The next morning, on the streets of Spirit City.
Ghost Leopard Douluo was humming a little tune as he wandered aimlessly.
The terrifying scene from yesterday still made him shudder when he thought about it.
Still, he figured Chrysanthemum Douluo had only lost his temper in the heat of the moment. Surely he wouldn't come looking for trouble again today.
But the thought had barely crossed his mind when—
He stopped in his tracks, his pupils shrinking sharply.
A short distance ahead, two familiar figures were walking side by side, coming straight toward him.
Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo!
Ghost Leopard Douluo's heart gave a thump!
Something was wrong!
Though they were still far away, he could clearly feel that the Soul Power radiating from the two of them was more than a tier stronger than yesterday!
That pressure was deep as the sea. Even he, a Titled Douluo at level 94, felt his heart clench!
Those two shameless lovebirds had actually... both broken through?!
Ghost Leopard Douluo had no idea that Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo had both crossed the threshold to level 96, thanks to the Immortal Herbs and Soul Bones they'd received at Maple Dye Pavilion the night before.
Before he could think it through, Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo had already spotted him.
The two exchanged a glance, and identical smiles of delight appeared on their flirtatious and gloomy faces!
They looked just like hunters who'd spotted prey walking right into their trap.
Another tender leek!
But in Ghost Leopard Douluo's eyes, that delight instantly transformed into sheer terror.
Holy crap!
Ghost Leopard Douluo's scalp tingled!
Chrysanthemum Douluo was one petty bastard!
A whole day had passed! Not only had he not cooled off, he'd even brought his old flame along to corner me?!
And they'd both pushed themselves to break through just to beat me up?!
Was that really necessary?!
No way!
Of the thirty-six stratagems, running away was the best!
And so, an utterly absurd scene unfolded on the streets of Spirit City.
"Well, well~ Ghost Leopard..."
Chrysanthemum Douluo's trademark orchid fingers had just lifted, and he'd barely gotten three words into his greeting—
Ghost Leopard Douluo blurred, instantly turning into a black streak as he spun around and bolted!
He was faster than he'd been yesterday when he'd seen a ghost!
The smile on Chrysanthemum Douluo's face froze.
A moment later, his delicate face darkened until it looked ready to drip water.
"What the hell!"
Ghost Douluo glanced at Ghost Leopard Douluo's desperate fleeing figure and calmly asked, "Should we chase him?"
Chrysanthemum Douluo gritted his teeth, forcing the words out from between them.
"Chase him!"
"Even if we have to break his legs, we're dragging him to the senior's restaurant today!"
Before the words had even left his mouth, the two of them vanished on the spot!
After breaking through to level 96, their strength was nothing like before.
What's more, Ghost Douluo was an expert in both speed and the arcane. Catching a Ghost Leopard who was running for his life in Spirit City was as easy as turning over his hand.
In no time at all—
"Let go of me! You two lunatics!"
"I was wrong! I really was wrong, all right?!"
Ghost Leopard Douluo was held fast between Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo, one on either side. He kicked and flailed wildly, but couldn't escape their iron-grip restraint. He looked just like a stray cat that had been caught.
The three were heading toward Maple Dye Pavilion.
On the way, they happened to run into another figure hurrying along.
It was Spirit Kite Douluo.
But she had someone in tow: a "pig's head" with a swollen, bruised face, blackened eye sockets, and not a single eyebrow left after being burned off.
When the pig's head saw Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo, he instinctively tried to force a flattering smile. Instead, he tugged at his wounds and bared his teeth in pain.
That pig's head...
No, wait!
Wasn't that Yan?
Seeing the three, Spirit Kite Douluo stopped hurrying and joined them with a beaming smile.
She looked at Ghost Leopard Douluo, who was being dragged along with a face full of despair, and showed him a sincere, heartfelt expression of gratitude.
"Ghost Leopard, come to think of it, I really ought to thank you."
"If you hadn't run off so quickly yesterday and made Yue Guan run into me, I never would've known there was such a heavenly place as Maple Dye Pavilion."
"Nor would I have received that supreme opportunity bestowed by the senior."
Spirit Kite Douluo's voice brimmed with joy and sincerity.
But her words made Ghost Leopard Douluo's already muddled mind crash completely.
What?
An opportunity?
Had Spirit Kite Douluo been beaten by that lunatic Chrysanthemum Douluo yesterday too—and badly enough to knock her silly?
But Ghost Leopard Douluo immediately squashed the thought.
No!
He stared at Spirit Kite Douluo, his heart pounding out of control.
Her Soul Power Level was clearly one level below his.
Yet at that moment, the aura radiating from Spirit Kite Douluo filled him, a Titled Douluo at level 94, with a fear that seemed to come from the depths of his soul.
It was as if the person before him was no longer a fellow member of Spirit Hall, but an ancient Ferocious Beast cloaked in human skin, one powerful enough to burn mountains and boil seas!
What the hell was going on?!
Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo paid no attention to Ghost Leopard Douluo's completely crashed mind. Instead, they looked at Spirit Kite Douluo with keen interest.
Chrysanthemum Douluo raised his orchid fingers and asked with a smile,
"Ling Yuan, how much are you planning to eat today?"
At that, Spirit Kite Douluo's lips curved into a satisfied smile.
Her phoenix eyes, alight with golden Divine Flame, brimmed with delight.
"Last night, I personally took the field and carefully 'instructed' my newly accepted precious disciple all night."
She extended her slender hand and casually patted her flat, taut stomach. Her smile grew even wider.
"I'm already starving."
"Today, I'm definitely ordering one more dish than yesterday!"
At those words, Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo's gazes instinctively fell on the nearly unrecognizable "pig's head" behind Spirit Kite Douluo.
The two exchanged a glance, their mouths twitching in unison.
"Carefully instructed"?
Had she really been instructing him all night, or had she just beaten him up for the entire night?!
The sympathy in their eyes as they looked at Yan was almost overflowing.
Just then, a figure as massive as a mountain thundered past them, his heavy footsteps falling in a steady rhythm.
It was none other than Demon Bear Douluo!
The despairing light in Ghost Leopard Douluo's eyes suddenly flared with hope!
"Old Bear! Demon Bear! Save me!"
His cry was heartrending, brimming with endless grievance and despair.
The burly figure stopped at the sound of his voice and slowly turned around.
When Demon Bear Douluo's gaze fell on Ghost Leopard Douluo, who was being held fast, his rugged face showed not the slightest trace of righteous fury. Instead...
His expression turned complex, a profound mixture of pity and relief.
Ghost Leopard Douluo's heart gave a thump and sank into an abyss.
That look... something was wrong!
Demon Bear Douluo didn't even try to help. Instead, he gave Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo a smile that said, "I understand."
"Well, you finally caught this slippery leopard?"
Chrysanthemum Douluo raised his orchid fingers and grumbled without much patience.
"Don't even get me started. The stubborn mule acts like he's seen ghosts whenever he sees us."
"If we hadn't reacted quickly today, he'd have let this heaven-sent opportunity slip right through his fingers again!"
After hearing them, Ghost Leopard Douluo was left with only two words in his mind.
It's over!