Mission: Conquer Bibi Dong

"Quick, bring Sun Sheng back to me!"

The dean, seeing Sun Sheng escape, immediately ordered all the academy's instructors to pursue him.

But by then, Sun Sheng had already vanished without a trace—how could they possibly catch him?

"Tch, what a hassle. Better find a secluded spot to raise my soul power and cultivate the Grand Celestial Art."

After fleeing the academy, Sun Sheng immediately dispelled his Martial Soul Possession, wove through the streets and alleys, and made his way outside Notting City.

After a brief moment of hesitation, he bolted southward.

A few miles away lay a small mountain village—Anlan Village, his birthplace.

Though he was an orphan, he still had a dilapidated thatched hut to live in, perfect for taking the Soul Orb, raising his soul power, and cultivating his technique.

Before long, he returned home, sat cross-legged in stillness, took out the Soul Orb, and swallowed it without a second thought.

The Soul Orb dissolved upon entering his mouth, transforming into a stream of pure soul power that coursed through every part of his body, leaving him utterly refreshed.

The fatigue from the earlier battle vanished in an instant.

Once Sun Sheng had adjusted his state to its peak, he began cultivating according to the methods of the Grand Celestial Art.

"The true and wondrous art of manifesting the hidden, cherishing life and nature—no other words suffice..."

Before he knew it, the sky had darkened. Stars hung high one by one, surrounding the bright moon, releasing a brilliant radiance.

Notting City, Lord's Manor.

Dressed in a luxurious robe, the Lord of Notting City, Xiao Ruiming, waited anxiously in his study.

Before long, a guard came to report.

"Reporting to my lord, the Young Lord's injuries are too severe. Both arms' bones are completely shattered. He may need to be sent to Martial Soul Hall for any chance of recovery," the guard reported.

"Then send him to Martial Soul Hall immediately!" Xiao Ruiming roared.

Xiao Chenyu was his only son. He had hoped that when the boy broke through to Soul Elder, he would hand over the position of lord and go to Martial Soul Hall himself to secure an official post.

But who could have imagined that some nobody would cripple him?

How could he not be furious?

"Yes, I will make the arrangements at once."

The guard trembled, bowed, and prepared to withdraw.

"Come back. I will take my son to Martial Soul Hall myself. You will immediately send word of today's events to Red Cardinal Xiao Liming."

Xiao Ruiming, still uneasy, decided to go in person and ordered that his father be informed of the day's happenings.

He believed that with Martial Soul Hall's power, finding the escaped Sun Sheng would be a trivial matter.

"Yes, I will see to it."

The guard answered respectfully, bowed, and withdrew.

"Sun Sheng, I don't care who you are. Even if you run to the ends of the earth, I will drag you out and grind your bones to dust."

After the guard left, Xiao Ruiming gazed out the door, a boundless chill shooting from his eyes as he ground his teeth in hatred.

The night flew by swiftly, meteors streaking across the sky, gradually giving way to dawn.

"Ahh, that feels good!"

"As expected of the Grand Celestial Art—truly something else."

Sun Sheng ceased his cultivation, exhaled a breath of turbid air, slowly rose, and stretched.

After a night of training, he had finally made his initial breakthrough.

Though he hadn't rested at all, he felt no trace of fatigue—only heightened vitality.

By now, his Soul Power Level had also risen to the twentieth rank.

Once he fused his second soul ring, he would break through to the realm of Soul Grand Master.

With that in mind, Sun Sheng planned to fuse his second soul ring before carrying out the main quest issued by the system: to go to Martial Soul Hall and become Pope Bibi Dong's disciple.

The moment he thought of Bibi Dong, pity welled up in him for her experiences.

In his heart, Bibi Dong had always been a pitiable figure.

If not for Grandmaster's change of heart and Qian Xunji's defilement, the once-kind Bibi Dong would never have turned into the ultimate villainess.

