Qin Chuan laid it out point by point: "Soul beasts over eighty thousand years old will be classified as endangered species of the continent. No sect may harm or hunt them. Anyone who does will become an enemy of the entire continent."
"Soul beasts between twenty thousand and eighty thousand years old will receive first-class protection. Any organization or individual wishing to hunt them must notify the Association in advance and obtain approval."
"Soul beasts between ten thousand and twenty thousand years old will receive second-class protection. Each major sect will receive a fixed annual quota. Indiscriminate slaughter will be prohibited."
"Soul beasts under ten thousand years old will not be protected."
"The Association will be established under the leadership of Spirit Hall."
When Qin Chuan finished, he pushed the paper toward Bibi Dong.
Bibi Dong picked it up and read it over and over.
Her eyes lit up.
The brilliance of this decree lay not in protecting soul beasts themselves, but in "control."
Controlling soul beasts meant controlling the sources of soul rings and soul bones.
Controlling soul rings and soul bones meant controlling every Soul Master's path to advancement.
When that time came, whether it was the Heaven Dou Empire's royal family, the Star Luo Empire's generals, or the sect masters of the Upper Three Sects, anyone seeking to break through a bottleneck would have to apply to Spirit Hall.
Subduing the enemy without a fight.
Bibi Dong lowered the paper and looked up at Qin Chuan.
Her estimation of this young man rose another notch.
An open stratagem like this took more than cleverness to devise. One had to stand high enough to see the entire chessboard.
But she soon noticed a problem.
"It's a good approach, far better than openly making enemies of them," Bibi Dong said. "But what about us? Will our people in Spirit Hall be forbidden from hunting them too?"
It was a pointed question. What was the use of making rules if those same rules bound you?
Qin Chuan nodded.
"Don't worry. There's one more clause at the end. [Spirit Hall shall hold sole authority over final rulings, interpretation of detailed provisions, and special exemptions under this decree.]"
Bibi Dong considered it. "That clause doesn't say Spirit Hall can hunt hundred-thousand-year soul beasts."
"That's easy enough. We can say a certain soul beast slaughtered villagers, and we're merely carrying out Heaven's justice... Besides, my Game Hall can produce some soul rings too, which can make up for the shortfall."
After hearing this, Bibi Dong remained silent for a long time.
Suddenly, everything clicked!
With this, the system through which Soul Masters across the entire continent advanced would rest in Spirit Hall's hands.
After hearing Qin Chuan's strategy involving the Soul Beast Protection Law, Bibi Dong's gaze remained fixed on him.
She had always preferred wise strategists to powerful fighters who knew only how to kill. But someone gifted in both strategy and combat was far too enticing, almost impossible to resist.
What a way to carry out Heaven's justice! Brilliantly put! This Qin Chuan is astonishing!
The word "genius" no longer did the Qin Chuan before her justice.
Admiration and wariness mingled in Bibi Dong's heart. She resolved to find some way to keep him here, to bind him to her.
"Good. Then stay here tonight. We'll study this law thoroughly and see how to clear the obstacles and put it into effect," Bibi Dong said decisively.
Qin Chuan nodded. "All right."
Night deepened.
At the corner of South Street in Spirit City, the Douluo Game Hall's sign gleamed dark gold beneath the moonlight.
The doors and windows were shut tight, and every light was out. The first-floor lobby lay in darkness, with only a few unopened blind boxes on the blind-box wall reflecting a faint glimmer of moonlight.
There were no pedestrians on the street.
The patrolling Spirit Hall guards had withdrawn to the inner hall an hour earlier, leaving all of South Street deserted.
Six figures emerged from the shadows at the far end of the street.
The man in front was the tallest, broad-shouldered and thick-backed, with an iron mask covering his face and leaving only his eyes exposed. Tang Hao.
Behind him followed Tang Xiao, Dugu Bo, Yu Yuanzhen, Sword Douluo Chen Xin, and Bone Douluo Gu Rong.
All six had changed into plain clothes and suppressed their Soul Power to the utmost. Walking down the street, they looked no different from ordinary people.
Tang Hao stopped before the Game Hall's main entrance.
