Fame Spreads, Undercurrents Stir

"Eh, Senior Sister, you're already done? How did it go?"

The moment Su Mo stepped out of the contestants' passageway, he saw Bibi Dong leaning against the wall, idly twirling a strand of hair around her fingers.

Clearly, she had finished her battle long ago and had been waiting for Su Mo.

The moment she saw Su Mo emerge, her beautiful eyes beneath the mask instantly lit up. She hurried over and affectionately wrapped her arm around his.

"Of course I won. My opponent was only a level forty-two Soul Ancestor. I didn't even use my full strength."

Su Mo nodded slightly but said nothing more.

With Bibi Dong's current strength, crushing an early-stage Soul Ancestor was indeed effortless.

"You must be hungry. Let's find somewhere to eat first. We can come back tomorrow."

As Su Mo spoke, he discreetly swept his gaze around the surroundings.

Amid the bustling crowd, he keenly caught sight of several figures who appeared to be chatting casually. Yet their wandering eyes kept intermittently fixed on him and Bibi Dong.

Su Mo understood clearly that the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena was a place where all sorts of people gathered, and there was no shortage of agents from major factions.

Their performances on the arena today had been far too eye-catching. They were bound to attract attention.

Bibi Dong in particular had a thousand-year second Spirit Ring, while the colors of her later rings were extraordinarily deep. Her fourth Spirit Ring especially had clearly already approached the ten-thousand-year level.

The secret of breaking the limits of Spirit Ring absorption was enough to drive any Spirit Master mad. Not to mention the sects and clans—if they mastered this secret, their overall strength would increase dramatically.

"Alright." Bibi Dong nodded faintly. She had noticed it as well.

Earlier, when she revealed her Spirit Rings during the soul fight, the arena had first fallen deathly silent before erupting into earth-shaking cries and discussions.

After the match ended, she had sharply noticed several tails lingering near her, following her at a distance.

Su Mo and Bibi Dong showed no sign of anything unusual. They continued chatting and laughing as they walked out of the Soul Fighting Arena.

Not long after they left the entrance, several figures silently began following behind them.

Those people moved lightly and concealed their auras, always maintaining neither too close nor too distant a gap.

Su Mo and Bibi Dong ignored them and continued walking at an unhurried pace.

Only after they turned into a secluded dead-end alley did Golden Crocodile Douluo silently appear at their side, completely isolating the auras of all three.

Immediately afterward, their figures vanished without a trace, like droplets merging into the sea.

When those tails reached the entrance of the dead-end alley, all they found was an empty passage.

Outside Heaven Dou City.

A stretch of mountains was shrouded in mist all year round, resembling an immortal realm.

Within the mountains stood a peak known as Seven Treasure Mountain. It was majestic and towering, like a sharp sword piercing the clouds.

At its summit stood an exceptionally grand complex of buildings. Pavilions and towers were arranged in orderly layers, displaying the foundations and grandeur of a great sect.

This was the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, one of the Upper Three Sects.

Within the sect's council hall, an elderly man sat in the seat of honor, holding a steaming cup of tea.

The old man was Ning Mingyuan, Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and father of the future sect master, Ning Fengzhi.

Though advanced in years, with graying temples, his eyes remained sharp and spirited. Every gesture carried the authority of one in power.

Below him sat the level ninety-three Sword Douluo Chen Xin and the level ninety-two Bone Douluo Gu Rong.

Just as the group was discussing sect affairs, a disciple's report suddenly came from outside the hall.

"Reporting to the Sect Master, an outer disciple requests an audience. He says he has urgent intelligence!"

At those words, the conversation in the hall came to an abrupt halt.

Ning Mingyuan set down his teacup and said in a deep voice, "Let him in."

Before long, a middle-aged man in a gray robe hurried inside.

His forehead was covered in sweat. He dropped to one knee in the center of the hall, his breathing somewhat labored.

He was an outer disciple of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. By coincidence, he had been at the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena today and had personally witnessed Bibi Dong's match.

At the same time, he had been one of the tails following Su Mo and Bibi Dong earlier.

He had not known of Su Mo's battle at first. Only after discovering that Su Mo knew Bibi Dong and losing track of them did he inquire with the people at the Soul Fighting Arena. Upon learning about Asura, he had rushed back to the sect to report.

