Early the next morning, Xiao Lin followed his usual routine and quietly sent a letter to Spirit Hall, publishing yesterday's paper.
As for this time, Xiao Lin simply added Yao Lao's name to the paper.
Just like the previous times, the moment Spirit Hall received the paper from the "Lin Dong" alias, it was quickly passed into the hands of Pope Bibi Dong in the Pope's Palace.
"This handwriting again. Isn't this Yao Lao just Xiao Yan?"
Bibi Dong's exquisitely beautiful face bloomed with a smile. Xiao Yan's little trick might fool those who aren't sharp, but not her.
Because Xiao Yan's previous papers were of high quality, Bibi Dong still read it with hopeful anticipation.
But after just a short time, her entire demeanor changed.
Her initially expectant gaze transformed into one of complete shock. Bibi Dong was so stunned by the new paper that she couldn't close her mouth.
"This... this... this... Martial Soul Data Panel?"
At first, Bibi Dong thought the paper wasn't particularly useful—just that the data panel at the end was kind of interesting.
But then, a new thought struck her, and she immediately sensed something off.
The Martial Soul Data Panel was simply too practical.
Though she didn't understand some of the strange characters on the panel, the explanations that followed helped her grasp their meaning.
So she reread the paper from the end, starting with how the panel highlighted the advantages of a "Yarn Ball" Martial Soul, then how to select soul beasts to match those strengths.
And finally, the development of several perfect soul skills based on those strengths.
This resulted in what was once a trash Martial Soul—the Yarn Ball—actually gaining powerful utility.
In terms of reconnaissance, if a soul master with a Yarn Ball Martial Soul had high innate talent...
And if the threads could be made thinner and tougher, even such a Martial Soul could develop significant destructive power.
This was a judgment Bibi Dong made based on her years of experience as a soul master.
She hadn't expected this seemingly unremarkable paper to be this useful.
It could help Spirit Hall's officials discover Martial Souls with functional potential, even among those in remote villages with seemingly low-quality Martial Souls.
This would be immensely helpful to Spirit Hall's long-term strategy.
For once, Bibi Dong didn't want to publish this paper.
She knew full well: there were many within Spirit Hall who were just occupying positions without doing any real work.
Few truly served the people.
Among the Spirit Hall officials responsible for awakening Martial Souls, weren't there some who required payment before helping people?
Of course there were!
And what about those civilian genius soul masters who Spirit Hall never managed to recruit?
Wasn't that because some officials in Spirit Hall weren't doing their jobs properly? If they had been more diligent...
If Spirit Hall consistently recruited new talents, their strength would have already crushed the two empires and the other sects.
Would there have even been a need for Qian Renxue to impersonate Xue Qinghe and replace Emperor Xue Ye of the Heaven Dou Empire?
Those slacking officials, by helping civilians awaken their Martial Souls, also held the authority to allocate geniuses.
What if one of them secretly informed local nobles in exchange for certain benefits? That might lead to the leak of promising talents.
Thinking of this, Bibi Dong let out a cold snort, and her powerful aura as a Titled Douluo exploded.
Even the Pope's Palace shook from the pressure.
"Pope, what's going on?"
At that moment, Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan hurriedly appeared, trying to calm Bibi Dong before she damaged the palace.
"Hmph, Yue Guan, take a good look at this paper."
Bibi Dong flung the paper toward him. Her immense control over her soul power allowed it to fly steadily right into his hands.
Though Yue Guan didn't quite understand why, he still began reading it.
And as soon as he read the beginning, he was taken aback.
"Pope, this paper… also by Xiao Yan?"
"Mhm."
Once Bibi Dong confirmed it, Yue Guan became fully focused, reading every word carefully.
"Gui Mei, bring everyone who's had contact with this paper under control. I don't want any other faction learning about this."
While Yue Guan was still immersed in the paper—occasionally gasping in shock—Bibi Dong summoned Ghost Douluo.
From a shadowy corner of the Pope's Palace, a strange wave pulsed and then disappeared again.
Only a quiet "Yes" confirmed that a powerful soul master had been hiding there the whole time.
Bibi Dong hadn't yet decided whether to make the paper public.
Keeping it secret would benefit the growth of Spirit Hall's younger generation, leaving those of other factions behind.
It would also help Spirit Hall identify functionally gifted soul masters.
But of course, parts of the paper would eventually leak.
Bibi Dong had never fully trusted such a massive organization as Spirit Hall. She believed there were definitely spies among them.
The only ones she had some trust in were the high-ranking Titled Douluos who served as enshrined elders.
These people were either older than her and joined Spirit Hall earlier, or were brought in with massive amounts of wealth and power.
Elders like Yue Guan, who had a clear love for power, though raised in Spirit Hall, didn't have strong loyalty to it.
He stayed mostly because of Ghost Douluo, Spirit Hall's resources, and its high status.
Disgraceful!
If they could delay the leak of this information a bit longer, then so be it.
Bibi Dong had little hope for anything else at this point.
Then she suddenly thought: If it were my Martial Soul, what would my panel data look like?
Meanwhile, Yue Guan was already completely immersed in the clarity of the Martial Soul Data Panel.
The interface was incredibly intuitive, making it easy to understand one's own Martial Soul's strengths.
Yue Guan was already envisioning Spirit Hall's next moves...
Especially the training of the Golden Generation.
The only part that confused him was the panel's mention of "growth potential."
How exactly was growth potential evaluated?
Shouldn't most Martial Souls have fixed growth paths from the beginning?
Unless there were rare celestial herbs or divine treasures...
Otherwise, relying on soul rings to slowly mutate a Martial Soul wouldn't change its growth much.
"Yue Guan, what do you think?"
Seeing the stunned look on his androgynous face, Bibi Dong was very curious about his thoughts.
"Pope, this Martial Soul Data Panel would greatly benefit our Golden Generation. I believe it should not be released publicly yet."
Yue Guan respectfully answered.
Actually, he shouldn't have said "Golden Generation." What he meant was the group of talented Spirit Hall soul masters preparing for the next advanced-level academy tournament.
Yue Guan didn't think Spirit Hall could keep this paper hidden for several years.
As long as they could hide it for three years, when their geniuses shone in the tournament—
By then, it wouldn't matter if the paper leaked.
Because by then, Spirit Hall would have fully trained a new Golden Generation.
Other factions and academies would just be too late to catch up.
"Good, we'll follow your suggestion. After Spirit Hall's prodigies take first place in the next two tournaments, we'll publish it. At that point, we must begin aggressively recruiting functionally specialized soul masters."
Bibi Dong said with ambition in her eyes, a hint of fiery desire gleaming within.
Only Spirit Hall could lead the continent to true glory. And they would use their next two first-place victories to prove it to the world.
(End of Chapter)