Chapter 144: The Final Preparations
Lin Mo had actually long anticipated the arrival of this day.
From the moment his Martial Soul awakened at the age of six, when Charmander appeared in his arms in the form of an egg, Lin Mo knew that with his External Beast Martial Soul and the unique nature of Charmander's continuous evolution, he would sooner or later attract Bibi Dong's attention.
And Bibi Dong was the fundamental reason why he had repeatedly refused the recruitment attempts from Su Yuntao and other members of Spirit Hall in the past.
To be precise, from beginning to end, the focus of his resistance was not joining Spirit Hall itself, but coming into contact with Bibi Dong.
Whether in the past or now, he had always maintained an extremely strong wariness toward Bibi Dong.
Lin Mo did not want himself and Charizard to become test subjects for Bibi Dong to solve the malignant mutation of Yu Xiaogang's Martial Soul.
Or to put it more bluntly, he did not want them to become expendable materials that could be discarded at any moment.
However...
Lin Mo lowered his head and looked at his palms. The lines on them were clearly visible.
Now, he finally had some meager confidence in his ability to protect himself.
However, judging from Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan's tone just now, he was afraid that he could not avoid this meeting. If he refused, there was no telling what Bibi Dong might do.
"I only hope everything goes smoothly."
Lin Mo muttered to himself.
He raised his hand and rubbed his temples, forcing himself to calm down and analyze the current situation.
From Yue Guan's reaction just now, it could be seen that the current Bibi Dong had not yet gone as insanely off the rails as she would later, and she still retained a certain degree of rationality.
In another timeline, even after learning that Tang San was Tang Hao's son during the Spirit Master Competition, she only chose to act from the shadows while still maintaining restraint on the surface.
Although the current Spirit Hall possessed formidable strength, it had not yet accumulated enough power to confront both great Empires at the same time.
For the time being, they would not completely fall out with Heaven Dou and Star Luo in the open.
Dugu Manor, living room.
Lin Mo looked up at Dugu Bo and said, "Senior Dugu, before setting off for Spirit City, there is one more thing I need to handle."
Dugu Bo raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"
"Spirit City is far away, and I don't know how many days this trip will take," Lin Mo said calmly. "I am currently a student of Heaven Dou Royal Academy. Reasonably and properly, I should inform the teachers there."
"This is the most basic etiquette. I cannot just disappear without a word."
Hearing this, Dugu Bo nodded. "That is true, but..."
"As for the academy, I will speak to them on your behalf. Chrysanthemum Guan, you should go back first. It won't be too late for us to set off early tomorrow morning."
After hearing this, Yue Guan did not say much.
For him, there was only one core task for this trip, and that was to bring Lin Mo back to Spirit City to meet the Supreme Pontiff.
As long as Lin Mo agreed to go, everything else was negotiable.
"Then I will follow your arrangements," Yue Guan said indifferently. "I will come to pick him up early tomorrow morning."
After speaking, he did not linger. His figure turned into a beam of golden light and disappeared outside Dugu Manor.
After Yue Guan left, Dugu Bo did not delay and set off directly for Heaven Dou Royal Academy, ostensibly to ask the academy teachers for leave on Lin Mo's behalf.
But in reality, the place he was going to was the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace.
Lin Mo now held the title of Earl of the Heaven Dou Empire and was a student of Heaven Dou Royal Academy.
This time, he was being personally summoned by the Supreme Pontiff of Spirit Hall. From any perspective, the Heaven Dou Imperial Family had the right to know about this matter.
More importantly, Dugu Bo needed to let Emperor Xue Ye and Prince Xue Xing make some preparations in advance.
These matters had to be communicated beforehand.
As for Heaven Dou Royal Academy? That was not the focus.
Since entering Heaven Dou Royal Academy, Lin Mo had spent the vast majority of his time at Dugu Manor or the Ye Family Medical Hall. The number of days he had actually attended classes at the academy could be counted on one hand.
The academy teachers had long since grown accustomed to Lin Mo's absence.
Dugu Manor, living room.
