READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 143: Revealing the Secret
**Chapter 143: Revealing the Secret**
Buzz—
After the host finished speaking, the members of both teams released their Martial Souls one by one.
Only Bibi Dong remained still on the field without taking any action for a while.
It wasn't until everyone else had released their Martial Souls that she moved slightly, and then the Soul Rings on her body emerged from her feet, one after another.
Yellow, Yellow, Purple, Purple, Black, Black, and Black!
Boom—
When Bibi Dong released all seven of her Soul Rings, a shocking soul pressure shook her body and swept in all directions.
"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven..."
"Seven Soul Rings... My God, she really advanced to Soul Saint..."
"She's only 20 years old, right?"
"A 20-year-old Soul Saint, my God..."
"We're all completely useless compared to her nowadays!"
"…"
After seeing the Soul Rings displayed by Bibi Dong, the crowd became completely restless.
No one expected her to reach the Soul Saint level so quickly!
Those teams that had already given up hope of defeating the Martial Soul Hall Team now felt even more hopeless.
Her power left them with no shred of hope.
Undoubtedly, the ones who felt the pressure the most were the team standing in front of Bibi Dong at that moment.
"Fight! Even if we fail, we must at least give it our best!"
However, they didn't surrender directly but charged straight toward the Martial Soul Hall Team.
If they surrendered outright, they would face immediate elimination. So, there was no reason to hold back their strength now.
Boom—
The two teams began to clash.
But there were no surprises in the outcome. Once Bibi Dong joined the fight, she quickly dismantled the opposing team.
In the end, there were no surprises in this year's Soul Master Competition finals. The Martial Soul Hall Team, led by Bibi Dong, secured the final victory and successfully defended their championship title.
Gu Ziyi lost interest after watching only two matches.
This year's Soul Master Competition was far inferior to the previous one in which he had participated.
None of the teams had any standout rookies.
However, others clearly didn't share his opinion. The people across Douluo Continent were still highly invested in the Soul Master Competition, and its popularity remained quite high.
It was only during the final match that Gu Ziyi returned to watch.
"This year's Soul Master Competition has officially concluded!"
"Congratulations to the Martial Soul Hall Team for winning the championship!"
Because on the day of the final match, Qian Daoliu, the High Priest of the Martial Soul Hall, personally made an appearance.
And in the end, it was he who announced the winners and the conclusion of the competition.
"Furthermore, on this day, I will also make an important announcement!"
After the official declaration of the championship, Qian Daoliu, much like his son did previously, made an additional announcement.
"Many people still don't understand why our Martial Soul Hall has been guarding the captive Soul Beast forests for so many years to prevent them from being hunted indiscriminately by Soul Masters!"
"Today, I will clarify that point!"
"Our Martial Soul Hall prohibits the indiscriminate slaughter of Soul Beasts to control their population."
"Because as time has passed, our group of Soul Masters has become stronger and stronger. This is a good thing, because after our Soul Masters became stronger, there has been no attack from Soul Beasts for at least a thousand years."
"But as a result, the number of Soul Beasts has gradually declined over the years. If our Martial Soul Hall does not control the indiscriminate hunting of Soul Beasts by everyone, in a few years, Soul Beasts will be at risk of extinction."
"Here is some data, so you can visualize it more intuitively!"
Qian Daoliu spoke slowly, his voice calm yet majestic, making people feel compelled to listen carefully.
He also shared the changes in the number of Soul Beasts that the Martial Soul Hall had been tracking over the years.
These were the same statistics that Yu Xiaogang had previously discovered.
Of course, Qian Daoliu also understood that Soul Beasts could never be completely wiped out. There were fewer high-level Soul Beasts, but low-level Soul Beasts would continue to emerge. As long as there was Soul Power, animals and plants on the Douluo Continent would continue to evolve into Soul Beasts.
However, he deliberately withheld this information to emphasize the urgency of the decreasing number of high-level Soul Beasts, ensuring that people would take the matter seriously.
Qian Daoliu's words, transmitted via video, were also broadcast in large Soul Fighting Arenas in other cities.
In the imperial capitals of the Tiandou Empire and the Star Luo Empire, the grand Soul Fighting Arenas would be converted into venues for the Soul Master Competition every five years.
These arenas were similar to the sports stadiums on the ancient Earth where Gu Ziyi once lived—usually used for sports, but also capable of hosting concerts and large events.
The large Soul Fighting Arenas in the two imperial capitals would be the main venues for the competition, while the arenas in other cities would broadcast the matches live for public viewing.
