"I originally thought that, since our Great Soul Arena had repeatedly helped the two young masters of your Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, your clan, as one of the Upper Three Sects, should at least understand that a kindness of a single drop should be repaid with a gushing spring."
The manager of the Great Soul Arena sneered, looking at the three elders with mocking eyes.
"But I never expected you to come storming into our Great Soul Arena and even injure our guests.
"What, just because your clan's two young masters were taught a lesson and had their dignity trampled on, you can trample on our Great Soul Arena's dignity at will and treat our guests' lives as worthless?!
"Please leave immediately. From now on, dogs and members of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan are forbidden from entering our Great Soul Arena!"
The three elders were enraged by the manager's sarcastic words and wanted to explode, but with thousands upon thousands of eyes watching them, they felt that they had indeed handled this matter improperly.
If word of today's incident spread, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan would probably gain a reputation for using its power to bully others...
Chapter 85: Profit Comes and Profit Goes
The first elder nodded repeatedly, his cloudy eyes brimming with fury.
"Good. Your Great Soul Arena is truly impressive. To curry favor with Spirit Hall and protect that Zhao fellow, you dare declare that dogs and members of our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan are forbidden entry.
"Fine, we'll leave immediately. If any member of our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan ever comes to the Great Soul Arena again, they'll be slapping this old man in the face. Hmph!!!"
With that, the first elder swept his sleeve and ordered the others, "We're leaving."
Before leaving, all three elders swept vicious gazes over everyone present, then turned and left without the slightest hesitation.
Admittedly, if the three elders and those collateral clan members wanted to make a huge scene at the Great Soul Arena, they would have little trouble doing so.
However, the three elders also had to consider the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's reputation. The Great Soul Arena had indeed repeatedly sent people to treat Yu Xiaogang and Yu Xiaolong, something many spectators had witnessed firsthand.
As for the first elder's claim that the Great Soul Arena was protecting Zhao Ling to curry favor with Spirit Hall, that was merely an attempt to give the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan the moral high ground.
After the three elders left the Great Soul Arena with the collateral clan disciples, every one of them looked livid, their teeth grinding audibly.
The second elder clenched his fists, his eyes slightly bloodshot as he stared fixedly at the Great Soul Arena's main entrance and spoke indignantly.
"The Great Soul Arena has gone too far! They knew perfectly well that our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan suffered such a huge loss at the hands of Spirit Hall and that Zhao fellow, yet they still lied through their teeth.
"Spirit Hall's people and that Zhao fellow were all here yesterday, but they left today? How could there be such a coincidence? That Zhao fellow and Spirit Hall's people probably anticipated our arrival long ago and deliberately hid him away."
The third elder nodded, strongly agreeing with the second elder.
"I think so too. How could there be such a coincidence? That Zhao fellow and Spirit Hall's people just happened to return to Spirit City this morning? Only an idiot would believe that excuse."
The first elder's face darkened as he spoke through gritted teeth.
"Those blind fools running the Great Soul Arena must think everyone in our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan is an idiot, daring to spout such obvious lies so brazenly.
"Fine, very good. Since the Great Soul Arena dares to openly collude with Spirit Hall and shelter that Zhao fellow, they can't blame our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan for targeting them! Let's see how long their higher-ups can hold out!"
"Mm... let's do that, then." After nodding, the second elder asked the collateral clan members a question.
"How many of you came to Suotuo City with the eldest young master last time and saw that bastard Zhao Ling?"
Of the dozen or so collateral clan members, three stepped forward. "Second elder, the three of us accompanied the eldest young master last time. We all saw that cur Zhao Ling."
The second elder nodded. "Good. Each of you take two people and watch the busier streets in Suotuo City. If you see Zhao Ling or anyone from Spirit Hall, follow them quietly, then come back and tell us.
"Hmph, as long as that Zhao fellow hasn't left Suotuo City, he'll come out to shop or eat sooner or later. I refuse to believe he can stay a turtle with its head tucked into its shell forever."
The three collateral clan members who had seen Zhao Ling nodded firmly, each called over two companions, and ran off to stake out the busy streets.
As for the three elders, they looked at one another, then finally glared viciously at the Great Soul Arena's entrance before taking the remaining collateral clan members to find a hotel.
It would be dark in another two hours, so they had to find a comfortable hotel to stay in.
Meanwhile, inside the Great Soul Arena, its manager summoned the higher-ups for an emergency meeting, his face livid.
They had originally thought that repeatedly sending people to treat the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's second and eldest young masters would surely bring the Great Soul Arena considerable benefits.
As the saying went, all the world bustled toward profit; all the world jostled after gain.
The Great Soul Arena had previously been willing to pay such a high price to treat Yu Xiaogang partly because they did not want him dying inside the arena and straining relations between the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon and the Great Soul Arena.
Another reason was that the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had a Titled Douluo powerhouse, and they wanted to establish friendly relations.
Even if he would not lend a hand when the Great Soul Arena faced utter destruction in the future, just having him speak on their behalf would have been good enough.
