Bibi Dong Submitted

From beginning to end, Long Yao had not released his soul rings.

Nor had he truly unleashed his full strength.

The gulf between them could no longer be measured in levels.

Bibi Dong raised her hand, trying to gather rakshasa divine power again.

An azure lotus seal settled on her brow.

The soul power within her immediately stopped circulating.

The rakshasa god mark was also suppressed by the azure light.

Bibi Dong's palm froze in midair.

"Are you going to kill me?"

"If I intended to kill you, you would already be dead."

Long Yao withdrew his palm.

"Yu Xiaogang forced his way into Skywater Academy bearing a token."

"Tang Hao then attacked and injured people."

"They died at my hands. Those reasons were enough."

Bibi Dong stared at him.

"You came to Spirit Hall just to tell me this?"

"No."

Long Yao walked up to her.

"I came to tell you this."

"Do not send anyone else into Skywater Academy."

"And do not interfere in the academy's affairs again."

Bibi Dong braced herself against the floor and stood up.

Her soul power still would not circulate.

Yet she did not bow her head.

"What if I refuse?"

Long Yao raised his hand.

A wisp of azure light descended into the center of the Papal Palace.

The azure light did not spread.

Yet every formation in the Papal Palace came to a halt at once.

The Spirit Hall emblems on the walls dimmed one after another.

The light flowing through the Six-Winged Angel statue behind the throne also stopped.

All the soul power gathering from outside was cut off by the azure light.

Long Yao looked at Bibi Dong.

"Then there will be a new pope."

Bibi Dong's gaze fell on that patch of azure light.

She knew Long Yao was not making a threat.

If he wished, no one in the Papal Palace could stop him.

Even the defensive formations of the entire Spirit City could not withstand this wisp of power.

Bibi Dong fell silent for a moment.

"I will remember."

"See that you do."

Long Yao turned and walked toward the palace doors.

Bibi Dong watched his retreating figure.

"Long Yao."

Long Yao stopped.

"You know who holds second place on the Golden Ranking."

"I do."

"Is she in the Star Dou Great Forest?"

"Yes."

The look in Bibi Dong's eyes changed.

"Who is she?"

Long Yao did not turn around.

"You are not yet qualified to know."

Bibi Dong rested her palm on the edge of the throne.

"Long Yao, do you think your strength allows you to disregard the entire continent?"

"I have never disregarded the continent."

Long Yao walked out of the Papal Palace.

"You simply aren't worth my attention yet."

"You simply aren't worth my attention yet."

Long Yao walked out of the Papal Palace.

Bibi Dong stood before the throne, watching that azure figure gradually recede.

The palace interior was in ruins.

Her Death Spider Emperor martial soul had already withdrawn into her body.

The rakshasa god mark remained suppressed by the Azure Lotus Seal.

She tried to mobilize her soul power.

Her soul sea gave no response.

Even the rakshasa divine power hidden deep within her divine soul could not pass through that Azure Lotus Seal.

This was not a seal.

Long Yao had merely severed her connection to the laws of the outside world.

Until he withdrew his power, Bibi Dong could not manifest her martial soul again.

Outside the Papal Palace.

Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo had already arrived.

They stood below the stone steps, neither daring to enter the great hall.

They saw the broken scepter.

They also saw the shattered throne.

And they saw the azure lotus seal on Bibi Dong's brow.

Chrysanthemum Douluo raised his hand.

"Your Holiness."

"Leave."

Bibi Dong did not turn around.

Chrysanthemum Douluo's movement froze.

Ghost Douluo looked toward Long Yao, who had already reached the end of the corridor.

"Should we activate the city's defensive formations?"

"I told you to leave."

Bibi Dong spoke again.

Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo lowered their heads together.

"Yes."

The two left, taking the soul masters outside the palace with them.

Bibi Dong was now the only person left in the entire Papal Palace.

Long Yao had already descended the final step.

