Lu Mingfei starts from Douluo.

"Long live! Long live! Long live!" Three shouts, as loud as a mountain collapsing and a tsunami crashing, rang out throughout the entire Spirit City. Not only the Temple Knights, but all the residents of Spirit City also shouted the Pope's name, for this was the highest faith in their lives.

The next moment, the heavy doors of the Papal Palace slowly opened inward, and everyone looked toward the direction in which the doors opened.

Pope Bibidon walked out slowly, surrounded by the crowd.

Lu Mingfei finally saw the true face of this legendary figure with his own eyes.

She looked to be no more than thirty years old, with stunning beauty and an undeniable air of authority.

She wore a long, jewel-encrusted gold gown, a purple-gold crown, and held a two-meter-long jeweled scepter.

Her appearance instantly silenced the entire square.

At the same time, there were four figures behind her, three of whom were wearing full-red Title Douluo-exclusive formal attire.

One of them was Gu Rong, the Bone Douluo of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. The other two were one evil and the other effeminate, and they should both be titled elders of the Spirit Hall.

However, what was most surprising was the young girl following behind them, who looked to be about the same age as Ye Lingling and Dugu Yan.

Her elegantly styled blonde hair, combined with a pale gold, gorgeous palace dress that accentuated her tall and graceful figure, and her snow-white skin, red lips, and white teeth, made her stand out beautifully.

But what's even more astonishing than her stunning appearance is her indescribably noble aura.

Even with the Pope and three Title Douluos standing in front of her, her noble air remained undiminished.

Who is this woman?

This question arose in the minds of Lu Mingfei, Tang San, and the others.

For someone to be qualified to stand alongside the Pope and a Title Douluo at such a time, how high must her status be within the Spirit Hall?

Perhaps noticing Lu Mingfei's curious gaze, the girl actually nodded directly in Lu Mingfei's direction.

At that very moment, Lu Mingfei suddenly had a bad feeling.

In this situation, he couldn't use his Golden Eyes to detect the other party's soul power strength, but his intuition told him that this girl was definitely not simple and seemed to have come specifically for him.

The master standing on the periphery noticed the golden hair, which was also dazzlingly golden, and his heart skipped a beat.

"Xiao Gang?" Liu Erlong immediately hugged the master's arm tightly, thinking that the master was too excited to see his old lover.

The master immediately shook his head and said softly, "Erlong, if I'm not mistaken, today's match might be in trouble."

Bibi Dong's gaze slowly swept across the entire room, pausing briefly in the direction of the master before she raised her scepter and slammed it into the ground with a thud.

“I see the future hope of the continent in you. Before the Papal Palace, I hope to see your full talents and strength.”

"This morning will be the individual elimination rounds for each of your three teams, with seven players each. The team that remains will have an advantage and will directly enter the championship battle tomorrow. The two losing teams will compete for the other final spot this afternoon."

Bibi Dong paused for a moment, then turned to the girl in palace attire beside her and continued, "Holy Maiden Qian Renxue, now return to your teammates. The match is about to begin."

"Yes, Your Holiness." Qian Renxue did not bow, but simply nodded, and then walked straight towards the Spirit Hall Academy team.

Upon hearing the Pope utter Qian Renxue's name, the master knew his guess had come true.

Her surname is Qian, and she is a saintess. Who else in the entire Spirit Hall could be so indifferent to the Pope?

Tang San's mind was in turmoil. He immediately thought of the meaning behind the surname Qian, and an uncontrollable hatred rose in his eyes as he looked at Qian Renxue.

Everyone in that family deserves to die!

Lu Mingfei specifically researched the Spirit Hall's information. The surname Qian represents the Spirit Hall's orthodoxy and the heir to the Angel bloodline.

Although it is unknown who Qian Renxue is to the former Pope Qian Xunji, it is certain that before today, even the residents of Wuhun City had hardly heard of the existence of a Holy Maiden.

This means that in the Pope's eyes, this saintess definitely has the power to defeat him; otherwise, he would never have allowed her to participate in the competition today to announce her sudden emergence to the whole continent.

"Damn, I knew that making a promise at the gathering a few days ago would never lead to anything good, and it came true today." Lu Mingfei smiled wryly as he exchanged glances with Yu Tianheng and the others.

Everyone knows that the Spirit Hall wouldn't just hand over a Holy Maiden to them to boost their record; today's match is destined to be anything but simple.

With a haughty smile, Qian Renxue slowly walked across the square, her gaze sweeping over the three teams in front of her. She saw the fleeting hatred in Tang San's eyes, as well as Yu Tianheng's fighting spirit and Lu Mingfei's helpless bitterness.

It feels good to be able to face everything openly without needing to pretend or hide anything.

"Now, each team sends out its first player to the field."

As Bibi Dong finished speaking, all the teams sprang into action.

The Spirit Hall Academy team reached its peak morale with the addition of the Holy Maiden Qian Renxue, while Tang San of the Shrek Academy team was equally eager to fight due to the appearance of yet another enemy.

