Douluo: In an extraordinary world, with unparallel understanding!

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"Scorpion-Tail Douluo? As far as I know, I have no connection to the Holy Spirit Church. What business do you have with me?"

Zhang Peng narrowed his eyes slightly, clearly surprised by Su Yu's attitude.

After all, he was a Super Douluo. On top of that, Su Yu should have been well aware of his status as an Evil Soul Master.

Then again, this level of hostility wasn't unexpected—most people had a similar reaction to Evil Soul Masters.

Meanwhile, over in Shrek Academy's resting area, Yan Shaozhe was paying close attention to this interaction.

Since he had arrived in Sun-Moon later than others, he had missed the initial elimination round and had never personally seen Su Yu's soul ring colors.

However, after arriving in the city, he had consulted Fan Yu about the key events that had taken place earlier in the tournament.

Among them, Su Yu's soul ring color stood out as something highly suspicious.

"Does he have ties to the Holy Spirit Church or not?"

Although Yan Shaozhe's covert operations to hunt down Evil Soul Masters within the Sun Moon Empire had led to numerous complications, they had also allowed him to uncover an unsettling truth—

The Holy Spirit Church did possess methods to artificially enhance a soul ring's age.

Upon hearing that Su Yu's soul ring color had changed, Yan Shaozhe's first thought immediately turned to the Holy Spirit Church.

Of course, he had considered the possibility that it was a reward from a God Trial, but the odds of that happening were extremely low.

Now, seeing Zhang Peng approaching Su Yu, Yan Shaozhe became even more attentive.

"Su Yu, your extreme Life Attribute is of great use to our Holy Spirit Church. Have you ever considered joining us?"

"???"

Su Yu was baffled.

What was this Scorpion-Tail Douluo up to?

Inviting someone with an extreme Life Attribute to join the Holy Spirit Church, an organization dominated by Evil Soul Masters?

"Sorry, not interested," Su Yu rejected him outright.

Though he had no idea what Zhang Peng was scheming, he had no intention of playing along.

Zhang Peng's smile faded slightly. "Your soul ring age has increased. And as far as I know, aside from the legendary God Trials, only our Holy Spirit Church possesses the means to enhance a soul ring's year limit."

He paused for a moment before continuing, "I have no idea whether you've undergone a God Trial, but I do know that one of our strongholds was attacked recently."

In that instant, Su Yu immediately understood Zhang Peng's reasoning.

So it's about the soul rings?

It seemed that Zhang Peng suspected him of being involved in the Burial Soul Valley raid.

Well... I mean, he's not wrong.

If Zhang Peng wanted to suspect him, then so be it. He wasn't being falsely accused, after all.

Su Yu remained completely unfazed.

Zhang Peng studied Su Yu's expression closely but failed to detect any clues. A trace of disappointment flickered in his eyes.

"I imagine that once you've experienced that sensation, you must be craving it, don't you?" Zhang Peng said with a sly smile. "The feeling of devouring spirit essence—it's quite addictive, isn't it?"

"Our Holy Spirit Church has an abundant supply of spirits. If you join us, your talent will surely earn the Sect Master's favor. Of course, if you don't want to join us right now, that's fine. Our doors are always open to you."

With that, Zhang Peng turned and left.

A few people nearby had been eavesdropping, and now they stared at Su Yu with curiosity, their minds racing over what they had just overheard.

"The 'spirits' they mentioned… they must be referring to the essence of soul rings—what I recognize as spirituality.

A soul ring's spirituality is its fundamental trait. Enhancing a soul ring's age is essentially the process of strengthening its spirituality.

The Holy Spirit Church increases soul ring age by devouring external spirituality.

Meanwhile, I've been nurturing my soul rings' spirituality from within, allowing them to grow naturally."

Even back at Burial Soul Valley, Su Yu's gains had been centered around purifying faith energy, then using it to accelerate the development of his soul rings' spirituality.

Su Yu's explanation seemed simple, but grasping the concept was far from easy.

At this moment, Xiao Ping and the others were struggling to comprehend what exactly spirituality was.

Even though Su Yu had described it as a fundamental trait of soul rings, they still found it difficult to visualize.

Among them, Xiao Hongchen, Meng Hongchen, and Xiao Ping maintained relative composure, while others looked visibly lost in thought.

"We should ask Su Yu about this in detail later. Nurturing spirituality? Enhancing soul ring age through cultivation alone? Is that actually possible?"

Previously, when Su Yu's soul rings increased in age, Jing Hongchen, Kong Deming, and others had assumed he had simply stumbled upon a fortunate encounter.

But Su Yu knew the truth.

Even if he did share his method with them, it wouldn't necessarily work for them.

After all, it required special conditions—either Immortal Spirit Energy or Faith Power to accelerate the process.

It was clear that while Xiao Ping and the others didn't fully grasp Su Yu's explanation, it did help dispel their doubts.

At the very least, it became apparent that Scorpion-Tail Douluo Zhang Peng had likely been trying to sow discord.

Even after leaving, Zhang Peng kept his eyes on Su Yu from the Holy Spirit Church's resting area.

Meanwhile, the match against Star Luo Royal Academy ended quickly.

A personal battle wasn't even needed. The Sun-Moon Royal Battle Team didn't hold back too much—Huo Yuhao played a crucial role in both the 2v2v3 match and the team battle.

With his Spiritual Detection Sharing, Xiao Ping and the others fought swiftly and efficiently.

As a Soul Emperor at rank 69, Huo Yuhao's battlefield control ability far surpassed Xu Jiujie's.

"Let's go back."

With the morning battles over, the Sun-Moon Royal Battle Team returned to Mingde Hall.

Jing Hongchen, who had been paying close attention to Zhang Peng's actions earlier, immediately questioned Su Yu about what had happened.

"Was the Burial Soul Valley incident really your doing?"

Jing Hongchen had heard rumors—one of the Holy Spirit Church's Burial Soul Valley Titled Douluos had been wiped out by a mysterious attacker.

He never imagined that this Titled Douluo-level combatant was actually Su Yu.

"Since they misjudged the situation, that likely means they never actually saw you and didn't find any solid evidence. As for what Zhang Peng said today, it was probably just a test. Your response should have dispelled their doubts."

"Compared to the Burial Soul Valley, I suspect their real interest is in the method you used to increase your soul ring's age."

At Rank 99, a Titled Douluo could begin perceiving things that ordinary people couldn't. They also gained insight into another level of existence—that is, knowledge about Godly Inheritance.

It wasn't exactly a secret that God Trials could enhance soul rings.

"They suspect I underwent a God Trial?"

Su Yu was speechless.

I really did take a God Trial… though not a true one—just a Red-Level Eight Trial.

"They probably also think you possess another method to enhance soul ring age."

The Holy Spirit Church already had techniques for devouring spirits and faith power to enhance soul rings. It made sense that they wouldn't believe those were the only ways.

Their guess was spot on!

Su Yu had no words.

(End of Chapter)