Su Ming thought it over and decided that it was enough. He wasn't bloodthirsty by nature, and the punishment he had given Ma Hongjun and Oscar was already severe. These two were unfortunate enough to follow someone like Tang San.
Oscar, especially, had a glimmer of hope for achieving the God of Food's position, but now, with his depleted life force and potential, reaching the Spirit Saint level before old age would be surprising.
Look at Dai Mubai: he was only a Spirit King, even with a head full of white hair, thanks to the side effects of his decisions. Had he trained gradually, he could've reached Spirit Douluo and perhaps even a Titled Douluo, but now… tsk tsk—only a Spirit King? Embarrassing.
Su Ming glanced at the host. "Please announce the results."
The red-robed bishop nodded and shouted, "The match is over! Heaven Dou Academy team is victorious!"
Su Ming and the others returned to Heaven Dou Academy's rest area, awaiting Bibi Dong's closing words.
"That was a truly exciting match. Let's congratulate Heaven Dou Academy on advancing to the championship!" Bibi Dong said. "Since Heaven Dou just finished their match, let's schedule the final showdown for this afternoon."
"Your Majesty, please wait!" Su Ming spoke up.
Bibi Dong looked at him, puzzled. "What is it?"
His teammates were also surprised. The match was over, so what was Su Ming planning?
"Your Majesty, there's no need to delay the match until the afternoon. As you saw, aside from myself and three others who used some spirit power, our team's condition is still very good."
"Give us half an hour to restore our spirit power and adjust, and we can proceed directly to the championship match."
Bibi Dong: …
Everyone: …
Was Su Ming seriously confident they could all recover in half an hour?
On the other side, the Thunder Academy team endured another round of humiliation.
Yu Tianxin wanted to protest. It wasn't our fault! They'd tried their best; Su Ming's power was just overwhelming!
Bibi Dong turned to the Spirit Hall team. "What do you think?"
Yan scoffed. "Your Majesty, Heaven Dou's attitude is outright contempt for Spirit Hall. Let's show them Spirit Hall's strength!"
Hu Liena rubbed her forehead, sighing. What is wrong with Yan's head? Why such hostility toward Heaven Dou? She wasn't aware Yan had noticed her occasional glances at Su Ming, sparking his jealousy.
Idiot! Hu Liena and Qian Renxue cursed Yan in their hearts. Hu Liena was a bit of a romantic, and since her teacher had said it was fine as long as her interest wasn't an enemy, what harm was there in admiring Su Ming's appearance? He'd soon be joining Spirit Hall anyway.
Su Ming caught Yan's expression and immediately knew what was going on. Yan was the ultimate sycophant for Hu Liena, another fool doomed to end up empty-handed, like Flender, Oscar, and Feng Xiaotian before him.
Bibi Dong frowned at Yan. She knew his feelings for Hu Liena, but now was hardly the time to speak out so foolishly. Did he think he could flaunt his Titled Douluo teacher?
Even Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo felt like hitting Yan. His arrogance would only make Spirit Hall seem oppressive, leaving a bad impression on the audience—and, worse, it would likely irritate Su Ming. If Yan caused Su Ming to reconsider joining Spirit Hall, they'd have no one but themselves to blame.
Qian Renxue coldly ordered, "Silence! Who allowed you to speak? You're neither the captain nor the strongest on the team. Know your place!"
Yan's face turned sullen. As a member of Spirit Hall's Golden Generation, he never expected Qian Renxue to dismiss him so harshly. But I'm a Golden Generation member! Qian Renxue mentally dismissed him further, thinking, Su Ming is my sworn brother—don't you dare disrespect him.
Humiliated, Yan could only bow reluctantly. "Apologies, Your Highness."
Following Qian Renxue's cue, Hu Liena placed her right hand over her chest and bowed slightly. "Your Majesty, if Heaven Dou Academy is so confident, let's start the final match in half an hour."
Bibi Dong nodded with a smile; this was exactly what she wanted. With the Spirit Master tournament over, she could announce some important decisions and take action. Delaying until the afternoon could invite complications.
"In that case, let's rest briefly. I'll have someone bring food shortly, and the match will begin in half an hour!" Bibi Dong announced.
Upon her signal, twelve red-robed bishops left to prepare food for the crowd. The audience was surprised by Bibi Dong's thoughtfulness—no wonder she was the Pope. After watching all morning, they were indeed getting hungry.
In the Heaven Dou rest area, Dugu Bo hugged Su Ming and patted his shoulder. "Thank you, little monster, for avenging my Yanyan. You've lifted a weight off my shoulders."
