The distance between Gengxin City and Spirit City wasn't very far. With Sword Douluo and Li Xun's current flying speed, they could reach it in just over half a day.
However, when the two saw the ruined walls of Spirit City and the traces of battle outside from high above, they were somewhat stunned.
They couldn't help but wonder if they had come to the wrong place.
Even cities where Heavenly Dou and Star Luo had clashed didn't seem to have suffered such extensive damage, did they?
At this moment, more than half of Heavenly Dou City's sixty-to-seventy-meter-high walls had collapsed, with nearly ten-meter-thick granite blocks scattered everywhere.
Most of the houses near the city walls inside the city had also been destroyed.
"Did Bibidong summon us here to request reinforcements?" Sword Douluo's eyes flashed with surprise and doubt.
"It doesn't seem like it. These structural damages clearly happened several days ago, and the letter probably took some time to reach us after being passed through multiple channels."
The two didn't linger outside the city for long. After observing for a while, they headed toward Xunyang Pavilion near the Spirit Hall.
Compared to the devastation in the outer city, the inner city was in much better condition, and the closer they got to the Spirit Hall, the less damage there was. By the time they had covered more than half the distance, there were no signs of damage to the shops and houses lining both sides of the street.
"The business is actually quite good."
Standing at the entrance of Xunyang Pavilion, Li Xun watched the bustling crowd and chuckled: "Seems the money spent back then wasn't wasted."
This Xunyang Pavilion established in Spirit City wasn't far from the Spirit Hall. From some of its private rooms, one could clearly see the main gate of the Spirit Hall, making it particularly popular among locals.
Upon entering, the manager respectfully led the two upstairs to a private room that wasn't open to the public.
"Teacher."
As soon as the door opened, Li Xun saw Ning Fengzhi looking out through the window, lost in thought, and couldn't help but speak up to get his attention.
"Uncle Jian, Xiao Xun, please sit."
Startled by the voice, Ning Fengzhi turned around. When he saw it was Li Xun and Sword Douluo, a smile appeared on his face.
He quickly stood up and came to the tea table to pour tea for both of them: "Uncle Jian is fine, but Xiao Xun hasn't returned to Heavenly Dou for nearly two years, and never thought to come back to visit your teacher."
"Rongrong too, never comes back to see her father. In a few more years, she'll probably have forgotten all about me!"
Over the past two years, Li Xun, Ning Rongrong, and their group had either been at Seagod Island or out hunting for Spirit Rings. Even when they returned, they went directly to the front lines, so they genuinely hadn't had the chance to meet with Ning Fengzhi.
Hearing the sour tone in Ning Fengzhi's voice, Sword Douluo couldn't help but laugh: "In a couple of years, you'll probably be holding your grandchild. You'll have plenty to fuss over then."
Li Xun sat to the side drinking tea, smiling along but not joining the conversation.
Now that his teacher had become his father-in-law, he really couldn't be as casual as before. Of course, the main issue actually lay with Zhu Zhuqing and Dugu Yan.
"Really?"
Catching the implication in the words, Ning Fengzhi's eyes lit up: "Good, good, good. It's fine if they don't come back. Just bring the child back when the time comes."
"Wait, no. We should hold the wedding first."
This time it was Sword Douluo's turn to laugh while drinking his tea.
Ahem, Teacher, we've been very busy recently. Matters on Seagod Island aren't finished yet, and as you know about the current situation... let's wait until everything has settled down."
Li Xun wiped the corner of his mouth with his sleeve, then pointed toward the towering Pope's Hall outside the window.
Speaking of Spirit Hall, Ning Fengzhi's smiling expression faded considerably as he nodded. "Now really isn't a good time."
"By the way, Teacher, what happened to Spirit City? When Sword Grandpa and I arrived, it looked like a major battle had erupted outside the city?"
Seeing the successful topic change, Li Xun quickly followed up.
"Beast Tide!"
Ning Fengzhi immediately recounted the events. "It was actually quite coincidental - I had just arrived in Spirit City when the Beast Tide erupted, so I ended up lending them a hand."
"Mainly because those Soul Beasts were too powerful. If Spirit Hall had been defeated, the consequences would have been unimaginable."
