First Meeting with Bibi Dong, Pope of Spirit Hall

Yuhao?

That way of addressing me... honestly...

Hu Liena certainly acts like we've known each other forever, doesn't she?

Huo Yuhao turned awkwardly to glance at the dense forest. Qiu'er was nowhere to be seen; she had probably hidden herself long ago.

But that was fine.

Qiu'er wasn't going anywhere, and she still needed time to think. He could come find her once he had established himself in Spirit Hall.

Yan said, "Nana, you..."

"What now?"

Hu Liena frowned at the bewildered Yan and said indignantly, "It's all your fault! If Yuhao had refused to join Spirit Hall because you attacked him just now, wouldn't Teacher have thrown you into Death Canyon when we got back?"

Yan: "..."

With that, Hu Liena turned and urged everyone to hurry along, paying no mind to the fact that Yan was still injured.

Huo Yuhao met Hu Liena's gaze apologetically. Her cheeks were flushed, and she was staring straight at him.

Then he quietly followed them.

Only after Huo Yuhao and the others had left did a light flicker deep in the forest. A graceful figure appeared where they had stood.

The girl was none other than the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, who had just taken human form.

Wang Qiu'er looked down at her new form, quite pleased with it. Then she couldn't help looking toward the direction Huo Yuhao had gone, and a rosy flush crept over her cheeks.

After a long while, she murmured, "You big idiot. You came and stirred up my feelings, and now you think you can just walk away?"

"I haven't forgiven you yet. You have to be punished."

"You're going to Spirit Hall..."

Spirit Hall, Pope's Hall.

Bibi Dong sat high on the papal throne, one hand resting on the Pope's Scepter, the other propping up her temple as she pondered.

The preliminaries of the continent-wide Soul Master Tournament had ended. According to intelligence sent back by the Heaven Dou Empire Spirit Hall Branch,

a dark horse named Shrek Academy had burst onto the scene. It had defeated Five Elements Academy and Heaven Dou Royal Academy in the preliminaries to become the champion team of the Heaven Dou Empire division.

The one Spirit Hall needed to watch most closely was a young man named Tang San.

That was precisely what troubled Bibi Dong.

After a long silence, she murmured, "Twin Martial Souls? The Clear Sky Hammer?"

Bibi Dong's eyes flickered, coldness filling them.

That boy could not be allowed to live.

"Your Holiness..." Just as Bibi Dong was considering how to eliminate Tang San, a Spirit Hall Guard arrived with a report and interrupted her.

"Impudent!"

Bibi Dong's authority needed no anger behind it. She gave the guard a cold look. "Did I not say that no one was to disturb me without my orders?"

The rebuke frightened the guard into dropping to his knees. "Your Holiness, the Saintess and two elders have returned. They said it was urgent and asked me to report it. Please forgive me, Your Holiness."

"Nana? Back so soon?"

Bibi Dong murmured with a frown. In an instant, the anger in her eyes faded, and she waved a hand. "Very well. Let them in."

After giving a few brief instructions,

Bibi Dong straightened in her seat and composed herself.

Once summoned, Huo Yuhao entered Pope's Hall with Yue Guan, Gui Mei, and Hu Liena.

The moment she saw Huo Yuhao step into the hall, Bibi Dong frowned.

Her already dark expression darkened further. She slammed the scepter in her hand against the floor, and the powerful force brought Yue Guan and Gui Mei to a dead stop. "How dare you bring a stranger into Pope's Hall without informing me first!"

So this is the youngest pope in Spirit Hall's history?

Bibi Dong?

Huo Yuhao looked closely. Bibi Dong was not tall, and the brilliant gold gown she wore from head to toe fit her perfectly. Her dazzling robes shimmered with the light of more than a hundred red, blue, and gold gemstones.

The Nine-Curved Purple Gold Crown atop her head shone with radiant splendor. In her hand was a scepter nearly two meters long, set with countless gems. Her fair skin and near-perfect features made her look utterly unlike anyone else.

She looked exactly as the records described. It was a pity her fate had been so cruel.

According to historical records, it was not Bibi Dong who had truly shaped the course of the continent and brought about Spirit Hall's eventual destruction. The root of it all lay with Bei Bei's ancestor, Tang San's teacher, Yu Xiaogang.

His arrival was the turning point that sent Bibi Dong's life down a different path.

It was thanks to Bibi Dong's support and encouragement that Yu Xiaogang had set out on the path to becoming a master of theory. His Ten Core Competition Theories of Martial Souls had also been built on Spirit Hall's research. He owed Bibi Dong thanks for all of it.

That included Bibi Dong destroying the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan for his sake.

One wrong step led to another.

The destruction of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan meant Spirit Hall could no longer turn back. In the end, it destroyed the three sects, founded the Spirit Hall Empire, and launched a war.

Bibi Dong's methods had been extreme.

But what woman could suffer such humiliation, be forced away from her first love, and then endure watching Yu Xiaogang with another woman without being driven to madness?

And what had Yu Xiaogang done in the end? Beyond misunderstanding Bibi Dong, he had raised Tang San into an opponent she could never defeat.

By the time Spirit Hall was completely overthrown, Yu Xiaogang had played no small part in it.

That was one reason Huo Yuhao did not want to choose Shrek Academy. Later generations at the academy had done their best to portray Yu Xiaogang and the others in a favorable light, using the story of the Shrek Seven Gods to cover up the past, but accounts of the Shrek Seven Devils' deeds still survived in the empire.

"Please calm your anger, Your Holiness!"

Yue Guan's expression changed, and he hurried to explain. "Everything happened so suddenly that we had no time to make a detailed report. Please hear me out, Your Holiness..."

With that,

he briefly recounted their journey into the Star Dou Great Forest to Bibi Dong.

He included how they had encountered Huo Yuhao and how Huo Yuhao had agreed to join Spirit Hall.

Bibi Dong's pupils contracted. She stared at the young man in the hall, stunned, as something unreadable flickered in her eyes.

A twenty-three-year-old Titled Douluo!

Two Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings!

She understood every word Yue Guan had said, but put together, they shook even Bibi Dong to her core.

Impossible!

"Your Holiness."

Seeing Bibi Dong look at him as though he were a monster, Huo Yuhao gave a self-deprecating smile. "I'm not quite as extraordinary as Senior Yue Guan makes me sound. I'm just an Independent Soul Master. It's an honor that Spirit Hall is willing to accept me."

"A twenty-three-year-old Titled Douluo?"

Bibi Dong finally came back to herself. A sharp, commanding aura erupted from her and bore down on Huo Yuhao. Yet to her surprise, he seemed entirely unaffected by the pressure and remained standing where he was.

Bibi Dong was startled. He really did possess the strength of a Titled Douluo. That had only been a test, but she had still put ten percent of her Soul Power into it.

"Teacher!"

Hu Liena was startled when Bibi Dong suddenly made her move. She hurried to explain, "Huo Yuhao means no harm. He sincerely wants to join Spirit Hall. Nana can vouch for him."

Wait, Nana!

You only just met him. You barely know him, and you're vouching for him?

Why? Just because he's handsome?

Yan, standing nearby, was consumed by jealousy again. But he did not dare say anything in a place like this. He could only grit his teeth and swallow his resentment.