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When the first ray of morning sunlight bathed the summit of Pope Mountain, a group emerged from the side door of the Pope's Hall. Twelve red-robed bishops stepped forward slowly, splitting into two neat rows of six, flanking the entrance.
"Her Holiness the Pope has arrived!"
The leader's shout echoed through Spirit City, igniting a thunderous roar from the crowd: "Long live the Pope!"
The massive doors of the hall creaked open, and Pope Bibi Dong, adorned in her resplendent papal regalia, known among some as the most alluring figure in the Douluo Continent, stepped out gracefully. Spirit Hall members knelt in reverence as she advanced.
Trailing behind her were Chrysanthemum Douluo: Yue Guan, Ghost Douluo: Gui Mei, Sword Douluo: Chen Xin, and Ning Fengzhi, the sect leader of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan and an honorary elder of Spirit Hall.
As the five figures appeared, nearly everyone dropped to their knees, except for Ning Tian, Zhu Zhuqing, Ye Lingling, Ning Rongrong, Zhu Qing, the four Shrek monsters, and Xiao Wu.
Zhu Zhuqing, Ye Lingling, Ning Rongrong, and Zhu Qing remained standing because they followed Ning Tian's lead. If he didn't kneel, neither would they. The Shrek team mirrored this defiance, though their reasons differed.
Bibi Dong's gaze swept over the ten who refused to kneel. An intriguing moment unfolded; she utterly disregarded Tang San, Xiao Wu, and the Shrek member, but when her eyes settled on Ning Tian and Zhu Qing, a faint smile curved her lips. "You must be Master Zhu Qing and her disciple, Ning Tian?"
"Yes, Your Holiness!" Ning Tian met her stare unflinchingly, his voice steady.
Zhu Qing nodded too, though the weight of the Pope's presence pressed on her. It was Ning Tian's protective stance that kept her from faltering.
Far from offended by Ning Tian's lack of deference, Bibi Dong nodded approvingly. "Impressive. Neither servile nor arrogant, self-reliant, respectful of your master, and free of complaints. Far better than that shit boy from your Heaven Dou Imperial Academy secondary team."
The words shit boy rippled through the crowd, stunning everyone. Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo, along with the twelve bishops, turned amused glances toward Tang San.
Ning Fengzhi, standing behind Bibi Dong, sighed inwardly. With the Pope of Spirit Hall personally branding Tang San as shit boy, the nickname would stick like glue. Wherever he went, he'd be the "Shit Man." Even if he rose to Title Douluo, he'd likely be dubbed "Shit Douluo," much like Yue Guan's, "Chrysanthemum," thanks to his flamboyant flair.
Tang San's face paled, then darkened. 'This wretched Pope had not only killed my mother but now humiliated me before the world. She is begging for death.'
Bibi Dong didn't linger on Ning Tian. With a light wave of her scepter, she signaled the kneeling masses to rise.
But when her eyes flicked to Tang San, they brimmed with scorn and mockery. The rest of the Shrek team caught the fallout, each wishing the ground would swallow them whole.
Ning Tao, in particular, seethed with resentment toward Tang San. As the second genius of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan's younger generation, he was now tainted with the label "shit team member." All because of this shit man and his incessant blunders. It was bad enough during the preliminaries and promotion rounds, but to mess up again in the finals? Utterly shameless.
A subtle smile graced Bibi Dong's regal features as her gaze swept the top three teams. After some formal remarks, she waved her scepter again, unveiling the rewards for the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament: three soul bones.
The crowd's greedy eyes locked onto them as Ghost Douluo Gui Mei stepped forward to introduce the prizes: the Mental Condensation Wisdom Skull, the Bursting Incineration Flame Right Arm Bone, and the Swift Pursuit Wind Left Leg Bone.
Gui Mei noted that the Wisdom Skull exceeded 50,000 years, while the others were ten-thousand-year bones. But Ning Tian knew the truth: the Wisdom Skull was 60,000 years old, and the other two were at least 30,000 years each.
With the introduction complete, the final showdown began.
The top three competition was an individual elimination bout. Each team sent seven fighters, one at a time. The last one standing would advance to the top two for tomorrow's championship clash, while the other teams faced off in a group battle.
For a contest like this, Ning Tian wouldn't back down. It was, after all, just a single sword strike.
The Shrek team and Godwind Academy, however, forfeited outright. Even the fiery Huo Wu didn't push her luck. They all knew that in one-on-one combat, no one could match Ning Tian.
A war of attrition was pointless against him.
Thus, the first half ended with the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy main team advancing.
…..
In the afternoon, the Godwind Academy squared off against the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy secondary team, better known as the Shrek squad.
Despite boasting seven Spirit Ancestors, Godwind couldn't clinch victory, thanks to Shrek's edge with external soul bones.
Still, the Shrek team barely scraped by. Tang San's external soul bone shattered under Feng Xiaotian's Gale Demon Wolf Thirty-Six Slashes, breaking into jagged fragments.
Ning Tian's eyes narrowed at the sight. He knew the Crypt Demon Spider external soul bone outclassed both the Black Widow and Human-Faced Demon Spider bones in durability.
…..
That night, Xiao Wu confided in Ning Tian about how Tang San planned to lace the Crypt Demon Spider fragments with poison and use them as hidden weapons to ambush their team.
Ning Tian was speechless. 'Old habits die hard, it seemed.'
Sure enough, during the next day's championship battle, Tang San drew the poisoned fragments from his storage soul tool, the Twenty-Four Bridges Bright Moon Night. With the Batwing Rebound technique, he launched them at Ning Tian's group.
The fragments gleamed oddly, their surfaces coated with lethal venom.
But before they could strike, a golden light flared from Ye Lingling's Sacred Heart Begonia, halting them midair. To the crowd's shock, the shards sank like stones through water, drifting harmlessly to the ground.
"How is this possible?" Tang San's eyes widened, disbelief etched across his face. His trump card, the Batwing Rebound, had been nullified effortlessly.
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