Guang Ling's Joy and Despair

Several days passed. Deep within Sunset Forest, the energies of ice and fire transformed into pillars of light that shot into the sky.

Guang Ling was the first to open his eyes. To his delighted surprise, the ice covering his left eye had actually melted.

"M-My cultivation actually broke through to Rank 98! Hahaha!"

Guang Ling happily sprang up from the ground, scooped up Xiao Mo beside him, and flew into the sky, spinning in circles.

At that moment, Qian Renxue slowly opened her eyes as well, faint flames burning within her light violet irises.

Su Yan smiled as he looked at Qian Renxue. He stepped forward, embraced her, and asked softly.

"Xue'er, how do you feel? Does your body feel especially hot?"

At Su Yan's question, Qian Renxue's face instantly flushed crimson. She gave him a reproachful punch.

"Be serious. But my soul power has successfully broken through to Soul Douluo. Are you taking me to hunt for a Spirit Ring now?"

Qian Renxue tilted her head at Su Yan, a smug smile rising on her face, as though she were saying, Hurry up and praise me.

Su Yan gently stroked Qian Renxue's head, though his gaze was fixed on the Star Dou Great Forest a thousand miles away.

"Indeed. Then let that bull be your eighth Spirit Ring. It's just right."

Qian Renxue nodded and leaned into Su Yan's embrace. Su Yan only felt that it would be wonderful if time could stop at that very moment.

But the warmth was soon interrupted by Guang Ling, who descended beside Su Yan while carrying Xiao Mo.

"Come on, come on, let's go back to Spirit City! Now I want to see who, aside from Big Brother, can beat me!"

Watching Guang Ling's usual boasting, Xiao Mo immediately praised him.

"Fifth Grandpa is amazing! Now we won't have to be afraid of getting our butts spanked when we go back!"

Su Yan and Qian Renxue covered their mouths and snickered at the two living treasures.

Qian Renxue stepped forward and picked up Xiao Mo, her gaze turning toward Spirit Hall.

"Fine by me. I miss Grandpa too. And that woman told me to bring A-Yan back so she could have a look at him."

After making up their minds, the group decided to return to Spirit Hall first, then help Qian Renxue obtain her Spirit Ring.

Su Yan did not waste any words. With a Spatial Teleportation, he immediately returned to the Consecration Hall.

The moment he arrived at the Consecration Hall, Guang Ling sensed several powerful auras locking onto him.

Guang Ling instinctively wanted to run, but a wall of flesh blocked his path. Golden Crocodile looked at him coldly.

"Oh, so you still knew to come back. I thought you were planning to defect from Spirit Hall."

Guang Ling fearfully shrank his neck, but the moment he remembered that he was Rank 98 as well, his courage returned.

"What do you mean by that, Second Brother? I'm not the same Guang Ling I used to be. I'm terrifyingly strong now!"

As he spoke, Guang Ling's peak Rank 98 soul power surged forth, startling Golden Crocodile and the others.

However, Golden Crocodile was worthy of being a veteran powerhouse. He quickly calmed down, and the cold expression returned to his face.

"Looks like you encountered a fortunate opportunity these past few days. But so what? You still need a beating."

The Golden Crocodile King appeared behind Golden Crocodile, its powerful aura bursting forth.

Seeing this, Guang Ling summoned his martial soul as well. At that moment, his martial soul had changed.

The bow that had once been covered in frost was now blanketed in tiny dragon scales, and its icy aura had become even more piercing.

Guang Ling leaped back, spread his Ice Wings, and flew into the air before firing an arrow with his bow.

Golden Crocodile snorted coldly. Thick golden scales covered his left arm as he prepared to block the attack with one hand.

Seeing Golden Crocodile underestimate him so greatly, Guang Ling could not help but laugh.

"Second Brother, you're underestimating me too much. Do you think you can block my attack that easily?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the arrow flying at extreme speed suddenly exploded. Countless tiny shards of ice shot toward Golden Crocodile.

