"An academy founded less than half a year ago, with a Soul Saint barely above level seventy, dares to speak to our Spirit Hall like this?"
Hu Liena didn't dare raise her head.
Bibi Dong slowly rose and descended the steps one by one.
She stopped in front of Hu Liena and looked down at her disciple.
"You stayed with him for half a month. What did you find out?"
Only then did Hu Liena lift her face a little.
"His students are extraordinarily talented. Some of their Soul Ring Configurations even defy all common sense in the Soul Master World.
"Almost all of them have a thousand-year Second Soul Ring. I've never seen anything like it in any text."
"What else?"
"His own strength has risen at an incredible pace over the past six months. When he left the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, he was level sixty-three. Now he's level seventy-six."
In half a year, he had risen thirteen levels. Among the continent's prodigies recorded by Spirit Hall, there wasn't a second one who could match that rate.
Bibi Dong's brow twitched almost imperceptibly.
After a few moments of silence, she spoke again.
"If we can't recruit him, then make him understand the price of refusing us."
"Cut off his supplies. Rare metals, medicinal herbs, Soul Tool components—block every supplier in Heaven Dou City.
"Then investigate his qualifications in the name of the empire's review. How many people in the whole city would be willing to sign off on his credentials under the rule requiring a mentor above level ninety-five?"
"And one more thing..."
Bibi Dong paused, her voice turning colder.
"Have the Soul Fighting Arena at the Heaven Dou branch send some people to challenge them, one after another, from level forty to Soul Kings at level sixty."
So he wanted to run a school?
Then they'd beat his students until they didn't dare stay.
Bibi Dong turned and walked back to her throne.
"Do it. Within three months, I want him to come crawling to me on his knees."
Hu Liena lowered her head and answered.
"Yes, Teacher."
Ten days later,
Anaxa placed a procurement list on Ye Qiong's desk.
"Dean, the supply of rare metals for our research has been cut off."
Ye Qiong took the list and glanced over it.
It listed more than a dozen kinds of rare metals from the Far North.
They were all crucial materials Anaxa and Tribbie needed for their research into Soul Tools.
That's right. After all this time, Tribbie and Anaxa had moved on from studying Martial Souls and Soul Power to researching Soul Tools.
So Ye Qiong had arranged for them to buy a batch of rare metals from suppliers in the city.
All of these rare metals came from the Far North, and only two trading houses in Heaven Dou City could supply them reliably.
Their deliveries had been going smoothly, but just yesterday, both trading houses had sent people to inform the academy:
There were problems with their supply channels. They couldn't deliver according to the original agreement in the short term, and they didn't know when supplies would resume.
Ye Qiong folded the list and tucked it into his pocket.
"It's probably Spirit Hall's doing. Leave the mining problem to me. Go fetch Teacher Tribbie."
Half an incense stick later, Tribbie pushed open the door.
"Dean, are you looking for me because of the mining town on the edge of the Far North?"
"Yes. I'm planning to bypass the middlemen in Heaven Dou City and negotiate directly in the mining town."
Tribbie's eyes curved into a smile.
"Then shall I open a portal for you right away?"
"Go ahead. We'll go together."
That evening,
Tribbie opened a portal,
and soon Ye Qiong and Tribbie arrived in a small town in the Far North.
The sky above the Far North was a dull gray, and the air was so cold that every breath came out rimmed with frost.
But the Water and Fire Dual Dragon Bones inside Ye Qiong's body began circulating automatically. The ordinary chill couldn't get anywhere near him.
Following the map, he soon found the largest guild in the mining town.
After entering, Ye Qiong found the person in charge.
When the man heard Ye Qiong's offer—better than the terms from the suppliers—his eyes lit up.
"Mr. Ye Qiong, don't worry. From now on, we'll set aside the best ore we mine for you first."
And so, three days later,
the first batch of rare metals was transported straight to the academy's laboratory through Tribbie's portal.
With no middlemen taking their cut,
the metals even cost quite a bit less than before.
Anaxa looked over the batch and clicked his tongue in admiration.
"They're even better quality than the ones from the trading houses."
Ye Qiong smiled at him. "As long as you're satisfied. Keep working on your research. I'll be off to handle some other things."
After that, Spirit Hall cut off several more of the academy's supply lines.
But Ye Qiong met each move with a countermeasure. He secured new supply channels through Keleradra's Balaque royal family and Mydei's Silves Kingdom.
And so, Ye Qiong completely thwarted Bibi Dong's attempts to cut off his supplies.
The second month arrived in no time.
One day, an official document from the Heaven Dou Empire was delivered to the academy.
Ye Qiong opened it and saw the following:
"New Academy Qualification Regulations: Academies founded within the past six months must be included in the annual qualification review. Within the specified period, they must submit three documents: faculty credentials, student level certification, and facility safety ratings."
If those were the only three requirements, Ye Qiong didn't think there would be a problem.
But...
"Each academy must have the signed endorsement of at least one registered mentor above level ninety-five."
Ye Qiong frowned when he saw that requirement.
Under the previous review standards, a Soul Emperor could endorse an academy's qualifications. Now, all of a sudden, they were asking for someone above level ninety-five.
It was obvious that something was wrong.
After all, the number of Titled Douluo with that kind of strength in the entire Heaven Dou Empire could be counted on one hand.
So he took the documents to Tribbie's residence.
Tribbie's beautiful brows furrowed when she read them.
"Dean, this is clearly aimed at us. Normally, a Soul Emperor is all that's required of a mentor."
Ye Qiong smiled.
"That's right. The answer is obvious. Spirit Hall must be behind this too."
"But they probably don't know that you're a level ninety-nine Limit Douluo."
Tribbie understood what Ye Qiong meant and nodded.
"Then I'll go."
That afternoon,
Tribbie and Ye Qiong went to the Heaven Dou City Education Office.
At first, the auditor there treated them with indifference.
But when Tribbie revealed a sliver of her cultivation,
the man's expression changed abruptly.
"Li—"
Ye Qiong made a shushing gesture in front of him.
The man nodded frantically and immediately clamped his mouth shut.
Seeing this, Tribbie withdrew her aura and returned to Ye Qiong's side.
Ye Qiong pushed the documents forward again and looked at him with a smile.
"So, about that signature?"
The auditor broke out in a cold sweat and hurriedly swallowed.
"N-no need to trouble yourself. I can stamp them here."
He quickly pulled out an official seal and stamped every document with a smack.
Seeing this, Ye Qiong smiled faintly and took the documents.
"Thank you, sir."
After Ye Qiong left,
the auditor wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
A Limit Douluo at his side.
That kind of treatment
was the only one of its kind on the entire continent.
Who would've thought this newly founded Omphalos Academy
would be hiding such a mighty dragon?
Spirit Hall had really kicked an iron plate this time.
Before you continue