From an outsider’s perspective, Angel and the Infant Spirit confronted each other for a full five minutes.
During this time nothing happened; they just stared into each other’s eyes, as if locked in a silent duel.
In the end, it was Angel who first withdrew his gaze.
"Admitting defeat?" the Black Earl’s voice sounded in the Mind Ribbon at just the right time. "Or did you find a way to solve it?"
Angel: "Do I look like the one who lost?"
The Black Earl glanced at the Infant Spirit opposite, which was still staring fixedly at Angel, and said blandly, "At least in this battle of eye contact, you’re a bit inferior."
Angel: ...What battle of eye contact?
Who was he even having a staring contest with? He’d clearly been talking to Shaya in his head, okay, where did this ’eye contact’ come from...
Angel was halfway through speaking when, from the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the Infant Spirit opposite. When he first saw those terrifyingly wide, round eyes, he had subconsciously looked away for a moment.
And precisely because of that moment of avoidance, when Angel turned back to look at the Black Earl, the latter’s mood was full of mockery.
If the Black Earl’s True Body were really here, he would probably be looking at him with teasing eyes.
Angel secretly sighed. Trying to say now that he’d never been in any kind of eye contact battle with the Infant Spirit was already a bit hard to explain.
Since words were hard to use, he might as well speak through actions.
Angel: "Whether I’m a bit inferior or not, we’ll only know if we go one step further."
With that, Angel took the initiative and stepped forward.
Because the Domain Field’s range was limited, the Black Earl had no choice but to move forward with Angel.
"Planning to start a fight, or do you have some other method?" As the Black Earl spoke, Energy slowly began to gather around him. This Energy emitted a faint golden glow, as if casting his nose into a golden statue.
The Black Earl treated the situation with utmost seriousness, but Angel acted very relaxed. He even spoke to the Black Earl in a meaningful tone: "Whether we fight or not isn’t up to me. But I see this Infant Spirit still hasn’t attacked us; maybe it no longer wants to block our way."
The Black Earl made no comment on Angel’s remark. Whether Angel was arrogant, narcissistic, or just confident would soon be clear.
Angel and the Black Earl moving forward again also made everyone else tense up.
Their thoughts were the same as the Black Earl’s: would this turn into close-quarters combat at any moment? Faced with this bizarre Otherworld Infant Spirit, how would Angel and the Black Earl deal with it?
While everyone was worrying, on the other side, Adanis was also watching Angel’s movements.
She still didn’t believe the Infant Spirit would dare to defy the contract.
The Infant Spirit was so cunning—maybe this was all part of its scheme?
Was this really a scheme, a case of "inviting the enemy into the urn"? When Angel and the others came right up in front of the Infant Spirit... the answer was revealed.
The Infant Spirit still didn’t attack Angel; it even shrank back slightly.
Angel slowly extended his hand toward the Infant Spirit.
The whole process wasn’t actually slow, but in the eyes of the Black Earl and the others, it was like the scene had been slowed several times over. Whether it was Angel’s unhesitating reach, or the tiny details of the Infant Spirit’s trembling, they saw it all clearly.
Why was the Infant Spirit trembling? Was it afraid of Angel?
Did this mean Angel was planning to eliminate the Infant Spirit, and that was why it was frightened?
This action they’d slowed infinitely in their hearts also gave rise to endless questions—but those questions were actually answered very quickly.
Angel’s hand stopped midair. At the same time, the bright red Maneater Flower atop the Infant Spirit’s head happily swayed its petals up and down, like a flying butterfly.
Then this "flower-butterfly," all shy and coy, rubbed itself into Angel’s palm.
Angel wasn’t the least surprised by this. He simply raised his other hand as well and gently stroked the Maneater Flower, like he was petting a beloved pet.
The Maneater Flower seemed even more bashful; it even tightly closed that big mouth hidden in its flower core, afraid that the sharp teeth inside might scrape Angel.
Before, it only "seemed like" a pet, but now, judging from the Maneater Flower’s attitude, it was practically identical to a house cat or dog someone was raising.
Even from a long distance away, everyone could feel the Maneater Flower’s fawning, tail-wagging flattery.
So... did Angel just tame the Maneater Flower?
Did that mean they could once again breeze through this trial?... Huh, why "once again"?
Watching Angel interact with the Maneater Flower, both the Black Earl and the others felt a bit complicated.
But inside that complexity, there wasn’t much "surprise." Mainly because everything Angel had done along the way had already numbed them.
It was like, as long as Angel was here, no difficulty was really a difficulty, and anything unsolvable would somehow get solved.
The one whose emotions most obviously differed from the crowd was Adanis, observing from the shadows. Seeing the Maneater Flower acting so obsequious, she felt as if she’d been struck by lightning.
Why is it him again!
Who on earth is this man? Where did he come from? Why did Olao change rules that had been in place for ten thousand years because of him? Why could even an Infant Spirit descended from the Otherworld be tamed by him?
Adanis’ feelings at this moment were hard to put into words, but one thing was clear: her concern for Angel—or rather, her hatred—had already far surpassed what she felt toward the Noah Clan.
Meanwhile, at the center of everyone’s attention, Angel gently pushed the Maneater Flower away.
"Alright, that’s enough."
After being pushed aside, the Maneater Flower didn’t show any impatience. It obediently stayed off to the side without moving.
Seeing this scene, everyone had already begun to picture what would happen next: Angel would command the Maneater Flower to make way, and then they could charge straight through and head directly to the Qingkong Poetry Room.