Bibi Dong's Intentions
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Why did the Pope from the Spirit Hall side come on his own initiative, while the emperors of the Two Great Empires did not?
This was because Two Great Empires were busy with state affairs, and neither Xue Ye nor Star Luo Great Emperor could spare the time to come, so they could only send representatives.
And what about the Spirit Hall?
An organization entirely led by Soul Master, with the principle of the Strong Reign Supreme, means the Pope cannot possibly spend most of his time handling affairs; his cultivation time and time spent on government affairs must be at least equal.
Correspondingly, hosting the grand event of the Continental Elite Tournament might be a time for the Pope to "steal some leisure time" from his busy schedule.
Certainly.
Zhou Qing did not rule out the possibility that Bibi Dong also wanted to use this opportunity to further solidify her identity as the Pope in the hearts of the people on the mainland and expand her influence there.
After Bibi Dong briefly announced the start of the Finals, Chrysanthemum Douluo, acting as the emcee and referee, began drawing lots for the first round of participating teams.
The three main teams that were guaranteed a spot in the finals – Heaven Dou, Star Luo Empire, and Spirit Hall– received a bye in the first round, while the remaining thirty teams from the Two Great Empires competed for the top fifteen qualifying spots.
"Round 1, Match 1: Nuoding Academy vs. Dou Xing Plant Academy!"
Ten minutes had passed since Chrysanthemum Douluo finished drawing lots.
Dou Xing Plant Academy is an Advanced Soul Master Academy in the Star Luo Empire. Its students all possess plant-based Martial Soul and are between twenty and twenty-five years old.
Upon seeing that many of the members of the Nuoding Team, representing the Heaven Dou Empire, were young boys and girls with youthful faces, they immediately felt contempt for them.
"The quality of the students from the Heaven Dou Empire's Advanced Soul Master Academy this year is not good."
"They actually let a child appear on screen!"
"Tsk tsk, I think the Heaven Dou Empire will be finished sooner or later!"
"·····"
In the VIP section, Bibi Dong gave Xue Qinghe a meaningful look and asked, "Does the Heaven Dou Empire have an Advanced Academy called 'Notting'?"
All the Advanced Academy are recorded in the Spirit Hall. Bibi Dong may not remember them all, but she feels she can recall them after seeing them.
But she had absolutely no recollection of the Nuoding Academy.
"An intermediate academy that was granted special qualification to participate." Xue Qinghe looked directly at Bibi Dong without any stage fright. After all, she was now Xue Qinghe, the representative of the Heaven Dou Empire, and she could not be weaker than this "older sister" in terms of aura.
[Tsk, they've grown up...]
Bibi Dong realized that this Nuoding Academy team was definitely extraordinary, but she hadn't managed to get the news to Spirit City for so long—
It was obvious that this "obedient" daughter had secretly instructed Salas of the Martial Soul Hall in Heaven Dou City to keep the news hidden.
[Furthermore, do those people under the Spirit Hall listen to me, the Pope, or to those old fogies in the Worship Hall?]
After obtaining the three Rakshasa Avatar, Bibi Dong's resentment and hatred finally found a place to reside, but she still had no goodwill towards the Angel lineage.
On the field.
No one on the Nuoding Team was angry at the Taunt from the members of the Dou Xing Plant Academy Team. After all, they Taunt Advanced Academy of the Heaven Dou Empire, so what did it have to do with them?
"Battle begins!"
With Chrysanthemum Douluo's command, the entire Douluo Star Plant Academy team activated their Martial Soul and Soul Ring, displaying extraordinary momentum. Although they had previously looked down on the Nuoding Team, they were determined to go all out in the battle.
"Be careful. Regardless of their strength, the fact that they remain unmoved by our words suggests they are quite composed and may possess some powerful tactics."
The team captain shouted sternly to the other six members.
"Congratulations, you guessed right."
However, no sooner had he finished speaking than a soft, playful voice rang in his ear.
