Spirit City's prison.
Soon, the first round of matches, which whittled three hundred and twenty thousand contestants down to one hundred and sixty thousand, was over.
Not long afterward, the second round began, cutting one hundred and sixty thousand down to eighty thousand. Ma Hongjun secured another steady victory.
Unexpectedly, someone in the cell opposite opened his eyes at the very same moment.
The man lay on the floor, his clothes tattered, his face covered in scraggly stubble, his entire body filthy.
But opening his eyes at the same time as Ma Hongjun meant he had probably entered the Dragon-Tiger Ranking challenge too, and had won both rounds.
But how was that possible? Could a cripple with broken arms and legs win matches in the Dragon-Tiger Ranking too?
Perhaps Ma Hongjun's gaze caught the man's attention. In a voice as rough as sandpaper, he said, "Young man, how did you end up getting arrested?"
His throat sounded as though someone had damaged it. Dry and hoarse, his voice was practically the sound of two pieces of rotten wood scraping together.
"Why are you asking?" Ma Hongjun replied.
"I saw you win two rounds in a row on the Dragon-Tiger Ranking. You have some talent. Let me tell you, I'm the Pope's lover. I was wrongfully imprisoned here. If I get out one day, I might even be able to give you a helping hand."
Ma Hongjun smiled contemptuously. "If you're the Pope's lover, I'm the Pope's father."
The Pope's lover had been captured and carried off by Tang Hao. Who knew where this old fossil had sprung from? He actually dared to impersonate Bibi Dong's lover.
At that thought, Ma Hongjun immediately closed his eyes and said nothing more.
Seeing this, the other man knew he was not believed and fell silent too.
There were two more Dragon-Tiger Ranking matches that afternoon. They had to rest up.
The afternoon's two rounds reduced eighty thousand contestants to forty thousand, then forty thousand to twenty thousand. When Ma Hongjun opened his eyes, he discovered that the other man had actually made it through both rounds too.
Still, Ma Hongjun did not take it to heart. This man might genuinely have some ability, but what did that have to do with him?
Before long, however, two soldiers arrived outside Ma Hongjun's cell.
It seemed it was time for his daily torture again. Ma Hongjun was about to put on his restraints as usual and prepare to leave, but neither man showed any intention of restraining him.
"What is this about?" Ma Hongjun asked. The soldier in front held a clean set of clothes, while several more soldiers followed with a large wooden tub and hot water. "His Holiness the Pope wants to see you. Wash yourself thoroughly, so you don't sully His Holiness's eyes."
Ma Hongjun sneered inwardly. The opportunity he had been waiting for had arrived.
Hearing this, the Old Beggar behind the opposite cell door sat straight up in excitement. "You get to see the Pope? The Pope is actually summoning you personally? Sorry for the trouble, but please pass a message to her for me. I'm Yu Xiaogang... My name is Yu Xiaogang! Did you hear me? Once the Pope hears my name, she'll reward you handsomely. She'll definitely reward you handsomely! Young man, my name is Yu Xiaogang!"
At the name Yu Xiaogang, Ma Hongjun's head whipped around.
He strode over to the other man's cell door, lowered his head, and carefully examined the Old Beggar's appearance.
Though the Old Beggar was filthy and reeking, traces of Yu Xiaogang, once the Soul Master World's foremost theorist, could still be seen in his features.
Only after looking closely did Ma Hongjun discover that all four of Yu Xiaogang's limbs were broken, matching his memories once again.
"You really are Yu Xiaogang?" Ma Hongjun asked hesitantly.
Yu Xiaogang finally recognized him too. "You're Ma Hongjun. You're Ma Hongjun, aren't you? Evil Fire Phoenix! Help me. You have to help me meet Bibi Dong. As long as you help your teacher this once, I'll make sure you enjoy wealth and glory. Bibi Dong will reward you for me."
Ma Hongjun fell silent for a moment, then spoke quietly to Yu Xiaogang. "I'll help you, but the walls have ears here. Don't make a fuss yet. Wait for word from me."
