As the Pope, Bibi Dong had to suppress her feelings for her youngest daughter and personally preside over this grand final that had attracted attention from the entire continent.
"These absurd days can finally have a few days of peace."
That morning, Bibi Dong put on a formal dark gold papal robe.
After carefully checking herself in the mirror and finding nothing amiss, she glanced back at Xuan Hao, who was still fast asleep in bed, gave a cold snort of annoyance, and then pushed open the door to head to the Elders' Hall.
Before the competition officially begins, there is one important thing that must be done today – the prize for this year's champion!
……
Inside the Elder Hall, a huge oval table was surrounded by powerful figures from the Spirit Hall.
Besides Pope Bibi Dong sitting at the head of the table, a group of titled Douluo elders, led by Demon Bear Douluo and Ghost Leopard Douluo, sat on either side.
The current topic of discussion is the ownership of those three top-grade ten-thousand-year-old soul bones.
In fact, Bibi Dong's original plan was to use the Pope's authority to secretly bestow those three top-grade soul bones upon Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan, the three "golden generation" she had personally nurtured.
However, this proposal met with strong resistance within the Elders' Hall.
The old fogies in the Elders' Hall had a perfectly valid reason: they couldn't accept rewards without merit.
The Spirit Hall has a history of thousands of years, and there has never been a precedent of directly awarding top-grade spirit bones to the younger generation.
Anyone who wants to obtain a soul bone must have made substantial contributions to the Spirit Hall and accumulated sufficient merits.
We must not break this rule just because Hu Liena and the other two are from the "Golden Generation" and are direct disciples of the Pope.
This statement sounded grand and dignified, but Bibi Dong knew the truth better than anyone else.
To put it bluntly, the Elders' Hall is here to limit her power as Pope.
If she directly gave the soul bone to Hu Liena, then it would be Bibi Dong's personal "favor" and favor.
However, if these three soul bones were given out as the champion prize for the All-Continent Elite Tournament, the Golden Generation representing the Spirit Hall would ultimately win them back honorably.
Then this is no longer a favor from Bibi Dong, but an honorary reward from the Spirit Hall to those who have made meritorious contributions.
The political significance of the two is vastly different.
The Elders' Hall would never allow her to use the Spirit Hall's core resources to win people over.
Bibi Dong sneered at the Elders' Hall's little scheme, but in order to appease these old guys, she eventually went along with it and agreed to give the three soul bones as prizes for the competition.
Chapter 382 What if the Spirit Hall doesn't win this year's championship?
……
"Elders."
Bibi Dong sat at the head of the table, her gaze sweeping across the entire room, and spoke in a calm tone:
"Since everyone agrees to use these three ten-thousand-year-old soul bones as the rewards for this competition, then today, I will officially announce the final reward scheme."
Everyone immediately sat up straight, awaiting the Pope's verdict.
Bibi Dong tapped her dark purple nail polish fingers lightly on the table twice: "I have decided to give these three top-grade ten-thousand-year soul bones as the runner-up prize for this competition."
These words were spoken.
The once quiet Elder Hall instantly fell into an eerie silence.
All the elders stared wide-eyed at Bibi Dong, who sat at the head of the table, as if she were a madwoman. Some even wondered if they had misheard.
"Your Majesty the Pope!"
The hot-tempered Demon Bear Douluo was the first to slam his fist on the table and stand up, his rugged face filled with disbelief. "What did you just say? A runner-up prize?! Our Spirit Hall has held so many Soul Master Competitions, and it seems we've never set up any runner-up prize before?!"
In every competition, the prizes have always been winner-takes-all; only the champion can take away all the honors and resources!
This is not because the Spirit Hall is stingy, but because the Spirit Hall's survival rule and principle have always been this: the winner takes all!
Everyone except the first place winner is a loser!
If you lose, you lose everything!
Now, the Pope is actually going to hand over the Spirit Hall's three top-grade ten-thousand-year-old soul bones, which are its most treasured possessions, to a runner-up team?!
"Your Holiness, what is the meaning of this?"
Ghost Leopard Douluo couldn't help but stand up, frowning as he asked, "If you don't want to take out your soul bone, just say so. Why humiliate our Spirit Hall's participating team in this way?"
"humiliation?"
Bibi Dong leaned back in her wide chair, looking at the group of indignant elders.
"I am merely stating a fact. If I were to designate these three soul bones as the champion's reward, then by the end of the tournament, these three soul bones would truly be gone from the Spirit Hall's treasury forever, because... this year's champion will absolutely not be the Spirit Hall!"
"absurd!"
Demon Bear Douluo roared, but after meeting Bibi Dong's cold gaze, he barely suppressed his anger and said in a deep voice, "Your Holiness, do you think our Spirit Hall's Golden Generation is so vulnerable?"
"If I remember correctly, your direct disciple Hu Liena's soul power has reached level 68! Xie Yue and Yan's soul power has also reached level 63 and level 62 respectively!"
"Moreover, once Hu Liena and Xie Yue activate their Spirit Fusion Skill, Demonic Charm, its power can easily suppress a well-established Soul Saint on the front lines!"
