Heroes Gather

Spirit Hall, Pope's Palace.

The meeting of the upper ranks had largely concluded.

Yet the atmosphere in the hall remained heavy. The offerings of the Elder Hall stood with their hands at their sides, their gazes grave as they looked toward the center of the hall.

Several Spirit Hall protectors spread a stack of parchment scrolls across the floor and bent over to examine them.

"Your Holiness, according to reports from all sides and the Heaven Dou Empire's assessment, this Soul Beast's energy fluctuations are definitely far beyond those of an ordinary Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast."

An experienced protector continued solemnly, "This intelligence was obtained firsthand by the Heaven Dou Empire Royal Investigation Team during an on-site investigation. They saw with their own eyes how that Soul Beast killed a forty-thousand-year Soul Beast with a single move!"

At those words, everyone's expression changed.

Even a Titled Douluo might not have been able to kill a forty-thousand-year Soul Beast in one move.

A Titled Douluo in the early nineties was roughly equivalent in strength to a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

Could this Soul Beast be more than a hundred thousand years old?

In other words, was its strength comparable to a Super Douluo's!?

An existence at that level had already touched the ceiling of combat power on the continent.

Its destructive power was terrifying. If it went completely berserk, it was no exaggeration to say it could wipe out a sect in moments and sweep through a city.

Aside from Bibi Dong and a handful of others, few people present would have dared confront it alone.

Ghost Douluo stepped forward and cupped his hands. "Your Holiness, a Soul Beast with such strength is already no less intelligent than a human. Its sudden appearance and actions must mean it is plotting something. Either someone provoked it, or it is searching for something..."

"Lord Ghost is right. This Soul Beast must be searching for a treasure."

"The Star Dou Great Forest is vast and rich in resources, a place where dragons crouch and tigers lie hidden. A supreme treasure must have appeared!"

The others voiced their agreement with Ghost Douluo's conjecture.

On the imperial throne, Bibi Dong's expression was indifferent, betraying neither joy nor anger. Only her slightly furrowed brows quietly revealed the turmoil in her heart.

After a long while, Bibi Dong's clear, cool voice slowly rang out. "Prepare a soul boat. Chrysanthemum Ghost Douluo, the twelve protectors, come with me."

Everyone was stunned.

It was not the personnel being deployed that surprised them, but that the group was far too small.

They had expected the Pope to mobilize a large contingent of Spirit Hall elites to accompany her.

But Bibi Dong had made her decision, and no one dared question it.

Bibi Dong had her own considerations.

Most people present had no idea how ferocious a Soul Beast over a hundred thousand years old could be.

At that level, piling on ordinary people was meaningless.

Soul Masters below the rank of Titled Douluo would only cause more trouble by going.

The elders and offerings bowed in turn and withdrew from the Pope's Palace.

The hall, which had been somewhat noisy just moments before, soon fell quiet, leaving Bibi Dong sitting alone on the throne.

A moment later, Bibi Dong raised her beautiful eyes toward the shadows behind a corridor pillar outside the hall, a faint smile in her voice.

"Come out, little rascal. How long have you been eavesdropping?"

Qian Lingye emerged from behind the pillar with a grin.

"Old ginger really is spicier."

Qian Lingye trotted over to Bibi Dong.

Bibi Dong feigned annoyance. "What a thing to say."

Looking at her son's clever, mischievous expression, she showed not the slightest trace of reproach in her eyes, only a hint of helplessness and tenderness.

She looked like an entirely different person from the cold, commanding figure at the meeting just now.

To the outside world, she was the Pope of Spirit Hall, a decisive wielder of life and death who intimidated the entire continent, cold and merciless, revered and feared by countless people.

But before her own son, she put away all her sharp edges and was simply an ordinary mother.

"Go on, what have you come to see me about this time?"

Bibi Dong leaned forward slightly and reached out to straighten Qian Lingye's turned-up collar.

Qian Lingye had never been particularly clingy. He usually spent his days either playing around or tinkering with his little gadgets, and he never came to see her without a reason. He never visited the temple unless he needed something.

Qian Lingye smiled. "Mom, I heard everything. I heard you're going to the Star Dou Great Forest. I want to go too."

Bibi Dong immediately shook her head gently. "No. This isn't a pleasure trip. The Star Dou Great Forest is extremely dangerous right now. You can't go."

"Is it because of that Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?" Qian Lingye asked.

Bibi Dong nodded. "Our preliminary estimate is that the Soul Beast is more than a hundred thousand years old. Even I can't be completely confident of suppressing it."

Qian Lingye looked disappointed and said quietly, "All right, then."

But inwardly, he was growing even more excited. His guess had been right: Golza's strength really was above that of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast!

So strong!

Seeing Qian Lingye's dejected expression, Bibi Dong held back the words of refusal that had risen to her lips.

Suddenly, she couldn't bear to turn him down again.

She remembered that Qian Lingye had gone to have his Soul Power tested today and failed once more.

It must have been another considerable blow to him.

