"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."
Xin's voice was calm at first, but it gradually deepened with unmistakable gravity as he continued. The atmosphere around him subtly shifted, as though even the air itself was being pressed by his conviction. There was no hostility in his words, only an unwavering clarity that made his stance impossible to misinterpret.
"If you go back on your word now and turn hostile, I, Xin, and the entire Heart of Fire Academy, will no longer welcome you. Even if the Supreme Pontiff Palace mobilizes its entire forces to attack, I, Xin, will not retreat a single step!"
When he spoke the last sentence, Xin's tone was filled with determination, utterly without falsehood.
The declaration echoed in the space between them like a final verdict. It was not a threat born of arrogance, nor a bluff meant to intimidate. Instead, it carried the weight of someone who had already resolved the outcome in his heart. The calmness behind it made the resolve even more daunting.
"Teacher… you are so good to Xiao Wu…"
Hearing that Teacher Xin was so firmly on her side, upholding justice for her, Xiao Wu's tears instantly flowed uncontrollably.
Her emotions, which had been tightly restrained until now, finally broke free. The mixture of fear, gratitude, and relief overwhelmed her all at once. For someone who had carried such a heavy burden of hatred and secrecy, this moment felt almost unreal—like warmth breaking through an endless winter.
With a hum, Xiao Wu threw herself into Xin's embrace, clutching his clothes and sobbing.
The impact was soft but full of emotion. She held on tightly, as if afraid that letting go would cause everything to disappear. Her shoulders trembled slightly, and her tears soaked into his clothing, carrying years of suppressed pain finally finding release.
"Silly girl, Teacher Xin merely did what a Teacher should do. It's just that Teacher Xin took the liberty of making this decision for you. Will you feel wronged?"
Xin gently ruffled Xiao Wu's hair, a hint of doting in his gesture.
His movements were calm and natural, carrying a quiet reassurance rather than overwhelming comfort. The simple act of patting her head seemed to steady her emotions further, anchoring her in the present rather than the shadows of the past.
Xiao Wu shook her head in Teacher Xin'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 Xin is already very, very good. It's just, will she really cooperate? Does Mother really have a chance to be revived?"
Her voice was soft but fragile, as though she was afraid that speaking too loudly would break the fragile hope forming in her heart. Beneath her question lay not just curiosity, but a deep longing she had never dared to express openly before.
Watching Xin 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.
A distant look passed through her eyes. The scene before her was almost painfully familiar in a way she could not immediately articulate. Warmth, trust, and protection—things she had once glimpsed in her own past but never truly held onto—now unfolded clearly in front of her.
If only back then… if only her Teacher had also been Xin, how wonderful, how perfect that would have been?
The thought surfaced quietly, uninvited. It carried no resentment, only a faint, lingering regret that settled deep within her chest. The idea of a different path—one where understanding replaced fear—briefly flickered in her mind.
Everything might have turned out differently, right?
Su Renxue, don't you agree?
The name surfaced like a half-formed memory, faint and uncertain, blending past and present into something almost dreamlike.
"I will not go back on my word to Teacher Xin. I will stay and allow Teacher Xin 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.
Her tone had shifted slightly—less defensive, more analytical. Though doubt still lingered, there was now a willingness to understand rather than immediately oppose. The seriousness in her gaze reflected both caution and curiosity, as she tried to reconcile Xin's claim with her own understanding of cultivation.
"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."
Xin said.
His explanation was measured and precise, as though he were stating a process he had already calculated countless times. Yet beneath the technical clarity lay something far more profound—an implication that life and death themselves might not be as absolute as the world believed.
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.