"You're this flustered over nothing? Where is your decorum?" Ning Mingyuan frowned slightly, a trace of displeasure in his voice. "Speak. What urgent intelligence do you have?"

The disciple took a deep breath, calmed himself, and spoke loudly:

"Reporting to the Sect Master, today at the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena, I discovered a woman with a thousand-year second Spirit Ring. Not only that, her subsequent Spirit Rings should all have surpassed the absorption limit. Her fourth Spirit Ring in particular may already be close to ten thousand years."

"What?!" Ning Mingyuan's gaze instantly became incomparably sharp.

Such an extreme Spirit Ring configuration meant that she possessed some method of absorbing Spirit Rings beyond one's level, or that she had obtained some heaven-defying opportunity.

Either possibility was of vital importance to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

If they could obtain this method, or recruit this person into the sect, the sect's overall strength would undergo a qualitative leap.

At the same time, Chen Xin and Gu Rong abruptly rose to their feet, their eyes filled with disbelief.

"A thousand-year second ring, a fourth ring close to ten thousand years? How is that possible?" Gu Rong asked, his brow tightly furrowed.

"Not only that," the disciple hurriedly continued. "A man wearing a dark red mask was traveling with her. His name is Asura.

"He was equally extraordinary. With level fifty-five Soul Power, he fought a level fifty-six assault-type Battle Soul King. He did not even release his Martial Soul, yet he defeated his opponent using only a sword condensed from Soul Power and a pair of black-gold wing-type Soul Bones.

"Furthermore, according to the audience, he seemed completely immune to flame attacks. He remained completely unharmed even when the opponent's fourth soul skill, Burning, struck him."

"Forming a sword from Soul Power?" A gleam flashed through Chen Xin's eyes. "To form a sword from Soul Power and achieve such a level, he must at least have entered the realm of Sword Intent. His talent in the sword path should be quite good."

"Old swordsman, don't tell me you're interested in that brat?" Gu Rong asked in a deep voice.

Chen Xin snorted coldly and ignored him. Instead, he turned his burning gaze toward Ning Mingyuan. "Sect Master, why don't we go take a look ourselves tomorrow?"

Ning Mingyuan pondered for a moment, lightly tapping the armrest with his fingers before finally nodding.

Heaven Dou City's imperial palace.

Within the imperial study, Xue Ye, Emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire, sat behind his dragon desk, reviewing a mountain of memorials.

He still appeared middle-aged, with the majesty of an emperor between his brows.

At that moment, a black-clothed spy entered the room like Gui Mei and dropped to one knee. "Your Majesty, a major incident occurred at the Heaven Dou Great Soul Arena today."

Xue Ye raised his head, set down his vermilion brush, and rubbed his brow. "Speak."

The spy gave a detailed report of today's events, particularly emphasizing Bibi Dong's terrifying Spirit Ring configuration.

After hearing it, a glint flashed in Xue Ye's eyes. "Have you discovered their whereabouts or origins?"

If talents like these could be used by the empire, the power of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family would increase enormously!

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the information they gave at the Great Soul Arena should all be false. They seemed to notice they were being followed and vanished into thin air in an alley. No one knows where they went."

Xue Ye frowned faintly and said in a deep voice, "Increase the investigation. Spare no cost. We must uncover their identities!"

"Yes!"

The spy accepted the order and withdrew.

Heaven Dou City's Martial Soul Branch Hall.

"Spirit Ring configurations that surpass the limits? A man and a woman, both wearing masks?"

After hearing his subordinate's report, the Platinum Bishop fell into thought.

The elder he had received yesterday, along with the young man and young woman accompanying him, quickly flashed through his mind.

He suddenly understood.

No wonder those two had warranted the elder accompanying them personally. So they possessed such terrifying talent and strength.

These two were undoubtedly geniuses secretly nurtured by Spirit Hall.

"There is no need to investigate this matter further." The Platinum Bishop waved his hand and said indifferently, "You may leave."

"Yes."

Of course, these were not the only factions.

The Great Soul Arena was filled with all kinds of people. Information spread from one person to ten, then from ten to a hundred. More and more factions would receive the news; it was only a matter of time.

For a time, undercurrents surged through Heaven Dou City as various factions secretly investigated the suddenly emerged Su Mo and Bibi Dong.