Yu Yuanzhen, Yu Luomian, and Liu Erlong burst out at full speed, arriving one after another at the palace gate surrounded by towering trees—a thousand-year-old red maple with lush branches and a five-meter diameter.
The difference between plant spirit beasts and animal spirit beasts was not only their growth patterns but essential growth periods.
Animal spirit beasts grew faster and learned more swiftly than plant spirit beasts, so at the same cultivation base, plant spirit beasts were generally weaker than animal soul beasts of the same age—unless possessing innate bloodline suppression.
In the Douluo world, aside from family and bloodline, strength was often lawless.
Plant spirit beasts grew slowly, so for most soul masters, benefits were limited. Thousand-year-old trees like this were mostly rare ornamental marvels; only at ten-thousand years could they transform.
The thousand-year-old maple cluster swayed, and when the wind blew, red maple leaves filled the sky, beautiful and mesmerizing.
Beneath the ancient maple, three figures in gold robes and platinum crowns stood solemnly, awaiting the arrival of another.
Across the distance, the noble goddess was leading the young man on a long journey.
"It's the Platinum Bishop of Wuhun Hall!"
"Xiao Wu!"
Liu Erlong first spotted Xiao Wu sitting on a maple branch, gazing into the distance.
She kicked off the ground and flew up to hug Xiao Wu, her face anxious. "Xiao Wu, are you okay? The Spirit Hall didn't bully you, did they?"
Xiao Wu shook her head sadly. "I'm fine..."
Usually carefree and optimistic, Xiao Wu now looked depressed.
Liu Erlong scanned around and saw only Xiao Wu. "What about your brother? Why are you alone?"
"His Royal Highness the Son is following the Pope, preparing to go to Wuhun Hall."
"Preparing to go?"
Fire burned in Liu Erlong's eyes, as if ready to leap out and intercept.
"You don't need to chase him. It'll only anger the Pope, bad for everyone."
The Platinum Bishop stopped and handed Liu Erlong a letter. "This is a letter from His Highness Subei, with words he wishes to explain to you."
Liu Erlong, trusting the bishop, tore open the letter and carefully read it.
The Platinum Bishop then apologized to Yu Yuanzhen and offered several large bags of golden soul coins. "We mean no harm, but our guards were rude to the Pope, so we slightly punish them."
"These gold soul coins cover medical expenses as compensation."
The Platinum Bishop pointed to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon soul emperors cowering nearby, who looked helpless and downtrodden—much like the soul emperor who had just reported to Yu Yuanzhen.
Yu Yuanzhen snorted coldly, "Do you think our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect needs your gold soul coins?"
The Platinum Bishop chuckled, "As one of the Three Sects of the Sky, the Blue Electric Tyrannosaurus Rex is a natural family with a great mission. One million gold soul coins is a small amount for us. Whether you accept it or not, this person and our Spirit Hall have been harmed, and we feel compelled to compensate."
"While the money is modest, it's enough to build a magnificent teaching building to benefit the students at Thunder Academy."
The Platinum Bishop's smile was disarming.
Yu Yuanzhen blinked—a million gold soul coins! A grand teaching building… priceless!
[No, I cannot accept it; it's a matter of pride!]
His hands trembled as he slowly moved forward.
"Help me thank the Pope for his kindness, but stealing people from your hall is not the right method. While we've been talking, the Pope personally came to steal the family's genius children from the Hall of Souls."
Yu Luomian took the gold soul coins a step ahead, mocking Wuhun Hall's theft while preserving the dignity of the Blue Electric Tyrannosaurus and the image of Yu Yuanzhen, who was about to move.
But it was difficult—yes, very difficult. A million gold soul coins were heavy indeed.
The Platinum Bishop smiled. "Sect Master Yu, you misunderstand. His Royal Highness Subei actually came to Wuhun Hall on his own accord."
"What?"
Yu Yuanzhen and Yu Luomian, caught in the middle of negotiations, jumped to their feet excitedly upon hearing this.
"Didn't I explicitly tell you to protect him day and night?"
"We were guarding him personally. The child has a misty body and played peek-a-boo with us, but when I consider Lord Sovereign's teachings…"
"Enough flattery! Get to the point!"
Yuyuan lost his temper and exploded as he marched with Yu Luomian and Liu Erlong toward the palace in Northern Jiangsu.
"Someone broke in with a warrant from the Spirit Hall, took the child away in the name of justice and rescuing him."
"Although we fought with all our might, we were no match for the intruders."
The man quickly finished his report.
Yu Yuanzhen glanced at him, "No need to say more—I can tell from your pig-like face."
The mix of carelessness and contempt in his gaze caused the loyal soul emperor's eyes to look helpless.
It wasn't his fault—they were just too strong.
They hurried downstairs.
Subei's place of house arrest was only a hundred meters away, but focus on their quarrel delayed their sensing the sudden fluctuations in spirit power.
If they hadn't been so absorbed in conflict, they might have felt it sooner.