The New Pope, Pei An

Douluo Calendar, Year 246

Tang Hao of the Clear Sky Sect had clashed with Qian Xunji, the current leader of Spirit Hall, over his hundred-thousand-year soul beast wife. During the fierce battle, Qian Xunji, the Pope of Spirit Hall, had fallen.

Looking at the cold corpse before him, the Great Worship of Spirit Hall, one of the Three Mountains of the Soul Master World, the Extreme Douluo invincible in the sky, was utterly heartbroken.

That towering figure, usually so imposing, now looked so hunched and desolate.

Like an ordinary old man.

At his side stood a man dressed in white brocade robes.

His long white hair cascaded down his back like an inverted Milky Way. His glass-colored eyes seemed to contain the myriad stars of the cosmos, while his exquisite features were unlike those of any mortal, making him resemble an Immortal descended from heaven.

Pei An looked at the corpse on the ground, which had already lost all signs of life. A thoughtful gleam flashed through his glass-colored eyes.

He had not expected that, even after he had disrupted the plot so thoroughly, Qian Xunji would still die at Tang Hao's hands.

Pei An was a transmigrator who had arrived in this world nineteen years ago.

He had been born as the classic orphaned transmigrator. However, due to his exceptional talent, Golden Crocodile Douluo, who had been wandering the mortal world in search of an opportunity to break through, discovered him, brought him into Spirit Hall, and accepted him as his disciple.

Pei An had no system, so he could only rely on his informational advantage to seize opportunities.

The Immortal Herbs of the Ice Fire Yin Yang Well, the Divine Slaughter's Domain of the City of Slaughter, hundred-thousand-year soul rings...

He had planned for each and every one of them and taken them for himself.

With his already extraordinary talent, Pei An had reached level 83 at the mere age of nineteen.

However, most people knew nothing of his existence.

This had been Qian Xunji's demand.

His reasoning had been that he did not want Pei An to attract the attention of other factions and invite unforeseen trouble.

But Pei An knew perfectly well that this was merely Qian Xunji's high-sounding excuse.

He simply did not want Pei An to steal his spotlight and undermine his position as Pope.

After all, Pei An's accomplishments were simply too dazzling. They could easily make him, the Pope, pale in comparison.

Yet Pei An had not refused.

Though Qian Xunji had acted for his own sake, it happened to align perfectly with Pei An's own intentions.

Pei An had never intended to make a grand show of himself.

The tallest tree in the forest would be the first to face the wind. Before he possessed enough strength, shining too brightly would only draw unwanted attention.

Thus, apart from acquiring those opportunities, he had agreed to Qian Xunji's demand and remained in the Worship Hall, cultivating under Golden Crocodile Douluo. To the outside world, he had remained entirely obscure.

Even now, despite achieving the unprecedented feat of becoming a Soul Douluo at nineteen, the vast majority of factions had no information about him whatsoever.

At Pei An's side, a golden-haired girl clung tightly to him. Her petite body trembled faintly, and soft sobs drifted out, like pearls falling upon a silver platter.

Pei An said nothing. He merely gently stroked the girl's back in silent comfort.

"Xiao An..."

Qian Daoliu's somewhat hoarse voice slowly rang out.

He raised his head and looked at Pei An. His clouded eyes carried both grief and ruthlessness. "Your Big Brother Qian fell at Tang Hao's hands, but the position of Pope of Spirit Hall cannot remain vacant."

"Xiao An, after much consideration, I believe you are the only one in Spirit Hall qualified to assume the position of Pope. What do you think?"

Pei An pressed his thin lips together as though in thought.

After a moment of silence, he finally nodded slightly. "Great Worship, I am willing."

"However, I hope Great Worship can promise me that once Xue'er has grown up, I may pass this position to her at any time."

Pei An's words pleased Qian Daoliu greatly.

Although Pei An had always seemed indifferent to power in Qian Daoliu's eyes, which was why he had voluntarily said those words.

Still, hearing Pei An say this made him even more satisfied.

Naturally, he hoped Spirit Hall would remain in the hands of their Angel Lineage.

If Qian Renxue had not been too young, and if the other members of the Qian Family had not lacked the ability to serve as Pope, Qian Daoliu would never have considered handing the position to someone outside the family.

But now, it seemed Pei An was still as satisfactory as ever.

He could simply consider Pei An to be temporarily safeguarding the position of Pope for Xue'er.

And this was precisely what Pei An wanted Qian Daoliu to think.

That was exactly how he wanted Qian Daoliu to see things.

Pei An knew very well that if he showed too much obsession with power, Qian Daoliu would certainly find every possible way to restrain him.

Though he possessed the cultivation of a Soul Douluo and could defeat ordinary Title Douluo, he was still far from a match for an Extreme Douluo like Qian Daoliu.

Therefore, he had no intention of falling out with Qian Daoliu.

Creating the image of someone with no interest in power so that Qian Daoliu would be at ease was something he had begun doing ten years ago.

No matter how Qian Daoliu thought about it, he would never imagine that someone could begin pretending from childhood.

Once Pei An had laid down his foundations in Spirit Hall and broken through to become a Title Douluo, even if Qian Daoliu realized the truth, it would be too late.

At that point, who truly called the shots in Spirit Hall would no longer be certain.

And he had said "at any time." As for exactly when that time would be, that would depend on him.

That would not count as breaking his word.

Still, given his relationship with Qian Renxue, he would not occupy the position for too long.

Though he had no particular fondness for Qian Daoliu or Qian Xunji, Qian Renxue was different.

"Brother Pei..."

The little angel Qian Renxue, who had been crying in Pei An's arms, raised her tear-streaked little face. Her voice was weak and sorrowful enough to break one's heart.

Pei An bent down slightly and gently rubbed Qian Renxue's silky golden hair.

"Xue'er, don't be sad. Older Brother will definitely help you take revenge someday."

He was not saying this for Qian Daoliu to hear.

Pei An genuinely liked Qian Renxue.

Though there had been some conflict between him and Qian Xunji, it had not affected Qian Renxue, who was still only a child.

During their years together in Spirit Hall, he had already come to regard this little girl, who loved to trail behind him and call him "Brother Pei," as his own Younger Sister.

If he had the chance, he would not mind killing Tang Hao to avenge Qian Renxue's father.

In any case, he had never liked Tang Hao.

"Mm, I believe in Older Brother. Older Brother is the best!" The little angel Qian Renxue wrinkled her delicate nose and nodded heavily.

After a long while, beneath Qian Daoliu's complicated gaze, Qian Xunji's remains were finally buried in the cemetery of the Angel Clan.

Little Qian Renxue had cried herself to sleep and was held in Pei An's arms.

"Great Worship, I'll take Xue'er to rest. Please accept my condolences." Carrying the deeply sleeping Qian Renxue, Pei An walked to Qian Daoliu's side and spoke.

"I'll have to trouble you to take care of Xue'er, Xiao An." Qian Daoliu nodded slightly.

Naturally, he was delighted that Pei An and Qian Renxue were close.

That way, Pei An would be more likely to become Qian Renxue's sharpest blade in the future.

"It is no trouble. Xue'er is my Younger Sister. Taking care of her is only right."

Pei An replied calmly.

He understood Qian Daoliu's thoughts perfectly.

But whether he would become Qian Renxue's blade, or Qian Renxue would become his little angel, remained to be seen.

Holding the little angel, Pei An left the hall.