"Qin Chuan, open up. It's me, Yue Guan."
Chrysanthemum Douluo's voice came from outside the door.
Qin Chuan went downstairs and pulled back the bolt.
Chrysanthemum Douluo stood outside in a fitted gray outfit, carrying a food box.
"Elder Ju, what is it?"
"His Holiness the Pope said it might be dangerous for you to stay outside Spirit Hall alone. From now on, whenever the shop closes, I'll come escort you back to Spirit Hall."
Qin Chuan paused.
He had indeed considered this problem. Spirit City's defenses were fairly solid, but his status spoke for itself: Spirit Hall's Saint Son, someone who had stolen the limelight at the Soul Master Tournament and then opened a Game Hall.
There were bound to be plenty of people watching him. Staying here alone every night really wasn't very safe.
"All right." Qin Chuan nodded and followed Chrysanthemum Douluo outside.
They passed through several dark alleys in Spirit City and entered Spirit Hall through a side gate.
Chrysanthemum Douluo led him to a secluded courtyard behind the main hall and stopped before a stone door.
"His Holiness the Pope is waiting inside." With that, Chrysanthemum Douluo turned and left.
Qin Chuan pushed open the stone door.
The secret chamber's anteroom was much like the one he had visited last time. Stone walls on all four sides, a black wooden table in the middle, and two chairs.
Tea had already been prepared on the table. Steam still rose from the two cups.
Bibi Dong sat across the table.
Today, she had changed into a brilliant gold formal gown. Her pinkish-purple hair fell loose over her shoulders, and the Nine-Curved Purple Gold Crown rested at the corner of the table.
Lamplight fell across her face. Her features were almost excessively exquisite, but her expression was calm, without the oppressive air one would expect from the Pope.
As she watched Qin Chuan enter, a faint smile touched her lips.
"Sit."
Qin Chuan sat down.
Bibi Dong pushed the tea toward him. "Have some tea first."
Qin Chuan lifted the cup and took a sip. It tasted good.
Bibi Dong spoke with a hint of wonder in her voice. "Qin Chuan, I truly never expected your Douluo Game Hall to improve cultivation speed. Hu Liena is already at level 57, far ahead of my expectations. What about you?"
Qin Chuan set down his cup. "I just reached Soul Emperor."
Bibi Dong's hand froze as she lifted her teacup.
"What?"
Qin Chuan nodded. "Level 61."
Bibi Dong stared at him for several breaths. When she set her cup down, its base struck the table with a sharp clink.
"You're saying you're at level 61?"
"Yes."
Bibi Dong drew a deep breath.
During the Soul Master Tournament, Qin Chuan had only been at level 51.
Ten levels in a little over ten days.
Such speed was unheard of in the entire history of the Douluo Continent. In all her years, she had never heard of anyone accomplishing it.
Bibi Dong fell silent for a moment, then her tone grew solemn. "Qin Chuan, let me ask you something. I'm currently a level 97 Super Douluo. Can your Game Hall help me?"
The question was very direct.
Above level 97, every additional level was a vast chasm.
Countless supremely gifted experts remained stuck at level 95 or 96 their entire lives, unable to cross that divide even on their deathbeds.
Having reached level 97, Bibi Dong already ranked among the very strongest of this era.
Qin Chuan thought it over.
The prizes in the first- and second-floor gaming areas all had level restrictions. Most capped out below level 80, while a few went up to level 90.
But some items had no level restrictions.
Soul Rings, for instance.
Qin Chuan looked up at Bibi Dong. "Sis Dongdong, what do you need right now?"
The corner of Bibi Dong's mouth twitched. She still wasn't used to that form of address, but this wasn't the time to fuss over it.
"An opportunity to break through. I've been stuck at level 97 for almost two years, and my progress through meditation keeps slowing down. With the aid of an older Soul Ring, I might be able to break through the bottleneck."
Now Qin Chuan knew where he stood.
"Would a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring work?"
This time, Bibi Dong truly froze.
A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring.
The Soul Beasts capable of providing Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings across the entire Douluo Continent could be counted on one hand.
The Titan Giant Ape and Sky Azure Bull Python deep within the Star Dou Great Forest, along with Xiao Wu, who had already taken human form-even counting them all, there were only a handful.
For a single Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone, the various powers had fought openly and schemed in secret for decades.
Yet Qin Chuan spoke of it so casually.
"Yes." Bibi Dong's voice deepened. "Of course it would."
Qin Chuan nodded. "All right. Within two months, I'll aim to make Sis Dongdong a Level 99 Limit Douluo."
The secret chamber remained quiet for a long while.
Bibi Dong studied the young man across from her. His expression had been perfectly ordinary when he said it, without any hint of deliberate boasting.
He simply sat there holding his teacup, as though discussing something that went without saying.
Two months.
From level 97 to 99. Two levels.
Under normal circumstances, those two levels might be a gulf that could never be crossed. A hundred years? Two hundred? How many Titled Douluos had exhausted their entire lives without advancing even one level?
Yet he said two months.
Bibi Dong's heart churned violently, but she showed none of it.
For one thing, she was reassessing Qin Chuan's capabilities.
What this man held in his hands was far greater than she had previously imagined.
For another, every time he called her "Sis Dongdong," a strange feeling stirred within her. It wasn't aversion, but something she couldn't quite describe.
She suppressed those thoughts and was about to speak.
Qin Chuan waited several breaths. Seeing that Bibi Dong remained silent, he assumed she didn't believe him and added, "Six months at most. How about that?"
Bibi Dong came back to her senses and shook her head. "Of course that's fine. Never mind six months-even five years would far exceed my expectations."
Qin Chuan smiled.
He knew perfectly well what Bibi Dong's plans had been in the original story.
Hunt down Xiao Wu to obtain her Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone, then surround and kill the Titan Giant Ape and Sky Azure Bull Python to break through her bottleneck. Those plans were like pulling one hair and setting the whole body in motion; the slightest misstep would mean war.
Now none of that was necessary. His Game Hall had no shortage of good things.
Qin Chuan set down his cup and leaned forward slightly.
"By the way, Sis Dongdong, once you reach level 99, do you want to unite the world?"
The instant those words left his mouth, Bibi Dong's gaze changed.
She stared at Qin Chuan without saying a word. But her fingers involuntarily curled against the tabletop.
Unite the world.
She had dreamed of those words for more years than she could count.
Spirit Hall's territory was far smaller than that of the Heaven Dou Empire or the Star Luo Empire.
Both empires had their own armies and Titled Douluos, while the major sects each harbored their own ulterior motives.
Trouble within and threats without, enemies before her and behind. Ever since ascending to the papal throne, half the matters she dealt with each day involved maneuvering against those powers.
But she had never voiced this ambition to anyone.
Not even Chrysanthemum Douluo or Ghost Douluo.
Watching her reaction, Qin Chuan smiled inwardly. It seemed he had hit the mark.
"Yes," Bibi Dong finally said, her voice a shade lower than before. "When you row against the current, failing to advance means falling back."
Qin Chuan nodded. "If that's what you want, I have a good method. Unite the world from the moral high ground, without drawing a blade or raising a gun."
Bibi Dong looked at him.
This young man was only in his early twenties, yet he sat before her discussing the balance of power across the entire continent.
And he sounded serious, not as though he were boasting.
"I'd like to hear the details," Bibi Dong said.
Qin Chuan took a sheet of paper from inside his clothes and spread it across the table.
He had spent over two hours writing it last night, and the ink had already dried completely.
"It's simple. Enact the [Soul Beast Protection Law]. Make everyone on the continent obey it."
Before you continue