Lin Mo stood alone by the window, his gaze looking far into the direction of the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace.
The person he truly wanted to notify through Heaven Dou Royal Academy had never been the academy's teachers, but rather that Young Lord of Spirit Hall.
Only if Qian Renxue stepped in could she keep Bibi Dong in check.
After all, within the entire Spirit Hall, the only people qualified and capable of opposing Supreme Pontiff Bibi Dong, besides High Priest Qian Daoliu, were Qian Renxue and her faction.
And the intention to recruit him that Qian Renxue had shown had already been felt by Lin Mo back in the Star Dou Great Forest.
That thirty thousand year Sun Worm King spirit ring she had yielded was proof.
Before heading to Spirit Hall to meet Bibi Dong, he still had to find as many fallback options for himself as possible.
The night grew deep.
Dugu Bo had not yet returned, and Lin Mo had no intention of going back to his room to rest. He was sorting through his future plans in his mind.
Going to Spirit City right now was a last resort for him.
Charmander's evolution had been destined from the very beginning.
From egg to Charmander, from Charmander to Charmeleon, and then from Charmeleon to Charizard.
This path of evolution, as long as Lin Mo became a Spirit Master and began to cultivate, would inevitably be revealed to the world.
Unless he had buried himself in some deep mountain forest from the very beginning, avoiding all people and going into seclusion to cultivate until Charmander completed its final evolution before coming out.
Otherwise, as long as he appeared in the outside world, Charizard would inevitably enter the public eye and would certainly be noticed by Bibi Dong.
The only difference was whether it happened sooner or later.
Since that was the case...
Lin Mo's eyes gradually became firm.
Rather than passively waiting for that day to arrive, it was better to proactively take control into his own hands.
He would publicize his own talent and Charmander's continuous positive mutations, letting everyone on the continent know of his existence.
In this way, he would no longer be a nobody who could be erased at will.
Instead, he would be a high-profile genius, an Earl of the Heaven Dou Empire, and a junior openly protected by Poison Douluo Dugu Bo.
These identities were like layers of amulets stacked upon him.
Even if Bibi Dong had any ideas about him, she would have to consider the consequences.
The worst-case scenario would only be like today, being "invited" to Spirit City for a chat under the guise of a Supreme Pontiff summons.
And the reason it was an invitation rather than a direct arrest was fundamentally because Spirit Hall did not yet intend to tear off the mask with the two great Empires.
Assassinating geniuses who did not belong to one's own faction was a tacitly understood unspoken rule among the major powers.
But on the surface, there had never been a case of directly taking out another faction's genius in public.
The current Spirit Hall was not yet prepared to face the wrath of both the Heaven Dou and Star Luo Empires simultaneously.
This was also one of the reasons why Lin Mo dared to go to Spirit City.
He did not want to be walking down the road one day, only to suddenly be struck from behind by someone and inexplicably become a sacrifice for Bibi Dong to solve the problems on "Xiaogang's" body.
After an unknown amount of time, footsteps sounded outside the door.
Dugu Bo pushed the door open and entered. His face showed fatigue, but his eyes were still clear.
"It's done."
He pulled over a chair and sat down, picked up the already cold tea on the table, and took a sip.
"Emperor Xue Ye and the Crown Prince already know about you going to Spirit City, and they are quite satisfied with your choice."
"Moreover, Emperor Xue Ye's intention is very clear. You are now an Earl of the Heaven Dou Empire, and they will not sit idly by."
Lin Mo nodded. "Thank you, Senior."
Dugu Bo waved his hand, his tone rarely serious.
"Kid, I can accompany you to that place, Spirit City, but after entering the Supreme Pontiff Palace and meeting Bibi Dong, the subsequent matters will have to depend on you."
"Although I am a Titled Douluo, on Spirit Hall's turf, what I can do is extremely limited."
Lin Mo was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "I understand."
If this trip went smoothly, then for a long time to come, he would be able to cultivate steadily and openly.
He would no longer be affected by these trivial matters in his own cultivation.
.....
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