News Reaches Spirit Hall

The Suotuo City Bishop's legs went weak, and he nearly dropped to his knees on the spot.

It was not fear.

It was excitement.

It was the excitement of someone who had endured eleven years of hopeless darkness, only for someone to suddenly punch a hole through the sky and let light crash down through it.

No Soul Beasts, no hunting—Soul Rings condensed by oneself.

Just when everyone believed that the path of Self-Condensed Soul Rings would take a very, very long time before anyone could walk it, someone had already cleared it.

The Suotuo City Bishop's hands shook uncontrollably.

"You... you're certain that all of your Soul Rings were condensed by yourself?!"

Although he already believed it in his heart, the Suotuo City Bishop still wanted to confirm it once more.

"Of course!"

Su Mo answered calmly, then asked, "Can you certify my Soul Master rank now?"

"Of course. This old man will personally handle your certification!"

The Suotuo City Bishop hurriedly replied.

The certification process was exceptionally simple and quick. The Suotuo City Bishop did not even need Su Mo to undergo any tests.

"Sir Su Mo, on behalf of Spirit Hall, I would like to sincerely invite you to visit Spirit Hall. Would that be possible?" Once the certification was complete, the Suotuo City Bishop hurriedly extended the invitation to Su Mo.

"Of course. Since I've stepped forward, there's no reason for me to retreat."

Su Mo agreed with a smile.

"That's wonderful!"

"Rest assured, sir. I'll immediately send word to Spirit Hall. Spirit Hall will certainly dispatch a sufficiently powerful delegation to personally invite you to Spirit Hall!"

The Suotuo City Bishop was instantly overjoyed.

He had more or less guessed Su Mo's intentions, but he did not expose them. Instead, he was extremely cooperative.

He did not care what Su Mo's objective was. As long as Su Mo was willing to step forward, that was enough.

He had been stuck at level 80 for seven years already.

However, he did not dare rashly ask Su Mo how he had achieved Self-Condensed Soul Rings just yet. Everything could wait until people from Spirit Hall headquarters arrived.

Having discovered Su Mo here was already a tremendous achievement for him.

He then turned around, took a deep breath, and nearly roared, "Quick! Draft the document immediately! This old man will write it personally! Send it by eight-hundred-li emergency courier directly to the Pope Palace in Spirit City! Mark it with the highest-priority emergency seal! Tell His Holiness the Pope that the Soul Master world has been saved! All Soul Masters across the continent have been saved!"

The several stewards shuddered at his roar, then scrambled out in a panic.

Su Mo stood in the reception room, watching the group rush in and out like ants in a disturbed nest, his expression unchanged.

Xiao Wu looped her arm through his and tilted her head against his shoulder, a teasing smile in her eyes.

Her Brother Su Mo was amazing!

Two days later, Spirit City.

A side hall of the Pope Palace was where Bibi Dong handled her daily affairs. Compared to the majestic solemnity of the main hall, it was quieter and more private.

At that moment, there were only three people in the side hall.

Chrysanthemum Douluo stood with his hands at his sides, while Ghost Douluo stood silently in the shadows like a cloud of black mist. The breathtakingly beautiful woman seated upon the Pope Throne had her eyes lowered as she read the eight-hundred-li emergency document in her hands.

Boom—

The instant Bibi Dong saw its contents, she rose to her feet, Soul Power erupting from her uncontrollably.

"How could this be possible?"

Bibi Dong's eyes were full of disbelief.

"Your Holiness the Pope, what happened?"

Chrysanthemum Douluo hurriedly asked in alarm.

Bibi Dong waved her hand without saying anything.

After forcing herself to calm down, she reread the emergency document from beginning to end.

"Someone has successfully condensed Soul Rings on their own!"

Only after confirming it again did she slowly speak.

Her voice carried incomparable shock and excitement.

Eleven years.

Eleven years ago, all Soul Beasts had vanished overnight, completely hollowing out the foundation of the Soul Master world.

She had personally ordered the establishment of the Soul Master Creation Institute, personally written to invite Yu Xiaogang back to Spirit City, gathered the foremost scholars across the continent, and poured all of Spirit Hall's resources into the effort.

She had even set aside her status and, in response to Yu Xiaogang's request, called upon all Titled Douluo in the world to gather in Spirit City and discuss a plan for survival.

At the time, she had believed that as long as Yu Xiaogang was there, and as long as the elites of the entire Soul Master world worked together, Self-Condensed Soul Rings would certainly be developed.

But one year passed, then three years, then five.

The Creation Institute's reports changed from "the core problem is being tackled" to "phased progress has been made," and finally to "more time is needed."

By the eighth year, even the announcements had stopped.

She had already realized that even Yu Xiaogang might be helpless this time.

Yet she still believed in Yu Xiaogang. She believed that if he was given more time, he would surely succeed.

It was only that the time required might be a little longer.

Until today, when this emergency document was delivered before her.

A nineteen-year-old Soul Master named Su Mo had been discovered in Suotuo City and confirmed to be a level 78 Soul Saint. His Soul Ring configuration was one yellow and six black, with his second Soul Ring already being ten thousand years old.

All of his Soul Rings were Self-Condensed Soul Rings. He had not hunted a single Soul Beast.

"What?"

"Someone successfully condensed Soul Rings on their own?"

"Was it the Grandmaster from the Creation Institute?"

Upon hearing Bibi Dong's words, Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo were both stunned, and Yu Xiaogang was the first person they thought of.

After all, they had witnessed Bibi Dong's regard and trust in Yu Xiaogang over the years, so they instinctively assumed that Yu Xiaogang had finally succeeded.

"It wasn't him... It was done by a young man under twenty..."

Bibi Dong closed her eyes. As she spoke those words, the first feeling that rose in her heart was not excitement, but a sharp sense of irony that was nearly painful.

The elites of the entire Soul Master world combined were inferior to a child who had come out of the Nuoding City Orphanage.

Yu Xiaogang, in whom she had placed such high hopes and invested countless resources, had failed.

Yet an ordinary person had developed it alone.

"A young man did it?"

"How is that possible?"

Chrysanthemum Douluo cried out again.

Ghost Douluo's face was also full of disbelief. This was simply too shocking.

Bibi Dong opened her eyes, her gaze once more turning cold and sharp.

The past was past. What mattered most now was Su Mo himself.

He possessed the method for Self-Condensed Soul Rings.

He was the only person on the entire continent capable of doing this.

He was currently in Suotuo City, and no other faction had gotten there first to take him away.

"Yue Guan." Bibi Dong's voice was as steady as ever, but Chrysanthemum Douluo, who had followed her for years, could still hear the urgency she was desperately suppressing beneath that calmness.

"Your subordinate is here."

"You and Gui Mei will go to Suotuo City in person. Take my personal guard and invite him back to Spirit City with Spirit Hall's highest honors."

Bibi Dong enunciated the word "invite" with particular clarity. "Remember, invite—not summon, and not command. Your attitude must be respectful. Anyone who violates this will be executed without pardon."

"Understood." Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo were both shaken, bowing as they accepted the order without asking a single further question.

Before long, Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo departed on their orders.

Only then did Bibi Dong turn her gaze toward the Creation Institute, and her expression immediately became complicated.

Now that an ordinary person had developed Self-Condensed Soul Rings, Spirit Hall's Creation Institute had become a joke, and Yu Xiaogang, who oversaw it, was no exception.

"Xiao Gang..."

Bibi Dong murmured softly, suddenly feeling a little heartache.

How would Yu Xiaogang feel if he learned of this news?