A Trap

"Elder Yue, have your old injuries flared up?"

Mo Lin looked at Yue Guan, whose aura was in disarray, and asked from inside the carriage.

"No. Maybe I just didn't rest well yesterday."

Yue Guan's answer was obviously made up, but Mo Lin knew he was a junior and did not press further. He simply turned to look at the scenery outside the window.

Yue Guan watched Mo Lin from the corner of his eye.

Just what is this brat's background? Earlier, his gaze was as cold as ten-thousand-year ice, but after successfully absorbing the spirit ring, he became no different from an ordinary child. If I couldn't tell he was human, I would definitely think he was a hundred-thousand-year spirit beast in human form. What kind of monster has Spirit Hall brought in?!

After returning to Spirit Hall that evening, Yue Guan casually made up an excuse and hurriedly left Mo Lin. He could not even remember how many years it had been since he had been this afraid of being alone with someone.

"Hey! What's wrong with you? You only accompanied that kid Mo Lin to hunt a spirit beast. Did it really have to get you like this?"

As Yue Guan's friend, as close as a brother, Ghost sensed that Yue Guan's aura was somewhat disordered the moment he arrived at the Papal Palace. He immediately came over to see what had happened.

Yue Guan took a deep breath.

"Old Ghost, you didn't witness it yourself or experience that kind of presence, so I can't speak carelessly. I can only tell you this: never, ever stand against Mo Lin."

Mo Lin already understood why Yue Guan had been so eager to get away from him, but he believed Yue Guan would not harm him, so he did not dwell on it and went straight to find Bibi Dong.

Bibi Dong was not in the main hall of the Papal Palace at the moment. Instead, she was in her room reading the latest report:

Half a year has passed since the implementation of the new regulations. During this period, 867 students have applied for leave, the majority of whom were upper-year students, mostly citing visits home to see family... Furthermore, according to investigations by the various branch halls, because students are able to visit their families, Spirit Hall's reputation among the commoners of the two great empires has risen further...

Bibi Dong looked at the report in high spirits. It had been a long time since she had seen a report without any negative news.

Knock, knock, knock!

"Come in!"

Bibi Dong set down the report and called out.

Mo Lin pushed open the door and walked in.

"Master, I'm back!"

Seeing that Mo Lin had returned safely, Bibi Dong was delighted.

"I thought it would take you at least until tomorrow to find a suitable spirit beast. I didn't expect you to return today. How was it? Did you obtain a satisfactory spirit skill?"

Mo Lin nodded.

"That's good. Your martial soul is a mutated martial soul, so it's difficult to determine what spirit skill you might gain. If the spirit skill didn't suit your own fighting style with your martial soul, it would be quite troublesome. It's getting late, so get some rest early!" Bibi Dong said.

"Master, actually, I have another favor to ask." Mo Lin said.

Bibi Dong was rather surprised, since Mo Lin rarely made requests of her.

"As long as it's reasonable, whatever you want, your master can get it for you."

"I want materials for making soul tools—rare metals. The more, the better." Mo Lin said.

"Rare metals?" Bibi Dong was even more surprised. The raw materials for soul tools were essentially just specially processed rare metals. These things offered no help whatsoever to a soul master's cultivation; they merely conducted soul power. She could not imagine why Mo Lin wanted them.

Seeing that Bibi Dong did not quite understand, Mo Lin immediately explained.

"Master, this is related to my second spirit skill."

"Since it is related to your spirit skill, then as your master, I should naturally support you. However, rare metals have always been allocated by the Elders' Hall. If I forcibly demand them, it is highly likely to cause friction with the Elders' Hall again." Bibi Dong's tone was filled with reluctance. Even though the Elders' Hall had indeed stopped deliberately targeting the Papal Palace after their envoy was scolded back by Mo Lin, they had not relinquished a single bit of the power they held.

Looks like it's time to test whether my guess is correct.

Mo Lin said, "Master, I have an idea. How about we let the others in Spirit Hall know that I want rare metals? What do you think?"

"Let the others know?" Bibi Dong asked.

Mo Lin walked to Bibi Dong's side and whispered into her ear.

"My guess is this..."

A week later, at the Elders' Hall, An old man sat in the highest seat in the hall.

"Everyone, have there been any recent reports concerning that little fellow?"

This man was Spirit Hall's Grand Worshipper, Qian Daoliu, a level 99 Ultimate Douluo of the assault system.

He had indeed considered recruiting Mo Lin, but Mo Lin was currently Bibi Dong's disciple, and he could not simply seize him by force. He could only think of ways to hint at it indirectly.

However, Mo Lin had rarely interacted with the outside world over the past half year. The Elders' Hall believed that Bibi Dong had cut off all information about him. They had intended to accuse Bibi Dong of acting one way in public and another in private, denying her disciple freedom so they could bring Mo Lin over, but they had no evidence. Thus, they could only keep probing, having someone report the situation every day.

Inside the hall, a spy knelt on one knee.

"Elders, we have recently uncovered some information. It is said that after the student named Mo Lin obtained his second spirit ring, he asked the Pope for a large quantity of rare metals. However, the Pope did not have the authority to allocate them and only gave him a small amount."

Another elder, Golden Crocodile Douluo, asked, "Hmm, is this information accurate? Are we certain Bibi Dong didn't deliberately spread it to set us up?"

"According to my subordinates, Bibi Dong did not suppress this information," the spy replied.

Qian Daoliu closed his eyes and thought for a moment.

"Then there shouldn't be any major problems."

"Indeed. If she really wanted to play us, this would be far too obvious. Still, we should be cautious. If Bibi Dong hasn't suppressed this news within a week, then we elders will give that youngster a hand." Golden Crocodile Douluo said.

The other elders chimed in agreement.

"Then let's discuss how much to give him."

Late at night, one week later, Mo Lin had been about to go to bed when he caught a faint fluctuation of soul power. He immediately looked toward the balcony. Sure enough, a man in black nightwear stood there, with a chest beside him.

"Senior, do you not know that this is the Papal Palace?" Mo Lin asked calmly.

"As expected of someone the Pope has taken as her disciple. Faced with the unknown, you haven't shown the slightest fear. You are bound to accomplish great things in the future," the man in black said.

Mo Lin "secretly" began circulating his soul power, but made a tiny "mistake" that was "noticed" by the man in black:

"You needn't be wary of me. I'm merely here to deliver a gift. If you want to know who sent it, there's a letter in the chest that explains everything clearly. But remember to burn it after reading."

Then, with a leap of faith, he vanished into the night.

Mo Lin walked onto the balcony and looked outside. After confirming that the man had truly left, he picked up the chest and carried it into the room. There, he exchanged a smile with Bibi Dong, who had just entered through the door.

The plan worked!