Over the years, she had found countless heavenly treasures, but had never been able to change Qian Lingye's condition.

As his mother, her heart had always been full of guilt.

Other children his age had long since started cultivating, and the fastest among them were already past Level 30. Qian Lingye alone had yet to take even the first step.

Bibi Dong had once been young herself, and she understood exactly how Qian Lingye felt.

Bibi Dong spoke slowly. "I can take you, but you must promise to listen to me the whole time and not run off."

Qian Lingye's eyes lit up. He had been ready to wear her down with persistent pleading, but to his surprise, Bibi Dong had relented just like that.

Excited, he threw his arms around Bibi Dong and kissed her on the cheek.

"Okay, Mom! I'll go change right now!" With that, he dashed away in a puff of smoke.

Bibi Dong smiled helplessly.

It would be good to take him out for a while, just to take his mind off things.

She had been overly cautious just now.

She was a Level 99 Limit Douluo. If she couldn't even protect her own son, what else was there to talk about?

Never mind a Soul Beast over a hundred thousand years old-even if Di Tian and Snow Empress came in person, they would pay a price in blood if they dared hurt her son.

Star Dou Great Forest.

Golza's massive body moved through the dense forest, his armor of rock scraping against thick tree trunks with a muffled rumble. Every step made the ground tremble slightly.

In this area near the magma volcano, the Soul Beasts in the forest had long since scattered and fled.

Only a few Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts that had occupied the area for years still refused to leave, relying on their cultivation.

"What manner of creature are you? How dare you trespass in our territory!"

Three burly figures suddenly sprang out of the dense forest.

All were long-established Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, with formidable presences and dense Soul Power.

Three Flame Demon Wolves stood side by side, their gazes fixed on Golza as they struck a threatening pose.

They relied on the volcano to survive, feeding on magma energy and drawing power from the magma.

Although they had cultivated for only a little over two thousand years, their actual combat strength was already no less than that of Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts. Their cultivation advanced extremely quickly.

They had long regarded this volcano as the supreme treasure that sustained their lives, and they mercilessly killed anyone who approached.

Even though they had sensed Golza's strength, the three demon wolves still refused to back down.

Seeing the three demon wolves blocking his path and challenging him, Golza let out a disdainful growl.

Three idiots, willing to throw away their lives for territory.

This volcano belonged to his master in the first place.

These three wolves dared occupy it and covet his master's property. They truly didn't know whether to live or die.

The three Flame Demon Wolves immediately spread out and attacked from three directions.

Golza neither dodged nor retreated. Instead, he charged straight at them with even greater speed.

Boom! A tremendous crash rang out!

Golza sent the lead Flame Demon Wolf flying like a rag, hurling it several hundred meters away.

He then reached out with his enormous claws and seized the other two demon wolves as they pounced, one in each hand.

"Roar-!"

Only then did the two demon wolves truly feel Golza's all-crushing power, terrifying them out of their souls.

But it was too late. Golza opened his enormous jaws and took them one at a time.

As though a cat were catching mice, he bit straight through both demon wolves' heads.

Mere Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts were not qualified to fight Golza!

At the same time, the skies above the Star Dou Great Forest were already in an uproar.

Under the vast heavens, several enormous soul boats hovered in midair, blocking out part of the daylight with their magnificent presence.

The most striking and imposing was Spirit Hall's colossal soul boat, gilded and patterned in black, with a grand hull and an oppressive presence.

All twelve protectors stood at the bow, their presences subdued and their sharp eyes surveying the forest below. They were on high alert, ready to act at any moment.

Following close behind, the Heaven Dou Empire imperial family's soul boat, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's elegant jade-colored soul boat, and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's warship covered in lightning patterns arrived one after another, taking positions at different heights across the sky.

The flying soul tools of the major sects and small and medium-sized factions were even more numerous, densely filling the airspace above the outskirts of Star Dou.

Countless independent Soul Masters also hid among the wooded mountains on the forest's outskirts, gazing intently toward the volcano.

The top experts and factions from nearly half the continent had all gathered here.

The Star Dou Great Forest had stood on the continent for hundreds of thousands of years, but never before had half its heroes gathered there, drawing every eye as they did today.

When everyone saw Golza dispatch two Flame Demon Wolves in the blink of an eye, exclamations of astonishment rang out all around.

"This Soul Beast's strength is actually terrifying to such an extent!"

"Flame Demon Wolves rely on magma in battle. In this area, their combat strength can even rival that of twenty-thousand-year Soul Beasts! Yet against it, they couldn't last a single exchange!"

"It seems the rumors were true after all!"

On the deck of Spirit Hall's soul boat, Bibi Dong and her companions also watched everything happening below in silence.

Seeing Golza's terrifying destructive power with his own eyes, Qian Lingye couldn't help the smile that rose to his lips.

Just then, a clear, bright female voice came from behind him. "Little brother, why didn't you tell me you were here?"

Qian Lingye turned and saw a beautiful young woman in silver light armor, with short, pale pink hair, walking slowly toward him.