Douluo Continent: Dragon's Journey Across the World

On this day, Yang Ping'an came to the Papal Palace alone. The guards seemed to have been notified in advance, and Yang Ping'an entered the Papal Palace without any hindrance.

Inside the Papal Palace, Bibi Dong still sat on the throne, wearing golden armor and a crown, appearing even more majestic than before. In particular, her soul power seemed to be more solid than it had been in the Star Dou Great Forest.

Yang Ping'an bowed slightly: "Greetings, Your Majesty. May I ask what business Your Majesty has with me?"

Bibi Dong waved her hand, and a huge seat immediately appeared in the hall: "Sit down, I have some things I'd like to discuss with you in detail."

Yang Ping'an sat down without any ceremony: "Your Majesty is quite polite. To Your Majesty, I am just a junior. There is no need for such formality."

Bibi Dong smiled and said, "There's no need for any grand gestures. You are now the number one expert on Douluo Continent. No one in the world can underestimate you anymore."

"Your Majesty is too modest. My abilities are far inferior to Your Majesty's great talent."

"You've reached level ninety-nine at such a young age; your future is undoubtedly bright. Perhaps my Martial Soul Empire will even need your help?"

"The Martial Soul Emperor's country is vast and powerful, far beyond what a nobody like me can compare to. This makes me feel quite ashamed."

……

After exchanging a few compliments and pleasantries (mutual flattery), the entire hall fell silent. After all, given their level 99 strength, they wouldn't need to meet unless there was something important to discuss, especially since they could both see that the other was rejecting them.

Yang Ping'an suddenly spoke up: "I wonder what Your Majesty has summoned me for? Considering how busy Your Majesty is, it must be something important."

Bibi Dong paused for a moment before speaking, "Yang Ping'an, how much of your strength did you use against the Grand Elder that day? And what was the extent of the Grand Elder's injuries?"

Yang Ping'an thought for a moment and said, "My injuries and the Grand Elder's should be about the same. Judging from the Grand Elder's condition, he should be able to recover in ten days to half a month at most. After all, the recovery ability of Limit Douluo is very good."

"As for the amount of strength I used, I think I used about 90% of my strength. I estimate that the Grand Elder used about the same amount, since the Grand Elder still has some things to worry about."

In fact, Yang Ping'an was hiding something. He only used 50% of his strength at most, since he didn't use his second martial soul and still had many trump cards. However, Yang Ping'an wouldn't be foolish enough to talk nonsense.

Of course, Yang Ping'an's so-called 50% strength does not include the Death Scythe. If he used the Death Scythe, he was confident that he could kill a Limit Douluo.

Bibi Dong smiled slightly: "That's a bit dishonest of you. You haven't used your second spirit from beginning to end, and your second spirit's spirit ring configuration is even higher, so it should be more powerful than your first spirit."

Yang Ping'an smiled faintly: "That's not quite right. All the spirit rings of my first spirit were chosen based on the spirit itself, making them a better match. Although the spirit rings of my second spirit have a higher age limit, in order to pursue that age limit, they are not as well matched. Your Majesty should know the difference between them."

"When Your Majesty absorbed the spirit ring of the Azure Bull Python, the Azure Bull Python was not actually a perfect match for Your Majesty's Soul Devouring Spider Emperor Martial Soul, but Your Majesty still chose to absorb it without hesitation. The difference was just because of a hundred thousand years."

Bibi Dong slowly nodded: "Yang Ping'an, I would like to ask you where you found so many 100,000-year soul rings. You know, I spent a lot of manpower and resources in the Spirit Empire and still couldn't find that many."

Yang Ping'an didn't hesitate: "It's actually very simple. There may not be that many 100,000-year-old soul beasts on the mainland, but there are quite a few in the sea. I once trained on Seagod Island, and both my personal abilities and my martial soul have strong underwater combat capabilities, so I'm trying to find 100,000-year-old soul beasts in the sea."

Bibi Dong seemed to suddenly realize something: "There are indeed many 100,000-year-old soul beasts in the sea, but unfortunately, most of the titled Douluo in my Spirit Empire are land-based soul masters with limited underwater combat capabilities, so it would be futile for them to go to the sea."

"Besides, our Martial Soul Empire and Seagod Island are not on good terms, and Poseidon of Seagod Island is not someone we can underestimate. I'm afraid only someone like you can freely search for 100,000-year-old soul beasts in the ocean."

Yang Ping'an said, "The ocean is also extremely dangerous, and the sea spirit beasts hide very well. I had to ask the guardian beasts of Seagod Island for help, and I paid a considerable price in the process."

Bibi Dong was a little puzzled: "With your strength, would you still feel danger even in the middle of the ocean?"

Yang Ping'an's face tightened: "Of course, there are many very powerful and terrifying soul beasts in the deep sea. For example, the Deep Sea Demon Whale King in the Demon Whale Sea has the strength of a Limit Douluo. Even Poseidon cannot defeat it. Last time I went to the Demon Whale Sea by chance, its terrifying strength put me in danger. I was only able to escape by flying."

Bibi Dong seemed to be thinking about something when she heard this. She was still missing her last spirit ring, and searching for sea spirit beasts seemed like a good option. However, when she thought about the fighting power of the titled Douluo in Wuhun City in the sea, she could only sigh in the end.

At this moment, Bibi Dong's expression suddenly tightened, becoming extremely serious: "Yang Ping'an, are you confident you can kill the Grand Elder?"

Yang Ping'an smiled slightly: "Your Majesty overestimates me. In this Martial Soul City, no one can kill the Grand Elder, let alone the Six Grand Elders."

"Furthermore, the Grand Elder is the cornerstone of the Spirit Empire, so why would Your Majesty ask such a question?"

