"My demands are truly simple: if you actively abdicate your throne and completely cede all recently seized territories back to the Heaven Dou Empire, I will immediately release Hu Liena," Lin Mu said perfectly calmly.
Hearing this outrageous demand, Bibi Dong's face grew increasingly grim.
This arrogant guy actually dared to try and force her to completely submit by using Nana as leverage.
If she actually agreed to this impossible condition, her lifelong master plan would be a complete, utter waste.
She had painstakingly planned for so many grueling years, finally successfully establishing the Spirit Empire, and just when her grand plan was about to finally reach its final step, Lin Mu had forcefully interfered.
After a long moment of tense silence, Bibi Dong slowly raised her eyes to look at Lin Mu, her gaze incredibly sharp and completely resolute.
"This condition is entirely unfair, and I absolutely cannot ever agree to it."
"Fair?" Lin Mu scoffed loudly, looking at Bibi Dong with utter, undisguised contempt. "You actually dare mention fairness? Spirit Hall poured its vast resources into carefully nurturing you, and how exactly have you repaid them?"
"Ridiculous! Don't you know exactly why Spirit Hall poured its resources into nurturing me?"
Bibi Dong smiled dismissively, her tone incredibly self-righteous. "In the end, they only valued my supreme talent. Besides, compared to "that" terrible matter, what do these mere resources even matter?"
In her deeply twisted view, Spirit Hall owed her absolutely everything.
Even if she actively squandered Spirit Hall's entire fortune, it was only right and proper; she owed Spirit Hall absolutely nothing in return.
Seeing her stubbornly unrepentant attitude, Lin Mu shook his head and retorted, "Admittedly, Qian Xunji's horrific crimes against you are truly heinous, but your current situation is inextricably linked to your own foolish past actions."
"Absolute nonsense! You have absolutely no right to lecture me!"
Seeing Lin Mu clearly trying to shift the blame to Xiaogang's influence, Bibi Dong immediately interrupted him. She firmly didn't believe her past choice in love was wrong.
Back then, her esteemed position as Holy Maiden was unanimously agreed upon by Spirit Hall's higher-ups, not something she had ever forcibly demanded.
Since Spirit Hall willingly appointed her as Holy Maiden, it was only right that she freely use their resources. As for whom she might actually fall in love with, that was entirely her personal prerogative.
"Bibi Dong, have I truly been far too kind to you?!"
As he spoke, Lin Mu's eyes clearly turned violently hostile, and he deliberately unleashed his terrifying pressure fully onto Bibi Dong, feeling like an entire mountain suddenly pressing down directly onto her shoulders.
Thump.
Faced with the sudden, overwhelming pressure, Bibi Dong was caught completely off guard and was forcefully driven to her knees.
At this humiliating moment, Bibi Dong's heart was filled with genuine shock.
Although her soul power was artificially suppressed by one level, she still possessed Level 98 soul power, which should have been more than enough to withstand the passive pressure of any Limit Douluo.
What she completely hadn't expected was that this terrifying pressure completely surpassed that of a typical Limit Douluo!
"Could this monster have already successfully broken through to the God level?"
Thinking of this horrifying possibility, Bibi Dong was instantly filled with deep fear. She truly hadn't expected Lin Mu to possibly become a god before she did.
Even if her soul power had been suppressed by one level by the grueling Rakshasa God's trial, even in her absolute prime, she couldn't possibly hope to defeat a true God-level expert, let alone a monster like Lin Mu.
It should be carefully noted that Lin Mu's actual combat strength had already easily reached the Super Douluo level when his base cultivation was still only at the Soul Douluo level.
Now that Lin Mu might have actually reached Level 100 and become a true god, the true extent of his strength was simply completely unimaginable.
At this tense moment, Lin Mu slowly stepped forward, looking down coldly at the kneeling Bibi Dong, and said coldly, "Faced with absolute, overwhelming strength, you truly still have absolutely no right to actively resist."
This brutal world is inherently a dog-eat-dog world. As the esteemed Holy Maiden of Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong's blind infatuation with a completely useless good-for-nothing is not surprising no matter how she is ultimately dealt with.
If it were any other truly ruthless person in charge, Bibi Dong would have absolutely no chance to ever turn the tables.
It is absolutely undeniable that Qian Xunji's horrific actions were entirely unacceptable, violently forcing himself on his own disciple.
But Qian Daoliu's later staunch support of Bibi Dong eventually becoming Supreme Pontiff was already more than enough compensation.
