Spirit Hall

Just as Zhou You unexpectedly obtained his first Soul Ring, the matter of him also stirred undercurrents within Spirit Hall.

Ever since Bibi Dong ascended to the papal throne, Spirit Hall had been quietly divided into two factions.

One was the Pope Faction, headed by Bibi Dong; the other was the Angel Faction, headed by the Great Enshrined, Qian Daoliu.

In Spirit Hall's power structure, the Pope was the nominal supreme leader, in charge of all external operations.

The Pope's powers and responsibilities chiefly covered daily administration and military command in wartime, as well as the direct appointment of regional and city bishops.

However, just as the consuls of ancient Rome could not monopolize power, the Pope's authority was by no means unlimited.

Spirit Hall's true highest authority was the Elder Hall, or more precisely, the Elder Council headed by Qian Daoliu.

The Elder Hall did not handle daily affairs. Its members' duties were more akin to those of priests: they focused on spreading the faith, passing down knowledge, and, most importantly, the Angel God Inheritance Plan.

The Elder Council had the legal authority to remove the Pope and check her power. Of course, an impeachment motion could only be initiated if the Pope herself committed a major error during her term.

That alone was enough to place a tremendous restriction on the Pope's power.

More importantly, the Elder Hall controlled the greatest number of Spirit Hall's high-level fighters, especially its Douluo.

The Elder Hall's directly subordinate guard corps obeyed only the Elder Council's orders, not the Pope's decrees.

It sounded as though the Elder Hall could stand entirely above the Pope Hall, but the reality was not so simple.

The Elder Hall did not handle daily affairs, so it lacked control over Spirit Hall's vast middle- and lower-level organizations, while it required enormous resources to sustain itself.

Thus, although the Pope Hall had absolute control over Spirit Hall's middle and lower ranks, it lacked sufficient high-level fighters. The Elder Hall possessed absolute military might within Spirit Hall, yet still depended on the vast organization as a whole for support. The two sides balanced each other perfectly.

If the Pope Hall and the Elder Hall shared the same goal, this system of checks and balances was close to perfect. Each side could make up for the other's weaknesses, and both could strive toward a common goal, sweeping aside every obstacle in their path.

Spirit Hall had developed to its present state, forcing both great empires to compromise and pinch their noses as they tolerated Spirit Hall establishing branches and recruiting talent within their own borders. That proved this model of development did indeed have its advantages.

However, once the Pope Hall's goals diverged from the Elder Hall's, the two sides could easily end up hamstringing each other.

And the current Pope, Bibi Dong, happened to be a nominal leader whose goals differed from the Elder Hall's.

The Elder Hall's fundamental goal was the inheritance of the Angel God. Its task was to cultivate a new generation's Angel God, and it had little interest in worldly disputes.

Or rather, its members believed that once a new Angel God was successfully born, she would naturally take over the rule of the world, with no need for petty scheming and grubby pursuits.

The Pope Hall led by Bibi Dong, on the other hand, placed conquering the world and unifying the continent above all else, and paid relatively little attention to the Angel God's inheritance.

This had to do with Bibi Dong's own plans.

The two sides' ideals clashed at their roots and were difficult to reconcile.

Because of certain secrets, Qian Daoliu felt guilty toward Bibi Dong, and so he had always tolerated her and never moved against her.

Bibi Dong, meanwhile, was wary of striking the rat for fear of breaking the vase when it came to the power Qian Daoliu controlled. Spirit Hall also needed the Elder Hall's Titled Douluo to deter other factions, so she too maintained a false show of civility.

Their conflict had not become public, but turbulent undercurrents had long been surging beneath the surface.

Zhou Chengjie was only a level 37 Soul Elder and was not qualified to take part in the covert struggle between the two great factions. Yet his political instincts were not sharp enough, and this time he had unwittingly become the fuse for their conflict.

After leaving Yingyang Village, he immediately headed to the branch to report Zhou You's situation, but on the way he happened to run into an instructor from a branch of Spirit Hall Academy.

The two had been classmates who enrolled in a Low-Rank Soul Master Academy in the same year, and they had always been close. When the instructor asked what had happened, Zhou Chengjie told him about Zhou You without the slightest suspicion.

Zhou Chengjie had only intended for his friend to take the matter seriously and look after Zhou You when he could.

His friend, however, leaned toward the Angel Faction. Before the news reached the Pope Hall, he passed the information to the Elder Hall first.

This sparked a struggle between the Elder Hall and the Pope Hall over the "Innate Full Soul Power."

