At the sight of Azure Luan Douluo, the corners of Light Feather Douluo's mouth lifted slightly, a teasing glint entering his eyes.
"Well? That boy I picked out is pretty good, isn't he?"
Azure Luan Douluo merely gave him a sidelong glance, his face expressionless and his voice as flat as a pool of stagnant water.
"He's passable. Nothing particularly dazzling."
He did not even look at Light Feather Douluo's faintly provocative expression, maintaining an utterly cold attitude.
Light Feather Douluo curled his lip in displeasure on the spot, grumbling inwardly. Passable? Didn't your precious grandson only last six moves too? He got the same result as Yang Chang'an, yet I didn't hear you saying he wasn't anything special.
Having lived so many years, Azure Luan Douluo understood people all too well. How could he possibly fail to see what the fifth enshrined was thinking? He could not be bothered to trade barbs with Light Feather Douluo. Instead, he put aside every unnecessary emotion and turned a solemn gaze toward the other two men beside them, his voice deepening with gravity.
"Sixth, Seventh, you both saw Yang Chang'an's performance in the trial grounds clearly, didn't you?"
The two men he addressed immediately grew serious.
They were the seventh enshrined, Demon Subduing Douluo, and the burly man standing beside him-his elder brother, the sixth enshrined, Qianjun Douluo. They exchanged a glance and nodded firmly in unison, their expressions exceptionally grave.
They were both Titled Douluos standing at the pinnacle of Soul Masters. How keen were their eyes?
Even Niu Yue had noticed something amiss. With their strength and experience, a casual glance was enough to lay bare every problem Yang Chang'an had. None of his flaws or hidden dangers could escape them; everything stood completely exposed.
Azure Luan Douluo looked toward the distant Worship Hall. After a moment's silence, he spoke again, his tone carrying both a warning and a trace of regret.
"You both know that Yang Chang'an's Soul Breaking Spear Technique has only just begun to take shape. It's still being molded, and nothing is set yet."
"If you're truly interested in him, you need to straighten out his path as soon as possible."
At this point, Azure Luan Douluo's voice grew even heavier, every word falling distinctly into their ears.
"Let me make this clear. Even with his outstanding innate level-nine Soul Power, no matter how solid his foundation or how great his talent, if he keeps going down this wrong path without correcting his problems, forget about reaching Peak Douluo-he might not even cross level ninety-five. He'll spend his entire life stuck below it."
Everyone present understood that, for now, Yang Chang'an's results were identical to those of Qingyu and Shi Hao from the Worship Hall, making their abilities seem roughly equal.
But in the later stages of a Soul Master's cultivation, the higher the level, the greater the gap became, and the influence of one's Martial Soul path would be magnified without limit.
If Yang Chang'an never corrected his problems and failed to forge an entirely new path of his own, creating a unique way of the Soul Breaking Spear and becoming a mighty pioneer who founded his own school, then his lifetime ceiling would be nothing more than an ordinary Titled Douluo, with scarcely any hope of further progress.
But how difficult was it to pioneer a path and found a school?
In three hundred years, throughout the entire Douluo Continent, they had only seen one man accomplish it: Clear Sky Douluo Tang Chen, who had single-handedly forged the Clear Sky Sect's path to the pinnacle. The Great Enshrined might also have reached that height, but none of them had truly witnessed it firsthand.
That path was as difficult as ascending to heaven, almost impossible to traverse.
At Azure Luan Douluo's words, Qianjun Douluo's and Demon Subduing Douluo's expressions changed again. They exchanged another glance, each seeing profound gravity in the other's eyes.
They wanted to nurture a supreme expert who could one day become a Peak Douluo, not an ordinary genius whose limit was plain to see and who could reach level ninety-four at most.
If that were the case, he would not be worth their time and effort at all.
Just then, Light Feather Douluo, who had been standing beside them, put away his joking expression. He glanced lightly at Qian Jun and Jiang Mo before speaking in a leisurely tone.
