Chapter 409: The Results of the Soul Hunting Operation

"We indeed ambushed a large number of Spirit Masters outside their emergency passages, it's just that..."

Shemao Douluo stood in the hall and said in a very awkward tone: "It's just that no one came out at all; we wasted thirty percent of our manpower guarding there for nothing."

The Council Hall fell into silence for a moment.

"Since that is the case, it is fine for you to withdraw, why would you say it was a failure? And..."

Bibi Dong's expression was indifferent, showing neither joy nor anger: "And it requires the Guard Captain to be present to state the final result?"

Only then did Qin Jian realize why everyone was waiting for his arrival; it seems there was more to it than that...

"Because what the other side demanded..."

Shemao Douluo lowered his head and said in a very uncomfortable tone: "They said it was out of respect for the Guard Captain that they did not launch an attack..."

Swish, swish, swish...

Gazes focused once again on Qin Jian's flawless face.

"Speak, what is the final result."

Bibi Dong was already losing her patience.

"The final result is... we were ambushed on our way to withdraw, and the Spirit Master teams divided into three routes were each surrounded and trapped."

Shemao Douluo said: "The opponent's forces are strong and occupy a favorable position, and since they did not attack immediately, a stalemate has formed."

"Bastards!"

Bibi Dong suddenly struck her staff in anger: "You have five Title Douluos, even if the situation is dire, can you not fight your way out? You could even go for a direct decapitation; with Ning Fengzhi gone, who else could resist?"

Qin Jian glanced at her without speaking.

The corners of Shemao Douluo's mouth twitched. He had wanted to save some face for the Pope, but since it had come to this, he didn't want to be the scapegoat, so he simply said: "This... wasn't it your requirement, Your Holiness, that we must not deal lethal blows to key figures like Ning Fengzhi and Jian Douluo?"

Bibi Dong: "..."

Everyone looked sideways.

The Pope took a deep breath, calmed her rage, and said slowly: "Even without decapitation, can you not break through? No matter how many people they have, they cannot possibly outnumber you, can they?"

Shemao Douluo said helplessly: "They are not few in number, because it wasn't just the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect that laid the ambush, but also the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family. But the most critical point, and the reason we dared not act rashly, is..."

He glanced at Qin Jian and said: "That Jian Douluo of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the teacher of our Guard Commander, he has broken through to level 97."

Everyone in the Council Hall, one and all, gasped in shock...

Even Qin Jian, who had been listening to the excitement with his hands tucked away, was surprised; he hadn't expected his teacher to be so capable.

"Jian Douluo alone is enough to rival the five of us, not to mention that Ning Fengzhi and Gu Douluo are also there, so in terms of high-end combat power, we have actually fallen into a disadvantage," said Shemao Douluo.

Having said this, there was nothing left to say.

Bibi Dong swept a glance at Qin Jian, then looked at Shemao Douluo, and said indifferently: "Speak, what message did they want to convey by letting you return? I imagine they don't really want a fight to the death either, right? Otherwise, even if our entire army were wiped out, they wouldn't have a good ending."

Shemao Douluo nodded and said: "They indeed do not want a fight to the death with us, so they only put forward one demand."

"What demand?" Bibi Dong asked coldly.

Shemao Douluo said: "Their demand is that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family shall forever remain the Upper Three Sects, and the Spirit Hall must not carry out any more assassination attempts. This covenant must be announced to the entire Dalu."

The Council Hall fell into silence again.

The failure of the Soul Hunting Operation was beyond the expectations of all the high-level members of the Spirit Hall, and to be blackmailed on top of that caused the arrogance of the Spirit Hall to diminish significantly.

Everyone was looking at Bibi Dong, while also secretly glancing at Qin Jian.

After all, this operation had clearly sidelined the Guard Commander, yet it had failed, and they all wanted to know the reason behind it.

"Is this the reason you dared to bet with me?"

Bibi Dong suddenly turned to look at Qin Jian and said softly: "Was the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect prepared long ago?"

Everyone pricked up their ears.

Qin Jian tucked his hands and said: "That is just the Pope being too confident. As for whether the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was prepared, I wouldn't know. After all, I only learned about the Soul Hunting Operation after I returned, and I had no opportunity to notify them."

Hu Liena, as the Saintess, was also standing by Bibi Dong's side at this time.

She suddenly remembered the paper Qin Jian had slipped to Tang San at the time, and intuitively felt that this failure had a great deal to do with that paper, but it was indeed impossible for Qin Jian to have known about the Soul Hunting Operation back then...

She couldn't figure it out...

Bibi Dong also knew that Qin Jian would not tell her the hidden reasons, so she chose to ask about other key points: "Fine, let's set that aside for now. Even if you had notified them, they wouldn't have known the specific day, so that alarm system seems very important. I wonder if you can clear up my confusion on that?"

"Oh, that..."

Qin Jian continued to tuck his hands: "I just found a batch of Soul Beasts suitable for sounding alarms for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. In places where Spirit Masters cannot see, there are actually many eyes watching..."

Bibi Dong thought of his identity as a Million-Year Soul Beast and sighed helplessly.

This ability to drive Soul Beasts is truly something no one can compare to...

"And what about your emergency escape passages? Why was there a fake one?" she asked again.

Qin Jian spread his hands: "Then you have to blame your source of intelligence. Who told you that one was the real one?"

In the Council Hall, everyone had different expressions.

Bibi Dong nodded and gave a cold snort: "That is true, we really do need to hold her accountable. If she hadn't made a mistake on this crucial piece of intelligence, we wouldn't have fallen into such a predicament."

As soon as she said this, the representative of the Elder Hall, Jin E Gongfeng, could no longer sit still.

"Pope, this can only be blamed on Ning Fengzhi of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect being too cunning; how can you blame her?"

He said in a deep voice: "Compared to this, you should be investigating those around you instead. Our Commander here comes from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect; isn't he the most suspicious?"

Bibi Dong gave a cold snort: "Why look for excuses for incompetence? After I made the bet with Qin Jian, I was absolutely certain that he had never had contact with anyone else, nor had he used any means to transmit information. I am even certain he didn't step out of his room once. Under such circumstances, how could he have sent a message out?"

Jin E Gongfeng frowned deeply and stared at Qin Jian with icy eyes, but he didn't say anything more.

After all, more than ten days ago, a sparring match here at the Pope Palace had been witnessed by all the Title Douluos of the Spirit Hall, and the strength Qin Jian displayed was even comparable to the Pope, Bibi Dong.

This meant that he was no longer the Million-Year Soul Beast from five years ago who needed to use a Sacrifice as a threat; he was now comparable to a Peak Douluo!

Even if the Elder Hall didn't like him, they had to show him some respect.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Bibi Dong said: "I agree to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's demands. Beyond that, the responsibility for the failure of this operation must be investigated..."

(End of chapter)