A Year's Growth, the Immortal Herb Catalog

After returning from sword practice, Su Mo went back to the study behind Pope Palace to study theoretical knowledge with Bibi Dong.

Qian Xunji was busy with Hall affairs and rarely supervised them personally, merely arranging their daily lessons.

Su Mo was happy to be left to himself. He diligently pored over the texts every day, and with his photographic memory, the knowledge in his mind steadily accumulated.

Bibi Dong no longer loved sleeping as much as she had before. With Su Mo urging and accompanying her, she too made remarkable progress over the past year.

Whenever they read, she sat beside Su Mo and read quietly. Whenever she encountered something she did not understand, she tilted her head and asked him about it.

By afternoon, the two small figures could always be seen drenched in sweat as they underwent physical training.

The traditional physical training methods on Douluo Continent were primitive and ordinary. Although Spirit Hall's methods were better than Yu Xiaogang's stone-carrying runs, they were not much better.

Thus, Su Mo combined them with memories from his past life and improved many training tools and methods.

On top of that, they occasionally consumed higher-year Whale Rubber, continuously improving their physical constitutions until they far surpassed Spirit Masters of the same level.

When it came to combat training, they went from losing at the start to now holding their own against experienced Spirit Masters. Their progress was plain to see.

It was worth mentioning that half a year ago, relying on his increasingly refined swordsmanship, Su Mo defeated Zhou Lie while Zhou Lie was going all out for the first time.

At the time, his Soul Power had reached level twenty-eight, while Zhou Lie was still level thirty-five.

Su Mo's augmentation soul skills continuously grew stronger along with his cultivation. With both soul skills activated, his overall strength was already comparable to that of a high-level Soul Elder.

However, by the end of the battle, Su Mo's Soul Power had nearly been exhausted. Still, his sword was pointed straight at Zhou Lie's chest, its tip stopping three inches from his collar.

He had won.

At that moment, Zhou Lie stood frozen in place, lowering his head to stare at the sword tip before his chest, his eyes filled with shock and admiration.

Afterward, Qian Xunji arranged even stronger opponents for him, and Su Mo gradually defeated every one of them.

The strongest among them had Soul Power at level thirty-nine, only one step away from becoming a Soul Ancestor.

He too fell beneath Su Mo's sword.

Over the course of the year, Su Mo's Soul Power rose from the peak of level twenty-five all the way to level thirty. He only needed one Spirit Ring to become a true Soul Elder.

A seven-year-old Soul Elder had already broken every record in the history of Douluo Continent. Even the Qian family's Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul, with Innate Soul Power exceeding level ten, had never produced anyone who broke through to Soul Elder at seven years old.

Bibi Dong saw all of Su Mo's progress, and it made her anxious as well.

She was Su Mo's senior sister. Although they were the same age, Qian Xunji had accepted her as a disciple first, so naturally she was the senior sister.

Even if Su Mo's Innate Soul Power was a full ten levels higher than hers and he had started far ahead of her, she was still a Twin Martial Souls genius with Innate Full Soul Power. How could she allow herself to be left too far behind?

Thus, fueled by her refusal to admit defeat, she became exceptionally diligent and serious in her cultivation, unafraid of hardship or exhaustion.

Over the course of a year, relying on Spirit Hall's resources, her Soul Power also improved at an astonishing rate, rising from level twelve all the way to level seventeen.

That speed was already incredibly impressive, but Bibi Dong was still dissatisfied.

A fire burned in her heart. She swore that she would catch up to Su Mo, or at the very least, not let him leave her too far behind.

And so, the year of systematic study arranged by Qian Xunji officially came to an end.

From then on, they could study and cultivate freely. Whenever they did not understand something or needed anything, they could go to Qian Xunji at any time.

In the afternoon, the blazing sun hung high in the sky.

Outside a luxurious estate in the center of Spirit City, Su Mo stood alone at the entrance.

Before long, after the servants announced his arrival, a figure hurried to the gate.