It was Xiao Wu.
The moment Chrysanthemum Douluo announced the start of the battle, Xiao Wu crouched down and simultaneously used her three Soul Skill— Waist String, Bowing Body, and Meditation— to shoot herself out like an arrow.
Her speed was so fast that, apart from Zhou Qing, Tang San, and Romantina, only Soul Saint Soul Master above in the audience were able to see her movements clearly.
"Here's a reward for you!"
The moment Xiao Wu reached the side of the captain of the Douxing Plant Team, she suddenly stopped with her left leg, leaned forward and lowered her body, and her legs reversed, kicking the opponent's chest like two sharp arrows.
Snap!
Before the captain could even use his Soul Skill, he was kicked away by Xiao Wu and crashed into the wall below the audience seats, losing his ability to fight.
Xiao Wu continued to twist her legs forward, arching her waist into an "n" shape before immediately straightening up. She then bent her legs and leaped backward, dodging the vine whip attacks thrown by two Soul Master near the Dou Xing Plant Academy.
The whole process was completed in one go.
"This girl gives the impression that she can foresee things."
Bibi Dong stared at the three purple Thousand-Year Soul Ring surrounding Xiao Wu, shocked but also impressed by Xiao Wu's body, which combined strength and gentleness, as well as her sharp reflexes.
[Also, that Zhou Qing looks familiar... He's the one who holds the remaining Rakshasa Avatar, isn't he?]
"May I ask, Heaven Dou Crown Prince, how did that young girl manage to absorb a thousand-year-level Soul Ring with her First Spirit Ring?"
Surprised, Bibi Dong asked Xue Qinghe a question.
"Crown Prince dare not accept the title of Crown Prince; I am merely the First Prince." Xue Qinghe believed that Bibi Dong was dissatisfied with her for concealing this matter, so she urged her to act quickly afterward. However, she was unconvinced and, relying on her status as the representative of the Heaven Dou Empire, refuted Bibi Dong.
But Bibi Dong didn't care.
Xue Qinghe did not hide anything and described the "Soul Ring Secondary Refinement Theory" researched by Zhou Qing, Romantina and others from the Nuoding Team, and handed a copy of the theory to Bibi Dong.
Bibi Dong took it, quickly flipped through it, her eyes trembling. Then she closed her eyes and concentrated all her Spiritual Power to examine the connection between the Soul Ring and the Martial Soul.
Just as expected!
There are nine invisible threads between each Soul Ring and the Martial Soul, and within these threads, there are countless other threads that are intertwined, like lotus roots that are broken but still connected.
It's a meticulous task...
After confirming the authenticity of this theory, Bibi Dong's gaze toward Romantina from the Nuoding Team turned serious.
With her Spiritual Power, she could only barely see the connection between the Soul Ring and the Martial Soul. How could the other party's Brain Martial Soul be able to see such details at the Soul Master and Soul Grandmaster stages after obtaining Soul Skill?
Bibi Dong understood that it wasn't that the girl's Spiritual Power surpassed hers, but rather that her efficiency and method of utilizing Spiritual Power exceeded hers.
Brain Martial Soul...
The Body Martial Soul.
It is extremely rare for a Martial Soul to be a part of oneself, and no one has ever been seen to have mastered it. However, it is unexpected that two people have now brought out the power of this Martial Soul.
Romantina's Martial Soul is the brain, and she excels in Spiritual Power. So Zhou Qing, whose Martial Soul is the heart, should be good at strength, or rather, the ability of Qi and Blood.
Thinking of this, Bibi Dong suddenly felt that these two, as well as Tang San, whose Martial Soul was Blue Silver Grass, all had extremely good talents and might be able to be recruited into the Spirit Hall.
She even suspected that these opinionated commoner children and rural noble scions dared to decide to participate so early because they felt they lacked resources and wanted to take the opportunity to find a powerful force to rely on...