Of the two remaining Dragon-Tiger Great Restoration Pills, Chen Ming kept one for himself to use later and quietly slipped the other to Dugu Bo.
Because it was refined using true dragon blood essence and white tiger bone marrow, the pill was especially beneficial to Spirit Masters with dragon-type or tiger-type Martial Souls.
While the effect wasn't particularly obvious for someone like Golden Crocodile Douluo—who had already reached the limit of accumulation and only lacked a final breakthrough—it was extremely helpful for someone like Dugu Bo, who was already in the midst of transformation but still lacked sufficient accumulation.
From a cost-effectiveness standpoint, improving Dugu Bo was no less valuable than improving Golden Crocodile Douluo. After all, Dugu Bo's ability to deal with weaker opponents was already at the very peak on the continent—without question, the most efficient "mob clearer" of this era.
As his strength and Martial Soul improved, that ability would only skyrocket.
In the past, Spirit Douluo-level opponents could barely resist him for a short time, while anything below that level would melt instantly. His effect on Titled Douluo was limited—but in the future, it wasn't impossible that even Titled Douluo below level 95 would fall to him in a single strike.
...
Three days after Chen Ming arrived at Spirit Hall, the sect masters and clan leaders of every major power in the Douluo Continent received invitation letters from Spirit Hall. Within those letters was a small excerpt of the Douluo Heart Method, along with news of updates to the cultivation system.
The Lower Four Sects and ordinary sects responded without hesitation. Clan heads and elders packed lightly and rushed toward Spirit Hall at full speed.
Among the Upper Three Sects, Ning Fengzhi—who had been planning future trade routes for his sect and strategies for recruiting the next generation of talents—immediately dropped everything the moment he saw what was revealed in the letter. Like a man possessed, he summoned all the sect elders.
After leaving behind contingency plans and naming a successor in case of his death, Ning Fengzhi set out at once for Spirit Hall, accompanied by the Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo.
Even Yu Yuanzhen, the clan leader of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, who had long been in seclusion, was forcefully called out by his younger brother Yu Luomian. After a brief discussion, Yu Yuanzhen personally departed for Spirit Hall.
Within just seven days, representatives from all the major sects and powerful families across the continent gathered in Spirit City. Aside from the Clear Sky Sect and its former affiliates, nearly every top-tier force on the continent had arrived.
"What exactly is going on?"
The diplomatic envoys of the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire stood together, each seeing the same confusion on the other's face.
The two empires were not on good terms, but appearances had to be maintained. As diplomats, they were at least familiar with each other and could usually pick up some hints through conversation.
But this time, from the smallest sects to the two great empires themselves, no one knew what Spirit Hall was planning or why it had summoned everyone in such an unprecedented gathering.
Could it be that they intended to reselect the Seven Great Sects?
That was as far as the representatives of the two empires dared to think.
Surely it couldn't be that Spirit Hall planned to annex both empires—luring all their high-ranking figures together in one place just to wipe them out in a single move?
…That kind of joke wasn't very funny.
And yet, despite saying so, quite a few people quietly wondered—if that really happened, would they surrender immediately and align themselves with Spirit Hall, or stand firm and resist to the death?
...
As the noon sunlight bathed Spirit Hall, the towering Angel God statue in the center of the plaza was covered in a radiant golden glow. Dressed in magnificent robes, Bibi Dong finally appeared, surrounded by countless attendants.
"Greetings, Your Holiness."
Voices rose in unison as countless people showed their respect. That reverence was not only for Bibi Dong herself, but also for the ten-thousand-year legacy of Spirit Hall and the many generations of Popes who had come before her.
Bibi Dong stood there with an aloof expression, her bearing deep and noble. On the surface, no one could find the slightest flaw in her demeanor. Yet beneath that perfect exterior, her heart was tearing itself apart even as she felt a twisted sense of pleasure from the worship directed at her.
The moment she thought of how this reverence wasn't just for her, but also for the Angel clan—and even for that wretch, the former Pope Qian Xunji—she felt an urge to slaughter everyone present and smash the statue of the Angel God into dust.
But for various reasons, she forcibly suppressed that madness within her, maintaining the dignity and composure befitting a Pope.
"I have gathered you all here today for the sake of a new era on the Douluo Continent," Bibi Dong announced from the raised platform, looking down at the crowd with a faint, unreadable smile.
She paused for a moment, letting the tension below rise until everyone felt their hearts in their throats, before continuing:
"Since ten thousand years ago, when the Angel God established the predecessor of Spirit Hall and left behind the method for awakening Martial Souls and the traditional meditation technique, cultivation in this world has not changed for ten thousand years. But now, with the passage of time and the gradual advancement of knowledge, the era has changed once again."
As her words fell, the entire crowd erupted.
"A change in the era? What does that mean?"
"The cultivation method—has it been updated? How is that possible? The meditation method has already reached its limit. That's something everyone agrees on!"
"Impossible… but this is Spirit Hall… then maybe it is possible."
Countless people widened their eyes in shock. Even Ning Fengzhi and Yu Yuanzhen, the leaders of the Upper Three Sects, were deeply shaken.
At its core, there was no fundamental difference between the common meditation methods used across the continent and those practiced by the Upper Three Sects. Their methods had simply been refined through more extensive trial and error, with more detailed records and annotations, allowing their Spirit Masters to cultivate slightly faster.
But even such improvements had limits. Whether it took decades or centuries, the efficiency of meditation would eventually reach its ceiling. No amount of additional notes or accumulated experience could break through that cap.
If the efficiency of ordinary meditation was considered 1, then the methods of major sects might reach 1.2. This applied across the Upper Three Sects, the Lower Four Sects, large academies, and even Spirit Hall itself.
That number was widely accepted as the upper limit. To increase cultivation speed further, one could only rely on external means—training, medicinal herbs, Spirit Bones—enhancing the overall result by increasing the base.
After thousands of years of research, everyone had accepted that this was simply how cultivation worked. No one believed it was possible to break this ceiling, so attention shifted toward optimizing training and resource use.
And yet now, Spirit Hall had stepped forward to announce that this limit… had been broken? And not only broken—but openly declared?
Everyone was both shocked and thrilled. Even Ning Fengzhi, who had always been wary of Spirit Hall, felt the same.
The shock came from the breaking of what was thought to be an absolute limit. The joy came from the possibilities—if the limit was broken, then future generations of their sects could cultivate even faster.
Just as everyone speculated which elder of Spirit Hall had accomplished this feat—and how much Bibi Dong herself had contributed—an immense aura suddenly erupted in the distance.
Golden light enveloped the entire Spirit City. A sacred, tranquil, noble, and blazing presence drew the attention of everyone present.
In the distance, a stream of golden energy formed a bridge, as if cast from pure gold. Eight indistinct figures, cloaked in holy power, slowly walked forward along the radiant path.
"Greetings to the Grand Worship! Greetings to the Worships!"
In an instant, many elders of Spirit Hall dropped to their knees, showing their respect to Qian Daoliu and the others. The confident expression on Bibi Dong's face immediately faltered.
And as the eight figures approached, those with sharp eyes noticed something astonishing—
Walking side by side with Qian Daoliu… was a child.
...
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