Bibi Dong snorted coldly: "Let's not beat around the bush. You're a smart person, you don't need me to be so explicit, do you?"

Yang Ping'an said calmly, "Your Majesty flatters me. I am not a wise man, and I do not wish to get involved in the internal struggles of your Spirit Empire. This is one of the reasons why I have never joined the Spirit Empire; otherwise, I would have to choose sides. I do not want to meddle too much in the affairs of your family."

Bibi Dong's expression changed instantly: "What do you mean by that? Do you think I'm deliberately testing you?"

"In this Martial Soul Empire, although I am the emperor revered by all the people, in the eyes of the elders of the Martial Soul Empire, the Grand Elder's prestige is much higher than mine."

Yang Ping'an's face immediately turned cold: "Your Majesty, I have no intention of interfering in the conflict between you, the emperor, and the Hall of Offerings. Moreover, I would like to give Your Majesty a piece of advice: it is best not to involve my master and uncle in this vortex. Otherwise, Your Majesty should know my character better than anyone else."

Although Yang Ping'an still addressed him respectfully as "Your Majesty," his words were unusually fierce, even revealing a hint of murderous intent, which made Bibi Dong extremely wary.

After an unknown amount of time, Bibi Dong finally spoke calmly: "Fine, since you don't want to interfere, I won't involve your master and uncle. However, as elders of the Spirit Empire, they should still contribute to the empire as usual."

Bibi Dong's words seemed to indicate a hint of compromise; at least for now, she was no longer confident that she could keep Yang Ping'an.

The two fell silent again, this time broken by Bibi Dong.

"Yang Ping'an, I heard that your Golden Dragon devoured someone's martial soul. I wonder if you can return the martial soul?"

Yang Ping'an smiled and said, "Your Majesty, please don't beat around the bush. You're talking about Yu Xiaogang, right? I'm really sorry, but anything that my martial soul devours will be completely absorbed and cannot be separated again."

Bibi Dong's face turned cold: "Is there really no hope? Your martial soul and Yu Xiaogang's martial soul share the same origin, so you should be able to help him reawaken his martial soul."

Yang Ping'an stared intently at Bibi Dong: "Your Majesty, are you mistaken about something? You should be more aware of what Yu Xiaogang has done in the Heaven Dou Empire. Yu Xiaogang organized various forces to oppose the Spirit Empire, and even tried to win over the Four Elements Academy in order to accumulate strength. Theoretically, he should be the Spirit Empire's greatest enemy."

"Why doesn't Your Majesty think about eliminating this enemy as soon as possible, but instead thinks about helping him restore his Martial Soul? Does Your Majesty think that the Martial Soul Empire currently has too few enemies and wants to create a few more?"

"Besides, Yu Xiaogang is just a Soul Master. With the many high-level Soul Masters in the Spirit Empire, killing him should be as easy as killing a chicken. Instead, it would only encourage him to act recklessly. I'm starting to wonder what His Majesty is thinking."

Bibi Dong's face looked extremely ugly: "Yu Xiaogang was once an elder of our Martial Soul Empire. He has a deep understanding of the theory of Martial Soul research. I just don't want to see a master of Martial Soul research die in despair."

Yang Ping'an smiled and said, "Your Majesty is quite thoughtful. However, with the three great empires currently embroiled in war, shouldn't Your Majesty be focusing on how to eliminate the other two? As for a mere Soul Venerable, can't we decide on that after Your Majesty unifies the world?"

"As for Yu Xiaogang's so-called theories, Your Majesty should be well aware of their true value. However, compared to the unification of the continent and the hegemony of the Martial Soul Empire, Your Majesty should be able to distinguish which is more important."

At this point, both of them seemed to look rather grim, and their words carried a hint of hostility.

After an unknown amount of time, Bibi Dong seemed to sigh: "Yang Ping'an, with your current strength, my Spirit Empire can't offer you much help. However, I would like to extend an invitation to you to become a guest elder of my Spirit Empire. What do you think?"

Yang Ping'an showed a hint of surprise: "Your Majesty, what do you mean by 'guest minister'? I've always been used to a leisurely life and don't want to be bound by anything, whether it's my health or my reputation."

Bibi Dong gave a bitter smile: "So what? The news of your victory over the Grand Elder has already spread throughout the world. You are now the well-known number one expert in Douluo Continent, and even an existence revered by countless Soul Masters. If you don't join the Spirit Empire, it will only damage the Spirit Empire's lofty status among Soul Masters."

"Besides, you are now an enemy of the Clear Sky Sect, which has close ties with the Heaven Dou Empire and even has some connection with the Star Luo Empire. It seems you have no other choice but my Martial Soul Empire."

"Moreover, you will only be allowed to register as a guest elder. You will not be required to do anything for the Spirit Empire, and you can even enjoy all the resources of the empire."

Yang Ping'an remained calm: "Your Majesty, this is rather unpleasant. I have always been a loner. I don't want to concern myself with the affairs of the Soul Master world, nor do I want to get too involved with any forces."

"Although I personally prefer the Spirit Hall to the two great empires and I like the Spirit Hall's management model more, in recent years, after the Spirit Hall became the Spirit Empire, it seems to have deviated more and more from its original ideology. At least I feel that the Spirit Empire has become more distant from the ordinary people."

Bibi Dong seemed slightly puzzled: "Yang Ping'an, is there a difference between the Spirit Hall and the Spirit Empire?"

Yang Ping'an suddenly seemed to become serious: "I am just a commoner, and Your Majesty, you also seem to be of commoner origin. Have you ever thought about what you thought when you were an ordinary commoner?"

"Although the current Spirit Empire still retains some of the operating models of the original Spirit Hall, how is it any different from the two great empires?" (End of Chapter)