Appointing the Holy Son

Zhao Xiaotian read for a long time that night, all the way until the sun rose. After setting down the book, he had barely any Spiritual Power left. He had been using his inner force to support his body, and the instant he put the book down, exhaustion washed over him. He lay down and fell asleep.

At noon, Zhao Xiaotian woke up, rose, stretched lazily, and let out a huge yawn. Hearing movement from inside, the maid outside gently knocked on the door before pushing it open and entering.

"Young Master, you're awake. We've come to help you wash up and get dressed."

Before Zhao Xiaotian could react, two rather pretty maids surrounded him. One helped him wash his face, rinse his mouth, and brush his teeth, while the other found suitable clothes and helped him change.

With the maids' assistance, Zhao Xiaotian changed into a tailored white outfit. Once they finished, the maids left his room, not forgetting to set out his lunch on the desk before departing.

After lunch, Zhao Xiaotian used Lightning Step to leap across eaves and walls, arriving atop the Papal Palace. Sitting cross-legged on the roof, he looked at the houses and streets of Spirit City before him and slowly closed his eyes.

Spirit City could be called an exceptional place for cultivation. It was enveloped in dense Angel God Power, and its location was excellent as well, making the spiritual energy of heaven and earth especially abundant.

Although Zhao Xiaotian's Soul Power was at level twenty and his Tai Chi Art was stuck at the Transformation Realm, he believed that once he absorbed soul rings after some time, he would be able to break through.

"The Entering Dust Realm is within reach!"

After muttering to himself, Zhao Xiaotian closed his eyes and began absorbing the spiritual energy around him to strengthen his body. Though he could not break through to a higher realm, the cultivation he gained during this period would be converted into physical strength.

Thus, during his three years of wandering outside, he had never once slacked off in his cultivation. Zhao Xiaotian's physical body could now fully rival that of an ordinary Soul Ancestor.

This was also thanks to his daily practice atop rooftops for two hours. Zhao Xiaotian could be said to be a talent Spirit Hall had never seen in the past hundred years.

Elsewhere, Qian Daoliu summoned the Offerings for a meeting. Since Zhao Xiaotian was still cultivating on the roof, he did not attend. Normally, descendants of the Qian family had to be present for meetings of the Worship Hall's level.

Qian Daoliu sat in the chief seat of the council chamber, quietly waiting for the Offerings to arrive. Before long, Golden Crocodile Douluo and Qingluan Douluo were the first to enter the chamber.

They were followed closely by Mighty Lion Douluo and Light Feather Douluo. Afterward came the only pair of blood brothers among the Offerings, Qian Jun Douluo and Subduing Demon Douluo.

The Offerings' rankings were simple. The strongest, the number one man beneath the heavens, was Angel Douluo Qian Daoliu. Second was Golden Crocodile Douluo, whose strength was second only to Qian Daoliu's.

Next were third-ranked Qingluan Douluo, fourth-ranked Mighty Lion Douluo, and fifth-ranked Light Feather Douluo. Last were the two brothers, Qian Jun Douluo and Subduing Demon Douluo.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Qian Daoliu rose and said, "A few days ago, this old man's adopted grandson, Zhao Xiaotian, was found and returned to Spirit City. It is time for us to decide upon Spirit Hall's future successor—the candidate for Holy Son."

Golden Crocodile Douluo stood up at once. "I support Xiaotian becoming Spirit Hall's Holy Son!"

Qingluan Douluo also rose to second the motion. Mighty Lion Douluo and Light Feather Douluo agreed afterward, while Qian Jun Douluo and Subduing Demon Douluo alone seemed somewhat unconvinced.

Qian Daoliu frowned. "Sixth, Seventh, do you have any objections?"

Qian Jun Douluo asked steadily, "Big Brother, we support your decision to appoint Xiaotian as Holy Son. However, he wandered outside for three years, and there were even rumors that he had died."

Subduing Demon Douluo picked up the thread. "Exactly! A person whose death had been rumored for three years suddenly appears and becomes Spirit Hall's Holy Son. What kind of situation is that?"

"Enough!"

