On the other side, the flames of rebellion were burning across the Douluo Continent. The two great empires, Heaven Dou and Star Luo, had long been devastated. The Divine Order Alliance could only rely on its still-advantageous Soul Master legions to act like firefighters, rushing about to quell the chaos.
However, they were very clear that this advantage their Soul Masters held existed only because the Spirit Hall stood aside as a detached spectator. It was only under such circumstances that they could suppress the uprising forces.
Yet, the Spirit Hall hung over them like the Sword of Damocles, suspended above each of their heads, making them uneasy.
Of course, within the Divine Order Alliance, a large portion of their Soul Master advantage came from the Body Sect. One could say that the Body Sect had already become the backbone of the Alliance. Without this superpower, even if the old feudal lords of the continent banded together, they would have no capital to resist the Spirit Hall.
Internal Meeting of the Body Sect
Huo Qiqiang addressed everyone in the sect:
"The Body Sect was established for two purposes: one, to inherit and carry forward the body martial spirits; and two, to unite the opposing forces of the entire Douluo Continent. Now that they've already gathered together, we have no need to continue being their firefighters. This play has already reached its second half, and it's about time for us to take our curtain call."
Xiao Zhi said, "Sect Master, we've long been prepared. We never wanted to keep acting in this play anyway."
"Sect Master, how do you intend for us to step down with dignity? Right now, we're already deeply entangled within the Divine Order Alliance," Zhao Quan asked.
"No need to rush. Another set of actors has already taken the stage," Huo Yuhao replied.
Edge of the Sunset Forest
Elder Wu Yan of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, a rank 74 Soul Saint, was leading a sect disciple, Ning Qianchen, into the depths of the forest to hunt for a soul ring.
Wu Yan's martial spirit was the Scaled Armored Lizard, while Ning Qianchen's martial spirit was the Seven Treasure Exquisite Pagoda. Among the Ning family bloodline within the sect, Ning Qianchen's talent ranked in the top three. He was a carefully nurtured successor of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
"Qianchen, what attribute do you want your fourth soul ring to have?" Elder Wu Yan stroked his beard and asked.
"For my next ability, I'd like to obtain a soul skill that grants acceleration. Elder Wu Yan, please find me an agility-type soul beast," Ning Qianchen said.
"Good, leave it to me!" Wu Yan promised.
Before long, they found their target: a Swift Black Panther about four thousand years old.
"What do you think of that one?" Wu Yan asked.
"Perfect, that's the one!" Ning Qianchen answered.
"Alright, I'll cripple it for you." Wu Yan immediately released his Scaled Armored Lizard spirit and lunged toward the panther.
But suddenly, the earth split open. A massive worm burst out of the soil and swallowed Ning Qianchen whole from behind.
Wu Yan quickly turned to rescue him, but the worm rammed him aside, making him cough blood.
The worm twisted its head, its mandibles crunching through Ning Qianchen's body, devouring him, then turned toward Wu Yan.
Seeing the disciple he was supposed to protect eaten alive, Wu Yan was consumed with rage. He desperately wanted to kill the worm, but in its presence, an instinctive fear took hold of him.
"T-this… this is a Burrowing Worm. But why… why is it so enormous?" Wu Yan said, drenched in cold sweat.
"Human."
The worm suddenly spoke.
Wu Yan felt as though he had fallen into an icy abyss. Unless under extremely rare circumstances, a soul beast that could speak was almost certainly a 100,000-year-old soul beast.
"Respected 100,000-year-old soul beast, did we… do something to offend you?" Wu Yan asked cautiously.
"In accordance with the will of the Beast God Ditian, the Sunset Forest, the Star Dou Great Forest, and all gathering places of soul beasts are forbidden to humans for soul ring hunting. Any violators shall be killed without mercy!"
"How could this be? If soul ring hunting is forbidden, then we Soul Masters won't be able to cultivate!" Wu Yan swallowed hard.
"That's your human problem. I'll spare your dog life today, but next time, if you dare step into the Sunset Forest to kill a beast for a ring—you'll die. Now get out of my sight!"
Wu Yan had no choice but to flee.
