Qian Daoliu's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly as he carefully studied Bai Wanwan from head to toe, as though he had discovered something that intrigued him.
Noticing Qian Daoliu's gaze, Guangling immediately introduced him to Bai Wanwan. "Wanwan, this is the Grand Elder."
After the brief introduction, Guangling set Bai Wanwan back on the ground.
"Greetings, Grand Elder."
Bai Wanwan bowed respectfully to Qian Daoliu.
"You have a promising future."
"Rise. Work hard on your cultivation from now on."
Qian Daoliu nodded slightly to Bai Wanwan, then led Qian Renxue toward the Worship Hall, though his gaze occasionally flicked toward Bai Wanwan beside him.
He had sensed a trace of a deity's aura on Bai Wanwan.
Although that aura was extremely faint, almost imperceptible, Qian Daoliu had still keenly detected it as a Divine Envoy.
That was also why he had just said Bai Wanwan had a promising future.
"You've earned the Grand Elder's praise, Wanwan. You'll have to work hard on your cultivation from now on."
"Oh, right. Golden Crocodile and Azure Luan told me that even they had never seen the martial soul you awakened. Once we enter the Worship Hall, release it so Grandpa can take a look."
"There are a few other worships, too. Grandpa will introduce you to them in a moment."
Guangling took out a small arrow and kept twirling it in his hand, his eyes full of amusement.
As her grandfather, he was naturally delighted that Bai Wanwan was so talented.
What was more, Bai Wanwan had even received praise from the Grand Elder, Qian Daoliu. Among the younger generation, those who could earn the Grand Elder's praise could be counted on one hand.
They entered the Worship Hall.
With Guangling's introductions, Bai Wanwan greeted Xiongshi, Qian Jun, and Jiang Mo, the three worships she was meeting for the first time. Then, at Guangling's prompting, she released her martial soul: the Water Dragon King.
The instant her martial soul emerged, the temperature in the hall dropped rapidly, and a yellow hundred-year soul ring flickered continuously beneath Bai Wanwan's feet.
At the same moment, every worship's gaze converged on the martial soul behind Bai Wanwan.
But after examining it carefully and realizing that none of them had seen this martial soul before, the worships turned toward Qian Daoliu in the seat of honor, hoping the Grand Elder could give them an answer.
Qian Daoliu quietly studied Bai Wanwan's martial soul, then shook his head gently, indicating that he had never seen it either.
After a while.
Bai Wanwan withdrew her martial soul into her body and stood respectfully beside Guangling.
"Ahem."
Golden Crocodile picked up the teacup beside him and coughed softly, casting a discreet glance toward Guangling as though reminding him of something.
Taking the hint, Guangling picked up the teacup beside him and handed it to Bai Wanwan. "Wanwan, go offer the Second Worship a cup of tea. From now on, he'll be your teacher."
As he spoke, Guangling reached out and ruffled Bai Wanwan's hair.
"All right, Grandpa."
Bai Wanwan agreed, then carried the teacup over to Golden Crocodile.
"Your disciple, Bai Wanwan, greets you, Teacher."
Bai Wanwan bowed and offered him the teacup with great respect.
"Good. From now on, you are my disciple."
Golden Crocodile accepted the teacup and took a small sip before setting it down. He took out a bracelet and placed it in Bai Wanwan's hand. "This is a Storage Soul Tool. The space inside should be enough for your everyday needs. Consider it my gift to mark your apprenticeship."
"Thank you, Teacher."
Bai Wanwan thanked him and put the bracelet on her wrist. After examining it closely, she found it quite pretty.
"Tomorrow morning, I'll continue teaching you Body Tempering."
Golden Crocodile nodded in satisfaction, his tone warm and kindly.
Seated nearby, Guangling looked at the Storage Bracelet on Bai Wanwan's wrist, then at the thoroughly satisfied Golden Crocodile. An unexpected thought came to him.
Had Golden Crocodile set his sights on my granddaughter ages ago? He even prepared an apprenticeship gift in advance.
Despite that thought, Guangling's expression did not change, and he continued twirling the small arrow in his hand.
Bai Wanwan returned to Guangling's side and stood obediently, quietly listening to the worships' conversation.
From their conversation, Bai Wanwan learned that the Grand Elder had already named Saintess Bibi Dong as the Next Pope. The inauguration ceremony would be held in three days.
Once Bibi Dong became pope, the next matter would be Qian Renxue's mission to infiltrate the Heaven Dou Empire.
Stealing a glance at Qian Renxue beside Qian Daoliu, Bai Wanwan lowered her head in thought.
Bibi Dong's ascension as pope was already settled, but there was still room to intervene in Qian Renxue's infiltration of the Heaven Dou Empire.
Over their three months together, she and Qian Renxue had become very close.
There were two main issues with stopping Qian Renxue from going undercover. The first was whether she could stop it at all. Although she was Guangling's granddaughter, she clearly had no say in such an important matter at present.
To stop it, she would primarily have to get her grandfather, Guangling, to act. Strictly speaking, however, Guangling only had a say, not the final decision. The real decision rested with the Grand Elder, or with Qian Renxue herself.
The second issue was the consequences it would bring. As someone who had transmigrated, her greatest trump card was her knowledge of the plot. If she prevented this event, the resulting impact would be considerable.
The most obvious change would be that the Heaven Dou Imperial Family's eldest prince, Second Prince, and Third Prince would not die unnatural deaths. Even that small change could send the Heaven Dou Empire's development in a direction she could not anticipate.
Bai Wanwan gently rubbed the corner of her clothing between her fingers, rapidly weighing her options.
After a long while, Bai Wanwan glanced again at Qian Renxue seated above and decided to see whether she could stop it.
As for the consequences afterward, she would deal with those later.
Stealing a glance at Guangling beside her, Bai Wanwan quickly began planning how to get her grandfather to lead the charge when the matter came up, then get the other worships to join him.
As for Bai Wanwan herself, she could not lead that charge. She could not even join it.
The reason was simple: she was afraid.
A clearheaded Bibi Dong had everything: ability, cunning, and the courage to act.
But although the current Bibi Dong seemed perfectly clearheaded on the surface, beneath it, that was far less certain.
Although Bai Wanwan had not had much contact with Bibi Dong yet, she knew that after killing Qian Xunji and devouring his soul, Bibi Dong had begun the Rakshasa God's trials.
A clearheaded Bibi Dong was frightening.
But under the Rakshasa God's influence, a Bibi Dong whose sanity was uncertain was even more frightening.
Because you could never know, nor even guess, what she truly intended to do.
Before you continue