The Majestic Douluo Hall

Douluo City, the intersection of the three great empires.

Unlike the bustling prosperity found in the south of the Douluo Continent, this massive city situated at the crossroads of empires possesses less of the marketplace's clamor and more of the solemnity of iron and blood.

The city walls, cast entirely from extreme northern cold iron, stand a hundred meters high and are inscribed with dense Soul Guidance Array patterns. Not even a ten-thousand-year soul beast tide could shake this giant city in the slightest.

Yet, the true core of this most fortified stronghold on the continent is the headquarters of the Douluo Hall, located in the very center of the city.

Two hundred years of time have allowed this structure, which began as a mere border outpost, to grow into the heart of a behemoth that spans the entire continent.

Unlike the extravagant, high-and-mighty sacred halls of the Martial Soul Hall from ten thousand years ago, the Douluo Hall headquarters lacks excessive gilded decorations. It consists only of a magnificent main hall built entirely of dark cyan rock, situated at the center of layers of courtyards.

Flanking the main hall are rows of branch halls, research institutes, cultivation towers, soul tool workshops, and the Awakening Hall, specifically designed for commoners to awaken their martial souls.

Every day at dawn, the entrance to the Awakening Hall is packed with commoners from surrounding towns and villages, bringing their children to awaken their martial souls for free.

For two hundred years, this ironclad rule of the Douluo Hall has been deeply ingrained in the hearts of every commoner on the continent.

In their eyes, the Douluo Hall is not a high-ranking sect, but the only light they, the commoners at the bottom of society, can grasp.

On this day, before the morning mist over Douluo City had fully dissipated, three figures appeared silently before the gates of the Douluo Hall headquarters.

Jin Ruiqiu skipped along beside the other two, dressed in a bright yellow dress. The little girl's large, golden eyes darted around as she curiously examined the magnificent palace before her, her small face filled with excitement.

"Honored One, is this the Douluo Hall? It's so much bigger than Shrek Academy!" Jin Ruiqiu shook Gu Yuan's arm and said with a grin, her little head turning constantly as she watched the soul masters and commoners coming and going at the gate, her eyes full of curiosity.

"A foundation of two hundred years is naturally not something built in a single day." Gu Yuan smiled faintly, his gaze sweeping over the Douluo Hall gate before him, a flash of realization crossing his eyes.

Two hundred years ago, he set the layout, and Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue laid the first cornerstone of the Douluo Hall in this border city. Two hundred years have passed in the blink of an eye; he had never personally stepped foot here, yet the rules he set and the pieces he placed had long since taken root and grown into this towering tree.

Eight guards clad in black armor stood on either side of the Douluo Hall gate. Each possessed the cultivation of a Soul King, their gazes sharp as eagles, vigilantly scanning everyone entering and exiting.

Facing the commoners who came to awaken their martial souls, they always maintained a gentle attitude without a hint of arrogance, only revealing their edge when encountering suspicious individuals.

Seeing Gu Yuan and his companions walking toward the gate, the lead guard captain immediately stepped forward, raised a hand to block them, and spoke in a tone that was respectful yet rigorous: "Three honored guests, what is your business at the Douluo Hall? If you are here to awaken your martial souls, please proceed to the Awakening Hall on the left to queue; if you are here to visit a branch elder, please present your invitation."

The guard captain's gaze swept over the three, and he was secretly startled.

The three children before him appeared to be no older than twelve or thirteen, yet the aura they exuded was unfathomable.

Especially the black-robed youth in the lead; though he appeared gentle and calm, he felt a pressure emanating from him that made his very soul tremble—a feeling not even the Hall Master had ever given him.

Gu Yuan said nothing more, simply raising his hand to retrieve a token from his storage Soul Tool.

The token was crafted entirely from Dragon God Crystal Jade, pitch-black in color, with a coiled giant dragon carved upon it. In the center of the dragon's head, the two ancient characters for "Douluo" were engraved.

The moment the token was produced, a vast and boundless dragon might quietly radiated outward, and the surrounding air seemed to freeze in that instant.

This Douluo Token was the highest token of identity personally crafted by Bibi Dong two hundred years ago, a symbol of the founders of the Douluo Hall, and the only one of its kind on the entire continent.

The moment the guard captain saw this token, his pupils contracted sharply, his entire body shuddered violently, and the rigor on his face was instantly replaced by extreme awe.

He dropped to one knee with a thud, clasped his hands, and bowed deeply to Gu Yuan, his voice trembling slightly: "This subordinate greets the honored guest! This subordinate was blind and did not recognize your arrival; I deserve death!"

The seven guards behind him reacted instantly, dropping to one knee in unison, their heads bowed so low they dared not even breathe loudly.

