She wore a long, golden robe that cinched in at her perfect waist.
A crown symbolizing supreme authority rested on her head, and her fair right hand held a scepter studded with jewels.
She sat there quietly, her deep eyes gazing down. An unquestionable, peerless majesty radiated from her.
This woman was Bibi Dong, the current Pope of Spirit Hall.
Standing beside Bibi Dong was a girl who looked to be about ten years old.
The girl had shoulder-length hair and strikingly beautiful features. Her lively eyes seemed to speak as she curiously sized up Su Ming, with a hint of lazy allure in them.
In all likelihood, she was Bibi Dong's only direct disciple, Hu Liena.
Su Ming walked to the center of the hall and stopped. He bowed slightly, neither servile nor arrogant. "Su Ming pays his respects to Your Holiness the Pope."
Bibi Dong looked down at Su Ming, her voice flat and giving nothing away.
"I've already read the report submitted by Suotuo City."
"Su Ming, nine years old, with a top-tier mutated Beast Martial Soul, the Evil Fire Phoenix. He is currently level twenty-two, and his Second Soul Ring is... eight hundred years old."
Her voice paused when she mentioned eight hundred years.
The others in the hall couldn't help letting out quiet gasps.
Bibi Dong stared straight at Su Ming, as if she wanted to see through him. "The Soul Master World's ironclad rule about Soul Ring age has never been broken in ten thousand years. You've surprised me. Come, release your Martial Soul and let me see your talent."
"Yes."
Su Ming replied, then released his Martial Soul!
"Buzz!"
A phoenix phantom radiating an oppressive aura slowly appeared behind Su Ming.
Unlike an ordinary phoenix, its flames were half red and half black.
Its burning heat did not seem all that intense. Instead, it gave off a faint chill.
Two Soul Rings rose from beneath Su Ming's feet, and he released the aura of a level-twenty-two Soul Grandmaster without holding anything back.
Everyone in the hall looked dazzled.
Nine years old, level twenty-two, and the aura of a top-tier Martial Soul—he was undoubtedly a genius!
At the sight, the peachy tint in Hu Liena's beautiful eyes faded, and a trace of solemnity rose in them.
This guy's talent is even greater than mine.
She felt a sense of crisis.
On the throne, Bibi Dong's expression barely changed. Those in high positions never let their emotions show!
She offered a faint word of praise. "Your talent is indeed very good. You can be considered a rare genius."
Then Bibi Dong showed a trace of puzzlement. "You studied at Shrek Academy before. I'd like to know what made you choose to leave."
Su Ming didn't hide anything. "My teaching philosophy conflicted with the academy's."
A glint of interest appeared in Bibi Dong's eyes. "Tell me more."
Su Ming said, "When my Evil Fire Phoenix Martial Soul first awakened, it wasn't split evenly between the evil attribute and the fire attribute as it is now. The evil attribute made up less than a tenth, while the fire attribute accounted for more than ninety percent."
"The academy's philosophy was for me to abandon the evil attribute and develop the fire attribute with all my might."
"But I believe the evil attribute is stronger. I chose to develop it and abandon the fire attribute. That brought me into conflict with the academy's philosophy, so I chose to leave."
At this, Su Ming raised his head and looked at Bibi Dong. "I know Spirit Hall is the sacred ground of Soul Masters and has always been open-minded about their development. I came to Spirit Hall hoping to find a place where I can grow freely. Of course, I'll be deeply grateful for that."
A wave of murmurs rippled through the hall.
Abandoning the purest fire attribute of a phoenix to develop the most unusual evil attribute instead.
This kid had some serious nerve!
Bibi Dong hadn't expected this to be Su Ming's reason. She had thought his phoenix had naturally awakened with half evil and half fire attributes.
That was why she had seemed so calm just now.
In her eyes, such attributes were not pure enough.
Top-tier Martial Souls almost always had a single attribute!
Now that she had heard Su Ming's answer, she could hardly hide her delight.
At the same time, she was struck by how bold his choice was.
After all, there was a wealth of information in the Soul Master World on the fire attribute, but far, far less on the evil attribute.
He was abandoning the accumulated experience of generations and choosing an unknown path.
Su Ming had made a choice that went beyond his years.
Bibi Dong said, "Of course, Spirit Hall gives every Soul Master the freedom to choose."
"But you should also understand that Spirit Hall doesn't support dead weight."
Bibi Dong was testing Su Ming's ability to withstand hardship.
As a Soul Master with two Martial Souls, one of them possessing the evil attribute, Bibi Dong approved of Su Ming's choice to abandon the fire attribute.
But she also knew that giving up an obvious source of strength and choosing an unknown risk would demand tremendous effort.
Especially since Su Ming was reversing his Martial Soul's attributes—a reckless act with an extremely high chance of failure!
If he failed, he would become utterly unremarkable!
But Su Ming remained resolute. "I'll take responsibility for my choice, and I'm willing to do so!"
"Good."
Bibi Dong rarely offered praise.
The more she looked at Su Ming, the more she liked him.
Someone who dared to break with convention and challenge the rules stirred something deep within her. She felt a sense of kinship, as though they were cut from the same cloth.
She couldn't help considering taking him as her disciple.
But the next instant, a faint shadow appeared deep in her eyes.
She thought of Qian Xunji.
The deep wounds Qian Xunji had inflicted on her had twisted her psyche, leaving her with a profound aversion to men.
The thought of a master-disciple relationship—a sensitive and intimate bond—filled her with even stronger visceral disgust!
She could take a female disciple, but she couldn't make a male disciple her direct successor.
It was a psychological knot she couldn't untie.
Looking at Su Ming, she couldn't bring herself to take him as a disciple because of that knot, but she couldn't possibly let such a talent slip away.
She turned to Hu Liena beside her and instructed her, "Nana, from today on, you'll look after Su Ming. You'll be fully responsible for guiding him in his daily life and coordinating his cultivation resources."
"Yes," Hu Liena replied.
She had expected Bibi Dong to give her this instruction.
After giving Hu Liena her orders, Bibi Dong turned her gaze back to Su Ming.
"Su Ming, from today on, you'll live at the Golden Hall. The cultivation resources, supplies, and special treatment you receive will all be on par with Nana's."
"Yes! Thank you, Your Holiness!"
Bibi Dong paused again, then continued:
"If, during your cultivation, you run into something you can't resolve, or a critical problem that concerns your foundation, you can come to Pope Palace at any time and ask me directly."
"Do you understand?"
In other words, they would have a master-disciple relationship, but no master-disciple title.
After all, being able to come to Pope Palace at any time was a privilege only Hu Liena had!
Even the other two members of the Golden Generation weren't entitled to it.