Douluo Continent: My Martial Soul is the Black Dragon, I am the Lord of the Gods

Chapter 278: Strike first to gain the upper hand

……

Yue Guan gently knocked on the carriage door, and after receiving permission, slowly pushed it open, gesturing for the four of them to enter.

Pope Bibidon sat in the center of the carriage, wearing a simple purple-gold robe, while Huliena sat beside her.

After Xuanming and the other two entered the carriage, Bibi Dong slightly raised her hand, gesturing for everyone to sit down.

“Xuanming, the journey to Wuhun City is long, and I am worried that something unexpected may happen. Although you are very strong, it is easy to dodge a spear in the open but difficult to guard against an arrow in the dark. I want to arrange for you to stay by my side to ensure that nothing goes wrong.” Bibi Dong’s voice was gentle but left no room for doubt.

The shadowy figure had remained silent for so long, undoubtedly waiting for this stretch of road. She didn't think the other party would dare to make a move in Martial Soul City. If they did, even if they killed Xuanming, the seven great families would be declaring war on the Martial Soul Hall.

If even the Haotian Sect wouldn't dare to do that, the seven great families certainly wouldn't have the guts.

Xuanming did not answer, but looked at Xue Qinghe.

If he doesn't agree, Bibi Dong will be angry, and Hu Liena will be angry too.

If he agrees right away, Qian Renxue will get angry again.

Xue Qinghe felt his gaze, and his previously depressed mood eased slightly. "Thank you for your concern, Your Holiness. However, the Royal Fighting Team is accompanied by Sect Master Ning of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School and Sword Douluo, so their safety should not be a problem. Please rest assured, Your Holiness, we will definitely arrive at Wuhun City safely."

Bibi Dong raised an eyebrow slightly upon hearing this, "What if I insist on keeping him here?"

Xue Qinghe was taken aback. "Your Holiness is joking. This..."

"A joke? Now that he's here, whether he stays or not is probably not up to him." Bibi Dong's tone was calm, but it carried an undeniable air of authority.

Xue Qinghe's expression froze; he hadn't expected her to be so forceful, and he was momentarily speechless.

"Yue Guan, go and inform Sect Master Ning and the members of the Royal Fighting Team that I will personally take care of Xuan Ming from now on. I will take care of his safety myself, so they don't need to worry about it," Bibi Dong ordered.

"Yes." Yue Guan accepted the order and turned to walk towards the back of the convoy.

"Does Your Highness have anything else?" Bibi Dong asked, raising her eyes.

Xue Qinghe frowned slightly. "Since His Holiness the Pope values ​​Xuanming's safety so much, I naturally support him. However, Xuanming is, after all, a man, and leaving him here alone might cause controversy. Perhaps I should stay with him as well?"

Bibi Dong smiled slightly, "Unfortunately, Your Highness, there's no room here."

Xue Qinghe glanced around the spacious carriage. "Really? I find it quite spacious. Or is there something inconvenient for His Holiness the Pope?"

"As expected of His Highness the Crown Prince, you guessed correctly," Bibi Dong said calmly.

Xue Qinghe paused for a moment, "Your Holiness is joking."

"I'm not kidding."

Xue Qinghe remained silent for a moment, then turned her gaze to Xuan Ming. "Xuan Ming, do you think I should stay?"

Xuanming pondered for a moment and said, "Your Highness is right. It is indeed not appropriate for me to be here alone."

If Qian Renxue stays, Bibi Dong and Hu Liena will be more restrained; if she leaves, the situation will likely spiral out of control.

"Your Holiness, did you hear that?" Xue Qinghe looked at Bibi Dong with a hint of smugness.

Bibi Dong narrowed her eyes slightly. "So what if you heard it? This is the Pope's carriage. Whoever I want to stay, I can let stay. Whoever I don't want to stay, dares to linger even a moment longer?"

Xue Qinghe's expression changed slightly. "Isn't Your Holiness's behavior somewhat undignified?"

"So?" Bibi Dong countered, "Will Your Highness descend on your own, or shall I invite you down?"

Xue Qinghe's eyes narrowed. "Your Holiness, the Pope..."

Before she could finish speaking, Xuanming gently pressed her hand and shook his head slightly.

In the past, Bibi Dong would have given some consideration to Xue Qinghe's identity, but now, even if Qian Renxue's undercover identity is directly exposed, Bibi Dong doesn't care!
Xue Qinghe took a deep breath. "In that case, I'll take my leave."

After speaking, Xue Qinghe stood up, walked out of the carriage, and, escorted by two cardinals and Holy Knights, headed towards the rear of the convoy.

"Are you serious?" Xuanming asked helplessly.

"I was just about to ask you, what are you doing?" Bibi Dong asked.

"Don't forget what will happen next."

"You should have found a chance to break up with her back in Tiandou City!"

"But even now you still haven't distanced yourself from her. What are you thinking?"

Golden Crocodile Douluo must be deposed; this is a necessary step for her to regain the Pope's power!
Once Xuanming takes action to cripple Jin'e, Qian Renxue will be the one stuck in the middle.

“If this entanglement continues, she’ll suffer even if she hates you, don’t you know that?” Bibi Dong said.

Xuanming sighed, "I know."

"Then what are you thinking about?" Bibi Dong asked, puzzled.

"Are you planning to deliberately torture her?"

“I’ve tried it, several times.” Xuanming looked at Gu Yuena.

"Even she helped me scold them, but it was no use."

From the start of the qualifiers, he had been looking for opportunities to distance himself from Qian Renxue, but no matter what he said or did, Qian Renxue would always pretend nothing had happened and come up to him the next day.