Bibi Dong looked at his retreating figure.

She recalled what Long Yao had said earlier.

"The divine power is not yours."

"You are only borrowing it."

Bibi Dong had undergone the Rakshasa God Trial for many years.

With each trial she completed, the rakshasa divine power she could wield increased.

She had always believed that once she completed every divine trial, she would inherit the rakshasa godhood.

Yet just now.

With a single Azure Lotus Seal, Long Yao had forced the rakshasa divine power back into her soul sea.

That divine power had not helped her break through the blockade.

Nor had the Rakshasa God offered any response.

Bibi Dong raised her hand and touched the Azure Lotus Seal on her brow.

The azure light brightened slightly.

Her fingertips immediately lost the support of her soul power.

Bibi Dong lowered her hand.

"Long Yao."

In the corridor.

Long Yao stopped.

"What else is there?"

Bibi Dong stepped down from the throne.

Her long purple dress trailed over the broken flagstones.

She stepped over the broken scepter and reached the doors of the Papal Palace.

"You can suppress rakshasa divine power."

"I can."

Long Yao did not turn around.

"Can you also sever my connection to the Rakshasa God?"

"I can."

Bibi Dong watched his back.

"What is the price?"

"What can you offer me?"

Long Yao turned around.

Their gazes met across the white jade steps.

Bibi Dong did not answer immediately.

She possessed Spirit Hall.

She commanded tens of thousands of soul masters.

She possessed two supreme martial souls.

And she possessed the Rakshasa God's inheritance.

Anywhere on the continent, these were powers capable of changing the balance of the world.

Yet before Long Yao.

These things held little value.

She could not even withstand a single palm strike from Long Yao.

Spirit Hall's formations could not halt his steps either.

Bibi Dong said:

"Spirit Hall can stop entering Skywater Academy."

"The Papal Palace will also cease pursuing the deaths of Yu Xiaogang and Tang Hao."

Long Yao looked at her.

"Those are things you should already be doing."

Bibi Dong did not argue.

"Spirit Hall can form an alliance with Skywater Academy."

"I have no need for it."

"Spirit Hall controls soul master branch halls across the continent."

"I have no need for them."

"The Papal Palace possesses cultivation resources accumulated over generations."

"Skywater Academy lacks none."

Bibi Dong rested her palm against the edge of the palace doorway.

Long Yao had left her no room to maneuver.

Everything Spirit Hall took pride in meant nothing to him.

She raised her head and looked at the Heavenly Dao Golden Ranking.

Second place remained shrouded in golden light.

The first-place position had yet to be revealed.

Bibi Dong was now certain.

Long Yao would inevitably claim one of those places.

Perhaps even...

First place on the Golden Ranking might belong to him.

Someone like him did not need Spirit Hall to provide resources.

Nor did he need the Papal Palace to expand his influence.

He had come here only to warn her.

If Bibi Dong continued sending people into Skywater Academy, Long Yao would personally replace the pope.

That declaration would not change.

Bibi Dong looked at Long Yao again.

"I can submit to you."

Every Soul Master outside the Papal Palace stopped moving.

Chrysanthemum Douluo jerked his head up.

Ghost Douluo also looked toward the palace.

They had never expected Bibi Dong to say such a thing.

Long Yao remained calm.

"You are the pope of Spirit Hall."

"Precisely. That is what makes my submission valuable."

Bibi Dong descended the first stone step.

"Spirit Hall will remain under my command."

"The Papal Palace's orders will still come from me."

"But from this day onward, I will obey your commands."

She descended another stone step.

"Spirit Hall will not make an enemy of Skywater Academy."

"Anyone who wishes to move against Skywater Academy must first get past the Papal Palace."

"Whatever you need Spirit Hall to do, I can carry it out for you."

Bibi Dong stopped in front of Long Yao.

Only three stone steps separated them.

"Is that price enough?"

Long Yao looked at her.

"Submission is more than a declaration."