Just thinking about the endless Beast Tide and those powerful 100,000-year Soul Beasts made Ning Fengzhi shudder with lingering fear.
Spirit Hall was indeed powerful - the intelligence Li Xun had gathered wasn't wrong. It was that night that Ning Fengzhi witnessed Spirit Hall's full strength.
But even with all their Title Douluo and even someone as powerful as Qiandao Liu, they were at a disadvantage during that battle.
Ning Fengzhi had struggled internally, but thinking of the hundreds of thousands of residents in Spirit City, his heart softened.
"Teacher, you didn't do anything wrong."
Li Xun noticed Ning Fengzhi's inner conflict and comforted him. "If I had been there, I would have made the same choice."
Sword Douluo nodded in agreement.
Although the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School secretly regarded Spirit Hall as rivals, none of them were people without conscience.
Achieving goals by any means necessary might sound impressive when called 'ambitious', but in essence it's no different from being dishonorable.
Even when employing strategies, one must still adhere to their principles.
Receiving affirmation and support from Li Xun and Sword Douluo, Ning Fengzhi clearly felt much better. "Although we repelled the Beast Tide, Spirit Hall suffered heavy losses this time."
"Sea Ghost Douluo, Magic Bear Douluo, and Nihuang Douluo were killed in battle, while the Second Elder Golden Alligator Douluo self-destructed."
"So devastating?" Li Xun was shocked and somewhat puzzled.
With Qiandao Liu and Bibidong backed by Spirit City's continuous support, even facing someone as powerful as Di Tian leading those Soul Beasts from Star Dou Great Forest, the losses shouldn't have been this severe.
"This mainly falls on Bibidong."
Seeing the inquiry in Li Xun's eyes, Ning Fengzhi explained slowly. "For some reason, this Pope Crown didn't appear during the initial stages. The Soul Beasts were indeed very powerful - while Qiandao Liu managed to restrain that dragon Soul Beast, the remaining three 100,000-year Soul Beasts weren't easy opponents either."
"Although that Emerald Swan didn't show much combat power, it possessed extremely strong healing abilities."
"Golden Alligator Douluo had no choice - he was in dire straits himself at that moment. If he hadn't self-destructed, not only would he have perished, but Spirit Hall's casualties would likely have been much greater."
"And coincidentally, several Soul Beasts were injured by Golden Alligator's self-destruction, which laid the foundation for victory when Bibidong finally arrived."
Only now did Li Xun understand the whole story, though even Ning Fengzhi didn't know the details about why the Beast Tide had erupted.
"Teacher, have you met with the Pope yet?"
"Not yet. Spirit Hall suffered heavy losses this time. They were probably grieving over the past couple of days, so I didn't want to disturb them."
Li Xun expressed understanding.
Although Spirit Hall had factions, they were still quite united.
"Shall we wait a couple more days then?"
Since Bibidong summoning them couldn't mean anything good anyway, it was better to wait.
"Let's go now instead, and also see Spirit Hall's current situation." Ning Fengzhi stood up.
Many people knew he was in Spirit City when he provided support that day. Although he had helped Spirit Hall, avoiding them entirely wouldn't be appropriate.
At the entrance of the Spirit Hall, Li Xun presented the Papal Token, and the guards quickly let him pass.
Now the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School had also become affluent—both he and Ning Fengzhi carried a Papal Token each.
They continued walking inward.
Along the way, everyone they saw was in a hurry, and no one had a smile on their face.
It seemed that the loss of four Title Douluos had indeed dealt a significant blow to the Spirit Hall.
Li Xun and Ning Fengzhi did not go directly to meet Bibidong but instead headed straight for the Hall of Offerings.
There was no need to guess that Bibidong's summons would bring nothing good. To avoid unnecessary unpleasantness, it was better to communicate with Qian Renxue and Qiandao Liu first.
A moment later, in front of the Hall of Offerings.
Li Xun met Qiandao Liu, one of the three ultimate powerhouses on the continent.
--Enjoying the story? Want more chapters? Check out my Patreon and support me for 40+ advance chapters.
Just search for "QueenTL" on Patreon!"
Thanks!