if seeing him for the first time: "Why are you asking about this?"

Yan's face turned red at a visible speed! He turned his head away, his voice carrying a hint of discomfort and forced composure:

"Nothing... just... just thought that blue-haired girl had decent strength... wanted to find out a bit..."

Hu Liena was a sharp person and understood instantly. She widened her charming peach-blossom eyes, looking at Yan in disbelief:

"You... you don't mean... you've taken a fancy to that Shui Bing'er?!"

Yan's face turned even redder, but he didn't deny it. Instead, he stiffened his neck and said with a tone of "I'm serious":

"So what if I have! I, Yan, have lived for fifteen years, and this is the first time I've met a girl who makes my heart race! That cold-as-ice temperament of hers, plus that powerful strength... it's simply... simply tailor-made for me! This is a true goddess! I was... I was blind before!"

As he spoke, he snuck a glance at Hu Liena, the implication clear.

Hu Liena was amused to the point of laughter. She crossed her arms, looking at Yan's foolish "I've found true love" expression, and poured a bucket of cold water on him without mercy:

"Don't dream! Can't you tell? The relationship between that Shui Bing'er and Ning Xiaochun is clearly unusual! And why would she ever take a fancy to you?"

"Maybe that Shui Bing'er is that kid's fiancée?"

Hu Liena guessed boldly; having awakened the Demon Fox spirit, she was particularly sensitive to such things.

"Fiancée?!" The red glow on Yan's face faded instantly, turning rather ugly. "How is that possible?! How old is she? How old is that little brat? The Seven Treasures Glazed Sect is doing arranged marriages!"

"Believe it or not." Hu Liena couldn't be bothered to say more to him.

"In any case, I advise you to give up on this idea. There is no chance."

Having said that, she ignored the unpredictable expressions flickering across Yan's face, turned around, and swayed her slender waist as she walked away.

Left where he stood, Yan's face turned from green to white. He clenched his fists tightly, his eyes flashing with unwillingness and stubbornness.

"Fiancée? Hmph! As long as they aren't married yet, I still have a chance!"

He muttered to himself, his eyes burning with a raging fire.

"There hasn't been a woman I, Yan, have set my sights on that I couldn't obtain! So what if she's from the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect? As a member of the Spirit Hall's Golden Generation, am I not worthy of a student from Tianshui Academy? I must find out her background, and then... pursue her openly and honorably!"

He seemed to have already envisioned the scene of himself winning the beauty over, a smile of absolute certainty appearing on his face.