At this moment, in the Pope's Hall of Spirit City.
Inside the majestic and solemn hall, Bibi Dong, seated high on her throne, was frowning slightly as she listened to an urgent report from a cardinal below.
She was draped in a magnificent Pope robe, wearing a purple-gold crown and holding a scepter. Her stunningly beautiful face was shrouded in a cold majesty, but in her deep purple eyes, there was a hint of imperceptible solemnity and restlessness.
A cardinal at the lower seat was urgently reporting, "... Based on the spies planted by the Heaven Dou Empire's Holy Temple and cross-referencing intelligence from multiple sources, it can be basically confirmed that the Clear Sky Sect has been engaging in unusual activities recently."
"The population in their ancestral homeland is constantly changing, and the whereabouts of many of their descendants are unknown. More importantly, the ' Cloud Mist Mountain ' area, which we have been secretly monitoring for a long time and is only a hundred miles away from Heaven Dou City, has been unusually 'lively' in the past month."
Not only are large-scale manpower and resources being secretly mobilized and assembled, but large-scale civil engineering projects also appear to be underway inside the mountain, significantly enhancing its defensive capabilities.
All signs indicate that the Clear Sky Sect's unusual activities are not simple; they are very likely preparing for a 're-emergence in the Soul Master World,' and their new base should be ' Cloud Mist Mountain,' and perhaps... they will officially announce it to the public in the coming days!
The cardinal paused, then added, "However, their defenses are tight, and we still cannot fully ascertain their exact date of departure, the precise details of Cloud Mist Mountain's interior, or their current strength. The Heaven Dou Temple has increased its manpower and attempted infiltration through other channels, but with little success."
The Clear Sky Sect... reappears in the Soul Master World...
These words struck Bibi Dong's heart like a heavy hammer.
The once formidable number one sect in the world, feared even by the Spirit Hall, the sect that produced a legendary figure like Tang Hao, has actually chosen this moment and this method to attempt a return to the continental stage?
Bibi Dong's fingers tightened slightly as she gripped the scepter. The finals of the Continental Elite Tournament for Advanced Soul Master Academy were imminent. As the organizer, the Spirit Hall needed to focus its efforts on ensuring the smooth running of the tournament and projecting its prestige. At the same time, she also had many deeper plans underway.
The sudden movement of the Clear Sky Sect has undoubtedly disrupted her plans, bringing great uncertainty and potential threats.
What made her even more uneasy was that the Heaven Dou Temple had sent word that Tang San, who possessed Innate Full Soul Power, Twin Martial Souls, and whose other Martial Soul was the Clear Sky Hammer, was currently on his way to Spirit City...
Was all of this a coincidence, or was it a deliberate show of force by the Clear Sky Sect?
Just as she was racking her brains for a solution, feeling rather overwhelmed,
"Report!!" A guard's voice rang out from outside the hall, "Your His Holiness the Pope, a man is requesting an audience outside the hall. He identifies himself as ' Yu Xiaogang ' and carries the Elder Token Plaque of my Spirit Hall!"
Yu Xiaogang?!
The name struck like a bolt of lightning, instantly cleaving through the jumbled thoughts in Bibi Dong's mind.
A complex mix of emotions flashed across her purple eyes: surprise, reminiscence, calculation... changing in an instant.
Why would Yu Xiaogang come to Spirit City to see me at this time? Could it be for his disciple Tang San, using our past relationship to keep me from making a move and causing the Spirit Hall to lose face?
The Clear Sky Sect emerges from seclusion... Tang San arrives in Spirit City... Yu Xiaogang suddenly appears... Is there a connection between these three events, or is it purely coincidental?
Bibi Dong quickly suppressed her emotions and resumed her haughty and unfathomable Pope demeanor.
She raised her hand, addressing the cardinals still awaiting instructions below, and the other attendants in the hall, and said calmly, "I am aware of this matter. Continue to keep a close watch, and report back immediately with any definite information. You may all leave now."
"Yes, Your His Holiness the Pope." The cardinal and his attendants bowed and quickly and quietly withdrew from the hall.
In the Pope's Hall, only Bibi Dong remained seated high above. She remained silent for a moment before speaking:
"Bring him in."
Upon hearing the voice, the guards outside the palace gate immediately bowed and replied, "Yes!"
A moment later, the heavy palace doors were slowly pushed open a crack.
Yu Xiaogang, dressed in a faded, old-fashioned Soul Master robe, walked into the Pope's Hall with a serious and melancholy expression.
Yu Xiaogang raised his head and met the gaze of the aloof Bibi Dong once again after many years.
