Chapter 63: The Assassination Fails—Bibi Dong Miscalculated
Yu Xiaogang knew very well that Spirit Hall—and Bibi Dong—would never let Gui Mei and Yue Guan off so easily.
He wanted to borrow Bibi Dong's strength to help Tang San eliminate those two overwhelming threats.
A true man bends and stretches when needed.
To achieve his goal, using Bibi Dong—even if it meant swallowing a bit of humiliation—was nothing worth mentioning.
Time quietly slipped by.
More than ten days had passed since Xue Qinghe led the grand procession out of Heaven Dou City.
On this particular day, under the protection of five hundred fully armed Royal Knights, the soul master teams were traveling through a region of rolling hills.
There was a hidden path here capable of saving them several dozen li of distance.
Just as the procession advanced steadily, the captain of the Royal Knights at the very front suddenly narrowed his eyes and shouted sharply:
"Everyone on alert—something's happening!"
His shout exploded across the hills like thunder.
The carriages transporting the various academy teams immediately halted.
Everyone inside grew tense, poking their heads out to observe the situation.
In the next instant—
Countless massive boulders came crashing down from the hilltops on both sides.
The earth rumbled, dust billowed, and the entire region was thrown into chaos and panic.
Seeing the dangerous situation, the captain made a swift decision, commanding the knights to push the line forward.
Under the cover of armored soldiers, the soul master teams moved quickly to escape the perilous terrain as soon as possible.
However, at that exact moment, a sudden change erupted once more.
A large group of black-clad figures burst out from both sides of the hills without warning.
There were more than a thousand of them, each expression cold and eyes filled with murderous bloodlust.
Faced with the ambush, every academy team and the Royal Knights rapidly repositioned themselves, preparing to jointly face the overwhelming wave of attackers.
Suddenly—a flash of green shot into the sky.
It was Dugu Bo.
Dugu Yan had joined the procession as well. To ensure her grandfather's safety, he had been following in secret the entire time.
Now, seeing the danger reach its peak, he finally stepped out of the shadows.
A cold, eerie aura radiated from Dugu Bo's body as his sharp gaze swept across the swarm of black-clad enemies.
One of them, clearly the leader, glared back at him.
It was a Ghost Leopard Douluo.
He snarled viciously:
"Dugu Bo, this has nothing to do with you—get lost! Don't look for trouble!"
Dugu Bo snorted coldly, unfazed.
"I know your target this time is Wuming. Too bad you've wasted your efforts. He isn't here."
"What?!"
Ghost Leopard Douluo was half-convinced, half-skeptical.
But Dugu Bo had already seen through their intentions—so perhaps he was telling the truth.
"Don't bother. You'll never kill Wuming. He will definitely arrive safely in Spirit City. Besides, with Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo Chen Xin escorting this group, you think killing the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy's team will be that easy?"
Ghost Leopard Douluo swept his gaze downward.
Indeed—within the Imperial Academy's team, the black-clothed youth was nowhere to be seen.
And under Sword Douluo's protection, even getting near that group would be impossible.
"Retreat!"
With a furious roar from Ghost Leopard Douluo, the black-clad attackers withdrew like a receding tide.
Even the corpses of their fallen comrades were carried away, leaving not a single trace behind.
Peace gradually returned.
Everyone slowly regained their composure after the chaos.
Ning Fengzhi approached the Shrek Academy team.
"Rongrong, are you all unharmed?"
"Father, we're fine."
Tang San then asked—
"Sect Master Ning, who are these people? Why would they suddenly attack us?"
"A soul master army of this scale, led by a Titled Douluo-level powerhouse… Who else could it be besides Spirit Hall?"
"Spirit Hall?"
Ning Fengzhi nodded slightly.
"If I'm not mistaken, their goal is to ambush Wuming. Wuming possesses unfathomable strength, posing a threat to their championship ambitions. To secure victory, they'll eliminate any obstacle without hesitation."
Tang San and Dai Mubai exchanged looks.
Both secretly hoped that Wuming was somewhere within the team.
Facing those powerful black-clad assassins… Wuming might not escape with his life.
Unfortunately, Wuming seemed to have anticipated all of this and didn't travel with the main group.
The more Tang San learned, the less he could understand this newcomer who had appeared out of nowhere.
After the Heaven Dou ranking matches concluded, Emperor Xue Ye personally commended the top five teams and promised that any who performed well in the finals would receive even greater rewards.
If they were willing to serve the empire, they could even be granted titles and ranks.
As the strongest young soul master in the Heaven Dou division, Wuming was undoubtedly the one Emperor Xue Ye most wished to recruit.
Yet Wuming completely ignored the emperor's authority.
He skipped the commendation ceremony, showing zero interest in money, fame, or power.
When the main delegation set out from Heaven Dou City, he was already nowhere to be found.
Tang Hao had also attempted to eliminate Wuming from the shadows, but never found an opportunity.
Wuming always appeared and vanished without a trace—impossible to grasp.
Tang San suspected that Wuming shared the same goal as he did: the three soul bones awarded to the champion of the tournament.
With this overwhelmingly strong opponent in the mix, obtaining those three soul bones had become even harder.
---
Inside the Papal Palace.
Bibi Dong's expression darkened as she listened to Ghost Leopard Douluo's report.
Wuming not being with the Heaven Dou team was beyond her expectations.
"This mission's failure isn't your fault. Focus on the upcoming finals. The Spirit Hall team must seize the championship—there must be no mistakes!"
"Yes!"
Ghost Leopard Douluo hesitated for a moment.
"Your Holiness… once Wuming arrives in Spirit City, we can make another move—"
"Fool! If we act within Spirit City itself, do you want the entire continent to think Spirit Hall can't accept losing?!"
"Your subordinate was inconsiderate. Please calm your anger, Your Holiness."
Bibi Dong composed herself.
"What's done is done. We can only eliminate him on the tournament stage. I will arrange everything. You may withdraw."
"Yes."
Ghost Leopard Douluo and Ling Yuan Douluo exited the Papal Palace.
A chilling, murderous gleam flashed through Bibi Dong's eyes.
"Wuming… once you step into Spirit City, don't dream of escaping from my palm…"
No matter what, she would never allow those three soul bones to fall into outsider hands.
She intended for the Spirit Hall's Three Great Prodigies to kill Wuming directly in the arena.
---
Half a month later—
Xue Qinghe led the sixteen participating teams from the Heaven Dou Empire into Spirit City.
Though the city itself was only one-sixth the size of Heaven Dou City, it was filled with soul masters from across the continent.
The Heaven Dou teams were arranged to stay in an inn on the western side of Spirit City.
Before the finals officially began, everyone had three days to rest.
One day before the tournament, Gui Mei returned to the Royal Academy's second team and reunited with their teacher and members.
Yue Guan also arrived in Spirit City.
He had disguised himself thoroughly and suppressed his aura.
As long as he didn't use soul power, even Bibi Dong would find it hard to notice him.
——
End of Chapter