"Impossible! With Xiaogang's extraordinary intelligence, how could he possibly be dead?"
Bibi Dong was dazed, stumbling back a few steps in sheer shock.
Although Yu Xiaogang had betrayed her more than once, and his physical appearance had become incredibly ugly over the years, he still stubbornly held an irreplaceable place in her deeply twisted heart.
If it weren't for the immense, crushing influence of public opinion within Spirit Hall, she certainly wouldn't have forced Yu Xiaogang away.
If Yu Xiaogang hadn't left Spirit City, with her absolute protection, he naturally wouldn't have perished out in the world.
Thinking of this, Bibi Dong was suddenly filled with explosive anger and bottomless resentment. Gritting her teeth, she hissed, "Lin Mu, I will never forgive you!"
Even if Lin Mu didn't actively kill Yu Xiaogang himself, he was still intrinsically involved.
Several years ago, Lin Mu had publicly and humiliatingly revealed Bibi Dong's scandalous relationship with Yu Xiaogang right in front of the Supreme Pontiff's Palace, seriously affecting her absolute prestige.
To prevent the ensuing scandal from completely derailing her grand plans, Bibi Dong had no choice but to officially expel Yu Xiaogang from Spirit City.
However, Bibi Dong had secretly sent people to carefully escort Yu Xiaogang, planning to slowly bring him back once she truly and completely controlled Spirit Hall from top to bottom.
In just a few short years, they were permanently separated by death.
In her heavily biased view, it was absolutely all Lin Mu's fault. Regardless of whether Lin Mu actually killed Xiaogang or not, she had to avenge him.
Besides Lin Mu, all the other soul masters present that day were also heavily implicated in her mind.
Clearly, she and Xiaogang were deeply in love, yet these close-minded people looked at them with strange, judging eyes, even going to great lengths to violently prevent them from being together, it was utterly hateful.
What was wrong with her simply pursuing true love?
How could a bunch of ignorant mortals possibly understand Xiaogang's profound wisdom?
Although Xiaogang's actual soul power level was pathetically low, this precisely proved his rare and precious wisdom; even in his simple attire, he exuded a powerful aura of deep learning.
Perhaps it's exactly because average soul masters generally have lower intelligence that emotionally blinded women like Bibi Dong and Liu Erlong even exist in this world.
After a long while, Bibi Dong finally suppressed her outward anger, her expression returning to its previous chilling calm, a calmness that had a distinctly sinister feel to it.
She sat back down on her throne, looking down coldly at the trembling Ghost Leopard Douluo, and said without any room for doubt, "Elder Ghost Leopard, go to the Heaven Dou Empire's military camp again and specifically tell Lin Mu one thing: this blood grudge will be avenged."
Hearing this insane order, Ghost Leopard Douluo was completely dumbfounded.
What a sick joke!
Although Lin Mu had generously let him go once, it definitely didn't mean he would tolerate him and let him go a second time.
The other party hadn't even actively used his martial soul, yet he had effortlessly sent him flying hundreds of meters with a single, casual punch.
His true strength had reached a completely unfathomable level, perhaps even vastly stronger than the Grand Worship himself.
Moreover, he was currently seriously injured; if Lin Mu punched him again, whether he would even survive was completely unknown.
"This crazy woman doesn't even treat me like a human being!" Ghost Leopard Douluo muttered bitterly to himself.
Previously, he had only mildly contradicted Bibi Dong once, yet she had maliciously pushed him to the absolute brink of death in retaliation.
In his practical eyes, Yu Xiaogang was just a completely worthless piece of trash, and only a deranged woman like Bibi Dong valued this trash.
If he were to needlessly lose his own life over a piece of trash, his life would truly be too worthless.
"Your Holiness, my injuries are so severe that I am simply no longer able to effectively carry out your mission. Please send Elder Devil Bear instead; his defense is much more resilient," Ghost Leopard Douluo said earnestly.
Although they were both highly ranked elders of Spirit Hall, they didn't actually have much interaction in private. If he could successfully pass this suicidal task onto Devil Bear Douluo, that would be best.
However, Bibi Dong didn't want to let him off so easily. She said coldly, "Elder Devil Bear's soul power is comparatively lower, and he is notoriously not good at speed. He is also completely unfamiliar with the enemy camp's layout. It is vastly more suitable for you to go."
