Word Count: 3,011 Words
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"Sister, aim a little higher. Don't be a maid. Be a concubine."
Yu Mengdi immediately tried to talk Nan Qiuqiu out of it, and Na Na nodded so hard beside her it looked as though her head might fall off. This household could add one more madam if it had to. What it absolutely could not handle was another maid. The competition was already working them to death!
"A concubine... as long as you can save my mother, I'm willing!"
Tears streamed down Nan Qiuqiu's face. She had once been the proud, fiery young mistress of the Earthdragon Sect, striding about with her chin high and her chest out wherever she went, full of swagger and spirit.
But times had changed. Her mother, Nan Shuishui, and many of her fellow sect members were imprisoned by the Sun Moon Empire. To save them, she was willing to give up anything.
A trace of surprise flickered across Ling Bai's brow. He hadn't said a single word, yet somehow Nan Qiuqiu had already promoted herself from maid to concubine? Irritated, he said:
"You two, stop making trouble. Go back and cultivate properly. From now on, Li Jing and Li Ya will handle the tea-serving and water-pouring."
"Ah..."
Yu Mengdi and Na Na dragged out the sound in perfect sync, their voices dripping with grievance and a hundred thousand kinds of unwillingness. Then Ling Bai added another line.
"Whoever reaches Titled Douluo first gets to be Head Maid."
"Got it, Idol/Master!"
The two women vanished upstairs in a blur, racing against time to meditate and cultivate. Neither was willing to lose the throne of Head Maid.
"You all keep talking. I'm going back to sleep."
Ning Fengyu left with a yawn. Clever as she was, she had no intention of involving herself in the Earthdragon Sect's affairs. Soon, only Ling Bai, Nan Qiuqiu, and the mermaid princesses Li Jing and Li Ya remained in the hall.
Nan Qiuqiu stole glances at Ling Bai from the corner of her eye and swallowed nervously. Compared to the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, the Earthdragon Sect was dust before the stars. She didn't believe the few scraps of copper and iron in her sect's treasury had any chance of moving him. The only thing she could offer was herself.
She was indeed fairly pretty, with a sweet face and a delicate figure, but beauties surrounded this Holy Evil Douluo like drifting clouds. He didn't look like the sort of man who would be swayed by a little charm.
Ling Bai stood with his arms folded, his gaze deep and unreadable, as though seriously weighing the pros and cons. Nan Qiuqiu bit her lip. Determined to prove she truly meant to offer everything, she stayed on her knees and shuffled toward him bit by bit. Ignoring the fact that Li Jing and Li Ya were right there, she stretched out her trembling hands toward 'Little Bai.'
Li Ya's face turned scarlet at once. She squeaked and hid behind her sister, inwardly aghast. Humans were actually this bold?!
Li Jing's beautiful eyes flashed with fierce light. Ever since drinking Ling Bai's blood, she had been unable to quiet her mind. She often found herself reliving that sweetness, and while serving as a maid, she would occasionally gaze at him with soft, infatuated eyes. At this moment, she wanted nothing more than to slap Nan Qiuqiu into paste.
Even Ling Bai was startled. Going straight for it was way too aggressive.
Hey now, cut it out! This is a man of integrity you're dealing with! Have some decorum!
He slapped Nan Qiuqiu's shaking hands away and said seriously, "I understand how desperate you are to save your mother.
But they are far away in the Sun Moon Empire, and the entire nation is under martial law right now. Whether we go to save them is one matter. How we bring them out safely afterward is another entirely. All of that has to be planned in advance.
And there is something I'm curious about. Shrek Academy has always claimed to uphold peace across the continent. Shouldn't they be more likely than anyone to agree to rescue the Spirit Masters of the three empires?"
"After I escaped from the Sun Moon Empire, the first place I went was Shrek Academy..." Nan Qiuqiu said through sobs. "The empire's borders are covered with High-Altitude Aerial Surveillance Spirit Guidance Devices. Even Titled Douluo have nowhere to hide.
Because Sunrise City is holding so many powerful Spirit Masters, Xu Tianran ordered the Imperial Dragon Spirit Guidance Legion, one of the Five Great Guardian Hands, to garrison it, and equipped them with five Class 9 Stationary Spirit Cannon shells.
