"Bang——"
With phoenix eyes filled with murderous intent, Qian Renxue kicked open the doors of the Pope's Hall and strode inside.
"The Pope's Hall is a place of utmost importance, how dare you act so wantonly here?"
Seeing Qian Renxue barge in with such insolence, Bibi Dong—seated upon the throne in the hall as she attended to affairs—was stunned for a moment, then immediately shouted in fury.
To actually dare to kick open the doors of the Pope's Hall? That was tantamount to not putting her, Bibi Dong, in her eyes at all! Even if Qian Renxue was the Holy maiden of the Spirit Hall, it was absolutely intolerable!
"Wanton? You are the one being wanton!
The Elemental Academy has no enmity with Spirit Hall. Bibi Dong, as the Pope of Spirit Hall, you dispatched people to abduct the students of the Elemental Academy for no reason, provoking a conflict between the two forces—what is your intent?!"
Qian Renxue retorted without the slightest courtesy.
After learning the entire matter from Ghost earlier, Qian Renxue was instantly enraged.
Good, Bibi Dong. As Pope, it's one thing if you don't strive for the development of Spirit Hall, but now you even go so far as to make enemies for it?
And the target you chose to antagonize just so happens to be the Elemental Academy, which has a profound connection to me, Qian Renxue?
Do you not know that Shui Yanyu, the Ice Douluo of the Elemental Academy, and Mu Yang, the representative of the younger generation, both once saved my life?
If this matter spreads, how will I, Qian Renxue, ever be able to show my face again?
Repaying kindness with enmity—no matter where or when—that is something despised by all people!
"Hmph~. Those who aspire to greatness need not be constrained by trifles."
Bibi Dong snorted coldly.
Hearing this, Qian Renxue sneered: "Then allow me to ask, Your Holiness the Pope, what great accomplishment have you achieved by ignoring trifles? Oh~ I almost forgot—you sent people to annihilate the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan."
"You—"
Bibi Dong was so enraged she immediately stood up from her throne.
Qian Renxue folded her arms across her chest, lifted her chin slightly, and said in a commanding tone: "What about me? You were the one who ordered it done. Now you want me, Qian Renxue, to clean up your mess, and I can't even criticize you for it? If you have the ability, then go ahead and march to the Elemental Academy yourself and rescue Elder Chrysanthemum!"
Unleashing her fury at Bibi Dong, Qian Renxue felt as though her heart had been filled with honey—it was sweet beyond measure.
Finally, she had gotten the chance to scold this woman to her heart's content!
"Insolent! Is this the way you speak to your own mother?"
Bibi Dong roared, and a terrifying aura of soul power erupted, enveloping the entire Pope's Hall.
"Thump, thump, thump——"
Assaulted by this overwhelming soul power pressure, even Qian Renxue—whose strength already surpassed that of an ordinary rank 95 Titled Douluo—could not help but stagger back several steps, her expression growing solemn as she stared at the enraged Bibi Dong.
From this alone, Qian Renxue could clearly perceive that Bibi Dong's strength far exceeded her prior estimations. In fact, the oppressive feeling she gave was even greater than that of the Second Worshiper, Golden Crocodile Douluo, second only to her grandfather, Qian Daoliu.
Qian Renxue's intuition was not mistaken. Bibi Dong's soul power had long since reached Level 99, the realm of the Peerless Douluo. Though the Rakshasa God's trial placed restrictions on her combat abilities, mere soul power pressure was not among them.
Enduring the terrifying pressure with clenched teeth, Qian Renxue forced out words laced with stubborn defiance:
"Mother? What qualifications do you have to call yourself my mother? Have you ever once fulfilled the responsibilities of a mother?
Bibi Dong, I hereby officially inform you: from this moment on, any and all actions of Spirit Hall concerning the Elemental Academy must first be approved by me and the Elder Council. That is all I have to say—conduct yourself accordingly!"
With that said, Qian Renxue paid no mind to Bibi Dong's reaction and turned directly to leave the Pope's Hall.
Staring at Qian Renxue's departing back for a long time, in the vast and empty hall with no one else present, Bibi Dong suddenly seemed to lose all strength. Her eyes grew vacant as she collapsed back into her chair, tears flowing uncontrollably down her cheeks.
