"Xiao Gang..." Bibi Dong murmured to herself. After a long while, she finally forced the words out through clenched teeth. "What does this have to do with Xiao Gang? Are you going to use Xiao Gang to threaten me too!?"
Knowing Bibi Dong had gotten the wrong idea again, Naruto wore a helpless expression and said quietly,
"He's Tang San's teacher now."
"So what? Once I kill Tang San, Xiao Gang can just keep being his teacher!" Bibi Dong replied without a moment's hesitation. That was exactly what this crazy woman thought, deep down!
Naruto frowned and stopped walking.
He had no idea what to do.
Even though Yu Xiaogang had indirectly caused her death, Bibi Dong still hadn't gotten over him.
Earlier, when Naruto had mocked Yu Xiaogang in the office, he'd blocked Bibi Dong's view in advance, afraid the lovesick Haji-Dong would start hissing in a panic over her sweetheart again.
In the original story, after Tang San dealt Bibi Dong a grievous wound, she still left Yu Xiaogang a final message before she died, revealing the famous Secret Chamber Douluo incident on the Douluo Continent.
But before that, she'd slaughtered Yu Xiaogang's entire family. As for how heartbroken Yu Xiaogang had been upon hearing that the Blue Lightning Tyrant Sect had fallen—so heartbroken that he'd passed out—she hadn't cared in the least.
When Yu Xiaogang confronted her, she'd even had the nerve to claim that she'd done it to avenge Xiao Gang.
Whether she'd meant it or not, Bibi Dong really had done it.
She was undoubtedly a madwoman full of contradictions!
Naruto fell into thought. Around him, only the bustling street remained. After waiting a long while in the Sealing Space without getting a reply from Naruto, Bibi Dong finally gritted her teeth and relented. "I understand... What happened between Xiao Gang and me won't affect you..."
"What if it does?"
Naruto took the opening and stopped thinking it over.
He wasn't a therapist. He'd leave this hot potato for his future self to deal with.
"Then he's my enemy! Happy now?"
Bibi Dong's voice was already laced with anger. It went without saying that this was as far as she could bring herself to yield.
"Fine, fine. I accept your apology."
Hearing his flippant, smug words, Bibi Dong gritted her teeth for what felt like the hundredth time. Noticing that the golden chains wrapped around her hadn't moved, she forced a sinister smile.
"So now... can you let me down?"
"Huh?"
Jiang Naruto came to his senses and looked inward.
The dense golden chains lit the Sealing Space with a dazzling golden glow.
Only her head was sticking out. Bibi Dong's face was red with embarrassment, and the rest of her was still bound in golden chains, dangling there like a caterpillar!
"Sorry! Sorry, I forgot!"
Jiang Naruto laughed awkwardly and hurried over to help her.
Clatter!
The dense golden chains all withdrew into the void. Bibi Dong's feet touched the ground again. Through her disheveled hair, she glared viciously at the young brat in front of her, who was pretending to be clueless.
The next second,
Soul Power flowed through her body. A body made entirely of Soul Power had certain unique advantages. As long as her Soul Power hadn't stopped circulating because of the chains' seal, Bibi Dong only needed a thought for her disheveled appearance to vanish without a trace.
Back to her usual cool, stern appearance, Bibi Dong set aside her distracting thoughts and narrowed her eyes at Naruto.
"You knew? You knew Tang San would attend Notting Academy?"
"I only know what I'm supposed to know."
Unable to explain, Naruto could only speak in riddles. Seeing Bibi Dong lower her eyes in thought, he waved a hand and added, "Forget it. Unless we can find out where Tang Hao is ahead of time, making a move against Tang San during these six years would be asking for death."
"Hmph!"
Bibi Dong snorted.
It was the truth, but the loser she'd once looked down on had now become an obstacle in her path. That still infuriated her.
She'd clearly returned to the past, yet changing history depended on the brat in front of her. Looking at Jiang Naruto, who was only at level six right now, Bibi Dong knitted her brows so tightly that she practically bared her teeth in disgust.
"You're far too weak right now. If you could withstand my Spirit Saint-level Soul Power, and I used my mental power to interfere with our tracks, that big, dumb oaf Tang Hao would never find us!"
"I'm terribly weak. I'm so sorry."
Jiang Naruto rolled his eyes.
His completely unconcerned attitude made Bibi Dong glare at him in frustration.
"You... look down on Xiao Gang?"
"Of course I do. With his Innate Soul Power, he looks down on this and despises that. Isn't he in this mess because he deserves it?" Jiang Naruto spread his hands. "I'm more curious about how you ever fell for him."
"Xiao Gang's talent isn't in cultivation. It's in scholarship."
Naruto watched Bibi Dong's expression change. Her face was calm, her tone even and certain. There was no doubt she meant every word. She truly believed Yu Xiaogang was an academic genius.
No wonder they called it the Continent of Love...
