In a rental apartment on the Blue Star, Tang Fan, an overworked corporate drone, had just woken up. It was a rare day off, and he wanted to sleep in a little longer.
Yet he suddenly felt a heavy weight on his body, pressing down so hard that he could barely breathe.
What is the situation? Is it sleep paralysis? Huh? What is this thing, why is it so soft?
He gave it a casual squeeze-it felt just like a slime.
Immediately following that, Tang Fan realized something was wrong. This was no sleep paralysis.
The moment he opened his eyes, he saw a pink-haired young girl sprawled across him.
Right at that instant, this girl also opened her eyes.
Their gazes met. The girl's expression shifted drastically; she leaped up from the edge of the bed and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Courting death, you scoundrel! How dare you take liberties with this Holy Maiden? Martial Soul Possession!"
The girl screamed out to perform Martial Soul Possession, but absolutely nothing happened.
Tang Fan had calmed down by then as well. He looked at the girl before him and asked, "Are you cosplaying Bibi Dong? Or a young Bibi Dong?"
"You know this Holy Maiden? Quick, speak! Did you do something to me? Why can't I summon my Martial Soul?"
Bibi Dong walked over, intending to grab Tang Fan, but he countered by pinning her down onto the bed.
"You cosplayer, trespassing in a private residence is one thing, but you still want to strike at me? You've truly lost your mind.
I am no gentleman, and if you keep moving your hands and feet, I'll tie you up."
"Let go of me, you scoundrel! My master is the Pope of Spirit Hall, and if he finds out you bullied me, he will never let you go."
"I know your master is Qian Xunji, and I also know he did the deed with you, and you even gave birth to a daughter for him."
The moment Tang Fan spoke these words, the girl who claimed to be Bibi Dong froze, and Tang Fan released her in one fluid motion.
"Though I have no idea how you managed to get into my home, seeing as your mind isn't quite right, I won't call the police or hold it against you. Off you go."
After speaking, Tang Fan walked toward the bathroom. Suddenly, however, Bibi Dong let out a piercing shriek.
"Ah... You're talking nonsense!"
Bibi Dong lunged at Tang Fan once more, but her foot slipped, and she went crashing to the floor with a thud, passing out cold.
"Hey! Hey! Hey! Don't try to pull a scam on me!"
There were no security cameras in his apartment, and if something actually happened, he would never hear the end of it.
Tang Fan reached out to check her breath, and seeing that she was still breathing, he let out a sigh of relief.
"I'm truly unlucky today, running into a lunatic the moment I wake up. Huh? Not to mention, you cosplayers really do look just like Bibi Dong, and this hair isn't fake either. Are cosplayers going this hard nowadays?"
Following that, Tang Fan tied Bibi Dong to a chair to prevent her from throwing another fit when she woke up.
After heading to the bathroom to wash up, Tang Fan began to contemplate whether or not he should call the police.
By this time, Bibi Dong had regained consciousness. Finding herself bound, she glared at Tang Fan with an unkind gaze.
Tang Fan looked back at Bibi Dong with equal vigilance.
"Scoundrel, untie me! You took liberties with me and humiliated my teacher. Spirit Hall will never let you go."
"Which psychiatric ward did you escape from, or are you just too obsessed with cosplay? This is my home, do you understand what trespassing is? And you still wanted to hit me! If I hadn't seen that something was wrong with your head, I would have called the police to arrest you long ago."
"Your head is the one with the problem."
"There's nothing wrong with your head? Then let me ask you: what is your name, where are you from, who is in your family, and what is your phone number?"
Tang Fan wanted to get her phone number so he could have her family members come and pick her up.
"I am Bibi Dong, the Holy Maiden of Spirit Hall, and my teacher is the Pope Qian Daoliu..."
"Stop! I'm asking for your real name, not who you're cosplaying. I actually know who Bibi Dong is."
Tang Fan took out his mobile phone and pulled up several glamorous pictures of people also cosplaying Bibi Dong. Although the photo-editing traces were obvious, they were all quite pretty.
"See? Bibi Dong is just a character from a novel. I know that shattering fantasies is painful, but a person has to accept reality."
On the other side, the sky of the Douluo Continent suddenly split open, and the tear immediately expanded to form a vast canopy across the firmament.
The entire Douluo Continent witnessed this abruptly appearing canopy, and all the major factions grew tense.
In Spirit City, within the Pope's Hall, Qian Xunji stared at the sky canopy with tightly knitted brows.
Titled Douluo flew upward to inspect it, but found they could not touch it at all.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, the Clear Sky Sect, Sea God Island... All sent people to investigate the canopy, yet they discovered nothing and returned empty-handed.
At that moment, Yu Xiaogang had just arrived in Spirit City. Understanding nothing of the canopy that had appeared in the sky, he began to bluster self-importantly to those around him.
"This is undoubtedly a warning sent down by the gods. Spirit Hall has lost the hearts of the people and truly needs to reflect on itself."
Yu Xiaogang naturally uttered these words to disgust Spirit Hall.
Yet for him, an abandoned son of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, to run into Spirit City and speak such words was certainly bold indeed.
Just as Yu Xiaogang finished speaking, the canopy lit up. Opening the display was none other than the image of Bibi Dong tied to a chair by Tang Fan, accompanied by Tang Fan's exact words: "Bibi Dong is just a character from a novel..."
Upon hearing this sentence, Qian Xunji was stunned as well: "What in the world? Bibi Dong is a character from a novel? How did his disciple suddenly become a character from a novel?"
Bibi Dong was a character in a novel. Then what was I? Was I also a character in a novel? What a joke!"
"Your Holiness, Her Highness the Saintess..."
Yue Guan's voice brought Qian Xunji back to his senses.
"Someone, go to the Saintess's residence and see if she's there."
"Yes, Your Holiness."
Qian Xunji looked up at the sky again, his brow furrowing even deeper.
Bibi Dong wasn't weak. That young man in the sky had actually managed to tie her up. Could he be even stronger than Bibi Dong?
The other factions on the Douluo Continent didn't react much. The main reason was that, at this point in time, Bibi Dong hadn't yet made a name for herself.
Tang Fan had no idea that the sky had already exposed him to the Douluo Continent.
Bibi Dong was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly pressed him. "You said I'm a character in a novel. What exactly do you mean? Explain yourself!"
"Aw, you're so young. How did you get so sick?"
"You're the one who's sick!"
Clang! Clang! Clang! The chair rattled as Bibi Dong shook it.
"Stop, stop, stop! Don't shake my chair apart. It wasn't cheap."
"Then let me go."
"No. What if you go crazy again? Give me your family's phone number. I'll call them to come pick you up."
"What's a phone?"
"Aw! If you keep this up, I'll have to call the police."
"Why don't you believe me? I really am Bibi Dong! And explain yourself-how did I become a character in a novel?"
"Fine! If you say you're Bibi Dong, show me your Martial Soul. You have Twin Martial Souls, don't you? The Death Pearl Emperor and the Soul-Devouring Pearl Emperor-show me either one, and I'll believe you."
Bibi Dong gritted her teeth until they creaked.
"If I could still summon my Martial Soul, would I be tied up here? Ever since I came here, I haven't been able to sense my Martial Soul at all."
"Oh... that's pretty logically consistent. Do you have anything else that could prove who you are?"