...
Wuhun City, Papal Palace.
A oppressive, low-pressure atmosphere enveloped the entire hall, as if even the dust in the air had solidified due to fear.
"Bang!"
A loud bang echoed through the hall—the sound of a scepter slamming heavily to the ground.
"waste!"
Bibi Dong stood atop the high steps, looking down at Ju Douluo Yue Guan, who was kneeling below, trembling with fear, her eyes burning with two balls of cold anger.
"I sent you to protect her secretly, and this is how you protect her?!"
"Four Great Soul Masters at level 20 or above faced a horde of thousands of beasts!
If it weren't for that crazy kid Xuan Hao recklessly activating his Golden Dragon Body to withstand the attack and buy time for the others to escape, the Spirit Hall would have already lost an entire generation of golden talents!"
"Yue Guan, do you think you're too comfortable in your position as an elder and want to loosen up in the Hall of Judgments?!"
Cold sweat poured down Yue Guan's forehead like raindrops.
She didn't dare lift her head, her voice trembling as she tried to explain:
"Your Majesty, please calm down! I...I truly have my reasons!"
"At the time, Xuanhao was absorbing a spirit ring.
I had already driven away all the thousand-year-old spirit beasts within a radius of several kilometers, ensuring absolute safety.
The reason I left... was because I sensed an extremely peculiar aura!"
"A special aura?"
Bibi Dong sneered. "Is this your excuse for abandoning your post?"
"It's...it's the aura of a 100,000-year-old soul beast!"
Yue Guan said urgently.
"And it's not the mature 100,000-year-old overlord kind.
The aura is extremely weak, yet terrifyingly pure.
It's like...like a 100,000-year-old soul beast that has just transformed, or is in an extremely weak state!"
Bibi Dong's anger, which was about to continue, suddenly stopped, and her brows furrowed sharply:
"How could there be a 100,000-year-old soul beast in the mixed zone?
Are you sure you didn't sense something wrong?"
"I dare to swear on my life!
There's no mistake!"
Yue Guan raised his head, his eyes full of certainty.
"Does Your Majesty still remember... when we were chasing Tang Hao and that 100,000-year-old Blue Silver Emperor in human form?"
"After giving birth, the Blue Silver Emperor was extremely weak and unable to completely conceal her aura.
The unique fluctuations of her origin that she leaked out... were exactly the same as what I sensed in the Star Dou Great Forest this time!"
"At the time, I thought that since that 100,000-year-old soul beast dared to appear in the mixed zone, it must have only recently transformed and was weak.
If we could capture it and present it to Your Majesty, that would be a tremendous achievement!"
Upon hearing this, the anger in Bibi Dong's eyes subsided somewhat, replaced by a deep, piercing light.
A newly transformed 100,000-year-old soul beast...
That means you can obtain a 100,000-year soul ring and a guaranteed 100,000-year soul bone without much effort!
This was too tempting for her, who was at a critical stage in cultivating her twin martial souls.
"so..."
Bibi Dong stared at Yue Guan and asked in a low voice, "Did you catch that soul beast?"
Yue Guan's body froze instantly.
The expression on his face was even worse than crying:
"Your subordinate... Your subordinate had already pinpointed its approximate location and felt very close to it. But...
But just then, a beast tide suddenly erupted over Xuanhao's side."
"Your subordinate dared not delay any longer and had to abandon the search and rush back to rescue the people... but..."
"..."
Bibi Dong took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and clenched her knuckles until they turned white.
In other words, they failed to capture the 100,000-year-old soul beast, and their prize slipped away.
The four geniuses from the Spirit Hall almost perished because of this incident, especially Xuan Hao, who is still lying in bed unconscious.
It's truly... a double loss!
"Good...very good." Bibi Dong laughed angrily, "Yue Guan, you have really given me a big surprise."
Yue Guan trembled all over and lay on the ground, not daring to breathe.
However, the expected severe punishment did not come.
Bibi Dong remained silent for a long time before slowly opening her eyes.
Now that it has been confirmed that it is a 100,000-year-old soul beast in human form, it is impossible for it to have run too far, let alone recover to its peak in a short period of time.
"Make a note of this for now," Bibi Dong said coldly.
"Since you discovered the clue, you're in charge of cleaning up the mess."
"Take Ghost and me with you immediately, and the two of you go to the Star Dou Great Forest again. Search that area thoroughly!"
"Remember, don't make a big fuss, don't alert them, and especially don't disturb the two forest kings in the core area.