A sense of helplessness welled up in Jiang Naruto. He looked at Bibi Dong with pity. "Get a border collie. You need someone in the house who can make decisions."
"You?"
Bibi Dong furrowed her brows. She didn't quite understand Naruto's flowery language, but she knew it wasn't anything complimentary.
She shot Naruto a sidelong glance and returned to the topic at hand.
"Tang San became a god at twenty-four. Do you really think his teacher was useless?"
Seeing Jiang Naruto's dumbfounded expression, Bibi Dong chuckled.
"There's a problem with Tang San's meditation method. His cultivation speed and the depth of his Soul Power are far beyond those of Spirit Masters at the same level. On top of that, Tang San has a great many Self-Created Soul Skills. Though they require external tools, they're incredibly powerful..."
"Take a guess. Who invented them?"
"Uh..."
Jiang Naruto pondered for a long while, carefully choosing his words. In the end, he couldn't resist his conscience as a good student and guessed the right answer.
"Tang San?"
"Even Tang Hao's got more brains than you!"
Jiang Naruto was left speechless. This woman was so ordinary and yet so confident.
"How old is Tang San? When would he have had time to invent all that? Doesn't he cultivate? How can you not know something so basic?"
Jiang Naruto stopped arguing with the foolish woman and asked outright,
"Fine, fine. Then who do you say invented them?"
"Of course it was Xiao Gang!"
Bibi Dong folded her arms, rested her delicate hands beneath her chin, and lowered her eyes coolly, as if she really were thinking it over.
"Those bizarre Hidden Weapons and Self-Created Soul Skills are clearly things that people with insufficient Soul Power and weak Martial Souls would research and invent. Who else on the continent besides Xiao Gang would invent such things?"
"Wait..."
"Not only that, Xiao Gang probably collected a great many immortal herbs!"
"Those immortal herbs are treasures capable of awakening a Spirit Master's potential. Yue Guan searched for decades without finding a single one. Yet after all those years traveling the continent, Xiao Gang somehow stumbled upon such a fortuitous opportunity."
That did it.
There was no saving this woman...
Jiang Naruto's face took on the kindly expression of an enlightened monk.
In reality, he was out of ideas. Should he ask the system to trade Haji-Dong for a border collie? A husky would do too. Haji-Mi's intelligence was just too low.
Naruto tried to point out the problem tactfully.
"You've got rose-colored glasses on because you're in love."
"What rose-colored glasses?" Bibi Dong frowned and crossed her arms, growing more and more displeased with Jiang Naruto's indifferent attitude. "If I were you, I'd hurry up and think of a way to get stronger!"
"Since you know what's going to happen, joining as a disciple or getting into Shrek Academy is the fastest way to increase your strength right now. Otherwise, with your six levels of Innate Soul Power, Tang San will leave you in the dust for the rest of your life! How am I supposed to get my revenge then?"
"Wait... let me think..."
Jiang Naruto raised a hand to calm Bibi Dong and bowed his head in thought for a moment.
"You've built a perfectly closed loop of logic here. I don't have any concrete evidence right now, so it really is hard to refute you."
From Bibi Dong's point of view, her logic really did hold together. Especially since Yu Xiaogang had become the Tiandou Kingdom's national preceptor, backed by the entire Tiandou Empire and Ning Fengzhi, the sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
No ordinary person would believe Yu Xiaogang was a fraud. And since Bibi Dong still hadn't gotten over him, it all followed naturally.
"What do you mean, 'refute'?"
Bibi Dong raised her voice. She'd been explaining all this in good faith, and the brat hadn't listened to a word!
"So let me get this straight. You want me to become his disciple or sneak into Shrek Academy, learn that miraculous meditation method and those bizarre Self-Created Soul Skills, and get those immortal herbs for free?"
Naruto couldn't use having read Douluo Continent as evidence. Since he had no proof, he could only argue from another angle.
"Yes."
Bibi Dong nodded slowly, noticing that Jiang Naruto was suddenly looking at her rather strangely.
Jiang Naruto narrowed his eyes and tilted his head at the Pope. "Then, after I've eaten them out of house and home, I kick them aside and turn around to screw them over... That's what you mean?"
"That's called winning by any means—"
Bibi Dong flew into a rage.
Jiang Naruto was faster. Before Bibi Dong could finish, he sprang to his feet and cut her off with an angry shout.
"Have some decency! You ingrate! I, Jiang Naruto, am an upright man! I'm not one of you little princesses!"
"..."
Bibi Dong bit her silver teeth. She'd been about to scold the brat, who'd never been beaten down by society, but her pretty face suddenly flushed, then paled.
Soul Power coursed through her body, generating a thick, conservative winter coat over her originally plain dress. It covered every inch of exposed skin, and she even shrank back uneasily.
Jiang Naruto watched the scene in confusion.
Bibi Dong's gaze was distant and wary.
"You... why would you suddenly say something so mushy?"
"..."
"I bought a watch last year!"
Before you continue