Meanwhile, soul beast habitats across the continent began to stir. The number of 100,000-year-old soul beasts, which once could be counted on one hand, suddenly multiplied dozens of times. Hundreds of them became active in the Star Dou Great Forest, Sunset Forest, the Extreme North, and beyond.
In the past, humans might have rejoiced at such news, since becoming a Titled Douluo required a 100,000-year soul ring.
But now, this made them anything but happy.
The soul beasts were active on the outskirts of their territories. Any human attempting to step inside for soul ring hunting would be immediately expelled—or slaughtered.
The difficulty of soul hunting skyrocketed, from a simple mission to hell-level.
Worse still, in the past, humans were united and cooperative—elders guiding juniors—while soul beasts divided territories and killed each other, scattered like sand. That allowed humans to thrive in the cracks between mighty beasts.
But this time was different. The beasts were united under powerful leaders. In the Sunset and Star Dou Forests, it was the Beast God Ditian. In the Extreme North, the Ice Empress commanded dozens of 100,000-year beasts to block humans at the perimeter.
And if humans thought to hunt in the ocean instead, that was an even stricter forbidden zone, guarded by the Deep Sea Demon Whale, Evil Orca Kings, and other mighty sea beasts.
Behind these beast kings, it seemed, was an invisible hand orchestrating everything.
Thus, the soul beasts had imposed a soul ring blockade against humanity.
This spelled disaster for human Soul Masters.
At lower levels, they could still obtain rings from human-bred hunting grounds. But at higher levels, requiring thousand- or ten-thousand-year rings, those places could not possibly provide suitable beasts.
And those who reached such heights of cultivation were all geniuses, proud and ambitious. They had strict requirements for their rings—how could they be content with a mere decade or century-old ring? Without access to high-level soul rings, their progress would halt, and their vaunted talent would be wasted.
If this blockade persisted, all Soul Master factions would eventually collapse.
Within just one month:
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect suffered 17 beast attacks while hunting.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect suffered 23 attacks.
The Star Luo imperial clan suffered 11 attacks.
Each strike by the beasts was swift, precise, and ruthless. Except for the first messenger allowed to escape, all who entered to hunt died within the beast territories.
Very soon, this became a major headache for the Divine Order Alliance.
To actively prepare for the coming war with Spirit Hall, the Divine Order Alliance had expanded a large wave of soul master legions. But these legions were ravenous—they needed soul rings. Without soul rings, a soul master army was useless.
Thus, Yu Xiaogang convened a grand Alliance meeting to discuss how to deal with the matter.
Yu Yuanzhen, hot-tempered, slammed the table:
"Soul masters need soul rings just as men need food and water! Those damned soul beasts have robbed us of the divine right granted to us! If this goes on, when our older generation of soul masters ages and dies, and no new blood rises among humans, will we not be reduced to the slaughter-stock of soul beasts? Alliance Master, I propose we march into the Star Dou Great Forest, defeat those hundred-thousand-year beasts, and reclaim our right to hunt for soul rings!"
"That's right, Alliance Master—go to war! The soul beasts are the ones who started this war!" Many echoed his plea for immediate battle.
Seated in the Alliance Master's chair, Yu Xiaogang also felt war was inevitable. Chewing on a millennium ginseng root, letting out a fart, he said slowly:
"In that case, then—"
"Hold on—" Ning Fengzhi stood up, cutting in.
"Alliance Master Xiaogang, I believe we should not be the ones to start this war."
"Ning Fengzhi, you already have all your soul rings. Don't try to block war for your own sake!" Dai Tianfeng barked. "If we don't fight now, our juniors are desperate for soul rings! The longer we drag this out, the more talent is wasted. This is a matter of survival for all our forces!"
Ning Fengzhi shook his head.
"Everyone, that's not what I mean. Fighting the soul beasts—yes, it must be done. But this war does not need to be started by us. Our enemies are even more anxious than we are."
Yu Yuanzhen frowned, then thought it over.
"Ning Fengzhi… you mean—"
"Exactly," Ning Fengzhi explained. "Spirit Hall commands the largest soul master legions under heaven. And the Spark Academy is using their Martial Soul Factor technology to mass-produce artificial soul masters, throwing them into battle in batches. Their need for soul rings is far more pressing than ours. If we start the war with the soul beasts, they'll simply sit back, watch us and the beasts fight to exhaustion, and then swoop in to reap the spoils like a fisherman."