Dean Yan's meaning was that I should return to Dragon City first, while Shrek Academy would convene a Sea God Pavilion meeting to discuss the matter at length..."
In another timeline, the Evil Spirit Masters of the Holy Spirit Cult had been the ones guarding Sunrise City. Now that the Holy Spirit Cult had been nearly wiped out, the Imperial Dragon Spirit Guidance Legion had taken their place.
The Imperial Dragon Spirit Guidance Legion was the Sun Moon Empire's second-ranked Beast King-class Spirit Guidance Legion, surpassed only by the Sun Moon Imperial Spirit Guidance Legion that guarded the imperial palace. It numbered three hundred men, and the minimum requirement to join was Rank 40 spirit power. Its legion commander was Xu Tianyuan, a Class 9 Spirit Guidance Master and a member of the imperial family.
A fully equipped Beast King-class Spirit Guidance Legion was already terrifying enough on its own. Worse still, it had been armed with five Class 9 Stationary Spirit Cannon shells.
Anyone with half a brain could figure out what would happen. If the Imperial Dragon Spirit Guidance Legion discovered that the attackers were too powerful to stop by conventional means, they would simply detonate the shells and drag both the attackers and the imprisoned Spirit Masters of the three empires down with them in mutual destruction.
Ling Bai knew Yan Shaozhe well enough. The old fox only needed to hear Sunrise City's situation once to estimate the difficulty of a rescue, and after that, he would be very reluctant to let Shrek's people enter the Sun Moon Empire with their lives on the line. That so-called 'discuss it at length' was more or less equivalent to 'maybe next time.'
Nan Qiuqiu had left Shrek in disappointment. On the way back to Dragon City, she heard about the Holy Evil Douluo Ling Bai, who had risen to prominence seemingly overnight. Countless factions were sparing no effort in praising him, from withstanding the Space Destroyer Class 9 Stationary Spirit Cannon shell head-on to single-handedly slaughtering the Body Sect's nine Titled Douluo.
Every extra day her mother remained imprisoned was another day of danger. She had met Ling Bai once before during the Spirit Master Tournament. In her desperation, she decided to treat a dead horse like a living one and changed course for Nine Treasure City to seek help.
"I beg you, Holy Evil Douluo..."
Nan Qiuqiu knelt there miserably. Shrek Academy and the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan existed on completely different levels of top-end combat strength. Ling Bai, Jianmu Douluo, Bone Dragon King, Ning Fengya. If all four of these towering mountains refused to help, then the Earthdragon Sect's death sentence might as well have been signed.
"Since Shrek Academy, leader of the righteous path, has chosen silence, the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan has no reason to make a move either..."
Nan Qiuqiu's pretty face turned ashen the moment those words fell. Tears poured down in torrents. After hitting a wall twice in a row, she finally understood: outside Dragon City, the Earthdragon Sect's young mistress was nothing at all.
"However," Ling Bai shifted his tone, "I happen to be heading into the Evildemon Forest to hunt spirit beasts. Since I'm already going, I can stop by Sunrise City and take a look at the situation."
The shock of that enormous joy hit her all at once, like a drowning person being dragged from the water at the very last second. Nan Qiuqiu froze for a full ten seconds before her mind caught up. She hurriedly moved to kowtow in thanks.
"Don't rush to thank me. My price is very high."
Ling Bai smiled faintly and used spirit power to lift her to her feet.
"Everything the Earthdragon Sect has, including me, is at Holy Evil Douluo's disposal!" Nan Qiuqiu said firmly.
"I want the Earthdragon Sect's secret land."
"The secret land?"
Nan Qiuqiu's eyes went wide with shock, not because he was asking too much, but because the price felt so light it barely stung.
The Earthdragon Sect had never even entered that secret land. According to their ancestors, it likely contained Ultimate Ice heaven and earth treasures. The reason Nan Qiuqiu hadn't brought it up herself was simple: Ultimate Ice and the Seraphim were worlds apart. Even if she mentioned it, Ling Bai might not be interested.
"I agree on my mother's behalf!"
