Douluo Continent: My Martial Soul is the Black Dragon, I am the Lord of the Gods

Chapter 237 Having Concerns
……

Salas led the Spirit Hall members away hastily, their hurried departures seeming as if they were afraid of being overtaken.

The atmosphere in the hotel lobby became somewhat awkward. Everyone looked at each other, filled with doubt and confusion.

Ning Fengzhi narrowed his eyes slightly, silently pondering the complex situation behind it all. The competition organizing committee had reacted strongly to this matter, yet Salas had been so hasty, unwilling to even do the bare minimum, practically making his reservations about the matter public.

But what benefit would this bring to the Spirit Hall? Does the Spirit Hall also intend to take action against Xuanming?
The people at the Five Elements Academy were in an uproar upstairs.

"What kind of investigation is this? They just left like that?"

"Xuanming just made up a reason, and the Spirit Hall believed it?"

"There's definitely something fishy going on here!"

"..."

Various opinions arose one after another. They were obviously extremely dissatisfied with the result. The "good show" they had been looking forward to ended so hastily, and the disappointment they felt was unimaginable.

Lei Dong from Thunder Academy stared wide-eyed, his face filled with disbelief. "How come the Spirit Hall, which usually acts so high and mighty, cowers when it comes to Xuanming?"

Feng Xiaotian of Shenfeng Academy crossed his arms, a mocking smile playing on his lips. "That Dark Demon Evil God Tiger? Never even heard of it. Who knows if he made it up? Even if such a soul beast really existed, how could he have encountered it so easily and absorbed its soul ring?"

Anger flashed in Lei Dong's eyes. "Perhaps there's some shady deal between the Spirit Hall and Xuanming, otherwise why would they let him go so easily? Have all those students from Canghui Academy just been turned into idiots for nothing?"

“I don’t think so.” Shui Bing’er shook her head gently, her eyebrows furrowed slightly, and she calmly analyzed, “Although the Spirit Hall acts domineeringly, it wouldn’t be so muddled. As the Spirit Hall’s Platinum Bishop in Heaven Dou City, Salas couldn’t just let things end so hastily without any reason. Perhaps he really has some concerns and doesn’t dare to be too tough on Xuan Ming.”

"Concerns? What concerns could there be?" Shui Yue'er frowned, her face full of doubt. "Even if Xuan Ming is strong, he's just a contestant. Would the Spirit Hall be afraid of him?"

“Don’t forget, Xuanming has more than just himself backing him,” Shui Bing’er said thoughtfully. “The Great Soul Arena, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, and the Heaven Dou Royal Family are all intricately connected to him. If the Spirit Hall really takes action against Xuanming, it will inevitably offend these forces.”

"Hmph, even so, the Spirit Hall shouldn't be so perfunctory." Lei Tian from Thunder Academy snorted coldly, still indignant. "This Soul Master Competition is related to the honor of the entire Soul Master world. If the matter of Canghui Academy is just left unresolved like this, who will take the rules of the competition seriously in the future?"

Lei Dong looked at Yu Tianxin, "Captain, what do you think?"

Yu Tianxin looked at Xuan Ming in the center of the hall and sneered, "Xuan Ming, the Spirit Hall... birds of a feather."

After saying this, Yu Tianxin turned and left. The students from Thunder Academy looked at each other and quickly followed.

"Birds of a feather? What do you mean? Could it be that Xuanming has already sided with the Spirit Hall?" Feng Xiaotian asked in confusion.

"Do you think that's possible?" Huo Wushuang said speechlessly.

"He's from the Heaven Dou royal family and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, how could he possibly be allied with the Spirit Hall again?"

Those below don't know or can't see the current situation in the Soul Master world, so how could these people not understand?

The relationship between the Spirit Hall and the two great empires and the three upper sects has become increasingly tense ever since the sudden war with the Clear Sky Sect, after which the Clear Sky Sect retreated into seclusion.

Although on the surface everyone is still at peace, in reality, tensions are probably already running high!
Xuanming is aligned with the Heaven Dou royal family and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. If the Spirit Hall finds an opportunity, they will surely try to kill him.

Conversely, if Xuanming were to secretly collude with the Spirit Hall, would the Heaven Dou Royal Family and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School let him off the hook?

The crowd discussed amongst themselves, but their doubts and dissatisfaction could not be dispelled.

They had hoped that the Spirit Hall would handle the matter fairly, give Canghui Academy justice, and provide an explanation to the other participating teams.

To their surprise, the Spirit Hall's investigation was so perfunctory that it greatly disappointed them.

In the hotel lobby, Ning Fengzhi and Xue Qinghe were also talking in hushed tones.

"Teacher, what do you think the Spirit Hall really means?" Xue Qinghe asked softly, her brows slightly furrowed.

Even if Salas doesn't dare to really investigate Xuanming, he should at least save face and not give others a reason to criticize him.
Is this perfunctory attitude deliberately giving others ammunition against us?
“The situation here is very complicated.” Ning Fengzhi shook his head slightly. “There seem to be some contradictions and disagreements within the Spirit Hall. Salas’s ambiguous attitude is likely influenced by certain forces.”

