Blood God Camp.
"Sir, may I ask what brings you all here?" The eighth Blood God, Blood Eight, from the Spirit Pagoda, quickly saluted upon seeing all the Blood Gods gathered.
"We are here to discuss something with you and Blood Three. Go and call her," Cao Dezhi said in a deep voice.
"Can you tell me what this is about?" Blood Eight asked. "Before she entered seclusion, Blood Three instructed that unless there was an Abyssal Beast outbreak, she was not to be disturbed. She has no interest in the internal affairs of the Blood God Camp. Aside from matters concerning the Abyss, you all are free to make decisions as you see fit."
"Hmph, still pretending!" Long Yeyue sneered inwardly. Then she said, "We are here because we have found a method to combat the Abyssal Beasts and need to consult her."
"Please wait a moment, I will go wake Blood Three immediately." Upon hearing that it was about dealing with the Abyssal Beasts and seeing that all the Blood Gods were gathered, Blood Eight's expression became serious.
He did not doubt Blood One's words and turned to head toward Leng Yaozhu's place of seclusion.
With all nine Blood Gods gathered, the only topic worth discussing was the Abyssal Beasts.
Given Leng Yaozhu's status and strength, she naturally had a private office and training chamber wherever she went.
When she first arrived at the Blood God Legion, the first thing she did was study the medical section of The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon to help treat the wounded.
Once most of the wounded had been taken care of, she then entered seclusion to cultivate the second part of The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon.
During this period, she rarely showed herself.
She had only told Cao Dezhi that if there was an Abyssal Beast outbreak, they could wake her at any time.
As for the affairs of the Blood God Camp and the Blood God Legion, she hardly interfered.
Long Yeyue felt quite pleased about this, believing that Leng Yaozhu was deliberately acting weak out of fear of the three of them.
Not just Long Yeyue—Cao Dezhi and Guan Yue thought the same.
Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect were closely connected, while the War God Hall's Chen Xinjie had an ambiguous relationship with Long Yeyue.
Under such circumstances, it was only natural for Leng Yaozhu to tread carefully.
"I want to see where you're going to pull a Blood Three from," Long Yeyue sneered as she watched Blood Eight's departing figure.
According to the remote soul communicator message from the Smiling Face Douluo, when he contacted them, Leng Yaozhu had still been in Star Luo City.
Although Ultimate Douluo could manipulate spatial power to a certain extent and teleport short distances, traveling from Star Luo City to the Blood God Legion in such a short time was impossible unless one was a space-attributed deity.
Even if a god descended, it would be impossible to return from Star Luo City to the Blood God Legion in just a few moments.
Cao Dezhi, Guan Yue, and Long Yeyue were all prepared to expose Leng Yaozhu and bring her to trial.
But a minute later, a tall and graceful figure slowly emerged.
A cascade of waist-length red hair made her appear full of vitality and energy.
The three Ultimate Douluo—Cao Dezhi, Guan Yue, and Long Yeyue—narrowed their eyes.
Logically speaking, at Leng Yaozhu's age, even if she had broken through to Ultimate Douluo, her body's vitality should have been gradually weakening.
Yet, over this period, they had all keenly sensed that Leng Yaozhu's vitality had been growing stronger.
Almost to the level of Yali.
Even her appearance was growing younger by the day.
Now, she looked like she was only in her early twenties, radiating a youthful aura.
Among the current Ultimate Douluo, aside from Yun Ming, those who could maintain a youthful appearance mostly relied on various rare treasures that preserved their looks.
Although most of them appeared to be in their thirties, their vitality had already begun to wane.
But in Leng Yaozhu, these Ultimate Douluo could feel an aura similar to Yun Ming's.
They knew that she had consumed some youth-preserving treasures in the past.
But judging from the vitality within her now, even without those treasures, she could maintain her current youthful appearance.
"Could she really be close to breaking through to Pseudo-God?" Cao Dezhi clenched his fists tightly.
Being surpassed by Yun Ming was something he could accept.
But being overtaken by Leng Yaozhu?
That, he could not accept.
"Is everyone here?" Leng Yaozhu glanced around at the fully assembled Blood Gods. Then, looking at Long Yeyue, she asked indifferently, "I heard from Blood Eight that Blood Four has a method to deal with the Abyssal Beasts. What is it?"
"Why are you here?" Long Yeyue stared at her blankly, unwilling to accept this reality.
If Leng Yaozhu was in the Blood God Legion, then they really had no grounds to accuse her of abandoning her post.
"If I'm not here, where does Blood Four think I should be?" Leng Yaozhu sneered, then looked at Cao Dezhi and Guan Yue. "What's wrong? Does Blood One and Blood Two also think I shouldn't be here?"
Cao Dezhi's face turned grim. He wished he could cut the Smiling Face Douluo, Hu Jie, in half with a sword.
Damn it, how could he joke about something this serious?
He had even made it sound so convincing.
As Long Yeyue and Cao Dezhi fell silent, Guan Yue clasped his hands and said, "We heard that Blood Three recently took a trip to Star Luo City. Since the Blood God Array of the nine Blood Gods cannot be compromised, we came to verify whether Blood Three had indeed left the Blood God Legion. Now, it seems it was just a rumor."
"You sure know how to smooth things over," Leng Yaozhu said with a cold smile.
She continued indifferently, "I have refrained from interfering in Blood God Camp affairs and let you take full control because the Abyssal Passage still requires all of us to guard it. I didn't want unnecessary conflicts. But don't mistake my patience for fear."
At this, Leng Yaozhu turned to Cao Dezhi, pausing for a moment before continuing, "Regardless of the reasons, since everyone is gathered here, there is only one goal—to combat the Abyssal Beasts and protect Douluo Continent. Here, if you don't provoke me, I won't bring up outside matters, nor will I drag the conflicts between the Spirit Pagoda and Shrek Academy into this. You are Blood One. Instead of uniting the Blood God Camp, you're leading internal strife. Do you think that's appropriate?"
"I don't understand what you're talking about," Cao Dezhi said flatly.
"Fine, let me say something you will understand." Leng Yaozhu's voice turned icy.
"When I first arrived at the Blood God Legion, I examined the damaged Abyssal Passage. Shouldn't you explain the sword energy I found there?"
Her gaze sharpened. "I didn't intend to bring this up before. Among the Blood God Legion, you are the most qualified to lead. I didn't want to undermine your position. But your actions have disappointed me. The Abyssal Passage remains unsealed, and no one knows when the Abyssal Beasts might erupt again—yet you're here instigating internal disputes."
"We only came to confirm whether you were in the Blood God Legion. How is that internal strife?" Cao Dezhi retorted coldly. Without evidence, he would not admit anything.
"I don't need you to admit it," Leng Yaozhu said, shaking her head.
"Today, let's settle this according to Blood God Camp's rules. I challenge you. Do you dare accept?"
In the Blood God Camp, the nine Blood Gods were ranked by strength.
If a lower-ranked Blood God could defeat a higher-ranked one, they could replace their position.
Even a reserve Blood God could only become a formal Blood God by defeating one in combat.
This was the rule of the Blood God Camp—simple and direct.
(End of Chapter)