Douluo Continent: Long Live the Spirit Hall

At this point, she would have to rely on her own skills to subdue the various factions within the Spirit Hall, especially those powerful individuals above the Soul Saint level.

Most families under the Spirit Hall's command will have their descendants train within the Spirit Hall's academies, and only after graduating from the advanced academies will they arrange their own development.

Was she planning to tour Wuhun City, extending goodwill and trying to win over various factions? Perhaps she had other plans, but there's too little information right now, and it probably has nothing to do with me. All I need to confirm is this news, Bibi Dong…”

"Boss, what are you saying? Wait for me..."

Tuoba Hong was a little worried when he saw Yan muttering to himself in a daze, mainly because what he was saying was so incoherent that he couldn't understand it at all. Unfortunately, Yan was currently immersed in his own analysis and didn't respond at all. As he was thinking, he quickened his pace as he walked, and the little fat boy could only jog to keep up.

Yan and the chubby boy were quick on their feet and soon arrived outside the junior academy. It was close to the start of morning classes, and many students were heading to the academy. Yan and the chubby boy mingled in the crowd.

"Fatty, how did your dad explain this to you? If it's just a simple inspection, there's no need for your dad to go to so much trouble."

Yan suddenly stopped and turned around in front of the classroom. Tuoba Hong, who was slightly out of breath, was startled and almost died of fright. But when Yan looked over, he quickly organized his words.

He patted his chest, panting, and said urgently, "Boss, my dad told me to do well at the end of the year, preferably to become a representative of the first-year students or something."

"Oh, is that so? I wonder how the academy will select candidates."

Yan's eyes flickered, then he turned his head to look at the bustling playground, and then waved to the chubby boy, "Fatty, I have a task for you. In the next two days, find out the situation of the top students in the academy, especially those who have already obtained their second soul ring."

Also, what about the information I asked you to inquire about last time? Have you gotten any results?

"Okay, boss."

Tuoba Hong nodded quickly, then continued, "Boss, that brother and sister who were about our age that you asked me to inquire about, the boy is called Xie Yue and the girl is called Hu Liena, one has a dual-sword martial soul and the other has a demon fox martial soul, is that it?"

"Hmm, any news?"

Yan nodded. The information he wanted Tuoba Hong to inquire about was naturally about the other two members of the Golden Generation in the original work. He wanted to know about these two people to confirm some things, such as the relationship between Hu Liena and Bibi Dong in the current timeline.

"Boss, don't you know? They're from our academy. They're in Class 1, and both the brother and sister are geniuses. They're also among the few geniuses in their grade who have already obtained spirit rings."

Tuoba Hong's answer surprised Yan quite a bit. He didn't expect things to be so coincidental. These two were actually from the same Soul Master Academy as him, but in different classes. He was a person who always went about his daily routine and rarely interacted with others, so he probably hadn't noticed until now.

Chapter 33 Park Brawl

The Central Park of Wuhun City is not far from the academy. After leaving the academy, you can reach it by walking around the side street for about ten minutes.

Almost everywhere in Wuhun City is filled with buildings, except for this park near the Papal Palace, where greenery abounds. The scenery isn't exactly beautiful or pleasant, but the air is quite fresh.

Yan followed Tuoba Hong into the park. The fresh scent of plants mixed with the fragrance of flowers wafted towards them, refreshing and invigorating. His gaze shifted slightly, locking onto a distant direction where faint fluctuations of soul power could be seen.

Tuoba Hong was clearly not a first-timer here, and he walked into the depths of the park with ease. They followed the gravel paths, and the deeper they went, the taller the trees became.

This park is located in the valley where the Papal Palace is situated. When Wuhun City was built, it was not directly modified, so you can see many rare tree species here.

The deeper they went, the fresher the air became. This feeling of returning to nature was quite pleasant for Yan, and this place was also a favorite training ground for many beast spirit owners.

"Boss, we're just ahead. I've found out that those upperclassmen, especially some Beast Spirit Soul Masters, like to cultivate in this park. But with so few people, conflicts are more likely to occur. Plus, some of them already have conflicts within the academy, so they often fight here."

