Soul Land: Bibi Dong Is My Martial Soul

Chapter 116: Bibi Dong: "I'm Back Again!"

"We still don't know the full strength of the Spirit Hall team, but I'd say there's a chance," Ning Fengzhi replied with a smile when he heard Emperor Xue Ye's question.

Although he had confidence in Su Mo and Ning Rongrong, he refrained from making an absolute statement.

"Then I'll look forward to it!" Emperor Xue Ye said, his anticipation evident.

The advancement rounds lasted for over two months. Although there were fewer teams compared to the qualifiers, the advancement round adopted a round-robin format, requiring every team to face each other at least once.

Unlike the qualifiers, this phase included individual matches, with battles between teams often spanning over a dozen rounds to determine a winner.

As a result, the advancement phase ended up taking even longer than the qualifiers.

By the time it concluded, Su Mo's soul power had increased to Rank 43, while Ning Rongrong had reached Rank 42. Unfortunately, Ye Lingling, while improving, had not broken through to the Soul Ancestor rank and remained a Soul Elder.

This left Ye Lingling feeling apologetic, as if she were holding back the team. Determined to improve, she redoubled her efforts in cultivation. However, it was unlikely that she would achieve a breakthrough to Soul Ancestor within the timeframe of the current tournament.

After the advancement phase ended, Emperor Xue Ye rewarded the outstanding Soul Masters. Tang San was among those honored and was granted a noble title, becoming a member of the Heaven Dou Empire's aristocracy.

Although Spirit Hall's Platinum Bishop Salas tried to interfere, he was unsuccessful. Emperor Xue Ye had the final say in who received honors, unless Tang San himself refused.

Unaware that the Clear Sky Clan supported the Star Luo Empire and not considering himself a true member of the clan, Tang San readily accepted the emperor's reward. After all, how could he refuse an honor bestowed by an imperial ruler?

Following the rewards ceremony, the fifteen teams selected by the Heaven Dou Empire, along with the automatically advanced Heaven Dou Royal Team, departed under imperial escort to Spirit City to compete in the final elimination rounds.

After setting out, their team leader explained the rules of the finals to Su Mo and the others.

The finals would adopt a knockout format. Each round, a few teams would automatically advance without competing.

The rankings from the advancement phase would play a significant role in the finals:

First Round: Three seeded teams would automatically advance, while the remaining 30 teams would face off. The 15 winning teams would move on to the next round.

Second Round: Including the three seeded teams, there would be 18 teams. The top two teams from the advancement phase rankings would then skip this round, leaving 16 teams to compete for eight spots in the third round.

Third Round: Ten teams would remain. The top two ranked teams, having already had one bye, would not receive another. The remaining eight teams would compete, leaving six teams for the next phase.

Fourth Round: The six remaining teams would draw lots and face off, resulting in the top three.

Final Round: The top three teams would compete in individual matches, sending members to fight until the other two teams were out of competitors. The winner would advance directly to the grand finals. The remaining two teams would then face off in a group battle, with the winner advancing to the finals and the loser securing third place.

"Ah, so we won't even compete until the second round of the finals?" Ning Rongrong complained upon hearing the rules.

"That's so late!"

Having waited months for the competition, Ning Rongrong was eager to perform and found the delay frustrating.

"Wouldn't starting later be better?" Ye Lingling questioned, puzzled by Ning Rongrong's dissatisfaction.

"Rongrong just wants to get out there quickly and show what she's capable of," Su Mo chuckled, explaining Ning Rongrong's eagerness.

"Exactly! I can't wait to compete anymore!" Ning Rongrong admitted. "All the other teams have been fighting for so long, and we've just been sitting and watching. It feels unfair."

"At most, we'll only have to fight four or five matches!" Shi Mo and Shi Mo, the Stone brothers, voiced their agreement with Ning Rongrong after hearing Su Mo's explanation.

The team indeed felt a sense of unfairness. Teams that participated in both the qualifiers and the advancement rounds, as long as they performed well, were now famous throughout the Heaven Dou Empire, their reputations firmly established.

In contrast, the Heaven Dou Royal Team, which had been granted automatic qualification, wasn't even as well-known as the second team. Most people only knew that a team had been granted a direct pass but had little idea who they were.

During the finals in Spirit Hall, if they won, it would be fine. But if they lost, even if they reached the finals, they would have played only five matches in total, leaving them far less exposure than other teams.

Hearing the Stone brothers' comments, Yu Tianheng and Dugu Yan also found themselves deep in thought. It did seem like a loss in some ways.

"As long as we win the championship, everything will be fine!"

"So we should conserve our energy and focus on playing our best in every match to secure the title!"

As the team captain, Yu Tianheng naturally took it upon himself to motivate everyone.

Hearing Yu Tianheng's words, the team members dropped the subject. It was just a small episode on their journey.

Meanwhile, as the other fifteen teams traveled together to Spirit City, they finally caught sight of the Heaven Dou Royal Team.

"It's Su Mo and Ning Rongrong!"

"They're part of the Heaven Dou Royal Team?"

The Shrek Team, including Dai Mubai, were finally made aware that Su Mo and Ning Rongrong had joined the Heaven Dou Royal Team.

"How could they do this?"

"We were kicked out of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, and they turned around and joined them?"

"Don't they have any shame?"

Dai Mubai's face darkened as he voiced his displeasure upon learning the truth.

"Yeah, of all the academies they could have joined, why did they choose Heaven Dou Royal Academy?"

"That's outrageous!"

"No wonder they avoided telling us which academy they joined—it turns out they went back to lick the boots of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy!"