Then he deliberately laughed aloud. "I must have lost my mind, believing an old beggar's nonsense."
He snorted coldly and walked straight back into his cell to wash.
Once everything was in order and Ma Hongjun left his cell, Yu Xiaogang watched him with excitement written all over his face. He no longer called out, but waited expectantly, his face filled with hope.
In his view, he was a teacher at Shrek Academy, after all, and there was a bond between him and Ma Hongjun. Ma Hongjun would definitely help him.
He was already beginning to fantasize: once Bibi Dong healed his broken arms and legs, he would use the Dragon-Tiger Ranking to become Number One on the Dragon-Tiger Ranking, then become the foremost Titled Douluo, and finally become the strongest under heaven. Then the day when he and Bibi Dong could fly together as a loving pair would not be far away.
How could teaching disciples compare to the satisfaction of being powerful himself?
Besides, that little San truly had the heart of a wolf and the lungs of a dog. Just because of a few remarks on the Pride of Heaven Ranking, he had coldly abandoned him.
Once he became a Titled Douluo, he would have to teach him a proper lesson. No, he would teach that beast of a biological father, Tang Hao, a lesson too.
As these thoughts ran through his mind, the corners of Yu Xiaogang's mouth curved upward, and he closed his eyes in satisfaction.
Images of trampling these enemies beneath his feet and humiliating them at will kept playing through his mind in turn. As he thought about it, he even laughed aloud.
Inside the Papal Hall, Bibi Dong irritably smashed everything on the table.
When Ma Hongjun first brought his so-called divine cultivation manual to her, she had paid it no mind at all.
But she had never expected it to be a genuine divine cultivation manual. Even ordinary practice had allowed her shattered state of mind to knit itself back together.
How many years had it been? Her state of mind had kept her stuck at the final step to godhood. She had thought she would never be able to repair it in her lifetime, but the appearance of Ma Hongjun's cultivation method had kindled powerful hope within her.
Simply practicing this cultivation method with Ma Hongjun filled her with intense joy. Although her state of mind would still plummet and shatter after she stopped, after cultivating several times, she discovered that it was actually recovering little by little!
With a few more practice sessions, her state of mind might truly return to what it once was.
In other words, as long as she practiced repeatedly, she could pass the Divine Test and become a god!
Yet after trying it on her own, Bibi Dong furiously kicked the long desk in front of her over onto the floor.
"But why doesn't it work when I practice alone? Damn it!"
Once her anger subsided, however, Bibi Dong could only have someone summon Ma Hongjun again. "I'll let that brat enjoy himself a while longer. Fortunately, I didn't have Chrysanthemum Douluo silence him before. Otherwise, there really might have been no way to repair my state of mind."
"That damned filthy man! I'll still have to let him take liberties with me for a while. The day my state of mind reaches perfection will be the day Ma Hongjun meets his death! Filthy man, filthy man, filthy man!"
Still unable to vent her hatred, Bibi Dong continued cursing viciously.
Then her thoughts returned to her personal disciple, Hu Liena. "Nana is still the best, fragrant and soft, and..."
Bibi Dong's cheeks reddened slightly. Recently, her subordinates had presented her with an external soul bone. It would surely suit Nana very well.
Thinking of that thick, long Fox-Tail Soul Bone, Bibi Dong even swallowed involuntarily. When the time came, that fox tail would surely be very, very delicious.
"Your Holiness, Ma Hongjun has been brought here."
Bibi Dong immediately recovered. She carefully straightened her clothes, then called out, "Let him in. The rest of you may leave. No one is allowed within a hundred meters of the hall."
"Yes." The prison guards answered along with the Temple Army, followed by the sound of several sets of footsteps hurrying away. As a Titled Douluo, Bibi Dong could still hear that much.
The door creaked open, and the person who entered was none other than Ma Hongjun.
"Your Holiness, may I ask why you summoned me?"
He looked at Pope Bibi Dong with a teasing glint in his eyes.
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