Four figures followed behind Bibi Dong as she walked.
On the left walked two men. One was shrouded head to toe in an ethereal, obscuring light that hid every feature of his face. Beside him stood a man with skin as smooth and delicate as a newborn's, his features almost unnervingly beautiful, marked by a prominent Adam's apple. These were Bibi Dong's two Title Douluo—Ghostly Demon and Moon Guard.
On the right walked two more familiar faces. One was Sword Douluo Chen Xin, dressed in white, bearer of an innate sword bone, whom Xiao Se had crossed paths with before. Beside him was Ning Fengzhi, sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. The moment the pair took in the scene—only Xiao Se, Qian Renxue, Liu Erlong, and Ning Rongrong left standing in a sea of kneeling bodies—they exchanged a glance, brows furrowing in unison.
They'd known Spirit Hall's reach was formidable. They hadn't expected it ran quite this deep.
Bibi Dong made her way slowly toward the VIP platform. As she passed Xiao Se and Qian Renxue, her beautiful eyes flickered toward him for the briefest instant. He returned the gesture with a small nod and a faint smile.
The angle of the platform, fortunately, kept the exchange hidden from everyone else.
Once in position, she gave her scepter a light wave. "Rise."
The crowd rose as one.
A faint smile touched her regal features as her gaze swept across the twenty-one competitors gathered below.
After a few words of encouragement, she gave the scepter another gentle flick, and three Soul Bones materialized in the air before the crowd: the Wisdom Skull of Spiritual Focus, the Right Arm of Blazing Detonation, and the Left Leg of Swift Advance.
Pale blue, fiery red, and deep green light rippled off the bones, drawing every eye in the plaza. Even several of the Title Douluo present couldn't quite mask a flicker of hunger in their gaze. Only Xiao Se, Bibi Dong, and Hu Liena—long since desensitized to hundred-thousand-year Soul Bones—along with Qian Renxue, who already possessed her own Angel-class set, remained entirely unmoved.
"There can only be one champion," Bibi Dong announced. "And to that champion go these three Soul Bones. I expect every one of you to fight with everything you have—show us your true skill."
The moment she finished, the crowd erupted into cheers once more, the roar only dying down after she'd tucked the bones away again.
Then the draw began.
The first match, unsurprisingly, pitted Star Luo Royal Academy against Shrek Academy.
Before the match, Dai Mubai dropped to one knee in front of the crowd. "Everyone—please, give me a moment."
Surprise flickered across the faces of the other Shrek members. For all his time spent chasing women in brothels, Dai Mubai carried himself with a deep, stubborn pride. Seeing him kneel like this was baffling.
"Mubai, what's gotten into you?" Tang San asked.
The Shrek Academy of today bore little resemblance to the tight-knit group from before. Between Oscar's humiliating entry into the academy, Zhu Zhuqing's decision to leave with Xiao Se, and the fallout from that drunken bayonet brawl, the once-unified Seven Devils had drifted into near-total estrangement. These days, only Tang San and Dai Mubai—who'd fought side by side more than once—maintained anything resembling a real friendship.
"I'm the second prince of the Star Luo Empire's royal family," Dai Mubai said. "And Davis, captain of the opposing team, is my own brother." With that, the long-buried secret of his royal blood spilled out into the open.
A ripple of understanding passed through the group, followed by quiet sighs at the sheer brutality of royal rivalry.
"Xiao Ao. Fatty." His voice thickened. "I know I've wronged you both. Hit me, curse me, treat me however I've treated you—I won't fight back. Rongrong, I'm sorry for every cruel word I've ever thrown at you. Xiao Wu, I know you've never approved of who I am, but I swear I'll change after this. Xiao San. Tai Long. This is my last shot. I'm begging all of you."
His bulky frame trembled as he spoke, voice cracking near the edge of tears. Ever since his martial soul had mutated and Zhu Zhuqing had walked away with Xiao Se, he'd more or less made peace with his fate. But now that the moment had actually arrived, he found he couldn't accept it after all. He didn't want to die. Didn't want his cultivation crippled. Didn't want to spend the rest of his life as a broken man.
The other six fell silent at his words.
After a long pause, Tang San extended his right hand, holding the gaze of Dai Mubai's narrowed, unsettling eyes, and said two quiet words: "We'll win." It wasn't for Dai Mubai's sake—he simply wanted the Wisdom Skull, and the strength it would bring him.
Ma Hongjun stepped up next, shooting Dai Mubai a hard glare. Like Tang San, his eyes were on the prize too—the Right Arm of Blazing Detonation might as well have been forged specifically for him. Xiao Wu, Ning Rongrong, Tai Long, and Oscar followed suit. None of them held any particular warmth for Dai Mubai, but each of them carried an unbreakable will of their own. Whether it was for the win or for the bone, none intended to hold back.
When Dai Mubai's hand finally clasped the others', Oscar's whole body shuddered with revulsion—but he swallowed it down and didn't pull away. All seven voices rose together: "Victory!"
The bootlegged Seven Devils walked onto the arena as one, Tang San leading the line, the group falling silent as they took their positions. Dai Mubai's strange eyes went wide, his expression graver than anyone had ever seen it, fixed straight ahead.
Across the arena, the seven members of Star Luo Royal Academy filed in, Davis and Zhu Zhuyun at the front.
Up in the VIP section, seated beside Qian Renxue, Xiao Se watched the scene unfold with a spark of dark amusement. He lifted his right hand, index and middle fingers pressed together in a small seal.
A jolt shot through both Zhu Zhuyun and Davis, as if struck by lightning, freezing them mid-motion for a heartbeat. Davis recovered first, easing into his usual lazy slouch, a mocking smile spreading across his face as he looked at Dai Mubai.
"Mubai. It's been a while." His voice dripped with contempt. "Never thought you'd sink this low. Honestly, it's hard to even look at you. Do yourself a favor—get off the stage now. Might spare you a little of the humiliation."
"Cut the act, Davis. Today it's either you or me. If you've got the nerve, come knock me down first."
"With that ape-and-tiger abomination of a martial soul?" Davis's smile curdled into something crueler, contempt plain in every word.
"You—!" Dai Mubai's face flushed red, the words catching in his throat. The ape-tiger fusion had haunted him for years, a wound he could never quite close. Calling himself the Evil-Eyed White Tiger had always been something of a lie he told himself—deep down, he knew exactly what he'd become: the Evil-Eyed Ape-Tiger, grotesquely bloated, seething with malevolent fire.
Just as Dai Mubai's temper was about to snap, Tang San's voice cut in evenly from beside him. "Mubai. Why waste your breath on him? Strength decides this, not words. Let's see how loud he's talking once we've beaten him."
"You're Tang San?" Davis's gaze slid over to him, unbothered.
Tang San gave him a single glance, then said nothing further, waiting instead for the referee's signal.
What happened next turned the mood in the plaza to ice. Davis cleared his throat, drew on his soul power to amplify his voice, and let it ring out across every corner of the arena. "Ha! Everyone, take a good look! This is Tang San of Shrek Academy—son of the Clear Sky Douluo, Tang Ritian! Along with my dear brother Dai Mubai and that fat lump Ma Hongjun, the three of them are known as the Shrek Three Disgraces. Drunk out of their minds, they got into a bayonet brawl—and Tang San here decided to drive his bayonet straight through his own teacher Yu Xiaogang's Moon Crafting Gate!"
(End of Chapter)
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