Word Count: 2,941 Words
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Nan Qiuqiu's mental state had completely shattered. She never expected Ling Bai to abandon Shrek Academy and strike out on his own.
Even more outrageous, he had already broken through to eight rings! That overwhelming aura clearly belonged to no freshly promoted Spirit Douluo; his spirit power fluctuations surpassed even her own mother's!
An eight-ringed Seraphim with three 100,000-year spirit rings. Fighting this inhuman freak...
One innocent, carefree little girl quietly crumbled to pieces!
Nan Qiuqiu's breakdown stirred a flicker of sympathy among the Sun Moon Empire's citizens. Scattered cheers of encouragement for the Earthdragon Sect rose from the stands.
"Qiuqiu, it's fine, really!"
Nan Shuishui approached the competition field's edge, her face bearing a smile. "Don't give up. Sparring with a powerhouse will benefit you!"
Her daughter had been spoiled rotten by the entire sect, developing the temperament of a willful little demon. As her mother, Nan Shuishui hoped someone could polish away those rough edges.
The Earthdragon Sect's founder had created a face-reading art passed down through successive sect masters. Nan Shuishui studied Ling Bai carefully, but his features seemed veiled behind a layer of gray mist, impossible to read clearly, appearing both righteous and evil.
Everyone knew the Seraphim was the continent's most sacred Martial Spirit. How could it possibly be evil!
Therefore, it must be a case of being so righteous it appeared evil!
Ling Bai hailed from the ten-thousand-year-old Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan and studied at the continent's premier Spirit Master academy, Shrek. Few on the entire Douluo Continent could match his righteous credentials!
If Ling Bai had intended harm, Xu Shenshu and the Wind Dragon Spirit Master would have died eight hundred times over. He was simply competing normally, with no intention of injuring anyone.
Nan Shuishui was sending her 'little sapper' Nan Qiuqiu to solo the final boss, the Seraphim. A few more beatings and the little demon would learn her place.
Nan Shuishui was the only person who could keep Nan Qiuqiu in check. The girl sniffled and turned trembling toward Ling Bai.
He stood with arms crossed, the holy and pure illusory Seraphim behind him radiating divine light for all the world to see.
The wind whistles cold on the Yi River; the warrior departs, never to return!
Nan Qiuqiu summoned her courage. A sharp dragon's cry pierced the air as a pink dragon form flashed and vanished. Her five spirit rings blazed to life in succession, and from the very first move she held nothing back!
Pink light condensed at her fingertips, swelling in an instant to the size of a human head. She flung it toward Ling Bai, the orb brimming with the Rouge Dragon's unique attribute: Annihilation!
Annihilation was formidable in the extreme. Upon impact, it could erase an opponent's attributes while causing devastating effects. Moreover, Annihilation couldn't be countered by any attribute, Ultimate attributes included.
The pink orb expanded at a frightening rate during flight. A violent boom erupted as it detonated, pink radiance spreading twenty meters wide. Another massive blast followed immediately, the chain explosions doubling the Annihilation light's range.
Countless motes of light converged into an Angel Sword. Ling Bai hadn't even completed his Martial Spirit Manifestation. One casual slash, and the chain-exploding Annihilation orb was cleanly bisected!
Incomparable, overwhelming power! Nan Qiuqiu couldn't begin to comprehend that sword strike's might. Outwardly simple, utterly unadorned, yet it seemed to carry an indescribable spiritual intent. Before the Angel Sword, her full-power Annihilation looked as fragile as rice paper.
She remained immersed in savoring the Angel Sword's intent, like aged wine growing richer with each taste. She forgot entirely that she was in the middle of a match. Ling Bai noticed her standing dazed in place.
No matter. If she wouldn't move, he would. His body became a golden streak and shot straight forward.
It's over!
By the time Nan Qiuqiu realized her opponent had vanished, it was already too late. Sword light brilliant as stars filled her pupils. Her mind went completely blank. She staggered backward, plopped onto her rear, and clutched her head:
"Don't hit me! Don't hit me! I surrender!"
Nan Qiuqiu and the word 'toughness' shared no common ground. Absolutely unwilling to suffer physical pain, she shouted her surrender without an ounce of hesitation.
