[Staring at the young man before him, Qian Daoliu carefully looked him over from head to toe.]
[He had to admit, the person before him was practically a copy of Bibi Dong...]
[No, was he actually even more beautiful than Bibi Dong?]
[That was not quite right either. In short, not only did the person before him resemble Bibi Dong in appearance and Martial Soul, but he also possessed a bearing that even Bibi Dong lacked.]
[It was very unusual, impossible to put into words.]
["Brother Bi Shuo, do you have any other family? From what you said earlier, it sounded like Spirit Hall awakened your Martial Soul for you?"]
["Then didn't those Spirit Hall deacons invite you to join Spirit Hall?"]
[Looking at that familiar face, Hu Liena finally could not help asking.]
[She was truly curious whether the benefactor who had saved her life had any special connection to her teacher.]
[This was also a question that greatly concerned both Qian Daoliu and Gui Mei.]
[Qian Daoliu was simply curious, while Gui Mei was wondering whether he could use this to atone for his failure.]
["Spirit Hall did indeed help awaken my Martial Soul." A trace of regret appeared on Bi Shuo's flawless face.]
["Unfortunately, the day after my Martial Soul Awakening, a group of Fallen Soul Masters attacked the village. The deacon who awakened my Martial Soul was beheaded."]
["The Fallen Soul Masters slaughtered everyone in the village too. If a Soul Master who called himself Priest hadn't saved me, I'm afraid I would have been killed long ago as well."]
["A group?!"]
[Qian Daoliu was on the verge of a stress reaction.]
["There are actually still Fallen Soul Masters roaming the continent in packs?"]
[Qian Daoliu frowned, a measure of disbelief entering his voice.]
[Ever since becoming Spirit Hall's Judgment Elder, he had carried out numerous purges of Fallen Soul Masters across the Douluo Continent.]
[Even if the Soul Masters who had fallen into evil had not been wiped out entirely, they were all but gone, and most criminal Soul Masters had been driven into Slaughter City.]
[Yet Fallen Soul Masters were still appearing in packs, and they actually dared to massacre civilian villages and even kill Spirit Hall deacons?!]
[These were no ordinary Fallen Soul Masters anymore. They had to be struck with an iron fist!]
["Bi Shuo, first, I must apologize to you."]
[Qian Daoliu first bowed deeply to Bi Shuo, filled with remorse.]
["Hmm?"]
["Why do you say that, Great Enshrined? As your junior, I could never accept such a bow!"]
[Bi Shuo tried to pull Qian Daoliu up, but unfortunately, he was not yet capable of moving this Titled Douluo. Left with no choice, he could only bow to Qian Daoliu in return.]
["As long as Fallen Soul Masters still appear on the continent, Spirit Hall has failed in its duty, and as Spirit Hall's Great Enshrined, I bear an inescapable share of the blame."]
[Qian Daoliu's conduct not only left Hu Liena's face filled with shock, but also filled Gui Mei's eyes with horror.]
[The Great Enshrined was this magnanimous?!]
"Damn it! Spirit Hall has won the people's hearts again!"
This was the first thought of most factions.
Just what standing did Qian Daoliu hold?
Spirit Hall's Great Enshrined, a level 99 Peerless Douluo, and one of the continent's strongest, as confirmed by the Celestial Screen.
Such a figure had personally apologized to a survivor simply because Fallen Soul Masters had massacred a village.
And this was on the Celestial Screen, no less!
Before the events had even happened, every commoner on the continent already knew about them. If this kept up, all the people's support would go straight to Spirit Hall!
Spirit Hall's influence was already growing ever greater. Now, on the Celestial Screen, it would most likely gain the two geniuses Dugu Feng and Bi Shuo as well. If it won the people's hearts on top of that...
"If nothing changes, Spirit Hall will probably only become more and more terrifying in the future!"
Anxiety, shock, anger.
A succession of emotions arose in the hearts of Xue Ye, the Star Luo Emperor, Ning Fengzhi, and the leaders of the other factions, yet there was nothing they could do.
"Those damned lowborn wretches are probably overflowing with gratitude toward those Spirit Hall bastards right now!"
Prince Xue Xing slammed his fist heavily onto the table beside him, startling Xue Beng so badly that his hand shook and he spilled tea all over himself.
"..."
Looking at the timid, hesitant Xue Beng beside him, Prince Xue Xing felt himself beginning to crack.
He closed his eyes, and it was as though he could see the Heaven Dou Empire's future: pitch-black darkness.
If Xue Qinghe had not seemed so suspicious, he truly would not have wanted to help Xue Beng, who could accomplish nothing but ruin everything.
He had told him to play the pig to devour the tiger, but he had actually become a pig!
His acting was too good!
"Must the vast Heaven Dou Empire ultimately fall into decline in my imperial brother's generation and mine?!"
"How unjust! Why can't a single young talent emerge from our Heaven Dou Empire's imperial family!"
["After that powerful Soul Master, Priest, killed all the Fallen Soul Masters, I stayed by his side to repay him for saving my life."]
[After that interlude, Gui Mei brought up the rear of the group, carrying the still-unconscious Xie Yue over his shoulder.]
[With Dugu Feng in tow, Qian Daoliu walked alongside Bi Shuo at the front of the group, listening to him recount his experiences. Behind Bi Shuo followed Hu Liena, intent on uncovering his origins.]
["Then, given the circumstances, you must have taken that 'Priest' as your master, Bi Shuo?"]
[That was how things were on the continent. Apart from romantic love and the bonds between parents and children, the bond between master and disciple was the strongest.]
[Qian Daoliu ventured a guess. After all, perhaps Priest had allowed Bi Shuo to keep following him because he thought the boy had good talent.]
[Otherwise, why keep a six-year-old child around?]
["That was my intention too, but Priest didn't choose to take me as his disciple." Regret and a hint of an odd expression appeared on Bi Shuo's face. "When I tried to become his disciple, Priest refused."]
["Hmm? Such a thing actually happened?"]
[A genius with an unblemished background and innate full Soul Power would be welcome anywhere.]
[After all, once such a person matured, he could become a Titled Douluo capable of protecting one's family for a hundred years!]
[Qian Daoliu could not quite understand it, and neither could Gui Mei behind him.]
[But judging by Bi Shuo's present circumstances, Priest had indeed raised him well. Not only had he grown up safely, but he had also become a Soul Emperor at such a young age.]
["I also asked Priest whether I hadn't done well enough in some way, and whether that was why he hadn't agreed to take me as his disciple."]
["But this was Priest's answer."]
["I'm not worthy."]
[Bi Shuo's face was full of confusion as he spoke of something he had never been able to understand.]
["That's what I've never been able to figure out. Priest was incredibly strong. He didn't even use his Martial Soul or Soul Power, and beat those damned Fallen Soul Masters to death with his bare hands."]
["Yet he told me he wasn't worthy of taking me as his disciple."]
["I don't understand. In terms of background, I was just an ordinary village boy from the mountains. Why would he say he was 'not worthy'?"]
["As for Martial Soul and Soul Power, I was merely an ordinary Soul Master with innate full Soul Power. How could worthiness even come into it?"]
["Priest never answered my question."]
["He simply kept me by his side and took me away from the continent, heading overseas. During that time, we returned to the continent a few times, but only very briefly."]
["When my Soul Power reached level 66, Priest told me it was time. Then he left without saying goodbye, and I never heard from him again."]
["I traveled from place to place trying to find him, but never found any word of him. In the end, with no other choice, I returned to the continent. After that came what just happened."]
Before you continue