Spirit City Gathers, Undercurrents Surge (Seeking Follow-ups)

Twenty days later, every household in Spirit City hung lanterns and colorful decorations, creating an exceptionally festive atmosphere.

The Papal Hall's main headquarters in Spirit City was likewise bustling nonstop. Several Titled Douluo from Spirit Hall's main branch served as the enforcers strictly maintaining order for the event.

This also showed just how much importance Spirit Hall's upper ranks placed on the gathering of forces from all sides at Spirit Hall.

In the Papal Hall, Qian Xunji sat high in the seat of honor. Below him stood several Titled Douluo, along with a number of Platinum Bishops.

"Chrysanthemum Douluo, Ghost Douluo."

"The two of you will be responsible for receiving the key figures this time, as well as security for every stage of the proceedings."

"By your command, Your Holiness. Leave this mission to Old Ghost and me—we'll handle it with ease."

Ghost Douluo said nothing, clearly acquiescing to Chrysanthemum Douluo's words.

Chrysanthemum Douluo, Yue Guan, spoke in his usual affected voice, soft and feminine, highly distinctive.

"Demon Bear, you will be in charge of the city's defenses this time. You are permitted to mobilize part of the Angel Legion, with the current Angel Legion Commander assisting you."

Demon Bear gave a deep bow and gladly accepted the order.

The Angel Legion Commander, Wu Haoxuan, also gave Demon Bear a slight nod in greeting.

After all, the two had never worked together before, so there was naturally some unfamiliarity between them.

In truth, even if they did cooperate, their relationship would be more like Demon Bear assisting Wu Haoxuan. After all, Wu Haoxuan was a bona fide Rank 96 Titled Douluo.

His title was Light, and his martial soul was the Sacred Angel.

"Ghost Leopard, Spirit Kite, hide in the shadows and mobilize part of the covert guards to maintain on-site security and order as well."

"Snake Spear, Blood Spike..."

When mentioning the two of them, Qian Xunji paused and gave them a meaningful look.

After all, the two had only just entered Rank 90. Their strength was barely passable, though they made up for it with their unwavering loyalty.

Therefore, Qian Xunji had no intention of assigning them any particularly important duties.

"The two of you will lead several Soul Douluo-level elders in patrolling the city and remaining on standby."

After assigning every task, Qian Xunji let out a breath and ended the day's meeting.

In truth, this deployment alone showed just how fucking extravagant Spirit Hall's combat strength was.

What did it mean for the Elders' Hall alone to have a full seven Titled Douluo? And that did not even include the military powerhouses within the Angel Legion.

The Enshrinement Hall had not even been mentioned...

It was genuinely impossible to understand how the two great empires in the original work had managed to maintain their rule. With Spirit Hall's prestige and influence among the common people—

Raising an army of several hundred thousand civilians should not have been a problem. Combined with its monopoly over the soul master faction, how exactly had the two great empires been able to contend against Spirit Hall?

At some point, Bibi Dong had come to Qian Xunji's side. Yet, unusually, she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her head in the crook of his arm.

"What's wrong, Dong'er?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to see whether you were busy. After all, the major factions will probably gather in Spirit City tomorrow."

That big fool Qian Xunji really thought Bibi Dong was concerned about him. He also truly believed she had no choice but to submit to him.

"Haha, these major factions are nothing worth mentioning. Ever since Clear Sky Sect's old ancestor, Tang Chen, disappeared, they've been in decline."

"As for the other factions, only the older generation of experts remains."

"Only those two twin stars of Clear Sky Sect are worthy of catching our eye."

"But that is all. The future will undoubtedly belong to Spirit Hall."

Bibi Dong gently kneaded Qian Xunji's shoulders. At the height of his smug satisfaction, he failed to notice the hatred in her eyes.

Kill him. Kill him.

Why haven't you acted yet? This is the best opportunity. Look—he is completely defenseless.

You are holding his soft, vulnerable neck right now. As long as you use force, as long as you release your martial soul, he will die here today!

A voice like a demon's whisper echoed in Bibi Dong's mind, and her eyes held nothing but unconcealable hatred.

Yet that hatred vanished in an instant. Bibi Dong forcibly buried it deep within her heart. She had come today for something more important.

"Um, I wanted to ask—what's going on with Xue'er and Lin Mo's soul rings?"

Pretending to be concerned about Xue'er, Bibi Dong subtly probed for the real reason the two of them could absorb soul rings beyond their level.

"This... why are you asking about that?"

Qian Xunji came back to his senses. He looked at Bibi Dong with clear resistance and began scrutinizing her.

"I'm just worried that you gave Xue'er something bad to eat that might affect her talent."

Bibi Dong put on an aggrieved expression, her eyes carrying concern for her child that made one's heart ache.

Sure enough, Qian Xunji felt somewhat guilty. After all, Bibi Dong was Qian Renxue's mother. He should not have doubted her over such a matter.

"That brat Lin Mo discovered that Whale Glue could improve physical constitution. And once one's physical constitution improves, it increases the age limit of soul rings one can absorb."

"That's why the two of them absorbed soul rings beyond their level."

Qian Xunji had been completely off guard when he said that. Perhaps Bibi Dong's increasingly gentle attitude toward him over the past few days had made him lose himself.

The underlying code of the Continent of Love had activated again.

The moment those words left his mouth, Bibi Dong could not stop the corners of her lips from rising. She had finally coaxed out the real answer.

Suppressing the discomfort in her heart, Bibi Dong spent another tender moment with the enemy who had ruined her life, then hurriedly left.

Xiaogang, there's a way. As long as Whale Glue improves your physical constitution, and I find you some heavenly treasures, once you absorb your third soul ring, you'll be reborn.

Sure enough, Bibi Dong's purpose in extracting information about Whale Glue was to give her old lover, Yu Xiaogang, better prospects.

Inside the treasure vault where the Whale Glue was stored.

"Your Holiness the Saintess, what brings you here?"

"By the Pope's order, I have come to collect a piece of Whale Glue."

Upon hearing this, the guard hurriedly lowered his head and did not dare say another word.

Bibi Dong strode into the treasure vault. Looking at the pieces of Whale Glue, she fell into thought. She did not understand Whale Glue's actual purpose or effects.

So, by instinct, she chose the oldest one, stubbornly believing that the greater its age, the better its effects would be, forgetting that people's capacities to endure were inherently different.

In the end, Bibi Dong took a piece of ten-thousand-year Whale Glue and left with satisfaction.

It was just unknown whether her old lover could withstand such a gift from her.

Elsewhere, Qian Renxue and Lin Mo sat by the lake, admiring the gradually rising moon in perfect leisure. Qian Renxue in particular had a skewer of crystal-clear candied hawthorn in her mouth.

"Want some, Lin Mo?"

Perhaps she felt a little embarrassed eating alone, so Qian Renxue still held the candied hawthorn she had already bitten up to Lin Mo's mouth.

Lin Mo glanced at Qian Renxue, then took a bite without hesitation, snatching away more than half the skewer.

"Stupid Lin Mo, give me back my candied hawthorn! You're almost done eating it!"

"Waaah, Lin Mo is mean! I'm never playing with you again."

Qian Renxue's little face immediately fell. She turned away in a huff, no longer wanting to pay Lin Mo any attention.

Lin Mo, meanwhile, grinned as he leaned over and poked Qian Renxue's puffed-up cheeks, which looked like a pufferfish's.

"Oh? How did the little angel turn into a pufferfish? Did you change attributes?"