Afraid he might change his mind, Nan Qiuqiu accepted without a heartbeat's hesitation.
"It couldn't have been easy escaping all the way here. Li Ya, take Miss Nan to bathe, change into clean clothes, and get something to eat."
"Yes, My Lord."
After the two of them left, Ling Bai let out a soft breath. The Earthdragon Sect's secret land was a Manifold Mysterious Ice Cavern containing vast quantities of the ice-attribute supreme treasure, Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence. He had been drawing cakes in the air for the Snow Empress for years now. It was about time the cake became real.
Of course, agreeing to go to Sunrise City wasn't purely for the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence. Part of the reason was simply that those people were worth saving.
Destroying the Body Sect had thoroughly established his prestige. Everyone in the Heavenly Soul Empire now feared the Holy Evil Douluo showing up at their door to 'check the water meter.' But the best way to win hearts was always to pair might with grace.
The Spirit Masters of the three empires imprisoned in Sunrise City all belonged to the advanced academies and great sects that had participated in the tournament. Their gratitude would be extremely valuable and would surely prove useful in the future.
Before setting out, Ling Bai stopped by the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan's Spirit Guidance Hall to see Demon Dragon Douluo Lin Jiaran.
The Class 9 Spirit Guidance Master was so busy she could barely breathe. Jianmu Douluo's Class 9 pill furnace, Ling Bai's special Spirit Guidance Device, the high-grade spirit tools for the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Clan's Spirit Guidance Legion, and her dream project, Crimson Dawn. Teacher Lin complained daily that her parents should have given her at least two extra pairs of hands.
To speed things along, she had even dragged Ning Tian in as forced labor. The poor girl spent no fewer than twelve hours a day buried at the Spirit Guidance workbench.
Ling Bai found Lin Jiaran somewhere in a mountain of blueprints and, as leisurely as if placing a breakfast order, issued a new task:
"Teacher Lin, add a separation device to the spirit power collector. Split spirit power of different attributes apart, fuse spirit power of the same attribute together, and that will make it easier to purify into attributeless spirit power.
Raise the efficiency as much as possible. Even though it's only dissipated spirit power from the Spirit Dueling Arena, a twenty-five percent conversion rate is nowhere near enough."
"Oh."
Lin Jiaran rolled her eyes so hard they nearly left their sockets. That m-fking slave driver of a boss! She was a dignified Class 9 Spirit Guidance Master, yet he worked her like a production line mule day in and day out!
…
High in the sky, Ling Bai flew while gripping the back of Nan Qiuqiu's collar, carrying her along like a dangling chick.
Bathed, fed, and in clean clothes, the twenty-year-old girl once more radiated the bright freshness of youth. Those lively eyes struggled against the fierce wind whipping past as she twisted around to look at Ling Bai and said weakly:
"Your Holiness Holy Evil, we're almost at the border between the Heavenly Soul Empire and the Sun Moon Empire. That whole area is covered with High-Altitude Aerial Surveillance Spirit Guidance Devices. We're supposed to be sneaking in to rescue people. Isn't this a little too conspicuous?"
"The rescue plan has three steps. Guess what they are."
Nan Qiuqiu shook her head blankly. A moment later, Ling Bai's clear voice drifted down from above.
"Step one: Break into the Sun Moon Empire and kill the Evil Emperor
Step two: Save your mom.
Step three: Leave the Sun Moon Empire."
Nan Qiuqiu hesitated slightly. "I understand the logic, but... did you just make a 'your mom' joke?"
"Don't sweat the details."
Ling Bai smiled faintly. He had already spotted the High-Altitude Aerial Surveillance Spirit Guidance Devices floating in the distant sky.
His fourth spirit ring blazed to life. Ten Thousand Blades Radiant Glory descended from the heavens, holy sword qi pouring down like a rain of gold. Explosion after explosion rang out as fiery red blossoms burst across the sky one after another. In a matter of seconds, every surveillance device within a ten-mile radius was swept clean from the air.
Nan Qiuqiu sucked in a sharp breath. The sea was a Sea Spirit Master's home ground. The sky was the Seraphim's domain. Before Ling Bai, those surveillance devices were pitifully fragile, cleared away like so much rubbish.
