What?!
Lordeira, Hu Liena, and Zhang Ping exclaimed in unison.
Impossible!
Su Linfeng hadn't caught a single soul beast—so how could he be the winner?
And Uncle Lordeira, what was this? Before the hunt, didn't you say the rules clearly? Why were you suddenly taking his side?
This didn't make sense!
Zhang Ping, especially, was unconvinced. He's my uncle! Shouldn't he be biased toward me at least?
But an uncle was still an uncle. Even if he cheated, shouldn't he do it reasonably?
Lordeira had personally witnessed Su Linfeng's innate domain terrifying a thousand-year Netherwolf King into collapse. He couldn't speak of it openly because of Bibi Dong's warning, but the fact remained.
No questions!
If you asked, the answer was simple—you lost.
"Enough."
Lordeira said no more, choosing to stop the matter there. "Teachers, hurry and take the students back. This matter is serious—I must report to the Academy immediately."
With that, he raised his hand to silence the still-protesting Golden Generation.
He then helped the other teachers gather the students, giving Su Linfeng a meaningful nod.
He wasn't stupid.
Earlier, Zhang Ping had mentioned that Saintess Bibi Dong was Su Linfeng's "elder sister." Yet he had never once heard that Bibi Dong had a younger brother. But he had heard some rumors.
Ten years ago, Bibi Dong had abruptly vanished from public view, hidden deep within Spirit Hall. Even the Platinum Bishop hadn't known her whereabouts. She only reappeared three years ago, resuming control of Spirit Hall's branches and the Four Great Platinum Bishops.
And she had returned with a child.
This alone was enough to spark suspicion.
Lordeira speculated that in those ten years, Bibi Dong had likely married and borne a son.
And Su Linfeng's age matched perfectly with that timeline.
Most importantly, his hundred-meter Golden Crow spirit—one of the most supreme martial spirits—possessed both extreme flame and radiant attributes. It seemed almost like a mutated form of the Angel Spirit.
So many coincidences… surely they weren't coincidences at all.
As for Qian Renxue, only Qian Daoliu, Bibi Dong, the Worship Hall, and the inner circle of the Pope's Hall knew of her existence. The lower ranks of Spirit Hall knew nothing—Lordeira least of all.
He could only conclude that Su Linfeng's origins were too coincidental to ignore.
But it was still just a suspicion.
And suspicions were not something one spoke aloud—not unless one wanted to die.
"Uncle, what are you thinking about?"
On the way back, Zhang Ping noticed Lordeira's distant expression and asked curiously. "So distracted?"
"Ah, nothing."
Lordeira glanced at Su Linfeng at the end of the line, then leaned closer to Zhang Ping and whispered, "It seems the future of the Golden Eagle Clan will rest on you."
Zhang Ping blinked, then followed his gaze toward Su Linfeng. "Uncle, what do you mean?"
"Don't ask."
Lordeira inhaled deeply, his tone solemn. "Just remember—
That little boy could completely change the future of our Golden Eagle Clan. From now on, you must get close to him."
"Perhaps one day, our clan might even rise to the highest seats of Spirit Hall."
"And if necessary, the clan itself will use… certain methods."
Uh…
Zhang Ping didn't fully understand, but she wasn't stupid either.
She had a rough idea of what "methods" meant. After all, hadn't her own mother used the Golden Eagle Clan's secret methods to "secure" her father? Otherwise, her father's wife might have been Aunt Lingyuan from Spirit Hall instead.
"Achoo—!"
Suddenly, Su Linfeng sneezed from within the group.
Strange.
Why sneeze out of nowhere?
He rubbed his nose, muttering inwardly. Could it be Elder Sister is cursing me behind my back?
Either way, he'd best head home early tonight.
After all, when someone as precious as Bibi Dong was waiting at home, who wouldn't want to hurry back?
In the end, the hunting team returned to Spirit Academy under Lordeira's lead.
The matter of the Valley of Death was promptly reported to Academy Dean Salatu. What happened beyond that would be handled by Spirit Hall.
All that day, Su Linfeng couldn't focus in class. His mind remained troubled, worried about Bibi Dong's unstable Killing God Domain.
After dismissal, he didn't even say goodbye to the Golden Generation. Instead, he rushed straight back to Spirit Hall.
And sure enough—
Just as he feared, when he reached the forbidden grounds, Bibi Dong had lost control again. The courtyard was thick with suffocating bloodlust, cold and overflowing with murderous intent.
Without hesitation, Su Linfeng shoved open the door and leapt straight into Bibi Dong's arms.
The Killing God Domain clashed directly with his Golden Flame Domain.
In an instant—
Murderous intent raged.
Golden fire roared.
An epic battle of ice and fire surged forth!
"Mmhh~"
As Su Linfeng poured his soul power into her, it was like a blazing sun rising in the depths of frozen darkness. Bibi Dong, drowning in the abyss, couldn't help but let out a soft groan as the wild Killing God Domain gradually calmed.
The moment he threw himself into her embrace, Su Linfeng's heart also trembled.
This time, her Killing God Domain was even harder to restrain than before. She must have pushed herself to the limit to shield his aura.
For though her talent was peerless, her current soul power was only at rank 85. To conceal the aura of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, she had to fight with everything she had.
Fortunately, she had not lost control enough to massacre the Sunset Forest, but had remembered their promise: to retreat to the forbidden grounds to suppress it alone.
Thinking of this—
Su Linfeng poured his soul power into her recklessly.
Bibi Dong, her face pained, lifted her eyelids weakly. Her lips trembled as she whispered: "You… you little brat… slower… at this rate, you'll damage your own foundation!"
"Don't worry, Elder Sister! I'll be fine!"
Su Linfeng couldn't care less. After all, this disaster was his doing. If she lost control completely, all their efforts would be wasted.
Bibi Dong's cheeks flushed faintly as she scolded weakly, "Couldn't you… Choose another method? Every time, you just force your way in like this!"
"Elder Sister, are details really what you care about right now?" Su Linfeng retorted.
"…" Bibi Dong.
Half an hour later—
The rampaging Killing God Domain finally dissipated. Bibi Dong had exhausted her mental strength, while Su Linfeng's soul power was nearly spent, his body on the brink of collapse.
"Finally… suppressed."
Bibi Dong, pale-faced, let out a long breath and leaned weakly against the jade pillow. "You little brat… how are you?"
"Huuuuh…"
Su Linfeng, drenched in sweat, flopped down beside her. "So tired… like my whole body's been drained. But honestly… it feels kind of good."
"…" Bibi Dong.
Not normal.
This was absolutely not normal.
'Drained'? You just burned through your soul power! Don't make it sound like something else happened.
If you weren't a child, those words would be very easy to misinterpret.
Still, her irritation flared. She reached out, slapped him lightly on the head, and snapped, her pretty face flushed red:
Get up—you're pressing on my hair.