The heavy doors of the Pope's Palace slowly opened. Twelve cardinals, second only to the Platinum Cardinal in status, filed out in a line from the side doors.
They lined up neatly on both sides of the three teams, their expressions solemn.
One of the powerful cardinals loudly declared,
"Her Holiness the Pope has arrived!"
Dong! Dong! Dong!
As if arranged in advance, the sound of bells and tripods continuously echoed throughout Spirit City.
Then solemn and majestic music began to play.
Amid the singing of the Temple Knights, everyone's gazes turned as one toward the main entrance of the Pope's Palace.
The cheers grew louder and louder.
Breathing became increasingly rapid.
Hearts pounded violently.
Aside from a very small number of people, no one could maintain a normal state of mind in such an atmosphere.
Because they were about to face the most revered existence on the entire continent — the Pope of Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong!
Under the intense gazes of the crowd, a figure surrounded by a large group of people slowly emerged from the main entrance.
Bibi Dong wore a golden gown and a shining purple-gold crown. In her hand she held the scepter that symbolized the Pope's authority.
From the moment she appeared, she became the center of heaven and earth.
When Bibi Dong stopped, everyone belonging to the Pope's Palace — from the Temple Knights to the cardinals — dropped to one knee and chanted in unison,
"Greetings to Her Holiness the Pope!"
In an instant, cheers erupted from every direction, merging into one and reaching a deafening volume that made people's blood boil.
Bibi Dong's majesty and solemnity soared into the heavens.
For a moment, even the sun in the sky seemed dim and lost its light.
In this atmosphere, not only the people of the Pope's Palace but also the students from the various academies present felt an involuntary urge to prostrate themselves in worship.
Behind Bibi Dong stood four other figures.
Two of them were familiar to the audience — Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo Chen Xin.
The remaining two were completely covered in black mist, making it impossible to discern their faces.
One of them was charming, yet gave the impression of being frail and delicate, like someone who had just recovered from a serious illness, similar to Lin Daiyu.
Of course, no one would dare say such a thing out loud.
Because those who could walk out of the main gate of the Pope's Palace were either elders of Spirit Hall or powerhouses at the Titled Douluo level.
The moment Bibi Dong appeared, Xiao Wu silently lowered her head.
This was not worship. It was an attempt to hide the hatred and loathing in her eyes.
It was her!
She was the woman who had killed her mother.
Xiao Wu's body trembled slightly from intense anger.
Lin Yang seemed to sense that something was different about her. Without a word, he wrapped her small hand in his own.
Xiao Wu's body suddenly stiffened, then she secretly glanced at Lin Yang.
Lin Yang's lips curved slightly into a gentle smile.
He said nothing, yet Xiao Wu instantly understood his intention.
"Don't be afraid. I'm here!"
In that moment, her eyes turned red, and only one thought remained in her heart.
He had guessed it!
He had deduced that Bibi Dong was her enemy.
Even if the enemy was the strongest person on the continent, he still firmly chose to stand by her side.
In that moment, Xiao Wu's chaotic heart calmed.
She possessed neither fear nor cowardice.
As long as Lin Yang was there, she… feared nothing!
At that moment, Bibi Dong slowly raised her hand and gently pressed it down. The deafening shouts immediately stopped.
Her gaze slowly swept across the three teams in front of her.
She paused on Lin Yang for an almost imperceptible moment, then shifted her gaze to Tang San.
"The Grandmaster's disciple?"
Tang San's heart skipped a beat. He looked very surprised, yet still answered calmly and politely, "That's right."
"Excellent. I can sense the Grandmaster's style from back then."
Even as she said this, she ignored Tang San's strange expression and lightly tapped the ground with her scepter.
"Rise!"
Everyone who had been kneeling on the ground stood up in unison.
"The fact that you are standing here today is more than enough to prove your talent and strength."
"You are the hope of the future of the soul master world. I hope you will give your all in today's competition. The final champion of the competition will receive the highest rewards from Spirit Hall."
As she spoke, three points of light suddenly appeared in front of her.
The light gradually expanded and eventually transformed into three spirit bones of different shapes.
They flashed in three different colors: burning red, light blue, and deep green.
The moment the spirit bones appeared, not only the students participating in the competition…
Even the others in Spirit Hall unconsciously began breathing heavily, greed appearing on their faces.
Three spirit bones were laid out before them. All of them were of extremely high quality.
Lin Yang's eyelids twitched slightly, but the others had already lost their composure.
After all, he owned far too many spirit bones, each of which was stronger than the three in front of him.
After Ghost Douluo briefly explained the functions of the three spirit bones, Bibi Dong formally announced the start of the finals.
"This morning, an individual tournament will be held with seven players selected from each of the three teams. The winning team will directly advance to tomorrow's final."
"The two defeated teams will fight this afternoon for the other spot in the final. Now, let the drawing of lots begin!"
The moment Bibi Dong finished speaking, Dai Mubai stepped forward and made a large gesture.
"Your Holiness, Shrek forfeits the individual matches!"
Hearing this, the others did not show much surprise.
Bibi Dong asked calmly, "Why?"
"Because we do not have sufficient strength," Dai Mubai stated frankly.
"Therefore, Shrek Academy voluntarily forfeits the first half of the finals and will participate in the afternoon's losers' bracket final."
Anyone with eyes could see that on the surface, Shrek Academy was the weakest of the three teams.
They were also at a disadvantage in individual matches.
If they participated in the individual ring matches, team members were likely to be injured, which could affect the afternoon match.
Therefore, they unhesitatingly chose to forfeit and prepare to watch the tigers fight from the sidelines.
The best outcome would be for both the Heaven Dou team and the Spirit Hall team to suffer heavy losses, allowing Shrek Academy to reap the benefits.
It might not sound very nice, but in a situation with three spirit bones at stake, these were necessary strategies.
However, Shrek Academy's decision to withdraw from the competition caused the expressions of Spirit Hall's "Golden Generation" — Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan — to darken.
This was because they had received a secret order from the Pope before the competition began.
During the matches, look for opportunities to severely injure Tang San, or even kill him if possible.
But under the current situation, if the tournament proceeded according to the normal schedule, they would represent Spirit Hall and win the championship.
The Heaven Dou team and Shrek team would compete this afternoon for the other spot, and the Heaven Dou team was more likely to win.
In that case, Spirit Hall would be unable to touch Shrek Academy, so how were they supposed to complete their mission?
But if they voluntarily stepped aside…
Anyone could see that something was wrong, and that would place them in an even more passive position.
While Hu Liena was still hesitating over whether to forfeit or not,
Qian Renxue, who had been pretending to sleep with her eyes closed, suddenly opened her eyes and stepped forward.
She turned to look at Lin Yang. Her gaze was sharp.
"Lin Yang, I joined this team because of you."
"Let's take this opportunity and settle things representing our respective teams!"
Hearing this, everyone around fell silent.
Bibi Dong also frowned slightly and stared intently at Lin Yang.
Ignoring the strange gazes around him, Lin Yang smiled lightly and said loudly,
"Good!"