The chubby boy led Yan all the way to the depths of the park. Without the boy even needing to explain, Yan could sense the fluctuations of soul power not far away.

"Don't speak yet."

Yan gestured for Tuoba Hong to be quiet, then quickened his pace to walk deeper into the park. There were very few people to be seen here. People who usually came to the park for a walk stopped at the outer perimeter. This location, close to the inner ring, was likely to attract the attention of the patrols.

Yan and Tuoba Hong arrived at a forest. In front of them was a clearing where a lot of noise could be heard. The two continued forward to the edge of the forest and finally saw the situation inside.

"This is quite a scene. Is this how they resolve conflicts?"

Yan and Tuoba Hong stopped at the edge of the forest. Their figures were hidden by the weeds and were not noticed for a while. At this moment, in the clearing, the two groups, totaling twenty or thirty people, were fighting.

Many of these people in the brawl were wearing ordinary clothes, but their pants were all the same style, clearly indicating that they were all students from the academy. However, they were smart enough to know to change into their school uniforms before the fight.

These guys were mostly over ten years old, with spirit rings floating around them, some white and some yellow.

They split into two groups and clashed in a chaotic battle. Every now and then, someone would use a soul skill that would engulf both teammates and opponents, causing everyone to shout and curse in anger.

However, in the middle of this group, two tall and imposing figures were locked in combat. Although they still looked quite young, they already possessed the bearing of adults. More importantly, no one else joined their fight.

Each of them was surrounded by two soul rings, one white and one yellow, and the other double yellow. Their soul power fluctuations were extremely strong, even stronger than Yan's at present.

"Boss, these two are our academy's two senior representatives. One is named Heize, with a Black Panther Martial Soul, supposedly from a Martial Soul family, a level 22 Great Soul Master. The other is named Lichuan, from a commoner background, with a Long Spear Martial Soul, level 23..."

After carefully peering out, Tuoba Hong took out a pile of intelligence he had collected from his robes, checked it, and handed it to Yan. As he spoke, Yan also took the items and flipped through them.

While they were whispering, the situation on the field had already changed somewhat. Black Swamp, with his Black Panther Martial Soul, was clearly going for an agility-based attack strategy.

His figure shot towards Li Chuan, who was wielding a long spear, like an arrow. As he charged, his body was extremely low, as if he were crawling along the ground.

His hands had transformed into a pair of paw pads, his claws concealed, his eyes gleaming gold, like a predator full of bestial instincts. He moved swiftly forward like a shadow, and when he reached Li Chuan, he twisted and darted behind him.

Li Chuan then stood firmly in a horse stance, a long spear in his hand glowing with a blood-red light. With each swing, he unleashed waves of light, creating a dense, impenetrable protective barrier around him.

As Kurosawa darted behind him, Li Chuan reacted swiftly, spinning and thrusting his spear with a burst of speed that surpassed even Kurosawa's. However, upon seeing this, Yan, hidden in the shadows, shook his head.

Kurosawa twisted his body to dodge the sonic boom of the spear, and threw out both fists to strike head-on. At the same time, Li Chuan's spear spun, trying to wrap his hands around it. However, at this moment, black light burst out between Kurosawa's palms, and a pair of leopard claws revealed their ferocity.

"Oh!"

Two figures passed each other, and a drop of blood slid down Li Chuan's cheek and finally fell to the ground. Kurosawa, who had landed, looked at the bloodstains on his claws and turned around to make a provocative gesture.

Kurosawa lunged forward again, but this time Li Chuan reacted quickly, ignoring the small wound on his face, and slightly shifted his body to avoid Kurosawa's fists, which were accompanied by a slight sonic boom.

Then he spun around and flew to the side, and before he could even stand still, he launched a dragon-like attack. His spear was unstoppable and kept attacking rapidly. Even Heize, who was an agility-type soul master, was unable to withstand this attack for a while and looked quite disheveled.

"let's go."

In the woods not far away, Yan glanced at the still-raging melee, shook his head, and then spoke to Tuoba Hong.

