When Bibi Dong finished speaking, Lordeira froze slightly. He wasn't stupid—he understood her meaning clearly.
Joining Spirit Hall came with conditions: rein in your curiosity. Don't ask what you shouldn't. Don't speak what you shouldn't.
Otherwise, not only would he never enter Spirit Hall, but from her tone, it sounded like even his entire Golden Eagle clan might be implicated.
Su Linfeng also realized the problem.
Could it be that his release of the hundred-thousand-year aura had alarmed the Worship Hall? This was the first time he had ever seen Bibi Dong so tense.
"Mm."
Bibi Dong nodded in satisfaction, then waved at Lordeira. "Step aside for now."
Lordeira took one look at Su Linfeng, then sensibly withdrew into the forest.
"Elder Sister…" Su Linfeng started.
"Hmph!"
Bibi Dong snorted coldly, her tone sharp with anger: "You little brat, were you trying to scare me to death?!"
"Fortunately, I covered your aura in time with my Killing God Domain. Otherwise, the Titled Douluos of Spirit Hall would have sensed it, and you would have been doomed."
Uh…
That was careless.
Su Linfeng scratched his cheek with a sheepish grin. He could still feel how unstable Bibi Dong's Killing God Domain had been.
Her face might be cold and severe, but every word carried unmistakable concern for him.
"Elder Sister, I know I was wrong."
Like a guilty child, Su Linfeng lowered his head in apology. "I'll remember this. Next time, I won't casually expose my soul beast aura."
"You still want there to be a next time?!"
Bibi Dong glared at him, torn between anger and helplessness. "If there is, I'll eat you myself first!"
Just as Su Linfeng had sensed, what weighed on her most was the fear of him being exposed.
He was only six years old. Mistakes were inevitable, as was the arrogance that came with youth.
But this was Spirit Hall, a place crawling with powerful predators. Su Linfeng was like a lamb penned in with wolves. Any slip would see him devoured. Other children could flaunt their arrogance—but he could not.
Taking a deep breath, Bibi Dong's tone turned stern. "It's best if you've learned your lesson. Go back quickly, before others grow suspicious."
"Elder Sister, what about Teacher Lordeira?" Su Linfeng asked.
"Don't worry. He knows very well what to do—and what not to do."
The slight curve of Bibi Dong's lips eased his worries completely.
She was no mere figurehead. She knew how to manage people.
Su Linfeng nodded, then glanced at her again. "Elder Sister, your Killing God Domain… it lost control again?"
Bibi Dong's eyes narrowed, but she said nothing.
Still asking? As if you don't know the reason yourself?
"Heh…"
Su Linfeng chuckled. "Don't worry, Elder Sister. Remember to wait for me at home. I'll be back early tonight."
With that, he turned and sprinted back toward the valley's entrance.
"…"
Bibi Dong stood frozen, watching his departing back.
What did he just say? "Wait for me at home, I'll be back early tonight."?
This little brat was sounding less and less like a child.
At the entrance to the Valley of Death—
Hu Liena paced anxiously before the iron fence, glancing repeatedly toward the depths of the valley.
It had been nearly half an hour.
Lordeira and Su Linfeng still hadn't returned. Could something have happened to them?
"They're here—it's Su Linfeng!"
Zhang Ping, whose eyesight was sharp, spotted two figures approaching from a distance: one tall, one small. Her face lit up. "See? I told you! With my uncle there, Su Linfeng was never in danger."
Their return drew every student and teacher forward in relief, all clamoring to know what had happened in the northern forest.
Su Linfeng, having learned his lesson, shoved all questions squarely onto Lordeira's lap.
And Lordeira, now drunk on the joy of being invited into Spirit Hall, walked as though floating. His chest puffed proudly, even looking down slightly on the other instructors. He wasn't even officially part of Spirit Hall yet, but he was already putting on airs.
On the way back, he had rehearsed his story.
He simply recounted that during the hunt, they had encountered a fifty-thousand-year Death Demon Spider—and an even stronger beast beyond that.
"A fifty-thousand-year Death Demon Spider?"
One teacher's face drained of color. "How could such a beast appear in the outer valley?"
"Exactly! Aren't Death Demon Spiders only found in the deepest magma zones?"
Another added anxiously: "And you're saying there was a beast even stronger than that? Don't tell me it was the rumored hundred-thousand-year Death Spider Emperor?"
The murmurs rose to a din.
Who would have thought the "cleansed" Valley of Death was still so perilous? No wonder the lesser beasts had panicked and fled deeper in—this was the real reason.
Still, they all silently thanked fate that the two great beasts hadn't appeared in the southern zones.
Otherwise, the consequences would have been catastrophic.
Clearly, all future hunts would have to be suspended, and Spirit Hall itself notified. Only a Platinum Bishop—or even Titled Douluo elders—could deal with such threats.
"Why are you all looking at me like that?"
Lordeira lifted his chin. "If that stronger beast hadn't appeared, this saint would've taken action. Don't believe me? Ask Su Linfeng."
Almost at once—
Every eye turned to Su Linfeng.
He glanced up at the arrogant golden eagle, silently fuming. All I asked was for you to cover for me. Now you're bragging too?
Take action? You?
A rank-70 Soul Sage against a fifty-thousand-year beast?
And not just any beast—a top-bloodline Death Demon Spider!
Even a Golden Eagle spirit was just a high-level martial soul, not top-tier. Against such a monster, he'd have been slaughtered.
Still, though annoyed, Su Linfeng played along and nodded.
"Phew! So it was only a false alarm."
Hu Liena finally exhaled in relief, then glanced at Su Linfeng's empty hands. Clearing her throat, she asked, "Linfeng… you didn't catch a single soul beast, did you?"
"Then that means I won!"
Zhang Ping finally realized, her face lighting with triumph. She looked at Lordeira eagerly. "Uncle Lordeira, can you announce the results of the hunt now?"
"Call me by my title!"
"Uncle Title," Zhang Ping replied without missing a beat.
"…" Lordeira.
"…" Everyone else.
"Ahem… habit, habit."
Zhang Ping grinned sheepishly, then proudly reported: "This hunt ended early, but I still did well—five ten-year beasts, three thirty-year beasts, and one fifty-year beast. That's thirteen points in total."
"Su Linfeng—"
"You lost."
Before Su Linfeng could speak, Lordeira cut in with a cold snort.
No, Su Linfeng retorted quietly, you lost.