Pope's Palace

Within Purple Heaven City, many people had gathered outside the City Lord's Mansion, waiting curiously for something.

The crowd was divided into two camps: one from the Heaven Dou Empire, the other from the Star Luo Empire.

Within the empires, they were further divided into various smaller groups.

It could be said that more than half of the continent's elite had gathered here.

Take the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, for example. Ning Fengzhi had brought two Title Douluo, along with clan elders and promising young talents, all to this place.

As for the Clear Sky Sect, Tang Xiao had likewise gathered here with several Title Douluo.

Though they had chosen to live in seclusion, they would not remain closed-minded and stagnant.

Even Title Douluo could benefit from the Personal Cultivation Assistant here. How could they possibly give it up?

They had gathered here now because of an announcement.

When the time came, the white-bearded old man Li Ming had transformed into emerged from the City Lord's Mansion. With the bearing of an immortal sage, he immediately drew everyone's attention.

Not everyone had seen the Purple Heaven City Lord before. He rarely showed himself, and most Soul Masters who had arrived later had never seen this incarnation of Li Ming.

"Is this the Purple Heaven City Lord? He doesn't look like anything special."

Ning Rongrong looked at Li Ming and could not help murmuring quietly to Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing beside her.

However, the two of them were not paying attention to this. Across the crowd, they were looking toward the Star Luo Empire's side, where they spotted some people they did not wish to see. Their expressions darkened noticeably, and Zhu Zhuqing beside them was clearly no better off.

Qian Renxue watched Li Ming, her eyes filled with scrutiny. She was quite curious about which faction he belonged to. As the Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, she knew that the royal family had been secretly investigating the city lord's origins with all their strength, yet they had gained nothing even now.

"Residents of Purple Heaven City, I have invited you here because there is something I must inform you of.

For the next few days, Purple Heaven City will temporarily close."

As soon as those words fell, everyone's expressions changed.

From Title Douluo down to low-level Soul Masters, all of them had benefited from the Personal Cultivation Assistant during this period.

With the Personal Cultivation Assistant, their progress in developing Self-Created Soul Skills had advanced by leaps and bounds.

Such improvement had an enormous effect on increasing their strength. Now that the cultivation assistant was shutting down, they did not even know where they could continue developing Self-Created Soul Skills.

Seeing their reactions, Li Ming was very satisfied. This showed that Purple Heaven City had already become something irreplaceable to them.

"Of course, there is no need for alarm. This is merely because the Closed Beta is about to end, and the Public Beta will begin soon.

At that time, Purple Heaven City will accommodate one hundred thousand Soul Masters."

The moment Li Ming said this, the expressions of those present became extraordinarily colorful.

One hundred thousand people!

That was a full hundredfold increase!

Emperor Xue Ye could not help looking toward the White Tiger Emperor of Star Luo. If there were one hundred thousand slots, it would change the situation of the entire empire.

If they could obtain them all, it would have a deep-rooted, long-term impact on improving their empire's strength.

This was something capable of affecting national power.

Just as they were wondering how the slots would be auctioned, Li Ming spoke again.

"However, there is no need to worry. Public Beta slots will require no payment, and the number of slots allotted to the two great empires will be roughly equal.

However, unlike the Closed Beta, the Personal Cultivation Assistant will no longer be free. It will formally enter a paid phase, with fees based on Soul Power level. There is no need to worry; the charge will be merely symbolic, and I believe everyone can afford it.

At the same time, Purple Heaven City will levy a five-percent business tax. Shop owners, please decide according to your own circumstances whether to continue operating within Purple Heaven City.

After the Public Beta begins, the Inner City will also open to everyone. Both shops and residences will be available for purchase.

..."

Li Ming explained the new version's rules in detail. In truth, it all boiled down to one thing: he wanted money!

The owners of the various shops below wore grave expressions. A five-percent business tax clearly meant a tax on turnover. Added to the rent, their profits would be severely squeezed.

Yet they could not bear to give up the business here.

One hundred thousand Soul Masters would gather here. What an enormous market that would be! As long as they could establish themselves here, their businesses would rise by several levels!

Their profit margins might be lower, but their total profits could multiply severalfold. As businessmen, how could they possibly give it up?

Once he had finished announcing the rules, Li Ming forcibly took the entire Dream Space offline.

In an instant, everyone was expelled from the Dream Space.

Theoretically, he really could have brought in one hundred thousand Soul Masters seamlessly, without taking the system down for maintenance.

But he needed to give the Dream Space a round of upgrades.

Ever since the Satellite AI's computing power had increased significantly, Li Ming had arranged for it to conduct overall maintenance on the Dream Space.

It would comprehensively upgrade both the Dream Space's various details and its dream Security System's Firewall.

This time, the weaving of the Dream Space involved Fate Power, resolving several potential flaws.

For instance, a Dream expert might exploit the connection between the Dream Space and an individual's Dream, follow that link to forcefully enter the individual's space, manipulate their Dream, and launch an attack.

This sort of hacking behavior was indeed possible, using his Dream Space to carry out remote strikes.

Now that Fate Power was involved, the connection between the Dream Space and individual Dreams would become far more concealed.

At the same time, Li Ming was concerned that certain inexplicable Soul Skills might be able to locate him through the Dream Space, such as the Eye of Destiny and similar powers.

To address this, the Satellite AI had already used Fate Power to create a Security System unique to him, weaving the Power of Destiny into a complex Firewall to block anyone's attempts to spy on him.

While the Satellite AI upgraded the Dream Space, Li Ming also began formally testing his Pulsed Scorching Beam.

Meanwhile, the opening of Purple Heaven City's Public Beta triggered reactions from all sides, and every faction began making arrangements.

Some were studying Purple Heaven City's map, planning to secure shops in prime locations.

Others intended to use Purple Heaven City to recruit talent. After all, once someone could use the Personal Cultivation Assistant and successfully create a Self-Created Soul Skill, their personal strength would surely advance by leaps and bounds.

At this moment, within the Pope's Palace, Bibi Dong sat on her high seat. She wore a black-and-gold robe and a purple-gold crown, her long purple hair cascading at her side. Her flawless, noble face was captivating enough to leave a lasting impression at a single glance.

Her expression was tranquil as she lounged against the high seat with her legs crossed, looking down at the subordinate kneeling on the ground below, fear lingering in his eyes.

"You are saying that Purple Heaven City intends to gather one hundred thousand Soul Masters from across the world, yet even now, you have failed to uncover the slightest detail about Purple Heaven City. Is that correct?"

Bibi Dong's voice was soft and graceful, yet it carried a trace of chill.

"This subordinate has failed in his duty. I beg Your Holiness the Pope to punish me!"

The man did not dare argue and answered loudly.

"Hmph. What audacity, yet they alone have excluded all members of Spirit Hall.

Has the Elder Hall still given no response? Can they not find anything either?

Or perhaps, what is their stance on this matter?"

Bibi Dong snorted coldly. Yet paired with her perfect beauty, it sounded almost like she was acting coquettishly. Still, no one dared mistake that sound for coquettishness.