Bo Saixi's Blame-Shifting! Trying to Drive a Wedge Between Them? Queen Medusa: Shut Up!

However.

"Smack!"

Hai Bodong flicked Bo Saixi on the forehead with the back of his hand, making her see stars.

"Take revenge? Does this old man need you to teach him?"

"If I go looking for her in my current state, I'll be walking to my death."

With that, Hai Bodong rose to his feet and paced around the shop with his hands behind his back. "Still, since you've delivered yourself right to my door, I can't let that go to waste."

"From today on, you'll work as a shop assistant here."

"During the day, you'll serve chilled drinks to customers. At night, you'll clean up, grind ink, and draw."

"If you do well, this old man might consider teaching you a couple of real ice-control techniques, so you won't embarrass yourself out there using water attribute abilities as ice. What a waste of a priceless treasure."

Shop assistant? Chilled drinks? Grinding ink?

Bo Saixi was dumbfounded.

She was the dignified Level 99 Limit Douluo, the High Priest of Sea God Island.

And now, in this ramshackle shop in the desert, she'd officially started work as a waitress?

"I won't do it! I'm the Sea God—"

"Hmm?"

Hai Bodong's eyes turned cold. Frost gathered in his hand as he prepared to seal her mouth again.

"I'll do it!! I'll do it!!"

Bo Saixi instantly caved, tears streaming down her face. "Boss, how much will I be paid?"

"Paid?"

Hai Bodong pointed at the bowl of unfinished sour plum soup. "You can drink your fill."

"After all, in this desert, water is life."

Bo Saixi looked at the sour plum soup, with little chunks of ice carved from her own body floating in it, and felt an indescribable sorrow well up inside her.

Was this what they meant by producing and consuming your own goods?

I'm drinking myself?

Meanwhile, on Douluo Continent.

Sea God Island.

"Waaah!!!"

Sea Horse Douluo finally couldn't take it anymore. He clung to a pillar and wailed.

"This is too cruel! Too cruel to a god!"

"Grand Worship, you still have to preside over the Sea God Nine Trials!"

"Now you're working as a waitress, and you even have to make ice—"

"How are we supposed to hold our heads up on Sea God Island after this?!"

The Sea God Hall was filled with anguished cries.

They'd once thought the Grand Worship had gone to another world to spread the Sea God's glory.

But her first stop: serving as the Snake-People queen's foot-washing maid.

Her second stop: becoming an ice machine for an old man who drew pictures.

How could this be called training?

This was clearly The Passion of the Sea God Douluo!

Elsewhere, at Shrek Academy.

Watching this scene, Tang San had originally been despairing after seeing the Asura God captured. Now, however, a strange sense of balance arose within him.

"Even Senior Bo Saixi has ended up like this."

"If a minor nobody like me goes to work as a handyman, maybe it won't be so embarrassing after all?"

"That old man, Hai Bodong—"

"The ice mirror and Ice Seal he casually used, the way he controlled the elements with such precision, was simply art."

"If I could become his disciple—"

Tang San looked at his Blue Silver Grass, which could only perform Entanglement in a wild tangle, and suddenly felt that going to that ramshackle shop to grind ink as a page might not be such a bad way forward.

Elsewhere, in the Battle Through the Heavens World.

Inside Gu Tu Shop.

Hai Bodong sat back behind the counter and picked up his pen, but didn't start drawing right away.

He looked at Bo Saixi in the corner. Only her head stuck out, and she wore an expression of utter despair. A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"Water attribute, Sea God Martial Soul—"

"Though she's a little weak, if she can break this old man's seal and restore her Dou Emperor strength—"

"Refining this girl into an Ice Puppet would make her an excellent fighter."

Hai Bodong plotted in his mind.

He wasn't some kindhearted saint. He'd kept Bo Saixi around for more than just chilled sour plum soup.

In this world where the strong preyed on the weak, every resource that showed up at your door had to be squeezed for all it was worth.

Bo Saixi still didn't know. She thought working as a waitress was the worst it could get.

Little did she know that, in Hai Bodong's plan, she was already destined to become puppet material.

Battle Through the Heavens Plane, Tagor Desert, outside Gu Tu Shop.

Rumble!

Suddenly, the clear sky darkened as winds and clouds shifted.

A terrifying pressure, oppressive to the extreme, swept over from the depths of the desert along with rolling purple clouds!

The temperature soared in an instant. The fire attribute elements in the air grew violently turbulent, as if even the grains of sand were about to catch fire.

"Hisssss!"

In an instant, the sound of snakes hissing filled the sky, raising goose bumps.

Amid the endless yellow sand, a graceful figure wreathed in killing intent stepped through the air. Like a storm of purple flames, she raced toward them!

Queen Medusa had caught up!

At the critical moment of her evolution, she'd discovered that the human vacuum cleaner had escaped—and had even taken some of the precious Cold Spring Qi with him. How could she not be furious?