The man had delicate, feminine features, and even walked with the poise of a woman. He was Yue Guan, the future elder of Spirit Hall and Bibi Dong's right-hand man, Chrysanthemum Douluo.

Of course, he was currently only a Cardinal, still far from reaching the realm of a Titled Douluo.

When Yue Guan saw the golden token in Su Mo's hand, shock flashed through his eyes.

A child of six or seven was actually carrying a Pope Token?

One had to know that the Pope Token was equivalent to the Pope's personal presence. To see the token was to see the Pope himself.

Who was this child? Could he be the Pope's illegitimate son? But he didn't look like him...

At present, only Spirit Hall's upper echelon knew Su Mo's true identity.

Qian Xunji planned to wait until Su Mo and Bibi Dong grew a little stronger before officially announcing their identities and establishing them as the Holy Son and Saintess.

Before that, however, Qian Xunji had given Su Mo and Bibi Dong a Pope Token each, both to make things easier for them and to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Yue Guan did not dare neglect him. He quickened his pace and hurried before Su Mo, bowing respectfully. "Yue Guan greets you, my lord. Please, come in."

Su Mo nodded, put away the Pope Token in his Soul Tool, and followed Yue Guan into the main hall.

Given Yue Guan's respectful attitude, he did not stand on ceremony and naturally took the seat of honor.

"May I ask what brings you here today, my lord?" Yue Guan asked curiously from the side.

He secretly speculated that Su Mo had personally come to his door carrying a Pope Token. Could something major have happened?

Su Mo said calmly, "Bishop Yue Guan, it is nothing major. I enjoy reading and learning, and recently I have wanted to study knowledge concerning rare and exotic flora.

I have heard that you have always loved flowers and plants, Bishop Yue Guan. I wanted to ask whether you have any catalogs of rare and exotic flora here. I would like to borrow one for a while."

The purpose of his visit was precisely the Flora Catalog that recorded the Immortal Herbs.

Across all of Douluo Continent, aside from the future Tang San, only Yue Guan and the Breaking Clan knew of Immortal Herbs.

Su Mo intended to find a time to claim those Immortal Herbs. That place should still be unclaimed territory, and as one of the greatest opportunities on Douluo Continent, he naturally had to secure it as soon as possible.

He did not recognize Immortal Herbs, so he could only turn to Yue Guan.

Upon hearing this, Yue Guan immediately relaxed.

He had thought something serious had happened for Su Mo to come looking for him with a Pope Token. It turned out he merely wanted to read a book.

At the mention of flowers and plants, Yue Guan immediately became interested, his eyes brightening. "My lord, you have certainly come to the right person!"

He took out a thick book from his Soul Tool. It was a record of rare and exotic flora passed down through Yue Guan's family, containing illustrations and descriptions of countless precious plants.

"My lord, here." Yue Guan respectfully handed the Flora Catalog to Su Mo with both hands.

Su Mo accepted it, casually flipped through two pages, and nodded. "Thanks."

He did not say much, but he remembered this favor.

Yue Guan's talent was actually quite good. There was a Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum in the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, and across all of Douluo Continent, no one was better suited for it than Yue Guan.

If Su Mo gave it to him when the time came, it would not only allow Yue Guan to reach greater heights, but also earn his unwavering loyalty.

Su Mo had never doubted Yue Guan's loyalty to Spirit Hall.

He knew that Yue Guan and Gui Mei were both utterly loyal people, worthy of trust.

"You are too kind, my lord," Yue Guan hurriedly said.

"I'll be leaving now. Once I finish reading it, I'll return it to you." Su Mo rose and departed.

"Take care, my lord." Yue Guan respectfully watched his departing figure, escorting him all the way to the gate before stopping.

Only after Su Mo's figure disappeared did Yue Guan withdraw his gaze and mutter to himself, "I wonder who that child really is..."

Su Mo had not said anything, and Yue Guan did not dare ask further.