The sword light receded. Nan Qiuqiu gasped for air like a survivor pulled from drowning, while the referee quietly wiped the sweat from his brow when no one was looking.
All preliminary referees were eight-ringed Spirit Douluo. Who could have anticipated that a tournament restricted to contestants under twenty would produce such a bug, a contestant stronger than the referee himself!
The referee silently vowed to report this to the organizing committee. Angelic Sanctuary required special arrangements. They needed a Titled Douluo referee!
This was the first time in Nan Qiuqiu's life she had been crushed so utterly by a peer that she couldn't even fight back. Her eyes reddened and tears welled up, spinning in their sockets. Then a slender hand entered her field of vision.
She looked up to see Ling Bai standing before her with hand extended, lips curved in a gentle smile.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"Hehehe, I'm fine, I'm fine! You're amazing!"
Nan Qiuqiu seized his hand and pulled herself up. She was a die-hard appearance enthusiast, and Ling Bai's looks devoured her whole. Every trace of grievance and anger evaporated on the spot, replaced by a silly grin fixed on their clasped hands.
Yahoo! Not washing this hand for a year!
Ling Bai helping Nan Qiuqiu to her feet wouldn't have mattered on its own, but the gesture instantly overturned several vinegar jars!
Nanmen Yun Er and Xie Huanyue's teeth chattered as they shivered. The surrounding temperature plummeted to Extreme North levels. All four girls radiated dark, ominous energy.
Over at the Sun Moon Imperial Academy's section, Xiao Hongchen restrained his sister Meng Hongchen, whose eyes had turned crimson and whose IQ was in freefall, consoling her miserably:
"Sis, sis, calm down!
That's just friendship first, competition second! Brother-in-law, ah, he's kind!"
"Yuhao, I can feel that Ling Bai's cultivation is only a single step from Titled Douluo. He's probably Rank 89..." Wang Dong Er said, her expression grave.
"That shouldn't be possible. He was only Rank 79 at the Sea God Fated Blind Date Festival. How could he advance so quickly..."
Huo Yuhao was baffled. Even 100,000-year spirit rings and spirit bones combined couldn't boost a Spirit Douluo by nine ranks. He racked his brains but couldn't fathom how someone's spirit power could climb an entire major realm within three months.
"Your Highness."
On the imperial platform, Prince Regent Xu Tianran was watching with great interest when Zhongli Wu's voice suddenly dropped low. "The Seraphim is the Holy Cult's mortal enemy. After the tournament, we must grind his bones to dust!"
"The Imperial Preceptor's enemy is the Empire's enemy," Xu Tianran replied with a light chuckle. "Since he dared come, let him be buried in Sun Moon forever."
With Nan Qiuqiu defeated, Nan Shuishui had no masochistic interest in sending more people to be slaughtered. She took the stage and conceded on the Earthdragon Sect's behalf. Angelic Sanctuary claimed all twelve points and advanced to the second round.
...
The Continental Youth Elite Spirit Master Grand Tournament's first elimination round lasted a total of three days. Half of the one hundred sixty-seven teams were eliminated, and the Bright Moon Hotel grew noticeably emptier.
Every team that survived the first round received upgraded accommodations. Under what felt suspiciously like being served a last meal, the organizing committee assigned Angelic Sanctuary to the top-floor sky villa alongside Shrek Academy. Everyone now had their own private room.
That night, Wu Feng had her long crimson hair swept up in a high ponytail. Deft fingers found their practiced rhythm as she bit her full red lip and asked:
"Let me ask you something. Are you and Sister Qiuxi actually blood siblings?"
Ling Bai's eyes narrowed slightly. "Why the sudden question?"
"When she looks at other people, her gaze is ice-cold. But the moment she looks at you, it softens instantly. And it doesn't seem like she's looking at a younger brother. It feels... closer than that."
"...Did you come up with this yourself, or did someone else put it in your ear?"
Wu Feng was far too easy to read, a straightforward soul whose likes and dislikes were written across her face. She shouldn't possess this kind of insight.
"The night before last, Ning Tian mentioned she thought you two seemed a bit strange. But she wasn't serious about it. Looked like she was just talking off the top of her head."