Meanwhile, inside Gu Tu Shop.

Hai Bodong had been leisurely drinking sour plum soup when the porcelain bowl in his hand suddenly stopped. Two icy glints flashed in his previously languid old eyes.

"This aura—"

"Is that Medusa?!"

Hai Bodong shot to his feet, frost surging around him. A grave expression appeared on his weathered face.

That woman had been the one to seal him all those years ago. When old enemies met, their eyes burned red. But his strength hadn't recovered yet, and fighting her head-on wouldn't be wise.

In the corner, however, the icebound Bo Saixi was overjoyed!

"She's here! That she-devil is here!"

"This is my chance!"

"That old man who draws pictures and Medusa are clearly enemies!"

"If I embellish the story and get them fighting, I can escape in the chaos!"

Bo Saixi's eyes darted frantically as she desperately signaled to Hai Bodong to release the seal on her mouth.

Hai Bodong frowned and casually waved a hand, melting the ice around her mouth. "What do you want to say? If you're asking for help, forget it."

But the moment her mouth was free, Bo Saixi let out a piercing scream and shouted toward the shop entrance. "Your Majesty, save me!!"

"I'm Bo Saixi, your loyal servant!"

"It was this old man! He forcibly abducted me!!"

As she shouted, Bo Saixi squeezed out a few tears and put on a look of utter humiliation. "He didn't just steal the Cold Spring Qi you bestowed on me. He also insulted the Snake-Person Tribe, calling us vermin that crawled out of the ground!"

"He said—he said you were a giant snake demon!"

"He even said he'd capture you and make you draw for him, grind ink, and serve as his foot-washing maid!!"

Boom!

Those words were vicious to the extreme.

She professed her loyalty, stirred up hatred, and struck a nerve with Queen Medusa.

Outside the shop, high in the air.

Queen Medusa's figure abruptly halted.

Her eerie purple eyes fixed coldly on the dilapidated shop below. Frost covered her stunning face.

"Hai Bodong—"

"I never thought you'd be hiding here, you stubborn old relic."

"And you even captured one of my slaves? Insulted me?"

Though she knew the slave wasn't likely to say a single truthful thing, the name Hai Bodong alone was reason enough to start a fight!

"Old man! Get out here!!"

Queen Medusa cried out sharply and swept her hand. A purple Dou Qi beam, a full thirty feet long and radiating an aura of destruction, slammed toward Gu Tu Shop!

"Medusa! You crazy woman! You really think this old man is afraid of you?!"

Hai Bodong was furious too.

He'd been sitting at home, and trouble had dropped out of the sky.

When had he ever called Medusa a foot-washing maid? Though he had thought about it.

But now she'd come knocking. Explaining himself would make him look like a coward!

"Mystic Ice Dragon Soar!!"

Hai Bodong formed hand seals. Several enormous walls of ice rose around the shop, and a ferocious ice dragon roared forth, crashing into the purple beam!

Rumble!

Ice and fire collided. The terrifying shock wave flattened several nearby sand dunes!

Inside the shop, the tremors from their clash cracked the ice around Bo Saixi in several places.

"They're fighting! Hahahaha, they're fighting!"

Bo Saixi laughed wildly inside. She desperately circulated her Soul Power, trying to break through the seal.

"Just a little more chaos! A little more, and I can get away!"

But just as she thought her plan had worked—

"Hmph!"

Queen Medusa suddenly snorted outside. Her gaze pierced through the ice walls and locked directly onto Bo Saixi, who was trying to escape in the corner.

"Trying to run?"

"Since you're so fond of stirring up trouble, get over here!"

Queen Medusa curled her fingers into a claw and snatched at the air!

"Sucking Palm!"

A terrifying suction force instantly engulfed Bo Saixi!

"No!!"

Hai Bodong reacted too. Looking at the human air conditioner being sucked away, he flashed a cold glance. "That's this old man's spoils! Who do you think you are, trying to take her?!"

"Ice Chains!"

Hai Bodong swept his hand back. Several chains of ice instantly coiled around Bo Saixi's legs!

And so, to the stunned gaze of everyone on Douluo Continent—

Bo Saixi, once the mighty High Priest of the Sea God, was now like a rope in a tug-of-war!

Her upper body was being pulled out by Queen Medusa's purple Dou Qi!

Her lower body was being dragged back by Hai Bodong's Ice Chains!

"Ahhhhhhh!"

Bo Saixi let out a heart-rending scream.

The tugging forces of two Dou Emperors bore down on her frail body!

Crack!

Her spine gave a sharp, strained snap.

"Let go, let go!!"

"I'm going to split apart! I really am!!"

Bo Saixi wept bitterly. There wasn't a trace of her earlier cunning left.

"Shut up, you wretch!"