"Guang Ling, we all fought our way out of slaughter and bloodshed. Do you think I would underestimate anyone?"

As he spoke, Golden Crocodile flashed away at high speed, and the countless ice shards missed. Guang Ling inwardly cursed as he realized things were bad.

Golden Crocodile had already appeared above Guang Ling. His left hand clenched into a fist, golden light blooming as he punched down.

Guang Ling had no time to dodge, yet there was not the slightest panic on his face. He even smiled.

"Ice Cocoon!"

In an instant, Guang Ling's entire body was covered in ice. Layers of extremely thin frost wrapped around him, forming a cocoon.

Golden Crocodile's punch landed on the cocoon without causing even the slightest crack. The ice even began spreading up his arm.

"Not bad, but not enough. Kid, you're still too young!"

"Golden Crocodile King's Might!"

The power in Golden Crocodile's left arm intensified. The ice shattered beneath the force, and even the Ice Cocoon broke apart.

Poor Guang Ling took Golden Crocodile's punch squarely with his face and was smashed straight into the floor.

Just as Guang Ling tried to get up, one red and one blue staff crossed over his neck, leaving him unable to move.

"Fifth Brother, you went too far!"

Qian Jun and Demon Subduer spoke at the same time. Guang Ling's heart skipped a beat as he realized disaster was coming.

Seeing Guang Ling in such a miserable state, Xiao Mo became a little frightened. She hurriedly jumped down from Qian Renxue's arms.

Then she ran behind Su Yan, wrapping both hands and feet tightly around her father's leg while occasionally poking out her head to look.

When Golden Crocodile's gaze turned toward her, Xiao Mo was so frightened that she immediately begged for mercy.

"Second Grandpa, Sixth Grandpa, Seventh Grandpa, it has nothing to do with me! Fifth Grandpa did it all. Once you beat him up, you can't beat me up too!"

The old men were all amused by Xiao Mo, but upon hearing those words, Guang Ling nearly spat blood.

Still, he said nothing about it. Instead, he looked at Golden Crocodile, Qian Jun, and Demon Subduer.

"I did it all by myself. You can't make trouble for Xiao Mo."

Golden Crocodile and the others could only say that Guang Ling was being overly sentimental. Even if Xiao Mo had done it, they would not say a single word against her. They would only ask whether the child had had enough fun!

The atmosphere was tense. At that moment, a streak of golden light flew in. The instant Xiao Mo saw that Qian Daoliu had arrived, she immediately released Su Yan's leg and rushed toward Qian Daoliu.

"Great Grandpa!"

Seeing his little treasure running toward him, Qian Daoliu immediately bent down to welcome Xiao Mo.

Qian Daoliu held Xiao Mo in his arms, and she buried her little head against his chest, not daring to look anywhere else.

Qian Daoliu held Xiao Mo, stroking her head with one hand as he looked at Su Yan and Qian Renxue.

"This isn't the place to talk. Let's go out first." After saying that, he ignored everyone else and walked straight outside.

Watching Qian Daoliu and the others leave, Guang Ling desperately stretched out a hand, hoping to stop them, only for Golden Crocodile to ruthlessly cut him off.

The moment Xiao Mo stepped outside, Guang Ling's miserable screams rang out from within the Consecration Hall. Xiao Mo was so frightened that she quickly covered her ears and thought to herself.

Fifth Grandpa, I'm sorry. Xiao Mo will come comfort you tonight, so just take your beating for now.

After walking some distance, Qian Daoliu looked at Su Yan with a complicated expression. He sighed before speaking.

"That woman wants to see you. Go to the Papal Hall. Remember, don't fight."

Su Yan nodded. He did not want to see Bibi Dong. His mother-in-law was probably not easy to deal with.

But since an elder had spoken, Su Yan could only steel himself and head over, mentally preparing himself along the way.

He needed to keep his temper under control, or he might just flip the entire Papal Hall over.