The next day, in just one night, news of Tianlin's wedding fiasco—crashing the Crown Prince's wedding and taking the bride—spread across the continent.
Bad news travels fast.
Xue Beng's reputation was in tatters. Even though Emperor Xue Ye called it a misunderstanding, everyone could see Shui Bing'er was the victim.
A noble using power to force a marriage was nothing new, but Xue Beng's luck was terrible—he ran into Tianlin, his lifelong rival, who had just broken through. The result: losing both the bride and his plans.
At the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Tianlin finished his morning training under the sunrise. He hadn't had time to stabilize his surging spirit power since yesterday's breakthrough, but after a night of meditation, everything was now settled.
"Xiao Tian, you're finally a Titled Douluo! Things will be much easier for us now," Skydream Ice Silkworm laughed, content with Tianlin's strength—he could now walk the continent unchallenged.
"Brother Skydream, but it's not that simple. Now that I've broken through, I have even more to do—completing the God Trials, visiting Slaughter City, and taking Tang Chen to see Bo Saixi as promised."
"Are we setting off right away?" Skydream asked.
Tianlin shook his head. "No rush. I'm confident, but not arrogant. The Slaughter King may not be the same as Tang Chen, but he has all Tang Chen's rings and power—definitely at the Ultimate Douluo level. If I fight him now, it'd be hard to win quickly—even if I destroyed Slaughter City, it'd be a stalemate. I don't want the hassle."
"So, what's your plan?" Skydream asked.
Tianlin thought for a moment. "I want to visit Star Dou Forest and try to recover my Spirit Pearl or Divine Sword. If I can find the other pearls, or reclaim the Demon-Suppressing Sword, I'll definitely be able to defeat Tang Chen!"
"Not a bad idea. But, Xiao Tian, let me remind you—Di Tian's power is above normal Ultimate Douluo. Even now, your odds against him aren't high," Skydream warned.
"I know. That's why I need to find the right opportunity. Yesterday, I made a big show of offending the Empire and displaying my strength—not just to break ties, but also to send a message to Spirit Hall."
"My father-in-law wants to show that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is now at odds with both the Empire and Clear Sky Sect—giving Spirit Hall the perfect time to found a nation."
"As for me, I want Bibi Dong to notice my rapid progress and feel the pressure. When I let Chrysanthemum Douluo and the others go during Xiao Wu's incident, it was to let them inform her about the Azure Bull Python and Titan Giant Ape. Bibi Dong needs those soul rings for her second martial soul."
"If she hears I'm going to Star Dou Forest after reaching nine rings—and with twin martial souls—knowing the locations of both forest kings, she'll assume I'm after them for my Spirit Pearl. She won't sit still, since she wants those two rings."
"During the original Xiao Wu incident, the two god beasts were pinned down at the start, and Di Tian didn't care about the human Xiao Wu, so he didn't come. But I don't think he'll ignore the two forest kings."
Skydream understood. "You… you want Bibi Dong and Di Tian to fight, so you can reap the benefits?"
"Exactly. I don't want to face Di Tian head-on yet. My real targets are Scarlet King, Zi Ji, and Bi Ji. If I'm right, the fire, water, and wind pearls are with them. While Di Tian and Bibi Dong fight, I'll recover the three pearls—the three soul beasts aren't my match now," Tianlin explained. "My only concern is the Thunder Pearl."
"The Thunder Pearl? I remember there's no thunder-type soul beast among Star Dou's top beasts. Where do you think it is?" Skydream asked.
"No, there's one—actually, she's all-attribute. But the pearls are too powerful, so even she can only use one to train or heal. She'd choose the Thunder Pearl, since it's least useful to the others. She's the soul beast queen—Silver Dragon King!"
Tianlin's words made Skydream realize. "Right, I forgot about her—she's at god level, even badly injured, she's still not easy to deal with."
"For now, I'll focus on getting the other three pearls. As for the Thunder Pearl and Demon-Suppressing Sword, I'll think of another way!" Tianlin said seriously. No matter what, he would recover his Spirit Pearl Divine Sword, even if it took a lifetime.
…
Spirit Hall.
Bibi Dong was both pleased and worried by last night's news. She was glad the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had broken with the Empire.
Now, without the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect holding them back, Spirit Hall could use high-level Soul Masters for decapitation strikes against the Empire.
The Clear Sky Sect's Titled Douluo below rank 95 and the Empire's Soul Douluo couldn't stop Spirit Hall's assassins. If she wanted, Bibi Dong could kill all the Empire's leaders herself.
In the original, Tang San and his Sea God Trident stopped her, but now Tang San was dead. Bibi Dong could rampage through the Empire unhindered.
But she was also worried—although the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was no longer allied with the Empire, it was still hostile to Spirit Hall. Most concerning, the boy she feared most had broken through to Titled Douluo, with the title Holy Demon.
Back when Tianlin was only a Soul Sage, he could suppress ordinary Titled Douluo and, summoning both gods, fight Super Douluo. Now, after becoming a Titled Douluo himself, his strength probably matched hers.
With his astonishing speed of improvement, he might soon surpass her. By then, even if she defeated the two empires, she would struggle against a fully grown Tianlin.
Ever since her hatred had lessened—due to Hu Liena and Qian Renxue—she found her Rakshasa God inheritance slowing down.
She couldn't become a god soon, and Qian Renxue's progress was surely slower than Tianlin's. Bibi Dong's only option was to surpass the Ultimate Douluo level, then kill Tianlin before he completed his god inheritance.
Her advantage was her twin martial souls, allowing nine extra rings. But Tianlin also had twin martial souls and knew the two forest kings' locations. If he got those rings first…
Bibi Dong grew anxious. "No, I must act quickly!"
The Soft-Bone Rabbit had already been snatched—she couldn't lose the forest kings.