As soon as Yu Xiaogang finished his angry warning, Bibi Dong vanished from the high platform and appeared right in front of him.
With soul power forming a claw-like hand, she grabbed him by the neck.
"Just you?"
"A failed martial soul mutation, a man who'll never surpass Spirit Grandmaster, dares threaten me?"
"Do you think the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan will protect you? Or are you relying on Tang Hao's Clear Sky Clan?"
"If Spirit Hall truly wanted to erase your existence, it would be as easy as crushing an ant."
"If not for the fact that we once knew each other… just your words now would be enough for you to die without even a grave."
Bibi Dong's voice was cold and bone-chilling. After she finished, she threw Yu Xiaogang heavily to the ground.
"Bibi Dong! From today on, all ties between us are severed! Just a twin martial soul issue? I will find a solution on my own!" Yu Xiaogang shouted through clenched teeth.
"Severed ties?" Bibi Dong's tone turned mocking. "Yu Xiaogang, you give yourself too much credit. We were finished twenty years ago."
"Guards, show him out. And make him leave the Pope's Decree."
Her words were calm, but her authority was absolute.
"Yes, Your Holiness!"
"Please leave."
At her command, six guards entered and surrounded Yu Xiaogang.
"Hmph." Yu Xiaogang slammed the decree onto the floor, turning around and walking away.
Bibi Dong glanced down at the token, flicked her fingers, and a wave of soul power shattered the Pope's Decree into dust.
She returned to her seat and closed her eyes, lost in thought.
Outside, as Yu Xiaogang exited Spirit Hall…
"Go, go, let's get this over with! I couldn't say anything back inside with Her Holiness present, but now? I can't hold it in anymore," one of the guards growled to his companions. "Brothers, let's teach this disrespectful old bastard a lesson!"
"Yeah! That trash Spirit Grandmaster dared raise his voice to Her Holiness, and even smashed the Pope's Decree in the hall! That's an insult—not just to the Pope, but to all of Spirit Hall!"
"What—what are you doing?!" Yu Xiaogang panicked, but before he could react, a fist landed squarely in his eye.
"Don't kill him. Just rough him up a bit. We don't want a corpse at Spirit Hall's front gate." The guards descended on him, beating him without restraint.
Moments later, they dragged him out and dumped him in the middle of Spirit Hall Plaza.
"Damn it... Mere guards dared to humiliate me like this. I'll remember this!" Yu Xiaogang gritted his teeth, staggering to his feet and limping away.
"Another one with a death wish. Thought he could mess around at Spirit Hall, and now he's limping away. Too bad they didn't beat him to death," bystanders muttered, pointing and whispering.
Yu Xiaogang's expression turned darker than ever.
Meanwhile, back with Lin Fan's group…
After crossing the gorge and traveling across the plains, three hours later, they arrived at the city gates of Spirit Hall City.
By this time, dusk had settled in. The horizon glowed with the last light of the day.
The carriage convoy was stopped by Spirit Hall gate guards for identification checks.
"Let them through," the lead guard said.
However, under Crown Prince Xue Qinghe's instructions, the Heaven Dou Royal Knight Regiment stayed outside and set up camp just beyond the city.
"What a lively and magnificent city."
"Yeah, soul masters are everywhere on the streets. It is worthy of being called the sacred ground of the soul master world."
"Alright, now that we've arrived at Spirit Hall City, keep a low profile and don't wander off." Flender reminded Oscar and the others.
The convoy continued through the streets until it reached a hotel near Spirit Hall Plaza.
Hotels lined both sides of the square, operated by the same business. By Spirit Hall's arrangement, Heaven Dou Empire's teams were housed on the left side.
Lin Fan and the others didn't see Star Luo Empire's team, suggesting they were assigned to the opposite hotel.
When they stopped in front of the hotel, sixteen teams disembarked from their carriages.
"We finally made it. What a journey," Fatty (Ma Hongjun) sighed.
Over a hundred people gathered at the hotel's front square.
"Not easy at all, especially sitting next to you, Fatty. You stink!" Oscar groaned after enduring the month-long journey.
"Hey! You dare say I stink?! I'll stink you to death!" Fatty pounced on Oscar, wrestling with him.
"Ugh… we haven't bathed in days," Xiao Wu pouted.
"Xiao Wu, we need to be careful here. This place is unfamiliar, filled with powerful soul masters. Let's keep a low profile." Tang San could already tell Xiao Wu was getting ideas and tried to rein her in.
"Alright, cut the nonsense. Crown Prince Xue Qinghe has something to say," Flender quickly urged everyone to be respectful.
Shrek Academy's students were lively and unrestrained—very different from the other academy teams, who were much more reserved.
As representatives of the Heaven Dou Empire, they now had to listen to Crown Prince Xue Qinghe's instructions.
Standing on the steps in front of the hotel, Xue Qinghe addressed the students:
"Everyone, you've traveled long and far to reach Spirit Hall City. You have my deepest thanks."
"You represent the Heaven Dou Empire in this competition. The Empire has arranged for two full hotel floors exclusively for your use. All expenses will be covered by the state treasury."
"My father and I both believe you'll do well in this elite tournament. Of course, everyone wants the championship, but remember—your future is more important than one title. Do your best, but stay safe."
"That's all. I know you're tired—get some rest. You have three full days to recover before the tournament begins."
After the speech, he led the students into the hotel and assigned rooms to each academy.
Lin Fan, observing Xue Qinghe's poise and demeanor, couldn't help but note:
"He's displaying the leadership expected of a crown prince. He learned well from Emperor Xue Ye and Ning Fengzhi."
Each hotel room was quite large.
Lin Fan was grouped with Tang San, Ma Hongjun, and Oscar, while Liu Erlong took the girls (Zhu Zhuqing, Xiao Wu, and Ning Rongrong) into another room.
Flender's room doubled as Shrek Academy's temporary meeting hall.
"You've all traveled for nearly a month. Rest well," Flender told the group.
"Headmaster, didn't Teacher Yu come to Spirit Hall City ahead of us? What if he can't find us?" Tang San asked.
"Don't worry," Flender replied. "Xiaogang's a smart man. We've made quite a commotion on our way here. He'll find us soon enough."
"I'm just worried about his safety," Tang San added. "With his strength, I'm not sure he'd be okay if he encountered trouble."
"Flender… we've been here over an hour already. You don't think something happened to him, do you?" Liu Erlong, affected by Tang San's concern, also asked.
"Ugh…" Flender looked uncertain.
After all, Yu Xiaogang had traveled alone from Heaven Dou City to Spirit Hall City. The journey was long and dangerous, and he was only a Spirit Grandmaster. If he'd run into bandits or worse…
Just then, Yu Xiaogang appeared at the door, bruised with three visible injuries on his face.
He's here… He finally showed up.
Almost partied too hard this weekend, whew.