Douluo; Zhongli Adventures in Mortal World with Paimon

Ghost Doulou glanced at Yan twice before flashing away and disappearing.

He understood Yan's meaning, but people kept saying things like "Ghost knows…"

He, Ghost Doulou, truly didn't know!

To clear up the misunderstanding, he had come out to clarify the situation.

Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan exchanged glances, momentarily setting aside the issue with Ghost Doulou to review why they had lost.

"I didn't choose to attack head-on with Liena at the time. Instead, we used a hit-and-run strategy to avoid direct confrontation with Tang San. This approach was quite effective."

Xie Yue wasn't foolish. Facing a Clear Sky Hammer with four purple rings and one black ring, only an idiot would charge in recklessly.

Though he had never fought disciples of the Clear Sky Clan, he had heard of their reputation.

He had to admit, the Clear Sky Hammer was truly formidable in terms of raw power.

"Our plan was to suppress him with our domains and mental interference, forcing him to sustain continuous injuries and ultimately defeat him."

"But we didn't expect something like that to happen…"

"That rabbit, is she crazy? It was just a competition, and she actually performed a sacrificial offering?"

Even as an "enemy," Hu Liena couldn't understand Xiao Wu's actions and cursed out loud.

It was simply dishonorable combat.

Their strategy had no flaws.

The only problem was Xiao Wu, an anomaly.

The energy field produced by her sacrifice forcibly disrupted their Martial Soul Fusion technique.

Had they been able to maintain the fusion, even Bibi Dong might not have forced them to surrender.

Unfortunately, Martial Soul Fusion techniques had cooldowns and couldn't be used twice in a short time.

"Ugh, if I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have bothered with Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun first, I should have taken out that rabbit right away."

Yan scratched his head, feeling regretful.

This was on him.

"Yan, this wasn't your fault."

"That rabbit has teleportation ability…"

"Wait, teleportation?!"

The three of them froze for a moment before their eyes lit up.

"If her spirit ring or spirit bone contains this ability…"

"Then the Heaven Dou Royal Academy is in trouble."

"Is it possible that Her Holiness had us surrender just so the Heaven Dou Royal Academy would suffer this disadvantage?"

Yan muttered under his breath, feeling like he had stumbled upon an important clue.

Avoiding a fight with Tang San meant keeping his hundred-thousand-year spirit abilities and spirit bone skills a secret.

That was a total of four skills, having teleportation among them made perfect sense.

If the teleportation was from a spirit ability, it would be tied to Tang San's Blue Silver Emperor.

But if it was a spirit bone skill, then Tang San could suddenly teleport while wielding the Clear Sky Hammer, who could possibly withstand that?!

"Ahem…"

Xie Yue shook his head, maintaining a neutral expression.

"This is just our speculation. We know nothing."

After saying this, his face became solemn, realizing why Bibi Dong had made this decision.

Hu Liena and Yan caught on immediately, nodding in agreement.

If Shrek won the championship, the Spirit Hall had ways to retrieve the championship rewards.

But if the Heaven Dou Royal Academy won… who would dare retrieve those three spirit bones from the Body Sect?

Even Grand Worship Qian Daoliu treated Zhongli as an honored guest.

The Second Worshiper of the Spirit Hall, who didn't tolerate Bibi Dong, showed Zhongli great respect.

If those three spirit bones ended up in the Body Sect, they might never be retrieved.

Inside the Pope's Hall, Bibi Dong shook her head and murmured, "People say Yan is brainless… but if even he could figure this out, do you think others won't?"

That's right, this was an open scheme.

The spirit bones were right there.

If the Heaven Dou Royal Academy could win, they could take them.

If they couldn't win, they couldn't blame the Spirit Hall.

A moment later, faint black patterns surfaced on Bibi Dong's face before quickly fading away. Eventually, silence returned to the Pope's Hall.

••••

"Xue'er, it's been so many years, and you've grown into a fine young lady."

Qian Daoliu stroked his beard with a smile.

Even as he spoke, his gaze shifted toward the Angel Statue.

Recently, he had been pondering a crucial question, should Qian Renxue inherit the Angel God's position?

The Angel God had already fallen, and its divine seat was now held by another deity, an enemy deity.

If Qian Renxue inherited the Angel God's power, would she be controlled by the opposing deity?

Would she be left with a hidden weakness?

At this thought, a flash of killing intent passed through Qian Daoliu's eyes, but he quickly restrained it.

With Zhongli around, he wasn't afraid of being "monitored."

However, Zhongli was not here at the moment.

Lately, Zhongli remained unchanged, as he always had.

"Grandfather!"

Qian Renxue gazed at the unchanged figure of her grandfather, her heart filled with complex emotions.

Over the years, she had tread carefully in Heaven Dou City, always wishing her grandfather were by her side.

She was well aware of Qian Daoliu's love and care for her.

Hearing her voice, Qian Daoliu snapped out of his thoughts.

Since Zhongli had said he would be present for the Angel Nine Trials, there should be no problem.

"Xue'er, how are things progressing in Heaven Dou City?"

This was a matter he had carefully considered before agreeing to let Qian Renxue undertake.

Had she stayed in Spirit City, though he could protect her from harm, he couldn't shield her from Bibi Dong's hostility.

And it wasn't just hostility, Bibi Dong wanted to kill Qian Renxue at every opportunity.

After weighing the pros and cons, he decided to send Qian Renxue away.

Keeping them apart was the best solution.

Hearing his question, Qian Renxue paused, surprised that Qian Daoliu would ask about this.

In her dream, she had failed, utterly and miserably.

But experiencing failure had led her to take a different path.

And she was confident in this new approach.

"Grandfather, don't worry! This time, I will not fail!"

Qian Renxue's face radiated confidence.

Qian Daoliu hesitated, this time?

Had she misspoken?

He didn't dwell on it too much and nodded approvingly.

"Xue'er, your personal safety is the top priority. Whether this mission succeeds or not, it doesn't matter to the Qian family."

His biggest concern was Qian Renxue's safety, everything else was secondary.

"Grandfather, rest assured!"

Qian Renxue spoke with absolute certainty, full of confidence.

Rest assured?

How could he possibly be at ease…

"I didn't poison Xue Ye."

"Yes, our Qian family stands with integrity. We would never stoop to using poison."

Qian Daoliu fully supported Qian Renxue's words.

The Qian family was a millennia-old noble family. Even if they were few in number, they wouldn't resort to petty tricks like poison.

"Then how do you plan to seize the throne?"

After all, the people of the Douluo Continent valued legitimacy.

That was one of the main reasons Bibi Dong was always criticized, her position as Pope was neither legitimate nor justified.

Killing Xue Ye was easy.

But if she killed him, her claim to the throne would lack legitimacy, and Heaven Dou Empire would inevitably rebel.