At this moment, in Spirit City, within the highest ruling institution of the Spirit Hall, the Pope's Palace.
A woman sat upright on the imperial throne. She wore a magnificent black robe embroidered with golden patterns, a nine-curved purple-gold crown on her head, and held a staff inlaid with countless gems.
Her fair skin and near-perfect features exuded an invisible aura of sacred nobility. Merely sitting there, she inspired an irresistible urge to kneel in worship.
She was the current Pope of the Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong, hailed as the most powerful leader in the history of the Spirit Hall, with unfathomable cultivation.
The grand hall contained only her. Though she emanated an imposing aura, a faint trace of melancholy lingered between her brows.
Her sorrow was not due to the recent Ma Xiunuo incident. Although Ma Xiunuo had disgraced the Spirit Hall, that matter was still easy to resolve.
Whenever night fell quietly or when she was alone, she could not help but recall events from years ago.
The teacher she respected most had one day suddenly turned into a beast and mercilessly violated her.
And the man she loved most deeply had, under pressure from her teacher, left the Spirit Hall. When she finally escaped that demon's clutches and wanted to find him again, she discovered he had already fallen in love with another woman...
Moreover, because of being violated by her teacher, she had given birth to a child who should never have come into this world.
Though she deeply loved her daughter, every time she saw her, she could not help but think of that beastly teacher. The painful memories made it impossible for her to face her daughter normally.
Her life had been far too tragic. Even now, as Pope, she could not forget her miserable past.
Just then, footsteps approached from outside the hall. The melancholy on Bibi Dong's face vanished, replaced by even greater majesty.
The footsteps grew closer, and soon a young girl entered.
She had long black hair and a delicate oval face. She appeared only eleven or twelve years old, yet her figure was already remarkably developed, with long, straight legs, a slender waist that could be encircled with one hand, and a height reaching one meter seventy.
As she walked, her waist swayed lightly, exuding an intangible charm.
She went straight to Bibi Dong and stopped, looking up at the Pope on the throne with utmost respect.
"Teacher." She gave a gentle bow.
The moment she saw the girl enter, the majesty on Bibi Dong disappeared, replaced by gentleness.
Hearing the greeting, a kind smile appeared on her near-perfect face. The originally resplendent golden hall seemed to dim because of that smile.
The girl below was momentarily stunned, gazing at her teacher in fascination.
"Nana, how have you been adjusting to life in the Spirit Hall these past few days?" Bibi Dong asked softly.
"Thank you for your concern, Teacher. It's been fairly comfortable." Though she answered this way, a trace of unnaturalness still showed on Hu Liena's face.
Bibi Dong nodded. "You've just graduated from that place, so it's normal not to be used to life outside yet. From now on, you can cultivate by my side."
"Thank you, Teacher." Hu Liena felt somewhat moved. Apart from her brother and Yan, this was the first time someone had been so kind to her.
She had lost her mother at a young age, and at this moment, Bibi Dong gave her the feeling of being cared for and protected by a mother.
Just then, a Platinum Bishop wearing a five-pointed white-gold crown hurried in. He was around sixty or seventy years old, tall and thin like a stick.
Bibi Dong frowned, her majestic aura spreading out. "Salas, what is the matter that makes you so flustered?"
Feeling the slight displeasure in the Pope's voice, Salas became panicked and quickly handed over a document. "Your Holiness, the Pope, this is information transmitted from the Notting City branch hall. Please review it."
Bibi Dong said, "Didn't I send an enforcement squad there at noon? Could something unexpected have happened?"
Salas hurriedly replied, "Your Holiness, the Pope, this document is not about Ma Xiunuo, but about a six-year-old child. It was personally awakened by a deacon named Su Yuntao in Notting City. He suspects that this child's martial soul is... a god-level martial soul!"
"Oh?" Bibi Dong showed an interested expression.
Hu Liena quickly took the document and handed it to Bibi Dong.
A god-level martial soul, Bibi Dong, naturally did not believe it. As far as she knew, on the Douluo Continent, the only god-level martial soul was the Angel Martial Soul.
How could a god-level martial soul possibly awaken in some other place, especially in a remote little town like Notting City?
Though she did not believe it, she was still interested and opened the document.
All documents transmitted from various parts of the continent were first handled by Platinum Bishops. The highest-level confidential files went directly to the Pope, while lower-level ones were reviewed by the Platinum Bishops.
A small place like Notting City could not transmit the most confidential files, so this document had first gone through Salas for review.
Bibi Dong believed Salas would not be so dim-sighted, so even if the child described in the document was not a god-level martial soul, his talent must be extraordinarily astonishing enough for that deacon to mistakenly think it was a god-level martial soul.
The Spirit Hall's influence covered the entire continent. Every year, they helped countless people awaken their martial souls for free, using this to continuously absorb geniuses into the Spirit Hall.
As long as someone had good talent, the Spirit Hall would extend an olive branch and recruit them for cultivation.
The better the talent, the more awards it received. Those with amazing talent were even sent directly to the Spirit Hall headquarters for specific training. The current Hu Liena was precisely one of those key training objects.
Bibi Dong gently opened the document, viewing it purely out of curiosity.
But as time passed, her expression grew increasingly serious. After reading it once, she actually read it again, and the smile on her face became more and more pronounced.
Salas, standing respectfully below, saw Bibi Dong's smile and quickly lowered his head. He feared that if he kept looking, he would be unable to control himself and offend the Pope's dignity.
Bibi Dong closed the document and handed it to Hu Liena standing beside her. Looking at Salas, she said, "You have rendered a great service this time. You may withdraw for now. I will reward you properly later."
"Thank you, Your Holiness, the Pope. This is what I should do." Salas showed a smile on his old face and respectfully retreated.
"Teacher, could it be that the child described in here truly possesses a god-level martial soul?" Hu Liena could not help but ask.
She had seen Bibi Dong's reaction earlier and had been puzzled for a while. Only now did she ask.
"You can open it and take a look," Bibi Dong said with a smile. "If that deacon named Su Yuntao did not exaggerate, then this really might be a god-level martial soul."
Hu Liena quickly read through it once and said in shock, "How could there be such a terrifying scene during awakening? Is that Su Yuntao exaggerating?"
Seeing her face full of disbelief, Bibi Dong smiled. "If it were you, would you have the courage to deliberately write a letter deceiving the Pope?"
Hu Liena was stunned and shook her head. "No."
"So, what is written here should be true. Prepare yourself. You've just come out of that place. Tomorrow I will take you out to relax and adjust your state of mind."