Each With Their Own Thoughts

Inside the Holy Maiden's chambers of the Spirit Hall, the roars of Yu Xiaogang, who had been berated by four burly men, still echoed in her ears.

"Impossible, Xiao Gang could never be that kind of person."

Bibi Dong's suspicions swelled rapidly despite her suppressed feelings.

Although Xiao Gang's Soul Power was stuck at level 29 in his previous life, he was incredibly proud. How could he possibly willingly carry her on his back with four scholars to secretly "research theories" and claim it was all for his own good?

"Those four guys must have secretly gotten hold of Xiao Gang's secrets."

The thought surfaced in Bibi Dong's mind and grew wildly like weeds. Under the filter of her love-struck mind, she quickly found a reason to exonerate herself.

No matter what, she would never allow anyone to touch her Brother Xiaogang, not even a man.

"In that case, I'll take care of all the trouble for him."

As a disciple of the current Pope and the Holy Maiden of the Spirit Hall, it was not difficult for her to secretly dispatch several Soul Master.

Night fell, inside a side hall.

Several paladins knelt on one knee. "Greetings, Your Saintess Hall."

Bibi Dong took out the portrait and coldly ordered, "Tonight, you must eliminate these four people silently, leaving no trace."

"Your subordinates obey!" Several men responded in deep voices, and were about to take their orders and leave.

"Wait." Qian Xunji's figure suddenly appeared.

"Teacher?" Bibi Dong's heart skipped a beat.

The Knights of the Temple hurriedly bowed and saluted. "Greetings, Your His Holiness the Pope."

Qian Xunji waved his hand. "You may all leave for now."

Bibi Dong forced herself to remain calm, but she was puzzled. She couldn't understand why Qian Xunji had suddenly appeared here. Did he also know about Xiao Gang's situation?

"I wonder if there's anything you need from me coming here so late at night, teacher?"

Qian Xunji scrutinized his good disciple before him with a deep gaze, secretly amused. He, the director, hadn't even started to intensify the Gangzi yet; how could he allow Bibi Dong to secretly overturn the table?

"If I hadn't come, you would have made a grave mistake tonight." Qian Xunji, her tone filled with heartbroken reproach.

Bibi Dong immediately realized that, given Qian Xunji's status as Pope, it would be far too easy for such a thing to reach his ears.

She couldn't help but defend herself, saying, "These four guys have ulterior motives. They've been harassing Xiao Gang day and night. Xiao Gang is kind-hearted and was clearly being coerced by them..."

Qian Xunji shook his head solemnly:

"These four are specially invited scholars by this Pope to assist the Grandwet. As a Holy Maiden, you, for the sake of personal feelings, secretly killed them without investigation. If this were to spread, how would scholars across the continent view my Spirit Hall? And how would others view you as a Holy Maiden?"

Bibi Dong didn't care about the Spirit Hall; she only cared about her Brother Xiaogang. But she couldn't afford to break off relations right now, so she had to suppress her thoughts and not utter a word in rebuttal.

"Even if you were to actually kill them tonight, would Xiao Gang Grandwet be grateful? Grandwet claims they are his confidants. If you were to assassinate them, how could Grandwet, being so intelligent, not guess that it was you who did it?"

Bibi Dong's delicate body swayed slightly, and the murderous intent in her heart dissipated, replaced by bewilderment.

Although she was certain in her heart that Brother Xiaogang was being coerced, what if that wasn't the case? If it wasn't true, then she would be the next Liu Erlong who had waited for twenty years.

Furthermore, Xiao Gang cares so much about her reputation and self-esteem; if this matter gets out, she will definitely be hated to the core.

Was she simply forced to watch helplessly as her Xiao Gang continued to sink deeper into it?

Seeing that Bibi Dong's fierce aura had been completely dissipated, Qian Xunji's eyes flashed with a hint of smugness, and he began to throw out bait.

