Not daring to be negligent in the slightest, Salas quickly reined in his previous arrogance, even bowing slightly. With great care and respect, he held up the Supreme Pontiff's Decree with both hands and presented it to Master, forcing a smile that was uglier than crying.
With a sneer, Master took the Supreme Pontiff's Decree, deliberately putting on an arrogant and indifferent expression. From a condescending position, he questioned Salas:
"Your Excellency Salas, may I ask, are you still going to arrest someone from my Shrek Academy?"
Facing this token that represented Supreme Pontiff's personal presence, Salas, despite his immense unwillingness and rage, could only forcefully suppress it. He squeezed out an extremely ugly smile and repeatedly waved his hand, saying:
"No, no, Elder Master..."
His words of surrender were not yet fully spoken.
"Slap—!!!"
An extremely crisp and loud slap.
It was like a thunderclap, instantly drowning out all other sounds in the arena!
A jade-green figure appeared before Master with ghost-like speed, without any warning! It was none other than the Poison Douluo, Dugu Bo!
He didn't waste any words. In the instant that everyone, including Salas, failed to react, he suddenly raised his palm, carrying the terrifying power and speed of a Titled Douluo, and slammed a solid, merciless slap across Master Yu Xiaogang's face!
"Pfft—!"
Master didn't even have time to react. He was sent flying off the ground like straw caught in a strong wind by that powerful, heavy slap.
Immediately after, he spat out a large mouthful of blood mixed with broken teeth in mid-air, then crashed heavily onto the Douhun Stage ground several meters away, rolling several times before stopping.
In the blink of an eye, Master was knocked head over heels, half of his face instantly swollen like a pig's head, and his consciousness became temporarily blurry.
This sudden, incredibly vicious slap stunned everyone!
Salas was even more dumbfounded, frozen in place, his subsequent words completely stuck in his throat. He had never expected that Dugu Bo would dare to attack the holder of the Supreme Pontiff's Decree so recklessly in front of it!
"What kind of damn Supreme Pontiff's Decree is this?"
Dugu Bo didn't even bother to look at Master, who was lying on the ground like a dead dog. He slowly withdrew his palm, his cold gaze sweeping over the Supreme Pontiff's Decree that had fallen to the ground. A sneer of undisguised disdain and arrogance curled his lips, and he spoke with extreme contempt and provocation.
"This old man isn't one of your Spirit Hall's people..."
"I—don't—recognize—it!"
As soon as these words were uttered, the entire audience was shocked!
Dugu Bo was openly defying the highest authority of Spirit Hall!
He used the most direct and brutal method to show that he didn't buy into Spirit Hall's ways at all!
No matter what Supreme Pontiff's Decree you had, in front of him, the Poison Douluo, if you dared to be arrogant, you would be beaten without question!
Seeing Master spit blood and fall to the ground in a sorry state after being slapped by Dugu Bo, Tang San, anxious about the twin spirits Cultivation method, how could he stand by and do nothing?
"Dugu Bo! Don't go too far! This is the Continental Advanced Spirit Master Elite Tournament. What reason do you have to openly go on stage and assault a teacher from a participating academy?!"
He tried to use the competition rules to suppress Dugu Bo.
At the same time, Salas also recovered from his initial shock.
Although he also despised Yu Xiaogang in his heart, Dugu Bo's slap just now not only hit Yu Xiaogang but also Spirit Hall's face!
Especially after the Supreme Pontiff's Decree had just displayed its authority!
If this matter were to reach Spirit City and Supreme Pontiff learned that he, Salas, was present yet allowed an outsider to humiliate an Elder holding the Supreme Pontiff's Decree, then his tenure as Platinum Bishop would be over.
Therefore, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and step forward, looking at Dugu Bo with a grim expression and questioning him, "Your Excellency Poison Douluo! Master now holds the Supreme Pontiff's Decree, making him an Elder of my Spirit Hall! Doesn't your action completely disregard my Spirit Hall?"
Upon hearing this, a hint of disdain flashed in Dugu Bo's jade-green eyes. He had long anticipated that Salas would use Spirit Hall to pressure him. He then snorted coldly, his voice sharp and compelling:
"Bishop Salas, don't try to frame this old man! Fallen Evil Soul Master are the common enemies of the entire continent! Everyone has the right to kill them! As a bishop of Spirit Hall, are you going to protect this Tang San, who is suspected of cultivating evil arts and harming participating Soul Masters, just for a mere token?!"
He emphasized the words 'Evil Soul Master' and 'common enemy,' directly elevating the issue to an opposition against the entire Spirit Master's world.
Upon hearing this, Salas's face turned pale, then green. He naturally dared not openly bear the crime of sheltering an Evil Soul Master, especially under the watchful eyes of the crowd.
Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to calm down, shook his head, and his tone became more impartial. "Your Excellency, you exaggerate. I naturally will not protect anyone. Spirit Hall has always been fair and strict; we will never let go of an evil being, but we will also never wrong an innocent person."
At this point, Salas changed the subject, his gaze sweeping over the gasping, corpse-like students of Canghui Academy on the ground, a troubled expression on his face.
"It's just... now that everyone from Canghui Academy is in this state, unconscious and practically dead. As the saying goes, 'no proof if they're dead,' I... I can't just rashly arrest someone based on speculation alone; it would be hard to convince the public! After all, what if it was due to a Fusion skill backlash?"
"Unless... unless the people from Canghui Academy can immediately wake up and personally identify what Tang San did to them in the colorful light just now!"
"If the situation is true and the evidence is conclusive, this bishop will immediately arrest him, without another word!"
This move of his was quite cunning; it temporarily preserved Spirit Hall's face, didn't succumb to Dugu Bo's pressure, and also shifted the responsibility.
Anyway, Supreme Pontiff hadn't ordered him to definitely arrest Tang San, so whether Tang San was arrested now or not was none of Salas's business.
If he offended Supreme Pontiff's old flame because of today's incident, it would be a losing battle if this useless person spoke ill of him in front of Supreme Pontiff later. Moreover, the latter now held the Supreme Pontiff's Decree.
Tang San heard Salas's remark about 'no proof if they're dead,' and his heart immediately settled. Feeling that he had gained the absolute upper hand, the feigned grievance and anger on his face slowly receded, replaced by an undisguised look of triumph and provocation, as he said:
"Poison Douluo, did you not hear what Bishop Salas just said? Or are you old and hard of hearing?"
"If these people from Canghui Academy can immediately wake up now and personally identify what I did to them just now! I, Tang San, will surrender without resistance!"
"As long as they can stand up and point me out, I, Tang San, will be the Evil Soul Master you speak of, accepting any beating or punishment without complaint!"
"What a pity... in their current state, it's already a case of 'no proof if they're dead.'"
Tang San's words were tantamount to openly challenging Dugu Bo and everyone who doubted him, in front of tens of thousands of people, an extremely arrogant posture!
Upon hearing this, Dugu Bo's brow furrowed slightly, his face so grim it looked like it could drip water. Just as he was about to speak, a clear and undeniable voice suddenly came from not far away.
"Alright, Tang San!"
"Remember what you just said!"
This voice was extremely familiar to Dugu Bo!
"No proof if they're dead?"
"What if I can bring them back to life?"
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