"With this level of strength, even if the Heaven Dou and Star Luo families give it their all, they still won't be able to touch the hem of our Golden Generation!"
"When the time comes, as long as Yan deals with the other trash from that Heaven Dou Royal Academy, and Hu Liena and Xie Yue team up to deal with that kid named Xuan Hao, won't that be enough to crush them?!"
"We can't win."
Faced with the Demon Bear Douluo's blind confidence, Bibi Dong simply shook her head indifferently.
"It's not that I don't trust Nana and the others. It's just... facing Xuan Hao, let alone those three little ones."
Bibi Dong paused, her eyes suddenly turning cold:
"Even if all the elders present here today were to personally step into the fray and fight him one-on-one, they might not be able to defeat him."
The faces of all the titled Douluos present instantly turned ugly.
They are the foundation of the Spirit Hall, the super strong individuals standing at the top of the food chain on the entire continent!
Now, the Pope is actually saying in front of everyone that these old monsters who have lived for decades can't beat a mere brat?!
"Your Holiness, isn't that a bit too alarmist?"
Demon Bear Douluo laughed in anger, "We admit that the boy named Xuan Hao is indeed a monster that appears only once in ten thousand years. He has broken through to the Soul Saint realm at such a young age. His talent is truly amazing."
"But! A Soul Saint is ultimately just a Soul Saint! Faced with an absolute gap in levels, how can he possibly contend with us Title Douluos who possess nine Soul Rings?!"
"is it?"
Bibi Dong sneered, "What, have you old fogies been in the Elder Hall for too long and your brains have become rusty? Haven't you heard that a year ago, Xuan Hao single-handedly stormed the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and humiliated Yu Yuanzhen in front of the entire clan?!"
"Let me ask you all here today! Who among you dares to confidently guarantee that you can easily defeat the veteran Thunder Douluo Yu Yuanzhen in a one-on-one fight?!"
"This……"
The elders were stunned by these words, exchanging bewildered glances, speechless for a moment.
Yu Yuanzhen is the sect leader of one of the three upper sects. His Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul is domineering. If it were a one-on-one duel, very few of the ordinary elders present would dare to say that they could win with certainty.
Demon Bear Douluo's face turned ashen, but he forced a rebuttal: "We are well aware of Yu Yuanzhen's strength. But that Xuan Hao, can he be compared to Yu Yuanzhen? That's just a wildly rumored story! I don't believe that a mere brat could possess such heaven-defying strength!"
"Do not believe?"
Bibi Dong scoffed, "Since you don't believe me, that's fine. Xuan Hao is in Wuhun City right now, and that kid's soul power has already reached level 80! Although he hasn't obtained his eighth soul ring yet, he's already a genuine quasi-Soul Douluo."
"If you think I'm exaggerating, you're welcome to go to the back mountain and try to take him down yourselves!"
"Okay! Let's give it a try!"
Demon Bear Douluo glared angrily, "I want to see just what kind of monster this Quasi-Soul Douluo, who has been praised to the skies by His Holiness the Pope, really is!"
The other titled Douluo present also snorted coldly, expressing their extreme indignation.
They have spent most of their lives cultivating themselves to reach their current level, how could they tolerate being outdone by a mere child?
……
At this moment.
Inside a secluded martial arts training ground on the back of Pope Hill.
Boom!
A deep, resounding boom echoed through the valley.
"puff--!"
With a painful groan, Yan, who possessed the top-tier beast martial soul "Flame Lord," was sent flying dozens of meters away like a cannonball.
He did more than a dozen somersaults in mid-air before crashing heavily into a solid artificial mountain, shattering it to pieces. Only then did he stop, coughing up blood and looking horrified.
In the center of the training ground.
Xuan Hao was dressed in a simple black outfit, his hands in his pockets, and he hadn't even released his martial spirit.
He didn't even take a breath, just stood there lazily, looking at Hu Liena and Xie Yue, who were surrounded by them, but whose faces were full of despair.
For the past two months, although Xuan Hao had been indulging in women in Bibi Dong's palace every day, he would also come to the back mountain during his free time during the day to practice on the so-called "Golden Generation" of the Spirit Hall and give them some pointers.
At first, the proud and arrogant Xie Yue and Yan were not convinced. Xie Yue even took the initiative to suggest that he and Hu Liena directly activate the Martial Soul Fusion Skill "Enchanting Charm" to deal with him.
As a result, reality cruelly gave them a huge slap in the face that they would never forget!
It's completely useless!
Their prized Soul Fusion Skill, "Enchanting Charm," capable of confronting low-level Soul Douluos on the battlefield, was like a fragile red balloon in front of Xuan Hao!
Even if Xuan Hao just stood there and let them hit him, their moon blades, which were strong enough to tear through steel, couldn't even leave a white mark when they struck Xuan Hao's muscles, which were as hard as ten-thousand-year-old black iron!
It's completely unbreakable!
Chapter 383 Are you all coming at me at once or one at a time?
……
After enduring two months of one-sided beatings, they finally came to the harsh reality.
Right now, they are simply trying to figure out "how to live a few more seconds" under Xuan Hao's control!
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