"How about this? I'll make a trip to the Yang Family and bring back the Soul Breaking Spear Technique, so you won't be left with nowhere to start."
Demon Subduing Douluo immediately gave a disdainful laugh. "A mere Soul Breaking Spear Technique deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the Nine Unyielding Forms of my Coiling Dragon Staff lineage? What a joke."
In his eyes, a spear art like the Soul Breaking Spear Technique could not compare to the Coiling Dragon Staff Technique passed down through his lineage for so many years. There was no need to go out of their way to fetch some manual.
Besides, they all knew that what Yang Chang'an lacked most was not spear moves, but a spear soul.
The unyielding, domineering spirit of a spear that charged ever forward! Without a soul, however dazzling a spear might be, it was nothing but an empty display and would never amount to anything great.
While the men on Angel God Mountain discussed Yang Chang'an's future, the atmosphere over in the Papal Hall was stifling to the extreme.
Pope Bibi Dong sat upright on her lofty throne, her entire face veiled in faint shadow. Her eyes were cold and devoid of emotion, as though nothing in the world could move her.
She waved a hand lightly, dismissing the Sacred Hall Warrior who had come to report. Then her gaze slowly settled on Yue Guan below, her voice calm and unruffled.
"Elder Ju, the Sacred Hall Warrior just reported that the boy from the Yang Family has already gone to Angel God Mountain."
Yue Guan showed no surprise at her words. He had expected all of this.
On one side stood the Worship Hall, the most mysterious institution in Spirit Hall, with the deepest reserves and most terrifying strength, which already had close ties with the Yang Family. On the other stood the Papal Hall, whose foundations were not yet stable and which had little relationship with the Yang Family. Anyone who was not a fool would know which to choose.
Yue Guan lowered his head slightly and replied respectfully, "Your Holiness, I conveyed your wishes to Yang Wushuang exactly as you gave them. He said he would consider them carefully and did not refuse outright."
A cold smile curled Bibi Dong's lips at his reply. Her gaze became inscrutable, and mockery crept into her voice.
"It seems you don't carry enough weight with Yang Wushuang. A word from you isn't nearly enough to bring him here."
Hearing this blatant attempt to sow discord, Yue Guan's brow creased slightly. Yet his face remained calm, his tone neither warm nor cold.
"Yang Wushuang and I have only exchanged ideas on the way of medicinal herbs a few times. Our friendship is not as deep as Your Holiness imagines, and I cannot force him to make a decision."
After speaking, Yue Guan glanced toward the indistinct figure shifting within the shadows on the other side of the hall, then addressed Bibi Dong again.
"If Your Holiness has no further orders, Old Ghost and I will take our leave."
With that, he and Gui Mei bowed respectfully to Bibi Dong, then turned and left the Papal Hall with steady steps. From beginning to end, neither betrayed the slightest unnecessary emotion.
Once the two Titled Douluos, Chrysanthemum and Ghost, had departed completely, the Papal Hall's great doors slowly closed, leaving Bibi Dong alone inside.
An eerie, icy purple-black gleam flashed deep within her exquisite eyes, and she fixed a sinister stare on the tightly shut doors.
"Two dogs that will never learn loyalty. You take the resources and status I give you, yet still dare show me such disrespect. When the time comes, I'll make sure you get a proper taste of what happens when you obey to my face and defy me behind my back!"
At present, Chrysanthemum and Ghost were the only Titled Douluos she could truly deploy. If she fell out with them, she would immediately find herself in the awkward position of having no one to use. Her influence within Spirit Hall would diminish further, and she would lack even a basic force of her own.
Moreover, Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo possessed an exceptionally powerful Martial Soul Fusion Skill, which would be of great use to her future plans. For now, she absolutely could not break openly with them.
Bibi Dong slowly clenched her fingers, her nails sinking deep into her palms as her gaze grew darker.
"It seems it's time to step up my efforts and have more dealings with those old fossils in the Elder Hall."
Her icy voice echoed through the vast, empty Papal Hall, carrying a bone-chilling cold. The entire hall sank into a deathly, oppressive silence.