Testing the Waters

As the most powerful leader in Spirit Hall's history, a Killing God of Slaughter City, and the first person to resolve the backlash of twin martial souls-oh, and the youngest Titled Douluo and youngest level ninety-nine Peak Douluo in history to date-Bibi Dong's strength was beyond question.

Yet all those halos of glory ultimately became mere backdrops to Tang San's path to godhood. All her dazzling brilliance came to an abrupt end in the battle of three gods at Jialing Pass.

That was the fate of a villainous boss, the result of a joint scheme by Asura God, Sea God, Food God, Nine-Colored Goddess, and the others. Without them, Tang San could never have returned from the dead.

Now that Tang San is trapped on Sea God Island, let me stop you-and all of you-in your tracks.

A halo suddenly lit up around Ren Tao. Beyond the blood sea of Blood Sea Pagoda, a pure, bright ring rose above his head like a luminous moon before settling behind it. This Wisdom Halo, symbolizing "Wisdom's Guard," was the fourth manifestation available to the evolved Blood Sea Pagoda. It amplified spiritual power by 20%, but more importantly, it kept his mind clear while devouring, preventing him from being swayed by the pleasure dopamine brought.

Of course, amplifying his spiritual power also came at the cost of his own energy. But this soul skill could draw energy from the Sea of Inheritance to replenish it, giving it exceptional staying power.

The moment the Wisdom Halo appeared, a sudden shudder ran through Ren Tao's body. It felt as though his brain had been immersed in cold water. His perception within the spiritual world broke through an invisible boundary, reaching a more microscopic level of matter.

It pierced Bibi Dong's Death Domain and saw tiny particles vibrating rapidly within the spreading layers of purple mist. Those were the Death Spider Emperor toxins carried within the domain. The poison was not released without a medium; it traveled through something like pollen, or even smaller particles. Moreover, beyond the domain's power, an energy field flowed and revolved around Bibi Dong, constantly rotating and changing. This was the source of the Death Domain's ability to weaken every attribute of an enemy and counter teleportation and concealment skills.

For an instant, Ren Tao could almost see the pathways along which Bibi Dong's soul power circulated, and he immediately made the most decisive choice.

The wings behind him beat, making the air hum. Like a comet, he hurtled toward Bibi Dong, trailing a bloody tail stretched into an elliptical halo.

At that moment, six purple wings as thin as cicada wings had just appeared on Bibi Dong's back. They were an external soul bone obtained from the Purple-Winged Spider Emperor soul beast, granting flight and capable of evolving.

Since Ren Tao was airborne, Bibi Dong had intended to fight him in the sky. But Ren Tao saw through her intent in advance, and before she could unleash her power of flight, his attack was already rushing straight at her.

Great masses of blood clouds and purple mist immediately erupted over Liupan Mountain, accompanied by a violent roar across the sky.

Their domains had been torn open simultaneously, curling upward at an angle and tangling together as they surged into the heavens.

"Roooar!"

A long, lingering sound like a dragon's cry shook the surrounding wilderness. Ren Tao's fist, wrapped in Devouring Golden Threads, slammed into Bibi Dong's Spider Spear. Their eyes locked for an instant.

His devouring power activated-to no effect!

The death spider venom and Blood-Sucking Spider Thorn activated-to no effect!

No dopamine was produced. Between the two of them, only mutual scrutiny and probing flowed.

Only after personally exchanging blows with Bibi Dong did Ren Tao understand just how formidable she was. Her hard Spider Spears and armor were tougher than Tang San's current Eight Spider Lances. Her strength and the mental impact she inflicted on her opponent were nothing like a woman's-or rather, nothing like a human's at all.

For a moment, Ren Tao felt as though he had struck a vajra guardian.

Even though she had not launched a mental attack, the natural collision of their imposing auras made his Wisdom Halo shudder, nearly distorting it into an ellipse.

Their strength met in an instant. After that round of probing, neither chose to unleash their full power. They broke apart as soon as they touched. Ren Tao spun upward into the air, while Bibi Dong used the momentum to retreat rapidly, crashing through a stretch of mountain peaks.

In this first exchange, Ren Tao had actually gained the upper hand.

But only the two of them knew the real reason. At the moment they clashed, their minds had involuntarily connected in part.

The red crystal in the Sea of Inheritance released a strange fluctuation, and purple-black light erupted in Bibi Dong's eyes. Like wind brushing over treetops, two powers of the same nature completed an exchange resembling subconscious communication.

Bibi Dong: You really aren't human. What exactly are you?

Ren Tao: You aren't human either. You're evolving toward something, but you aren't as fast as I am, because I am the only... correct answer.

This subconscious communication caught Bibi Dong off guard. At the same time, she realized that Ren Tao was closer than she was to a certain realm. That was why her instincts as an expert had driven her to retreat at such speed.

