Douluo Continent: Long Live the Spirit Hall

After looking around, Bibi Dong looked at the ten titled elders and spoke in an elegant voice, "My personal disciple Yan has exceptional talent and outstanding abilities. I propose that he be granted the title of Holy Son. Do any of you elders have any objections?"

As soon as Bibi Dong finished speaking, the entire council hall fell into a deathly silence, followed by a very faint murmur of discussion. No one had expected such a bombshell announcement at the very beginning of the meeting.

The Spirit Hall is a vast force that spans the entire Douluo Continent. Almost every town on the continent has a branch of the Spirit Hall, and the heads of some large city branches are bishops, equivalent to regional governors.

The bishops are scattered all over the country and rarely get together, so they are quite behind on the news from the Spirit Hall headquarters. Many people have no impression of Yan, Bibi Dong's personal disciple. Isn't it too fast to confer the title of Holy Son?

The bishops and many high-ranking experts whispered among themselves, while the ten elders sitting in the highest positions in front of everyone had different expressions.

"Your Majesty."

An aged voice rang out in the Grand Council Hall, and the somewhat noisy sounds suddenly fell silent. The titled Douluo Elder Ghost Leopard spoke, and no one would be tactless at this moment.

"If I remember correctly, your disciple is not even eight years old this year. The position of Holy Son is of great importance. Should we reconsider?"

Elder Ghost Leopard spoke slowly, yet his words caused a stir among the crowd, moving even the most titled members.

"What is the Pope doing by instigating a child under eight years old to become a canon?"

"She hasn't even secured her position as pope yet, and she's already thinking about making plans for the future."

"What do you think is the relationship between this child and the Pope? Could it be something between them... hehe."

"This is simply absurd. Every Holy Son and Holy Daughter of my Spirit Hall has undergone numerous trials, and there has never been an heir who is less than sixteen years old."

"Just kidding, if this coronation is successful, and then the Pope is unfortunate, then our Spirit Hall will become famous again, with the youngest Pope in history being born once more."

"If the news of our Holy Son, who is not even eight years old, gets out, my Spirit Hall will probably become a laughing stock."

……

The bishops and high-ranking officials of the Spirit Hall couldn't help but make a ruckus in the Great Council Hall. The main reason was that this matter was really too much. Appointing a child who was not even eight years old as a Holy Son was absolutely unprecedented since the establishment of the Spirit Hall.

The requirements for the Spirit Hall to appoint Holy Sons and Holy Daughters as successors are extremely high. No pope in history has ever had a cultivation level lower than level 90. In other words, one must be able to break through the title to be qualified to become the successor to the pope.

The previous successor was the Holy Maiden Bibi Dong, who possessed twin martial souls, so her talent was undeniable. Moreover, she had the absolute support of the former Pope Qian Xunji, which allowed her to secure her position.

Former Pope Qian Xunji had been in power for many years, and his father was Qian Daoliu, the strongest judge elder of the Spirit Hall. Naturally, he had an absolute ruling position and unparalleled prestige. Therefore, no one would object to his insistence on appointing Bibi Dong as the new head of the party.

However, the current pope has only been in power for two years and has not yet gained unanimous recognition and support to establish prestige. Furthermore, he is preparing to appoint a child under eight years old as his successor, which seems absurd and has naturally aroused a lot of discussion.

"Although Yan is still young, he obtained his second soul ring a month ago, and his soul power has reached level 23. I believe that with his talent, becoming a titled Douluo is not his limit."

Bibi Dong's voice rang out again, this time speaking directly with data: level 23 at less than eight years old. This data absolutely crushed everyone present, including the once exceptionally talented Bibi Dong.

The benefits of Yan Yue absorbing the spirit ring of the Fiery Golden Bird were quite significant. This spirit ring directly gave him a spirit power level close to level 23. Coupled with his diligent and tireless daily training, a spirit power level of level 23 was not excessive.

Beside Elder Ghost Leopard, another Title Douluo spoke up: "Your Majesty, your disciple's talent is indeed quite remarkable. But is it too early to bestow the title of Holy Son at this time? According to past rules, Holy Sons and Holy Daughters need to undergo trials and gain recognition before their status as successors can be confirmed."

"The Hall of Offerings' approval is more than enough to qualify you."

An aged voice came from another direction, and many eyes turned to look in the direction of the voice. Three figures slowly walked over. The one in the middle was small and looked to be no more than seven or eight years old. Unsurprisingly, he was the protagonist of today.