He smiled gently and said, "Dong'er, judging from your appearance, you're only one step away from breaking through level sixty, aren't you?"

Bibi Dong replied in a low voice, "Reporting to Master, this disciple expects to break through to level sixty in the next few days."

Qian Xunji exclaimed, "In that case, I will personally take you to the Star Dou Great Forest to hunt for the Sixth Soul Ring. What do you think?"

Bibi Dong's mind was in turmoil, preoccupied with Yu Xiaogang's situation; she had no intention of Soul Hunting.

He immediately declined, somewhat unenthusiastically, saying, "Thank you for your concern, teacher, but I've been feeling rather mentally and physically exhausted lately. We can postpone the Soul Hunting matter for a few more days."

Upon hearing Qian Xunji, Qian Xunji's face showed a look of regret and disappointment.

"Oh dear, that's such a shame."

He shook his head and sighed, feigning distress.

"I originally thought that Master Grandwet working tirelessly on his theoretical studies these past few days, and he must be exhausted. So I specially allowed him to accompany you to choose your Sixth Soul Ring. After all, this would not only help you, but also allow you to be alone with Grandwet... Since Dong'er doesn't want to go, then so be it."

"Teacher, wait a minute!"

Go to the Star Dou Great Forest with Xiao Gang?

Leaving Spirit City, away from those four burly scholars, and even having time to be alone for several days?

This is a golden opportunity!

Bibi Dong acted decisively, her previous dejection vanishing instantly, and quickly changed her tune:

"I just realized that if I work hard tonight, I can break through level 60 and set off tomorrow."

With his back to Bibi Dong, Qian Xunji Xunji's lips curled up wildly, almost unable to contain his laughter.

You little rascal, love-struck Dongzi! This Pope can just use your Yu Xiaogang as bait, and you still obediently take the bait, don't you?

Turning around, Qian Xunji adopted a dignified teacher's posture. "Not bad, Dong'er is so motivated, I am very pleased."

The next morning, in front of the seminar room door.

As the first rays of sunlight fell in the morning, a thin figure staggered out.

These past few days have been nothing short of hell for Yu Xiaogang.

Yu Xiaogang had wanted to run away countless times, or try to find an excuse to leave, but Brother Jie's Youyou voice would always ring out. "Xiao Gang, you don't want these Image Recording Stone to spread throughout the entire Douluo Continent, do you?"

These words were like a tight band around her neck, leaving Yu Xiaogang with no room to resist.

A guard respectfully stepped forward and announced, "Yu Dash­ i, His Holiness the Pope requests that you accompany Her Saintess Hall to the Star Dou Great Forest to assist in the hunt for the Sixth Soul Ring."

Yu Xiaogang's heart skipped a beat, feeling that heaven had truly spared him, but he still had to put on an act:

"In that case, I'll postpone Grandwet theoretical research for now."

The moment she turned around, Yu Xiaogang's face lit up with undisguised joy.

Finally, I can leave this place; finally, I can temporarily escape the clutches of these four philosophical Grandwet.

"Do these guys really think they've got me Yu Xiaogang?"

This trip to the Star Dou Great Forest was accompanied by Pope Qian Xunji and the devoted admirer Bibi Dong.

If they could find the right opportunity to reveal the truth to Bibi Dong or Qian Xunji, the Spirit Hall could easily eliminate Brother Jie and his group of four and destroy all the Image Recording Stone without anyone noticing.

During this period, Yu Xiaogang spent all her time with them, and had absolutely no opportunity to interact with other people privately.

He believed that Bibi Dong would help him, that much was certain. Even Qian Xunji valued him so much, he would surely help him escape the clutches of evil.

However, his first choice was still Qian Xunji. How could he tell his sycophant Bibi Dong about such a humiliation? He would only resort to this last resort as a last resort.

Immersed in the exhilaration of being about to escape, Yu Xiaogang felt her aching back straighten up a bit.