Papal Candidate, Enthronement Ceremony

Seeing Guangling agree without hesitation, Golden Crocodile stopped sighing. Instead, he gave a light cough. "The Martial Soul Wanwan awakened is one none of us have ever seen, but she named it the Water Dragon King. And Wanwan possesses Innate Full Soul Power."

"Ah, Innate Full Soul Power..."

Guangling sighed as well, but halfway through his words, he felt that something seemed off.

Reaching up to pick at his ear, Guangling looked back at Golden Crocodile.

"Uh, if I heard correctly just now, you said Innate Full Soul Power, right?"

There was a trace of uncertainty in Guangling's tone.

"Yes, you heard right. Your granddaughter Wanwan has Innate Full Soul Power. She is also extremely diligent in training and is already a level sixteen Soul Master."

Golden Crocodile nodded seriously.

"Then why were you sighing and shaking your head just now?"

"I thought Wanwan's talent was lacking."

Guangling let out a soft breath, the corner of his mouth unconsciously curling upward.

"I merely sighed a few times. I never said Wanwan's talent was poor."

Golden Crocodile smiled indifferently.

Hearing that, Guangling thought for a moment but said nothing. Instead, he changed the subject. "Wanwan should be in the Worship Hall right now, shouldn't she?"

Golden Crocodile raised his eyes to check the time. "At this hour, Wanwan should be undergoing combat training with the Young Master."

"Once things here are settled, I should go see Wanwan."

Guangling glanced toward the Worship Hall, then returned to his original place and stood quietly waiting.

Before long, Bibi Dong, the Saintess, and the elders belonging to the Elder Hall entered the Papal Hall one after another.

After giving a slight bow toward Qian Daoliu at the front, everyone took their places along both sides of the hall and waited in silence.

Once everyone had arrived.

Qian Daoliu slowly turned around and swept his gaze over everyone below before finally letting it settle on Bibi Dong.

"The previous Pope has fallen unexpectedly, and the position of Pope now stands vacant. Xue'er is still too young and is not presently suited to assume the position. Since the Saintess was originally chosen as the successor to the next Pope, I intend to have the Saintess succeed to the position of Pope."

"Does anyone have any objections?"

Qian Daoliu's voice was gentle, and his gaze remained fixed on Bibi Dong from beginning to end.

During the three months he had spent away from Spirit City, while suppressing the Clear Sky Sect, he had also been considering who should take the position of Pope.

If Qian Xunji had stepped down normally, then without question, the next Pope would have been the current Young Master, Qian Renxue. No one could have shaken that decision.

But the current circumstances were exceptional. Qian Xunji had died unexpectedly, and Qian Renxue was only nine years old. Having Qian Renxue succeed as Pope now would be inappropriate. Her age was one issue; her temperament and methods were another.

Though with Qian Daoliu present, stabilizing the current situation for Qian Renxue would have taken only a word, he still abandoned the idea of having Qian Renxue succeed to the position.

Instead, he considered another candidate: the current Saintess, Bibi Dong.

In terms of ability and methods, Bibi Dong was now the most suitable candidate to succeed as Pope, because she had originally been trained to become the next Pope.

However, something had happened midway through, causing the relationship between this Saintess, who had been raised as the next Pope, and the Qian Family to plummet dramatically, even becoming extremely hostile.

And because he had been in seclusion at the time, by the time Qian Daoliu learned of it, the matter had already become irreversible.

Qian Daoliu had always believed that the Qian Family was at fault in that matter, and he felt indebted to Bibi Dong. Thus, even though he knew exactly how Qian Xunji had died, he did not harbor much resentment toward Bibi Dong, because Qian Xunji had been the one in the wrong.

He had even brought shame upon the entire Qian Family.

Letting Bibi Dong succeed as Pope was also a decision Qian Daoliu had made only after careful consideration.

First: Bibi Dong's abilities and methods made her the best candidate for the position of Pope.

Second: to make up for what the Qian Family owed Bibi Dong.

Third: in a sense, Bibi Dong had already taken her revenge personally. He hoped she could gradually forget 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 and looked toward the Pope's seat.

There was not the slightest ripple in her calm gaze.

Yet deep in her eyes, a trace of hatred quietly flashed.

She hid it very well, however, and no one noticed.

Golden Crocodile, Azure Luan, Xiongshi, Guangling, and the other six worshippers at the front exchanged glances. Finally, they looked again at Qian Daoliu, who stood before the Pope's 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 raise objections at this moment.

After waiting for some time.

Seeing that no one objected, Qian Daoliu withdrew his gaze from Bibi Dong and slowly spoke. "Since no one objects, the Inauguration Ceremony will be held three days from now, and Saintess Bibi Dong will succeed as Pope."

"Go and make the preparations."

Qian Daoliu gave a light wave of his hand and headed toward the Worship Hall.

The other six worshippers followed closely behind him.

Bibi Dong swept her gaze over the elders present. Her eyes lingered briefly on Guimei and Yue Guan before she turned and walked toward the Rear Hall.

After the worshippers and the Saintess had left, the elders exchanged glances and headed toward the Elder Hall.

The only exceptions were the two elders, Guimei and Yue Guan.

The two watched silently in the direction Bibi Dong had gone, sinking into deep thought.

After a long while, Guimei was the first to step forward, walking in the direction Bibi Dong had left. Yue Guan followed close behind.

Worship Hall.

Qian Renxue and Bai Wanwan, who were in the middle of combat training, immediately ran over upon seeing the people approaching.

However, the people they ran toward were completely different.

Qian Renxue ran toward Qian Daoliu.

Bai Wanwan ran toward Guangling.

Qian Renxue stopped before Qian Daoliu, while Bai Wanwan was directly lifted into Guangling's arms.

"Grandfather, you're back."

"Did you avenge my father?"

"How is that Tang Hao?"

Qian Renxue's eyes sparkled as she stared unblinkingly at Qian Daoliu before her.

"Xue'er, I was unable to avenge your father."

"Tang Hao has gone into hiding. Grandfather could not find him."

Qian Daoliu gently stroked Qian Renxue's hair.

"Mm, Grandfather, I will personally avenge this someday. But before that, I want to pay respects to my father."

Qian Renxue's expression was extremely serious.

"Alright."

Qian Daoliu agreed, took Qian Renxue's hand, and turned his gaze toward Bai Wanwan in Guangling's arms, examining her carefully.