Spirit Hall

"Qiuyu, what are you doing here?"

A flicker of surprise crossed Lin Nuo's face. Looking at his daughter, he felt a twinge of emotion before helplessness took over.

He had known he wouldn't be able to stop this girl!

"Your Excellency is Lord of Lin Nuo City's daughter? I had long heard that Lord Lin Nuo had a remarkably powerful daughter. I hadn't expected to meet you today."

Gu Liangong looked slightly surprised. Although the woman before him was dressed as a married woman, her face remained pure and lovely, with time having left few traces upon it.

"That's me. And who are you?"

Lin Qiuyu looked down at the still-composed Gu Liangong, desperately wanting to slap him to death.

"Me? Gu Liangong, Hall Master of Spirit Hall's Nuoding City branch. Beast Martial Soul, Savage Ape. Level forty-seven Attack Type Battle Soul Sect."

Gu Liangong set down his cup, his expression turning much more serious.

"Lin Qiuyu. Martial Soul, Li Yan. Level eighty-three Elemental Soul Master!"

After hearing Lin Qiuyu's words, Gu Liangong shot straight to his feet. His eyes constantly swept the surroundings as beads of cold sweat formed across his back.

An eighty-third-level Soul Douluo—someone like that would be considered a major figure even within Spirit Hall. Who would have thought that this old stubborn man from Nuoding City had a daughter whose strength had reached the Soul Douluo level?

Damn it, if your daughter was this powerful, you should've said so sooner!

Though he grumbled inwardly, Gu Liangong forced out a smile uglier than crying. "Your Excellency must have only just arrived in Nuoding City. I won't disturb your father-daughter reunion any longer. Farewell."

After speaking, he did not wait for either of them to reply and hurried out of the Reception Room.

When Yang Dong arrived, he happened to pass Gu Liangong on the way.

"Dong'er, didn't I tell you to rest? Why did you come here by yourself?"

At the sight of Yang Dong, the ice on Lin Qiuyu's cold face finally thawed, and she spoke with a hint of reproach.

"Dong'er? Come, come to Grandpa! Let Grandpa have a good look at my precious grandson."

On the other side, Lin Nuo crossed the room in a few quick strides, scooped Yang Dong into his arms, and smiled with satisfaction.

That evening, Lin Nuo prepared a lavish dinner to welcome his daughter and grandson. It was as though what had happened during the day had never occurred. After Yang Dong had eaten his fill, Butler Ma took him elsewhere to wander around, leaving Lin Nuo and his daughter alone.

"Father, what exactly is going on? How did you end up clashing with Spirit Hall?"

Lin Qiuyu had held this question in for a long time, and now she finally had the chance to voice the doubts in her heart.

"Ah, it isn't that I want to oppose them. Spirit Hall is simply too overbearing. They won't allow us to conduct the Soul Awakening Ceremony anymore; only Spirit Hall can preside over it. If this continues, won't all Soul Masters end up coming from Spirit Hall? Before long, even the Heaven Dou Empire may belong to Spirit Hall!"

If Yang Dong had been here, he would have been greatly shocked. Spirit Hall's future rise to power was certainly due in part to Bibi Dong's formidable methods, but this strategy planted during Qian Daoliu's era was one of its very foundations.

It was not as though no one saw the problem. But when they considered Qian Daoliu's strength and Spirit Hall's influence, even those who saw through it were unwilling to stop it. Besides, Spirit Hall truly did not employ any underhanded tricks regarding the awakening ceremonies. They conscientiously awakened every child who had reached the proper age.

Lin Nuo truly had some nerve to openly stand against Spirit Hall.

"Father, even the Heaven Dou Empire's royal family has tacitly approved of this. They don't care, so what use is there in a mere city lord like you standing in the way?"

Lin Qiuyu rubbed her forehead. She knew her father's temperament all too well. It was likely impossible to make him stop involving himself in this matter.

"I don't understand your Soul Master world. But as long as I'm here, Nuoding City will never compromise with Spirit Hall!"

The more Lin Nuo spoke, the more agitated he became. In the end, he flicked his sleeve and stormed away, leaving Lin Qiuyu alone at the dining table.

"Ah!"

Lin Qiuyu sighed and silently began clearing the table.

She knew that if her father insisted on stopping Spirit Hall, then Spirit Hall would not show mercy either. Fortunately, she had been here today. Otherwise, who knew what might have happened?

"Spirit Hall."

After she finished cleaning up, Lin Qiuyu did not leave immediately. Instead, she sat in a chair and stared blankly into space.

Meanwhile, Yang Dong returned to his room early. Sitting cross-legged on his bed, he began meditating. Yet what puzzled him was that no matter how he meditated, the Soul Power within his body did not increase in the slightest. It remained fixed at level ten.

This situation had lasted for over a month. No matter how he looked at it, something was clearly wrong.

"Why is this happening?"

Yang Dong closed his eyes, and his consciousness entered the Bronze Gate once more. The Crystal Ball floated quietly within, as though waiting for something.

"Level ten."

When his hand touched the Crystal Ball, the information it gave back was no different from before. Yet it did not prompt him that he could level up as it had previously.

"Could it be that I need to hunt Soul Beasts and obtain a Soul Ring before my Soul Power can continue increasing?"

After thinking for a long time, this was the only explanation that made sense.

But the thought of hunting Soul Beasts gave Yang Dong a headache. How was he supposed to explain his level-ten Soul Power?

"Worst comes to worst, I'll just say I don't know why I cultivate so quickly. After all, I have a Mutated Martial Soul!"

Satisfied with this explanation, Yang Dong nodded. That was what he would do.

"I wonder what kind of soul skill I'll get!"

Lying on the bed, Yang Dong could not help recalling the four panels he had seen that day. But now, he could no longer find any trace of them, as if they had never existed.

The night deepened.

Lin Nuo and Lin Qiuyu sat facing each other. The vast study contained only the two of them.

"Dong'er only has one level of Innate Soul Power. There's nothing to be done about that, so you needn't be too upset. With you and Tianyi around, even if Dong'er's cultivation talent is poor, I'm sure his life won't be too difficult."

Lin Nuo comforted Lin Qiuyu a few times. He had long learned of his grandson's circumstances from the letters sent earlier. In fact, he saw things more clearly than his daughter did. Though Soul Masters were everything on Douluo Continent, ordinary people still had ways to make something of themselves.

Wasn't he, Lin Nuo, also a useless man with only one level of Innate Soul Power? Yet hadn't he still become the lord of a city?

Besides, just as he had said before, even if Yang Dong's cultivation talent was poor, guaranteeing him a life of wealth and comfort would not be a problem.

There was no helping it—who told him he had such a good father?