It was a completely persistent and clingy attitude!

"The more I try to distance myself from her, the closer she gets, like she's suddenly become rebellious," Xuanming said helplessly. "I've tried everything I can, and I've made her cry several times, but it's all useless."

Gu Yuena nodded. "Really, it's completely useless."

Bibi Dong frowned. "So troublesome? It seems there's only one way."

"What method?" Xuanming asked.

“At that time, you will expose her identity as Xue Qinghe as well,” Bibi Dong said.

Xuanming was taken aback. "Are you serious?"

“This is something she has worked hard for over ten years, and it’s the thing she cares about most. If you ruin all her efforts over the years, then at least she can have a legitimate reason to hate you about the Golden Crocodile incident,” Bibi Dong said.

Xuanming hesitated for a moment, "Isn't this going too far?"

"A short pain is worse than a long one," Bibi Dong said.

"Getting entangled with her will only cause her more pain. The choice is yours."

Xuanming was silent for a moment, then said, "Alright."

"However, if she's exposed, will your Soul Hunting Plan have to be launched ahead of schedule?"

The plan to exterminate the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon School was decided upon when Bibi Dong first took power.

If Xue Qinghe can successfully ascend the throne and bring the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School under his control, then he only needs to destroy the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon School as a deterrent.

If her undercover operation fails, both cases must be eliminated.

Once the three upper sects disappear, the Spirit Hall will become the sole ruler of the Spirit Master world.

At that time, Bibi Dong will use the prestige of the Spirit Hall to re-select the seven major sects, stabilize the spirit master world, and at the same time annex the border kingdoms of the two great empires that have been secretly expanding for many years, establish the Spirit Empire, and declare war on the two great empires.

The plan to seize the country is the best strategy—the Heaven Dou Empire launches a war to seize the moral high ground, while the Spirit Hall directly takes action, which is legally considered treason.

However, if the best strategy fails, the Spirit Hall will never abandon the worst strategy.

"You want me to let the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School off the hook?" Bibi Dong said.

"Is that alright?" Xuanming asked.

"That depends on you," Bibi Dong said.

"If you can persuade the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School to submit to the Spirit Hall, I will naturally not need to take action against them. However, if this plan fails, the Spirit Hall must strike first. Otherwise, keeping them around will only make them helpers for the Heaven Dou Royal Family."

The history of Soul Masters in Douluo Continent is not long, or rather, there is a gap in the lineage.

Before the establishment of the Heavenly Dou Empire a thousand years ago, the continent was composed of many small countries, and historical records are scarce.

The Star Luo Empire only gradually rose from the Southern Region eight hundred years ago.

The confrontation between the two great empires actually lasted less than five hundred years.

Until the last two hundred years, the power of the Heavenly Dou Empire gradually dispersed, while the Star Luo Empire grew stronger thanks to its unique competitive system.

However, a powerful and unified empire would never tolerate the existence of an organization like the Spirit Hall.

Regardless of which side wins, once the continent is unified, the Spirit Hall will inevitably perish.

In recent centuries, Soul Masters have increasingly participated in wars, even becoming the key to determining victory or defeat.

To prevent Xingluo from growing too fast and swallowing up Tiandou, the Spirit Hall has been secretly balancing the power of the two empires' spirit masters for two hundred years.

The fact that all seven major sects of the Soul Master world are located within the Heaven Dou territory is a result of the intervention of the Spirit Hall.

Among them, the Six-Winged Angel Clan contributed the most. Two hundred years ago, the former Judgment Elder of the Spirit Hall and the father of Qian Daoliu almost wiped out all the Title Douluo in the Star Luo territory, severely damaging the Star Luo Soul Master force.

Decades ago, Qian Daoliu, as an elder of the Judgment, carried out another purge of the Soul Master world.

In addition to suppressing Xingluo, the Spirit Hall has also been providing assistance to Tiandou at the level of Spirit Masters in order to maintain the balance between the two empires.

However, the Six-Winged Angel Clan only wanted to maintain the status quo—relying on their powerful martial spirit inheritance, as long as they conducted a purge of the soul master world every few decades or centuries, the Spirit Hall's transcendent status could be permanently secured.

As the core of the six-winged angel family, they can naturally remain supreme forever.

They have always looked down on the mortal world; otherwise, they could have rallied Soul Masters to unify the continent thousands of years ago, instead of waiting until the birth of the two great empires before stepping forward as the rulers of Soul Masters to establish the Spirit Hall.

Even the current strength of the Spirit Hall is entirely due to her efforts.

Qian Daoliu didn't care about any of this, but the elders in the hall were quite concerned—after all, the world of Soul Masters only recognizes strength, and the Six-Winged Angel family has a stable and powerful lineage, while they don't.

Although they are powerful themselves, the next generation may not be so.

Her proposed plan would allow them to obtain the same hereditary status and benefits as the nobles of the two great empires.

She was able to secure her position as Pope and control the Spirit Hall because she understood people's hearts. Not everyone is born into a high place, untouched by worldly dust, like the Six-Winged Angel family.

What most people want is a stable social status and readily available wealth and luxury.

The Soul Hunting Plan was proposed by her at the beginning of her tenure and was approved by the Elders' Hall.

The Spirit Hall has been preparing for this for years. Once Qian Renxue's identity is exposed, the annihilation of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon School must be launched immediately!

Get started first!
Otherwise, things will become complicated once all parties realize the Spirit Hall's intentions and are prepared.

(End of this chapter)