As for the Heavenly Dou Royal Academy, Lu Mingfei has also decided to go all out. He has already made it clear to the three education committee members that he will win the championship, and he cannot go back on his word no matter what!

Chapter 181 Another Battle with Tang San

The three teams each occupied one side of the square, gazing at each other from afar.

In the upcoming one-on-one challenge, the Spirit Hall Academy team, with the highest spirit power level, undoubtedly has the greatest advantage among these three teams.

In a one-on-one situation, any Soul King from the Spirit Hall Academy team could defeat everyone except Lu Mingfei and Tang San.

This rendered all tactical arrangements meaningless. The final decisive factor in the battle lay solely with the strongest member of each of the three teams, or more precisely, with the newly emerged Spirit Hall Saintess, Qian Renxue.

Just how strong is she? That became the key to deciding the outcome.

A row of gilded chairs was placed in front of the Papal Palace. Bibi Dong sat in the center, with Gu Rong, the Bone Douluo, on her left, and Ju Yue Guan, the Chrysanthemum Douluo, and Gui Mei, the Ghost Douluo, on her right.

"Your Excellency Bone Douluo, which team do you favor?" Bibi Dong asked calmly.

Bone Douluo shook his head slightly: "Why would Your Holiness ask such a question? With the Holy Maiden in charge, the result is self-evident."

Bone Douluo couldn't see through Qian Renxue's cultivation level, but that didn't mean he couldn't sense the subtle threat emanating from her. The Qian family, the Angel Clan, was terrifying indeed.

Soon, the first-place players from all three teams stood in the center of the square.

However, unexpectedly, Qian Renxue, Tang San, and Lu Mingfei all chose to appear in the first round.

It was clear that the North Koreans were approaching the battle with the attitude that the first battle would be the decisive one.

In Qian Renxue's eyes, apart from Lu Mingfei, everyone else was nothing but chickens and dogs, easily defeated, so there was no need for tactics.

Tang San had no choice. His teammates were too weak, and they would lose no matter who he went up against. So he decided to go up himself. If he was lucky, he would run into Lu Mingfei soon. If he was unlucky and got caught in a series of attacks, he would have to surrender and go straight to the loser's bracket.

In this way, letting the Spirit Hall and Lu Mingfei fight to the death will benefit them regardless of the outcome.

As for Lu Mingfei, he had a similar idea to Tang San. He knew that this Holy Maiden must have come with the mission of defeating him, and as long as he took the stage, she would definitely take the bait.

Therefore, he planned to first assess the strength of this Spirit Hall Saintess. If she was too troublesome, he would simply forfeit and enter the loser's bracket, then eliminate Shrek Academy, an unstable factor, and wait until tomorrow to settle things with the Spirit Hall team.

The three stood facing each other in the center of the square. Tang San looked at the two enemies in front of him with icy eyes.

Heaven has eyes; it has been kind to him.

This saintess must be related to Qian Xunji, who killed his mother. Whether he defeats Lu Mingfei in front of the whole continent or defeats this saintess instead, he can vent his anger.

Deep down, he even hoped to meet this saintess, since Lu Mingfei could challenge her at any time in Tiandou, but he didn't know when he would meet her again.

However, when the draw results came out, all three of them couldn't help but sigh at the same time.

"I knew it." Lu Mingfei scratched his head as he looked at the small ball in Qian Renxue's hand that represented a bye. As a loser, he had never drawn a lucky draw in his life, and this time was no exception.

As for Qian Renxue, she was a bit flustered. She had prepared to defeat Lu Mingfei first and then kill Tang San, but she ended up getting a bye.

"Tang Yin and Lu Mingfei, please get ready. Qian Renxue, please leave the stage for now. The competition will officially begin in three minutes."

The referee announced the clearing of the field, and the first round of the individual elimination tournament officially began.

"This day has finally come." Tang San stood opposite Lu Mingfei and took a deep breath. It had been eight years since he was six years old.

Lu Mingfei was like an inescapable shadow hanging over his life, and today the time for his death had finally come. He vowed to overcome this shadow and let everyone know that he, Tang San, was the true number one genius of the Douluo Continent.

Looking at the acquaintance in front of him, whom he had so easily crushed, Lu Mingfei showed no contempt or disdain due to his superior status; instead, he appeared solemn.

When he first came to this world, he didn't have much of an impression of Tang San, but who would have thought that he would turn out so badly later, becoming petty, narrow-minded, and prone to backstabbing.

So he chose to ignore them as much as possible, but as a result, this guy and that master were like toads stuck to his feet, and he could only kick them a little further away to teach them a lesson each time.

He never underestimated his opponent, but he could never be too cautious of someone who had the same cheat codes as him, or even someone who had the protagonist's template.

Even the Holy Maiden Qian Renxue might not be as threatening as Tang San.

Everyone around could sense Lu Mingfei's seriousness, and even Pope Bibi Dong was surprised.

Although Tang Yin possesses an external soul bone comparable to a Soul King, it's not enough for Lu Mingfei to treat him with such caution.

"Both sides release their martial spirits."

