She Long's throat bobbed as he swallowed. Looking at the still-calm figure in front of him, cold sweat poured down his back.
"Go back and bring a message to Bibi Dong."
Su Wen spoke in a mild tone without turning around.
"Please speak." She Long cupped his fists, his head lowered. Beads of sweat rolled down from his forehead, into his collar, then dripped onto the grass before him.
"Whatever happened between her and Xunji all those years ago has nothing to do with me. I can't be bothered to dig into it. But there is one thing… That matter back then started because of that piece of trash, Yu Xiaogang. If she dares, while Xunji is dead, to flirt with that waste again, rekindle their old affair, and even bring that waste openly into Spirit Hall… Her entire cultivation back then was taught by Xunji. I wouldn't mind helping my old friend take it all back."
Su Wen narrowed his eyes as he spoke lightly.
But the contents of his words made She Long's hair stand on end. A chill rose from the soles of his feet and shot straight up to the top of his head.
It felt like he had just taken a bite out of some scandal that had been buried deep in Spirit Hall's archives.
It involved the former Pope and the current Pope.
Yu Xiaogang and the current Pope had an affair?!!
No wonder, once his so-called Ten Core Competitiveness Theories were published, they sold out instantly. Anyone above the Soul Emperor level could see they were pure rubbish—just a patchwork of past works by countless predecessors. So the reason they became popular was that Spirit Hall had been pushing from behind the scenes, perhaps even with the Pope herself standing on stage!
"I don't oppose her love with Yu Xiaogang. But if she insists on leading Spirit Hall toward destruction with him at her side, then we'll cripple her cultivation and establish a new Pope instead…" Su Wen finished speaking.
By his side, She Long was already shaking like a sieve.
His face had gone pale.
Why did he have to be the one left behind? Ci Xue could take more of a beating than him!
If he really passed these words to the Pope word for word, he'd probably be a dried corpse by tomorrow…
"You're her trusted confidant. At most she'll just beat you up a bit to vent." Su Wen said with a smile.
She Long: "…"
"That's enough. Just make sure she gets the message."
Su Wen waved his hand leisurely, signaling that She Long could go.
"Yes!"
She Long flew off in a streak of light, his face full of misery.
"How was my performance?"
Su Wen raised an eyebrow and glanced at Little Gold. The massive beast scratched its head, then let out a low roar that sent the surrounding birds and beasts scattering through the forest.
"Sigh, big dumb lug, what do you know…"
"Rooaaar~!!" Little Gold roared in protest.
"When you learn to talk, then you can argue with me." Su Wen grinned.
"ROAAAAAAAAAR!!!" Little Gold's eyes bulged.
Bullying me just because I can't speak human language, huh!
Su Wen clasped his hands behind his back, smiling.
Bibi Dong's anger was inevitable, but even more inevitable was her fear of him. Before she figured out Su Wen's true strength, she absolutely wouldn't act rashly. The situation between Spirit Hall and the Heaven Dou Empire was already tense. If she made a move before wiping out the three upper sects, it would only make Spirit Hall suffer heavier losses and easily push the three upper sects to unite against them.
Bibi Dong was also very aware that these things about her were disgraceful. The ideal outcome for her would be to secretly get rid of Su Wen. But given how unfathomable his strength currently appeared to be, trying to kill him without alerting the Heaven Dou Empire… would be very difficult.
So Su Wen was betting she wouldn't come.
Of course, if she did, that would be even better.
Because that would make his identity more convincing. Someone who once wore the same pants as the Spirit Hall Pope, but now seemed to have developed grudges and conflict with the current Pope. And as they say, the enemy of my enemy is my friend—his status would make sense…
As for whether he could beat her.
Honestly, Bibi Dong, even as an Ultimate Douluo with twin spirits, was absolutely the weakest among all Ultimates throughout history. No contender. Just capturing Da Ming and Er Ming required her to bring a bunch of Titled Douluo and exhaust them in a war of attrition. If it had been Mu En or Qian Daoliu at their peak, they probably could have suppressed them with a flick of the wrist.