Wu Feng's curled lashes fluttered as she studied him at close range. "Scared me half to death! I thought I was the one who'd been exposed!"
Ling Bai's vision went dark. Has it occurred to you that maybe you have been exposed too?!
Whether in appearance or methods, Ning Tian was gradually following in her mother Ning Fengya's footsteps. Wu Feng's sticky, clingy little glances that couldn't hide a thing had never fooled Ning Fengyu in the past, and they weren't fooling Ning Tian now either.
She was using Wu Feng as a messenger to probe the true nature of his relationship with Ling Qiuxi!
"Qiuxi and I are siblings. At least to the outside world."
"Mm... mm..."
Wu Feng had stopped listening entirely, seeking Ling Bai's touch with reckless abandon.
Ever since breaking through to Ultimate Fire, she seized every opportunity to slip into Ling Bai's room and absorb Angel Essence.
Ultimate attributes dramatically slowed cultivation progress between Ranks 30 and 70. Stuck at the awkward Spirit Emperor rank, Wu Feng found her cultivation crawling along even slower after her Martial Spirit's evolution than during her Red Dragon days. Her mind turned one corner and locked onto the solution: Angel Essence.
Ling Bai himself embodied Ultimate Fire, making his Angel Essence the equivalent of miniature Blazing Rubber, perfectly compensating for Wu Feng's sluggish cultivation.
Late that night, Ling Bai left Wu Feng sated and slipped out of the Bright Moon Hotel alone. He headed for Linglong Pavilion, proceeding unimpeded all the way to the top floor, where he happened to run into Ye Guyi outside the door.
He was about to greet her when Ye Guyi pressed a finger to her lips and beckoned him closer, whispering:
"You're back! Aunt Yu is getting an earful right now."
Sure enough, as he drew near the door, Jianmu Douluo's muffled roar seeped through from inside.
"Ning Fengyu! The plant essence I taught you, you could use it fluently ten years ago! Now you've gone and forgotten every last bit!"
Jianmu Douluo stared at the pitiful green sapling Ning Fengyu had conjured, old blood lodged in his throat.
Back at the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, Ning Fengya had always kept Ning Fengyu pinned to her side, leaving Jianmu Douluo no opportunity to test his nominal disciple. This time, he had traveled to Mingdu to watch over the younger generation of geniuses, while Ning Fengyu returned to manage Linglong Pavilion. Today, a whim struck him to evaluate her skills, and the result nearly shaved twenty years off his life.
Jianmu Douluo bristled, beard and eyebrows alike. "You two brats, stop lurking out there and get in here!"
Ling Bai and Ye Guyi pushed open the door and adopted their most obedient expressions. Jianmu Douluo launched back into his eloquent tirade while Ning Fengyu hung her head and weathered the storm. Every so often she would glance up, roll her neck, do a little spin, and inspect the ceiling. Embarrassment colored her features, certainly, but she was far from suffering...
Once Jianmu Douluo talked himself hoarse, Ning Fengyu displayed excellent tact by pouring him a glass of water and cooing:
"Teacher, don't be angry. Anger is terrible for your health~
You're the continent's foremost plant-type Spirit Master. The more I study your plant essence, the more profound and unfathomable it becomes. See? I've simply returned to simplicity..."
Jianmu Douluo's eyes bulged. Before the old man could erupt, Ning Fengyu pressed on, "I swear to the heavens, I'll cultivate diligently and never stop working to comprehend the plant essence!"
"You'd better!
If not for Xiao Bai, you'd have angered me into an early grave!"
Jianmu Douluo swept out of the room in a huff.
The instant the old man was gone, Ning Fengyu melted into the sofa like a boneless fish without a single dream in the world. She stretched out her words in a lazy drawl:
"Xiao Bai Have some fruit"
Ling Bai tossed her a bright red fruit and eyed her with suspicion. "From what Teacher said, you can't use plant essence anymore?
Last time in the Valley of Life, that Daughter of Life you evolved from Teacher's plant essence was quite impressive."
Ning Fengyu munched away, her words half-muffled. "Pfft, it's all about lowering the old man's expectations. As long as I commit to the useless persona, I can dodge a mountain of hassle and keep on leeching off the generation above me and the generation below me while I coast through life!"
That actually makes perfect sense!
