"Hurry, Nana, send people to the Heaven Dou Empire to inquire about Xiao Gang's situation!" Bibi Dong ordered. The messenger was only Soul Ancestor level; at his relay speed, whatever had to happen might already have happened.
"Yes, Teacher!" Hu Liena had just received the order—
When suddenly, a clamor arose in the Pope's Hall. "Enemy attack! Enemy attack!"
"Enemy attack?" Bibi Dong was stunned. Who had the death wish to attack the Pope's Hall? This was the largest gathering place of Titled Douluo in the world.
Abruptly, the hall's great doors were pushed open by a surge of powerful soul force. A streak of light shot into the hall—the newcomer was Tianlin. Never mind the city guards; even a few Titled Douluo couldn't stop him.
Although Tianlin had set out much later than the one who delivered the first letter, their speeds weren't even comparable; he arrived only a step behind.
"Your Holiness, long time no see. Have you been well?" Tianlin greeted.
Bibi Dong stared coldly at him. "Jun Tianlin, you are bold indeed, barging into the Pope's Hall. Do you take the Spirit Empire for your home?"
Swish, swish, swish!
Three more figures rushed into the hall—three Titled Douluo still stationed in Spirit City: Serpent Spear Douluo, Ghost Leopard Douluo, and Spirit Kite Douluo.
"Jun Tianlin, to invade our Spirit Empire alone—assassination or not—you're a bit too high-profile, aren't you? Do you look down on us that much?" She Long snapped.
"There's no need for anger. I'm not here to provoke you today, but to clear up a misunderstanding—so Your Holiness doesn't get deceived by villains," Tianlin said gravely.
He actually wanted to laugh, but he had to hold it in. He was here to deliver the Grandmaster's death notice; if he broke the news grinning—'your beloved is dead'—Bibi Dong might slap him to death the next second.
Hearing Tianlin's heavy tone, Bibi Dong's heart tightened. She guessed her worst fear might have come true.
"What happened to Xiao Gang? Speak!"
"It seems Your Holiness has already guessed. The Grandmaster is dead—killed by the Clear Sky Sect. Before he died, he left a testament for you, so I've come to deliver it," Tianlin said, handing Bibi Dong the second letter.
Bibi Dong stood motionless. She heard nothing else—only that the Grandmaster was dead. Her Xiao Gang was dead!
"No… impossible. How could he die? I still have to annihilate the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan to vent his anger at being expelled. I have to vindicate his theories, so the world won't call him trash anymore. None of that is done—how could he die!" Bibi Dong swayed, her voice turning hoarse.
No matter how much the Grandmaster had failed her, this woman was still hopelessly in love.
Top to bottom, that whole family was like this—Tianlin was used to it.
"Teacher, the dead are gone. Since there's a testament for you, you should read it," Hu Liena said, taking the letter from Tianlin and handing it to Bibi Dong.
This time Bibi Dong was smarter. She verified the letter's authenticity first—perhaps with a shred of hope. If this letter was fake too, the Grandmaster might still be alive.
Unfortunately, Ning Fengzhi hadn't tampered with this letter at all. Every character retained the Grandmaster's habits; there were even ciphers that only she and the Grandmaster could understand—phrases they'd used during their relationship.
With no doubt left, Bibi Dong finished reading, her hand gripping the Pope's Scepter trembling. The letter detailed how the Clear Sky Sect had coerced the Grandmaster into framing the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect—clear as day.
Bibi Dong's aura grew icier; within the Evil Spirit Pearl, black energy surged in a straight climb. In that instant, her Rakshasa affinity rose to 80%.
"Where is Xiao Gang's body?" Bibi Dong asked coldly. She did not cry—her tears had dried up long ago. She had only hatred left. Her hatred of the Clear Sky Sect now ranked just below her hatred for Qian Xunji.
"Here." Tianlin took out a crystal from his soul tool, then undid the Dark-Gold Seal. "Your Holiness, the Grandmaster died with his eyes open. I sealed him with the Dark-Gold Seal immediately after his death. Those sealed by it are as if in a frozen space—no change from the moment before sealing."
Bibi Dong immediately grasped his meaning—residual vision at the moment of death. If one were adept with death attributes, one could even extract a fleeting residue of memory from a corpse.
As it happened, Bibi Dong was the strongest death-attribute expert alive.
She approached, looking at the Grandmaster's deathly face. A trace of sorrow crossed her features, but because she now had more important people in her heart, she did not collapse.
She extended a trembling hand and placed her right palm on the Grandmaster's brow. Images from his final moments flooded into her mind.
"Roaring Sky Divine Hammer—so it was Tang Xiao!"
When Tang Xiao roamed the continent back in the day, the Clear Sky Twin Stars were famous throughout the land. The Spirit Hall had ample records on his soul skills.
Even Titled Douluo with the same martial soul had subtle differences in their skills. There were only a handful of nine-ring Clear Sky Hammers in the world; among those possessing the Roaring Sky Divine Hammer, none but Tang Xiao.
"Your Holiness, also this—taken by my Bone Grandfather from Tang Xiao during their clash." Tianlin produced a token from his robe.
"The Clear Sky Token!" With both witness and physical evidence, Bibi Dong no longer had doubts.
"Clear Sky Sect, you deserve death. To make my Spirit Empire and the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect go to war early, you used such despicable means to kill Xiao Gang." Bibi Dong turned, murderous intent billowing, and ordered, "Nana, pass my command. The Clear Sky Sect has murdered an honorary elder of the Spirit Empire without cause—we must seek justice. Aside from Tuoba Xi leading the Holy Dragon Legion to hold Gengxin City, all other forces will withdraw from the Star Luo Empire. Suspend operations against Star Luo. We march on Heaven Dou and exterminate the Clear Sky Sect to the last."
The Grandmaster's death gave Bibi Dong a just cause. Previously, the Spirit Empire had been branded evil by the two empires for starting war without cause. Now it was different—avenging their own elder was righteous and well-founded.
"But Teacher, the Clear Sky Sect is allied with the Heaven Dou Empire now…" Hu Liena hesitated.
"Then we'll annihilate the Heaven Dou Empire along with them." The world's foremost empress declared, domineering.
Her original strategy was a two-front war. Now it became focusing on one front first, then the other. The advantage: seizing half the realm quickly. The drawback: the rear would inevitably be attacked by Star Luo, losing swathes of territory. It would depend on how long Tuoba Xi's Holy Dragon Legion could hold until she crushed Heaven Dou.
The Holy Dragon Legion was one of the Spirit Empire's elite forces. With a fortress like Gengxin City, plus five thousand additional soul master troops and a hundred thousand soldiers being dispatched—totaling twenty thousand soul masters and two hundred thousand elite troops—they should hold for months, perhaps up to a year.
The remaining problem was the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect. If they intervened, the Spirit Empire versus Heaven Dou would become a protracted stalemate.
But she couldn't command the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect—she would play it by ear.
"Your Holiness, the Grandmaster's last wish has been fulfilled. You've seen him one last time, so may I take him back? Clan Chief Yu has agreed to bury him in the clan cemetery," Tianlin said.
Bibi Dong had wanted to keep the body, but upon hearing this she could only wave her hand. "Very well. Take Xiao Gang. This was his life's wish."
To be acknowledged and return to his clan—this had always been Yu Xiaogang's desire. People on the Douluo Continent placed great weight on clan or sect; even Tianlin, an outsider, had been influenced by it.
"Farewell." Tianlin cupped his fist, lifted the Grandmaster's body, and flew away on his sword.
He knew: the Heaven Dou Empire was in for a calamity!