Seeing Guangling agree outright, Golden Crocodile stopped sighing and cleared his throat instead. "None of us have ever seen the martial soul Wanwan awakened, but she named it the Water Dragon King herself. And Wanwan has innate full soul power."
"Ah, innate full soul power..."
Guangling sighed as well, but halfway through speaking, he sensed that something was wrong.
He dug a finger into his ear and turned his gaze back to Golden Crocodile.
"Uh, if I heard you correctly, you said innate full soul power, right?"
There was a hint of uncertainty in Guangling's voice.
"Yes, you heard correctly. Your granddaughter Wanwan has innate full soul power, and she trains very hard. She's already a rank sixteen Soul Master."
Golden Crocodile nodded earnestly.
"Then why were you sighing and shaking your head just now?"
"I thought Wanwan's talent wasn't very good."
Guangling let out a soft breath, the corners of his mouth unwittingly lifting into a slight smile.
"I only sighed a few times. I never said Wanwan's talent was poor."
Golden Crocodile smiled casually.
At that, Guangling thought for a moment but said nothing, changing the subject instead. "Wanwan should be in the Worship Hall now, right?"
Golden Crocodile glanced up to check the time. "At this hour, Wanwan should be doing combat training with the Young Master."
"Once we're finished here, I need to go see Wanwan."
Guangling glanced toward the Worship Hall, then returned to his original position and waited quietly.
Before long, Bibi Dong, the Holy Maiden, and the elders of the Elder Hall entered the Papal Hall one after another.
After bowing slightly to Qian Daoliu at the front, everyone stood along the two sides of the hall and waited quietly.
Once everyone had arrived.
Qian Daoliu slowly turned around, sweeping his gaze over everyone below before finally resting it on Bibi Dong.
"The former Pope died unexpectedly, leaving the papal seat vacant. Xue'er is still young and is not yet suited to taking over as Pope. The Holy Maiden was originally the designated successor, so I intend to have her succeed to the papacy."
"Does anyone object?"
Qian Daoliu's voice was gentle, and his gaze remained on Bibi Dong throughout, never shifting away.
During his three months away from Spirit City, he had been considering who should take the papal seat even as he suppressed the Clear Sky Sect.
Had Qian Xunji stepped down under normal circumstances, the next Pope would undoubtedly have been the current Young Master, Qian Renxue. No one could have changed that.
But the current circumstances were unusual. Qian Xunji had died unexpectedly, and Qian Renxue was only nine years old. Having her become Pope now would have been inappropriate, partly because of her age, and partly because of her temperament and political skill.
With Qian Daoliu there, stabilizing the current situation for Qian Renxue would have required no more than a word from him, but he still abandoned the idea of having her succeed to the position.
Instead, he considered another candidate: the current Saintess Bibi Dong.
In terms of ability, political skill, and other qualities, Bibi Dong was the most suitable candidate to succeed as Pope, since she had originally been trained for that very role.
However, certain events along the way had sent the relationship between this Holy Maiden, who had been raised to become the next Pope, and their Qian Family into a sharp decline, leaving it deeply hostile.
Because Qian Daoliu had been in secluded cultivation at the time, by the time he learned of the matter, the damage had already been done and could not be undone.
Qian Daoliu had always felt that the Qian Family was at fault in that matter and that they owed Bibi Dong. So even though he knew exactly how Qian Xunji had died, he held little resentment toward her, because Qian Xunji had been in the wrong.
He had even brought shame upon the entire Qian Family.
Qian Daoliu had also made the decision to let Bibi Dong succeed as Pope only after careful consideration.
First, Bibi Dong's ability and political skill made her the best candidate for the papal seat.
Second, it was a way to make amends for what they owed her.
Third, in a sense, Bibi Dong had already taken revenge with her own hands. He hoped she could gradually let go of the hatred in her heart and have a better relationship with Xue'er in the future.
Under Qian Daoliu's gaze, Bibi Dong slowly raised her eyes toward the papal seat.
Her calm gaze betrayed not a ripple of emotion.
Yet deep within her eyes, a trace of hatred quietly flashed.
She concealed it so well that no one noticed.
The six worshippers at the front, including Golden Crocodile, Azure Luan, Xiongshi, and Guangling, exchanged glances before looking back at Qian Daoliu, who stood before the papal seat. After a long silence, none of them voiced any opposition.
Since the worshippers did not object, the elders of the Elder Hall were even less likely to oppose the decision at this moment.
After waiting for a while.
Seeing that no one objected, Qian Daoliu withdrew his gaze from Bibi Dong and spoke slowly. "Since there are no objections, the Inauguration Ceremony will be held in three days, and Saintess Bibi Dong will succeed as Pope."
"Go and make the preparations."
Qian Daoliu waved a hand lightly and headed toward the Worship Hall.
The other six worshippers followed closely behind him.
Bibi Dong swept her gaze over the elders present, letting it linger on Gui Mei and Yue Guan for a moment before walking toward the Rear Hall.
Once the worshippers and the Holy Maiden had left, the elders exchanged glances and headed toward the Elder Hall.
The only exceptions were the two elders, Gui Mei and Yue Guan.
They quietly watched the direction Bibi Dong had taken, lost in deep thought.
After a while, Gui Mei was the first to move, heading in the direction Bibi Dong had left. Yue Guan followed close behind.
The Worship Hall.
Qian Renxue and Bai Wanwan were in the middle of combat training when they saw the approaching group. Without any hesitation, they immediately jogged over.
However, they ran toward entirely different people.
Qian Renxue ran toward Qian Daoliu.
Bai Wanwan ran toward Guangling.
Qian Renxue stopped in front of Qian Daoliu, while Guangling scooped Bai Wanwan straight into his arms.
"Grandpa, you're back."
"Did you avenge my father?"
"What happened to that man called Tang Hao?"
Qian Renxue's eyes shone as she stared unblinkingly at Qian Daoliu before her.
"Xue'er, I wasn't able to avenge your father."
"Tang Hao went into hiding. I couldn't find him."
Qian Daoliu gently stroked Qian Renxue's hair.
"All right, Grandpa. I'll take revenge myself someday, but before that, I want to pay my respects to my father."
Qian Renxue's expression was solemn.
"All right."
Qian Daoliu agreed and took Qian Renxue's hand, then turned his gaze toward Bai Wanwan in Guangling's arms, studying her carefully.
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