In the office of the Spirit Hall Holy Temple in Heaven Dou City, Salas was currently leading a group of Cardinals, department heads, and other higher-ups, enduring a lecture from the big shots who had arrived at the temple.
"Pope Your Majesty is very angry this time. Someone is slapping our Martial Soul Hall in the face, yet the Heaven Dou Spirit Hall, one of our two great temples, hasn't even reacted, leaving us to be led by the nose by the enemy. Tell me, how should I punish you all?"
The golden-armored man who spoke toyed with his long hair while reprimanding the group of incompetent subordinates below him.
Hearing that this big shot intended to punish them the moment he arrived, Salas and the other temple higher-ups lowered their heads even further, and Salas hurriedly spoke up.
"We have handled matters poorly and lost face for the Hall. Whatever punishment you, Corona, see fit to impose is only right."
"However, the thieves have yet to be caught. If we cannot use these remaining bodies to clear out the rebels for the Hall, we would not be able to rest in peace even in death! Therefore, please allow us to keep our useful lives for now, and deal with us after all matters have been settled!"
Salas's words and demeanor were so sincere and moving that if the golden-armored man hadn't known him for many years and known exactly what kind of person he was, he might have actually believed his act. Of course, this was a critical moment for presenting a united front, and he couldn't execute his own generals before the battle; since the other party had provided a way out, he took it.
"Fine! I will grant your request. If this is resolved smoothly, your merits and demerits will cancel each other out and I will not pursue this further. If there are any more slip-ups, you can wait to beg for mercy from Pope Your Majesty!"
Hearing this, Salas immediately led his subordinates to thank their leader for his grace.
"Yes! We will not fail your kindness, Corona."
"Alright, go and prepare! Do not let there be any more slip-ups this time."
The golden-armored man waved his hand to dismiss them, and the Heaven Dou Temple personnel immediately received their orders and retreated.
After everyone had left, the golden-armored man spoke to the empty office.
"Old Ghost, what do you think the goal of the person behind this is? Could it be you?"
Hearing his old friend's words, a black shadow quietly emerged in the office and said.
"It shouldn't be! Isn't that Old Bone Gu Rong at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect? They have no need to look far when they have someone close by."
The big shots who had quietly arrived in Heaven Dou City were none other than our Martial Soul Hall's model duo, Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan and Ghost Douluo Guimei. There was no helping it; while Bibi Dong had many subordinates, she lacked top-tier powerhouses. With the Worship Hall not speaking up, the only ones she could flexibly mobilize were the two of them, so whenever there was any major event in the Martial Soul Hall, the two of them had to run the errands. It was truly hard on them.
Yue Guan continued, "Perhaps one Gu Rong isn't enough?"
Guimei was silent for a moment before replying, "Perhaps! But if the target really is me, they are likely to be disappointed. My Ghost spirit is not of the shadow attribute. And if they dare to set their sights on us, I fear they are tired of living."
Hearing what Guimei said, Yue Guan laughed. "That's true."
Although Guimei used "Ghost" as his title and his abilities were all sorts of pitch-black and indescribable dark things, his Ghost spirit was not actually of the shadow attribute.
The Ghost Douluo's spirit was extremely peculiar. He had died once in his childhood, but through a stroke of luck, his soul was able to re-possess his body, leading to his Spirit Awakening. This resulted in a very special spirit situation: he was a ghost. In a sense, his soul was his spirit, which could be considered a special type of body spirit, leaning more toward the mental attribute.
The two pondered for a while longer, but they truly could not figure out the real intention behind the enemy provoking the Martial Soul Hall, so they eventually gave up. They would just wait for them to show up and solve the problem with their fists!
Just like that, a week passed in the blink of an eye. Yun Ming, Yue Guan, and Guimei were all waiting for the group causing trouble to appear, but they hadn't shown themselves yet. However, they all knew it would be soon.
During this week, while Heaven Dou City was very quiet, the Star Luo Empire was not.
The Holy Tribunal Soul Masters had just arrived there when they were attacked by a powerful force of soul masters. Faced with a formidable lineup of four Soul Douluo, ten Soul Saints, and no fewer than thirty Soul Emperors, two elite Holy Tribunal battalions were severely crippled on the spot.
