The History of Spirit Hall

Under Hu Liena's persistent coaxing and pleading, Meng Xuanji had no choice but to bring her to the library.

"Let me make this clear first. When I'm reading, you'd better not disturb me, or I won't bring you in again."

"Mm-hmm, I'll be good."

Meng Xuanji and Hu Liena entered the Soul Beast Compendium section together and began searching through the endless sea of books for information on fox demon martial souls.

"Meng Xuanji."

"What is it?"

"Why aren't you looking for a Blue Silver Emperor martial soul compendium? Were all these books prepared for me?"

"I don't need one. I've already found a suitable soul ring for myself. Tomorrow, as long as I help you obtain a suitable soul ring, we'll definitely take first place."

"Alright, then."

Hu Liena chose to trust Meng Xuanji without question. In the girl's eyes, he was the kind of boy who was incredibly dependable. No matter how outrageous his words sounded, she would always choose to believe him unconditionally.

Rustle.

Rustle.

Meng Xuanji flipped through the materials page by page, while Hu Liena lay bored beside him, propping up her chin with her left hand as she absentmindedly stared at the flavorless words on the pages.

"This is so boring."

Hu Liena complained.

The next moment, Hu Liena glanced sideways at Meng Xuanji. His brows were tightly furrowed, and he was completely absorbed in the sea of books with a serious expression, utterly unaffected by what she had said.

"How can he even read this? Are these books really that interesting?"

Unwilling to admit defeat, Hu Liena picked up the book in her hands and read a couple of lines.

Thirty seconds later, with a thud, Hu Liena placed the book on the table as though she had given up on life, then wearily leaned back in her chair.

"I can't read it. I really can't read it."

The words in the Soul Beast Compendium had been written by a group of old scholars. Although the information was precise, reading it was like eating ice cream without any sugar coating—cold and bitter. Ordinary people simply could not get through it.

Meng Xuanji frowned. It was not as though he loved knowledge that much; even someone as steady as him was starting to feel drowsy.

The Yellow-Tailed Fox's preferences, eating habits, the Fire-Tailed Fox's hunting techniques, the Ice-Tailed Fox's sleeping habits... reading this stuff made Meng Xuanji want to throw the book away.

What the hell was all this nonsense?!

Couldn't they write it more simply and clearly?! Which idiot wrote that Ice-Tailed Foxes liked to sleep at night and hunt during the day?! Why hadn't someone dragged that person out for trial?!

"Sure enough, books are for people with perseverance."

As though resigned to his fate, Meng Xuanji set down the book and turned to look at Hu Liena beside him.

"Miss, you're already this bored, so why stay here with me? Don't you think it's a waste of time?"

"Me? I don't think so. My soul power is already at level ten, and I can't improve it before we head to the Star Dou Great Forest. Other than watching you sigh at books, I can't find anything else to do for fun."

Hu Liena rested her chin in her hand and gazed at Meng Xuanji with a vacant, adorable expression. Her eyes were as clear as a pool of spring water.

"Fine." Meng Xuanji slapped his forehead.

"I'm getting tired too. How about I take you to see something interesting?"

"Something interesting? Okay, okay!"

"Come on, follow me."

Meng Xuanji stood up, took Hu Liena's little hand, and jogged all the way to the history section of the library.

Looking at those history books that seemed even older than her grandfather's grandfather made Hu Liena's head spin.

"Meng Xuanji, are you sure these books are interesting? I think they're worse than the Soul Beast Compendium. How about we go back?"

Hu Liena was scared. She hated these stale old historical tales the most. Those long, ancient sentences felt like chewing on candles—sticky and disgusting. She felt that reading too much of them would turn her into an old fossil.

Meng Xuanji smiled faintly.

"You're overthinking it. Don't forget, I'm here."

Meng Xuanji casually took a history book from the shelf, pulled Hu Liena down to sit beneath the bookcase, and began carefully flipping through it.

"You don't need to read. Just listen to me. I'll tell you the story."

"Then... alright."

Hu Liena closed her eyes somewhat restlessly and leaned against Meng Xuanji's shoulder, waiting for him to read out sentences as hypnotic as a lullaby so she could fall asleep on his shoulder later.

"Legend says that one hundred thousand years ago, an unprecedented upheaval erupted within the Star Dou Great Forest."

"More than ninety percent of ten-thousand-year soul beasts perished overnight, supposedly because of a massive meteorite."

"After the meteorite fell, the Life Gold beneath the Star Dou Great Forest began to regain its vitality. More and more low-level soul beasts began to emerge from this ancient land."

"As the soul beast population grew, another wondrous species began to appear in this world—humans."

"Conflict between humans and soul beasts erupted from then on. To survive, humans continuously hunted soul rings from soul beasts, while soul beasts, in order to fill their stomachs, began attacking human settlements in packs and plundering resources from human fields."

"Douluo Continent, which was urgently trying to recover its strength, paid no heed to the impact brought by humanity's birth. It merely regarded them equally as part of nature's development and granted them the right to live normally on Douluo Continent."

"However, as more and more powerful humans emerged, titled Douluo gradually rose to prominence as well. Humanity's gaze was no longer limited to the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest. Countless human experts began probing toward its core. Led by the titled Douluo, humanity defeated one ferocious beast after another. Even the dragons hidden in the deepest parts of the forest came to fear them."

"From then on, the overlords of the soul beast world formed an oath with humanity. Hundred-thousand-year soul beasts were not to enter human society lightly, while humanity's titled experts were not to rashly enter the Star Dou Great Forest. Those who violated the pact would bear responsibility for any mishaps that occurred within the other side's territory and were forbidden from using them to provoke war between the two sides."

"Under pressure from a certain Black-Eyed Golden King Dragon among the beast clan, humanity's upper ranks decided to withdraw from the forest and develop territory beyond it, expanding their own strength. As humanity's domain continued to grow, the two great empires rose in turn. Spirit Hall, representing the sacred land of martial souls on Douluo Continent, also rose from the ground amid the support of the continent's soul masters, eventually developing into the massive organization it is today."

"Some say that a real angel stands behind Spirit Hall. After all, since then, nearly every pope has been a holder of the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul. We have no way to verify the truth of this claim, since no one has ever seen a true god."

"The Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul is indeed powerful. So long as its lineage is not severed, there is nothing inappropriate about its holders serving as pope. We firmly believe that under the angels' leadership, Spirit Hall will guide the continent toward true peace, and the continent's faith in Spirit Hall has never wavered."

When he reached this point, Hu Liena, sitting beside him, blinked her large eyes and stared blankly at Meng Xuanji.

"Are you telling a story? Why does this not sound like a history book? Let me see."

With that, Hu Liena snatched the book away. The first line she saw upon opening her eyes was a passage of ancient, dusty text.

"In mid-June, the thirty-third pope of Douluo Continent issued a Spirit Hall decree. To meet the needs of the people of Douluo Continent engaged in high-intensity labor under the scorching sun, from this day onward, heat allowances would be distributed in stages when temperatures exceeded forty degrees. Every worker, regardless of whether they were a soul master, could receive an additional two silver soul coins in monthly pay."

Hu Liena looked at Meng Xuanji in utter disbelief.

"Is this really from the same book as what you just read?"

Meng Xuanji chuckled.

"I merely skipped a tiny few parts you wouldn't like hearing. So? My storytelling skills aren't bad, right?"