As core guards of the Douluo Hall headquarters, they naturally knew certain secrets. This black Douluo Token was the highest token of the Douluo Hall; to hold it was to see the Hall Master in person.

In their entire lives, they had only seen this token in the paintings within the Hall Master's study; they had never imagined they would see the bearer in their lifetime.

The commoners and soul masters passing by were stunned by this scene. They had never seen the usually dignified guard team show such great respect to three children.

They all stopped in their tracks, curiously observing Gu Yuan and his companions, yet they dared not approach, fearing they might disturb the honored guests.

"Rise." Gu Yuan spoke calmly, putting away the Douluo Token, his tone peaceful.

"Take us to see your Hall Master."

"Yes! Honored guests, please follow me!" The guard captain immediately stood up, bowing respectfully as he led the way, not daring to even lift his head, carefully guiding the three toward the depths of the main hall.

Watching the awe-filled gazes of the people around them, Jin Ruiqiu couldn't help but stick out her tongue, whispering to Gu Yuan: "Honored One, this token of yours is too powerful! They seem terrified of it."

Gu Yuan smiled and ruffled her hair, saying nothing more. Beside them, a faint smile flickered across Gu Yuena's lips. Through two hundred years of planning, the Douluo Hall had long since carved his will into its very bones.

Passing through layers of corridors and bypassing the cultivation towers and soul tool workshops, the guard captain led the three to the Hall Master's study in the deepest part of the main hall.

He bowed respectfully toward the study door and said: "Hall Master, we have honored guests!"

The door to the study opened almost instantly.

A middle-aged man in white robes walked out of the study with quick strides. He appeared to be in his forties, with a handsome face and a sacred majesty between his brows. The terrifying pressure of a level 98 Super Douluo radiated from his body; he was the current Hall Master of the Douluo Hall, Ye Guyi's father, Ye Lan, titled the Holy Judgment Douluo.

Yet at this moment, this renowned level 98 Super Douluo on the continent saw Gu Yuan, and the majesty on his face instantly vanished, replaced by deep reverence.

He stepped forward quickly and bowed deeply to Gu Yuan, performing the highest-ranking salute, his voice filled with irrepressible excitement: "Subordinate Ye Lan welcomes the Honored One! This subordinate has finally met the Honored One!"

Ye Lan's family had been saved by Qian Renxue two hundred years ago. At that time, evil soul masters were slaughtering the Angel family. Qian Renxue was filled with self-reproach upon seeing the descendants of the angels being besieged and killed; if not for her, the continent and they would not have ended up in such a state.

When the Martial Soul Hall still existed, how could evil soul masters have dared to appear on the continent, let alone slaughter the descendants of angels?

Qian Renxue had gathered all the Angel families, integrated the Angel Legion, and bestowed divine gifts to restore their angel bloodlines, vowing to kill every evil soul master in the world to make amends for her mistakes.

"Rise." Gu Yuan raised his hand slightly, and a gentle force lifted him up.

"Two hundred years—you have worked hard. The Douluo Hall could not have reached its current scale without your contributions."

"This subordinate dares not claim credit!" Ye Lan bowed hurriedly.

"Without the foundation laid by the Honored One back then, and without the blueprints and inheritance left behind, there would be no Douluo Hall today. This subordinate has only done his duty and dared not show the slightest negligence."

He turned to the side and gestured an invitation: "Please, Honored One. Your subordinate has prepared tea. I shall report the developments of the Douluo Hall over these past two hundred years to you one by one."

Gu Yuan nodded slightly, leading Gu Yuena and Jin Ruiqiu into the study.

The study was vast, furnished with a simplicity that did not sacrifice its solemnity. On the walls hung a distribution map of all the Douluo Hall branches across the continent, alongside progress charts for Soul Guidance research. The desk was piled high with dossiers, revealing how diligent this Hall Master was in his daily duties.

Once the three were seated, Ye Lan personally poured tea for them before standing before the desk to begin his report on the Douluo Hall's progress over the last two centuries, his tone respectful and his logic clear.

"Reporting to the Honored One, as of the beginning of this year, the Douluo Hall has established one main hall and 1,721 branch halls across the three great empires, covering over ninety percent of the towns and villages on the continent. In the last year alone, we have provided free martial soul awakenings for over one hundred thousand civilian children across the continent, among whom over ten thousand possessed innate soul power."

Gu Yuan nodded slightly upon hearing this, a flicker of approval crossing his eyes.

Breaking the monopoly of sects and nobles over cultivation resources to provide a path for civilian soul masters—over these two hundred years, Ye Lan had indeed done this well.

Seeing Gu Yuan's approval, Ye Lan felt a weight lift from his heart and continued his report: "Regarding high-level combat power, the Douluo Hall currently has forty-seven registered Titled Douluo. Among them, thirty-one are ordinary Titled Douluo serving as elders of various branches and deacons at headquarters; the remaining sixteen are all Super Douluo of level 95 or above, serving as enshrined elders in the Worship Hall. This subordinate is unworthy, but my current cultivation is at level 98."