“But who can control Salas?” Xue Qinghe said.

"pope?"

Ning Fengzhi remained silent.

The Pope is currently in the Spirit Temple in Heaven Dou City. Xuan Ming has previously admitted that his relationship with the Pope is quite special. However, it seems that there is a considerable conflict between the current high-ranking officials of the Spirit Temple and the Pope. No news has been heard from Spirit City for half a year.

It's possible that Xuanming has become a bargaining chip in the power struggle among the higher-ups of the Spirit Hall.

Things are getting more and more complicated...

"Since I've been temporarily suspended, the rest of the matches are in your hands." Xuanming looked at the Royal Fighting Team members, his expression calm, as if he himself wasn't the one who was suspended.

Although Dugu Yan's abilities are limited by the competition rules and cannot be fully utilized, even so, the strength of this team is enough to easily win the preliminaries. The only potential threat to them is the Five Elements Academy.

"Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, does such a soul beast really exist?" Ning Rongrong asked in a low voice.

"You didn't just make that up, did you?"

"Am I the kind of person who just spouts off without thinking?" Xuanming countered.

"The Spirit Hall should be able to find the information, and others should be able to find it too, but I don't know when they will find it."

At this moment, Xue Qinghe stepped forward and said with a smile, "Xuanming, just wait patiently. I believe that with the strength of the Royal Fighting Team, we will definitely achieve excellent results in the upcoming competition. Moreover, since the Spirit Hall has said that they will investigate, it should not take too long, and you will be able to return to the arena soon."

Ning Fengzhi nodded: "Qinghe is right. Xuanming, you should rest and recuperate for now. The rest of you in the Royal Fighting Team, you must also give it your all and bring glory to the Heavenly Dou Empire."

……

As news of the investigation into the Tian Dou Royal Hotel spread, more and more people suspected that Xuan Ming had problems, and many even suspected that he was involved with the Spirit Hall. Salas, who had sparked these discussions, breathed a sigh of relief.

Golden Crocodile Douluo was fairly satisfied with this approach, and the Pope didn't say anything either. It was a case that both sides got the result they wanted. His next task was to have someone investigate whether the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger really existed.

Shrek Academy.

Although the first match against the Royal Fighting Team almost made the Shrek Team lose face, they easily won the second qualifying match.

Of course, considering the need to conserve strength, the Shrek team did not let Yu Tianheng play. In everyone's eyes, the Shrek team only had one Soul Master, and the rest were Soul Venerables. This configuration was actually considered above average among all teams.

Apart from the Five Elements Academy, most of the participating academies didn't have a single Soul Master, let alone a Soul King.

"Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, I never expected him to have such luck." Yu Xiaogang's expression was somewhat unpleasant.

"Does such a soul beast really exist?" Flander asked doubtfully.

“Yes, I once saw it in a fragment of an ancient book. It’s a super soul beast that’s even above the Titan Ape,” Yu Xiaogang said.

"If it were under the same time limit, I'm afraid only the nearly extinct True Dragon race could defeat the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger."

"Xuanming was able to obtain the soul ring of this kind of soul beast, so his current strength is probably far greater than before."

"Doesn't that mean he has already reached the Soul King level?" Oscar asked tentatively.

Yu Xiaogang frowned, his expression grave: "Back when he was in Soto City, he was level 43. In less than two years, he's already leveled up seven times. Given the flaws in his martial soul, there's no way he could have leveled up so quickly..."

"Ahem!" Seeing that Yu Xiaogang was starting to become suspicious again, Flander quickly coughed twice to interrupt him.

"Xiao Gang, our match against the Royal Fighting Team is over. Now let's focus on our next opponent."

"Even if we were to face the Royal Fighting Team again, that would be a matter for the qualifying rounds and the finals."

……

The incident at Canghui Academy was just a minor episode; the preliminary rounds of the Soul Master Competition were in full swing.

Xuanming did not appear, and the Royal Fighting Team had no substitutes, so the number of participants became six. But even with one less person, they still easily won the match.

Dugu Yan controls the field and defends, Gu Yuena is the main attacker, Xiao Wu is the secondary attacker, Zhu Zhuqing finishes off the attackers, and Ning Rongrong and Ye Lingling provide support and healing from behind.

Without defeating Ning Rongrong and Ye Lingling, it's impossible to defeat the others. But to defeat these two, one must face Dugu Yan's Azure Phosphorous Serpent Emperor Poison. The competition isn't a life-or-death struggle, and very few people have that kind of courage.

Soon, another week of the competition had passed.

The Royal Fighting Team maintained a winning streak, and the investigation into Xuanming has reached a stalemate.

The competition organizing committee did indeed discover the existence of the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, and according to relevant ancient records, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger does indeed possess a special aura.

However, whether Xuan Ming deliberately turned the contestants from Canghui Academy into mentally challenged individuals remains a highly questionable matter. No one can prove that Xuan Ming did it intentionally, nor can anyone prove that he did it unintentionally.

If it were anyone else, such an ambiguous situation would definitely be treated as a crime, but Xuanming's situation is extremely special. No one dares to convict him, but no one is willing to let him off easily either.

In the end, it still turned into a mess.

(End of this chapter)