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The next morning, the first ray of sunlight gently pierced through the window, scattering into the Pope's Palace.
Xuan Ming slowly awoke amidst warmth and fragrance, finding himself still tightly held in Bibi Dong's embrace. The familiar warmth and scent made him feel a little dazed for a moment.
"Little brother, she has forcefully kissed you three times," Ice Dragon King said strangely.
"Can't you be more proactive? You're a man."
"You two kissed four times, and you were passive for three of them."
"Four times?" Xuan Ming was slightly startled.
"Where did the four times come from?"
"Back then in the Supreme Pontiff Palace, oh, you fainted then, so you don't remember, but you weren't completely unconscious at the time," Ice Dragon King said.
Xuan Ming took a deep breath, "How many more things haven't you told me?"
"I thought you knew, but were just too embarrassed to admit it," Ice Dragon King said.
"What do you mean?" Xuan Ming asked, puzzled.
"Didn't you try to run away late at night and get caught by Bibi Dong?" Ice Dragon King said.
"She took out the Nine-tailed Fox Heart Lotus and used it on you. At first, it didn't have much effect, but after she knocked you out, your conscious mind went offline and your subconscious mind came online. You started hugging and kissing her halfway, and you even cried."
"I was just about to come online then, but seeing you like that, how could I?"
"???" Xuan Ming looked utterly bewildered.
"How come I don't know?"
"How dare you say that? If you hadn't actively hugged and kissed her, would I have just watched you get tied to the bed by her?" Ice Dragon King said, speechless.
If Xuan Ming hadn't made the first move, she would have directly taken over and helped him escape!
How could she have allowed Bibi Dong to tie him up in a secret room and do as she pleased?
But he had made the first move!
"Then why did she tie me up again?" Xuan Ming asked, puzzled.
"Because after you made the move, you tried to run away again, you scumbag," Ice Dragon King said, speechless.
This guy was the one who initiated the kiss, but halfway through, he got scared!
He cried and wanted to run, which is why Bibi Dong tied him up.
At the time, she thought Bibi Dong was just going to teach this scumbag a lesson, but who knew such a thing would happen?
"Why didn't you say anything then, and act like that?" Xuan Ming asked, confused.
Ice Dragon King hesitated, "In that situation, how could I say anything?"
"And with your temper, if I had said something, wouldn't your guilt have exploded?"
"You're my little brother, even if you acted like a scumbag, I still have to side with you."
"…"
Listening to Ice Dragon King's words, Xuan Ming's mind was a tangled mess. He tried hard to recall those fragments but couldn't, only feeling a dull ache in his head.
Just then, Bibi Dong slowly woke up. She opened her eyes and saw Xuan Ming's tightly furrowed brows in her arms. She asked with some concern, "What's wrong? Scared again?"
Xuan Ming got up from Bibi Dong's embrace and looked at her with some guilt, "Back then in the Supreme Pontiff Palace, did I… proactively…"
Bibi Dong was slightly startled. She also sat up, tidied her somewhat messy hair, and reached out to pull Xuan Ming back into her arms, "That was my doing; you don't need to feel guilty."
"But I was…"
"Be good, listen."
"…"
…After comforting him for a while longer, Xuan Ming hurriedly left the Pope's Palace to prepare for the competition.
Bibi Dong sat blankly on the bed, sighing softly. Just as she was about to get up and change, the door to the palace was suddenly pushed open, and a figure rushed in impetuously.
"Teacher! I've finished my seclusion!"
Hearing Hu Liena's voice, Bibi Dong immediately felt incredibly guilty. But listening to the rapidly approaching footsteps, she quickly composed her slightly flustered expression, trying to make her voice sound calm.
Hu Liena ran in and excitedly pounced on Bibi Dong, "Teacher, I've mastered the fox fire of the Nine-tailed Sky Fox."
Bibi Dong's eyes flickered slightly, "Is that so? Congratulations."
"Teacher, what's wrong?" Hu Liena buried her head in Bibi Dong's arms and asked, feigning confusion.
"Nothing. I'm planning to go watch Xuan Ming's match later. Do you want to come along?" Bibi Dong quickly changed the subject.
"Okay," Hu Liena still kept her head buried in Bibi Dong's arms, unwilling to get up.
"Teacher, has someone been here?"
Bibi Dong's expression stiffened, "No… no one."
"Really?" Hu Liena hugged Bibi Dong tightly and took a deep breath.
"Then it seems I smelled wrong."
"Yes… yes," Bibi Dong took a deep breath.
"Nana, you go prepare first. I'll take you to watch the match later."
"Mm." Hu Liena slowly released Bibi Dong but didn't leave immediately. Instead, she stood still, her gaze sweeping around the palace, with a hint of subtle scrutiny in her eyes.
Bibi Dong felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze and lightly coughed, "Why aren't you preparing yet?"
Hu Liena smiled slightly, but that smile seemed to hide something else, "Teacher, I'm going now. But please don't forget about the match later."
With that, she turned and slowly walked out of the palace.
