Some time later.
As Qian Renxue quietly gazed toward the Papal Hall, a faint snore reached her ears.
She looked down and found that Bai Wanwan had fallen asleep at some point.
Looking at Bai Wanwan's sleeping face, Qian Renxue's lips quietly curved into a smile, and her fingers gently stroked her ice-blue hair.
Time slipped by unnoticed.
Qian Renxue watched the sun gradually sink toward the western horizon, her fingers absently playing with Bai Wanwan's hair. The atmosphere was especially quiet and peaceful.
Just then, a somewhat cool voice sounded behind her.
"Young Master, the Grand Elder has asked you to come to the main hall. There seems to be something to discuss."
Hearing the sudden voice, Qian Renxue glanced over her shoulder. When she saw that it was Azure Luan, she gave him a slight nod. She was just about to wake Bai Wanwan, who had been sleeping with her head on her lap, when she realized the girl was already awake.
"Come on. Let's head to the Worship Hall."
Qian Renxue reached out and patted Bai Wanwan's head, then rose from her seat and followed Azure Luan toward the Worship Hall's main hall.
Bai Wanwan answered and hurried after them.
After walking along a bluestone path, they soon reached the main hall.
They entered the hall.
The Grand Elder, Qian Daoliu, sat in the seat of honor, silently reading a proposal in his hands, while the other elders and Bibi Dong sat on either side.
Once Azure Luan had taken his seat.
Qian Renxue and Bai Wanwan took their places beside Qian Daoliu and Guangling respectively, and Bibi Dong's voice rang through the hall.
"Grand Elder, I personally believe this plan is entirely feasible."
"And its chances of success are very high. The Heaven Dou Empire's nobles are decadent, its imperial family is weak, and Emperor Xue Ye is hardly an enlightened ruler. As long as the undercover plan succeeds, we can then launch the soul hunting operation to eliminate the forces standing in our way and take control of the empire's million-strong army."
"Besides, Spirit Hall is already the strongest Soul Master organization. Conquering the Star Luo Empire would only be a matter of time."
"Then the continent will be united, all the powers will be reshuffled, and every Soul Master in the world will come under Spirit Hall. All commoners will enjoy peace, free from oppression by decadent nobles, and the villages along the borders of the Two Great Empires will no longer be caught in their wars."
"The entire continent could even enjoy hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years of peace."
Qian Daoliu said nothing as he listened to Bibi Dong. Instead, he handed the proposal he had finished reading to Qian Renxue beside him.
After casually looking it over, Qian Renxue passed the proposal to the other elders for inspection.
The Second Worship, Third Offering, and Fourth Enshrinement frowned slightly after reading the proposal, but since Qian Daoliu had said nothing, they remained silent as well.
After finishing the proposal, the Fifth Elder, Guangling, discreetly glanced at Bai Wanwan beside him, and a thought instantly sprang to mind.
Wanwan was right again!
There was a sentence in the proposal stating that the most suitable candidate to carry out the undercover plan was the Young Master, Qian Renxue.
Noticing Guangling's glance, Bai Wanwan quietly took a step back and gently poked him in the back, all while repeatedly signaling something with her eyes.
Feeling Bai Wanwan's nudges, Guangling first looked at Qian Daoliu in the seat of honor, then at the proposal in his hands, and immediately made up his mind.
His grip on the pages gradually loosened, letting the sheets covered in the plan flutter to the floor.
"I object."
The words came from Guangling in a somewhat casual tone.
The instant he spoke, everyone in the hall turned their gaze toward him.
Bibi Dong's brows involuntarily drew together as she looked at Guangling, who had voiced his opposition.
This was somewhat different from what she had expected.
She had considered that the Grand Elder, Qian Daoliu, might oppose the plan, but she had never imagined that Guangling would be the first to speak against it.
The Grand Elder, Qian Daoliu, had yet to state his position. The elders who followed his lead should not have explicitly expressed approval or rejection before he did.
But Bibi Dong's brows soon relaxed again.
Although Guangling's opposition was unexpected, the person who truly made the decision was Qian Daoliu, seated at the head of the hall.
"Eldest Brother, this plan may look sound, but if the Young Master is the one carrying it out, I don't think it's appropriate."
Guangling twirled the small arrow in his hand, pausing briefly before continuing, "The Young Master has innate level 20 Soul Power. Talent like hers has been exceedingly rare over the past ten thousand years. Such talent shouldn't be wasted on carrying out some plan."
"And how long will this plan take? Ten years? Twenty? The Young Master is only nine years old. If she goes, wouldn't that mean burying the best years of her youth?"
"You should know that no plan is guaranteed to succeed. If it fails, wouldn't all the effort the Young Master put in, along with those ten or twenty years of her youth, have been wasted?"
"Lastly, the Young Master is a deity's successor. When she awakened her Martial Soul, the deity bestowed ten levels of Soul Power upon her. Rather than have her carry out some undercover plan, I think we should let her focus on cultivating. If she takes that final step, why would uniting the continent need to be so troublesome?"
Guangling looked toward Qian Daoliu in the seat of honor, his gaze exceptionally earnest.
Brilliant!
Bai Wanwan silently praised him. Had the occasion allowed it, she would even have applauded Guangling.
That last sentence, in particular, was an absolute clincher.
"Eldest Brother, Guangling has a point. If this plan requires the Young Master to carry it out, I'm against it too."
"Throughout history, I've never heard of any organization sending its own young master undercover."
Azure Luan's eyes shifted slightly as he offered his opinion.
"Indeed. I've read the Holy Maiden's plan. There's nothing wrong with it, and it's worth a try, but I don't think it's appropriate to have the Young Master carry it out."
The Second Worship, Golden Crocodile, voiced his opinion as well.
"Eldest Brother, I agree with them. We can try the plan, but the person carrying it out cannot be the Young Master."
The Fourth Enshrinement, Xiongshi, lightly tapped the armrest of his chair.
The remaining two, the Sixth Enshrinement, Qian Jun, and the Seventh Enshrinement, Jiang Mo, exchanged a glance. They wanted to say something, but Guangling had thrown the proposal on the floor before they had a chance to read it.
With no other choice, they could only add, "I agree with them."
Listening to the somewhat noisy discussion in the hall, Qian Daoliu raised a hand to quiet everyone, then turned to Qian Renxue beside him. "Xue'er, what do you think?"
Qian Daoliu's voice was very gentle, and he had already decided that the proposal Bibi Dong had brought could not be approved.
Before you continue