On the Douluo Continent, the most technologically advanced facilities were undoubtedly the large Soul Fighting Arenas.
They had lights, screens, sound systems, and more.
At that moment, Qian Daoliu's message was being transmitted through these screens, allowing those watching the broadcast to hear him clearly.
"Oh, I see..."
"So that's why the Martial Soul Hall forbids people from killing Soul Beasts indiscriminately—it's because there are fewer and fewer of them..."
"It's true. In the past, it was easy for the elders of the sect to find a ten-thousand-year-old Soul Beast to use as a Soul Ring. But now, it takes much more effort to find one..."
"Not to mention higher-level Soul Beasts. Even finding a thousand-year-old Soul Beast has become challenging. In the past, you could find them on the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest, and sometimes even a ten-thousand-year-old Soul Beast would appear. Now, you have to go deeper and deeper to find them..."
"It seems like the Martial Soul Hall is actually looking out for us!"
"Of course! The Martial Soul Hall has always been good to us. They're the ones who help civilians awaken their Martial Souls for free, and they're the ones who secured subsidies from the two empires for new Soul Masters!"
"..."
At that moment, many people began to talk among themselves, realizing that Qian Daoliu's words were indeed true—the number of Soul Beasts was steadily decreasing.
"So, what should we do?"
"If this continues, will Soul Beasts really be wiped out by humans?"
"It's very possible that future Soul Masters will face the embarrassing situation of not being able to find Soul Rings to absorb!"
"Haha, that's far off. Based on the data shared by the Pope, it will take many years. We don't need to worry about it now!"
"Exactly! We should keep hunting. If we don't hunt Soul Beasts, where will we get our Soul Rings?"
"Yes! If we stop hunting Soul Beasts, how will we obtain Soul Rings? If future Soul Masters can't find Soul Beasts to hunt, then it's just their bad luck..."
"..."
Many Soul Masters began to express concerns about what would happen if there were no Soul Beasts left in the future.
"Of course, many more Soul Masters truly don't care about this issue, because according to the data released by Qian Daoliu, the Douluo Continent will not face a shortage of Soul Beasts for a long time!"
"For them, there is no lack of Soul Beasts to hunt right now!"
"After learning about this situation, at most, they might hunt fewer Soul Beasts in the future."
Naturally, many people became curious at this point. Why did Qian Daoliu suddenly bring this up?
"Master!"
"Is the Grand Elder really planning to promote the self-condensed Soul Ring?"
Only Xiao Tao, the Sword Spirit, who was with Gu Ziyi, knew this very well and couldn't help but ask him excitedly.
She knew the truth but still couldn't resist confirming it with her Master.
Because this was what she most hoped would happen.
"That's right. The Grand Elder has agreed with me to promote the self-condensed Soul Ring!"
Gu Ziyi admitted with a satisfied smile.
He, too, was very concerned about this matter.
He wanted to change the Douluo Continent by himself.
Of course, this wasn't out of mere kindness on Gu Ziyi's part—he had a purpose behind it.
Gu Ziyi wanted to see if he could obtain the so-called power of faith through this endeavor.
Initially, he planned to undergo Poseidon's divine inheritance trial, but that plan had clearly failed.
The divine inheritance tests for the God of Shura and the God of Rakshasa required entering the Slaughter City to have a chance. Without the ability to use soul skills, Gu Ziyi's strength would be greatly reduced.
His immense combat power came mainly from his self-created Soul Rings. He had extraordinary control over his soul skills and could freely develop and utilize them.
If he couldn't use his Soul Rings' skills, Gu Ziyi wouldn't dare enter the Slaughter City to train.
Therefore, the three gods he knew of from the original story, and from whom he could obtain a divine inheritance trial, were all out of reach for him.
As for Poseidon, the God of Shura, and the God of Rakshasa, it would be difficult for Gu Ziyi to pass their divine trials.
Thus, he needed to find other ways to ascend to godhood.
Helping his wife become a god—assisting Bibi Dong in completing the divine trial and ascending to the divine realm as her partner—was only his last resort.
Before taking that path, he wanted to find a way to achieve godhood on his own.
Since he couldn't access the divine trials of Poseidon or the other gods, Gu Ziyi could only try to pursue the path of faith-based ascension.
The Angel God became divine by earning the faith of many after defeating diseases and evil Soul Masters.
Poseidon conquered the seas, unified them, and prevented chaos and endless battles in the oceans, thus earning the faith of countless sea creatures, which enabled his ascension to godhood.
There were precedents showing that following the path of faith to divinity was feasible.
