Future or Life, He Chose His Future

Worship Hall.

Inside the grand and solemn hall, the atmosphere was somewhat heavy.

Six Worships stood in separate ranks, all eyes focused on Qian Daoliu, who sat calmly in the seat of honor.

Golden Crocodile Douluo, the hot-tempered Second Worship, finally could not hold himself back. He stepped forward, his voice carrying obvious confusion and a trace of suppressed indignation:

"Big Brother! Any discerning person can tell that the boy's Martial Soul is a God-level Martial Soul! The might it displayed upon awakening..."

He paused. In the end, he spared his elder brother's pride and swallowed the words "far surpassing Xue'er's back then," changing them to:

"...is in no way inferior to when Xue'er awakened her Six-winged Angel! Why should we hand over such a peerless talent to that woman?!"

He truly could not understand it. Since when did the Worship Hall need to yield like this?

Qian Daoliu sat upright in the seat of honor. A trace of barely perceptible weariness flashed through his profound eyes, and his face was filled with helplessness.

"She is the Pope, after all. We must still give her the respect she deserves."

His voice was low and steady, yet it carried unquestionable weight.

"If the Worship Hall and the Pope's Palace openly fought over a child who had just awakened, what would people say if word got out?"

He paused slightly, his gaze sweeping across his brothers as his tone grew more solemn.

"Besides, the phenomenon triggered by this child's Martial Soul was far too alarming. His potential... is impossible to gauge. This matter involves too much. We must not let everyone know about it now and create needless complications."

Over the years, for Spirit Hall's overall stability and for the future of his granddaughter Qian Renxue, who was still lying low, he had already made too many concessions when facing Bibi Dong.

Of course, behind those concessions was his absolute confidence in his own strength.

Spirit Hall's true core power and foundation had always remained firmly in his hands.

But the appearance of this child...

Qian Daoliu sighed softly, as though trying to expel that helplessness from his body. Then he regained the decisiveness of the head of the Worships. "Qian Jun, Jiang Mo!"

"Big Brother!" Thousand Jun Douluo and Demon Subduing Douluo immediately stepped forward.

"You two will handle two matters at once."

Qian Daoliu's voice was as cold and hard as metal.

"First, issue a gag order to everyone present at today's awakening ceremony—including the Spirit Hall deacons and the Orphanage members..."

A cold glint flashed through his eyes. "And Yue Guan and Ghostly Charm. Not a single word regarding Lin Hai's Martial Soul form, the phenomenon it caused, or its power may be leaked!"

"Anyone who disobeys... will be treated as a traitor to the Hall and killed without exception! I will handle the Pope's side myself. You need not go there."

"Second," he continued, his gaze sharp as a blade, "use the forces directly under the Worship Hall to thoroughly investigate Lin Hai's background! I want to know everything about his past. Leave no detail unchecked!"

"Yes, Big Brother!"

The two Worships, Qian Jun and Jiang Mo, solemnly accepted the order, their blood boiling with excitement.

They felt that their eldest brother, the one who had once served as Pope, seemed to have returned.

Qian Daoliu nodded slightly and said nothing more.

Within the Worship Hall, only silent killing intent and deep contemplation continued to flow.

A side hall of the Saintess Hall.

Lin Hai had just settled into his brand-new residence. Before he could even inspect his surroundings, there came a knock at the door.

When he opened it, he found a guard clad in Spirit Hall's standard armor, respectfully holding an exquisite tray.

"Young Master Lin Hai, His Holiness the Pope has ordered this subordinate to deliver these to you."

The guard's voice carried a perfectly measured humility.

Young Master?

Lin Hai's heart stirred. Less than half a day after awakening his Martial Soul, his status had already undergone a leap.

This was the reality of Douluo Continent—talent meant status, and power meant justice.

The rich relied on wealth, the poor relied on mutation, and transmigrators relied entirely on cheating!

"Thank you for your trouble."

Lin Hai accepted the tray with a calm expression, though inwardly, he was already impatient to understand everything within his body.

"You are too polite, Young Master. This subordinate will take his leave."

The guard bowed, then quietly withdrew.

Setting the tray aside, Lin Hai immediately sat cross-legged and immersed his entire mind within himself.

At this moment, nothing was more important than studying the ten Divine Artifact Spirit Rings waiting to be "installed"!

It seemed that the attributes and abilities of the Ten Directions Divine Artifacts had undergone some adaptive changes after arriving in Douluo Continent.

For now, Lin Hai could only vaguely sense each artifact's core attributes and general purpose.

As for the specific effects and quantitative data, they seemed veiled behind a thin layer of gauze and would only fully reveal themselves after Spirit Rings were attached.

He calmed himself, extending his consciousness like tendrils toward the ten clusters of light radiating different auras one by one.

After careful sensing and analysis, Lin Hai finally focused on five Divine Artifacts:

Inkstone of No Return, a spatial Divine Artifact.

Its most basic ability was—Teleportation. The distance it could cover would continually increase along with his strength.

Immortal's Parasol, a defensive Divine Artifact.

Its core ability was to block and reflect attacks, and it possessed the ability to protect its owner automatically. Its defensive strength and reflection effect depended on the difference between the enemy's attack power and his own strength.

Floating and Sinking Pearls, an elemental Divine Artifact.

It controlled the power of natural elements and could perform all kinds of Evasion Techniques. Its power and precision of control were likewise closely tied to his own strength.

Mysterious Town Ruler, a dual support-control Divine Artifact.

After a Spirit Ring was attached, it could continuously strengthen the physical body and possessed the powerful ability to interrupt and suppress others' Soul Skills. Its physical enhancement effect would rise with his Soul Power Level, while its interruption and suppression ability depended on the gap in strength between both sides.

Illusionary Thought Bell, a dual support-spiritual Divine Artifact.

After a Spirit Ring was attached, it could continuously nourish and enhance Spiritual Power, cast advanced illusions, and resist spiritual attacks. The enhancement effect would increase with his Spiritual Power level, while success or failure in illusionary offense and defense depended on the difference in Spiritual Power between both sides.

In summary, the core value of these five Divine Artifacts was clear:

Inkstone of No Return: escaping to preserve his life and traveling long distances—a truly godly skill.

Immortal's Parasol: defense and counterattacks, with greater power in the later stages.

Floating and Sinking Pearls: capable of both preserving his life and mounting flexible counterattacks.

Mysterious Town Ruler: continuously strengthened the physical body and provided combat ability, the foundation for winning from the starting line.

Illusionary Thought Bell: nourished and strengthened Spiritual Power while controlling illusionary offense and defense. It was highly effective against those weaker than himself and was likewise a powerful tool for laying an extraordinary foundation.

If Lin Hai were still that helpless orphan with no one to rely on, he would have chosen the Inkstone of No Return and Floating and Sinking Pearls without hesitation—

Survival came first, and mobility was king.

The world was vast, but staying alive mattered most.

However, reality was—he had already become the Pope's disciple!

At the core of Spirit Hall, while undercurrents flowed between the Worship Hall and the Pope's Palace, they still maintained a surface-level balance. For the short term, his life was not in danger.

That sense of "security" gave Lin Hai the confidence to plan for the long term.

In the end, he decided to prioritize attaching Spirit Rings to the Mysterious Town Ruler and Illusionary Thought Bell.

It was widely acknowledged that Douluo Continent's Soul Masters had weak physical bodies and found Spiritual Power difficult to cultivate.

The bitter lesson of his sudden death from overwork in his previous life proved it in the bloodiest way possible: the body and mind were the capital of revolution!