The night was desolate. Throughout the entire Martial Soul City, apart from the patrolling guards still on duty and the temple knights responsible for guarding the Martial Soul Hall, the city's lights were extinguished as the night grew deeper.

The deserted streets were silent. The imposing and solemn Martial Soul Hall, which stood majestically during the day, was shrouded in the damp, cold night mist. The dark night was like an endless, thick ink painting across the sky, even the faint light of the stars was obscured by the heavy clouds.

A crimson figure moved like a ghost, seemingly moving slowly, yet with each step she took, she advanced at least ten meters.

The silent corridor was lit only by lamps on both sides of the walls. The long, narrow passageway stretched downwards until a thick, lead-gray wall blocked the way for those who came.

If Qian Renxue and Qian Yuelong were here, they would definitely recognize that this thick wall was the last line of defense the two sisters used to enter the secret room where Qian Xunji was when they came to visit him.

The dim light shone on the newcomer's fair profile, also illuminating the chilling murderous intent surging in her eyes.

She raised her hand, her nails painted with orchid-purple nail polish touching the cold, heavy wall. With a blank expression, she pressed down hard, and a rectangular brick dented into the seamless wall, activating the hidden door mechanism. A rectangular archway suddenly opened wide for her.

"call--"

A breeze from inside the room ruffled a few strands of her light purple hair, which fell across her face, and her long hair, draped over her back, danced in the wind.

"Da da da,"

The unique rhythm of high heels on the ground caused the man sitting on the black throne at the end of the dark room, his right hand supporting his cheek, who had been resting with his eyes closed, to suddenly open his eyes.

A cold glint of alertness flashed in the man's eyes. He slightly raised his head to look at the person who had stepped into the secret room. The pale face gave him a sense of weakness in the flickering candlelight.

When his dark golden eyes met the figure in the light blue dress, the wariness in them turned into doubt, and he spoke with puzzlement:

"My good disciple, what brings you here?"

Her beautiful face and noble demeanor were striking. If Qian Yuelong were here, she would surely be astonished by Bibi Dong's transformation.

If Bibi Dong was once a fragile flower branch bent after being hit by a storm, then Bibi Dong now is a thorny rose that can still bloom brilliantly even under the raging wind and rain.

Perhaps, the thorns also carry deadly poison.

Why did I come?

Bibi Dong parted her lips slightly and repeated Qian Xunji's question as if chewing slowly. A deep vortex surged in her pupils, which were tinged with a hint of purple, and inside surged a mixture of murderous intent, excitement, hatred and many other complex and obscure emotions.

Perhaps due to the insufficient air in the dark room, Bibi Dong's graceful silhouette reflected on the ground behind her seemed to distort for a moment in the flickering candlelight. The originally normal figure suddenly sprouted long, pointed limbs resembling those of a spider.

Sensing that something was amiss, Chihiro's expression shifted slightly. As if realizing something, she questioned, "Where are the guardian knights standing at the entrance to the secret chamber?"

"Of course, it's to kill you."

Bibi Dong, who was not answering the question, read out the answer in an extremely soft and slow voice.

The moment she finished uttering the last four emphasized words, her body suddenly twisted in place. Sensing the danger, Qian Xunji's expression changed drastically. Just as he was about to dodge, a long, purplish-black thorn, even faster than his movement, suddenly pierced out from behind Bibi Dong, who had appeared in front of her, mercilessly piercing his shoulders and both thighs.

"ah--!"

The excruciating pain caused Qian Xunji, who was still in a weak recovery period, to black out and almost faint.

But the slender hand that was gripping his chin tightly squeezed his jawbone, not only stopping his screams of pain but also pressing on acupoints on his face, miraculously keeping him conscious in a state of excruciating agony.

"you..."

A sharp killing intent exploded in the air. Qian Xunji looked at Bibi Dong's face, which was so close to him and twisted with intense hatred and pleasure, and only then did a look of horror appear in his eyes.

Do you know how long I've wanted this day?

Bibi Dong, who had nailed Qian Xunji to the throne with a spider-like external soul bone, spoke in a hoarse voice. Looking at Qian Xunji's miserable state, where he was controlled by her and whose eyes were filled with panic, Bibi Dong almost wanted to burst out laughing.

"Qian Xunji, Qian Xunji, you've finally met your match!"

The deadly poison from the external soul bone was injected into his body through the spider legs that pierced his flesh.

Chihiro felt as if her internal organs were being scorched in magma, and her eardrums, eye sockets, mouth and nose all overflowed with purplish-black blood.

It looked as if the spider venom had spread deep into his lungs and internal organs.

Only then did Qian Xunji realize that Bibi Dong still hated him. He struggled to squeeze out a voice through Bibi Dong's grip: "You...can't kill me...I am...the Pope..."

In Qian Xunji's view, even if Bibi Dong managed to transfer the guardian knights who were guarding the secret chamber, there would definitely be traces left behind as long as Bibi Dong had been there.

Once the elders examine his body, they will find traces of spider venom on his bones, leading them to suspect Bibi Dong. Even though Bibi Dong is the second person in the Douluo Continent in a thousand years to possess twin martial soul masters with innate full soul power, and a millennium prodigy who hasn't suffered the backlash from simultaneously possessing twin martial souls and soul rings, killing him, the Pope of the Spirit Hall, will still mean Bibi Dong faces pursuit from the entire Spirit Hall!

"If you give up now... I can... let bygones be bygones..."

Qian Xunji tried to appeal to her emotions.

Bibi Dong remained unmoved, and even a hint of indifference and disdain appeared in her phoenix eyes, which were filled with madness and pleasure.

Do you think I would do something impulsive and not entirely confident right now?

With a slight thought, the external soul bones she had pierced into Qian Xunji's shoulders and legs began to slowly rotate within his flesh, as if being slowly sliced ​​apart with a knife. The pain caused Qian Xunji's face to contort and his body to tremble uncontrollably. More purplish-black blood oozed from the wounds, soaking through the papal robe that symbolized the supreme glory of the Spirit Hall.

It was as if she were personally tarnishing the glory of the Spirit Hall. A rebellious sense of pleasure rose in Bibi Dong's heart, but the words that came out of her mouth became increasingly gentle:

"Now, everyone on the continent knows about Pope Qian Xunji of the Spirit Hall and the newly promoted Title Douluo Tang Hao. In the battle, Pope Qian Xunji was severely injured by Tang Hao. Although he returned to the Spirit Hall, he is still not long for life."

The smile on her lips widened as she said, word by word, "This is something that even the Elders' Hall and the Hall of Offerings know about."

Qian Xunji, who was able to sit in the position of Pope, certainly had more than just strength. He immediately understood the meaning behind Bibi Dong's words, and his eyes showed anger at being betrayed and fear of being manipulated. "You!"

—A side note—

I got home late today, and I'm still writing another chapter. I'll post it whenever I finish writing it~