The Two Great Empires Force the Issue

Spirit Hall's greatest disadvantage was not that its military strength fell short of the Two Great Empires. Its hard power was formidable, but its soft power was lacking.

Although Spirit Hall was the holy land of the Soul Master world, the legitimate authority in the eyes of most people across the continent remained the Two Great Empires. Even in the eyes of many Soul Masters, the empires were the homelands that had raised and nurtured them.

Spirit Hall had failed to recognize this problem. If it wanted to seize control of the continent through force, that was basically impossible—unless it could swiftly crush the Two Great Empires with thunderous force.

Otherwise, the longer things dragged on, the more disadvantageous it would be for Spirit Hall.

At this point, Xu Yu's value became apparent. Though he did not consider himself someone like Zhuge Kongming, he had received an education from the information age. After awakening his martial soul, all the knowledge points from his previous life had become things he understood and mastered.

As for whether that was due to his immense spiritual power or the effects of transmigration, that was not something he could concern himself with. But he knew that, in terms of soft power, he could help Spirit Hall and win enough authority from Bibi Dong.

If everything developed according to his plans, he would not mind sidelining Bibi Dong in the end and establishing a system in which many people governed the world together, rather than allowing one person to reign supreme!

But the road was winding. Right now, with nothing to do, he could only think about it and soothe his empty heart.

Zhu Zhuyun closed her eyes to rest. Bored out of his mind, Xu Yu finally turned his attention to the Blue Silver Grass that had been bothering him for days.

"Go away. I don't want you anymore!"

"Waaah!" Though she had no eyes, Xu Yu clearly sensed through their intimate spiritual connection that the Blue-haired Seven or Eight-year-old Girl's tears were pouring down in streams.

Like a girl who had been lovingly cared for all her life, only to be ruthlessly abandoned by her parents, she faced the unfamiliar surroundings and could no longer suppress the grievance in her heart. With a "waah," she burst into tears.

As she cried, she slapped Xu Yu's arm with her little leaves, feeling wronged—utterly wronged.

After striking him for a while, the Blue Silver Grass became listless, like withered grass unable to muster any spirit. In the end, Xu Yu still put it away in the Treasure Codex space.

He would have to deal with its matter carefully, lest something go wrong at a critical moment. That would be a huge problem.

Across from him, Zhu Zhuyun glanced at Xu Yu, who had tormented the Blue Silver Grass half to death, with some disdain. Not only did he bully women and yell at her at every turn, but now he would not even spare a blade of grass. He was worse than a beast.

But what was with Xu Yu's book? Zhu Zhuyun quietly pondered as her gaze swept over Xu Yu, only to find him looking at her meaningfully.

She somewhat understood what he meant, so she stopped hiding it and said frankly, "Can you tell me about that book of yours? I promise I won't reveal this secret."

Zhu Zhuyun was actually quite uneasy about this. Xu Yu was no kind man. She truly feared that he might toss her into the sea and let her drown here. After all, she could not instantly subdue Xu Yu, a Support System Soul Master, and he could easily fly away.

Then she would be all alone. With her swimming ability, she would not survive more than a few days at sea. If the ship overturned, she would be finished.

Unlike now—when the ship was overturned by huge waves, Xu Yu could still dive into the water to repair and right it.

That book was surely Xu Yu's most important secret. Since the two would continue working together in the future, rather than let him keep guessing, it was better to lay everything out and speak plainly.

Xu Yu was quite pleased by how sensible Zhu Zhuyun was. After thinking for a moment, he made up a story to fob her off. "Have you heard of an External Soul Bone? This book is my External Soul Bone."

"An External Soul Bone?" It sounded rather absurd, but Zhu Zhuyun actually believed it somewhat.

External Soul Bones were second only to 100,000-year Spirit Rings in rarity. Even Zhu Zhuyun, as the eldest legitimate daughter of the Netherworld Spirit Cat Family, had never seen one. Still, she had heard many tales about these Soul Bones, which were even rarer than ordinary ones.

