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.