"Back then, it… it was her who personally killed my mother. I remember her figure; I will never forget it!"
"Teacher, actually, during the Soul Master Competition, I already recognized her, but I didn't want to cause trouble for the Academy, so I didn't say anything."
"I originally thought that I would just continue to Cultivate with Teacher, work hard to become stronger, and one day, I would be as strong as Teacher, and then I would personally seek revenge on her.
I remember Teacher once asked a question in class: Why do we need to become stronger? Cultivation requires a belief. I… I also want to be like Zhuqing, able to protect my sisters, protect the people I cherish, and protect my Family! I am no longer someone to be slaughtered at will!"
With Teacher Su Ran's backing, Xiao Wu finally mustered her courage, stared intently at Bibi Dong, took out the Yearning Heartbroken Red from her embrace, and her Spirit Beast aura slowly emanated.
Seeing Zhu Zhuqing stand up for Zhu Zhuyun and Zhu Zhuyu, returning alone to face the Star Luo Royal Family, she was very envious!
Two days ago, Teacher Su also received a letter from Zhuqing, confirming her safety. She had already taken the Star Luo Emperor hostage, securing time for her Family to relocate to the border. With her excellent movement and speed, she also evaded the Star Luo Empire's pursuit, settled the Family's subsequent affairs, and once her worries were gone, she would return to the Academy.
However, Xiao Wu also had some doubts in her heart. She hadn't told Teacher Su about her mother's matter, so why did Teacher Su know?
Could it be… did Teacher Su ever use the Soul Capture on Xiao Wu?
It's just that she didn't know if Teacher Su had explored other parts of Xiao Wu during the Soul Capture?
Probably, right? No wonder the little pink bunny occasionally felt an unbearable itch~
…
"You are… that fish that got away back then?"
"That's right, I am that fish that got away back then."
Bibi Dong was lost in thought. Feeling the aura from Xiao Wu, she finally understood why she always felt a certain familiarity with this girl.
"Teacher Su, was this special flower used by you to conceal her aura? You already knew she was a 100,000-year Spirit Beast?"
"A 100,000-year Spirit Beast is right beside you. Since Teacher Su possesses the ability to remove and replace spirit rings, why didn't you kill her and replace your other thousand-year or ten-thousand-year spirit rings?"
Bibi Dong looked at Su Ran in surprise.
Su Ran didn't speak.
Xiao Wu spoke first, looking at her warily:
"Do you think Teacher Su is like those ruthless Spirit Masters? Even knowing I am a 100,000-year Spirit Beast, Teacher Su treats me like any other Disciple and will not harm me. This Yearning Heartbroken Red, which tests true emotions, is the best gift Teacher Su gave me, representing the trust and inseparability between me and Teacher Su. You will never understand!"
"Is that so? Yearning Heartbroken Red… a very beautiful name. You've nurtured it so brightly. Can it test true emotions?"
Upon hearing this, Bibi Dong's jade hand couldn't help but reach for the Yearning Heartbroken Red, but Xiao Wu quickly protected it, hugging it to her chest.
Bibi Dong took a deep breath, her gaze falling on Su Ran, and she couldn't help but feel some doubt:
"So, Teacher Su taking my 100,000-year spirit ring and Spirit Bone wasn't to use my power to strengthen his Disciple, but to stand up for her?"
"But her mother is already dead. What's the use of taking out a Spirit Bone and spirit ring? Moreover, Spirit Masters hunting Spirit Beasts and absorbing spirit rings is the Dao of Cultivation. What did I do wrong?
Or, is Teacher Su trying to use this as an excuse to kill me and avenge his Disciple while I'm weak?"
"It seems His Holiness the Supreme Pontiff still doesn't trust me. In your eyes, if I am such a treacherous villain who takes advantage of weakness, why bother asking? You could simply walk away without debate."
Su Ran shook his head and said indifferently.
Seeing a hint of disappointment appear on his exquisitely handsome face, and his eyes dimming slightly, Bibi Dong immediately became nervous and quickly explained:
"Teacher Su is certainly not that kind of person. It's just that I truly don't understand Teacher Su's intention."
"Your hunting of Spirit Beasts to obtain spirit rings is an act to enhance your strength, which cannot be judged as right or wrong; it's merely a difference in stance.
However, is it wrong for someone to avenge their loved ones?"
Su Ran took a sip of peach tea and said:
"My intention is actually very simple. Since Xiao Wu has acknowledged me as her Teacher, the Academy is naturally her home, her backing. It's understandable that you hunted a 100,000-year Spirit Beast to obtain a rare treasure, but my intervention for my Disciple is also for Karma. My taking your 100,000-year spirit ring and Spirit Bone is also to give Xiao Wu's mother a chance at rebirth, to revive her, thereby settling this Karma. Only then can the Academy accept your appointment, and that is all."
"Bibi Dong, you should know that a 100,000-year Spirit Beast is a treasure coveted by everyone across the entire Douluo Continent. If Xiao Wu's identity were exposed, she would become the target of all. I have given you enough trust by allowing Xiao Wu to reveal her identity and stand before you."
"If you go back on your word now and turn hostile, I, Su Ran, and the entire Peach Garden Academy, will no longer welcome you. Even if the Supreme Pontiff Palace mobilizes its entire forces to attack, I, Su Ran, will not retreat a single step!"
When he spoke the last sentence, Su Ran's tone was filled with determination, utterly without falsehood.
"Teacher… you are so good to Xiao Wu…"
Hearing that Teacher Su was so firmly on her side, upholding justice for her, Xiao Wu's tears instantly flowed uncontrollably.
With a hum, Xiao Wu threw herself into Su Ran's embrace, clutching his clothes and sobbing.
"Silly girl, Teacher Su merely did what a Teacher should do. It's just that Teacher Su took the liberty of making this decision for you. Will you feel wronged?"
Su Ran gently ruffled Xiao Wu's hair, a hint of doting in his gesture.
Xiao Wu shook her head in Teacher Su's arms, then looked up, her small face tear-stained, her eyes misty but with a glimmer of hope and emotion:
"This is already very good, Teacher Su is already very, very good. It's just, will she really cooperate? Does Mother really have a chance to be revived?"
Watching Su Ran and Xiao Wu, the Teacher and Disciple, display such deep affection, it also stirred Bibi Dong's memories, moving her and filling her with envy.
If only back then… if only her Teacher had also been Su Ran, how wonderful, how perfect that would have been?
Everything might have turned out differently, right?
Su Renxue, don't you agree?
"I will not go back on my word to Teacher Su. I will stay and allow Teacher Su to extract the Spirit Bone and Soul. However, the matter of reviving a 100,000-year Spirit Beast is rare throughout history, especially since I have absorbed this 100,000-year spirit ring and Spirit Bone for a long time. Can it be done by sacrificing only one 100,000-year spirit ring and Spirit Bone?"
Bibi Dong raised her question.
"That's enough. The core of a spirit ring and Spirit Bone is essentially the Spirit Ability order formed by the convergence of the Spirit Beast's Soul and Origin power. I only need to strip away the remaining Soul and Origin from within, nourish them with heavenly spiritual herbs and flowers, and then create a new body for them, and they will have a chance at resurrection."
Su Ran said. This was not only about the grudge between Xiao Wu and the Supreme Pontiff, but it might also involve a technique that could change the entire Spirit Master landscape of the Douluo Continent.
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