The only challenge was how to acquire the power of faith.
Thus, Gu Ziyi devised a plan—to spread the concept of self-condensed Soul Rings, allowing all Soul Masters to understand themselves better, value their own worth, and ultimately learn to believe in themselves.
It was precisely because of this consideration that he hadn't entirely given up on the position of Pope. Initially, he didn't want to become the Pope, as he feared it would restrict him and delay his cultivation.
But now, Gu Ziyi didn't want to lose the opportunity to become Pope.
After becoming Pope, he would continue to fulfill his teacher's dream of unifying the continent.
All of this would help Gu Ziyi gather the power of faith in the future.
"The reason I'm speaking about this today is because our Martial Soul Hall has found a solution!"
Qian Daoliu continued speaking, and everyone was shocked as soon as those words were spoken.
Had the Martial Soul Hall really found a solution?
For a moment, all eyes turned eagerly toward Qian Daoliu, hoping to hear how he managed to solve such a significant problem.
However, faced with the crowd's expectant gaze, Qian Daoliu smiled slightly and did not provide an immediate answer. Instead, he began recounting the time when Qian Xunji took Gu Ziyi as his disciple.
"Everyone knows about the Holy Son of our Martial Soul Hall, right?"
"You must have wondered why he was suddenly accepted as my son's personal disciple despite having an innate Soul Power of only Level 1, correct?"
"Today, I will reveal the reason to all of you!"
"It is because none of the Holy Son's Soul Rings were obtained by hunting Soul Beasts!"
Qian Daoliu revealed why his son had initially taken Gu Ziyi as his personal disciple.
Back then, Qian Xunji crafted a narrative for Gu Ziyi's acceptance. The Pope of the Martial Soul Hall would take in disciples regardless of their qualifications. Even a newcomer like Gu Ziyi, with only an innate Soul Power of Level 1, could be accepted if they displayed exceptional qualities.
However, this perception changed drastically after Gu Ziyi's cultivation speed exploded.
No one believed that Gu Ziyi had once been a mere waste with Level 1 innate Soul Power.
At this moment, Qian Daoliu revealed the truth. Regardless of future opinions, his son had initially accepted Gu Ziyi as a disciple due to his remarkable intelligence.
"What?"
"The Holy Son's Soul Rings weren't obtained by hunting Soul Beasts?"
"How is that possible?"
"Then how did the Holy Son acquire his Soul Rings?"
As soon as Qian Daoliu's words were heard, everyone present — including those watching the live broadcast in other cities — was astonished.
At that moment, the camera focused on Gu Ziyi, standing beside Qian Daoliu.
Facing the camera, Gu Ziyi appeared calm and composed.
...
"Your Soul Ring didn't come from hunting Soul Beasts. No wonder it was spotted by Qian Xunji!"
At the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Fengzhi was stunned to learn the truth from Qian Daoliu's live broadcast.
As one of the top three sects of the Empire, it was normal for them to have personal video transmission equipment, especially a wealthy sect like the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect.
"Uncle Sword, Uncle Bone!"
"Where do you think his Soul Rings came from?"
Ning Fengzhi turned to ask Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo, hoping they might have a clue about the mystery.
He couldn't figure out how Gu Ziyi had obtained his Soul Rings if not through hunting Soul Beasts.
"I don't know!"
"I'm unsure as well. But look, Qian Daoliu will reveal the truth soon!"
Both Douluo responded, sharing Ning Fengzhi's curiosity about what was to be unveiled.
...
"So, this is his secret?"
At the Clear Sky Sect, Tang Xiao was also watching the live broadcast of the Martial Soul Hall finals with great interest.
"That's impossible. Aside from hunting Soul Beasts, where else can you obtain Soul Rings?"
"Could he have acquired them from other Soul Masters?"
Tang Hao, who had just completed his training in the Death God Domain, immediately dismissed the notion after watching the broadcast.
In his mind, Soul Rings could only come from Soul Beasts or humans. But it was impossible for a Soul Master to drop a Soul Ring upon death.
Besides the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect and the Clear Sky Sect, Soul Masters across the entire Douluo Continent were also glued to the live broadcast, their curiosity reaching a peak. If Gu Ziyi hadn't hunted Soul Beasts, then where on earth had his Soul Rings come from?
...
"Could such a thing truly exist?"
In one of the great Soul Fighting Arenas, a beautiful woman with stunning eyes gazed intently at the screen. She was none other than Ah Yin, the 100,000-year-old Blue Silver Empress in human form.
...
(End of Chapter)
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