Bibi Dong's Plans

"I never expected another Dark Demon Evil God Tiger to appear in the Star Dou Forest!" Yue Guan and the others looked grim as they left the forest.

"We need to report this to His Holiness the Pope as soon as possible. We can't take our time like we did before." Gui Mei was shrouded in black shadows as he spoke in a low voice.

Yue Guan and Gui Mei exchanged a glance, then wasted no time. They took Lin Yu and Dugu Yan with them and flew swiftly toward Spirit City.

This time, they didn't take long to get back to Spirit City with Lin Yu and Dugu Yan.

After returning to Spirit City, Yue Guan and Gui Mei took Lin Yu to Pope Hall, while Dugu Bo and Dugu Yan went back to their residence to examine the External Soul Bone Dugu Yan had obtained.

"Your Holiness." Yue Guan looked at Bibi Dong with great respect.

"Hmm? I didn't expect you to be back so soon. Last time, it took you more than a week." Seeing Lin Yu return, Bibi Dong smiled.

It was clear just how much Bibi Dong had changed. This time, she even joked with Lin Yu in front of Yue Guan and the others.

"Yeah, we were lucky this time and found a suitable Soul Beast more quickly." Lin Yu understood what Bibi Dong meant. He rubbed his nose and gave an awkward smile.

"Tell me, what happened this time?" Seeing Lin Yu's expression, Bibi Dong rolled her eyes, then looked calmly at Yue Guan.

After all, if nothing had happened, Yue Guan and Gui Mei would have been eager to leave. They wouldn't have stood there waiting.

"Your Holiness, while we were obtaining Soul Rings in the Star Dou Forest, we encountered a Dark Demon Evil God Tiger," Yue Guan reported, his expression unchanged. He understood what Bibi Dong was getting at.

"A Dark Demon Evil God Tiger?" Bibi Dong immediately stood up at Yue Guan's words, clearly shocked by the news.

"Yes."

After hearing Yue Guan's confirmation, Bibi Dong's gaze turned deep and inscrutable. She slowly sat back down.

"Don't let this news get out for now." Bibi Dong looked sternly at Yue Guan and Gui Mei.

"Yes." Though they were puzzled by Bibi Dong's words, Yue Guan and Gui Mei answered and prepared to leave Pope Hall.

"Wait. How old is that Dark Demon Evil God Tiger now?" Bibi Dong stopped Yue Guan as he was leaving and asked again.

"That Dark Demon Evil God Tiger is around thirty thousand years old now." Yue Guan thought for a moment before answering.

"Thirty thousand years... It's still a little too young." Bibi Dong's gaze grew even more inscrutable at Yue Guan's answer.

"Spread the news that a Supreme Immortal Herb has appeared in the Star Dou Forest. Eating it can not only evolve a Martial Soul but also greatly increase Soul Power." After a moment's thought, Bibi Dong gave Yue Guan his instructions.

Though Yue Guan felt a little reluctant, he obeyed and left.

Only after Yue Guan and Gui Mei were gone did Bibi Dong turn her gaze to Lin Yu.

"Are you wondering why I'm doing this?" Bibi Dong watched Lin Yu, her eyes flickering. She didn't know whether he would think she was cruel for doing this.

Bibi Dong had two reasons for this. One was to weaken the other major forces on the Douluo Continent. The other was to help the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger quickly increase its age until it reached a hundred thousand years.

"No." Lin Yu shook his head at Bibi Dong's question. He didn't yet know her reason for doing this, but by rights, Bibi Dong was already his person. He naturally wouldn't question her decision.

"Spirit Hall is already feared by all the major forces. As a result, its development has hit a bottleneck for now.

"Those old men in the Worship Hall may nominally belong to Spirit Hall, but they don't obey my orders. They only listen to that old man, Qian Daoliu.

"Xiao Yu, my goal isn't just to make Spirit Hall the strongest force on the Douluo Continent. I want to unite the entire continent.

"To achieve that, we need absolute strength—and we need to find a way to weaken the other forces.

"I was still wondering how to do that. I never expected an opportunity like this to fall right into my lap." Bibi Dong murmured, momentarily distracted.

Hearing what Bibi Dong said, Lin Yu finally understood her plan. At first, he'd thought she wanted the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's Soul Ring, but its age was too low for now, so she had spread this news instead.

She would lure a great many Soul Masters to the Star Dou Forest, where the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger could devour them and rapidly grow stronger.

The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger could increase its cultivation not only by devouring Soul Beasts, but Soul Masters as well.

"Teacher, you don't need to blame yourself. This world is one where the strong prey on the weak. It isn't your fault.

"And unification inevitably requires a baptism of blood." Lin Yu went to Bibi Dong and held her as she stood there, looking lost.

Feeling the warmth radiating from Lin Yu, Bibi Dong smiled. Her doubts faded.

"What would you know, little one?" Bibi Dong tapped Lin Yu on the head, teasing him.

"All right, enough of that. You're still too young. Just focus on improving your strength."

"Now, what did you gain from this trip to the Star Dou Forest?" Bibi Dong looked at Bibi Dong with a smile in her eyes.

Looking at Bibi Dong, Lin Yu was briefly dazed. He hadn't expected her to smile so easily. He never would have imagined it before.

Bibi Dong had noticed the change in herself, of course. In the two years since Lin Yu had come to Pope Hall, she had smiled more than she had in the ten years before that.

"This time, I obtained a Soul Ring of around five thousand years, and my Soul Power reached level thirty-three. And..." Lin Yu stopped halfway through his sentence, then took a few steps back.

Once he was a short distance from Bibi Dong, eight purple-tinged, gleaming spider legs appeared behind him.

"Is that... an External Soul Bone?" Bibi Dong looked at the spider legs that had appeared behind Lin Yu in surprise.

Before this, Bibi Dong had never imagined that Lin Yu would obtain an External Soul Bone.

Generally speaking, a Soul Bone could only appear after a Soul Beast of exceptional strength died under special circumstances. Unlike Soul Rings, which appeared after every Soul Beast died, Soul Bones were exceedingly rare and precious.

External Soul Bones were almost as valuable as top-tier Soul Bones.

In the Soul Master World, they were second only to hundred-thousand-year Soul Rings. What made External Soul Bones special was that they evolved along with their owner's Soul Power.

That was why it was best to absorb an External Soul Bone as early as possible. If the chance of an ordinary Soul Bone appearing from a Soul Beast was one in a thousand, the chance of an External Soul Bone appearing was less than one in ten thousand.