He glanced up at the words "Douluo Game Hall" on the sign and said quietly, "This is the place."
Tang Xiao stepped forward, pressed his palm against the door, and gave a gentle pulse of Soul Power.
Click.
The bolt snapped on the inside.
The door swung open, and the six filed in.
The first floor was dark. Moonlight shone through the large floor-to-ceiling windows, striking the Fruit Machine's metal surface and reflecting a small patch of light.
Tang Hao swept his gaze around without lingering downstairs. He headed toward the staircase, his footsteps light.
The six went up to the second floor.
There were four doors along the second-floor corridor. The first was labeled "Object Hide-and-Seek," the second "Blindfolded Tag," the third "Otherworld Survival," and the fourth "To Be Determined."
Tang Hao approached the first door and pushed it open.
Empty. It was an ordinary room with nothing but a few simple furnishings.
He closed the door and opened the second.
That was empty too.
Tang Hao approached the third door. Its plaque read: Otherworld Survival.
Without a word, he pushed it open.
As the door opened, the room beyond was neither empty nor dark.
Several soul bones lay on a stone platform in the center of the room. They glowed all over, shimmering with spiritual radiance and exuding a powerful aura. One glance was enough to tell they were extraordinary, with even the weakest starting at ten thousand years.
They were all Titled Douluos with discerning eyes, yet the sight of so many soul bones gathered in one place still stirred their hearts.
One after another, they stepped into the room to inspect them closely.
The instant the last man stepped inside!
Bzzzt!!
A strange vibration rang out.
The ground seemed to sink beneath their feet, and a terrifying pulling force locked onto their bodies!
"Something's wrong!" Tang Xiao's expression changed sharply.
In a single instant, all six of the continent's foremost Titled Douluos were swallowed into that eerie room. Not one escaped.
Bang!
The door slammed shut on its own, completely sealing off the inside from the outside.
Qin Chuan had never been a fool.
From the very first day he opened the Douluo Game Hall, he had laid his plans throughout the entire second floor.
This Otherworld Survival room, in particular, was a trap he had reserved specifically for intruders.
The soul bones displayed inside were no treasures at all. They were bait placed there specifically to lure outsiders into the trap!
Any outsider who forced their way in was guaranteed to trigger the Game Domain's compulsory teleportation and be dragged straight into an exclusive match space.
Although the Game Hall could not kill anyone, it could still toy with them and mete out a little punishment.
By now, Qin Chuan had long since left the Game Hall and was resting comfortably in a secret chamber in Spirit Hall.
Meanwhile, all six Titled Douluos who had stormed over looking for trouble had fallen into the game prison he had crafted with his own hands.
Inside the Game Domain.
When the six landed, the ground beneath their feet was no longer stone tile, but a grayish-white cement floor.
Dim fluorescent tubes hung overhead, buzzing with electricity. A long corridor stretched before them, lined on both sides with door after door, numbered from 101 onward.
A damp, moldy smell filled the air.
Tang Hao was the first to steady himself. He looked down at the floor beneath his feet, then up at the corridor.
"What is this place?"
Tang Xiao stood behind him, his expression grim.
Dugu Bo crouched down and touched the floor with his thin, bony hand.
"Our Soul Power has been sealed."
All six simultaneously channeled the Soul Power within their bodies.
Nothing.
Their martial souls were still there, as were their soul rings, but they could not release their Soul Power. It was as though an invisible membrane had sealed it away. No matter how they tried to rouse it, it would not budge.
Yu Yu Yuanzhen's face darkened. He tried activating a Soul Skill of his Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, but not a single spark of electricity appeared on his fist.
"Divine Slaughter's Domain, activate!" Tang Hao roared.
Nothing happened.
The words "Divine Slaughter's Domain" echoed through the corridor once before the dim light swallowed them.
Chen Xin summoned his martial soul, the Seven Kill Sword, but with no Soul Power coating its blade, it was merely an ordinary iron sword.
He tried slashing the wall. The blade left a white mark on the cement, sending sparks flying.
The wall remained intact.
A voice drifted down from midair.
It was shrill, tinged with laughter.
"Congratulations, players. The game drawn this time is Haunted Dormitory."
Before you continue