"I know."

Bibi Dong raised her right hand.

She removed the Nine-Curved Purple Gold Crown from her head.

The purple gold crown left her long hair, and she placed it on the stone step beside her.

Then...

Bibi Dong descended the final three stone steps.

Her long purple dress settled onto the white jade floor.

Standing before Long Yao, she slowly bent her knees.

Her right knee touched the ground.

For the first time, the pope who had ruled Spirit Hall for so many years bowed her head before others.

Chrysanthemum Douluo's lips moved.

In the end, he said nothing.

Ghost Douluo likewise remained silent.

All the Soul Masters before the Papal Palace lowered their heads, not daring to look directly at the foot of the steps.

Bibi Dong ignored them.

She raised both hands, presenting the Pope Token in her palms.

"I, Bibi Dong, pope of Spirit Hall..."

"Am willing to acknowledge Long Yao as my master."

"From now on, I will obey your commands."

On the Pope Token...

Six Martial Soul emblems lit up at once.

This token represented the authority of Spirit Hall's pope.

Whoever held it...

Could mobilize the Spirit Hall Branches across the continent.

And could enter most of Spirit Hall's forbidden grounds.

Long Yao did not take the token.

"You are submitting to me."

"Not giving Spirit Hall a new master."

Bibi Dong raised her head.

"Is there a difference?"

"Spirit Hall still belongs to Spirit Hall."

Long Yao looked at the Pope Token in her palms.

"I will not manage the Papal Palace for you."

"Nor will I interfere in your power struggles."

"If you wish to submit, you must abide by my rules."

Bibi Dong asked:

"What rules?"

"You must not harm anyone from Skywater Academy."

"You must not send anyone to watch me."

"Without my permission, you must not enter the academy."

Long Yao paused briefly.

"And one more thing."

"Do not turn my words into a tool for your struggle for power."

Bibi Dong understood.

Long Yao would not take over Spirit Hall.

Nor would he deal with the Worship Hall for her.

She would still have to face Qian Daoliu.

She would still have to manage the relationship between the Papal Palace and the Worship Hall.

What Long Yao accepted was her submission alone.

Bibi Dong withdrew the Pope Token.

"I agree."

Long Yao looked at her.

"You no longer have the right to speak before me with a ruler's 'I.'"

Bibi Dong's expression briefly froze.

She had ruled Spirit Hall for many years.

Even before Qian Daoliu, she had never changed the way she referred to herself.

Now...

Long Yao stood before her and calmly stripped her of that privilege.

Bibi Dong lowered her head.

"I understand."

Long Yao raised his hand.

The Azure Lotus Seal flew out of Bibi Dong's brow on its own.

The azure lotus seal hovered between them.

Its nine lotus leaves unfurled one by one.

Rakshasa Divine Power surged from Bibi Dong's soul sea.

Purple-black markings reappeared on her forehead.

The Azure Lotus Seal gently rotated.

The Rakshasa God Marks immediately stopped spreading.

Long Yao looked at her.

"The Rakshasa Divine Power within you has already invaded your divine soul."

"If you continue undergoing the Rakshasa God Trials, you will inherit the godhood."

"But you will also become a vessel for the Rakshasa God's Will."

Bibi Dong lifted her eyes.

"A godhood inheritance can affect its inheritor?"

"An ordinary inheritance would not."

Long Yao raised his hand and pointed at the Azure Lotus Seal.

"Your inheritance is different."

Azure light passed through Bibi Dong's brow.

Images entered her consciousness one after another.

The Dark Temple.

The Purple-Black Throne.

And a pair of eyes that remained hidden behind divine radiance.

That figure sat upon the throne.

Each time a god trial ended, it would draw a wisp of emotion from Bibi Dong.

Resentment.

Bloodlust.

Loathing.

Pain.

The Rakshasa Divine Power continually amplified these emotions.

Then poured them back into her divine soul.

Bibi Dong watched those images.