Chapter 62 Sword Pointing to Heaven

Inside the massive council hall of the Elders' Hall in Wuhun City, Yan walked calmly and slowly. Behind him, on either side, two old men were a little slower, their auras restrained yet chilling.

The two elderly men, both with white hair and beards, exuded an imposing presence without anger. They appeared to be at least eighty years old, and their appearances were remarkably similar, suggesting they were brothers.

These two not only looked alike, but their clothing was also exactly the same. Unlike the black of a Soul Douluo and the red of an ordinary Title Douluo, they wore golden robes.

Their golden robes were each embroidered with a coiled dragon staff, symbolizing their martial spirits, in gold and silver thread. The gold robes and silver embroidery also represented their status as worshippers in the Martial Spirit Worship Hall.

Having operated for many years, the Spirit Hall possesses a profound foundation that no other spirit master sect can match. It boasts more than ten elders at the Title Douluo level, and even more powerful are the enshrined figures within the Hall of Worship.

The enshrined members of the Spirit Hall are all promoted from the elders in the Elder Hall. The conditions for promotion to enshrined member are simple, but also extremely difficult. They need to break through level 95 and have at least level 96 or higher spirit power to be considered an enshrined member.

Once one becomes an honored elder, one will have a transcendent status within the Spirit Hall, and may even be exempt from the Pope's orders, only obeying the commands of the Grand Elder.

They would never easily make a move unless there was something extremely important. They would simply cultivate silently in the Hall of Worship. And once they appeared, it meant that something big was about to happen in the Spirit Hall.

Inside the Grand Council Hall, many high-ranking members of the Spirit Hall, including ten elders at the Title Douluo level, sat upright and at the ready. Yan appeared with two elders, which not only represented the support of the Elder Hall for the new Holy Son, but also indicated that a major event was about to occur that required the elders to be mobilized.

"Since the Hall of Offerings has approved it, then the elders should have no objection to the appointment of the Holy Son, right?"

Yan and the two powerful retainers walked straight past the crowd to Bibi Dong's lower right seat, which represented the seat of honor for the Holy Son. At this moment, Bibi Dong's voice rang out again, but this time, there was no objection from the many titled elders, and the entire place was silent.

The reason there was so much opposition to Bibi Dong's proposal of Yan as the Holy Son was because she had only recently ascended to the position and her prestige was not yet sufficient. However, the Hall of Worship, or more precisely, the Grand Elder, had already established unassailable authority within the Spirit Hall, so naturally no one would oppose his decision.

"Elders, I am Yan. I believe many of you here do not know me well and may have doubts about my abilities, which is normal. But I hope this will not affect the important matters of the Spirit Hall."

Yan stood on the throne of the Holy Son, looking down at the many powerful figures below. This feeling of having great power, second only to the emperor, was quite good. After looking around, he continued, "Next, I will make my first proposal in the Elder Hall."

The former Pope died because of Tang Hao of the Clear Sky Sect, after which the Clear Sky Sect and my Spirit Hall clashed many times. A few days ago, news came that the current sect leader of the Clear Sky Sect is critically ill. I propose that we point our swords at the Heavenly Dou Sect and launch an attack on the Clear Sky Sect.

Silence, a deathly silence, lingered in the grand council hall long after Yan finished speaking.

The many high-ranking members and ten elders of the Spirit Hall had already guessed that Yan's first proposal was anything but simple, but none of them expected it to be so extraordinary. With troops coming from Haotian, it's no wonder that a senior member was dispatched.

Among the ten titled elders, one of them subconsciously looked up at the two enshrined elders. Seeing the two enshrined elders' expressionless faces, he understood that this proposal came from the will of the Hall of Enshrined Elders.

These two elders, who possess the Panlong Staff martial spirit, are brothers, one titled "Thousand Jun" and the other "Demon Subduer." They are ranked last in the Hall of Worship, but this does not mean that they are the weakest.

Individually, neither of them is outstanding; they are merely ordinary level 96 titled Douluo. However, if the two of them are together, even the Grand Elder Qian Daoliu would have to put up a fight against them.

The Thousand-Pound Douluo and the Demon-Slaying Douluo are both just over a hundred years old. The twin brothers are of one mind and have worked together for over eighty years. Their joint action represents the determination of the Hall of Offerings.

The Clear Sky Sect is currently in decline. The Sect Master suffers from hidden injuries, limiting his combat strength. Tang Hao and Tang Xiao have only broken through to higher levels in less than three years, and their strength is quite limited. As for their Limit Douluo, he has been missing for a long time. Besides, the Spirit Hall is not without Limit Douluos as well.

