Chapter 53: Conversation in the Rainy Night! Kindred Spirits! Attending the Banquet!

The woman's sudden shift in topic caused Lu Yu's pupils to constrict slightly.

Judging from her words... Could this woman possibly be from the Spirit Hall?

Yet, he had never heard of such a figure belonging to the Spirit Hall!

With thoughts racing through his mind, Lu Yu replied, "The Spirit Hall is a transcendent force in the world of soul masters. The number of soul masters under its banner is vast, far beyond the reach of the two great empires."

Clearly unsatisfied with this standard, conventional answer, the woman pressed further, "Then what does sir think of the Supreme Pontiff of the Spirit Hall?"

As Lu Yu was searching his memory to see if any high-ranking powerhouse of the Spirit Hall matched the woman before him, he was somewhat distracted and subconsciously blurted out:

"A pathetic woman whose power reaches the heavens and whose authority spans the world."

The woman froze for a moment, then fell silent, her eyes flickering incessantly.

Lu Yu snapped back to his senses, cursing inwardly at his own bad luck as his muscles instantly tensed up, raising his guard.

Right then, he felt like slapping himself across the face. Damn it...

Right in front of a powerhouse from the Spirit Hall, what kind of harsh, bare truths was he carelessly blurting out?

The woman did not seem angered; she simply asked in a calm tone, "Since you say her power reaches the heavens and her authority spans the world, why do you call her pathetic?"

Things having progressed to this point, Lu Yu had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue. "She is very intelligent and extremely powerful. Under her leadership, the Spirit Hall will reach unprecedented heights of brilliance."

"Yet every matter has two sides. She was deeply wounded by love, leading to an extreme personality that has strayed from her original intentions and taken a crooked path."

"If she can achieve invincibility across the continent, naturally no accidents will occur."

"But if someone blocks her path, the era of the Spirit Hall will transition from brilliance to twilight..."

The woman frowned, gazing fixedly at Lu Yu as she waited for him to go on.

Feeling an invisible pressure enveloping his whole body, Lu Yu took a deep breath and continued:

"She once suffered deeply from the poison of discrimination between the noble and the humble. She wishes to abolish the aristocratic system and integrate the fragmented world of soul masters."

"This much can be seen from her various measures targeting the two great empires ever since she took control of the Spirit Hall."

"This is a good thing for the Douluo Continent, a good thing for soul masters, and equally a good thing for commoners."

"After all, once the two great empires are gone, and the oppression of the nobility is removed, the lives of ordinary people will only grow better and better."

"Yet, wounded by love, she embarked on an extreme path, attempting to sweep away all dissenting voices with iron-fisted methods, thus standing in opposition to both the two great empires and the common people."

Hearing Lu Yu's words, the woman was struck as if by lightning. She stood frozen in place, the black umbrella in her hand slipping unconsciously to the ground.

Bibi Dong's gaze towards Lu Yu gradually shifted.

Just as Lu Yu had said, abolishing the nobility and integrating the world of soul masters had been her original intention!

Yet all her ambitions and reverence had been destroyed in a single stroke by that beastly teacher.

Yu Xiaogang's infidelity had also made her utterly despair of this world, causing the hostility in her heart to grow heavier by the day.

Precisely because of this, she had formulated a series of plans!

She wanted to completely annihilate the two great empires, to slaughter all who opposed her, and to rule the entire continent!

Yet she had never spoken her original intentions to a single soul, only for them to be laid bare with a single phrase by the young man before her!

Especially the sentence, "She once suffered deeply from the poison of discrimination between the noble and the humble." These words pierced straight into Bibi Dong's heart.

Back then, if not for the fact that Yu Xiaogang possessed only the aptitude of waste, how could she have suffered such a tragic fate afterward?

Bibi Dong's heart churned as if a jar of five flavors had been spilled, feelings immensely complicated.

After a long while, she spoke softly, "What do you think she should do?"

From the emotional fluctuations of the woman before him, Lu Yu had already faintly guessed her identity. While inwardly shocked, he forced himself to maintain a light and breezy facade on the surface, shrugging his shoulders as he said:

"What else can she do? Either abdicate and retire into seclusion to live a carefree and unrestrained life!"