She had always believed the killing intent in her heart came from her past.

Only now did she see clearly.

The Rakshasa Divine Power had been influencing her judgment all along.

That power made her increasingly obsessive.

And made her ever more dependent on the Rakshasa Godhood.

Bibi Dong pressed her fingers against the stone step.

"So that was it."

Long Yao withdrew the Azure Lotus Seal.

"The Rakshasa God chose you not because you were suited to inherit the godhood."

"But because your divine soul contains something the god needs."

Bibi Dong asked:

"What does the god need?"

"Hatred."

That single word fell.

Silence descended before the Papal Palace once more.

Bibi Dong closed her eyes.

Scenes from her past surfaced one by one.

The Secret Chamber.

Qian Xunji.

Yu Xiaogang.

Qian Renxue.

And those years she had buried deep in her heart.

The Rakshasa God had used that very past to enter her divine soul, step by step.

She opened her eyes.

"Can you sever this connection?"

"Yes."

"After it is severed, will I lose the Rakshasa Divine Power?"

"Yes."

Long Yao looked at her.

"You will also lose the Rakshasa Godhood."

Bibi Dong fell silent for a long time.

The Rakshasa Godhood had been her goal for years.

Once she completed the final trial, she would truly become a god.

But now.

She already knew the price behind that Godhood.

Bibi Dong looked at Long Yao.

"If I give up the Rakshasa Godhood."

"What can you give me?"

Long Yao turned to look at the heavens.

"I will not give you a Godhood."

"Nor will I increase your Soul Power for you."

"If you cannot even forge your own path, you are not qualified to follow me."

Bibi Dong rose to her feet.

"And if I can?"

Long Yao looked at her again.

"Then come see me at Skywater Academy."

Bibi Dong lowered her head and looked at her palm.

Purple-black Rakshasa God Marks slowly emerged along her wrist.

That power was still coaxing her to continue the divine trials.

She closed her fingers.

The Rakshasa God Marks sank back into her skin.

Bibi Dong knelt on one knee again.

This time.

She did not hold up the Pope Token.

Nor was she wearing the Nine-Curved Purple Gold Crown.

"I, Bibi Dong, am willing to relinquish the Rakshasa God's legacy."

"From this day onward."

"I submit to you."

Long Yao raised his hand.

An azure lotus seal sank into Bibi Dong's brow.

Its lotus leaves closed one after another.

Azure light covered the purple-black Rakshasa God Marks.

A purple chain hidden deep within her Divine Soul gradually appeared.

Long Yao brought two fingers together.

Azure light flashed past.

The purple chain snapped in the middle.

The connection between the Rakshasa Temple and Bibi Dong vanished completely.

Bibi Dong pitched forward.

She braced her palm against the ground.

The Rakshasa Divine Power she had accumulated over many years was rapidly leaving her soul sea.

Purple-black motes of light flew out of her body.

With every mote that left, Bibi Dong's aura weakened a little more.

Level 99.

Level 98.

Level 97.

Her Soul Power finally settled at Level 97.

The Rakshasa God Marks vanished completely.

Her Death Spider Emperor and Soul-Eating Spider Emperor Martial Souls, however, reappeared behind her.

The two Martial Souls were no longer being eroded by Rakshasa Divine Power.

The purple-black patterns on the Spider Emperors' carapaces gradually faded.

The two conflicting Martial Soul Origins also began to regain their stability.

Bibi Dong raised her head.

She could clearly feel the decline in her Soul Power.

Yet her Divine Soul was clearer than ever before.

Long Yao withdrew his hand.

"Rise."

Bibi Dong stood up.

She glanced at the Nine-Curved Purple Gold Crown resting on the stone steps.

A moment later.

She walked over and placed the Purple Gold Crown back on her head.

The Pope's Scepter had already snapped.

Bibi Dong did not pick it up.

She returned to Long Yao and bowed her head.

"Master."