After staying in Spirit Hall for a few days to ensure that Qian Daoliu had mostly recovered, Yang Podi and Qian Renxue left Spirit City together and returned to Heavenly Academy.
Perhaps because Qian Renxue had visited Heavenly Academy multiple times before, everyone there was already familiar with her presence, treating it as nothing out of the ordinary.
Since defeating Qian Daoliu, Yang Podi had not paid much attention to the content of the Asura God's trials. Now, he finally had time to examine them carefully.
"Asura's Nine Trials: Fifth Trial Completed. Asura Affinity increased by 10%. Total Compatibility: 60%."
At the same time, the details of the sixth trial appeared in Yang Podi's mind:
"Asura's Judgment—Ensure that either the human race or the soul beast race unifies the world, selecting the future ruler between the two."
Seeing this trial, Yang Podi found it strange. What exactly does this Asura God mean? Spirit Empire had already nearly unified the continent—was there really any room for unexpected developments? And what was the meaning behind "either the human race or the soul beast race unifying the world"? Did the soul beast race even have the capability to achieve such a thing?
Yang Podi pondered for a moment, feeling that something was off. Based on the current situation, Bibi Dong's Spirit Empire was on the verge of total domination, with only Vast Sea City left to conquer.
As for the soul beast race, their strength had never truly been revealed. Even if they placed all their hopes on Tang San becoming a god, that still seemed far-fetched.
Logically speaking, the Star Dou Forest should have multiple powerful soul beasts, including Di Tian, Bear Lord, Bi Ji, Zi Ji, Myriad Demon King, and Scarlet King. Even at most, there were only six of them.
Among them, only Di Tian, Bear Lord, and Bi Ji likely possessed Limit Douluo-level strength, while the others were still lacking. As for the Silver Dragon King hiding in the shadows, she had been nothing more than a coward from the beginning.
Considering the original storyline, Tang San contributed almost nothing to the Star Dou Forest, yet the Silver Dragon King blindly worshipped him, which felt entirely misguided.
Ultimately, Yang Podi shook off these thoughts. With the current situation, Bibi Dong should soon take Vast Sea City—especially after their last conversation, which forced her to balance her ambition for unifying the continent with her personal emotions. But when it came to critical decisions, she should be able to distinguish between them.
If things didn't go as expected, he could always take action himself, wipe out the opposition in Vast Sea City, and resolve the problem swiftly.
Back at Heavenly Academy, Qian Renxue's state of mind had clearly changed. The once bright and determined girl had become noticeably colder.
That day, Yang Podi went to Qian Renxue's room, where she sat with a troubled expression.
"Po Di, why won't she accept me?" she asked, her voice filled with sorrow.
Yang Podi thought for a long time before sighing. "This isn't your fault, and it's not her fault either. You have to consider things from her perspective—accepting you will take time."
Qian Renxue hesitated. "Then what should I do now? She has completely rejected me."
Yang Podi offered a suggestion. "Xue'er, I have an idea. Starting today, write her a letter every week and see how she responds."
Qian Renxue frowned slightly. "But… what should I write in these letters?"
"It doesn't matter what you write. Just write whatever comes to mind—whether it's your cultivation problems, the confusion you felt as a child, or even matters of the heart."
Hearing these words, Qian Renxue finally picked up a brush and paper. It took her a long time to finish the first letter, and once it was done, she arranged for Spirit Empire personnel stationed nearby to deliver it.
To prevent anyone from reading it secretly, she even drove Yang Podi out of the room. It seemed the letter contained many of her past embarrassing stories.
Thus, Heavenly Academy entered an unprecedented period of tranquility, and Yang Podi enjoyed a leisurely life.
In just over a month, more than ten letters had piled up on Bibi Dong's desk, all from Qian Renxue.
According to Yang Podi's original plan, she was only supposed to send one letter per week. However, as she continued writing, Qian Renxue became more and more enthusiastic, increasing the frequency to one letter every two days. She even instructed the messengers to deliver them to Spirit City as soon as possible.
Looking at the growing stack of letters on her desk, Bibi Dong's expression became complicated. She even seemed a little apprehensive. As she picked up a letter, her hands trembled slightly.
Even after Bibi Dong replied once, stating she did not wish to receive any more letters, Qian Renxue became even more persistent, increasing the frequency instead of stopping.
Every time Bibi Dong received a letter, reading its contents felt like seeing a living, breathing person before her. Her lips moved involuntarily as she murmured, "Xue'er… what should I do?"
This was merely a small episode within Spirit Empire, or more precisely, a personal matter for Bibi Dong, with no real impact on the grand scheme of things.
After much deliberation, and under the repeated advice of many Titled Douluo, Bibi Dong finally made the decision to march on Vast Sea City.
The Sea God's strength was indeed formidable, and the many sea spirit masters were extremely powerful in ocean combat.
However, Vast Sea City was still a land-based city, and sea spirit masters could not fully utilize their strength on land.
With a million-strong army, Spirit Empire completely surrounded Vast Sea City. Multiple Titled Douluo joined the battle, and thousands of spirit masters were deployed. In just half a day, Vast Sea City fell.
Many sea spirit masters found themselves in a precarious situation—most fled overseas, some surrendered, while others took to the seas and became pirates, throwing the entire maritime region around Vast Sea City into chaos.
The ones who suffered the most, however, were the land-based spirit masters who had fled to Vast Sea City, such as Yu Xiaogang and his group.
These included the Golden Iron Triangle led by Yu Xiaogang, some former Shrek Academy teachers like Qin Ming and Zhao Wuji, as well as the Strength Clan and the Speed Clan, altogether fewer than a hundred people.
As for the Speed Clan's patriarch, Bai He, he had never been among the escapees. Since Tang San left for the sea years ago, Bai He and his people had remained near Seagod Island, ready to receive Tang San's group when they inevitably fled.
Yu Xiaogang and his people were completely unskilled in water-based combat, yet they bore deep grudges against Spirit Empire, making them a constant target of Spirit Empire's purges.
But as land-based spirit masters, their combat ability on water was severely limited. This was especially true for Yu Xiaogang, who was merely a Grandmaster-level spirit master—escaping to the sea rendered his abilities completely useless.