Bibi Dong watched her retreating back and let out a long sigh. Just as she was about to get up, she felt a bit tired and sat back down on the bed.
She knew that Hu Liena must have sensed something just now, but simply hadn't directly brought it up.
"What a shame, if you had just tried a little harder last night…"
"He's still a child!" Bibi Dong's face was covered in black lines.
"Oh~ I almost forgot, he's still a child, is he?" Nine-tailed Sky Fox said leisurely.
"But if you don't make a move soon, I feel like certain people will act first."
"If you can't bear it, you can let your precious disciple be the vanguard. I don't think she'd mind you…"
"Scram!"
…Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena.
When Xuan Ming arrived at the Royal Fighting Team's lounge, Xue Qinghe, as the team leader, was explaining the opponents for the upcoming battle and points to note to everyone.
Seeing Xuan Ming walk in, Xue Qinghe paused slightly, and everyone's gaze fell upon him.
"I thought you weren't going to participate in this match," Dugu Yan breathed a sigh of relief.
"What's wrong?" Xuan Ming asked.
"Our opponents for this upcoming match are Blazing Academy, an entire team of fire-attribute Spirit Masters. Their overbearing flames have a strong suppressive effect on Yan Zi's poisonous mist," Xue Qinghe said.
Dugu Yan's highly toxic crowd control and area attacks were indeed formidable, but she couldn't poison invisibly like Dugu Bo. She primarily relied on poisonous mist for crowd control and offense, and poison's effectiveness was greatly reduced against fire, wind, and ice/snow.
In the preliminaries, the Five Element Academy's Blazing Academy, Divine Wind Academy, and Heavenly Water Academy all had a strong suppressive effect on Dugu Yan. control system Spirit Masters were always the core of a team. Once a control system Spirit Master was countered, the entire team would fall into a passive state.
Of course, it wasn't to say that Dugu Yan truly couldn't defeat these people. Her lead in spirit power level, even with a counter, wouldn't have too strong an effect. But if Dugu Yan went all out, the power of the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Emperor Poison would be uncertain.
If she accidentally injured an opponent, or if the opponent was unlucky enough to be poisoned to death on the spot, that would be awkward!
Ye Lingling's Nine Heart Begonia couldn't cure poison!
What's more, this temporarily assembled team inherently lacked coordination. Until now, they had relied on Gu Yuena's powerful assault capabilities and Dugu Yan's strong crowd control to unilaterally overwhelm opponents. If one of these two had a problem, the entire battle rhythm would completely collapse!
Ultimately, the opponents the Royal Fighting Team had encountered so far generally lacked strong abilities. They didn't even have time to coordinate before being unilaterally defeated.
But if the opponents had the ability to resist attacks and interfere with control, even if the Royal Fighting Team was stronger, the huge flaw in team coordination would still be fatal.
"If she's countered, don't you still have her?" Xuan Ming looked at Gu Yuena.
"Me?" Gu Yuena was slightly startled.
"Didn't you tell me not to expose my strength?"
"With your strength as a Spirit Ancestor, you can't possibly lose to them, can you?" Xuan Ming asked, puzzled.
Gu Yuena's strength using her Tool Spirit was almost synchronized with his. The difference was that he also had various powers from his Beast Spirit. But even so, with her strength, against the people from Blazing Academy, plus Zhu Zhuqing and the others, even without any team coordination, they shouldn't be unable to win.
"But if I want to hide my strength, I can't use Spirit Abilities. If I don't use Spirit Abilities, I can't block their fire," Gu Yuena said.
Xuan Ming hesitated, "You mean, you didn't use Spirit Abilities in your previous matches?"
"No," Gu Yuena tilted her head.
"If I use Spirit Abilities, all my spirit rings will be revealed. How can I hide then?"
Xuan Ming fell silent.
He had thought Gu Yuena could reveal as many spirit rings as she wanted.
"Um, in the previous matches, I was the one providing her with buffs," Ning Rongrong raised her small hand.
"She's fierce! As fierce as you!"
She was currently a forty-first-level Spirit Ancestor. The buffs she released were all fifty percent: strength, speed, spirit power, and defense. With her buffs, Gu Yuena was quite fierce even without using Spirit Abilities!
Xuan Ming sighed, "I'll act as a defensive Spirit Master."
"Defense? Not control?" Xue Qinghe asked, puzzled.
Once Xuan Ming's Talent Domain was released, it was full-field control. Even if he didn't intend to expose his strength, even if he activated his Domain with only forty levels of spirit power, it would be enough to cause immense suppression.
"It depends on the situation. If needed, I can also control," Xuan Ming said.
"However, they'll be the main fighters; I won't steal the spotlight."
Xue Qinghe's eye twitched slightly.
Not stealing the spotlight? Do you think I can't tell what you're trying to do?
Suppress first, then elevate!
He had been holding back and not making a move throughout the preliminaries, building up the audience's anticipation. When he revealed his strength in the finals, the impact would undoubtedly be terrifying. If Xuan Ming then caused more trouble, it would be climax after climax!