The next moment, the Death Spider Emperor charged with even greater speed.

Attack and defense reversed. Ren Tao was now in much the same position Bibi Dong had just occupied: his old momentum was spent, and new strength had yet to arise. Bibi Dong, meanwhile, came at him like a tiger descending from its mountain. Her eight Spider Spears spun into a whirlwind, forming a deadly millstone that repeatedly sliced through Ren Tao's domain and body.

In this world's terminology, this should have been called a self-created soul skill. In truth, it was not that mysterious-merely a combination of moves. Tang San's Chaotic Cloak Dance was like this, and so was Bibi Dong's deathly Spider Spear whirlwind. Relying on the toughness of her Martial Soul Avatar, Bibi Dong launched an unrestrained close-range assault on Ren Tao without using a soul skill. Partly, she had developed an appreciation for his talent. More importantly, their subconscious contact just now had led her, to some extent, to regard Ren Tao as "one of her kind."

The deathly whirlwind drove Ren Tao upward against his momentum, pushing him high into the sky.

Without using her wings or a flight skill, Bibi Dong forced herself into the air like the thruster of an artificial satellite, shredding countless golden threads and showers of blood along the way.

Golden light surged all over Ren Tao. Thousands upon thousands of golden threads burst outward in every direction like arrows of light, resisting the onslaught of the Spider Spear whirlwind. Although he did not activate the purple divine power he kept as his trump card, he quietly drew upon a trace of corrosive power. Yet that, too, proved ineffective.

Bibi Dong possessed this aspect of power as well.

With a round of frenzied slicing, Bibi Dong finally gained the upper hand through her vast soul power, recovering the face she had lost in the earlier exchange.

But her eyes beneath her carapace, along with her four small compound eyes, blazed with an intense hunger for battle.

"Not bad. Again!"

Once the Spider Spear whirlwind reached the peak of its power, it would inevitably enter a decline. That would be Ren Tao's moment to counterattack.

That was how Ren Tao intended to fight, but reality did not match his expectations.

As the Spider Spear whirlwind weakened, Bibi Dong also released her eighth soul skill, Spider Emperor Clone. Positioned at a thirty-degree angle to her original body, the clone charged with the same technique just as the original's deathly whirlwind stopped. Replacing defense with offense, it began the next round of deadly combat.

Ren Tao condensed his golden threads into a shield before him. Flashing golden light formed a giant cocoon, and he vanished within it.

Hmm?

Bibi Dong was no Tang San. In particular, the resonance between her power and Ren Tao's allowed her to determine clearly that he had already slipped away. It was not teleportation-he had jumped through space.

The Spider Emperor Clone continued its attack, but Bibi Dong's original body turned swiftly to face a point diagonally above her.

Ren Tao's figure suddenly appeared there, only to vanish in a flash. He jumped repeatedly, and for a brief moment, even Bibi Dong felt dazzled, unable to tell where he had gone.

"Your Holiness, take this!"

Ren Tao's voice rang out from the sky, but the attack came from beneath her feet.

By then, their battle had carried them over the sea beyond the cliff. More than a dozen enormous columns of water suddenly shot upward, spinning rapidly into glittering water arrows. They looked slender only in comparison to their height; in fact, each column was three to four meters thick. The next second, they reached the battlefield.

Ren Tao had planned this long ago. As long as he was close enough to the sea, he could harness the power of its waters. After all, water was a sea soul beast's home ground.

With an enemy bearing down from above and water columns striking from below, Bibi Dong had little room for trickery. She could only meet the attack head-on.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Ren Tao's legs moved like darting fish, delivering seven or eight swift kicks. Orca Shattering Fang Slash and Orca Demon Axe erupted simultaneously, filling the sky with red blades of light. Among them, a streak of red light as thin as a cicada's wing flashed out like lightning, abruptly piercing the Spider Emperor Clone's body.

The water columns below exploded at the same time. Blue halos flashed in midair, intertwining with Bibi Dong's crescent light slashes.

By then, Bibi Dong had switched to her second martial soul, the Soul-Eating Spider Emperor, and unleashed her first soul ring skill, Half Moon.

Eight half-moon-shaped streaks of dark green light repeatedly sliced through space, forming an enormous spatial defensive ring that shattered the waves below and the Shattered Fang Slashes above.

But by then, Ren Tao had already drifted far away, leaving only peals of laughter behind. "Spirit Hall's finest? So much for that!"

Bibi Dong's gaze sharpened. The green luminous mist withdrew into her body. Without so much as a glance at the Spider Emperor Clone dissolving into specks of light beside her, she beat the cicada wings on her back. In a single flash, she was already at the edge of the sky.

"Ren Woxing, you won't get away!"

Bibi Dong's characterization was also something worth pondering.

What kind of Bibi Dong would the readers like to see?