"Instead of letting that happen, why don't we be the fisherman? Through patience and restraint, we sit firmly on the fishing platform, watch Spirit Hall and Spark clash with the soul beasts, let them bleed each other dry, and then seize the right to soul rings for ourselves!"
"Both Spirit Hall and Spark are superpowers. But the recently risen soul beast forces are no joke either—there are more than ten beasts with over 200,000 years of cultivation! When tigers fight, the result is always death and injury. At that time, we make our move and take them all in one sweep!" Ning Fengzhi ended with a flourish, clenching his fist tightly, his expression radiating confidence.
After such analysis, the hawkish faction cooled down.
"As expected of Sect Master Ning—you are truly shrewd," Dai Tianfeng stroked his chin. "But what if Spirit Hall is thinking the same way as us? What if they also sit quietly, doing nothing? Won't we waste time endlessly then?"
Ning Fengzhi smirked slyly.
"Yes, they could think that way. But don't forget: Spirit Hall is the holy land of soul masters. That is both their glory and their burden. They must act in the name of the world's soul masters. If they try to sit idle, then we push them. We can plant agents, spread rumors, sow panic—let the masses of lower-ranked soul masters force Spirit Hall's hand."
"Good! Brilliant, Sect Master Ning. Your plan is exactly the strategy I had in mind but hadn't put to words. We'll proceed with it." Yu Xiaogang clapped his decision down at once.
So, instead of taking action, the Divine Order Alliance went quiet. They restrained their sect disciples from hunting soul beasts and instead began infiltrating Spirit Hall, spreading rumors, stirring panic, and manipulating public opinion to pressure Spirit Hall into action against the beasts' sealing of soul rings.
And it worked. The sealing of soul rings caused massive unrest in the soul master world. Every soul master who needed rings began anonymously petitioning Spirit Hall to launch a crusade against the soul beasts.
So what was Spirit Hall doing?
In Spirit City, a massive tower had been erected.
Bibi Dong sneered inside Spirit Hall:
"If we hadn't allowed them in, did Ning Fengzhi really think his spies could reach into Spirit City? Since they want us to act, let them see Spirit Hall's response. Let them fall into bottomless despair."
Then she ordered a red-cloaked cardinal:
"Summon all soul masters within Spirit Hall who require soul rings—aside from the spies of the Divine Order Alliance. Have them all gather beneath Spirit City's Spirit Transmission Tower!"
"Yes, Your Holiness the Pope."
The entire Spirit City stirred into motion. Within two days, every Spirit Hall-affiliated soul master who needed a ring had assembled—ranging from rank 10 novices to rank 90 veterans.
The infiltrators witnessed this and were overjoyed. They believed Spirit Hall was organizing a massive hunt against the beasts.
One spy exclaimed excitedly:
"Perfect! Spirit Hall couldn't hold back after all. Next, let's watch them fight like dogs while we wait."
Yet upon the Pope's throne sat Bibi Dong, and opposite her stood the strange towering structure.
At her sides stood Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo.
"Fellow soul masters," Bibi Dong addressed the assembly, "the tower before you is called the Spirit Transmission Tower. It has been established here in Spirit City as part of a cooperation between Spirit Hall and the Spark Council. In the future, just like Spirit Halls spread across the land, Spirit Transmission Towers will rise in every city and village across Douluo Continent. Now—what is its purpose? To answer that, I invite the acting chairman of the Spark Council, Tianmeng, to enlighten us."
The spies frowned. This wasn't war? Why mention this tower? What purpose could it possibly have?
At last, they turned their attention toward the tower.
The tower's soul tool elevator descended. The doors opened. Tianmeng, flanked by Spark Council members, stepped out and stood before Bibi Dong.
Tianmeng bowed respectfully.
"Greetings to Your Holiness the Pope of Spirit Hall!"
Bibi Dong rose, returning the salute.
"Now then, Chairman Tianmeng, please introduce to us the function of the Spirit Transmission Tower."