Shock at Papal Hall

Above Wuhun City, the winds and clouds shifted.

The once-clear sky was blanketed by layer upon layer of heavy storm clouds. The spiritual energy vortex above the orphanage continued to expand, and the raging energy storm bent the surrounding trees every which way as fallen leaves danced through the air.

Old Li had barely taken a few steps out of the gate when he felt the terrifying pressure from above. His legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the muddy grass.

"Good heavens... what god have we offended?!" Old Li muttered, trembling all over.

The moment his words fell, three overwhelmingly powerful auras tore through the air from the direction of Papal Hall.

Like three meteors streaking across the heavens, they descended above the orphanage in an instant.

The woman at the forefront held a gem-studded scepter and wore a purple-gold crown. Her resplendent golden gown fluttered in the wind. Her cold eyes swept across the scene, carrying an innate majesty, like a lofty deity looking down upon the mortal world.

On her left stood an extravagantly dressed man, pinching his fingers in a delicate gesture. His gaze was sharp as a blade, golden petals drifting around him.

On her right, a mass of black mist flickered in and out of view, radiating a chilling cold that frosted even the air around it.

They were none other than Pope Bibi Dong, Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan, and Ghost Douluo Gui Mei!

The Pope had arrived, accompanied by two Title Douluo. An invisible pressure descended upon the ground like a hundred thousand mountains.

The orphans in the yard had never seen such a spectacle. Their faces went pale as they dropped to their knees one after another, not daring to raise their heads. Old Li pressed his face tightly into the dirt, scarcely daring to breathe.

Only one short-haired boy stood in the center of the six-pointed star array.

Su Chen stood with his hands in his pockets, his back straight. Faced with the pressure descending from above, the Supreme Guidance Art began circulating within him of its own accord. The spiritual energy in his twelve primary meridians surged like rushing rivers, forming a natural barrier that dissolved all external pressure.

A gentle breeze swept past, stirring the loose strands of hair on the boy's forehead.

Bibi Dong flashed forward and landed steadily before Su Chen.

Her scepter struck the ground with a dull thud.

"Why do you not kneel upon seeing me?"

Her cool voice echoed through the yard, carrying the unquestionable authority of one who stood above all others.

Su Chen met those cold, imposing eyes. A faint smile curled at his lips. Not only did he refuse to kneel, he even stepped half a pace forward.

"According to Spirit Hall's rules, anyone whose soul power reaches level ten is an official Soul Scholar and need not kneel before the Pope."

Chrysanthemum Douluo snorted coldly and stepped forward, raising a delicate finger at Su Chen.

"Insolence! You're only a brat who just awakened. Even if you had cultivated from the womb, it would be impossible for you to possess level ten soul power in an instant! How dare you spout such nonsense before Her Holiness? Believe it or not, I'll rip that mouth of yours apart!"

Su Chen lifted his chin slightly and pointed to the testing crystal shattered into several pieces on the grass.

"There. I just tested it. I accidentally hit the maximum level. The crystal ball wasn't very good quality and couldn't withstand the energy impact."

"Utter nonsense!" Chrysanthemum Douluo flickered, turning into a streak of golden light as he appeared on the grass and picked up a crystal fragment.

Soul power surged in his palm as he examined it.

The next second, shock filled his heavily made-up face, and even his delicate hand gesture froze in midair.

"Your Holiness! The soul power fluctuations remaining in this fragment have indeed reached the standard of innate full soul power! And... this energy is unbelievably pure. It doesn't resemble anything a child who has just awakened could possess!"

Bibi Dong narrowed her eyes slightly, her gaze settling on Su Chen once more.

A six-year-old orphan.

His awakened martial soul was merely a rusted ordinary iron sword.

Yet he possessed innate full soul power and had even triggered a heavenly phenomenon across all of Wuhun City.

"Did you cause that energy vortex in the sky?" There was scrutiny in Bibi Dong's tone, along with a hint of curiosity.

Su Chen spread his hands, looking utterly unconcerned.

"Just routine stuff. No need to make a fuss. That tester measured my soul power at half a level earlier, and since I had nothing better to do, I casually figured out a breathing and energy-circulation method. Who knew the energy between heaven and earth had no sense of fair play and all rushed into me? I'm helpless too."

"You casually figured it out?" Bibi Dong's gaze turned cold, golden light blooming around her. "Spirit Hall's meditation techniques have been passed down for a thousand years, refined generation after generation by elders who devoted their lives to them. A six-year-old child dares claim he created his own cultivation art? Arrogant!"

Su Chen did not yield in the slightest, staring directly into Bibi Dong's eyes.