The Clear Sky Sect rose to prominence because of Tang Chen. After becoming the number one sect in the world, it once flourished to the point of controlling tens of thousands of soul masters. It joined forces with seven other major sects, including the Blue Lightning Tyrant Sect and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, to rival the Spirit Hall.

However, since Tang Chen went into seclusion fifty years ago, and the current sect leader of the Clear Sky Sect suffered from hidden injuries and weakened strength, it has long since lost its former glory. Nearly three years ago, Qian Xunji died, and the Clear Sky Sect clashed with the Spirit Hall. In this battle, two Soul Douluos from the Clear Sky Sect were killed and seriously injured.

After that, the Haotian Sect continued to shrink its power. It is said that a few days ago their forces began to withdraw from Tiandou City. There are also rumors that the Haotian Sect intends to close its doors and retire into seclusion. It is unknown whether this news is true.

"I think the proposal of the Holy Son is acceptable. The Clear Sky Sect has provoked my Spirit Hall countless times over the years, and it is indeed time to launch a counterattack."

After a long silence, one person finally stood up. It was Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan, who ranked among the top of the ten elders. He and Ghost Douluo Gui Mei joined forces to use the Martial Soul Fusion Technique, and they could even fight against the two elders, Jiang Mo and Qian Jun.

"What Chrysanthemum Douluo said is very true. These Soul Master families and sects have indeed become quite disreputable in recent years."

"My Spirit Hall enjoys authority in the Spirit Master world, which is something we have earned through great effort. Those guys dare to challenge the status of my Spirit Hall just because they have the support of two great empires."

"The Haotian Sect has affected nearly ten thousand Soul Masters, and it really needs to be dealt with properly."

Yue Guan's words resonated with many high-ranking members of the Spirit Hall. Coupled with the unification reached between the Hall of Worship and the Pope, there was naturally a chorus of voices condemning the Clear Sky Sect.

In the years since the rise of the Clear Sky Sect, the influence of the Spirit Hall in the Spirit Master world has declined significantly. Especially after the Seven Great Sects were selected and united, they were able to influence nearly half of the Spirit Masters in the world, almost rivaling the Spirit Hall. This was unacceptable to many high-ranking members of the Spirit Hall.

The Spirit Hall became a holy land for spirit masters because its deacons went to every village on the continent to conduct free spirit awakening ceremonies and to train low-level spirit masters and provide subsidies. These are the things that benefited the spirit master community and earned it its current status.

What does the Clear Sky Sect rely on? Just the power of their leader's fist? It's not that they rely on their connections with the two great empires, allowing both the empires and the sect to exert influence. In the eyes of the Spirit Hall, this behavior is a betrayal of the Soul Master class.

Chapter 63 Leading the Army and Riding Horses to Conquer the Heavens

The rise and development of the Clear Sky Sect and the seven major sects to their current scale is due to both the Spirit Hall's own reasons and the covert efforts of the two great empires.

Before Tang Chen of the Clear Sky Sect rose to power, the Spirit Hall was the leader of the Spirit Master world. Although the noble groups of the two great empires held considerable power among commoners and low-level Spirit Masters, they lacked influence among high-level Spirit Masters because they did not have high-level Spirit Masters, especially Title Douluos, in charge.

At that time, the Spirit Hall was not at its peak. Most of the enshrined elders in the Hall of Worship were old and frail. The strongest elder was the youngest elder at the time, the Golden Crocodile Douluo, who presided over the ceremony for Poison Douluo Dugu Bo to become a Title Douluo.

At that time, Golden Crocodile Douluo was only level 97. Even so, the Spirit Hall was indeed the most powerful force in the Spirit Master world at that time, which is why so many powerful figures were willing to join.

However, after that, Qian Daoliu and Tang Chen rose to prominence, breaking through their cultivation levels one after another. The latter stood tall on the earth, wielding the domineering and powerful Haotian Hammer, which even the invincible Qian Daoliu in the sky could not catch on the ground. Tang Chen was thus hailed as the strongest person in the world, and the Haotian Sect he founded became the number one sect in the world.

Tang Chen became the strongest person in the world, naturally gaining immense prestige among high-level soul masters. At that time, there were also many voices in the soul master world opposing the Spirit Hall's monopoly of authority, which led to the seven major sects supported by the two great empires joining forces to resist the Spirit Hall.

In fact, if it weren't for the support of the vast noble families of the two great empires, the seven major sects alone would not have been able to rival the Spirit Hall. Their actions can be considered a betrayal by the spirit master world.

