"Your body is stronger than mine?" Bibi Dong was a little skeptical.
She was already a Soul Ancestor, and her Martial Soul was the Spider Emperor. How could her physical strength be inferior to Ling Feng's?
"Wait, why did he say that? Has he already seen through my cultivation? Or recognized who I am?"
Bibi Dong suddenly realized the reason. Otherwise, why would Ling Feng compare himself to her? Wasn't it because her cultivation was higher?
But Bibi Dong didn't take it to heart. Her identity wasn't much of a secret in Spirit City.
Ling Feng's claim that his body was stronger than hers only roused her competitive spirit.
"Fine. Let's have a match. Come with me," Bibi Dong said.
Unnoticed in a corner of the library, a close-cropped young man with a gloomy face glared furiously in the direction the two had gone.
It was Yu Xiaogang. His face was rather pale, and patches of skin on his body had rotted away. Clearly, he was being tormented by Death Spider Poison.
Even with healing-type Soul Masters in Spirit City helping him, he had still been left with lingering effects.
"Damn Ling Feng! He ruined me, and he still has time to flirt?" Yu Xiaogang gritted his teeth.
Because of Ling Feng, he felt like a rat in some dark corner, unable to show his face in the light.
So seeing Ling Feng chatting and laughing with a peerlessly beautiful woman made him deeply resentful.
Just then, someone gave Yu Xiaogang's shoulder a hard smack. "What are you looking at? She's His Holiness the Pope's disciple. What makes you think you can set your sights on her?"
"A toad lusting after a swan's flesh! You should take a good look at yourself first and see what you look like!"
"You! Who are you calling a toad?" Yu Xiaogang clenched his fists.
He was a disciple of the Upper Three Sects, with noble blood. How dare someone call him a toad?
Even in the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, no one dared insult him like that. How could he put up with it?
"I'm talking about you! Look at yourself—your skin's rotting. Those bumps are just like a toad's, disgusting to look at! Hahaha!"
"That's because I was poisoned!" Yu Xiaogang opened his mouth, but in the end, he didn't explain.
After all, this was Spirit City, not the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. He couldn't throw his weight around here.
"Hmph, so what if it's the Spirit Hall? One day, I'll make you all see me in a new light!"
"He said that beautiful woman was the Pope's disciple. I wonder if she knows a way to help me break through my bottleneck?"
A few days earlier, Yu Xiaogang had chosen to join the Spirit Hall. He had spent several days searching here, but hadn't found a way to solve his own problem.
He suspected the Spirit Hall was withholding things from him and that he hadn't gained access to its true secret inheritance.
"As the Pope's disciple, that woman should have access to the Spirit Hall's true inheritance, right?"
"Even if she doesn't, she can ask her teacher for it!"
"I should find out what she likes first," Yu Xiaogang thought.
On the sacred mountain in Spirit City.
Bibi Dong brought Ling Feng to her training grounds.
"Let's do it here," Bibi Dong said.
Away from everyone's eyes, the cool air about Bibi Dong vanished, replaced by a youthful, lively energy.
Ling Feng looked around and saw no equipment for strength training. How were they supposed to compare their physical strength?
"Ling Feng, seal your Soul Power. I'm going to attack! Whoever uses Soul Power or their Martial Soul first loses!" Bibi Dong said.
Ling Feng froze for a moment before realizing how Bibi Dong wanted to test their bodies. She wanted to grapple with him.
He had originally planned to compare their physical attributes—strength, defense, speed, stamina, and so on. He hadn't expected Bibi Dong to want to fight this way.
But Ling Feng wasn't afraid. To train his body, he had specifically learned several combat techniques.
Besides, Ling Feng had cultivated the Ice and Fire Golden Body. His body shouldn't be weaker than Bibi Dong's.
"Fine, but there's no fun in a match like this without something at stake. How about we add a wager?" Ling Feng asked.
Bibi Dong's interest grew at that. "You have a point. What do you want?"
"I haven't decided yet. How about this: whoever loses has to agree to one condition from the winner?" Ling Feng suggested.
Bibi Dong nodded. She didn't think she could lose.
"Then don't blame me for holding back!"
As soon as Bibi Dong finished speaking, she charged at Ling Feng. She had cultivated to the Soul Ancestor level, and her body, tempered by Soul Power and the Spirit Hall's secret medicines, was far from weak.
But Ling Feng had cultivated the Ice and Fire Golden Body, trained his body for more than a decade, and possessed an External Soul Bone. His body was strong, too.
Bibi Dong clenched a fist and punched at Ling Feng.
Ling Feng had consumed Full Moon Wearing Autumn Dew and cultivated the Fiery Golden Eyes.
Rakshasa Bibi Dong had also helped him open his Sea of Consciousness, and his spiritual power had already surpassed Young Dong's.
Without Soul Power to enhance her movements, Bibi Dong seemed extremely slow in his eyes.
Ling Feng reached out and caught her little fist.
A tremendous force struck him, but he didn't take a single step back. He held his ground.
"My strength really is no worse than Bibi Dong's!" Ling Feng breathed a sigh of relief.
After all, neither of their Martial Souls focused on strength, and their Soul Power wasn't all that different. Their strength was on the same level.
That meant it would be very hard for Ling Feng to lose.
Bibi Dong reacted quickly. With one hand restrained, she brought the other crashing down at Ling Feng like a hammer.
But it was still no use. In Ling Feng's eyes, he could see through every move she made.
The next moment, Ling Feng had both her hands under control. She raised a foot and kicked at his crotch.
"Her moves really are all over the place!"
Ling Feng reacted quickly and clamped both legs around the little leg Bibi Dong had kicked at him.
But if he'd been any slower, he might have ended up a eunuch.
And so the two stood in the middle of the Cultivation Room in an extremely intimate pose.
"Let go of me!" Bibi Dong struggled.
Only after they had exchanged blows did Bibi Dong realize Ling Feng's strength really wasn't any weaker than hers. She couldn't break free by relying on strength alone.
"Admit defeat, and I'll let you go!" Ling Feng said.
"Hmph, how could I possibly lose?"
Driven by her competitive streak, Bibi Dong twisted her body and lashed her other leg at Ling Feng like a whip.
She cultivated the Death Spider Emperor, and her legs were as nimble as spider legs.
Ling Feng could have endured the blow, but he didn't want to take it for nothing. He gripped both of Bibi Dong's hands and pulled hard, slipping into her arms.
Bibi Dong's leg whipped through empty air, and she wound up as if she had thrown herself against Ling Feng.
With nothing to support her, she toppled backward.
Her face flushed. Feeling Ling Feng's body heat, she felt her heart begin to race.
As the Spirit Hall's Holy Maiden, this was her first time being so close to a man.
Ling Feng pinned Bibi Dong down and suddenly felt her body go limp, as if she had given up resisting and was leaning against him.
"What a mess..." Rakshasa Dong sighed from the Sea of Consciousness.
Watching Ling Feng hold her younger self, she felt as if Ling Feng were holding her. It made her feel deeply uncomfortable.