Tuoba Hong was a little curious, but he still stood up. "Boss, didn't you say you were here to gather intelligence? Aren't you going to continue reading?"

"These two are just so-so. We've already collected all the information, so there's no need to pay too much attention to them."

Yan shook his head without explaining further. He had just put himself in the shoes of the two men and concluded that both battles could be ended quickly, so there was nothing to see.

Yan and Tuoba Hong left the forest and followed the cobblestone path of Central Park to the western part of the city. There were bustling streets here, and the east-west streets almost connected the two city gates. It was a good place to do business, but not very suitable for cultivation.

Yan and Tuoba Hong arrived at the edge of a rather secluded alley. Looking at the low, flat-roofed house in front of them, the cramped surroundings felt quite oppressive. Yan glanced at the chubby boy beside him and said in a deep voice, "Fatty, are you sure that brother and sister live here?"

Chapter 34 Siblings

"Boss, I've already inquired about it."

Inside the cramped and oppressive alley, Tuoba Hong looked around and scratched his head, but still replied to Yan: "The parents of this brother and sister were quite famous experts in our Spirit Hall. They were killed in the chaos last year, leaving only the brother and sister behind."

This brother and sister were quite famous in the academy. They each took their parents' surnames and inherited their parents' martial spirits. After their martial spirits awakened, the siblings came to Martial Spirit City and bought a house there with the compensation money left after their parents' deaths…

Yan nodded slightly after listening to Tuoba Hong's introduction. He already knew about Hu Liena and Xie Yue's martial souls and surnames, but he was somewhat surprised by the circumstances surrounding the deaths of their parents.

The turmoil that Tuoba Hong mentioned refers to the upheaval in the Soul Master world that has continued from last year to the present, and the trigger was the death of Pope Qian Xunji.

The death of Qian Xunji, the former Pope of the Spirit Hall, was truly too sudden. No one expected it before it happened. At that time, the successor to the Pope, the Holy Maiden Bibi Dong, did not release the news immediately due to her own thoughts, but kept it hidden until it was unavoidable.

The controversy surrounding the Pope's succession directly led to chaos within the Spirit Hall, as Qian Xunji's death involved the Clear Sky Sect, one of the three upper sects, and friction between the Spirit Hall and the Clear Sky Sect had been ongoing for the past year.

At this time, while the Spirit Hall was the dominant force in the Soul Master world, the seven major sects, together with the royal families of the two great empires, still had a certain advantage. Therefore, the Soul Master world was jointly managed by these top forces.

Now, with the two top leaders clashing and causing chaos, problems have arisen in the management of the lower levels of the Soul Master world, leading to a series of disturbances and many audacious individuals causing trouble at this time.

About ten years later, Zhao Wuji, the Immovable King who had taken refuge in Shrek Academy, became quite famous, but not for a good reason; rather, he was known for his reckless and unruly behavior.

However, Zhao Wuji, who was simply at odds with the Spirit Hall, was considered relatively mild. Many more audacious individuals were even more violent, such as the bloodthirsty Blood Bat Rasol, who was a typical evil spirit master and would be eradicated at any time.

Xie Yue and Hu Liena's parents died in a battle against evil spirit masters. Due to the chaotic management at the top during that period, the rescue was not successful, and a small team of demon hunters was wiped out.

This incident reportedly caused a stir among the higher-ups at the time. Xie Yue and Hu Liena's parents were proficient in spirit fusion techniques, and their combined strength was comparable to that of a Soul Saint. The complete annihilation of such an elite team was a significant loss to the Spirit Hall.

"There seems to be no one in this house. Why haven't they come back yet, so late?"

Yan slightly circulated his soul power to sense the house in front of him. Although he was not a perception-type soul master, his mental power was strong enough, and he had also been specially trained in observation skills by Feng Lin. The brother and sister were only first-ring soul masters, so they should have been easily discovered.

"Boss, I'll go ask."

After hearing his words, Tuoba Hong went to knock on the door. There was no response from inside. However, the person in another house at the corner of the alley heard the noise, poked his head out, said a few words to the fat man, and then the fat man ran back.