At this moment, Bibi Dong suddenly felt that perhaps, all these years, she really had been wrong.
'No, I am not wrong. The one who was wrong is Qian Xunji. Everything—everything—is Qian Xunji's fault!'
Inside her heart, Bibi Dong roared hysterically.
On the other side, before nightfall arrived, Mu Yang had already returned to the Elemental Academy with Yue Guan.
For now, the Elemental Academy was not yet a match for Spirit Hall. Furthermore, Mu Yang had no intention of openly tearing all ties with Spirit Hall. Ordinary Spirit Hall soul masters could be slain without much consequence, but Yue Guan was different.
Yue Guan was no mere small fry, but a Titled Elder ranked among the Douluo Hall of Spirit Hall—one of the high-level figures. Killing him outright would be inappropriate, for Spirit Hall, in order to protect its reputation, would never let the Elemental Academy off easily.
Since Yue Guan could not be killed, he would have to be imprisoned for the time being, until Qian Renxue came personally to redeem him.
But here lay a problem: Titled Douluo were not so easily imprisoned. After all, Mu Yang had no specialized soul tools capable of sealing a soul master's power.
Cripple him? But if he had already arranged for Qian Renxue to redeem the man, then crippling Yue Guan would be tantamount to showing her no respect at all.
Fortunately, halfway back, Mu Yang came up with a method to solve the issue.
Arriving at the forging chamber, he retrieved a large quantity of soul-forged refined silver from his previous work. Shaping it under his Iceflame Fire, Mu Yang crafted a pair of extremely heavy shackles and manacles for Yue Guan.
Though Yue Guan's strength as a Level 95 Titled Douluo was not weak, once bound with these heavy restraints, his threat was greatly diminished.
The refined silver used to forge the shackles was extraordinarily tough. As Yue Guan was not a fire-attributed Titled Douluo, breaking them would be exceedingly difficult. Moreover, unlike Ghost, who could dissolve into incorporeal form, Yue Guan had no means of escaping quickly from such bindings—unless he were to cut off his own hands and feet.
In addition, this soul-forged refined silver was blood-sacrificed metal belonging to Mu Yang. Through a special bloodline connection, it could reveal Yue Guan's exact location, ensuring there was no chance of him secretly escaping.
Afterward, Mu Yang led the heavily-burdened Yue Guan—now finding even walking difficult—over to find Huo Lie.
"Uh~… what's going on here?"
Glancing once at the peculiar sight of Yue Guan, Huo Lie turned to ask Mu Yang.
"This fellow acted under Bibi Dong's orders, scheming against our academy. I've captured him.
Most likely, Spirit Hall will send people to ransom him later. In the meantime, I'll leave him in your care—make sure nothing goes wrong."
As he spoke, Mu Yang lifted the Soul Capturing Secret Technique.
The instant the secret technique was lifted, Yue Guan's consciousness returned to normal. Seeing Mu Yang and Huo Lie before him, his pupils suddenly contracted in shock.
"Chrysanthemum, you've been captured. Sit tight and wait for Spirit Hall to come redeem you. Don't even think about causing trouble, or I'll make sure you lose that dog's life of yours!"
Mu Yang warned coldly and unceremoniously.
Having fallen into his hands, there was no way Mu Yang would show him any courtesy.
And this was not only a warning, but also a threat.
Mu Yang was by no means a timid person. Back when he did not have power, he had dared to scheme for the Blue Silver Emperor's soul bone and manipulate others to assassinate Tang San. Later, during the Soul Master Tournament, he had even dared to make use of Tang Hao's hand to strike at the Heaven Dou Spirit Temple.
Now that his wings had grown, Mu Yang was certainly not incapable of killing Yue Guan.
At worst, after killing him, he could simply emulate Tang Hao and the Clear Sky Sect—take Shui Bing'er and disappear for a few years. Once his Spirit Fusion Skill's power had advanced to the divine level, then he would return once more.
For additional chapters
Versatile mage {40 chapters}
Douluo Dalu:This Soul Master is to Weird {30 Chapters}
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