If they hadn't been the very best of the elite units within the Martial Soul Hall specifically tasked with dealing with Fallen Soul Masters, they might have been wiped out in a single exchange against a force nearly twice their size. Even so, they suffered heavy losses. One Soul Douluo was severely injured, two Soul Saints were killed, and the losses among the lower-ranked Soul Emperors and Soul Kings exceeded seventy percent. In the end, it was only because the severely injured Soul Douluo, one Soul Saint, and the remaining wounded Soul Emperors and Soul Kings sacrificed their lives to cover the retreat that the others were able to escape with their lives.
Once the results of this battle were out, those who had been quietly watching the event were shocked. Four Soul Douluo! They hadn't expected another force outside their field of vision to possess such strength; it was no less than the Lower Four Sects, and this might not even be their full combat strength.
Of course, the fact that they had mobilized so much power to surround and kill the Martial Soul Hall's elite and still failed to wipe them out also exposed some information. Under the full investigation of the enraged Martial Soul Hall, their background was quickly dug up.
These people all came from a mysterious organization called the Fallen God Society.
The Fallen God Society was a force of Fallen Soul Masters that had appeared in the circle of Fallen Soul Masters over a decade ago. No one knew who their leader was, and very few had ever seen him, but what was known was that this person was likely very wealthy and had a strong backing. When this organization first began its activities, this person had been waving Gold Soul Coins around in the Fallen Soul Master circle to recruit powerhouses.
They were Fallen Soul Masters, after all; one only had to think about their character to know what they were like. Seeing such a flashy, wealthy upstart, how could they tolerate him? A powerful Fallen Soul Douluo, feeling his own strength was sufficient, immediately organized a group of experts to feign defection, intending to pull off a heist. As for the final result, the fact that the Fallen God Society still existed today said it all: the group that had feigned defection was all hung on the city walls the very next day.
After this incident, the Fallen God Society became an overnight sensation in the Fallen Soul Master circle. With money, strength, and generosity, they were quite attractive to many Fallen Soul Master powerhouses, and for a time, many chose to join them.
But just as the Fallen God Society's strength increased rapidly in a short period, and everyone thought they were going to be like the predecessor organizations that planned terrorist attacks and resisted the "tyranny" of the Martial Soul Hall, they mysteriously disappeared. They stopped walking the Soul Master World in a very low-key manner, as if the Fallen God Society had never existed at all.
This led the Martial Soul Hall to believe at the time that it was some justice-obsessed descendant of a soul master family acting as bait to plead for the people. Who would have thought that this force, which had been silent for many years, would pull off such a massive stunt the moment they struck!
Of course, the result of such a move was that the remaining eight battalions of the Martial Soul Hall's Holy Tribunal, led by their head, the level 95 Power Attack System Titled Douluo "Demon Bear Douluo," mobilized in full force to hunt down the Fallen Soul Masters who had ambushed their colleagues.
With a Titled Douluo on the move, the people of the Fallen God Society naturally had no choice but to flee. While doing their best to avoid a direct confrontation with Demon Bear Douluo, they relied on rear-guard tactics and spearhead breakthroughs, succeeding in breaking out of the encirclement at the cost of the lives of two Soul Douluo, seven Soul Saints, and half of their Soul Emperors.
The remnants of the Fallen God Society fled, and the Martial Soul Hall forces pursued; this chase lasted for an entire week. Yet, during this process, Yun Ming, Yue Guan, and the other big shots who understood the situation were shocked to discover that the direction they were heading was actually Heaven Dou City!
Combined with the fact that there were about eight Holy Tribunal battalions and one Super Douluo behind them, Yun Ming realized that this group was actually still luring the Martial Soul Hall's elites into Heaven Dou City.
After learning about the past history of the Fallen God Society, Yun Ming did not think their leader was an idiot. Anyone who thought a man capable of suppressing such a group of fierce warriors for over a decade without showing off was a fool, was the biggest fool of all. Therefore, the only possibility was that his scheme was likely far greater than anyone had imagined.
South of Heaven Dou City, the Fallen God Society Leader, having received news that his subordinates had finally arrived, wore a smile on his face and said to the butler behind him.
"Let's go, Yi Lao. It's time for the show to begin."
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Translated by: randomtranslator.com
Proofread by: DaoistReader