Search secretly, and report back immediately once you find any trace!"
"Yes! I'll go right away!"
Yue Guan felt as if he had been granted a pardon and dared not linger, scrambling out of the main hall.
...
After dealing with Yue Guan's matter, Bibi Dong rubbed her temples, suppressed her murderous aura, and turned to walk towards the back of the Papal Palace.
The room of Xuan Hao was filled with a faint aroma of herbs.
The room was decorated warmly, with the window half-open and a gentle breeze blowing through the white gauze curtains.
Xuan Hao lay quietly on the bed, his face still a little pale, but his breathing had become much more steady.
He was wearing clean pajamas, and the blanket was pulled up tightly, revealing only his delicate little face.
Beside the bed, Hu Liena was lying there, her eyes swollen from crying like rotten peaches, tightly clutching Xuan Hao's hand, occasionally letting out a sob.
Hearing footsteps, Hu Liena looked up and saw Bibi Dong walk in; her tears flowed again.
"Teacher..." Hu Liena cried out, her voice hoarse, "It's all my fault... If it weren't for saving us, my junior brother wouldn't have..."
Bibi Dong walked to the bedside, looked at Hu Liena's face full of guilt, sighed softly, and reached out to touch her hair.
"Okay, stop crying. You'll go blind if you keep crying."
Bibi Dong's voice was unusually gentle, "Haven't we already checked the healing-type Soul Masters?
This kid's life is incredibly tough."
She stretched out her fingers and placed them on Xuan Hao's wrist, sensing it slightly.
"The Golden Dragon Martial Soul endowed him with a physique and recovery ability far beyond that of ordinary people.
Although he broke a few ribs and his internal organs were shaken, none of them were fundamentally damaged."
Bibi Dong tucked the blanket around Xuan Hao, looking at his still somewhat stubborn face in his sleep, a complex emotion flashed in her eyes:
"Let him get a good night's sleep.
After two more days of rest, this troublemaker will be back to his energetic self, collecting protection money."
...
Two days later, in the early morning.
Sunlight streamed into the room through the window lattice, and the air was filled with the subtle fragrance of calming incense.
Xuan Hao opened his heavy eyelids with some difficulty, and what came into view was Bibi Dong's beautiful face, which, although still aloof, could not hide her concern.
On the other side of the bed, Hu Liena was lying on the edge of the bed, breathing heavily.
She had obviously been watching for too long and had finally fallen asleep.
"woke up?"
Seeing Xuan Hao open his eyes, Bibi Dong put down the book in her hand and asked in a rare gentle voice, "How are you feeling?
Does your body still hurt?"
Xuan Hao moved his body.
Although his bones were still aching slightly, the tearing pain had subsided considerably.
"I'm alright..." Xuan Hao's voice was a little hoarse, "It's just that my head is a little dizzy."
"That's a side effect of overexerting your mental energy. Lie down and don't move."
Bibi Dong reached out and tucked the blanket around him.
Just then, a series of hurried but light footsteps came from outside the palace gate.
"Come in," Bibi Dong said calmly without turning her head.
The palace doors opened, and Yue Guan strode in.
He glanced at Xuan Hao lying on the bed and Hu Liena fast asleep, his expression hesitant, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.
"Your Majesty, that..."
"Just say it," Bibi Dong interrupted him.
"There are no outsiders here, so there's nothing you can't hear."
"Yes." Yue Guan bowed and then said with a solemn expression, "Your Majesty, I have searched the depths of that mixed zone carefully.
Although I did not catch the target, I found this near a hidden pool not far from the center of the beast tide outbreak."
As he spoke, Yue Guan took out several pieces of blood-stained cloth from his soul tool.
The material and color of the fabric were exactly the same as the clothes Xuan Hao wore that day.
"That's where I found these scraps of cloth, and there were obvious signs of human intervention around them," Yue Guan said in a low voice.
"That location happens to be the place where I sensed the strongest aura of that 100,000-year-old soul beast."
Upon hearing this, Bibi Dong, who was tidying up Xuan Hao's blanket, suddenly stopped.
She slowly turned her head and looked at Xuan Hao.
Under the onslaught of a beast tide of that scale, even a level 20 Great Soul Master with the protection of the Golden Dragon Body would be lucky to leave with a complete corpse.
But Xuanhao not only survived, but also received simple first aid, and eventually walked to the outer perimeter where he was discovered by Yueguan.
What happened during that gap period?
Read 50+ chapters ahead at Patreon
patreon.com/TaroYamato
patreon.com/TaroYamato