"Nana, we're traveling through the night!"
"We should be back in Spirit City around noon tomorrow!"
Hu Liena and Yue Guan exchanged a glance and nodded.
After putting out the fire, they mounted their horses and set off in the direction of the Mist Forest's exit.
Hu Liena had received a reward for the Star Official Challenge.
After her First Soul Ring's age had increased by 2,000 years, she was filled with anticipation.
She had never imagined that she could be selected twice in a row in a chance of one in a hundred million.
She was already looking forward to tomorrow's reward.
There was also her ranking on the Mysterious Golden Stele.
If she could hold on to first place for just two more days, she would receive an A+ grade reward.
A D- grade reward had granted her a random 2,000-year increase to a Soul Ring.
Hu Liena couldn't even imagine what an A+ grade reward might be.
She only knew that if she faced her old enemy Tang San again, she would finally be able to wipe away her shame.
Near a cave somewhere in the Mixed Area of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Tang San held up a burning stick and walked away from the cave.
He took a feather that radiated holy golden light from his clothes.
Violet light flowed through his pupils as he snorted and muttered:
"This Lucky Golden Feather has appeared again!"
"And this time, the Star Official Challenge is being held in the Spirit Hall's stronghold, Spirit City!"
Three years ago, Tang San had been a member of the Shrek team.
It was in Spirit City that he and his companions had endured countless hardships.
They had won the Continental Elite Spirit Master Tournament and earned the highest honors.
But that was also when he had incurred Spirit Hall's enmity.
If Tang Hao hadn't arrived in time, his girlfriend Xiao Wu would surely have fallen into Spirit Hall's hands.
Afterward, Tang San had been taken away by Tang Hao. When he woke up, Xiao Wu had already left.
From then on, he devoted himself to cultivation, all for the day when he became strong enough.
He would find his beloved, avenge his mother's murder, and repay Spirit Hall for harming his wife.
"Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong!"
"You've gone to such lengths to find me, Tang San!"
"You're just trying to lure me out, aren't you?"
"What a shabby trick!"
"Bibi Dong, one day I, Tang San, will set foot in Spirit Hall!"
"I'll make you pay for murdering my mother and plotting against Xiao Wu!"
"I'll wipe Spirit Hall from the continent. Otherwise, this hatred will never leave my heart!"
Tang San roared, his voice carrying far through the still night.
Startling countless birds in the forest, he flung the Star Feather toward the bottomless cliff...
In a village east of Spirit City, a man and a woman stopped in their tracks.
The man wore a blue outfit and a black mask.
A pair of sharp, hooklike eyes showed above it.
The woman had delicate features and a fiery figure. Her dark red hair was especially striking.
She seemed like a flame, impossible to ignore.
"Whoever obtains a Star Feather may come to Spirit City and accept the Star Official Challenge before midnight tomorrow. After that, the Star Feather will vanish!"
When Feng Xiaotian's finger touched the Golden Feather, a stern male voice rang in his mind.
Huo Wu hurriedly asked with worried concern, "Xiaotian, what's wrong? Don't scare me!"
Feng Xiaotian came to his senses and picked up the Golden Feather radiating holy light.
His eyes widened in shock as he looked up at the mysterious Golden Stele hanging high in the night sky.
He grabbed Huo Wu's hands and said excitedly:
"Huo Wu, just now, a man's voice appeared in my mind!"
"He told me this golden feather is called the Lucky Star Feather!"
"He said I have to reach Spirit City before midnight tomorrow and accept the Star Official Challenge!"
"Most importantly, the mysterious aura coming from the Golden Feather is exactly the same as the aura on the Mysterious Golden Stele!"
"So I suspect Hu Liena must have obtained a Lucky Star Feather too!"
"That's how her name appeared on the Mysterious Golden Stele!"
At the mention of "Hu Liena," Huo Wu frowned.
Hatred flashed in her eyes as she replied with concern:
"Xiaotian, I've never heard of this Star Official Challenge."
"And the Mysterious Golden Stele appeared in the sky during the day, then you got a Lucky Star Feather at night."
"This could very well be a plot by Spirit Hall. We can't let our guard down!"
Feng Xiaotian's excitement ebbed, and he nodded.
"Huo Wu, you're right to think it through. What you said is certainly possible."
"Luckily, we're not far from Spirit City."