And at the tournament, even with several Titled Douluo plus herself, she was still suppressed by a single hammer blow from Tang Hao… Although she hadn't reached the Ultimate level at that time—around rank ninety-five to ninety-seven—it was still quite unsightly.
Tang Hao coughed blood because he was already badly injured.
Right now, before the tournament, Bibi Dong's strength was at most around rank ninety-six or ninety-seven, with the negative side effects of the Asura God's influence. Using her as a tool for his plans—why not?
"Qian Renxue's favorability is up. Next, I just need to pick a few candidates to cultivate into gods…" Su Wen hummed to himself as he headed toward the Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
…
Heaven Dou City.
Flender watched as the Grandmaster rekindled his old romance with the woman he loved. He lit a cigarette and exhaled a long stream of smoke.
He had no choice. For the sake of the academy, he had mercilessly sold out the Grandmaster. Liu Erlong had been searching for that man like crazy, while this guy was still locked away, engrossed in his theories, insisting he would lead the Seven Devils to a higher stage to prove his ideas. When there was such a perfect ready-made soft rice¹ meal right in front of him, instead of eating it, he just had to chase hardship. So he couldn't blame his good brother for helping him out a little.
¹(soft rice = slang for relying on a woman for support)
"Dean, Dean, bad news!"
Dai Mubai rushed over in panic, but was stopped by Flender.
Flender quietly gestured.
"Shh… Can't you see the Grandmaster's in the middle of a romantic moment? It'd be rude to disturb him now. So, what happened?" Flender tilted his chin toward him.
"Little San… disappeared!" Dai Mubai said miserably.
…
Sunset Forest.
Dugu Bo looked with interest at the calm young man in front of him. "Kid, you're the one who broke my granddaughter's poison?"
"…"
Tang San's expression was indifferent.
He glanced at Dugu Bo. "Senior, I want to make a bet with you. How about it?"
"What are we betting?" Dugu Bo asked with a grin.
"I bet I can cure the poison in your body!" Tang San said firmly.
"Oh? And how are you going to do that?" Dugu Bo asked.
"Using spirit bones, and then… OWWWW!!!" Tang San let out a shrill scream as he was sent flying. His previously calm face twisted in terror.
"Damn brat, I'm a Titled Douluo. And you… think you're worthy of betting with me?!!" Dugu Bo snorted coldly.
"As long as you let me borrow this medicinal garden for a while, I guarantee I can detoxify you!" Tang San, his face swollen and bruised, looked greedily at the surrounding immortal herbs.
"Detoxify your ass!"
"Owww…"
…
Two and a half months passed in a flash.
Tang San was given a beating by Dugu Bo, but due to Tang Hao's fearsome strength, he was still let go in the end. Qian Renxue, using her studies as an excuse, began frequently visiting Su Wen. She would only remove her disguise once inside his small house and pour out all her worries and frustrations. The two grew closer and closer, and Qian Renxue became increasingly dependent on Su Wen.
Meanwhile, the six members of the Heaven Dou class also wrapped up their special training for the time being.
Except for Yu Tianheng. Perhaps because of Su Wen's ridicule of Yu Xiaogang that day, Yu Tianheng was quite upset. Or maybe he still held some expectations for Qin Ming. After apologizing briefly to Su Wen, he left early and thus was not included in the special training roster.
Dugu Yan, after taking an immortal herb, went to the Ice Empress for a special training session. Her rank shot up from thirty-nine to forty-three.
The others, under the tremendous pressure of high-intensity training, also successively advanced to the Soul Ancestor realm, and even their martial spirits underwent certain evolutions, gaining elemental attributes.
Bibi Dong never came.
And Su Wen had reached the time when he needed to return to ten thousand years later.
…