At the referee's command, Lu Mingfei and Tang San simultaneously released their martial souls.

Tang San's Blue Silver King was far different from ordinary Blue Silver Grass. Due to the integration of various animal soul rings, it looked like a pure black plant vine, but strange silver patterns could be vaguely seen on it.

He immediately avoided Lu Mingfei's gaze and began to circulate his Xuan Tian Gong. His experience of repeated defeats made him realize the necessity of avoiding Lu Mingfei's sharp edge when facing him. He was no longer that impulsive young man.

However, he clearly underestimated Lu Mingfei's seriousness about this match.

His blazing golden eyes suddenly ignited, instantly stirring up an invisible storm between heaven and earth, and an uncontrollable majesty swept out in an instant.

"How is that possible!"

Tang San was horrified. Even though he had pushed the Xuan Tian Gong to its limit, he could still feel the chilling and majestic aura that went straight to his soul, and even his thoughts seemed to freeze for a moment.

This pressure was several times stronger than in the previous matches, and even his martial spirit trembled. If it weren't for more than a year of tempering his killing intent, he would probably have lost his will to fight by now.

The cardinals present, even those who were titled Douluo, couldn't help but change their expressions.

Although the information they had collected before had described it in detail, they realized how inadequate and pale words were after personally experiencing the overwhelming suppression of the martial spirit today.

With such a terrifying martial soul, if he were to reach the Title Douluo level, who in the world could be his match?

"The match begins!" The referee, recovering from his shock, immediately announced the start of the match.

"Drink!" Tang San immediately unleashed the Eight Spider Lances on his back to resist the terrifying pressure.

At the same time, the first spirit ring lit up instantly, and thick blue silver grass burst out of the ground and surged towards Lu Mingfei.

Lu Mingfei immediately condensed ice blades and slashed, transforming them into an impenetrable net of swords, causing countless blue silver grasses to dissipate into fragments of soul light.

But this was exactly what Tang San wanted.

Endless and continuous—this is the greatest characteristic of the Blue Silver King Martial Soul. He had never pushed it to its limit in previous matches, all for the sake of giving Lu Mingfei a surprise now.

Chapter 182 Tang San's Scheme

Just as he had predicted, Lu Mingfei immediately chose to condense ice blades and slash at his Blue Silver King.

No matter how fast his swordsmanship is, as long as the Blue Silver Grass regenerates faster than his sword moves, he can still maintain control.

Countless vines spread throughout the entire area, not just in all directions, but covering the sky and the earth.

The entire plaza was covered by blue silver vines. Lu Mingfei's slashing speed was indeed astonishing, but the regeneration speed of the blue silver grass was not slow at all.

This is a combination of Tang San's experience of his mother using Blue Silver Grass in battle, which he learned from Tang Hao, and a replica of the killing move.

His first soul skill, Blue Silver Entanglement, was indeed not powerful enough, but it consumed very little soul power. Therefore, he maximized the characteristics of Blue Silver King to create this move, "Pseudo Blue Silver Domain".

Lu Mingfei was also a little dumbfounded. He didn't expect that after Tang San upgraded, he directly became a druid and was able to create a forest of blue silver grass.

From the naked eye, the power of this move is undoubtedly astonishing; the endless vines engulf everything, leaving no place to stand.

The Templar Knights and bishops who had looked down on Shrek Academy were also dumbfounded. They hadn't expected that a plant-type Soul Master would have the soul power to support such a massive amount of plant regeneration, almost reaching the level of a plant-type Soul Emperor.

At the same time, with the help of countless vines from his Eight Spider Lances, Tang San instantly met Lu Mingfei.

The Blue Silver Domain can not only control enemies, but also help oneself. While activating the Ghost Shadow Step, with the assistance of the Blue Silver Vines, the Eight Spider Lances fly nimbly. Tang San is like a leaping tango dancer, launching attacks at him from all sorts of unbelievable and tricky angles and at amazing speeds.

While dodging the entanglement of the countless blue silver grasses, Lu Mingfei also fought off Tang San's spider legs, looking rather exhausted.

A gasp rang out from the sidelines. Ma Hongjun and the others couldn't help but cheer for Tang San. In their eyes, this was the first time Lu Mingfei had been beaten so badly.

However, neither the Heaven Dou Royal Academy team nor the Spirit Hall Academy team reacted.

If Lu Mingfei were truly just an ordinary Soul King, then Tang San would indeed be extraordinary. But clearly, he wasn't. Such a petty trick would be utterly meaningless except for wasting soul power.

No, to be more precise, this battle was meaningless from the start.

Lu Mingfei had to admit that Tang San had indeed become stronger, and his troublesome level was probably no less than that of the previous Netherworld White Tiger.

He realized it was time to get serious.

Without warning, Lu Mingfei swung his sword with both hands and slashed down hard, the immense force instantly sending Tang San flying.

With the help of the Blue Silver Grass and the Eight Spider Spears, Tang San immediately steadied himself.

But before Tang San could catch his breath, an unstoppable aura of majesty, like thunder from the heavens, exploded in his mind.