"Hiss—"
Everyone who saw Bibi Dong's expression sucked in a breath of cold air, feeling a chill shoot from the soles of their feet straight to the crowns of their heads.
It was actually true?!
The Pope of Spirit Hall really had been... by her own teacher...
This gossip was no longer merely explosive.
It was poison!
Some of the more timid nobles and commoners had already begun quietly backing away, hoping to slip off amid the chaos.
Knowing such a supreme secret of the royal family—no, the papal household—could get them silenced for good!
If they didn't leave now, once Her Holiness the Pope recovered her senses, a single Soul Skill could level the entire Square!
Just as the atmosphere became strange beyond measure, and Yu Xiaogang swelled with smug satisfaction, convinced he had Bibi Dong completely in his grasp and had plunged her into eternal ruin—
A clear, melodious voice, brimming with fury, rang out from afar.
"You're spouting nonsense!!"
Everyone turned toward the voice.
A golden figure came flying toward them at tremendous speed, landing beside the Judgment Platform in just a few breaths.
Clad in magnificent golden armor, she had a graceful figure and long, silky golden hair that fluttered in the wind. She was none other than Spirit Hall's Saintess, Hu Liena.
She had clearly rushed all the way there; sweat glistened on her skin, and she was panting slightly.
Inside, she was still grumbling incessantly.
Honestly, Teacher!
At first, she sat as calmly as an angler on her perch, saying there was no hurry and that she would wait until Ning Lin was at his most desperate before intervening.
Then, the moment she heard Tang San was about to carry out the execution, she abandoned me and rushed here alone!
I had to scramble to keep up, and I still nearly fell behind!
Yet the instant she landed, she heard Yu Xiaogang's vicious, heart-piercing accusations.
Hu Liena's mind buzzed, going completely blank.
Then boundless fury surged from the depths of her heart straight to her head!
This man!
This bastard who deceived Teacher's heart, then stood here spewing outrageous nonsense and rubbing salt into her wounds!
Hu Liena's alluring eyes blazed with anger as she pointed at Yu Xiaogang and shouted sternly.
"Yu Xiaogang! Shut your mouth!"
"My teacher is as pure as ice and jade! No one ever defiled her!"
"You fraud who deceives the world and steals fame! Stop bewitching the crowd with your lies!"
Interrupted, Yu Xiaogang frowned and sneered disdainfully. "Little girl, you have no right to speak here! This is between her and me!"
"Between you and you?"
Hu Liena laughed in sheer fury.
"What the hell are you? You think you're worthy of having anything 'between' you and my teacher?"
She stepped forward, her voice suddenly rising, every word a blade thrust straight into Yu Xiaogang's vulnerable spot!
"That bullshit theory of yours, those so-called 'Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul'—do you really think you researched them yourself?"
At those words, Yu Xiaogang's expression changed drastically.
Seeing it, the mockery at the corners of Hu Liena's mouth deepened.
"Let me tell you!"
"Your theory is nothing more than a fragment from a dust-covered Ancient Text in Spirit Hall's Library Pavilion!"
"Back then, you tried to trick my teacher into using her position as Saintess to steal that Ancient Text for you!"
"When my teacher saw through your wolfish ambitions, you flew into a humiliated rage and betrayed Spirit Hall!"
"Am I right or not?!"
"Grandmaster?!"
Every word Hu Liena spoke was like a ringing slap, striking Yu Xiaogang hard across the face.
In the Square, all the Soul Masters who supported and revered the "Grandmaster's" theories froze.
Yu Xiaogang's theories... were stolen?
How... how was that possible?
Everyone's gaze focused on Yu Xiaogang once more.
The smugness and ferocity on his face had long since vanished.
In their place were unprecedented terror and panic.
His pale face instantly flushed the color of pig liver. His lips trembled as he pointed at Hu Liena, rasping "huh, huh" sounds from his throat.
He wanted to refute her.
Yet he couldn't utter a single word.
Because every word Hu Liena had said was true!
Yu Xiaogang was speechless.
His defenses had shattered.
Hu Liena's voice was clear, but every word pierced the heart.
On Yu Xiaogang's pig-liver-colored face, both his color and his expression froze.
Shattered defenses?
No, this was a total collapse.
The "Grandmaster" halo he took such pride in had been torn to shreds by this young woman before the eyes of the entire world.
From Hu Liena's perspective, this was the truth of the matter.
Yu Xiaogang was a hypocrite through and through. He had approached her teacher, who had still been the Saintess at the time, not out of love, but for that Ancient Text of theory hidden in Spirit Hall's Forbidden Grounds.
With honeyed words, he had tried to exploit her teacher's feelings and position to pave the way for his theft of knowledge.
Fortunately, her teacher's discerning eyes had burned like torches, seeing through his sinister intentions in time. That was what had led to their subsequent split and his betrayal of Spirit Hall.
Over the years, her teacher had instructed Bibi Dong with the closeness of a mother and daughter, and that bond had never changed with any alteration to history.
Hu Liena respected her and loved her. She would never allow anyone, especially this despicable swindler, to hurt her in the slightest!
In the Square, the wind shifted once again without warning.
If Bibi Dong's earlier scandal had been a towering wave, then the allegation that Yu Xiaogang had "stolen a book" was an undersea earthquake powerful enough to overturn everything they knew!
"What? The Grandmaster's theories were... stolen?"
"My idol... has crumbled?"
"I knew it! How could a rank-twenty-nine Soul Grandmaster possibly develop such profound theories? So this was where it all came from!"
"No wonder! No wonder City Lord Ning Lin was framed for colluding with the Spirit Hall Empire! There was something this filthy behind it all!
"To cover up his theft, Yu Xiaogang had to sling mud at Spirit Hall, even if it meant selling out his friends!"
The flames of public opinion instantly shifted from Bibi Dong to Yu Xiaogang's feet.
Countless gazes changed from shock and prying curiosity to contempt and scorn.
Below the High Platform, Tang San's expression darkened.
He could no longer remain silent.
His teacher's reputation was his own reputation.
The Tang Sect could not be allowed to lose all face here!
Tang San stepped forward, his soul power stirring faintly as his voice carried outward, drowning out the surrounding chatter.
"Utter nonsense!"
He stared straight at Hu Liena.
"Hu Liena, you're only a junior. How old were you when those things happened? What could you possibly know?"
"Teacher's theories have influenced the entire Soul Master World! You think you can slander them with just a few words?"
"You're jealous! You're trying to exonerate your teacher!"
Tang San's words rang out with force.
Yet rather than being cowed, Hu Liena burst out laughing.
"What the hell do I know?"
She extended a slender, jade-like finger and pointed at Tang San from afar.
"Tang San, get this straight. When it comes to age, you should be calling me big sister."
"You're not even as old as I am. What the hell do you know?"
"You—!"
Tang San was left speechless, a trace of anger appearing on his handsome face.
Age was indeed his weak point.
Just as he pondered how to retort, another figure stepped forward.
Before you continue