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Spirit Hall City, Pope's Main Hall.
"How is the investigation going?" Bibi Dong asked urgently from her magnificent throne.
Kneeling before the sacred seat, a white-robed cleric replied, "Reporting to Your Holiness, I have spent several days reviewing the archives of Spirit Hall. I discovered that the former so-called top theorist of the continent, Yu Xiaogang, is suspected of plagiarizing a book titled An Overview of Ten-Thousand-Year Core Martial Soul Theories from the inner section of our collection. The 'Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls' that he often touts are, in fact, the ten main chapters of this book."
"What?! Are you certain?" Bibi Dong's majestic expression faltered, losing its composure.
"Your Holiness, I would not dare deceive you," the cleric replied, respectfully presenting the book An Overview of Ten-Thousand-Year Core Martial Soul Theories.
Bibi Dong hurriedly took the heavy tome and flipped to the table of contents.
Her eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at the page—every theory Yu Xiaogang once boasted about was listed word for word in the contents.
Gripping her gem-encrusted scepter tightly with her right hand to support herself, Bibi Dong spoke.
"Leave. Do not allow anyone to disturb me," she said. Her pupils seemed lifeless, as if her soul had departed.
"Yes, Your Holiness." The cleric silently retreated, and after stepping out of the hall, he signaled the guards to shut the grand doors tightly.
A sharp pain pierced Bibi Dong's heart. Something deep inside her was beginning to shatter.
Yu Xiaogang!!!
Why did you approach me all those years ago? What was your true purpose!?
As a child, Bibi Dong's hometown was destroyed by evil Spirit Masters, and it was Spirit Hall that took her in.
After awakening with innate full soul power and twin Martial Souls, she devoted herself to the Hall in gratitude and made it her life's mission to eradicate all evil Spirit Masters.
From her youth, Bibi Dong trained tirelessly, never daring to slack off for even a moment.
Within a few years, she was named the Saintess of Spirit Hall.
After becoming Saintess, she found that her peers no longer dared to speak with her.
They feared her Martial Soul and revered her status and strength.
Bibi Dong, however, detested her own Martial Soul. She refused to display her Martial Soul Avatar form in front of others.
Every time she used it, she was reminded of the evil Spirit Masters from her childhood.
She was deeply conflicted—while she was devoted to exterminating evil Spirit Masters, her own Martial Soul was the most sinister on the continent: the Spider Empress.
As her power grew, Bibi Dong became increasingly withdrawn.
Though immensely powerful, she was filled with inner conflict and even a touch of self-loathing.
But her position did not allow for such weakness. She continued to play the role of the Saintess of Spirit Hall.
Until one day, she met Yu Xiaogang.
Despite his plain appearance, Yu Xiaogang's brooding eyes conveyed a sense of arrogant self-importance. Bibi Dong grew curious: how could someone so weak carry himself with such pride?
While others avoided her, Yu Xiaogang "coincidentally" ran into her daily and struck up conversations.
This piqued Bibi Dong's curiosity, and before she knew it, she had fallen.
Yu Xiaogang was the complete opposite of her—his strength was pitiful, yet he projected an aura of unshakable inner strength.
Having had no experience interacting with peers, Bibi Dong didn't know how to relate to others.
After only a few exchanges, she gifted Yu Xiaogang her Saintess Medallion to support his theoretical pursuits.
Yu Xiaogang once told her, "If you, Dongdong, can become the strongest Soul Master on the continent, then I can become its greatest theorist."
Within days, his theories made a major breakthrough. Even Bibi Dong used his suggestions as a reference for her spirit ring age limits.
From that moment on, Bibi Dong believed Yu Xiaogang to be the continent's top theory master and viewed him through rose-colored lenses.
But they had not been together long before she confessed her interest in Yu Xiaogang to Pope Qian Xunji. After the Secret Chamber Douluo drove Yu Xiaogang away, she herself was imprisoned.
Her budding emotions were crushed, replaced by deep hatred for Qian Xunji—
And by a longing for that brief, illusory love.
Her idealized image of Yu Xiaogang was built entirely on the belief that he was the continent's top theorist. She believed they were equals—just skilled in different domains.
After Ye Lan published his new theory, New Martial Soul Core Competencies, which shared a name with Yu Xiaogang's work, Bibi Dong immediately reviewed it.
After reading it, she remained silent.
She meticulously examined Ye Lan's theory, trying to find flaws, but discovered none.
She realized that Yu Xiaogang had truly been surpassed—perhaps even by her future disciple.
Over the years, she had gained insights through cultivation that often contradicted Yu Xiaogang's theories.
But her belief in his status as the top theorist had blinded her, numbing her to the inconsistencies.
Though Yu Xiaogang's theories didn't stray far from martial soul fundamentals, he was simply the first to popularize them.
That alone had earned him the title of the continent's foremost theorist—at least in her heart.
It wasn't until Ye Lan's New Martial Soul Core Competencies was published that Bibi Dong finally woke up.
Yu Xiaogang wasn't special—he was utterly ordinary.
After shedding those rose-colored glasses, she recalled their time together from decades ago.
Now, with over a decade of experience as the Pope, Bibi Dong could see just how contrived his actions were.
Those "coincidental" encounters.
His blatant disregard for her Saintess status, despite being so humble before others.
Asking for her help just days after meeting her.
"YU XIAOGANG!!"
A surge of immense purple soul power erupted from the Pope's Hall in Spirit Hall City, soaring into the sky.
It pierced the thick black clouds, and the sacred light of the sun bathed the entire city.
Seeing the dark purple energy erupt above the Pope's Hall, the people of Spirit Hall City fell to their knees in worship.
Having vented her emotions, Bibi Dong felt a rush of catharsis unlike anything she had ever experienced.
For years, aside from the thorn that was Qian Xunji, the other was Yu Xiaogang. After leaving Spirit Hall, he fell in love with Liu Erlong, their relationship eventually becoming the butt of a continent-wide joke.
For the longest time, Bibi Dong had hated Qian Xunji for separating her and Yu Xiaogang. She had believed that it was her own unannounced departure that had made Yu Xiaogang lose heart and thus fall for someone else.
But now, without the illusion clouding her judgment, she realized her youthful feelings had been just a joke to Yu Xiaogang.
If he had truly loved her, how could he have fallen for another so quickly?
Could a real relationship end the moment it encountered a minor obstacle?
Yu Xiaogang had simply used her to steal the theories from Spirit Hall's archives.
So what did her years of unwavering loyalty, her refusal to love anyone else, amount to?
Just a joke.
Bibi Dong laughed bitterly at herself.
Now that she understood everything and her heart was clear, she felt overwhelming gratitude toward Ye Lan.
It was Ye Lan's theory that woke her up.
From this day forward, she would be none other than the one and only Pope Bibi Dong.
I am supreme.
(End of Chapter)