For example, she had heard that Tang San, the control-system Soul Master who had defeated Spirit Hall's team, possessed one. She had not expected Xu Yu to have one as well. Was it real or not?

He was telling her about something so precious—was he not afraid she would harm him for it? Zhu Zhuyun's gaze became somewhat strange. At the very least, she did not dare tell Xu Yu that she had absorbed two Soul Bones into her legs.

Being trusted by Xu Yu like this really made her uncomfortable.

Xu Yu wore a smile across from her, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking. In truth, he was thinking that compared to his Contract Tome, an External Soul Bone was merely a powerful weapon. How could it possibly be worthy of comparison with his Contract Tome?

Still, who said an External Soul Bone could not take the shape of a book? Any shape was possible. No wonder Zhu Zhuyun had actually believed it.

In that case, he seemed to have exaggerated. He should have said it was simply an ability of one of his ordinary Soul Bones. What a miscalculation.

As Xu Yu regretted his mistake, the ship drifted along leisurely. Before long, they reached their destination. Once they returned to land, Zhu Zhuyun regained her proud nature, brimming with confidence and no longer needing to watch Xu Yu's expression before acting.

This woman changed her attitude at the drop of a hat. Xu Yu was speechless. At sea, she had been meek as a lamb, but the moment she returned to land, she turned her back on him without hesitation... After asking around for their location, the two chose a direction and set off toward Spirit Hall at the center of the continent.

Spirit City, Pope's Palace.

At one side of Pope's Palace, Bibi Dong stood above everyone, looking down at them. Below, they were divided into two groups. One group consisted of Spirit Hall's major elders, including Ghost Douluo, Ghost Douluo, and Elder Golden Goose, the master Xu Yu had only met once.

The other group consisted of envoys from the Two Great Empires. Their purpose was clear: to take the people of Shrek back after they had been detained by Spirit Hall.

Most of the detained Shrek Academy students and teachers were noble elites of the Two Great Empires, some even heirs to their families. They could not be allowed to perish in Spirit City.

"Your Excellency the Pope, may I ask when you intend to release our students? Spirit Hall has been going back and forth with us for nearly two months now, yet you show no intention of releasing them. This puts us in a difficult position. The people back home have started causing unrest, cursing us foreign envoys as useless for being suppressed by Spirit Hall. We have not had an easy time of it."

The speaker was a diplomatic envoy from the White Tiger Family of the Star Luo Empire. On the surface, he was mocking his own helplessness, but in truth, he was implying that if Spirit Hall did not release them soon and unrest broke out within the empire, Spirit Hall's reputation would be ruined.

Bibi Dong's expression darkened. But Spirit Hall had been pressured for so long. If they simply released the prisoners now, where would Spirit Hall's dignity remain?

"What does the Heaven Dou Empire have to say?" Bypassing the people from the Star Luo Empire, Bibi Dong suddenly looked toward Xue Qinghe, the crown prince of the Heaven Dou Empire.

Xue Qinghe froze, seemingly not expecting Bibi Dong to address him directly. He replied firmly, "The Heaven Dou Empire has issued a strict order. This time, we must bring back the people of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan."

"Very good!" No one knew what Bibi Dong was thinking. Whenever these matters were discussed, she remained expressionless. Several Titled Douluo who knew her well had even noticed that Your Excellency the Pope's gaze sometimes drifted uncertainly. This was not how the Pope, who was usually overwhelmingly forceful and domineering, ought to behave.

After receiving Xue Qinghe's answer and exchanging a few more meaningless words, the meeting once again ended on bad terms. Once all the outsiders had left, Ghost Douluo hesitated for a moment before asking, "Your Excellency the Pope, can't we just release them? This has already dragged on for two months."

"Is two months a long time?" Bibi Dong gave Ghost Douluo a cold look, then stood and walked away without even turning her head.

Ghostly Charm was left standing there with a baffled expression. Had he said something wrong? Two months was a long time, all right.