"Xiaogang, please listen to me!"
"The one who wiped out your Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan wasn't me, and it wasn't Spirit Hall either!"
"It was someone else entirely!"
Staring at the man before her, whose face was twisted in hatred and fury, Bibi Dong felt her heart ache. She rushed to explain:
"When your clan was exterminated, I was in Spirit City the entire time—I never left."
"Everyone in Spirit City can attest to that."
"If you don't believe me, you can go and ask them."
"I really wasn't the one who did it!"
Bibi Dong was close to tears with frustration.
But in response to her explanation, Yu Xiaogang only sneered.
"Sure. Maybe you weren't the one who personally annihilated my Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan."
"But as the Supreme Pontiff of Spirit Hall, do you really expect me to believe you wouldn't order someone else to do it?"
"Bibi Dong."
"In terms of cultivation talent, I may truly be inferior to you."
"But when it comes to intelligence, I—Yu Xiaogang—am second to none!"
His eyes still burning with anger and grievance, Yu Xiaogang spat his words coldly and mockingly.
"Xiaogang!!"
Seeing that he refused to believe her no matter what, Bibi Dong's heart sank in sorrow. Her voice trembled with pain.
Yet Yu Xiaogang remained unmoved, his voice raspy and expression frigid.
"Bibi Dong, you can leave now."
"You don't need to pretend anymore. I won't be fooled."
"One day, I will avenge my Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan!"
With this, Bibi Dong could only clench her fists, overcome by grief and indignation, and lower her head in defeat.
Even though his words were harsh, and even though she had been falsely accused, she could understand his pain.
The massacre of his entire clan—his family—must have devastated him.
And as the Supreme Pontiff of Spirit Hall, hers was the only known force on the continent capable of erasing the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan without leaving a trace.
She couldn't blame him for suspecting her.
Still, even if he didn't believe her, Bibi Dong wasn't about to give up.
After leaving Yu Xiaogang's dormitory, she drew a deep breath and came to a decision.
Xiaogang's lifelong dream was for his Martial Soul, Luo Sanpao, to evolve.
If she could help him achieve that—help Luo Sanpao evolve—he would have to believe she wasn't the one responsible for the destruction of his clan.
After all, if she were truly the culprit, why would she help him achieve his dream?
And maybe, just maybe, he'd forgive her.
Maybe they could finally be together.
But Bibi Dong herself had no idea how to help Luo Sanpao evolve.
However, she knew someone who might.
Ye Yu—that mysterious youth who could evolve the Blue Silver Grass into a Blue Silver Emperor.
If he could evolve such a trash-tier Martial Soul…
Then surely, he could help Luo Sanpao evolve too!
This thought ignited a dangerous idea in Bibi Dong's heart:
She would capture Ye Yu—and force him to find a way to evolve Xiaogang's Martial Soul!
But now wasn't the right time.
Ye Yu was currently under the protection of Dugu Bo, the Poison Douluo.
And due to her ongoing trials for the Rakshasa God's Nine Trial, she could only exert the power of a Rank 95 Title Douluo.
Not enough to seize Ye Yu from Dugu Bo without alerting anyone.
She would need a better plan.
Meanwhile, in the Dugu Residence—
After continuously refining the Spirit Power, life essence, and bloodline origin returned by the External Spirit Bone: Demon Willow Fluff, which had consumed the Sun Fusang Tree, Illusory Star Dragon, Golden-Winged Thunder Dragon, and the Enchanting Spirit Fox…
Ye Yu's cultivation finally broke through to Rank 70—Quasi-Spirit Sage.
"I finally broke through!"
Sensing the breakthrough, Ye Yu's handsome face lit up with satisfaction.
Now that he had reached Rank 70...
It was time.
One of his Demon Willow Fluff spirit bones had been parasitizing Tang San for over a year now.
It was time to open that box.
To see whether he could successfully absorb and integrate the Blue Silver Emperor bloodline from Tang San.
If successful, he would be able to generate a Spirit Ring from his own bloodline.
And obtain the most optimal Seventh Spirit Ability: Martial Soul True Body!
With that, Ye Yu infiltrated Shrek Academy, quietly observing Tang San's habits.
He noticed that, every night after dinner, Tang San would take a walk alone in the academy's forest.
Ye Yu couldn't help but smirk at the opportunity practically being handed to him.
And so, that evening—
Ye Yu silently hid himself in the rear mountain forest of Shrek Academy, along the path Tang San always passed through.
Tang San, unaware of any of this, was still nursing heartbreak.
His beloved Xiao Wu still remained by Ye Yu's side. The mere thought of it filled him with despair.
As usual, after dinner, Tang San wandered alone through the woods, trying to clear his mind.
Suddenly, he felt a breeze behind him.
Instinctively sensing danger, he turned—but too late.
Ye Yu struck him squarely on the back of the neck with a precise knife-hand chop.
Tang San collapsed, unconscious.
"Got him."
Clapping the dust from his hands, Ye Yu grabbed Tang San's wrist.
In moments, the parasitic Demon Willow Fluff inside Tang San extended fine silken tendrils that linked back to the mother body within Ye Yu.
Soon, the Demon Willow Fluff began to transfer the Blue Silver Emperor bloodline essence it had slowly siphoned from Tang San over the past year—into Ye Yu's body for storage.
Since discovering the spirit bone's ability to devour bloodline origin, Ye Yu had ordered the parasitic spirit bone inside Tang San to begin slowly extracting his Blue Silver Emperor bloodline.
But unlike with spirit beasts, Ye Yu didn't intend to drain Tang San dry.
If the entire bloodline were extracted at once, Tang San would likely die.
So Ye Yu kept it subtle: the Demon Willow Fluff would only absorb a little each day, allowing Tang San's body time to replenish.
Now, with the stored bloodline essence fully transferred into the mother Demon Willow Fluff, Ye Yu ordered the parasitic version to retract its tendrils and return to masquerading as an ordinary spirit bone.
With the operation a success, Ye Yu left Shrek Academy satisfied and undetected.
Hours later—
Tang San awoke on the forest floor, his head aching.
Touching the back of his neck, he winced in pain as he stood.
Trying to recall what happened, he quickly realized—
Someone had ambushed him.
But strangely, after checking himself over, he found nothing missing. No injuries. No signs of trauma other than the neck pain.
So… why had someone knocked him out?
What did they want?
Tang San couldn't begin to imagine…