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Snake Granny looked toward the group and chimed in with a quick nod. She agreed with her husband entirely. Those women in the distance were striking. Two of them appeared to be fully grown adults, yet every single one of them possessed a beauty that was hard to ignore.
As she watched them, Snake Granny's face suddenly tensed up with realization. She leaned toward her husband and whispered that the woman standing beside the girl in blue looked very familiar.
Meng Shu paused to think back. He searched his memory and admitted that she did look like someone they had encountered before. He wondered aloud if they had seen her at Spirit Hall. Snake Granny snapped her fingers and confirmed that was exactly it.
The Dragon Grandfather and Snake Granny froze on the spot as the realization hit them. They were looking at someone with a heavy background.
Meng Yiran was even more puzzled by their reaction. she asked her grandpa if he was implying that Su Yan was a member of Spirit Hall. Meng Shu shook his head slightly to show his uncertainty. He told her that he was not sure about Su Yan himself, but he was almost certain that one of those women was a Spirit Hall Elder.
Snake Granny let out a sigh of relief. She mentioned that she knew those girls had an uncommon bearing from the start. They didn't look like ordinary folk at all. That woman was almost certainly the Elder they had seen during a past visit to the holy city.
The old couple now felt incredibly lucky. They were glad they hadn't clashed with the group and had even managed to strike up a friendly relationship instead.
However, Meng Yiran was still feeling indignant. She couldn't stop thinking about what Su Yan had said. What did he mean by saying she wasn't good enough for him? Did he really think the competition was that stiff? She clenched her fists and decided she would win him over sooner or later.
Meanwhile, Su Yan kept his eyes fixed on Tang San. He watched the boy closely because he simply couldn't believe Tang San might actually produce another external Spirit Bone after the first one was taken.
Zhao Wuji and the other students were deeply moved by the sight. Even though Su Yan usually loved teasing Tang San, it seemed that he truly cared for his comrade when it mattered most.
In their eyes, Su Yan had been incredibly helpful. He had helped Tang San break through to the thirtieth level of spirit power and even found the specific Man Faced Demon Spider spirit ring that Tang San wanted.
Now, he was watching over him the whole time, looking afraid that something might go wrong during the absorption process. To the onlookers, this looked like a display of true brotherly love.
Time trickled by slowly as the forest remained quiet. Finally, Tang San lived up to everyone's expectations and finished absorbing his third spirit ring. Just as Su Yan suspected, the original external Spirit Bone did not reappear this time.
Zhao Wuji exhaled a long breath in relief. He announced that they could finally head back, but then he paused and turned to Zhu Zhuqing and the others. He remembered that some of them had also broken through recently and asked if they didn't need spirit rings as well.
Su Yan smiled faintly and stood up. He told the teacher that the ones who needed rings already had them, and the ones who didn't would wait. He suggested they leave immediately. Zhu Zhuqing and the rest of the girls nodded in unison, following his lead.
Seeing this, Zhao Wuji didn't press for more details. He told everyone to get moving so they could reach the small town before dark.
He wanted them to rest well for the night and return to Shrek Academy the next day. This trip had been full of far too many ups and downs, and Zhao Wuji was thoroughly spooked by the dangers they had faced.
By the evening, the group finally emerged from the thick trees of the Star Dou Great Forest. Little Monkey reluctantly set the Iron Armored Rhinoceros free. As soon as the restraints were off, the rhino ran off into the brush without even looking back. It was finally free from the strange group of humans.
The brave little ox was happy to be back in the wild. Little Monkey was so angry at the lack of gratitude that he chased after it and gave the rhino one last beating before letting it disappear. The poor Iron Armored Rhinoceros probably just wanted some peanuts for its trouble.
Deep within Spirit City, inside the Supreme Pontiff's Bedchamber of Spirit Hall, Hu Liena was dozing on Bibi Dong's bed. A hidden passage in the wall suddenly opened with a mechanical click, jolting her awake. She sat up and called out to her teacher.
Bibi Dong stepped out of the secret room with her face alight with excitement. She looked powerful and refreshed. She asked Nana if anything important had happened in the Group Chat while she was in seclusion to absorb her spirit ring. Hu Liena shook her head and checked her device. She reported that nothing much had changed.
She mentioned that Su Yan and the others got Tang San a spirit ring, though they switched the original two-thousand-year Man Faced Demon Spider for a one-thousand-year one. She also added that Tang San's external Spirit Bone had been snatched by Su Yan.
Bibi Dong nodded in satisfaction. She walked over to the window and placed her hands behind her back. As she gazed at the beautiful dusk over the city, she asked Nana if there was anyone left on the continent who could rival her now. Hearing this, Hu Liena's expression turned odd. She wondered if her teacher was about to start showing off in the Group Chat again.
Bibi Dong opened the chat and sent a message asking Bo Saixi what level of strength deserved to be called the strongest beneath the gods. The chat immediately filled with question marks from everyone. Liu Erlong joked that the old woman was out of seclusion and back to her usual antics.
A member named I Am a Little Bird praised the Supreme Pontiff and congratulated her on becoming the strongest. Bo Saixi responded by asking Bibi Dong to tell them about her two new spirit abilities first. Another member asked if Bibi Dong was now stronger than Di Tian.
Bibi Dong simply asked if any of them had ever seen the sun at night. Back in her room, she yanked the curtains shut. In an instant, eight spirit rings appeared around her body. They were black, black, black, black, black, black, red, and a strange red-gold color.
The eighth ring was special, bearing nine golden patterns that made it look almost like pure gold. Hu Liena quickly took a photo and posted the image of the ring configuration into the chat.
The chat went wild. Liu Erlong was stunned, and others commented on how insane the setup was. Someone asked why there were only eight rings. Zhu Zhuqing explained that this was Bibi Dong's second spirit. She had hit level 99, the absolute Peak, long before she even finished her ring set.
Ma Xiaotao wondered who could even withstand abilities from near-million-year rings. Bibi Dong proudly declared that beneath the gods she was invincible, and even against a god, she could trade her life for theirs.
Elsewhere, Su Yan's group was riding in a carriage on the way back to the town. Zhu Zhuqing and the others were looking at their screens, feeling stunned. Even though they expected Bibi Dong to be strong, seeing that glittering golden ring was a shock. Ning Rongrong asked Su Yan how many years his own spirit rings had.
Su Yan gave a wry smile and admitted he was at six-hundred-thousand-plus years right now. He said he wasn't as spectacular as Bibi Dong yet. However, he mentioned he had three level boosts unused. Once he used them, his seven rings would be on par with hers.
Ling Yuan asked why he hadn't used them yet. Su Yan smiled and said he didn't need to at his current strength. He planned to wait until he hit level 99. Bibi Dong saw the silence and teased Su Yan, asking if he wanted to know what her two spirit abilities were.
Su Yan simply replied that he wasn't interested. The other chat members started laughing, noting that this was the familiar feeling they all knew. They expected the ending to be the same as always.
Back in Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong's face turned red with anger. She turned to Hu Liena and called Su Yan a little bastard. She claimed he was feeling inferior and scared to argue with her. She was furious that the others dared to look down on her.
Hu Liena looked at her teacher with a complicated expression. She asked if Bibi Dong was really sure she was stronger than Su Yan now. Bibi Dong gave a cold laugh and went back to the chat.
She asked Su Yan again if he was just scared to know her power. Su Yan replied with a simple laugh. He told her the reason he didn't want to know was that her spirit abilities could never surpass his, no matter how hard she tried. He told her that her imagination was lacking and her spirit's potential was just too low. Bibi Dong was left speechless by his blunt response.