Having reached the Spirit Elder Realm, Jin Bao's physical fitness had improved significantly, and his stamina was much better. Consequently, it only took them a day and a half to emerge from the mountain range. Instead of stopping at the small town outside the mountains, they went directly to the Spirit Hall in the nearest official town to rest and reorganize.
While Jin Bao washed up, ate, and rested, Muluofu went to inquire about the status of his mission.
"Please come in."
After Muluofu entered the office, he displayed his identity and mission credentials.
"So you are from the Cathedral. Although this mission wasn't ultimately reported by us, we have recorded some relevant situations and intelligence," the person responsible for receiving Muluofu said respectfully.
Spirit Hall is divided into levels. The lowest level is the Branch Hall, typically found in ordinary villages. They usually don't even have permanent staff and are only opened once a year for the Spirit Awakening.
The second level is the Sub-Hall found in towns like this one. Besides being responsible for Spirit Awakenings in their own town, they must also send personnel to Branch Halls within their jurisdiction for Spirit Awakenings.
Generally, unless there are special circumstances, the Rank of a Spirit Hall will not be upgraded. For instance, the one in Jin Bao's home city remained a Sub-Hall even after it expanded slightly.
Above that is the Cathedral level. These Spirit Halls are located in major cities and even possess some academy-like functions, nurturing outstanding Disciples to a certain level before sending them to the academy in Spirit City. Those who serve as Hall Masters in such places are middle-ranking members of Spirit Hall, fiercely loyal, and even the families they establish are dependent on Spirit Hall.
Next is the Sacred Hall, which only exists in Spirit City and the capitals of the Two Great Empires, staffed by figures at the Bishop level of Spirit Hall. While their strength might not reach that of a Titled Douluo, their status is very high, and most importantly, they are loyal to Spirit Hall.
Following that is the Supreme Pontiff Palace, where the current Supreme Pontiff resides; there is only one.
Above that are the Enshrinement Hall and the Douluo Hall. Although they have two different names, only the former actually houses people. The latter is prepared for the deceased, recording their names, contributions, and deeds for future generations to admire—it is a form of honor.
Because there are many Sub-Halls, they encounter many matters, though most are trivial. If they encounter something truly important that they cannot solve, they must report it to the Cathedral, which then reports it to the Sacred Hall.
"The strongest member of this group of Spirit Master bandits should be a Spirit Ancestor, though his spirit ring configuration isn't strong, including a ten-year spirit ring. However, the entire team is composed of Spirit Masters, with the weakest being at the Spirit Grandmaster level, making them very troublesome for us," the Hall Master said.
Muluofu looked at the information in his hand. "Has their range of activity not been deduced yet?"
Spirit Masters have stamina far exceeding ordinary people; if they truly wanted to run, it would be difficult for him to catch up. It was precisely because the other party was committing crimes while moving within a fixed area that he was sent to handle it directly.
"Well, besides the two villages they struck earlier, they have mostly been targeting merchant caravans..." the Hall Master explained.
Muluofu replied, "I understand. I'll go check the nearest village first."
Seeing Muluofu return, Jin Bao asked, "Teacher, is there any definite news?" Muluofu had told him about this matter earlier.
Muluofu said, "No definite news. We can only go check the last village they attacked first. Let's go together!"
Since they were just looking for clues, he felt there was no danger, so taking Jin Bao along was not an issue.
Although the two were walking, they soon arrived at the original site of the village.
By this time, most of the houses had been reduced to ruins; only the Spirit Hall and a few other buildings remained standing.
The bodies had already been disposed of, and since over ten days had passed since the incident, even some of the bloodstains were no longer obvious.
Jin Bao looked at the situation. "Teacher, can there still be any clues here?" Logically, even if there were clues, they should have mostly disappeared with the passage of time.
However, as his gaze swept across a patch of ruins, he noticed a strange glimmer flash before his eyes.
'Wait! What's that?' Jin Bao knew that his eyes possessed a unique ability.
He quickly ran to that patch of ruins and soon tossed the broken house debris aside; the light before his eyes grew even brighter.
'Golden level, equivalent to at least a thousand-year level medicinal herb. How could something like this appear in a place like this?' Jin Bao wondered as he moved the last piece of wood.
"Is this... a statue?!" Jin Bao looked at the dust-covered statue on the ground. After using spirit power to shake off the dust, he used the water bag in his hand to wash it.
"What a strange statue!" Jin Bao looked at the statue in his hand. It was a statue of a beast, but some parts were broken. It was originally a stone carving, so he couldn't tell exactly what it was.
At that moment, he felt a warmth in his chest, and immediately after, a stream of energy flowed out of the statue in his hand, following his arm into his body.
Right at the position of his chest. Jin Bao looked around; Muluofu was still checking for clues.
Unbuttoning his shirt, Jin Bao looked at his chest.
There, a distinct Money mark had actually appeared!
However, compared to the image of his Spirit, it was still somewhat blurry, like a pattern drawn heavily with a pencil that had been erased, leaving only a faint trace behind.
"What on earth is going on? Shouldn't this thing have directly become my Spirit?" Jin Bao wondered as he buttoned his clothes. Looking back at the statue in his hand, it had already turned to ash.
Washing his hands clean, Jin Bao walked over to Muluofu's side. "Teacher, did you find any traces?"
Muluofu stood up. "I actually found something! This trip wasn't in vain!"
Jin Bao looked at the piece of wood in Muluofu's hand. "What is this?"
Muluofu said, "This is a special kind of wood. Cultivating with it has the effect of Calming the mind and focusing the Qi. However, there are only two places that produce this: first is the Spirit Hall, and second is the nobility of the Star Luo Empire."
"So, this band of robbers is a force nurtured by Star Luo Empire nobles?" Jin Bao asked.
"It might be more than just a force nurtured by nobles; after all, this place is quite remote!" Muluofu said, looking at the wood in his hand.
Just then, the sound of galloping hooves rang out.
Muluofu's expression changed. "These fellows... it seems there really is a problem!"
Jin Bao frowned. Only the Hall Master of the town's Spirit Sub-Hall knew they were coming here. While he couldn't rule out that someone internal knew about this, that Hall Master was the most suspicious!
"Be careful, find a concealed place to hide, and maintain your distance from me. Remember, no matter what happens, do not come out on your own!" Muluofu said.
Jin Bao nodded, found a nearby house that had half-collapsed, and quickly ducked inside.