Chapter 76: The Battle for a Title - Spirit Hall Intervenes

"The Title Conferment Ceremony now begins. Thank you to all the distinguished guests for coming to witness this event!" For this ceremony, Ning Fengzhi had specially invited the professional host of the Heaven Dou Battle Arena. This host's martial soul was rather interesting—it was a microphone, making him naturally suited for hosting such events. "Now, we invite the newly conferred Title Douluo, Elder Yin Yang, to step forward." Ning Fengzhi nodded at Yin Yang, who understood and walked to the center of the hall. His entire body shimmered with electric light as nine soul rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black—circulated around him, glowing brightly. Compared to testing soul power, directly releasing soul rings was far more straightforward. The immense pressure swept over the audience. Even the powerful Soul Douluo experts, such as Huyan Zhen and Tuoba Ye, looked visibly uncomfortable. In the face of a Title Douluo, these high-level Soul Douluo could hardly call themselves strong—at best, they might last two or three moves. The only ones who remained completely composed were the other Title Douluo present, such as Chen Xin and Yu Yuanzhen. However, a trace of envy could still be seen on Yu Yuanzhen's face. As the sole pillar of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, he desperately wished for another Title Douluo to share the burden with him. Looking at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, they boasted three Douluo—no, now four Douluo. He had come specifically to witness this fourth Title Douluo's conferment. "Your Eminence, please announce your title," the host said. Yin Yang surveyed the crowd and loudly declared, "My title shall be Thunderhawk!" The title of Thunderhawk Douluo—a straightforward and fitting name—matched Yin Yang's martial soul without coming across as overly ostentatious. The audience felt it was an appropriate choice. "Wait a moment!" At that exact moment, a sinister voice echoed from outside the hall. "Thunderhawk as a title? How can that possibly convey dominance? The Spirit Hall has thought of a better one for your eminence—Thunder God Douluo. How does that sound?" "Gui Mei!" Ning Fengzhi's face darkened as he turned to the newcomer. The Spirit Hall was trying to make enemies of his Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. The title "Thunder God" was something even Yu Yuanzhen, who ruled over lightning in the world, dared not claim. If Yin Yang chose this title, the first to oppose it would undoubtedly be the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. What a blatant attempt at sowing discord! "Sect Master Ning, I hope you don't mind our uninvited arrival," said Ghost Douluo Gui Mei with a sinister smile. Behind him stood Soul Douluo Lor Diarra and three young individuals, around fifteen years old—two males and one female. Their faces carried an air of arrogance, and even in this gathering of Soul Douluo and Title Douluo, they could not conceal their pride. "Of course not," Ning Fengzhi replied with a forced smile. "I assumed that Her Holiness the Pope and the elders of the Spirit Hall would be too busy to concern themselves with the minor matter of our Title Conferment Ceremony. Since Your Eminence Ghost Douluo has graced us with your presence, I extend a sincere welcome." "However, as for what title Elder Yin Yang chooses, that is his decision to make. There is no need to trouble Your Eminence about it." "Heh, not so." Gui Mei sneered. "All soul masters under heaven fall under the jurisdiction of the Spirit Hall. The conferment of a Title Douluo's title is no small matter. Naturally, the Spirit Hall must be involved. After all, even though Elder Yin Yang belongs to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, his name will still be recorded in our Douluo Hall." Inside the hall, both Ning Fengzhi and Yu Yuanzhen furrowed their brows. The Spirit Hall was outrageously domineering, essentially implying that all soul masters must bow to their authority. At this moment, Tian Lin suddenly stepped forward with a smile. "Uncle Ning, this senior Ghost Douluo does have a point. It seems we overlooked something. As the organization that records all soul masters, the Spirit Hall is as important as the Imperial Archives of the Heaven Dou Empire. We must have been careless." Hearing this, Yu Yuanzhen laughed heartily. "Exactly! Sect Master Ning, how could you, a wise sect leader, overlook something that even a child understands? The Spirit Hall is to the continent what the Imperial Archives are to an empire. It is truly embarrassing for you to have forgotten this." "Master Yu is right." Ning Fengzhi immediately caught on to Tian Lin and Yu Yuanzhen's implied sarcasm. He quickly joined in their mockery. "Here, I sincerely apologize to Your Eminence Ghost Douluo. I assure you this oversight will not happen again." Gui Mei's face darkened. They had compared the Spirit Hall to the Imperial Archives—a place that merely recorded historical events but held no actual authority. While the archives recorded the names of emperors and generals, they had no power to command them. The comparison cleverly undermined Spirit Hall's claims. "Boy, I know who you are. You're the disciple of Sword Douluo, aren't you? You're quite sharp for someone so young. But overly sharp people don't live long." Gui Mei suddenly locked his gaze on Tian Lin, sending a spiritual shockwave toward him. No one had expected Gui Mei to strike so suddenly. His martial soul was extraordinarily sinister, with invisible attacks that left no trace. Even when using spirit abilities, only his ghostly image appeared—his soul rings remained hidden. For a moment, not even Sword Douluo could react in time to protect Tian Lin. However, Tian Lin had anticipated this. A gray-white light suddenly shot out from behind him, colliding with Gui Mei's spiritual attack. As the two forces clashed, Tian Lin's eyes gleamed. "Golden Flame Soul Annihilation!" The Ultimate Fire attribute infused into the gray-white light overwhelmed Gui Mei's attack. Sensing danger, Gui Mei hastily withdrew, but his spirit was still scorched by the flames and the light. Of course, Tian Lin himself did not possess the strength to achieve this. The true source of the attack was the gray-white light, which Tian Lin had merely enhanced with his Ultimate Fire attribute. At that moment, the audience could see that the glazed tiles on the floor touched by the light had turned into stone. There was only one ability capable of this transformation. "Medusa's Gaze! Old Poison, come out!" Gui Mei roared furiously. "Heh, Old Ghost, I didn't expect to see you so soon after you and Chrysanthemum Douluo lost to me. What's the matter? Have you come to deliver more soul bones?" A flash of emerald green light appeared as Dugu Bo seemed to teleport behind Tian Lin. He had been present all along, but his dislike of crowds had kept him hidden. Only when Gui Mei arrived did he decide to protect Tian Lin in secret. Gui Mei's face twisted with rage. Dugu Bo's words, though true, were immensely humiliating to the Spirit Hall. To make matters worse, he had said it in front of everyone, further tarnishing their reputation. Still, Gui Mei had sworn on his martial soul during their previous encounter, leaving him no choice but to keep his word. With a flick of his hand, he retrieved two pre-prepared soul bones from his storage tool and tossed them over. "Take them. Our matter is settled." Seeing this, the crowd was stunned. Dugu Bo, whose strength was among the weakest of the Title Douluo, had defeated the combined forces of Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo. Could it be that he had recently encountered some fortuitous event that had greatly enhanced his power?