At first, Bibi Dong hadn't thought much of it. She had assumed it would be as simple as finding someone to lend a hand.
But now… she realized she had much more to consider.
"Do you think I even have a chance to leave now?" Lin Fan said helplessly. "I've boarded a pirate ship — there's no getting off."
"That's right," came the cold, detached voice of the Rakshasa God. "Since you are aware of my existence, for the successor's safety, the victor survives — the loser dies."
"Rakshasa, that's not what you said before!" Bibi Dong protested quickly. "You only said that if I couldn't get past the Rakshasa's Soul, I could find someone to help me."
"Honorable Rakshasa God," Lin Fan spoke up, "since you say the penalty for failure is death, then as the helper of your successor, if we win, I should receive some sort of reward, don't you think? That would be fair."
He had thought of Zhu Zhuqing and the others helping Tang San and receiving benefits.
"You speak well. A god is the fairest of all. Where there is punishment, there must be a reward. If you truly aid my successor in passing the Divine Trial, you shall receive my reward," the Rakshasa God's will replied.
"If you can assist in every remaining trial, and she successfully inherits the godhood, I can even grant you the status of a God Attendant and entry into the God Realm."
A God Attendant — likely the weakest, lowest-ranked divine official in the realm of the gods. Lin Fan guessed the Rakshasa was one of the eighteen main gods, and therefore had such authority.
"Then, for helping her this time, defeating the Rakshasa's Soul — what reward would I get?" Lin Fan pressed.
It was best to clarify these things in advance.
"A boost to your spirit power or an increase in the years of a spirit ring," the Rakshasa God said evenly. "However, your chance of defeating the Rakshasa's Soul is only one in ten."
"Bibi Dong, start the challenge," Lin Fan said to her.
"You're certain?"
"Certain."
"Rakshasa, commence the Fourth Trial."
The Rakshasa God declared slowly, "Second attempt of the Fourth Trial — begin."
From the dark water below, bubbles began to rise.
Gulu… gulu…
A purple-black miasma surged upward, gathering into the form of a human-shaped figure — neither man nor woman — clad head to toe in armor.
It held a long, purple-black scythe: the Rakshasa's Soul, the opponent for Lin Fan and Bibi Dong's Fourth Trial, like a puppet forged from the Rakshasa God's power.
"Activate the Trial Arena!"
The scene shifted abruptly. Lin Fan and Bibi Dong now stood on an enormous arena platform, the Rakshasa's Soul looming on the far side.
The Rakshasa God hovered in the center, watching.
"You have one minute to prepare. After that, the Rakshasa's Soul will attack," the voice announced.
"Your sole victory condition is to destroy the Rakshasa's Soul."
Lin Fan and Bibi Dong eyed their opponent, motionless at the arena's edge like a stone statue.
"Lin Fan, let me share my experience from last time," Bibi Dong said gravely, standing beside him.
"It's formed entirely from Rakshasa power — it feels no pain, has no senses. But it does carry fragments of the Rakshasa God's battle memory, and its spirit power is not weaker than mine. That's why I lost before."
Hearing this, Lin Fan winced. A flawless body, spirit power equal to both of them, plus the Rakshasa God's combat instincts — a perfect killing puppet.
"Ah, I don't know why I believed you when you said to help you with this. This might be the toughest fight I've ever had," Lin Fan said helplessly.
"Don't worry. If we get through this, whatever you ask for, I'll try to fulfill it," she promised seriously. "I'll take the lead — you work the flanks."
After all, if they failed, Lin Fan wouldn't survive either.
"Hmm. We don't need to be that pessimistic. There's still a sliver of hope. The Rakshasa's Soul is just condensed power. It may have some combat memories, but it has no true intelligence."
"Our biggest advantage is our wisdom. Since we can't overpower it with strength or spirit power, we have to rely on strategy."
"I'll observe from the side and look for its weaknesses," Lin Fan said calmly.
"Alright, then let's begin."
"Begin."
Both nodded, releasing their martial souls and spirit rings.
"Martial Soul True Body!"
Bibi Dong released her first martial soul, the Death Spider Emperor. Her ring configuration: two yellow, two purple, four black, one red.
Her aura and momentum soared, stronger than when she had faced Tang Hao.
Lin Fan followed, releasing the Green Shadow Sword martial soul — one yellow, two purple, six black rings — a weapon he hadn't summoned for half a year.
"I'll draw its attention, you take the flank," Bibi Dong said, immediately unleashing two spirit abilities:
"Seventh Spirit Ability — Martial Soul True Body!"
"Eighth Spirit Ability — Death Spider Emperor Clone!"
Her skin was overlaid with purple-black armor, and the eight spider legs behind her grew to over three meters long, each like a sharpened scythe.
A second Death Spider Emperor appeared at her side — a clone formed from spirit power.
Boom!
With a kick, both she and the clone shot toward the Rakshasa's Soul.
Bang! In an instant, their attacks collided.
Fortunately, the arena was within the Rakshasa's secret realm, created by divine will — otherwise, the ground beneath them would already have shattered.
"Death! Rakshasa! Killing God!" Bibi Dong roared, three different colored domains blooming around her — her three great martial soul domains.
From the very first exchange, she poured out ninety percent of her strength. She knew the Rakshasa's Soul wouldn't hold back either.
The Rakshasa's Soul swept its scythe, unfurling its own Rakshasa Domain.
Their clash was deadlocked — but Lin Fan was already feeling the strain.
The sheer pressure of their spirit power collision was far beyond what a Rank 96 could normally handle.
"Seventh Spirit Ability — Green Shadow Sword True Body!"
Behind Lin Fan appeared a towering, five-meter-tall figure of green wind energy, wielding the Green Shadow Sword.
With the True Body's blessing, his attack power tripled, his speed doubled, and all other spirit abilities were doubled in effect.
"Green Nether Sword Domain!"
A teal aura enveloped the area around him, a dense ghostly mist infusing the domain, greatly amplifying the Green Shadow Sword's attacks.
"Bibi Dong, I'm coming!"
From the flank, Lin Fan charged at the Rakshasa's Soul.
"Fifth Spirit Ability — Sword Shadow Clone!"
"Second Spirit Ability — Draw Sword Slash!"
Boom! In a flash, the Rakshasa's Soul, focused on Bibi Dong, was struck hard from the side and knocked several meters away.
It rolled across the arena floor, but quickly sprang back up.
Its scythe flashed in a cross pattern, two slashing arcs of Rakshasa power sweeping toward both Lin Fan and Bibi Dong simultaneously.