"Whether it's arrogance or not, wouldn't Your Holiness know after examining it yourself? Practice is the sole criterion of truth. Words alone prove nothing."

Bibi Dong did not waste another word. Her right hand shot out like lightning, gripping Su Chen's shoulder.

A stream of gentle yet domineering soul power flowed through his shoulder and into his body.

Bibi Dong closed her eyes and sensed it carefully.

In less than a second, unconcealed shock appeared on the Pope's exquisite face, which had always remained calm and unreadable.

Under Spirit Hall's existing theories, a soul master meditated by drawing external energy into the body, then storing it all in the dantian. The process was simple and crude. Not only was it inefficient, but a great deal of energy was wasted during absorption.

But inside Su Chen's body, the situation was completely different!

The energy he absorbed did not flow directly into his dantian. Instead, it moved steadily throughout his body along intricate and mysterious hidden pathways.

"These are... meridians?" Bibi Dong's eyes snapped open.

Su Chen nodded with an expression that said he was teachable.

"You're not entirely stupid. The twelve primary meridians and the eight extraordinary meridians. Every time energy completes a major circulation through these channels, it is refined further, while impurities are expelled from the body through the pores."

Bibi Dong suppressed the turmoil in her heart and continued guiding her soul power through Su Chen's body.

The more she observed, the more alarmed she became.

This entirely new circulation path not only elevated energy absorption efficiency to an unbelievable level. More terrifyingly, as the energy coursed through them, the previously blocked meridians were constantly being widened!

What did widening the meridians mean?

It meant that among soul masters of the same level, one who cultivated this method could contain several times more soul power than an ordinary person!

It meant that low-level soul masters who had been stuck at bottlenecks and unable to break through for life now had a chance to defy fate!

Bibi Dong rapidly deduced the operational trajectory of this cultivation art in her mind.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

The more she deduced, the more hurried Bibi Dong's breathing became.

As one of the peak experts of the age, Bibi Dong's perception of energy was exquisitely sharp. By meditating according to this meridian circulation route, the speed of absorbing spiritual energy from heaven and earth was actually ten times that of Spirit Hall's highest-grade meditation technique!

A full tenfold difference!

"This route... how did you come up with it?" There was even an almost imperceptible tremor in Bibi Dong's voice.

Su Chen pointed at the shards of the testing crystal.

"I watched the points of light moving around inside that broken rock, had a flash of inspiration, and it came together naturally. Is it difficult?"

Came together naturally!

Those four words struck Bibi Dong's ears like a thunderclap on level ground.

Countless theoretical masters who considered themselves geniuses had spent their lives studying soul beast habits and martial soul mimicry. Yet no one had ever considered uncovering the treasures of the human body's own meridians.

A six-year-old orphan had merely glanced at a crystal ball and shattered the ironclad laws of the soul master world that had stood for countless millennia!

Bibi Dong slowly released her hand and staggered back two steps in succession.

"Your Holiness?" Ghost Douluo noticed something was wrong. He stepped forward to shield Bibi Dong, fearing an unexpected change.

Bibi Dong raised a hand, signaling Ghost Douluo to retreat.

When she looked at Su Chen again, the Pope's eyes had lost all their coldness and scrutiny, replaced by fervor and disbelief.

Even Spirit Hall's highest-grade meditation technique seemed as crude as a joke before this new pathway.

After her examination just now, Bibi Dong had already calculated the implications.

If this cultivation art were implemented throughout the ranks, Spirit Hall's lower-level soul masters would multiply their combat strength several times over. The entire balance of Douluo Continent would be reshuffled because of this short-haired boy before her!

"What is this method called?" Bibi Dong took a deep breath, her full chest rising and falling sharply.

Su Chen brushed the dust from his shoulder, his tone casual.

"The Supreme Guidance Art."

"Supreme Guidance..." Bibi Dong savored the words repeatedly, light blazing in her eyes.

Su Chen stared straight at Bibi Dong, the smile on his lips deepening.

"Your Holiness, what rank would this thing I casually came up with hold within Spirit Hall?"

Bibi Dong did not answer at once.

The Pope's gaze swept over the shattered crystal on the ground, then over the orphans whose faces were filled with reverence, before finally locking onto Su Chen's calm face, so far beyond his years.

"A peerless genius."

The dignified Pope of Spirit Hall gave this four-word assessment without the slightest hesitation.

Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo exchanged glances, each seeing shock in the other's eyes. The last time Her Holiness had given such a lofty evaluation was when facing Grand Consecrator Qian Daoliu.

This mere six-year-old orphan had not only broken all convention, but had also proclaimed the birth of an entirely new system to the whole continent.