Queen Medusa said coldly, "The Cold Spring Qi in your body hasn't dissipated. Even if you die, you're going to spit it out for me before you do!"

"Quiet!"

Hai Bodong cursed too. "I finally got myself an ice machine. If you break her, can you afford to pay for it?!"

The two cursed at each other as they pulled harder.

No one cared whether Bo Saixi was in pain. No one cared that she was Sea God Douluo.

In their eyes, she was nothing but a container filled with Ice Spirit Cold Spring, an object they could use to torment their opponent.

Meanwhile, on Douluo Continent.

Sea God Island.

All the Sea Soul Masters covered their eyes, unable to bear watching.

It was too tragic. Truly too tragic.

Sea Dragon Douluo watched the Grand Worship being stretched into a long strip on the screen, his voice trembling. "I-is this a tug-of-war?"

"They're using our god as a rope in a tug-of-war?"

"The Grand Worship was trying to sow discord just a moment ago, but they didn't even bother arguing with her. They just snatched her away like cargo."

"Is this what the gap in strength looks like?"

"Before an absolutely powerful opponent, a weakling's schemes are nothing but a joke!"

Meanwhile, at Shrek Academy.

Tang San watched the scene, cold sweat soaking through his clothes.

"Without strength, you don't even have the right to use others."

Senior Bo Saixi is teaching us a lesson with her life.

At last.

Crack!

A loud noise rang out. Hai Bodong was still under a seal, so he couldn't keep it up as long as Medusa.

Under Medusa's full-strength pull, the Ice Chains finally snapped!

Whoosh!

Bo Saixi was sucked right into Medusa's hand like a rag doll.

"Hmph. At least you know what's good for you."

Medusa gripped Bo Saixi by the throat and held her up like a dead chicken. She shot a cold glance at Hai Bodong below. "Old man, I have urgent business today. I'll let you off for now."

"I'm taking this slave with me."

With that, Medusa gave Hai Bodong no chance to fight back. Holding Bo Saixi, she transformed into a streak of purple light and vanished into the sky in an instant.

Hai Bodong was left alone in the wrecked shop. He glared at the empty corner, bristling with rage. "Damn woman!"

"Just you wait until I recover my strength! Then I'll tear down your snake's nest!"

Meanwhile, high in the sky.

Medusa held Bo Saixi in her hand as the wind rushing toward them distorted Bo Saixi's face.

"Your Majesty, spare me—"

Bo Saixi begged weakly. "I-I only lied just now to get away."

"I'm loyal to you!"

Medusa lowered her head and looked at the lowly woman in her hand, a flash of disdain in her eyes. "Loyalty?"

"I don't need your loyalty."

"I only need your body."

"That pull just now made the Cold Spring Qi in your body blend even more tightly with your flesh and blood."

"Perfect."

A cruel smile curled Medusa's lips. "When we get back, I'll toss you straight into the Green Lotus Core Flame."

"Your flesh and blood should serve as kindling and lower the Heavenly Flame's temperature a few more degrees."

Boom!

Bo Saixi's vision went black, and she passed out completely.

This time, it wasn't from fright. She had truly lost all hope.

She had just escaped one tiger's jaws, only to fall into another's fire.

At the same time, elsewhere.

Jia Ma Empire, Alchemist Guild, pill-refining room.

Bang!!

A muffled boom sounded, and the flames inside the pill furnace suddenly leapt three feet high.

A plume of black smoke rose, accompanied by a sharp, burnt smell.

"Another failure!"

President Fa Ma stared at the pile of blackened dregs in the cauldron and irritably flung the medicine shovel to the ground. "The main ingredient in this fifth-grade Spirit Fusion Pill, Red Flame Dragon Fruit, is too fiery. Ordinary Cold Smoke Grass can't suppress its fire poison!"

"If we can't find a suitable auxiliary ingredient to neutralize it, this batch of pills is done for!"

Fa Ma paced anxiously around the pill-refining room.

This pill was meant to save the life of the Imperial Family's ancestor, Jia Xingtian. There couldn't be the slightest mistake.

Just then, his gaze inadvertently swept over Chrysanthemum Douluo, who was timidly cleaning up the residue from the previous batch in the corner.

More precisely, his gaze fell on the faint, unusual plant-like scent surrounding Chrysanthemum Douluo.

"Hm?"

Fa Ma's eyes suddenly lit up, as if he'd discovered a whole new world. He hurried over to Chrysanthemum Douluo, seized him by the collar, and sniffed him vigorously up close, as though he were smelling a piece of cured meat.

"This scent—"

"The resilience of metal, the gentleness of plants, and a naturally clear, pure aura?"

Fa Ma's eyes grew feverishly bright. He stared at Chrysanthemum Douluo. "Hey, you there, the one sweeping the floor!"

"Bring out that Martial Soul of yours. What was it called, something chrysanthemum? Let this old man see it!"