She could not help remembering how she had hidden underground, painstakingly studying the operating patterns of those surveillance devices and suffering every kind of hardship before finally slipping past their watch and crossing the border.
The instant the aerial network was erased, the Sun Moon Empire Spirit Guidance Legion stationed on the ground reacted. They unleashed anti-air spirit cannon fire in an attempt to blast Ling Bai from the sky. A second wave of brilliant golden sword rain answered them.
BOOM, BOOM, BOOM!
One man against an entire legion, yet Ling Bai forcibly seized firepower superiority. Ten Thousand Blades Radiant Glory pierced through one massive Spirit Guidance Device after another. The Sun Moon troops guarding the frontier suffered grievous casualties, and corpses littered the ground.
By the time they had barely survived that indiscriminate barrage, the dust-covered legion commander looked up to see only a streak of golden light shooting deep into the Sun Moon Empire.
Ling Bai crossed the border with ease, his objective clear from the start: the Evildemon Forest.
The Seraphim's ninth spirit ring and skull spirit bone would push his spirit power to another level entirely, making the rescue of Nan Shuishui and the imprisoned Spirit Masters of the three empires far more secure.
The edge of the Evildemon Forest had once served as the Holy Spirit Cult's headquarters. Having spent two years as the Death Abyss Deputy Cult Leader, Ling Bai was fairly familiar with the forest's layout.
He set Nan Qiuqiu down outside the Evildemon Forest and instructed her to stay hidden. Then he flew alone toward the forest's core, his voice rolling across the sky, cold enough to freeze bone:
"Evileye Tyrant Emperor! Take to the sky and face me!"
Killing the Beast God Di Tian might have weighed on Ling Bai's conscience. The Evileye Tyrant Emperor, however, truly deserved to die.
Without its permission, the Holy Spirit Cult could never have established its headquarters beneath the Evildemon Forest. In truth, the Evileye Tyrant Emperor and the cult had long since reached a tacit understanding. The Holy Spirit Cult built its underground base and enjoyed the beast's protection. The price was a regular offering of blood sacrifices.
The entire Evildemon Forest seemed to shudder violently. A terrifying spiritual power, vast as a mountain range, descended without warning.
"Who dares disturb this sovereign's slumber!"
As that low voice thundered forth, the sky itself began to twist and warp. Pitch-black clouds slowly split to either side, and a gigantic eye materialized in midair, its gaze fixed squarely on Ling Bai.
The Evildemon Forest was the Evileye Tyrant Emperor's domain. Those violent spiritual fluctuations drove every spirit beast in the forest flat to the ground, not one of them daring to move so much as an inch. They had sensed their ruler's monstrous fury.
The instant that spiritual power blanketed everything, Ling Bai felt an indescribable pressure close in around him. Each of the Ten Great Beasts excelled in a different area. The Golden Eyed Black Dragon King Di Tian ranked first in overall strength, but in the realm of spiritual power, the Evileye Tyrant Emperor was the unquestioned sovereign.
Its mastery of space was no weaker than Di Tian's either. It had completely fused spiritual power with spatial force, and its fluctuations alone were stirring up a spatial storm!
Ling Bai beat his six angelic wings once and shot straight into the clouds. The Evildemon Forest was home to countless spirit beasts. At his level and the Evileye Tyrant Emperor's, a battle fought on the surface would inevitably turn the forest into a graveyard. He had no wish to slaughter innocent spirit beasts, so he chose the sky as his battlefield.
His brilliant golden hair turned the ashen gray of death. The Death Abyss Spider Lances replaced his angelic wings as he switched to the Death Abyss Spider Emperor. Ling Bai gripped the Death Abyss Demon Scythe in his left hand, and nine overwhelmingly striking spirit rings surged into existence around him.
The Spiritual Storm disintegrated beneath the sweeping aura of the Death Abyss Spider Emperor. A colossal spirit beast pursued him into the high sky: a gigantic eye more than three hundred meters across, bloodshot veins crisscrossing its surface. Eighty-one tentacles grew from around that enormous eye, each one stretching over five hundred meters in length, lashing wildly through the open air.
The continent's second Great Beast. The Evileye Tyrant Emperor!