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Just as Bibi Dong felt that strange connection to Xiao Ruier, a Cardinal standing nearby noticed something wrong. He saw that the members of Tianxing Academy had not knelt down like everyone else. His face turned dark immediately.
He wanted to look good in front of the Supreme Pontiff, so he stepped forward and yelled at the Tianxing Academy group.
He asked them how they could be so bold and why they didn't kneel before His Holiness the Supreme Pontiff. This shout was very loud in the quiet square. Right away, everyone looked at Tianxing Academy. Many Spirit Masters from Spirit Hall looked angry too.
However, something happened that surprised everyone. Bibi Dong, who was standing on the high platform, did not get angry. Instead, her sharp eyes became soft. she raised her hand which was decorated with a beautiful ring.
She gently pressed her hand down toward the Cardinal who was trying to impress her. With that one simple move, the Cardinal felt like he couldn't breathe. He looked very scared and showed a lot of respect. He bowed his head low and did not say another word.
Bibi Dong spoke calmly. She said that on the Douluo Continent, there is no rule written down that says people must kneel when they meet the Supreme Pontiff. She looked over the members of Tianxing Academy.
Her eyes stayed on Tang Chen and Xiao Ruier for a moment. She told the crowd that if they didn't want to kneel, they didn't have to. This small comment fixed the problem before it could turn into a fight.
It also showed that she was very confident and kind as the Supreme Pontiff. Bibi Dong did not need people to kneel to prove she had power. Just being the Supreme Pontiff was the biggest symbol of power on the whole continent.
Before the crowd could even think about what she said, Bibi Dong waved her scepter. The scepter was a symbol of her power. Suddenly, three bright lights came out of her sleeve. They grew fast in the air and stayed there.
They gave off a very strong energy that made people's hearts beat fast. The light slowly went away to show what was inside. There were three bones of different shapes. All of them had a very powerful feeling.
One was a right arm bone with fire patterns. One was a skull that had a blue light like water. The last one was a left leg bone with a dark green glow. The red, blue, and green lights shone in the air. Even though it was daytime, the lights were very bright.
These were Spirit Bones. There were three of them. After a short silence, the whole of Spirit City went crazy. Even the people at the bottom of the mountain could see them. These bones are the dream of every Spirit Master. Most people did not know that the prize for the tournament would be three Spirit Bones.
From the way they glowed, anyone could tell they were high quality. Everyone started looking at them with greed. They were breathing heavily because they wanted them so much. Even the people who worked for Spirit Hall couldn't hide their greed. If this wasn't the Supreme Pontiff Palace, people would have tried to steal them already. But there were many Titled Douluo on the platform, so no one moved.
Then, Ghost Douluo Gui Mei spoke. He stood behind Bibi Dong and spoke in a low voice. He told everyone that the three Spirit Bones were the Mind Condensing Wisdom Skull, the Burst Incineration Flame Right Arm Bone, and the Swift Advance Wind Chasing Left Leg Bone. He said they all came from Spirit Beasts that were over ten thousand years old.
He explained that the Wisdom Skull came from a very strong Spirit Beast with over fifty thousand years of cultivation. It was killed by the previous Supreme Pontiff. He said it was a top-grade Spirit Bone and was almost as valuable as a bone from a Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Beast.
When Gui Mei said this, it was like putting oil on a fire. Everyone became even more excited. A Wisdom Skull from a fifty thousand year old beast was enough to make any Spirit Master go crazy. Bibi Dong watched the young Spirit Masters.
She saw that their faces looked a bit strange because they wanted the bones so much. She said that there is only ever one winner. She told them that all three Spirit Bones would go to the team that wins the championship. She said she hoped the top three teams would try their hardest to win this honor.
After that, Bibi Dong explained the rules of the contest. She talked about the five rounds and how the winner would be picked. Her voice filled the square. But most of the young Spirit Masters weren't really listening. They were only looking at the three Spirit Bones in the air. When the ceremony was over, they started drawing lots to see who would fight who. The air felt very tense.
The announcer said that the first round would be Shrek Academy against Star Luo Royal Academy. When they heard this, the Shrek Academy team looked very upset. Dai Mubai especially looked bad. He stood up straight, but then he went stiff. The light in his eyes disappeared. His face turned very pale and then a dark grey color.
He looked like he had no energy left. He hit his fist against his hand and yelled. He asked why they had to fight Star Luo Royal Academy in the first match. He said he thought someone from Spirit Hall was cheating. He squeezed his hands so hard that his nails cut his skin and made him bleed, but he didn't even notice.
Star Luo Royal Academy was where his older brother, Dai Weisi, was. Before, when Tang San and Xiao Wu were with the team, Dai Mubai felt like he could win. But now, everything was different. Xiao Wu was gone, and Tang Hao had taken Tang San away.
No one knew where Tang San was. The whole team was scared. Even Yu Xiaogang was just drinking alcohol because he was so sad. He couldn't help them. Now, only Dai Mubai was left, and he wasn't even a Spirit King yet. He didn't think he could win. He felt like he was just going there to be punished by his family.
According to the rules of his home, the Star Luo Empire, if he lost to his brother, he would lose everything. He wouldn't just lose the right to be king. His spirit power would be taken away, and he would be sent away forever.
All his hard work would be for nothing. Dai Mubai felt very sad and cold. He could feel his brother, Dai Weisi, looking at him from the stands. His brother's gaze was full of mean laughter and a desire to kill him.
While Shrek Academy was sad, the Tianxing Academy area was very quiet and calm. They heard that their first opponent was Divine Wind Academy. Tang Chen just moved his eyebrow a little. He wasn't surprised. Xiao Ruier yawned because she was bored.
Dugu Bo saw that they didn't care much, so he walked over to talk to them. He told them not to be lazy. He said he heard that Blazing Academy and Divine Wind Academy had joined together into one team. He said they did this to try and win the finals.
Tang Chen looked a bit surprised, but then he smiled. He said it was interesting that they joined together, just like what happened in the original story. He said that this time, they were fighting Tianxing instead of Shrek. Dugu Bo was confused.
He asked what Tang Chen meant by "original story." Tang Chen realized he said too much. He waved his hand and said it was nothing. He said that even if they joined together, the result would be the same. He didn't think it would be a real fight.
He wasn't being mean; he just knew how strong he was. He had a Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Ring, so he wasn't worried about them.
Before Dugu Bo could say anything else, a man from Spirit Hall ran over. He looked a bit confused. He bowed to the Tianxing Academy members and spoke loudly. He said that Divine Wind Academy had sent a message. He told them that after thinking about it, Divine Wind Academy decided to quit. They didn't want to fight Tianxing Academy, so they gave up.
Everything went quiet. Tang Chen and Dugu Bo looked at each other. They were both surprised, but then they both smiled. Tang Chen said that now they didn't have to fight at all. They had already moved to the next round. Both of them shrugged their shoulders at the same time. Dugu Bo said the young men from the other team were smart for not trying to fight them.
Right after Divine Wind Academy gave up, the match between Shrek Academy and Star Luo Royal Academy started. They couldn't give up. The referee's voice was very loud because of a spirit tool. He told both teams to enter the arena. Everyone turned to look at the stage.