"Ew, Dugu, that's sentimental. Don't forget Yu Tianheng was after me from the start. Yanyan and the others just got caught in the crossfire. I did this for myself, really."
"Besides, sending Yu Tianheng down to reunite with Yu Yuanzhen is fitting. We're just waiting for Yu Xiaogang's turn; he won't be left unchecked for long."
Su Ming whispered this last part to Dugu Bo, not wanting too many people to know yet about Yu Yuanzhen's demise.
"Alright, alright. In any case, I'm grateful," Dugu Bo insisted. "Yanyan, say thank you!"
Su Ming chuckled. "Old monster, Dugu Yan is my girlfriend now. Avenging her is like avenging my own. No need to thank me—thanking would just make things awkward!"
As Su Ming spoke to Dugu Bo, he felt something soft and warm on his cheek. Turning, he found that Dugu Yan had unexpectedly stolen a kiss.
Despite her usual boldness, Dugu Yan's face turned red from kissing him in front of everyone. Su Ming gave Dugu Bo a knowing look—no doubt the old man had seen her move but hadn't warned him, grinning slyly.
Meanwhile, the crowd, curious to see how Su Ming would restore his spirit power in just half an hour, had their attention glued to the Heaven Dou rest area. Instead of food, they were served a heavy dose of PDA.
"Oh, I can't take it! I don't want to see more of this!" someone yelled, laughing.
"Where's my sword? I want to go slash him!" another joked, before nervously adding, "Just kidding—I'd like to live a few more years!"
Su Ming summoned his wood-element spirit, sending streams of green light into his teammates to speed up their spirit power recovery. Ten minutes later, they were back to full strength.
The audience was astonished at Heaven Dou Academy's recovery speed. Su Ming and the others casually enjoyed the snacks Spirit Hall provided, with Su Ming advising, "Let's just eat lightly; we don't want to be too full for the next match."
As the half hour passed, both teams were ready. The red-robed bishop announced, "Heaven Dou Academy and Spirit Hall teams, please take your positions!"
He continued, "We've already introduced Heaven Dou Academy, so let's go over Spirit Hall's lineup."
"Captain, Hu Liena, a sixty-seven-level control-type Spirit Emperor with the Fox Spirit.""Vice-Captain, Xie Yue, a fifty-six-level assault-type Spirit King with the Moon Blade.""Member, Yan, a fifty-five-level assault-type Spirit King with the Flame Lord Spirit.""Member, Sun Chuantao, a forty-nine-level assault-type Spirit Ancestor with the Ring Blade.""Member, Li Kai, a forty-eight-level assault-type Spirit Ancestor with the Black-Horned Boar Spirit.""Member, Xu Yu, a forty-six-level support-type Tool Spirit Ancestor with the Golden Scepter.""Substitute, Qian Renxue, an eighty-three-level assault-type Spirit Douluo with the Seraphim Spirit, granddaughter of the Grand Worshipper, and the Pope's daughter."
The crowd erupted into whispers.
"Whoa! Qian Renxue is an actual Spirit Douluo, and she's only twenty-three! And the Pope's daughter? I didn't know the Pope even had a daughter!"
Some people murmured, "I heard rumors about it before…"
The red-robed bishop wiped a nervous bead of sweat, realizing he had only recently learned that Qian Renxue was Bibi Dong's daughter and daughter of the previous Pope, Qian Xunji. He wondered about the Pope's intentions in making this announcement public today.
Su Ming raised an eyebrow at Qian Renxue and sent her a telepathic message, "So Bibi Dong's revealing your true identity. No more secrecy?"
Qian Renxue replied with a hint of regret, "It's all because of you, little brother. Bibi Dong thinks Hu Liena and Xie Yue's fusion skill won't be enough to hold you, so she's sent me to protect Spirit Hall's reputation. And since you're my sworn brother, I knew you wouldn't mind. Plus, I'm within the age limit, so this is a good opportunity."
Su Ming asked curiously, "So what's happening with 'Xue Qinghe'?"
"Don't worry. 'Xue Qinghe' is 'sick' today, resting in Spirit Hall's reserved quarters with two elders disguised as guards. Everything's under control," Qian Renxue replied confidently.
Meanwhile, Spear and Dolphin Douluo, stationed outside the empty hotel room posing as guards, were silently lamenting their situation. They were missing the significant operation Spirit Hall had planned against Tang San and Tang Hao.
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