As these words fell, Jin Ruiqiu, standing to the side, could not help but widen her eyes and gasp.

Forty-seven Titled Douluo! Sixteen Super Douluo!

What kind of concept was this? One must know that the current Shrek Academy, combined with the elders of the Sea God Pavilion, had only twenty-some Titled Douluo, and only a handful of Super Douluo.

The Douluo Hall's high-level combat power alone was already more than double that of Shrek, not to mention the branch halls spread across the continent and the sheer base of soul masters.

A faint ripple passed through Gu Yuena's eyes as well. To have developed to this extent in two hundred years was indeed far beyond expectations.

Gu Yuan's expression remained calm as he signaled for Ye Lan to continue.

"Regarding the sect alliance, the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda Sect has long been deeply bound to us." There was a hint of pride in Ye Lan's tone.

"Following the cultivation method for the Aromatic Silk Beauty left behind by the Honored One, we provide the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda Sect with a mature Aromatic Silk Beauty every twenty years, ensuring that their sect produces a Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda soul master every generation. The current Sect Master of the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda Sect is a level 96 Super Douluo with the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda martial soul; they have long since completely cast off the shackles of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda, and the sect's strength far exceeds what it was ten thousand years ago."

"They are fiercely loyal to our Douluo Hall, and the entire sect follows the Honored One's lead. Furthermore, we have also absorbed the Nine Heart Begonia, which is as famous as the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda."

"The inheritance restrictions of the Nine Heart Begonia had always been the greatest shackle of their sect. The life-law inheritance left by the ancestors helped them break the limitation of single-line inheritance, and they have completely pledged allegiance to our Douluo Hall."

"With these two top-tier support sects, our Douluo Hall's team combat capability is unrivaled across the continent; even when facing enemies several times our number, we can maintain the upper hand."

Two top-tier support sects fully pledged!

Even Gu Yuan could not help but nod slightly, his satisfaction deepening. Support soul masters were always the core of a soul master team; as the saying goes, take out the healer first in a group fight.

With the Nine Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda and the Nine Heart Begonia as the foundation, the Douluo Hall's roots were as stable as Mount Tai.

"Regarding special institutions, we established the Du'e Pavilion according to the ancestors' instructions," Ye Lan's tone grew even more respectful.

"It is specifically for housing those soul masters whose martial souls lean toward darkness and evil and are shunned by the world. We specifically teach them to control their own power, guiding them to use their strength to protect rather than destroy."

"The current Du'e Pavilion has twelve Titled Douluo, three of whom are Super Douluo. These soul masters, once spurned by the world, are devoted to our Douluo Hall and have become our sharpest dark blade. Whether in intelligence gathering or covert operations, they are the undisputed best on the continent."

Gu Yuan's lips curled into a faint smile at these words.

Martial souls and power have never had a distinction between good and evil; it is always the person wielding the power who does.

Blindly exterminating evil soul masters only drives them to desperation and makes them more insane; guidance is the only righteous path.

The establishment of the Du'e Pavilion not only added a great asset to the Douluo Hall but also won the hearts of the dark-martial-soul soul masters at the bottom of society across the continent—a level of vision Shrek could never match.

"Finally, the development of the Soul Guidance Department." Ye Lan's voice was full of excitement.

"Following the Soul Tool technology blueprints left by the Honored One, we established the largest Soul Guidance Research Institute on the continent, gathering the top soul tool masters. We now have eight level-8 soul tool masters and three level-9 soul tool masters. Our Soul Tool technology, especially in Fixed Soul Guidance Shells, individual Soul Guidance Mecha, and large-scale military Soul Tools, is in a leading position."

The Douluo Hall possessed the most complete Soul Tool production line outside of the Sun Moon Empire, and the military of the three great empires all had to procure Soul Tools from the Douluo Hall.

The revenue from Soul Tools alone was enough to support the operation of all branch halls, with a large surplus to invest in the support of civilian soul masters and Soul Guidance research."

It is no exaggeration to say that with the Douluo Hall's current strength, whether in high-level combat power, the base of civilian soul masters, or Soul Guidance armaments, we could easily wipe out any one of the three great empires.

Ye Lan finished his report and stood bowing, waiting for Gu Yuan's instructions. He felt both excited and anxious, unsure if his two hundred years of results would satisfy the Honored One.

The study was quiet for a moment before Gu Yuan finally spoke, his tone filled with praise: "Very good. Ye Lan, you have done an excellent job, far exceeding my expectations."