In Bibi Dong's eyes, however, lay an indifference that looked down upon all living beings, and a deep-seated wariness.
After a brief, suffocating silence, Yu Xiaogang, without any pleasantries, spoke first, "I've come to ask... how to avoid backlash with Twin Martial Souls and safely cultivate to the level of Titled Douluo."
The opening remarks were so abrupt, so utilitarian. Bibi Dong was slightly taken aback at first, then an undisguised mockery curved her perfect lips:
"The cultivation method for Twin Martial Souls? Ha... More than twenty years have passed, Yu Xiaogang. This is the first time we've met in over twenty years. You've come all this way to see me, just for this?"
She leaned forward slightly, her purple eyes like the sharpest icicles, piercing the increasingly small and stubborn figure below. "Didn't you call yourself a ' Grandmaster,' knowledgeable in Martial Soul Theory and all-knowing? What, is there something you, a ' Grandmaster,' don't know and need to ask me for guidance on?"
Faced with this sharp mockery, Yu Xiaogang's face twitched slightly, but the eagerness in his eyes did not diminish. Ignoring the sarcastic words, Yu Xiaogang continued in his self-righteous tone, "I have taken in a disciple, exceptionally talented, possessing Twin Martial Souls —a once-in-a-million ability. I want to train him into a true powerhouse."
"A strong person?" Bibi Dong seemed to have heard something utterly ridiculous. Leaning back in her opulent Pope chair, her laughter grew even colder. "Train a strong person? And then what? To oppose me, Grandmaster?"
"Of course not!" Yu Xiaogang retorted almost immediately, his tone filled with an anxious eagerness to clarify. "As long as you tell me the method of cultivating Twin Martial Souls, I guarantee with my reputation and life that my disciple will never be your enemy, much less the Spirit Hall!"
Yu Xiaogang seemed to think this promise carried significant weight.
However, Bibi Dong simply smiled nonchalantly, a smile filled with pity, disdain, and a cruel sense of control. She leaned back lazily in her chair, her gaze seemingly piercing through the palace ceiling, looking towards some distant place.
"What a pity, Grandmaster." Her voice was light, yet it struck like a heavy hammer. "Now that you know the cultivation method for Twin Martial Souls, it's too late."
Yu Xiaogang's brows furrowed sharply, and an ominous premonition instantly gripped him.
Bibi Dong's voice continued, as calmly as if she were describing the weather. "I arranged the assassination several days ago. The target is your exceptionally talented disciple with Twin Martial Souls."
" Bibi Dong! What did you say?!?"
Yu Xiaogang's body trembled violently as if struck by lightning, his stern face drained of all color, turning ashen white.
Yu Xiaogang took a sudden step forward, seemingly wanting to rush forward, but was firmly rooted to the spot by the invisible distance and oppressive aura. "You... you actually dared to send someone to kill him?! Do you know... do you know that I regard him as my own son! He is my everything!!"
Yu Xiaogang's eyes were bloodshot as he stared intently at the beautiful yet cruel woman on the throne, his voice distorted with extreme rage.
Looking at Yu Xiaogang, who was on the verge of collapse, Bibi Dong's expression remained unchanged, only a cold indifference, even with a hint of pleasure.
She slowly said, "Your disciple blatantly used the Clear Sky Hammer Martial Soul in the preliminaries, and it's Twin Martial Souls with Innate Full Soul Power... Do you really think everyone in the Spirit Hall is blind and stupid? Do you think I can't see through this? This is a trick you conspired with the Clear Sky Sect, which has been hiding for many years? You want him to slap the Spirit Hall in the face with the Clear Sky Hammer in front of the whole continent, so as to create momentum and pave the way for the remnants of the Clear Sky Sect to re-emerge in the Soul Master World?"
Yu Xiaogang was in a state of mental turmoil. He barely listened to Bibi Dong's subsequent accusations of "collusion with the Clear Sky Sect," his mind filled with anger at the "murder" of his precious disciple.
Yu Xiaogang pointed at Bibi Dong, his fingers trembling violently, his lips quivering, but he could only utter incoherent hoarse sounds. Anger and fear almost consumed him, and he was speechless for a moment.
"You're not denying it anymore, are you? I've seen through you, haven't I? Hahaha!" Bibi Dong laughed loudly.
"He's your son, not mine. You care about him so much, if you go back now, maybe... you can at least get him a proper burial."
After saying that, Bibi Dong stopped looking at Yu Xiaogang's broken and desperate appearance, as if she had just disposed of a trivial piece of trash.
She lazily raised her hand, facing the empty entrance of the hall, and casually ordered, "Someone, see the guest out."