"Or kill the unfaithful scoundrel, find another worthy person to entrust her life to, and rediscover her original intention."

"Or... continue walking the path beneath her feet, charging forward triumphantly, or be cut down midway!"

Standing in the curtain of rain and gazing at the young man before her, two words suddenly surfaced in Bibi Dong's mind...

Soulmate!

Even the once-beloved Yu Xiaogang had never given her this feeling!

Abdicate and retire into seclusion? Live a carefree and unrestrained life?

How easily said!

Once the crown of the Supreme Pontiff was donned, it became all the more difficult to ever take it off again.

Kill the unfaithful scoundrel and find another worthy person?

Yet under the vast heavens, who could possibly be worthy of her?

At this thought, Bibi Dong suddenly froze, staring blankly at the young man before her.

Twelve years old, a four-ringed soul ancestral master, a soul ring configuration that exceeded limits, someone who laid bare her original intention in a single sentence, a soulmate impossible to find anywhere under the heavens...

Beneath her disguise, Bibi Dong's pretty face flushed red, and she hurriedly banished the chaotic thoughts from her mind.

What kind of joke was this?

Putting aside the age gap between them, how could she ever be someone who changed her affections at a whim like Yu Xiaogang?

However...

This young man was right; the path she walked was far too extreme.

Had she not been awakened by a single phrase today, she likely would have continued stubbornly down her own misguided path.

If things went on like that, what meaning would there be even if she ruled the entire continent?

At this realization, a trace of relief suddenly flashed through Bibi Dong's eyes. Then, a smile bloomed across her face as she said softly to Lu Yu, "Thank you."

Hearing her words, Lu Yu was stunned.

What had he just heard?

This woman, suspected to be the Supreme Pontiff of the Spirit Hall, had actually said thank you to him?

Immediately afterward, Lu Yu felt a blur before his eyes, and the woman vanished without a trace.

Only the black umbrella left on the ground remained as proof that the woman had just been there.

Standing in the curtain of rain for a long while longer, Lu Yu finally took a deep breath, raised his head to look at the sky, and saw his gaze gradually turn sharp and resolute.

The conversation with that woman just now was the first time he had experienced a sense of powerlessness since coming to the Douluo world.

Although he possessed numerous trump cards and was even confident he could escape unscathed from the hands of Title Douluo powerhouses.

Yet when facing that woman, Lu Yu had a lingering feeling that even if he pulled out every single trick at his disposal, it would all be in vain.

Unless he reversed the Reverse-Life Triple Incantation, returning his entire being to the state of primordial breath (*Xiantian Qi*).

In that case, while he would be confident of escaping, he would lose all his soul power cultivation and even suffer damage to his foundational roots.

Although Lu Yu was not afraid to start over from scratch, repairing one's foundation was no easy task.

At this moment, only a single thought remained in Lu Yu's mind: to become stronger!

Gathering his thoughts, Lu Yu picked up the black umbrella from the ground, stowed it away into his soul guide ring, and then leaped down from the platform, returning to his room.

Half an hour later, Lu Yu followed the Heaven Dou Empire's delegation out of the hotel and headed toward the Star Luo Imperial Palace.

To attend the banquet!

...

"Your Holiness, how is it? Didn't I tell you? That Lu Yu is simply a monster of a genius!"

In a dimly lit room, Yue Guan looked at the hazy figure behind the screen, speaking with an air of anticipation.

Behind the screen, Bibi Dong said softly, "Mm, this child is indeed extraordinary. Under the vast heavens, not a single man can compare to him."

Hearing this, Yue Guan froze in astonishment.

Although Lu Yu possessed monstrous talent, standing at the heights of Her Holiness the Supreme Pontiff, she would never casually give such a high evaluation!

Hesitating for a moment, Yue Guan probed cautiously, "Then... did he agree to join the Spirit Hall?"

Bibi Dong fell silent for a moment before speaking, "Ghost, Chrysanthemums, Yue Guan, Nana, bear this in mind: starting today, if you ever cross paths with Lu Yu, show him three parts of courtesy."

"If he encounters danger, rescue him with all your might!"

At this command, Hu Liena standing beside Yue Guan, as well as Ghost Douluo and Chrysanthemum Douluo not far away, were all struck completely dumb.