As soon as Gui Mei spoke, Yue Guan's face immediately darkened beside him.
The Martial Soul Fusion Skill he and Gui Mei wielded was his pride, his greatest trump card. He had never expected someone to break it today, so naturally he was in no mood to smile.
Gui Mei's words stirred another round of discussion in the hall. Many found it hard to believe that the two elders' Martial Soul Fusion Skill had actually been defeated.
On the raised platform, Bibi Dong watched the commotion below, her heart as calm as still water.
She still hadn't decided whether to talk about the demons. As for Hsi Wu, although Shendu didn't seem to have much of a relationship with him, she couldn't be sure there wasn't something deeper between them.
She knew far too little about the demons.
After the people below had finished discussing the matter, they clamored for His Holiness the Pope to send troops after their enemy.
Bibi Dong found it laughable. Their opponent had already flown off to who knew where. They didn't even know where he was, so how could they fight him?
And besides, even if they found him, could they catch up?
What a noisy bunch!
She rose calmly to her feet and looked down at them. The hall fell silent in an instant.
"This matter ends here. Ghost Douluo and Chrysanthemum Douluo have rendered meritorious service in protecting Spirit Hall. Credit them with one commendation."
She left them with those words and walked off to the side, leaving everyone staring after her in confusion.
"What's wrong with the Pope?"
"Why aren't we pursuing them? Why would the Pope give such an order?"
The archbishops all expressed their bewilderment. Even the elders looked puzzled.
The Pope seemed a little off today!
Besides, they had all wanted to ask: when the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast attacked Spirit Hall, where had His Holiness the Pope been? Why hadn't she come out to stop it?
"Old Ghost, something seems off!" Yue Guan came over to Gui Mei, frowning.
"No matter what happened, we remain loyal to His Holiness the Pope." Hidden within his shadow, Gui Mei remained expressionless.
As the mainland's most prosperous place, Spirit City naturally drew a great many people. Without exception, they had just witnessed the astonishing spectacle of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast attacking Spirit Hall, leaving them in awe.
"A Soul Beast actually attacked Spirit Hall! I have to report this to the sect master right away."
The fruit seller by the street hurriedly covered the ground beside him with a cloth. A flash of purple light appeared, and a strange ripple spread through the air.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Ning Fengzhi looked at the message on the table. The report, written in black and white, relayed what their spy had discovered: Spirit Hall had been attacked by a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, which had escaped unharmed.
He frowned slightly, resting both hands on the table as he gripped the letter tightly.
Could something like this really have happened? he couldn't help wondering. If anyone else saw the report, they might mock Spirit Hall: how could the mainland's foremost power have suffered such humiliation at the hands of a Soul Beast?
But as the sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Fengzhi was no ordinary man. The first thing he wondered upon reading the report was whether the spy had made a mistake.
If he weren't utterly confident in his spies, he might already have sent them back to investigate.
"Fengzhi, perhaps there's another explanation."
Sword Douluo Chen Xin had naturally thought of that possibility too. He frowned as he spoke.
"Hmph, when have our spies ever made a mistake? I say Spirit Hall has grown timid ever since that woman became the Pope. Now even a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast can bully them at will. What a joke." Bone Douluo Gu Rong spoke scornfully.
He wasn't as clever as Ning Fengzhi, and he liked to argue with Sword Douluo. If Sword Douluo said there was something suspicious, Gu Rong would insist there wasn't.
Chen Xin shot him a cold look and chided him, "Old Bone, have you lost your mind? Even if Spirit Hall's worshippers don't get involved, it's no ordinary force. Would it really fear a single Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?"
"What did you say, you surnamed Sword?" Gu Rong glared at him angrily.
"My surname is Chen." Chen Xin shot back without yielding an inch.
The two immediately launched into an argument.
Hearing their bickering fill the room, Ning Fengzhi sighed helplessly. His two Titled Douluo were powerful and gave him a tremendous sense of security, but they just couldn't kick the habit of squabbling.
And since they were both his elders—Uncle Gu and Uncle Jian—he couldn't very well say much to them. It left him utterly exasperated.
They had even spoiled his rambunctious little daughter rotten.
Speaking of Rongrong, he remembered that she seemed to be planning to run away from home soon. She was apparently thinking of going to some academy. When the time came, he would let her go.
It would be good for her to get out and see the world.
A songbird couldn't stay in its cage forever. It had to taste a little hardship.
He carefully read the letter again, then gave an order: "No one in the sect is to discuss this matter. No one."
Chen Xin and Gu Rong looked puzzled by the order. The two asked, "Fengzhi?"
Ning Fengzhi rested his chin on his hand, his expression grave, and explained, "Uncle Jian, Uncle Gu, I know you think I'm making a mountain out of a molehill, but I can't shake the feeling that something is about to happen. I feel deeply uneasy!"
Hearing Fengzhi's concern, the two grew serious.
In all their years of knowing him, they had witnessed Ning Fengzhi's premonitions prove accurate time and again. Now that he had this feeling once more, was something major really about to happen?
"Fengzhi, then what should we...?"
"Let's wait quietly for now. I hope this is only the stillness before the sun rises."
The three fell silent, and the room grew quiet.
Unlike the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the other factions all looked gleeful when they learned that a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast had attacked Spirit Hall.
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan possessed the mainland's strongest Beast Martial Soul—the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon.
In the meeting hall, clan leader Yu Yuanzhen was laughing uproariously. "Hahaha! Hahahaha!"
"That woman from Spirit Hall actually let a mere Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast escape. Truly, women are useless and unfit for anything important!" After laughing, he said with contempt.
The people below wore all kinds of expressions. Some were gloating, while others were puzzled.
A middle-aged man stepped forward and voiced his concern to Yu Yuanzhen. "Big Brother, could that Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast have been too powerful?"
The man was Yu Yuanzhen's second younger brother, Yu Luomian.
However, Yu Yuanzhen didn't care for his concern. He waved dismissively.
How strong could a mere Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast be? It might be powerful to others, but to a Level 95 Titled Douluo with the strongest Beast Martial Soul, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, it was nothing special.
It seemed that he had gone so long without taking action that the people in his clan had forgotten how powerful a Titled Douluo was. This displeased him.
"Eldest, focus on your cultivation. Once you reach Level 90, I'll personally capture a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast for you." He looked at his son and spoke with great bravado.
"Yes! I'll cultivate as hard as I can and live up to your expectations, Father!" the young man below replied with a fist-and-palm salute, elated.
He didn't notice Yu Luomian's cold gaze sweep over him from the side, nor the way his hands clenched into fists.
Before you continue