I am a mortal who has achieved enlightenment through burning my secrets

Chapter 291 The First Battle!
The Pope's Palace!
"Bibi Dong, you've gone too far! You dare to kill my people!" Qian Renxue shouted angrily, pointing at Bibi Dong who was sitting on the papal throne.

The operation had already failed, and they had lost a key general. Now, they were being insulted to their faces. Bibi Dong roared in fury, "Give up! I am the Pope! Whether or not I kill someone is up to me!"

"Pfft~ You're the one who decides?"

Qian Renxue smiled sarcastically upon hearing this, poking at Bibi Dong's wound and saying, "Then why didn't you kill him? I think all you can do is talk a good game."

"To have someone like you as Pope is an insult to my Spirit Hall! One day I will bring you down from that position—"

"enough!"

Bibi Dong's soul power surged, creating gusts of wind within the Papal Palace, forcing Qian Renxue to use her hands to protect herself.

"I am now the Pope, and as long as I am in power, I will be in charge of the affairs of the Spirit Hall!"

Forced back to the front of the main hall by the soul power, Qian Renxue glared fiercely at Bibi Dong and said in a deep voice, "I won't let you have your way!"

After saying that, Qian Renxue turned and left the Papal Palace, heading towards another building in Wuhun City.

Inside the Papal Palace, Bibi Dong, unlike her previous strong and capable demeanor, slumped weakly on the papal throne, her fingernails digging into her flesh, and a hint of redness at the corners of her eyes as she opened and closed them.

……

Enshrinement Hall!
"grandfather!"

With red eyes, Qian Renxue threw herself into Qian Daoliu's arms, as if she wanted to vent all the grievances she had held in for years.

Qian Daoliu stroked his granddaughter's hair, a hint of doting in his eyes. She was not only his only remaining relative, but also the most likely successor to the angelic throne.

"You went to see her?"

"Ok!"

Qian Renxue nodded gently, then shook her head slightly, and said, "Grandpa, don't mention that woman again. I hate her!"

"Xue'er!"

Qian Daoliu gently shook his head and said, "In this world, you should understand her, not hate her! She is also a pitiful woman."

Qian Renxue lifted her head from her grandfather's arms and said stubbornly, "There's always a reason why someone is pitiful!"

"I don't care what she's been through in the past, but anyone who dares to hurt me is in the wrong!"

"Yo yo yo~ Which family's kid is so lucky that our Xue'er is so protective of him!" said the young-looking Guangling Douluo jokingly.

Qian Renxue turned around and glared at the few old lecherous men craning their necks behind her, then said coquettishly, "Grandpa Guangling!!"

"Oh dear, Xue'er, you've got a lover and you don't want your grandpa anymore. I've been working myself to the bone hunting spirit beasts for you, and my skin is all dried out by the sea breeze!"

Before Guang Ling could finish speaking, Qing Luan Douluo spat out, "Pah! You shameless old cucumber! We went to find whale glue together, so how come it's all your credit? And if I remember correctly, you were the one who contributed the least, weren't you?"

"Third brother, do you want to fight? How dare you call me 'old cucumber'?"

"Pah! You're like an old cucumber painted green. You're almost two hundred years old, and you're still trying to act young with me?"

"Fine, fine, if you've got the guts, come out and have a go at me. I'll shoot your eyes out today, you scruffy bird!"

"Hehehe, let your arrow catch up with me first!"

"..."

Unable to bear the two's constant bickering any longer, Qianjun and Jiangmo somehow circled behind them, exchanged a glance, and then struck them on the back of the head with their sticks.

boom!
boom!
After two crisp sounds, the world became much quieter. Neither of them had expected to wake up from their brother's betrayal, and they both lay down on the floor.

Meeting Qian Renxue's worried gaze, Qianjun Douluo explained in a low voice, "When we were hunting souls, Guangling accidentally shot Qingluan with his sword, and ever since then they've been arguing all the time, giving me a headache!" Qian Renxue smiled knowingly. She hadn't understood this kind of brotherhood before, but since having a good brother like Xiao Wuji, she gradually came to understand. In short, use any underhanded tricks on your brothers!