But now they discovered that, after paying such a high price to befriend the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, they had received nothing beyond the money Yu Xiaolong brought last time. They were deeply disappointed.
The amount might have been fairly substantial, but the Great Soul Arena was hardly short of money to begin with. The money it earned every day from ticket sales and betting was beyond counting; that payment was merely a little extra.
Had they known that spending so much time and effort saving the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's two young masters would get them nothing, they might as well have let them die.
Since those old fellows from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan now insisted that their Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was sheltering that Zhao fellow to curry favor with Spirit Hall, they might as well grant their wish.
They regretted it. The Great Soul Arena's higher-ups now regretted it bitterly. All their goodwill had gone to waste.
The three elders waited in Suotuo City like men guarding a tree stump for a rabbit for three whole days. During those three days, the three collateral clan members who had seen Zhao Ling before practically worked around the clock, resting for less than nine hours in total.
After all that, exhausted enough to nearly ascend to heaven on the spot, they could only begin to believe that Zhao Ling and Spirit Hall's people had already returned to Spirit City.
This infuriated the three elders until their teeth ached. How could they have imagined that such coincidences truly existed? Zhao Ling and Spirit Hall's people had left on the very morning of the day they arrived in Suotuo City.
Perhaps their carriages had even passed each other on the road, and they simply had not known.
Now that three days had passed, Zhao Ling and Spirit Hall's people had probably completed most of their journey. It was infuriating...
At the same time, Liu Erlong's carriage had stopped on the road outside her home. After paying, she opened the gate and entered the courtyard in quite a good mood.
Unexpectedly, the moment she opened the gate, she saw her father watering the flowers he had planted with a watering can. The instant he saw her, his face stiffened.
"You little brat, you still remembered to come home? You went gallivanting about for so long without even telling your father where you were going. You... huh? I've never seen that dress you're wearing before. When did you buy it?"
Liu Erlong was currently wearing a blue-and-white gauze dress with black stockings and white high heels. She looked very pleasing to the eye. Zhao Ling had bought it for her when he accompanied her shopping.
To successfully win Liu Erlong over, Zhao Ling had not been overly stingy. He had to spend money where it needed spending. After all, he had nearly three hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins, so he could spend freely.
Chapter 86: Arriving in Spirit City
Liu Erlong instinctively glanced at the dress she wore. Thinking of Zhao Ling, who had bought it for her, she could not help blushing slightly.
But then she remembered that Zhao Ling and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan were not on good terms, while her father was the sort who would risk his old life to protect the clan's interests.
Knowing she could not tell her father about herself and Zhao Ling, she gave a dissatisfied little huff.
"Father, I just felt bored being home alone, so I went out for a trip. I saw some pretty clothes and bought a few outfits. What? Why are you so angry?"
Yu Luomian had originally wanted to scold his daughter for being so reckless, going out to have fun without telling him and staying away for over a week.
But in the end, he restrained himself and sighed softly. He knew that, as his illegitimate daughter, Liu Erlong could not let the clan learn her identity and could not return to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
Her mother had passed away early, and he, the only person she could rely on, also had to spend much of his time attending to clan affairs and his family.
His daughter was the only person in this enormous house, so she felt lonely and wanted to go out and have fun. He truly had no right to stop her.
Thus, he did not question her further. He simply looked his daughter up and down, then nodded.
"Mm, that dress suits you very well. It looks much better than those blue-green cloth dresses you used to wear all the time. It must have been expensive?"
After speaking, Yu Luomian casually set down the watering can, took a black card from his Storage Soul Tool, and handed it to Liu Erlong.
"Daughter, there's some money here. Take it and spend it however you like..."
Seeing the card her father offered, Liu Erlong accepted it without hesitation. There was no reason not to take her father's money. If she refused, it would only benefit her elder brother.
After accepting the money, Liu Erlong headed into the house on her own. She had not eaten yet and planned to cook something to tide herself over.
Once she had finished cooking, she was ready to dig in, only to see her father return after watering the flowers and sit down with a worried expression, letting out a soft sigh. "Sigh..."
Liu Erlong looked bewildered. She had already obediently come home, so why did her father still look so worried? Had something happened in the clan?
Filled with curiosity, Liu Erlong looked at her father and asked teasingly.
"Father, what's wrong? Why do you look so worried? Did something happen to upset you? Tell me so I can have a laugh."
"..." Yu Luomian was momentarily speechless. What was his daughter getting at? What did she mean, tell her what had upset him so she could have a laugh?
Didn't everyone say a daughter was her father's snug little padded jacket? His padded jacket was letting in a serious draft...
Yu Luomian shot his daughter an irritated glance. Too tired to argue, he sighed. "It's those two cousins of yours, of course. They're worrying me to death."
Hearing that it concerned her two cousins, Liu Erlong immediately recalled the scene of Zhao Ling holding their heads down and repeatedly knocking them against the ground. It had truly been brutal.
Still, she did not think Zhao Ling had done anything wrong. On the contrary, she thought he had done a splendid job.