"Say whatever you want to say, I will absolutely never yield to you!"
Bibi Dong's pale expression was deeply uncertain. This highly humiliating situation strongly reminded her of her absolute nightmarish past.
If Lin Mu had genuinely committed evil deeds just like Qian Xunji had, he could have easily imprisoned her in a dark secret chamber with his overwhelming strength, leaving her with absolutely no chance of meaningful resistance.
But Lin Mu clearly didn't do that.
Perhaps it was entirely because of his relationship with Qian Renxue, or perhaps Lin Mu simply had absolutely no interest in her whatsoever.
"The objective fact is, you can take bloody revenge on Qian Xunji however you truly like, but it's your own personal choice. You have absolutely no right to violently blame others for your own foolishness."
With that sharp rebuke, Lin Mu snapped his fingers, and the crushing aura pressing down on Bibi Dong vanished completely instantly.
At that specific moment, Bibi Dong was suddenly filled with an uncharacteristic flash of deep self-doubt.
Had she truly made a massive mistake somewhere along the line?
However, she only hesitated for a brief moment. Quickly thinking of her deeply tragic past experiences, her damaged heart was once again filled with overwhelming, blinding resentment.
"Lin Mu, no matter what you say or do, I will absolutely not agree to your outrageous conditions."
Bibi Dong's attitude was exceptionally firm when she finally said this.
If she foolishly gave up the grand empire she had worked so incredibly hard to carefully build, she would become just like a helpless fish on a bloody chopping board, completely at Lin Mu's absolute mercy.
Lin Mu gave Bibi Dong a very deep, evaluating look, saying highly meaningfully, "It seems Hu Liena really isn't that important to you after all, not even as highly valued as a completely useless piece of trash."
Hearing this biting truth, Bibi Dong didn't even attempt to refute him, nor could she actually find a single logical excuse.
"Since you're entirely unwilling to agree to this incredibly simple condition, then we have absolutely nothing more to say to each other. I truly hope you won't live to deeply regret your foolish decision today."
With that final warning, Lin Mu suddenly vanished entirely, completely leaving Bibi Dong alone under the cold night sky.
Seeing Lin Mu casually leave without any hesitation, Bibi Dong's pale expression grew increasingly serious.
She already vividly imagined her precious disciple's horrific fate, perhaps even far worse than her own past trauma.
A short while later, Lin Mu quickly arrived back at the secure military prison where former Spirit Hall's Golden Generation was tightly held.
Seeing Lin Mu's sudden, silent appearance, Hu Liena and the other two were badly startled and quickly scrambled to stand up.
Not long ago, Lin Mu had completely, ruthlessly abolished their lifelong cultivation, leaving them with deep, lingering fear, genuinely worried that Lin Mu might physically do something terrible to them again.
Soon, Lin Mu casually opened the heavy iron prison door and walked in unhurriedly.
His cold gaze fell precisely on the highly anxious Hu Liena, and he said perfectly calmly, "Bibi Dong completely rejected my generously proposed deal."
Upon suddenly hearing this devastating news, Hu Liena and the other two were completely shocked.
They all instantly understood the terrible, underlying meaning of these few words; since Bibi Dong hadn't agreed to save them, their ultimate fate was definitely not going to be good.
"How is this even possible!"
Yan's wide eyes were filled with sheer, unadulterated disbelief. Her Majesty the Empress had actually cold-bloodedly abandoned the Holy Maiden.
Although he had grandly vowed to faithfully protect Nana, he was now in completely dire straits himself, let alone with a monster like Lin Mu standing directly before him.
He didn't even dare to entertain the absolute slightest passing thought of physical resistance.
At this terrifying moment, Lin Mu had already walked right up to Hu Liena and slowly reached out to gently lift her fair, highly delicate chin.
"Now you truly only have two terrible choices."
Looking nervously at Lin Mu standing so incredibly close to her, Hu Liena's heart trembled slightly.
Suddenly, she vividly thought of Tang San's earlier, blunt suggestion, and her pale cheeks flushed a bright, light pink.
Although she absolutely didn't want to technically betray her teacher, since her beloved teacher clearly no longer wanted to save her, choosing to submit to such a uniquely powerful man honestly seemed like a very good alternative idea.
After quickly thinking it completely through, Hu Liena boldly interrupted Lin Mu before he could even finish speaking, stating clearly, "If you promise to agree to one single condition, I will willingly serve you personally."