Previously, Soul Masters held a detached attitude towards nobles. However, when many Soul Masters, led by the Seven Great Sects, accepted the titles of nobles from the two great empires, their prestige was lowered, leading to the invasion of the Soul Master world by noble power and a significant decline in the leadership and influence of the Spirit Hall.

The rise of the seven major sects has had a significant impact on the many high-ranking members of the Spirit Hall present. Originally, the two great empires were ruled by divine right of kings, and the various branches of the Spirit Hall wielded considerable influence in their respective cities. However, in recent years, the Spirit Hall has been constrained by local nobles, a situation that has long aroused discontent among many of its powerful members.

"Please give the order, Your Holiness. Send troops to fight against the Heavenly Emperor and avenge the former Pope."

Former Pope Qian Xunji still had some die-hard supporters. After Yan's proposal was approved by most people, an elder stood up and spoke, and at the same time, a series of responses rang out from below.

"Holy Son, since you proposed this, you should make the arrangements."

Bibi Dong calmly instructed Yan below. She didn't actually object to Yan's suggestion to attack Haotian Sect as a guinea pig, but the thought of Qian Xunji made her uneasy.

However, Qian Xunji was her teacher after all, and it was only right for her to avenge him. She absolutely could not show the slightest sign of her displeasure.

“Since the Pope has given the order, I will make the arrangements.”

Standing atop the throne of the Holy Son, Yan looked down upon the numerous Soul Masters below. His calm voice carried an absolute air of authority. "Elder Tuoba, please select three thousand elite Soul Masters from the Temple Knights, and one hundred elites each from the Temple Angel Army and the Holy Dragon Army."

Elder Yueguan, Elder Guimei, and two elders will accompany me. The Spirit Halls throughout the Heaven Dou Empire have arranged supplies; victory in this battle is assured.

As Yan spoke, three of the ten titled elders stood up. Besides Ghost Douluo Gui Mei and Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan, whom Yan was familiar with, there was also Holy Dragon Douluo Tuoba hope, who commanded the Holy Dragon Army of the Palace Guard.

The Spirit Hall's two guard armies, the Angel Army and the Holy Dragon Army, were both elite spirit master teams, and later became the Spirit Empire's trump cards, the Angel Legion and the Holy Dragon Legion.

As its name suggests, the Holy Dragon Army is closely related to the White Armored Earth Dragon Clan. It is a Soul Master team led by the White Armored Earth Dragon Clan, and its members are mostly tank-type Soul Masters, known as the Shield of Martial Souls.

The Angel Army is composed of flying-type Soul Masters. The Angel Clan of the Spirit Hall is the God of Flying-type Martial Souls, so the Angel Army they formed is naturally the elite of the elite, and they are also known as the Sword of Martial Souls.

"Yes."

As Yan's command fell, a thunderous response resounded throughout the Grand Council Hall. Many high-ranking members of the Spirit Hall received their orders, and this behemoth, spanning the entire continent, began to operate. Such blatant activity by the Spirit Hall naturally attracted the attention of the continent's top powers, especially the seven major sects and the two great empires.

……

At the northwest gate of Wuhun City, a vast army of soul masters marched toward the Heaven Dou Empire. A figure quietly appeared on the city wall, watching the departing army from afar.

Bibi Dong, wearing a papal robe, suddenly turned her head and said, "Why did you agree to his attack on the Haotian Sect? Aren't you afraid that the previous Haotian Douluo will come out of the mountains again? With Jiangmo and Qianjun, you can't stop the level 99 Great Sumeru Hammer."

"Ugh!"

With a long sigh, Qian Daoliu appeared on the city wall, his gaze towards her exceptionally complex. "It's just childish nonsense. Even if Tang Chen really appears, he won't hurt him."

"Are you so sure?"

Bibi Dong's tone was somewhat cold, "You are always so confident, certain that you won't misjudge anyone, but what has been the result?"

Qian Daoliu shook his head and sighed again, "Xue'er cares about him more than you do. It's time for my old bones to get moving."

As he spoke, his figure transformed into specks of light and slowly dissipated into the world. Bibi Dong watched Qian Daoliu's vanished figure, her face extremely grim, her fists clenching tightly. "Old man... you'd better not make a mistake, otherwise, the Spirit Hall and the Clear Sky Sect will cease to exist..."

After saying that, she turned and left. She didn't even understand why she felt that way. He was a kid she had known for less than a year, who was too smart and not very likable. Nana was much cuter than him.

But she didn't know when it started, but she would occasionally confide in that child, and he would always give her a satisfactory response; perhaps it had become a habit.

……