Ye Guyi was dumbstruck by this bizarre logic. Ling Bai, meanwhile, suddenly understood why he had turned out the way he did. Spending his childhood glued to this woman and her bottomless bag of tricks was precisely why he could no longer call himself pure and innocent.
Ning Fengyu flashed the grin of a scheme come to fruition and nibbled her fruit at leisure. "Pretty clever, right?"
"Clever, but you celebrated too early. Twenty million in hush money, or I tell Teacher everything."
"You, you, you!!!"
Ning Fengyu pounded her chest and stamped her feet, awash in regret. The student had surpassed the master! She felt as though she had been flung back ten years, right into the era when she and Ling Bai had loved and tormented each other in equal measure!
Ye Guyi watched, dumbfounded, as Ning Fengyu produced a gold card the very next second, grinding her teeth with the expression of a hamster whose nuts had been stolen.
Ling Bai didn't feel so much as a flicker of guilt. Linglong Pavilion had absorbed the Common Alliance's entire fortune and smuggled countless rare metals and Illustrious Virtue Hall Spirit Guidance Devices. The reason Ning Fengya never paid her sister a single coin was precisely because she knew Ning Fengyu was swimming in wealth.
"Stop playing poor over pocket change. What did you call me here for?" He cut straight through her act.
The humor drained from Ning Fengyu's expression the moment business was mentioned. She retrieved an invitation from her Storage Spirit Guidance Device:
"Mingdu's underground forces are hosting a spirit guidance tournament. Only the winner earns the right to smuggle rare metals and Sun Moon Spirit Guidance Devices.
Three major underground factions currently remain: the Duskwater Alliance, the Alto Chamber of Commerce, and Linglong Pavilion."
"Smuggling can be done in the open now?" Ye Guyi asked in disbelief.
"Yes. The Sun Moon imperial family has sanctioned it. They'll even send a Class 9 Spirit Guidance Master to preside over the finals."
Ning Fengyu let out a long sigh, worry threading through her azure-gold eyes. "The Alto Chamber of Commerce isn't much of a threat. Their overall strength falls short of even the former Common Alliance. The Duskwater Alliance, though, has rallied a host of Evil Spirit Masters with ties to the Holy Spirit Cult, backed by Dragon Emperor Douluo himself.
If we were in Nine Treasure City, Big Sister could support the old man, and one of him would be worth two of them. We'd never fear the Duskwater Alliance. But Mingdu is their home turf. This tournament's opening ceremony made it plain as day: Evil Spirit Masters and the imperial family are in bed together...
In principle, we're free to participate. But who controls the principles? The Sun Moon imperial family...
I strongly suspect that regardless of who wins the spirit guidance tournament, the Evil Spirit Masters intend to wipe out both Linglong Pavilion and the Alto Chamber of Commerce."
"How dare Evil Spirit Masters act so brazenly!"
Ye Guyi's fury erupted. Her turquoise eyes blazed to life in an instant. "If they want to destroy us, then we'll destroy them first!
Aunt Yu, I can make Spirit Guidance Devices! Let me represent Linglong Pavilion against the Duskwater Alliance!"
The Holy Angel's innate sense of justice would not permit Ye Guyi to stand by and watch!
"That won't work. Their primary target is Xiao Bai, but the Holy Angel is just as high on their kill list. Guyi, your current strength isn't enough to contend with the Holy Spirit Cult's Evil Douluo."
Shangguan Wei Er might send Ye Guyi to her death. Ning Fengyu would not. Certain lines had to be held.
Ling Bai spoke. "The spirit guidance tournament's true purpose is the Sun Moon Empire's desire to bring the underground forces to heel, especially the top-tier factions involved in smuggling rare metals and high-level Spirit Guidance Devices.
Combined with every other clue, it all points in one direction: the Sun Moon Empire is preparing for continental war.
One must secure the home front before waging war abroad. To the Holy Spirit Cult and the Sun Moon imperial family alike, Linglong Pavilion is a thorn in the eye and a splinter in the flesh. Guyi's reasoning isn't wrong.
Aunt Yu, Linglong Pavilion can't survive in Mingdu any longer. We might as well go big."
"How big, exactly?"
"Destroy the Holy Spirit Cult."