He was truly satisfied. Two hundred years ago, he had only set a direction and left behind some inheritance and blueprints, but Bibi Dong and the others had taken this to the extreme. The current Douluo Hall was no longer the small border force of the past, but a behemoth capable of shaking the entire continent's landscape.

Receiving Gu Yuan's praise, Ye Lan's face flushed with excitement, and he bowed again: "Thank you for your praise, Honored One! This is all what your subordinate should do!"

"Oh, right, Honored One. The ancestors learned of your arrival and have been waiting for you in the Worship Hall for some time." Ye Lan added quickly.

"Also, that child Ye Guyi has been in the Worship Hall as well, wishing to pay her respects to you."

Gu Yuan nodded slightly and stood up: "Good, take us to the Worship Hall. It is time to see them."

The "them" he referred to were naturally Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue. These two gods from ten thousand years ago were the true pillars of the Douluo Hall and the most important pieces he had placed on his chessboard.

Ye Lan immediately led the way respectfully, guiding the three toward the Worship Hall on the back mountain.

The Worship Hall was located in the deepest part of the main hall and was a forbidden area of the Douluo Hall; without the Hall Master's seal, even Titled Douluo elders were not permitted to enter.

The guards here were all Soul Douluo-level powerhouses. The air was filled with a rich, intertwined aura of the sacred and the dark; two diametrically opposed forces merged perfectly here, forming an indestructible barrier.

Passing through layers of restrictions, the moment they stepped into the gates of the Worship Hall, a crisp and holy female voice drifted over.

"Ye Guyi welcomes the Honored One!"

In the center of the hall stood a young girl in a white dress. She appeared to be only in her teens, with exquisite features and a holy temperament. Her long golden hair fell to her waist, and six pairs of pure white angel wings slowly unfolded behind her, radiating a sacred and vast Angelic power.

It was Ye Lan's daughter, Ye Guyi, and also Qian Renxue's disciple.

Originally, in the records, her martial soul was the Holy Angel, but now, under Qian Renxue's personal instruction and the nourishment of the Angel God's power, her martial soul had long since evolved into a true Six-Winged Angel. She perfectly matched the inheritance of the Angel God, was Qian Renxue's only personal disciple, and was the future successor to the Angel God position.

Seeing Gu Yuan, Ye Guyi immediately bowed in salute, her movements standard and her eyes filled with utmost reverence.

Since childhood, she had heard the legends of this Exalted One from her ancestors, knowing that it was he who founded Douluo Hall, gave everything to the descendants of the angels, and even granted her the opportunity for Martial Soul Evolution; her awe for Gu Yuan was etched into her very bones.

"Rise," Gu Yuan said indifferently, his gaze sweeping over the Six-Winged Angel behind her as he nodded slightly.

"Not bad. The Martial Soul Evolution is perfect, and the inheritance of the Angel God is stable. The future is promising."

Receiving praise from Gu Yuan, a look of excitement instantly appeared on Ye Guyi's face as she bowed again: "Thank you for your praise, Exalted One! This disciple will certainly cultivate diligently and not fail the expectations of my ancestors and the Exalted One!"

Just then, two stunning figures slowly emerged from the depths of the Worship Hall.

The woman on the left wore a black palace gown, her appearance peerless with cold, elegant purple eyes. A faint Annihilation Divine Power lingered around her; merely standing there, she radiated a terrifying aura that made heaven and earth tremble.

The woman on the right wore a long golden dress, with golden hair and golden eyes. Twelve angel wings were unfurled behind her, noble and holy.

The moment they saw Gu Yuan, both women shuddered, immediately stepping forward to bow deeply, their voices filled with unconcealable excitement: "Bibi Dong (Qian Renxue) welcomes the Exalted One!"

"Two hundred years have passed; it seems neither of you has slacked off," Gu Yuan said calmly as he looked at them, a hint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes.

In these two hundred years, they had completely moved past their former obsessions and polished their power to the extreme, just one step away from fully absorbing the God Cores of two God Kings.

With the two of them present, Douluo Hall possessed two quasi-god-level combatants, capable of putting up a fight even if deities from the God Realm were to descend.

"It is all thanks to the guidance and grace of the Exalted One back then that this subordinate has reached this day," Bibi Dong spoke first, a rare softness appearing on her cold, elegant face.

"Xue'er and I have always followed the Exalted One's instructions, guarding Douluo Hall, cultivating the younger generation, and stabilizing the inheritance; we have not dared to slacken in the slightest."

Qian Renxue also nodded immediately, her gaze filled with reverence as she looked at Gu Yuan: "Exalted One, Guyi has great talent and is the most suitable successor for the Angel God position. In the future, she will surely be able to inherit the Angel God position."

Gu Yuan nodded slightly, his gaze looking past the Worship Hall toward the north of the Douluo Continent.

After two hundred years of planning, the piece that was Douluo Hall had finally taken its complete form.