"Why don't we head there now, disguise ourselves, and enter the city?"
"We can investigate this Star Official Challenge before deciding what to do. How does that sound?"
"I've just broken through to Soul King level 52, but Tang San's talent is extraordinary."
"I don't want to give up any chance to gain an opportunity!"
At the thought of Tang San, Huo Wu's eyes briefly went blank.
Then she nodded firmly and looked at Feng Xiaotian.
"Xiaotian, we'll work hard together to surpass and defeat Tang San!"
"Let's go to Spirit City together!"
Feng Xiaotian and Huo Wu interlaced their fingers, happiness lighting up both their faces.
Over the past three years, they had become a couple and traveled the continent together.
They had stayed by each other's side and grown stronger together.
A deep bond had formed between them.
The arena that had appeared out of nowhere in Spirit City Square was discovered.
Many curious people approached it, only to be stopped by an invisible Defense Array.
News of it spread quickly, drawing more and more onlookers as the commotion continued to grow.
The next morning, bright and early.
In the Pope Palace, Pope Bibi Dong held the Gem Scepter.
Her gaze, full of questions, rested on Ghost Douluo Gui Mei, who stood below, looking exhausted.
She spoke coldly:
"Ghost Douluo, why have you returned alone?"
"Where is Chrysanthemum Douluo? Did the two of you manage to escort Nana safely to the Capital of Slaughter?"
After a long journey, Gui Mei looked worn out, but he bowed excitedly.
"Reporting to Your Holiness, Yue Guan and I escorted Nana to the Mist Forest yesterday."
"While we were resting, Nana unexpectedly obtained a golden feather called the Lucky Golden Feather."
At the words "Lucky Star Feather," Bibi Dong's heart clenched.
She pressed him for an answer. "What? Nana got a Lucky Star Feather too!"
"Could the Mysterious Golden Stele in the sky have appeared because Nana accepted the Star Official Challenge?"
Gui Mei hadn't expected the Pope to guess so much at once. He answered:
"Yes, Your Holiness. It's exactly as you said!"
"After Nana obtained the Lucky Star Feather, we found an arena in the Mist Forest!"
"A Silver-Haired Man was sitting cross-legged on a cushion at the center of the arena!"
"He called himself a Star Official and opened the Star Official Challenge for Nana!"
"According to him, Nana attacked the Star Feather and dealt over five thousand points of D- grade damage, earning a reward that increased her First Soul Ring's age by 2,000 years..."
Gui Mei didn't mention how he and Yue Guan had been crushed. He told her everything else.
After hearing him out, Bibi Dong looked stunned. Her hand tightened around the Gem Scepter, trembling violently.
She had missed the Star Official Challenge, which had allowed Hu Liena to increase her First Soul Ring's age by 2,000 years.
What's more, the odds of obtaining a Lucky Star Feather were one in a hundred million. It was hardly easy.
And with Tang Hao there, Chrysanthemum Douluo couldn't pose any threat to Tang San. That left only one possibility: Tang San hadn't gone to the Mist Forest to accept the Star Official Challenge yesterday.
"An arena, a cushion, a Silver-Haired Man."
"Star Official, ratings, rewards, Star Official Challenge Stele..."
Bibi Dong murmured the words, her brows knitting tightly.
She wasn't especially regretful about missing the chance to accept the Star Official Challenge.
After all, as the Pope of Spirit Hall and a level 98 Peak Douluo, she had little interest in a few thousand years added to a random Soul Ring.
Instead, she was quite curious about the Silver-Haired Man Gui Mei had described, who called himself a "Star Official."
Just then, a Platinum Bishop hurried in from outside the Pope Palace.
He stopped before Gui Mei and said, "Greetings, Ghost Elder!"
Then he turned to the noble woman seated above and called out respectfully:
"Greetings, Your Holiness. I have something urgent to report!"
Bibi Dong leaned back on her throne, her long legs utterly free of an ounce of extra flesh.
She crossed her right leg over her left and said coldly, "Speak!"
The Platinum Bishop nodded.
"Reporting to Your Holiness, something strange happened in Spirit City last night!"
"An arena appeared out of nowhere in Spirit City Square!"
"It attracted quite a bit of attention last night!"
"Powerful Defense Arrays surround it, and no one can get close!"
"Most importantly, the mysterious aura coming from the arena!"
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