Now that he had arrived in this Douluo Continent world, he would try to reform Bibi Dong and make Martial Soul Hall the true sanctuary for all soul masters on the continent.

He believed that Bibi Dong, whose heart had long since frozen solid, would gradually thaw under his influence.

Ding! Congratulations, host, for activating a hidden quest: Win over Pope Bibi Dong and make her your woman.

Current quest progress: 0%

Hearing the system's prompt, Sun Sheng curled the corner of his mouth.

This system really was a worm in his belly—it knew exactly what he was after.

Since there were girls to chase and rewards to claim, life was only getting better.

Thinking this, Sun Yun couldn't help but rush off to Martial Soul Hall immediately.

Still, he wanted to wait until after fusing his second spirit ring.

"System, what's the maximum absorption age for my second spirit ring?"

Sun Sheng suppressed his excitement and asked silently in his mind.

[Reporting to host, the maximum absorption age for your second spirit ring is five thousand three hundred and twenty-five years.]

The Douluo Leveling System replied with lightning speed, the answer arriving in an instant.

Sun Sheng was both shocked and delighted after learning this.

As far as he knew, the maximum absorption age for an ordinary soul master's fourth spirit ring was five thousand years.

He never expected his second spirit ring's maximum absorption age to reach such a height.

It truly stunned him.

Sure enough, the Million-Year Spirit Ring, Twin Martial Souls, External Soul Bone, and the boost from the Grand Celestial Art were just incredible.

They had transformed his physique completely.

"Target: Star Dou Great Forest, hunt a five-thousand-year soul beast."

Sun Sheng stepped out of his little thatched hut, making a bold declaration, and headed south toward the Star Dou Great Forest.

The Star Dou Great Forest was one of the three most famous soul beast gathering grounds on the Douluo Continent, vast in area, spanning the borders of the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire.

On the map, three-fifths of the Star Dou Great Forest lay in the Star Luo Empire, and two-fifths in the Heaven Dou Empire.

It was a primeval forest with complex terrain, home to countless soul beasts.

Based on the areas where soul beasts of different ages were frequently active, it was divided into five zones: the fringe, the outer ring, the inner ring, the core ring, and the great peril zone.

The fringe was often home to ten-year soul beasts, the outer ring to hundred-year soul beasts and a few thousand-year soul beasts, and the inner ring to thousand-year soul beasts and a few ten-thousand-year soul beasts.

As for the core ring, it housed tens-of-thousands-of-years soul beasts and the occasional Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

The great peril zone, meanwhile, was inhabited by ferocious beasts surpassing ordinary Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts.

As long as a soul master was strong enough and had decent luck, they could find the most suitable spirit ring for themselves inside.

Half a month later, Sun Sheng arrived smoothly at the Star Dou Great Forest.

Here, there was a temporary gathering spot, set up by soul masters who came to explore the Star Dou Great Forest or hunt soul beasts.

Its purpose was to recruit like-minded powerful soul masters to enter the Star Dou Great Forest together.

After all, the Star Dou Great Forest had too many soul beasts, and danger lurked everywhere.

Cooperating with a few people was always much safer than going alone.

Sun Sheng, who knew the Douluo Continent well, naturally needed to find strong partners if he wanted to hunt a five-thousand-year soul beast.

After all, a five-thousand-year soul beast's strength was equivalent to a four-ring Soul Ancestor's, not something he could take on alone.

If he couldn't find suitable partners, he'd have to settle for fusing a one- or two-thousand-year spirit ring.

With his current strength, he should be able to hunt that alone.

"Urgently need a two-ring or higher healing-type Soul Grand Master."

"Need two three-ring or higher defense-type Soul Elders, limited spots. Depart as soon as the team is full."

"One attack-type four-ring or higher Soul Ancestor to enter the inner ring and hunt a ten-thousand-year soul beast. Those who meet the requirements, come quick—the team is about to set off."