"Your Holiness, I am truly unable to move properly. Please rescind your order."
As he spoke, Ghost Leopard Douluo desperately looked up at Bibi Dong, only to meet her icy, murderous gaze, followed immediately by an extremely strong, oppressive pressure.
THUMP!!
Under Bibi Dong's overwhelming aura, the already severely injured Ghost Leopard Douluo violently collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.
Having just learned of Yu Xiaogang's sudden death, Bibi Dong was teetering on the absolute verge of an emotional collapse.
While appearing outwardly calm, she was actually incredibly frantic and naturally wouldn't tolerate Ghost Leopard Douluo's insubordination any longer.
"I'll ask you one last time. Will you go or not?"
"I'll go."
Seeing the naked, unrestrained killing intent burning in Bibi Dong's eyes, Ghost Leopard Douluo had absolutely no choice but to submit to save his own life.
Seeing his forced agreement, Bibi Dong finally withdrew her crushing aura and coldly ordered, "Tomorrow morning, go directly to the Heaven Dou Empire's military camp. I'll generously give you one night to recover from your injuries."
"Your subordinate obeys."
Ghost Leopard Douluo lowered his head, a hidden, resolute glint finally forming in his eyes.
The next day.
Early in the morning, Ghost Leopard Douluo dragged his still heavily weakened body and actively sneaked into the Heaven Dou Empire's military camp.
Unlike before, he didn't deliberately try to conceal his aura or hide in the shadows. He went straight into the camp, even intentionally attracting the attention of several guards.
"You actually dare to come back again? Do you really think I won't kill you?"
Just as Ghost Leopard Douluo fully entered the military camp, Lin Mu suddenly appeared right behind him, gripping his shoulder exactly like last time.
Startled by the sudden voice behind him, Ghost Leopard Douluo quickly regained his composure.
"Your Excellency, I've come here mainly to formally pledge my absolute allegiance to you. Bibi Dong is a complete, raving madwoman. I want to officially join your Wuji Sect," Ghost Leopard Douluo said sincerely, pleading.
After a long night of bitter reflection, Ghost Leopard Douluo increasingly felt that Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo had been incredibly farsighted in leaving when they did.
Before the war officially broke out, Spirit Hall was indisputably already the strongest power on the entire continent. But Bibi Dong, entirely for her own selfish, twisted interests, brutally insisted on establishing the Spirit Empire.
Initially, the Spirit Empire held a certain military advantage, but as the Heaven Dou Empire quickly sent massive troops to reinforce the Star Luo Empire, the overall situation became deadlocked.
And this was all before the Wuji Sect had even fully joined the war; otherwise, the Spirit Empire would have been absolutely unable to withstand the combined pressure.
After all, the Wuji Sect had actively merged with many powerful forces, including the once-mighty Clear Sky Sect, now operating directly as the Hammer Hall.
Even completely ignoring Lin Mu, their overall combat strength was still vastly greater than the combined strength of the new Seven Great Sects.
Most importantly, Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo were also thriving at the Wuji Sect.
Upon finally learning Ghost Leopard Douluo's true purpose, Lin Mu hesitated for a brief moment, then said with a slight hint of exasperation, "Alright, you can stay safely in the military camp for now."
At this self-destructive rate, all the remaining elders of Spirit Hall would eventually be wiped out by Bibi Dong herself.
Strictly speaking, these Spirit Hall elders weren't truly loyal to Bibi Dong as a person, but rather to the grand institution of Spirit Hall itself.
Others might suspect a complex spy conspiracy.
Only Lin Mu wasn't worried at all about such a possibility. Any clever conspiracy was utterly insignificant in the absolute face of overwhelming power, especially since Ghost Leopard Douluo wouldn't dare try such a thing even if he had a thousand lives to spare.
Looking across the entire continent, a Level 95 Titled Douluo was generally considered a true top-tier expert.
But to him, apart from Limit Douluos, all other soul masters were utterly, completely vulnerable; in fact, if he actually used his full strength, even a Limit Douluo couldn't withstand a single, focused blow.
Soon, the shocking news of Ghost Leopard Douluo's sudden, highly public defection to the Heaven Dou Empire reached Bibi Dong's ears, nearly making her lungs literally explode with sheer, unfiltered rage.