Tuoba Hong said, "Eldest brother, their neighbor said that the brother and sister usually cultivate in the park square over there and don't come back to rest until very late."

"Is that so? That makes sense, it is indeed too noisy here."

Yan nodded, and then walked with Tuoba Hong in the direction they had come from. This was another entrance to the Central Ring Park in Wuhun City, which was exactly opposite to the entrance to the academy.

The park is quite quiet and secluded, and many people stroll around here. In the woods and meadows, you can see many people meditating and practicing meditation.

The residents of Wuhun City are all Soul Masters who have awakened innate Soul Power and are capable of cultivation. This city should be considered the one with the most Soul Masters in the entire Douluo Continent, and it later became a holy land for Soul Masters in the Douluo Continent.

Yan and Tuoba Hong inquired along the way and finally found two figures in a sparse forest clearing. Because it was nearing winter, most plants had already withered and fallen, except for some evergreen trees. Only a number of plant-type soul beasts that could accumulate soul power remained evergreen.

A gentle breeze swept by, and the vast expanse of Blue Silver Grass swayed in the wind, resembling a blue ocean. As Yan and Tuoba Hong appeared, the two figures who were meditating suddenly opened their eyes.

The two people cultivating within the blue silver grass stood up. The first one that caught Yan's attention was the boy. His neat black short hair stood up like steel needles. His expression was calm, his long and strong hands hung at his sides, and his indifferent gaze was fixed on Yan opposite him.

Beside the boy was a girl who bore a striking resemblance to him; their expressions were almost identical. At first glance, the girl didn't seem particularly beautiful. But upon closer inspection, one could sense a strange charm emanating from her.

"You are Yan from Class 3."

After staring at Yan for a while, the boy seemed to recognize him, his expression remaining calm and his voice indifferent.

"You know me? I don't remember ever seeing you before."

Yan looked at the boy with great interest. The older brother of the two siblings, Xie Yue, would later become the captain of the Golden Generation of the Spirit Hall. Although his innate talent was not the strongest among the Golden Generation, he was the strongest among them before Hu Liena completed the Trial of the City of Slaughter.

In the original work, the most talented member of the Golden Generation was undoubtedly Yan, who possessed a top-tier beast spirit. In the final battle of the Soul Master Competition, he faced the spirit fusion skill of Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing, Netherworld White Tiger, without being at a disadvantage.

Hu Liena's transformation occurred after her trip to the City of Slaughter. With the Slaughter God Domain, she became the undisputed number one of the Spirit Hall's Golden Generation. Subsequently, she was named the Holy Maiden of the Spirit Hall by Bibi Dong and became the successor to the Pope.

As Hu Liena's older brother, Xie Yue was also quite outstanding in the early stages. He possessed a pair of moon blades and created a sword technique soul skill. He even defeated his Soul Emperor teacher, which made him incredibly famous and helped him become the leader of the Golden Generation.

Xie Yue and Yan Ping looked at each other calmly and replied, "Although we have never met, you are easy to recognize. And I have seen the fat man next to you before. He was asking about us siblings a couple of days ago."

Yan nodded upon hearing this, because Xie Yue's words weren't wrong; he was indeed easy to recognize in this life. As a top-tier beast spirit, the Flame Lord Martial Soul caused a series of obvious changes in him after awakening, especially in his appearance.

He started out with black hair and black eyes, but now he has a head of red hair, fiery red hair, and even his eyes are dark red. This is precisely a clear symbol of his powerful martial soul. Just look at the changes after Tang San awakened his Blue Silver Emperor martial soul.

Yan then continued, "I need to talk to you about something. Would you be interested in discussing it? It's about the year-end academy exams. I think we could collaborate."

When Xie Yue and Hu Liena heard Yan mention the year-end exam, their expressions changed slightly. At this moment, the latter also brought Tuoba Hong forward. The four of them exchanged words, and a storm that would affect the academy was brewing.

Chapter 35 Pope Bibidon

The morning sun shines down on the earth, bringing a touch of warmth to the world, and the white frost that has condensed on the ground gradually melts into dew.