Golden Crocodile Douluo said furiously, "The Worship Hall has always followed the rule that the minority obeys the majority. If you two have objections, you can bring them up later. Unless you truly wish to anger this old man!"

Qian Jun Douluo and Subduing Demon Douluo immediately shut their mouths and agreed to appoint Zhao Xiaotian as Holy Son. Qian Daoliu nodded at this and said, "You two brothers have no idea how much Xiaotian suffered outside. If Xiaoxue learns that you opposed her younger brother becoming Holy Son, what do you think will happen?"

Hearing this, Qian Jun Douluo and Subduing Demon Douluo recalled Qian Renxue's methods when killing the princes of Heaven Dou. At once, the brothers raised both hands in support of Zhao Xiaotian becoming Holy Son, without the slightest sign of refusal.

That afternoon, Zhao Xiaotian opened his eyes on the roof, stood up, and murmured, "Fiery Golden Eyes can be considered fully cultivated now. Next comes tomorrow's soul hunt!"

Zhao Xiaotian jumped from the rooftop and landed heavily on the ground. The Holy Emperor Warriors outside the Papal Palace heard the commotion and immediately surrounded him. After the dust cleared and they recognized his face, they all respectfully called out, "Young Master."

Zhao Xiaotian did not respond, instead walking straight into the Papal Palace. He wanted his mother to take him tomorrow to hunt for his first and second soul rings.

When Bibi Dong heard that her adopted son wanted her to take him out to hunt souls, she nodded. "Tomorrow, I and several of your grandfathers from the Worship Hall will take you out to hunt souls."

Zhao Xiaotian nodded, then returned to his room. Lying on the bed, he picked up another book titled Soul Beast Encyclopedia and began reading. He had already read its contents before and had taken a liking to two soul beasts that were highly suitable for his soul rings.

Zhao Xiaotian flipped to page forty-five and saw an illustration of the Titan Giant Ape, along with its description: The Titan Giant Ape was an ape-type soul beast possessing the bloodline of the ancient Titans. With a hundred years of cultivation, it could withstand and defeat Thousand Year soul beasts. With a thousand years of cultivation, it could rival Ten Thousand Year soul beasts.

It was also the first soul beast discovered by humans to possess intelligence, as well as one of the hardest soul beasts to hunt. Even Titled Douluo found it troublesome to capture a Thousand Year Titan Giant Ape.

Its exterior was as hard as rock, with patterns flowing across it like magma. Its innate skill was Gravity Control, and it was agile and possessed intelligence comparable to that of humans.

After reading about the Titan Giant Ape, Zhao Xiaotian flipped to page one hundred and twenty-eight. A picture of a pitch-black mantis was pasted there. It looked terrifying and vicious. Its description read: The Shadow Soul Hunter Mantis had blood-red eyes and could move freely through the night. It could appear at your side without your notice and kill you with a single strike.

A Thousand Year Shadow Soul Hunter Mantis could hunt Ten Thousand Year beasts, earning it the title of Night Killer. Many people also wished to obtain its soul ring.

There was only one reason: its soul ring not only enhanced all attributes, but primarily boosted speed. Furthermore, it had only one soul skill. No matter what martial soul absorbed it, there would only be this one soul skill.

That was One Soul Manifests Weapon. In other words, this soul ring's soul skill could produce a weapon, and the weapon itself was random. Every martial soul would receive a random weapon.

It also granted an extremely great boost to speed. If one could obtain a soul bone from a Shadow Soul Hunter Mantis, that would be a huge windfall. According to historical records, only seven people in history had obtained soul bones after killing Shadow Soul Hunter Mantises.

Moreover, all seven obtained External Soul Bones from different body parts. The strongest was the eye soul bone, which gave its former owner a tremendous increase in Spiritual Power.

After finishing it, Zhao Xiaotian fell deeply asleep. The maid outside entered the room, tucked him in, returned the book to its place, and then left.

The night passed without incident...

The next morning, Bibi Dong stood high atop the Papal Palace and announced, "From this day forth! Zhao Xiaotian, this seat's son, is appointed the Holy Son of Spirit Hall."