After explaining to Bibi Dong in detail why Qian Daoliu had summoned him, Yue Guan lowered his eyes slightly and carefully observed the Pope's face, who had already entered the ranks of Title Douluo and was rapidly rising within the Spirit Hall like an unstoppable dark horse.
Half of her beautiful and noble face was submerged in shadow where the light couldn't reach. Bibi Dong, her eyes dark and unfocused, listened to Yue Guan's report. Her slender fingers tapped rhythmically on the armrest of the papal throne until Yue Guan's heart sank slightly. Only then did Bibi Dong sigh and say:
"In that case, you should teach that child well. I will entrust the 'Gathering of Heroes' project to Ghostly for now, and we can work together to manage it after you Soul Hunters return."
Hearing this, Yue Guan felt relieved, knowing that he had passed Bibi Dong's test.
He bowed his head and replied "Yes," then left the Papal Palace.
Outside the heavy, arched doors of the Papal Palace, a ghostly figure, not draped in the red robe symbolizing the glory of a Spirit Hall elder, but simply dressed in a black outfit, surrounded by wisps of mist, turned his head to look after hearing the door open.
Looking at Yue Guan's relaxed expression, Ghostly already had a pretty good idea of what was going on, but still asked, "What did His Holiness the Pope say?"
"Just as you predicted, she really doesn't mind. She even told me to teach the Holy Maiden well and to continue that matter after I bring her back with the Soul Hunt tomorrow," Yue Guan said cryptically.
The "Elite Gathering Plan" mentioned in the Papal Palace is a network expansion plan that Bibi Dong began preparing last year.
Becoming a Title Douluo and gaining a foothold in the Spirit Hall surrounded by wolves is not enough. If Bibi Dong wants to truly take control of the Spirit Hall, she also needs to cultivate a force that is completely loyal to her.
Regardless of martial spirit, only innate soul power aptitude is considered.
The "Elite Gathering Project" is designed to recruit children with high-level soul power who are orphans, have a clean background, and have no connection with other forces.
The list of children being recruited for this plan includes not only those children with high innate soul power who awakened their martial souls at the Papal Palace yesterday, but also children from last year and the year before who are talented, non-noble, orphaned, or from impoverished families.
Ghost nodded without surprise, patted his old partner of decades on the shoulder, and said, "After all, the Holy Maiden and the Young Master are essentially her children... Since you've said it yourself, then go ahead and teach them. I see you seem quite interested in that child too."
Yue Guan smiled slightly: "Of course. I'll go back and look through the information first, and think carefully about the child's choice of first and second spirit rings."
"Alright, I'll be off then." Ghost nodded, and the two parted ways in front of the Papal Palace.
Halfway up Martial Soul Mountain, Qian Yuelong, back in her room, was checking her daily Faith Points earned.
Since becoming rich overnight yesterday, the total amount of faith points gained today is not as much as yesterday, but the total amount of debt has dropped to 378.
886 cried his eyes out as he watched his faith points plummet and his debt amount drop.
Six years!
It's finally gone from four digits to three digits, and it seems like it's about to become a positive number.
What kind of host is so useless that they haven't even gone from negative to positive in six years?!
In response, Qian Yuelong, who was taken to Wuhun Mountain at the age of two due to her special status, said that apart from Qian Daoliu and Qian Renxue, she would occasionally see other enshrined figures, but she had never seen a single other person.
With a regretful glance at the individual pieces of the dark gray S-grade set, which cost at least 3700 faith points, Qian Yuelong sadly closed the system shop, began packing her luggage, and shoved into her soul tool to prepare for tomorrow's trip.
......
As dawn broke, a bright yellow figure leaped lightly through the thin morning mist in the mountains and landed in front of the towering side hall.
Qian Yuelong, who had been waiting there for a long time, saw this and her eyes lit up as she came forward, obediently calling out, "Teacher Yueguan."
Looking at the energetic little boy, Yue Guan asked, "Did you bring everything I asked you to prepare yesterday?"
Qian Yuelong nodded: "I've brought a water bottle, dry food, and a sleeping bag."
"Very good." Yue Guan nodded in satisfaction, bent down and picked up Qian Yuelong. The pale yellow soul power aura emanated from him and spread outwards, raising clouds of dust.
A cold, rapid wind blew against her fair cheeks. Having soaked in medicinal baths for more than two years, and with the operation of the Heavenly Evolution Technique, Qian Yuelong's physical fitness was even far superior to that of the former Qian Renxue. She stretched her neck without feeling the cold, watching the scenery rushing past her, and asked curiously, "Teacher Yueguan, are we going to the Soul Hunting Forest?"
Yue Guan: "No, we're not going to the Soul Hunting Forest. There aren't any plant-type soul beasts suitable for you there. We're going to the Star Dou Great Forest. The variety of plant-type soul beasts there is far greater than what the Soul Hunting Forest can offer."
This is why he simply grabbed the person and ran away.
Qian Yuelong thought to herself, "As expected of a Title Douluo, he didn't even need to bring the Palace Guard Knights. He led me to the Soul Beast Forest all by himself."
As one of the three largest soul beast forests on the continent, the Star Dou Great Forest, whose territory is even larger than that of some small countries, has always been favored by soul masters.
Medium and large-sized soul beast forests outside of the Soul Hunting Forest do not require tokens and are unguarded, allowing entry and exit at any time.
At full speed under the title of Douluo, it took about an hour to cross two small countries and enter the territory of the Heaven Dou Empire—the outer edge of the Star Dou Great Forest.
From high above, the mountain ranges are covered with lush green vegetation, and ancient, verdant trees stand tall and short like guardians of the forest.
With Qian Yuelong's spiritual vision enabled by default, one could vaguely see a pine-shaped soul beast moving to a certain spot on the mountainside. It used its thick roots to close its eyes and disguise itself as an ordinary tree in an attempt to deceive the system.
The scenery is similar to, yet different from, the secret realms or large forests inhabited by spirit beasts that Qian Yuelong visited in her previous life.
"This is... the Soul Beast Forest..."
Qian Yuelong's eyes were bright as she traveled far from home for the first time. As the moon descended, her vast field of vision was gradually filled with lush greenery.
"We've arrived." Yue Guan put Qian Yuelong down, looked around at the dense shadows of the trees, his expression calm and composed, showing no sign of tension, as if he had arrived in his own courtyard. His soft, feminine voice gently explained to Qian Yuelong:
"This is the Star Dou Great Forest, one of the three largest soul beast forests on the Douluo Continent. Unlike the Soul Hunting Forest, which is kept by the Empire and other forces, the soul beasts that can survive in this vast forest are mostly soul beasts of the thousand-year level or above. They are extremely cunning and are masters of survival, making them very difficult to capture in the Soul Hunting Forest."
"Although I'd love to test your physical strength, for your safety, please stay close to me and try not to stray too far from me."
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