In any case, she did not consider herself a member of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. She merely shared their bloodline and had never received any concern from those two cousins.
By contrast, she had gained thirty years of lifespan and a ten-percent reduction in her aging rate from Zhao Ling.
He also treated her incredibly well, buying her delicious food, fun things, pretty dresses, and everything else. Naturally, she sided with Zhao Ling.
So Liu Erlong looked interested, watching her father with keen curiosity as she heartily ate her dinner.
"What happened to my two cousins? Father, hurry up and tell me. I'm listening."
Looking at his daughter's eager expression, Yu Luomian did not know what to say, but he still told her that Yu Xiaolong had become an idiot and Yu Xiaogang had been ordered imprisoned for ten years.
Liu Erlong's beautiful eyes instantly widened as she exclaimed in disbelief, "He became an idiot? I didn't see anything back then..."
Liu Erlong had originally wanted to say that Zhao Ling had not seemed to use much force at the time, so how had her eldest cousin suddenly become an idiot? Could he really take so little punishment?
But seeing her father's strange look, she hurriedly shut her mouth and said no more, lest he feel compelled to smack her.
Thinking of Yu Xiaolong becoming an imbecile and Yu Xiaogang being imprisoned for ten years, she could not help wanting to laugh. If her father had not been there, she felt she would have burst into loud laughter.
Indeed, holding back her laughter became so uncomfortable that she choked on her food and coughed several times.
Watching his daughter suddenly cough repeatedly after choking, Yu Luomian was utterly bewildered. No matter how he thought about it, he could not understand how she had choked so badly...
Another two days passed before Zhao Ling, Ah Yin, and Spirit Hall's party finally reached Spirit City.
Zhao Ling lifted the curtain and gazed with interest at the bustling streets filled with people coming and going.
Ah Yin's beautiful eyes were already dazzled by the bustling streets' varied people and objects, as well as the dazzling array of goods everywhere.
"Wow, honey, it's so~ big here..."
"Ahem, ahem, ahem..." Zhao Ling immediately choked at Ah Yin's words and replied awkwardly.
"You silly girl, always blurting out the truth. Your husband knows he's well endowed, but is that something you can just say outside? Didn't you see your sister Dong'er's face turn red?"
Ah Yin's pretty face flushed scarlet as well, and she gave Zhao Ling a bashful glare.
"I meant Spirit City was huge, not you. Can't you be serious for once? Don't get the wrong idea."
"Who told you not to make yourself clear? Now you're blaming your husband for being improper?" Zhao Ling retorted self-righteously. After taking liberties with Bibi Dong with his hand, he spoke in a coaxing tone.
"Dong'er, didn't Ah Yin just say herself that her husband was well endowed? I didn't falsely accuse her, did I? Right?"
Bibi Dong did not understand how the question had ended up being directed at her. This clearly had nothing to do with her. She was still an untouched maiden; was it appropriate for that scoundrel Zhao Ling to say such things in front of her?
Feeling Zhao Ling's increasingly unrestrained gaze, the blushing Bibi Dong simply rested her head against his chest, closed her eyes, and played dead.
Since she was unwilling to answer, Zhao Ling did not force her. He merely turned his gaze outside, looking at the bustling streets with considerable emotion.
In the dozen or so years since he had transmigrated to the Douluo Continent, this was his first visit to a major city like Spirit City. He estimated that a city this large should have several million residents.
Perhaps a city of this population could not compare with the megacities on Blue Star, since those routinely had populations in the tens of millions.
But on the Douluo Continent, a city with several million residents was already remarkable. There were probably only three cities of this scale on the entire Douluo Continent...
Chapter 87: How Could Your Teacher Blame You?
At some point, the carriage suddenly stopped.
Chrysanthemum Douluo approached the carriage carrying Zhao Ling and the two women and spoke tentatively.
"Demon-Suppressing Douluo, I'm afraid you and Miss Ah Yin will have to put up with staying at a hotel tonight. I'll be taking the young lady and the others to meet His Holiness the Pope shortly.
"But rest assured, Your Excellency. His Holiness the Pope will definitely summon you for an audience tomorrow. What do you think?"
Zhao Ling turned to glance at Bibi Dong. "Dong'er, do you think I should go to Spirit Hall with you now, or wait for the summons tomorrow...?"
Bibi Dong pressed her red lips together and fell silent. Naturally, she wanted Zhao Ling to accompany her to Spirit Hall. Truthfully, she felt very uncertain right now.
But clever as she was, upon hearing Chrysanthemum Douluo say that Zhao Ling should stay the night and wait until tomorrow for an audience, she knew her teacher must have instructed him to say this.
Thus, she could not insist on taking Zhao Ling to Spirit Hall without her teacher's summons.
With this in mind, Bibi Dong finally replied slowly, "How about you stay at the hotel tonight, while I go back and inform my teacher first?"
Zhao Ling looked into her eyes for over ten seconds before turning to Ah Yin, nodding in agreement.
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