After the farce ended, Golden Crocodile Douluo took out three milky white gelatinous substances and a round bead-shaped object emitting a strange fragrance from his soul tool.

"Xue'er, these are several pieces of whale glue that are 80,000 to 90,000 years old, and there is also one piece made from the whale glue of a 100,000-year-old soul beast. It should have similar effects to whale glue!"

Upon seeing this, Qian Renxue immediately narrowed her eyes and smiled sweetly, saying, "Xue'er, thank you, grandfathers!"

Qian Daoliu patted Qian Renxue on the shoulder and said, "Xue'er, you don't have much time, you should go and refine it quickly!"

"Yes, Grandpa!"

Watching Qian Renxue skip and hop away from the Hall of Offerings, Mad Lion Douluo scratched his head somewhat blankly and said, "Why do I feel that Xue'er has changed a lot this time? She's like a little girl, a bit mischievous!"

A smile flickered across Qian Daoliu's eyes as he said, "This is a good thing!"

……

Early in the morning, all the participating academies arrived at the competition venue under the guidance of officials from the Spirit Hall. Each academy had its own dedicated rest area. These rest areas were built around the competition venue, and on the side opposite the Papal Palace was the VIP judging panel. Representatives from the two great empires were watching the matches there, as were members of the Spirit Hall.

Xiao Wuji had not yet recovered from the night's exertions when Liu Erlong pulled him out of bed. He hadn't even had time to wash up, so he looked rather sickly at the moment!

As for the task of drawing lots, it was entirely handled by the teachers of Tiandou Academy, as Xiao Wuji was simply too lazy to do it!

Not long after, the teacher who went to draw lots returned with a resentful look on her face, indicating that she had suffered some unfair treatment!
"Damn the Spirit Hall! They put two teams from our Heaven Dou Royal Team against each other in the very first match. Who would believe there's nothing fishy going on here?"

"Relax, first place is already ours anyway, and with the second team's strength, it'll be hard for them to make it into the top three, so the rankings after that are completely useless!"

Xiao Wuji waved his hand to signal Teacher Sun to calm down, then took out a water bottle from his soul tool, washed his face, and quietly waited for the cardinal who was hosting the competition to call out the numbers.

"The first match of the first round of the finals, Heavenly Dou Royal Team 1 versus Heavenly Dou Royal Team 2! Contestants, please enter!"

"We're so lucky, we're in the first round!"

Xiao Wuji reluctantly stood up from the soft sofa, led his men out of the lounge, and onto the spacious arena.

Approaching from the front is the Tian Dou Second Team, led by Yu Tianheng!

"Please, both team captains, pay your respects!"

Yu Tianheng stepped forward half a step and assumed a starting stance, solemnly saying, "Yu Tianheng, captain of the second team of the Heavenly Dou Royal Army, please enlighten me!"

"Xiao Wuji, captain of the Heaven Dou Royal First Team, please enlighten me!"

"One minute to get ready!"

The members of Team Tiandou moved swiftly, quickly forming a 3-3-1 formation. This is a common positioning method used by most seven-person teams and is widely applicable.

As the control-type Soul Master who is the brain of the team, Tang San is positioned right in the middle of all his teammates, and can easily use his Martial Soul to entangle them.

In contrast, Xiao Wuji's team had a much simpler battle.

Xiao Wuji took a few steps back to the edge of the arena, while everyone else remained motionless. Even Ning Rongrong and Ye Lingling, who were support-type Soul Masters, did not move.

"Both sides activate their Martial Souls!"

With the cardinal's command, everyone except Xiao Wuji summoned their martial souls, and dozens of soul rings floated on the arena, among which two black soul rings were particularly eye-catching!
The cardinal, acting as referee, was also taken aback for a moment, but quickly recovered and announced loudly, "The match begins!"

……

(End of this chapter)