Platinum Bishop Salas (First Update)

Late at night, Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.

Inside the study of the main residence.

Acting clan head Yu Luomian sat before his desk, reviewing the clan's recent resource allocation dossiers.

His middle-aged face was composed, his eyes deep-set.

He was ordinarily responsible for managing the clan. Patient and suspicious by nature, he acted ruthlessly and steadily, serving as the clan's "acting patriarch."

Just then, urgent yet steady footsteps sounded outside the door.

A clan guard dressed in a dark blue fitted uniform with thunder-patterned shoulder guards rushed inside through the night and dropped to one knee.

"Reporting to the Second Patriarch! A wax-sealed urgent dispatch from Thunder Academy has arrived overnight. It contains top-secret intelligence and must be reviewed immediately!"

Yu Luomian's fingers paused. He raised his eyes and spoke calmly, his tone without a ripple.

"An urgent dispatch from Thunder Academy?"

Thunder Academy was a directly affiliated institution of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.

Problems rarely arose at the academy. Unless it was a matter of utmost importance, they would never use a wax-sealed overnight dispatch.

Could something have happened to Tianxin?

A faint trace of surprise stirred in Yu Luomian's heart. He raised a hand and took the envelope, his fingertips brushing over the tightly sealed wax stamp.

Only after confirming that it had not been opened did he unseal the letter.

At first, Yu Luomian's gaze remained indifferent as he skimmed through it.

But with only a single glance, his pupils suddenly contracted!

The letter was brief, and its opening was explosive.

—Plant Academy, Lin Mo, Level 23 Soul Grandmaster, second soul ring: Thousand-Year Soul Ring.

It then recorded the full sequence of events related to Soul Hunting Forest.

The contents of the entire secret letter were immensely shocking. Yu Luomian stared at it for a long while before he recovered.

"Second soul ring... a thousand years?!"

Yu Luomian muttered in a hoarse voice, his tone filled with disbelief.

His gaze was nailed to the paper as he checked every word again and again, suspecting that his eyes had deceived him.

Yet that line was clear and glaring. Every word was certain, without the slightest mistake.

Thunder Academy did not have the nerve to toy with him on such a matter.

That meant there was a high chance the information in the secret letter was true.

"How could this be possible?" Yu Luomian found it impossible to believe.

How had something Spirit Hall had spent years researching without success been overcome by a mere boy?

No matter what, this news would surely cause a tremendous uproar throughout the soul master world.

"Send word immediately."

"Summon every clan elder to the main hall for discussion overnight!" Yu Luomian ordered.

Meanwhile.

Heaven Dou City, Martial Soul Sanctuary.

The ever-burning lamps in the inner hall remained lit throughout the night.

Platinum Bishop Salas was the man in charge of the Heaven Dou Empire Martial Soul Branch Hall.

At that moment, he received a secret report from Thunder Academy.

It was not only Thunder Academy. The various major powers all had informants watching one another to varying degrees.

Salas was somewhat surprised.

What movement had Thunder Academy made?

This was within his jurisdiction, right beneath his nose.

He opened the wax-sealed report. The instant he finished reading it, astonishment surged across his brows.

"A second soul ring of a thousand years? How is that possible?!"

He repeated it in a low voice, his tone full of absurdity and disbelief.

"Even after years of research and generations of attempts by Spirit Hall, no one has managed to absorb a Thousand-Year Soul Ring as their second ring. How could some unknown junior break that limit so easily?"

Salas was deeply skeptical.

The credibility of this matter was far too low.

Every person had their limits, unless he was not human.

After Bishop Salas received the secret letter, the first thing he did was—check the archives!

Any registered soul master would have a record kept by Spirit Hall.

Usually, one copy of those records remained local, while another was sent to the central administration.

The Heaven Dou Empire Martial Soul Sanctuary was precisely the central institution responsible for handling affairs within the Heaven Dou Empire, and it possessed extremely high authorization.

Following the personnel information mentioned in the secret letter, he investigated further.

Very quickly, he found personal information on "Plant Academy's Lin Mo."

Tracing it back to the source, he found Nuoding Soul Master Academy.

When Salas saw the specific details, he was briefly stunned.

Name: Lin Mo

Martial soul: Thunder-Clap Grass

Innate Soul Power: Level 3

"Is this really the same person?" Salas repeatedly compared and confirmed the sparse intelligence before him.

He was worried that he had happened upon someone with the same name, creating a huge misunderstanding.

There was more related information afterward.

Lin Mo.

One-Ring Soul Master.

Information recorded at the Nuoding City Martial Soul Branch Hall.

Recommended by Su Ming, an administrator from Nuoding City, and admitted to Plant Academy for study.

"He was even recommended by Spirit Hall. In that case, he can be considered half a Spirit Hall man." Salas pondered slightly as he read the relevant information.

"Perhaps we can play the emotional card and recruit him before anyone else does," Salas said.

"However... there is only half a year between these two records. His cultivation went from having just broken through to One-Ring Soul Master to Level 23 now, and he even absorbed a Thousand-Year Soul Ring... That is an awfully large leap in cultivation."

Salas laid the information side by side on the table for comparison.

Martial soul: Thunder-Clap Grass

Innate Soul Power: Level 3

Current Soul Power: Level 13

Martial soul: Dark Purple Vine

Innate Soul Power: Level 3

Current Soul Power: Level 23

A ten-level leap in Soul Power within half a year.

With Innate Soul Power of only Level 3, that was simply impossible.

His martial soul also differed somewhat from the recorded description.

"Did someone assume another person's identity and use this inconspicuous background to muddy the waters? Or did his martial soul undergo a beneficial mutation, evolving in a positive direction and changing his talent?" Salas frowned, finding it difficult to decide.

"The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan has surely received word by now. I believe the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Heaven Dou Imperial Family will learn of it soon as well. We must act quickly if we wish to recruit him and seize the initiative."

Salas tapped the paper lightly with his fingertips, his tone certain.

"Still, the gap between these records and reality is too great. This matter is far too unbelievable. I must personally verify whether it is true before considering whether to report it."

"If he truly is a peerless genius, we absolutely cannot allow him to fall into the hands of the Upper Three Sects or the Heaven Dou Imperial Family."

Salas's eyes flickered. He had already made up his mind.

"Tomorrow morning, I will personally visit Plant Academy and meet that boy."

The next morning, dawn broke.

Morning mist lightly shrouded the entirety of Plant Academy.

The fragrance of grass and trees lingered throughout the campus. Sunlight pierced the thin fog and fell across the verdant training grounds and scattered academic buildings. Everything was tranquil and peaceful.

The bell for morning training had only just stopped ringing when neat, steady marching footsteps sounded at the academy gates.

Outside Plant Academy's entrance.

Carriages stood in orderly rows, while heavily armored knights formed ranks.

Several Spirit Hall administrators dressed in silver-white sanctuary robes trimmed with gold stood on either side. Their auras were solemn, their bearing imposing.

At the center of the crowd, a gaunt elderly man with a solemn expression approached in magnificent platinum bishop robes. He was none other than Salas, the Platinum Bishop of the Heaven Dou Empire Martial Soul Sanctuary!

His authority and status were exceptionally high.

Within Spirit Hall's promotion hierarchy, a Platinum Bishop was second only to the Pope.

Faced with such an important figure arriving in person, Plant Academy's dean, vice dean, and other senior officials hurried over to greet him, not daring to show the slightest neglect.

"Bishop Salas, your presence honors our humble academy!" The dean of Plant Academy received him personally. Even the resident vice dean could only stand aside at this moment.

Salas nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings.

"I did not come today for anything else. I merely wish to meet someone."