The day of the all-grade grand competition, after Wang Zhong defeated Zhang Shuai, Bibi Dong returned to the Spirit Hall with Yue Guan, leaving Gui Mei behind to handle subsequent matters.
One was to issue her lockdown order, and the other was to monitor Wang Zhong.
As for Bibi Dong herself, she was actually very optimistic about Wang Zhong's talent. A sixteen-level Spirit Master at the age of six, even with twin spirits and full innate Spirit Power, she had not reached such a level in her youth.
It could be said that in terms of pure Spirit Power cultivation, Wang Zhong's talent far surpassed hers.
A child with exceptional talent, if nurtured properly, could become a Titled Douluo who obeyed her completely in the future. This would be of great help to her in controlling the Spirit Hall and even in executing the plan in her mind.
Furthermore, it was not only Wang Zhong, but also Hu Liena, Xie Yue, and Yan, whose future achievements were also boundless. Although they might not necessarily reach Wang Zhong's strength, the title of Titled Douluo was still assured.
What's more, these four children were close companions. If she could bring them under her command, even after decades, it would not be impossible to suppress Qian Daoliu, the Arbitration Elder.
However, as Gui Mei had said, Wang Zhong's blank past was ultimately a thorn in her side. If this matter could not be investigated thoroughly, even Bibi Dong could not fully trust them, even if she had raised them since childhood.
After all, the teacher she treated like a father had done such a shameful thing to her; a small betrayal was nothing.
Therefore, not long after returning to the Pope's Palace, Bibi Dong went to the Douluo Hall.
Back then, Qian Daoliu had obtained some information from an unknown source and had eagerly come to her to ask for Wang Zhong. That person must have known something to be so anxious.
"A rare visitor. May I ask why the Pope would suddenly grace the Elder Hall with her presence?"
In the Elder Hall, Qian Daoliu stood with his hands behind his back, looking out the floor-to-ceiling window with a calm and deep gaze.
"I am here simply to know why you look upon the child named Wang Zhong with special favor."
Bibi Dong stood in the center of the hall, holding her scepter. Her tone lacked much respect. The Pope's Palace and the Elder Hall managed the Spirit Hall, and their powers seemed similar, but Qian Daoliu, the Arbitration Elder of the Elder Hall, had the right to appoint and dismiss Popes.
In a way, the power of the Elder Hall was actually far greater than that of the Pope's Palace, but Bibi Dong still dared to speak like this because of her current strength.
To the outside world, almost everyone believed that her strength was far inferior to Qian Daoliu's, but who knew that she had reached the ninety-ninth level of Limit Douluo many years ago?
If it weren't for the fact that she had to accept the Rakshasa God's trial to break through the last step and could only exert strength around the ninety-eighth level, but as the wielder of twin spirits, this confidence made her unafraid to face Qian Daoliu directly.
"Oh, you've come for that child."
Qian Daoliu turned around. Despite being over a hundred years old, his face still looked incredibly young.
"Of course. Otherwise, do you think I would step into your Arbitration Hall!"
"Just like you, if it weren't for that child, would you have stepped into my Pope's Palace!"
Bibi Dong's voice was steady and majestic. If one listened carefully, they could hear the deeply hidden disgust mixed within.
Qian Daoliu did not answer the question. Instead, he smiled lightly at Bibi Dong and said.
"It seems you also look upon that child with special favor, do you not."
"You too have seen his extraordinary nature."
Qian Daoliu's words and demeanor made Bibi Dong's eyes narrow. She was now certain that the other party knew some information she had not grasped at all.
"Regrettably, I did not see anything extraordinary about that child. In my eyes, he is simply a child with extremely outstanding talent, possessing sixteen Spirit Power at the age of six and defeating a level twenty-six Great Spirit Master, ten levels higher than him, in a battle of rank."
"Such talent has awakened my love for talent."
Bibi Dong concealed nothing. She thought what she thought, and at their level, playing little tricks was meaningless.
No one could force a Limit Douluo to do what they did not want to do, nor could anyone force a Limit Douluo to say what they did not want to say, not even gods!
"Fighting beyond one's level, indeed exceptional talent, worthy of being a pillar of the nation. Good, very good."
Qian Daoliu praised twice and then asked again.
"That child, what is his first Spirit Ability? How powerful is it?"
The two direct questions momentarily surprised Bibi Dong.
"The child's first Spirit Ability is Thorn. Its power is quite astonishing. Not only is it incredibly hard, but when this Spirit Ability is activated, it can cover a stage with a radius of two hundred and fifty meters, and it is instantaneous."
Hearing this, Qian Daoliu looked up and sighed, "Seventy percent certainty!"
This statement made Bibi Dong's brows furrow deeper. She lacked some crucial information, so she could not understand what this "seventy percent certainty" meant.
"Bibi Dong, if you only look at Wang Zhong's martial soul, without considering anything else, what do you think of his martial soul?"
Qian Daoliu exhaled lightly, walked to the center of the hall, and looked up at the exquisitely carved and lifelike angel statue at the highest point, asking this.
The angel was a woman clad in light gauze, with wings on her back. Her flawless face bore holiness and benevolence, and her outstretched arms seemed to embrace the world, or perhaps the sky and the sun.
"Similar to the Blue Silver Grass, a typical trash martial soul."
Bibi Dong replied without hesitation.
That's right, the tree martial soul was a typical trash martial soul, holding the same status as the Blue Silver Grass.
Moreover, in some aspects, the tree martial soul was even more useless than the Blue Silver Grass.
As a plant-type martial soul, there were still two criteria for judging whether it was a trash martial soul: one was its inherent characteristics, and the other was its auxiliary characteristics.
The so-called inherent characteristics were the abilities possessed by the plant martial soul itself. For example, Zhi Lin, one of the three committee members of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, had the Sky Green Vine as his martial soul. This plant martial soul grew extremely fast, and its vines were extremely hard and tough, making it the best martial soul for Control System Spirit Masters.
As for auxiliary characteristics, they were like Shuang Yue Lian from class A, grade two. The ability of her martial soul to expel all negative states was terrifyingly powerful. There was also the Seven Star Begonia, passed down through a single lineage in the Heaven Dou Empire, whose powerful healing ability was also astonishing. These were the characteristics of powerful plant martial souls.
Although Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan's martial soul was also plant-type, it could not be used as a reference. Because in the beginning, his martial soul was also considered a trash martial soul, but he didn't know how he cultivated to reach the Titled Douluo realm and could even fuse with Ghost Douluo Gui Mei's martial soul to unleash the powerful martial soul fusion skill, the Two Forms Stillness Domain.
Once trapped, even Titled Douluo would be unable to move for a certain period, which was exceptionally formidable.
However, the tree martial soul had no inherent or auxiliary characteristics. Its growth rate was slow, and its branches were not particularly hard. It had no connection to Control System, Defense System, or Assault System. As for Agile Attack System, it was simply absurd; have you ever seen a moving tree!
For Support System, there was no chance due to the lack of auxiliary characteristics. If the tree martial soul could bear fruit, then it might be possible to develop it into a Food System, but Wang Zhong's martial soul did not have this characteristic.