Ma Hongjun and the others echoed Dai Mubai's sentiments, expressing their dissatisfaction with Su Mo and Ning Rongrong for joining the Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

"It's not that surprising. Joining the Heaven Dou Royal Team was the best choice for them."

"The five elemental academies all have their own philosophies for forming teams. They wouldn't have allowed Su Mo or Ning Rongrong to join them."

"Su Mo is smart. His decision to join the Heaven Dou Royal Team makes perfect sense."

Yu Xiaogang stepped in, analyzing Su Mo's choice without showing any discontent over their decision to join the Heaven Dou Royal Academy.

"Master is right. When I saw Oslo and Yu Feng in the second team, I found it strange. They should have been replaced by someone else."

"After learning about Su Mo and Ning Rongrong's current soul power levels, I realized they were the replacements for Oslo and Yu Feng."

"With those two joining, the Heaven Dou Royal Team has become significantly stronger and now has a real shot at competing for the championship."

"Putting other factors aside, Su Mo and Ning Rongrong's choice to join the Heaven Dou Royal Team was indeed a wise one."

Hearing Yu Xiaogang's analysis, Qin Ming also chimed in, agreeing with his assessment.

In truth, Qin Ming was happy for them. With Su Mo and Ning Rongrong on the team, the Heaven Dou Royal Team he once led might achieve an excellent result in the upcoming tournament.

After this revelation, Qin Ming planned to visit the Heaven Dou Royal Team to assess their current condition and determine if they truly had a chance to win the championship.

"What does it matter if it was the best choice?"

"Their actions still make me feel ashamed for them!"

Dai Mubai remained deeply dissatisfied.

Had Su Mo and Ning Rongrong stayed, the current Shrek Team would have been significantly stronger.

Tang San, Zhu Zhuqing, Oscar, and Ma Hongjun didn't voice their opinions, but their dissatisfaction with Su Mo and Ning Rongrong joining the Heaven Dou Royal Academy was evident.

"Enough. Everyone has their own ambitions," Yu Xiaogang said, trying to calm the group. "Their choices are their own. What we need to focus on now is doing our best in every match after we reach Spirit City. Let's aim to go as far as possible."

Finding an opportunity, Qin Ming visited the Heaven Dou Royal Team.

Yu Tianheng and the others warmly welcomed him, even though Qin Ming's decision to leave them in the past had felt like betrayal.

However, Yu Tianheng and the others understood Qin Ming's reasons for leaving and held no grudge. Instead, they remembered his guidance fondly.

"Su Mo, Ning Rongrong, I didn't expect you two to join the Heaven Dou Team. I'm happy for the team to have you," Qin Ming said after catching up with Yu Tianheng and the others.

"To be honest, we didn't plan on joining Heaven Dou," Su Mo replied with a faint smile. "It was His Highness the Crown Prince who learned of our situation and personally brought Prince Xue Beng to apologize. It was under His Highness's sincere invitation that we decided to join."

Hearing this, Qin Ming understood. He had found it puzzling that Su Mo and Ning Rongrong, given their personalities, would voluntarily join Heaven Dou after being rejected. Now, it all made sense.

It turned out that the scheming Prince Xue Beng, who had obstructed Shrek's entry into Heaven Dou Academy, had already been dealt with, and the Crown Prince himself had invited Su Mo and Ning Rongrong to join.

After assessing the team's strength and learning that everyone except Ye Lingling had reached Soul Ancestor rank, Qin Ming grew even more optimistic about their performance in the finals.

Returning to the Shrek Team, Qin Ming shared the truth with Tang San and the others.

"So, the Crown Prince personally invited Su Mo and Ning Rongrong to join Heaven Dou?"

"It seems we misunderstood them," Zhu Zhuqing said, quickly letting go of her resentment. Learning that Su Mo and Ning Rongrong hadn't joined Heaven Dou of their own accord, her dissatisfaction vanished.

"How enviable! To think the Crown Prince himself invited them!"

"And the Crown Prince even dealt with Xue Beng for us. That's so satisfying!" Oscar and Ma Hongjun expressed their admiration.

"What's so great about the Crown Prince? If I win the competition for the throne, won't I also be a crown prince?" Dai Mubai muttered, his jealousy evident.

With this small episode behind them, the teams continued their journey to Spirit City.

Su Mo found it odd that no attacks occurred on the way.

Perhaps it was because Ning Fengzhi, along with Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo, stayed close to protect Qian Renxue. Or maybe there were other reasons.

Unable to figure it out, Su Mo decided not to dwell on it. The lack of attacks was a good thing, after all.

Unbeknownst to Su Mo, the real reason lay with Bibi Dong. She had shared the secret of cultivating twin martial spirits with Yu Xiaogang, putting aside any immediate plans to harm Tang San. Additionally, Yu Xiaogang had rejoined the team before the advancement rounds concluded, and Bibi Dong didn't want to risk hurting him inadvertently.

Just one day away from Spirit City, Bibi Dong looked into the distance at the city's silhouette. A trace of excitement flashed in her eyes.

"I'm back again!"

"Raksasha Elder Sister, once we reach Spirit City, please refrain from showing your presence. I'm worried the current Pope will sense your existence," Su Mo said beside her after her moment of reflection.

Upon arriving in Spirit City, Su Mo had no intention of allowing two versions of Bibi Dong to meet. If the current Pope Bibi Dong discovered the other, the consequences could be disastrous.

To avoid any complications, he made his stance clear to Bibi Dong in advance. For now, keeping the two separate was a top priority.

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