Spiritpact: Bond of the Underworld Episode 10: Secret Feelings

Wang Xiaoming stands among a sea of anxious candidates, absorbing the rules of the second exam. The holographic display details a team-based survival challenge, a cruel twist for someone who prefers to work alone. Points are awarded for victory, but the true prize is survival alongside teammates he cannot choose. The instructor's voice echoes through the grand hall, setting the stage for inevitable conflict.

Wang Xiaoming finds himself in a dim dungeon, the flickering torches doing little to ease the claustrophobia. He navigates the red-brick corridors, wary of ambushes, when Yan Le appears, chewing nonchalantly on a burger. Yan Le's mocking taunts are quickly followed by the deployment of two unnerving, blade-wielding puppets. Xiaoming is forced into a desperate defense, the sparks from the puppet blades illuminating his vulnerability.

Wang Xiaoming finally locates his assigned teammates, Huang Huaqi and a Glasses Girl, only to find their reunion marred by immediate infighting. Huang Huaqi, a hot-headed fire user, bickers with the Glasses Girl about their low ranking, their words sharp and dismissive. An enemy team ambushes them, deploying binding spells and glowing spirit butterflies that drain their energy. The trio is quickly incapacitated, trapped by the ethereal restraints as Huang Huaqi struggles with impotent rage.

Just as Xiaoming's team faces elimination, Li Nailo emerges from the shadows, a silent, deadly figure in red. She unleashes shadow threads with horrifying precision, ensnaring the enemy team before they can react. The threads glow ominously, tightening until the opponents are critically injured and forcibly removed from the exam. Nailo spares no glance for the defeated, her entire focus shifting to Huang Huaqi with an unsettling reverence.

A brief flashback transports us to a sun-dappled courtyard, years in the past. A young Huang Huaqi shields a tearful Li Nailo from bullies, declaring her his possession. His words are arrogant, but his actions are protective, offering her a small object of comfort. The young Nailo looks up at him with a mix of awe and absolute devotion, her tears replaced by a nascent smile. This memory illuminates the foundation of her fanatical loyalty.

Back in the dungeon, Huang Huaqi reacts to Li Nailo's rescue with fury, not gratitude. He rages at her for daring to intervene in *his* battle, seeing her assistance as an insult to his strength. Nailo drops to her knees, submissively apologizing to her "young master," her head bowed low. Wang Xiaoming watches this uncomfortable exchange, disturbed by the intensity of their bond and Huaqi's chilling lack of empathy.

The fragile team dynamic shatters completely when the Glasses Girl teammate continues to insult Huang Huaqi. Li Nailo's eyes snap open with terrifying intent, unable to tolerate any disrespect toward her master. Without a word, she turns her shadow threads on her own teammate, ensnaring her in a lethal grip that chokes the life out of her. The Glasses Girl is quickly eliminated from the exam, leaving Wang Xiaoming and Huaqi as a duo. Xiaoming recoils in horror, understanding that Nailo poses a threat to everyone, not just their enemies.

A brief cut away shows the grand hall where the spectators watch the scoreboard. Wang Xiaoming's name sits at the bottom, a single, paltry point next to it, drawing amusement and pity from the onlookers. The instructor observes the intensifying competition, noting the rapid ascent of other high-ranking candidates. Back in the dungeon, Xiaoming stares at his own digital ranking, a stark reminder of his precarious position. He takes a deep breath, trying to summon resolve in the face of daunting odds and an increasingly dangerous team.

The remaining candidates are abruptly transported to a new battlefield: the golden grasslands of the Black Dragon Mountains. The tall grass could offer cover, but the strained team dynamics persist. Baijie, a powerful candidate with blue hair, decides to clear the field entirely. She summons a massive flaming fire bird that incinerates the landscape in a destructive blaze. Wang Xiaoming watches his chances for stealth vanish in the rising ash, the group now fully exposed in the charred, smoking clearing.

In another part of the forest, Gong Cheng Yue faces a mocking swordsman who dismisses her chosen spirit. A quick flashback reveals her younger self ridiculed for preferring a small, plush fox spirit. In the present, she retaliates with elegant ice attacks against his fire-infused blade, her movements fluid and precise. She freezes his sword mid-swing, shattering the ice, but the swordsman eventually lands a decisive blow. Gong Cheng Yue is eliminated, her quiet struggle ending in defeat.

At the mountain's jagged peak, a colossal Black Fire Dragon erupts from a dark cavern, its scales shimmering with malevolent heat. It unleashes a roar that shakes the very ground, sending black flames washing over the landscape and forcing other candidates to retreat. Wang Xiaoming stands alone, bruised and soot-stained, facing the monstrous beast. Remembering the guidance he received, he refuses to surrender, even as the dragon prepares a concentrated blast of dark energy. He braces himself for what appears to be a suicidal charge.

Through sheer grit and a flash of tactical genius, Wang Xiaoming evades the dragon's flames and reaches its core, retrieving the 'Dragon Heart.' The massive creature dissolves into harmless light, ending the terrifying encounter. His teammates and rivals are left stunned by his unexpected triumph, and his score on the leaderboard rapidly climbs. But the victory is unsettling. Li Nailo stares blankly into the distance, her eyes taking on a frightening, hollow glow. Her obsession with Huang Huaqi threatens to consume her, hinting at a darker transformation yet to come.