Time flew like a shuttle.
Two years passed in the blink of an eye.
Nothing major had happened during that time. Qin Xuan and the three girls had trained diligently day after day.
By now, Zhu Zhuqing and the others had all broken through to Soul Ancestor. Their Soul Power ranged from level 41 to 43.
Qin Xuan's Soul Power had reached the peak of level 59. One more level would bring him to a bottleneck.
He and Zhu Zhuqing had also nearly perfected their Martial Soul Fusion Skill. They had named it the Chaos Evil Demon Tiger!
With their combined Soul Power, the skill was strong enough to let them fight a Soul Douluo above their rank!
It was not only incredibly fast; it also possessed multiple attributes, including devouring, lightning, fire, and illusions, leaving enemies unable to defend themselves!
Spirit City was especially lively today.
The Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, held once every five years, had kicked off.
The tournament consisted of three stages: the preliminary rounds, the promotion rounds, and the final.
The preliminary and promotion rounds alone would take two months.
Since the Spirit Hall Team had won the championship several times in a row, they had qualified directly for the finals and did not need to compete in the preliminary or promotion rounds.
Qin Xuan was strolling leisurely toward Pope Hall with the girls.
Since Bibi Dong had said she wanted to meet him and his friends, there was no reason to refuse.
There was one thing Qin Xuan was rather curious about.
Now that Zhu Zhuqing had left Shrek Academy,
who would take her place?
"Interesting..." As Qin Xuan thought of this, a faint, nearly imperceptible glint of black flashed in his eyes.
This group of handsome men and beautiful women drew every eye as they walked down the street.
They were long accustomed to being the center of attention.
Half an hour later,
they arrived before Pope Hall.
Qin Xuan pushed open the door first and led the girls inside.
Everyone except Qin Xuan wore varying degrees of nervousness.
After all, it was their first time entering Pope Hall and meeting the Pope.
The hall was unusually full of important figures today, as if they had all come especially to welcome Qin Xuan and the others.
Besides Bibi Dong, seated on the papal throne, Hu Liena and the rest of the Golden Generation stood on the right side of the hall, alongside several Red Cardinals.
Behind Bibi Dong stood the two Douluo, Ju and Gui.
Qin Xuan could clearly tell that Yue Guan had grown stronger, but even with his mental power, he could not determine exactly how many levels Yue Guan's Soul Power had increased.
"Greetings, Teacher!"
"Greetings, Your Holiness the Pope!"
Qin Xuan and Zhu Zhuqing's group spoke in unison.
"No need for formalities." Bibi Dong's beautiful eyes swept over the three girls, each of whom was every bit as lovely as Hu Liena, before settling on Qin Xuan. She teased him with a laugh, "Xuan'er, you really are surrounded by beauties."
"Teacher, don't tease me. It's not as if I'm some lecher." Qin Xuan replied calmly, as if the imposing aura Bibi Dong exuded meant nothing to him.
There was no sense of distance at all when he spoke with Bibi Dong.
After all, Bibi Dong was the Pope. Even Hu Liena maintained a clear distinction between superior and subordinate when speaking with her. How could she ever be as relaxed as Qin Xuan?
At the same time, Hu Liena gave Song Qingling and the other girls a strange look. A trace of jealousy had even stirred in her heart.
"All these girls have reached Soul Ancestor. Truly, women are every bit as capable as men!" Gui Mei exclaimed.
Bibi Dong also looked at Song Qingling and the other two, nodding in satisfaction.
Across the continent, powerful men still far outnumbered women.
Because of the painful memories in her past, Bibi Dong had always been more partial to girls.
Now that Spirit Hall had welcomed three more exceptionally gifted young women, she was genuinely delighted.
"Tell me about your Martial Souls, so I can get a preliminary understanding of each of you."
With that,
Xia Hui began, and the girls introduced themselves one by one:
"Your Holiness the Pope, my name is Xia Hui. I'm a level 41 Soul Ancestor with the Crape Myrtle Star Pagoda Martial Soul. I'm a dual-type support and control Soul Ancestor!"
"Your Holiness the Pope, my name is Zhu Zhuqing. My Martial Soul is the Hell Spirit Cat, and I'm a level 42 agility-attack Soul Ancestor!"
"Your Holiness the Pope, my name is Song Qingling. My Martial Soul is the Ice Soul Dragon Abyss Spear. I'm a level 43 power-attack Soul Ancestor."
"Very good..." Bibi Dong rose and studied the three girls carefully before speaking. "You are all gifted. Sooner or later, you will reach the Titled Douluo realm. Do not lose your drive to improve!"
"Spirit Hall will give all of you its full support!"
"Thank you, Your Holiness the Pope!" Zhu Zhuqing and the other two replied together, their faces bright with delight.
Then Qin Xuan turned to Yue Guan and asked curiously,
"Elder Chrysanthemum, how many levels did your Soul Power rise after you took the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum?"
At that, Yue Guan smiled and held up two fingers on his left hand.
"Every level a Titled Douluo gains is a major hurdle. Since Elder Chrysanthemum is already a level 97 Super Douluo, I imagine he'll be hard-pressed to find an opponent!" Qin Xuan flattered him.
Yue Guan was so pleased by the praise that he nearly floated away. But remembering they were in public, he quickly reined in his expression. "Xuan, the increase in my Soul Power is secondary. The most important thing is that my Martial Soul Origin underwent a qualitative transformation."
"My Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum used to count as a Plant-type Martial Soul. But after I took the Immortal Herb, it evolved into a metal-type weapon Martial Soul. Its destructive power and toughness have both increased tremendously!"
Hearing this, Qin Xuan also made an estimate of Yue Guan's current combat strength.
Yue Guan was probably now evenly matched with Sword Saint Chen Xin. As for who would win, that would depend on their reactions in the moment and their combat experience!
"The Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament has now begun."
"Xuan'er, I invited you all here today not only to see how your training has gone over the past two years, but for another reason as well."
At this point, Bibi Dong looked toward Hu Liena.
Hu Liena stepped forward and said with a smile, "Xuan, the Golden Generation would like to spar with you. What do you think?"
"Spar with me?" Qin Xuan wondered if he had heard her correctly.
The Golden Generation represented the pinnacle of Spirit Hall's younger generation.
But Qin Xuan's talent was enough to pierce through that ceiling and stand above the heavens.
Even Soul Kings could differ greatly from one another.
The Golden Generation wanted to spar with him? They were nowhere near qualified.
Seeing the incredulous look on Qin Xuan's face, Hu Liena said seriously,
"Xuan, we know perfectly well that we won't be a match for you."
"We asked Teacher to mediate and arrange this Soul Fighting match because we want to find out exactly how large the gap is between us and you."
"Oh?" Qin Xuan glanced at Bibi Dong.
Bibi Dong gave him a small nod, her expression tinged with helplessness.
Looks like the Golden Generation has grown competitive. So be it. I'll give them a good match today! Qin Xuan mused, then answered in an even tone,
"Nana, I accept your challenge!"
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