Dressed in papal robes, Bibi Dong sat high upon the Gilt Throne, her noble, coldly beautiful face now shrouded in dark clouds.

The five fingers of her right hand gripped the throne's armrest tightly, leaving five deep impressions.

"The Elder Hall has overstepped this time. Do you intend to lay hands on someone from the Pope Hall?"

"Your Holiness, you are mistaken." A handsome middle-aged man stood in the great hall below the throne.

His expression was calm, a faint smile on his face, as though nothing in the world weighed on his mind.

His name was Qian Daoliu. He was Spirit Hall's Great Enshrined and the father of the previous Pope, Qian Xunji.

Qian Daoliu had long since reached the level of a level 99 Peak Douluo. His lifespan was so long that his appearance had not aged, and he looked younger than many people two generations his junior.

He said calmly, "The Elder Hall also has a duty to pass on its inheritance. Since this boy possesses Innate Full Soul Power, he is highly likely to become a Douluo and join the Worship Hall in the future. We should be the ones to cultivate him."

Looking at that face, six or seven parts similar to the disgusting man in her memories, Bibi Dong could not help showing a trace of revulsion in her eyes.

She said, enunciating every word, "Great Enshrined, cultivating Soul Masters is Spirit Hall Academy's responsibility. The Elder Hall should not interfere!"

"Forgive my frankness." Qian Daoliu remained calm, lowering his eyelids. "Spirit Hall Academy's methods can only cultivate ordinary talent. With a once-in-a-century talent like someone with Innate Full Soul Power, following the usual rules would only wear away his potential."

"The Elder Hall has experience cultivating similar geniuses. Entrusting him to us is only proper and right."

Hearing this, Bibi Dong's face filled with mockery. "By experience, could you be referring to Qian Renxue?"

Qian Daoliu did not answer, but his position was clear.

Qian Renxue also had Innate Full Soul Power, and she was even at Innate Level 20, something extremely rare in the entire history of the Douluo Continent.

Bibi Dong, however, gave a cold laugh. "Great Enshrined, others may not know, but surely you and I do? Qian Renxue is an Angel God Descendant. Her case simply cannot be used as a reference."

An ordinary person could never possess Soul Power at Innate Level 20. Did he think a Soul Master's bottlenecks were mere decorations?

Without a Soul Ring, it was absolutely impossible to break through the level ten limit. That was an iron rule of the Douluo Continent!

Since Bibi Dong herself was a Soul Master undergoing a God Trial, she understood very well that Qian Renxue's other ten levels of Soul Power were the Angel God's legacy—a back door the god had opened especially for her descendant.

After all, merely manifesting a top-tier Martial Soul consumed a vast amount of Soul Power, let alone a Martial Soul that surpassed the top tier, such as the "Six-Winged Angel."

That was also why both sides were fighting over Zhou You, with his "Innate Full Soul Power."

Because without a god's intervention, [Innate Full Soul Power] meant he was the most gifted Douluo prospect on the entire continent, bar none!

What other Titled Douluo had to endure untold hardships and stumble upon countless fortuitous encounters to achieve, a Soul Master with Innate Full Soul Power could attain simply by proceeding step by step. Naturally, such a person was highly sought after.

Though Qian Renxue carried everyone's hopes, no one could be certain she would successfully complete her God Trial.

If she did fail, then without a doubt she would inherit the position of the next Pope.

Thus, cultivating a talent destined to become a Titled Douluo, or perhaps even a Peak Douluo, was an irresistible temptation to the Elder Hall as well.

So Qian Daoliu did not yield. "The Elder Hall controls Spirit Hall's largest Collection of Classics and possesses its richest Knowledge Archive. That is an advantage Spirit Hall Academy does not have."

Bibi Dong's beautiful eyes widened at once. Clenching her teeth, she said angrily, "Great Enshrined, are you threatening me?"

Although the Pope Hall had its own repository of knowledge, Spirit Hall's most important and finest classics remained monopolized by the Elder Hall.

If Zhou You belonged to the Pope Faction, would Qian Daoliu, as the leader of the Angel Faction, deliberately obstruct him in this regard?

For a young Soul Master, the sooner he climbed to the peak, the broader his future prospects would be.

If, for some reason, the opportunity to advance was delayed by a year or two, the loss would not be merely a few years' accumulation of Soul Power. It would wear away his potential and lower the ultimate height he might otherwise have reached.

Qian Daoliu's heart deserved to be condemned!