Qian Daoliu was not the only one who could not make sense of it. At that moment, in a garden within Spirit Hall...
Alone, Bibi Dong stared at the purple figure on the Celestial Screen, her eyes likewise filled with questions.
Similar looks, similar names, and exactly the same Martial Soul.
In Bibi Dong's memories, her parents had existed.
They had simply died young. Later, she had been brought back to Spirit Hall, awakened her Martial Soul, and been taken as a disciple by that hypocritical man, eventually reaching her current position.
Her memories were so clear, yet she had not the slightest recollection of this man who resembled her so closely.
"My subordinates are useless, too! They didn't even report something this important to their superiors."
He had awakened his Martial Soul at Spirit Hall and received Spirit Hall's Soul Master subsidies.
By rights, Spirit Hall should have had records about him.
Yet the reality was that Spirit Hall had no records whatsoever concerning Bi Shuo.
Among the lists of Martial Soul awakenings submitted by Spirit Hall's branches across the land over the past decade, there had been next to no one who had awakened the Death Spider Emperor Martial Soul.
Meanwhile, Bo Saixi frowned, a thoughtful look in her beautiful eyes.
"That child carries no aura of a Divine Trial. In other words, he didn't increase the age of his Soul Rings through Lord Sea God's Divine Trial."
"And there is no such person on our Sea God Island, either, so..."
"Is some other force in the ocean trying to provoke conflict between the ocean and the mainland?"
That was the only explanation.
"But... just what kind of force could it be? It actually has the ability to nurture a genius like Xie Guhong, with a rank-96 Super Douluo following him?"
As she carefully recalled the various details on the Celestial Screen, Bo Saixi suddenly remembered one particular detail.
The Titled Douluo accompanying Xie Guhong seemed to give off an extremely strong, fishy sea odor.
"A strong sea odor, the ability to release ink, and, most importantly, the ability to escape Qian Daoliu in an instant by abandoning a tentacle..."
A particular creature flashed through the knowledgeable Bo Saixi's mind.
The Cangxu Octopus.
One of the few Soul Beasts in the ocean with spatial abilities.
Its body carried a unique, powerful odor, and it possessed a special innate ability: when faced with grave danger, it could abandon a tentacle to perform an extremely powerful spatial traversal.
"But Cangxu Octopuses have already vanished with the passage of time. Even if a Soul Beast at such a level existed, why would it follow a human?"
"Could he be a Soul Master with a Cangxu Octopus Martial Soul? Or... was Xie Guhong nurtured by a Soul Beast faction?"
All sorts of guesses flashed through her mind, but Bo Saixi could not be certain.
As the place of worship for the entire ocean, Sea God Island had no shortage of believers in the Sea God even among Soul Beasts.
Besides, the entire ocean was only so large. If some force like an Alliance had truly emerged, how could Sea God Island not know?
"The Douluo Continent is only so big. Where did all these geniuses come from? Why can't our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect encounter even one?"
At the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Fengzhi marveled at the world's brilliant young talents, his heart itching all the while.
Spirit Hall had Dugu Feng, and from the looks of things, perhaps even Bi Shuo, who clearly had some connection to Pope Bibi Dong, would join Spirit Hall.
Counting those two named Hu Liena and Xie Yue-though they were a little inferior, they were still rare geniuses!
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had the brothers Yu Tianming and Yu Tiansheng.
There was no need to mention the Clear Sky Sect, which had secluded itself from the world.
Only the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect still had no young genius of its own.
Ning Fengzhi's heart itched, and his eyes brimmed with envy.
He wished he could lure Dugu Feng and Xie Guhong back right then and there.
Then Sword Douluo could have Dugu Feng, and Bone Douluo could have Xie Guhong. Sword and spatial Martial Souls-what perfect matches!
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect would have nothing to worry about for centuries to come!
Unfortunately, the reality was that, never mind Xie Guhong, they had not even found Dugu Feng yet.
"I wonder... whether the Celestial Screen will show a way to evolve the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda."
"Even if it only showed the deeds of that predecessor in history who possessed the Eight Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, that would be good..."
["You little rascal, weren't you a bit too impulsive?"]
["That was a Soul Emperor whose Soul Rings were all Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings! If I, your teacher, hadn't been keeping an eye on things, you would've been killed in a single move the moment you went up!"]
[After carefully checking that his newly accepted, treasured disciple was unhurt, Qian Daoliu breathed a sigh of relief, then put on a stern face and launched into a scolding.]
[Even he had not expected Dugu Feng, a mere Soul Elder, to be so fierce when facing a Soul Emperor.]
[He even suspected that, back in the woods...]
[Had he not offered to take him as a disciple, Dugu Feng might have drawn his sword on him, a Titled Douluo.]
["We'll talk more once we get back. You did well this time. When we return, I'll find you some rewards from Spirit Hall's treasury."]
["But you absolutely must not be so reckless next time. Knowing when to bend and when to stand tall is also the mark of a true man."]
[Though he voiced criticism, Qian Daoliu was very satisfied with Dugu Feng's "spirit of drawing his sword."]
[He was neither servile nor overbearing before the strong, and even dared to take the initiative to draw his sword. This showed that Dugu Feng already had the heart of a powerhouse.]
["Congratulations, Great Enshrined! Congratulations on gaining such an excellent disciple!"]
[After checking Xie Yue's injuries, Ghost Douluo, Gui Mei, came over to offer his congratulations.]
[Although relations between the Papal Hall and the Worship Hall were currently rather poor, Qian Daoliu was, after all, his former superior's father and the strongest person in Spirit Hall. Gui Mei still respected him greatly.]
["Hmph! He merely has a little talent. By the way, are those two children all right?"]
[Qian Daoliu waved a hand. Rather than making things difficult for Gui Mei, he took the initiative to ask about Hu Liena's and Xie Yue's injuries.]
["Thank you for your concern, Great Enshrined. Although my elder brother took a palm strike from that Soul Emperor head-on, thanks to the protection of Ghost Elder's Soul Skill, he has only lost consciousness."]
["We actually owe this younger boy and that older brother our thanks. Otherwise, my brother and I probably wouldn't have held out until you and Ghost Elder arrived."]
[Seeing this, Hu Liena held her somewhat injured arm and stepped forward to explain the situation, giving Dugu Feng behind Qian Daoliu a dazzling smile.]
[Unfortunately, Dugu Feng merely glanced at her without speaking.]
[He simply stood quietly behind Qian Daoliu, occasionally waving his fingers like a sword a few times, seemingly reviewing the results of this battle.]
["Don't mind him. That's just how this brat is." Although Qian Daoliu would not go so far as to make things difficult for a young girl like Hu Liena over factional differences, he did not want too much involvement with Bibi Dong's disciple, either.]
[So he turned his gaze toward Bi Shuo, who stood off to the side with his back to them, doing who knew what, and revealed a gentle smile.]
["Young man, our Spirit Hall has awakened Martial Souls for many children across the continent who have reached the age of six, and the subsidies we have distributed are beyond counting."]
["But those as righteous as you are few and far between!"]
[After fixing his somewhat disheveled makeup, Bi Shuo tied his purple hair, which had been knocked into something of a frizz, into a high ponytail.]
[With a face even more alluring than that of Hu Liena, who possessed a charm Soul Skill, he saluted the two Titled Douluo seniors, Qian Daoliu and Gui Mei.]
["I am Bi Shuo, a rank-66 Power Attack System Battle Soul Emperor. My respects to Your Excellencies."]
["Only after meeting you both today have I understood the might of a Titled Douluo. This truly is a blessing earned over three lifetimes."]
Before you continue