For several miles around, the land lay barren, with only the wind stirring faint wisps of dust.
The earth-shaking showdown the Spirit Hall Soul Masters had imagined never erupted.
Although Lan Changsheng and Bibi Dong faced each other from a distance, they seemed to be discussing something.
But clearly, His Holiness the Pope had been put on the defensive, her expression shifting dramatically.
Meanwhile, Lan Changsheng opposite her remained as unruffled as drifting clouds and a gentle breeze.
Then Bibi Dong's aura erupted! Dust rose all around in its wake.
By contrast, Lan Changsheng stood straight, unmoving as a mountain, no matter whether the wind blew from east, west, south, or north.
Annoyed, Bibi Dong stamped her foot, blasting a ten-by-ten pit into the ground.
Flying stones scattered everywhere, yet not a single one landed on Lan Changsheng.
Whether that was thanks to her precise control or Lan Changsheng's choice of position was unclear.
"They're about to fight! Run!"
The Old Deacon shouted for everyone to make themselves scarce. He was the first to find a hiding place, leaving only his eyes exposed.
He told the young fellow hiding beside him, "Back in the day, our Pope truly fought her way up through bloodshed. The way she carried herself back then truly showed what it meant for women to rival men-no, for women to eclipse men! She suppressed countless geniuses single-handedly!"
"But I heard that when that man first forced his way into Spirit City, he wounded both the Pope and the Great Enshrined all by himself..."
"Rumors! They must be rumors! Keep your eyes wide open today! Watch how His Holiness the Pope crushes this rebel!"
But after that single stamp of her foot, the Pope he spoke of turned and left, even faster than she had arrived.
An