Coronation Ceremony

It was afternoon.

Pope Coronation Ceremony.

The weather today was not particularly good, and with the former Pope having just kicked the bucket, the atmosphere in Martial Soul City could hardly be described as festive.

Moreover, from the moment Bibi Dong announced the news to today's coronation ceremony, only a week had passed; it was all a bit rushed.

Of the Seven Great Sects that should have been present in full, excluding the Clear Sky Sect which wouldn't show up, only two had arrived.

One was the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, which never missed any important occasion, never took the initiative to hold a grudge against anyone, and ranked second in strength among the Upper Three Sects.

The other was the Elephant Armor Sect, which had defected to Martial Soul Hall the moment trouble struck the Clear Sky Sect.

"Uncle Gu, the atmosphere in Martial Soul City feels a bit off."

Sitting in the guest seats, Ning Fengzhi was observing the situation on the field.

It was one thing that only two of the Seven Great Sects had arrived, but there was also no movement from the Martial Soul Hall side.

In particular, the seats for the Elder Hall were occupied by only two people—the veteran Title Douluos of Martial Soul Hall who had recently "gained great notoriety," Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo.

None of the other Title Douluos had arrived, and the Grand Priest of Martial Soul Hall, who should have been presiding over the Pope's coronation, had not appeared either.

Something was wrong! Very wrong!

"Don't worry, Fengzhi. Even if this is a trap, I can still get you out of here," Gu Rong said.

He wouldn't claim to be a guaranteed winner in a fight, but when it came to the art of running away, no one on this continent would dare claim to be better than him.

"I'm not worried about that, it's just..." Ning Fengzhi looked toward the vacant Pope's throne.

"With the Clear Sky Sect in trouble, our relationship with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon not being great, and the Elephant Armor Sect defecting to Martial Soul Hall, the balance between the Seven Great Sects and Martial Soul Hall is about to face problems."

As the sect with the longest history among the Seven Great Sects, and the oldest spirit master force on the continent besides Martial Soul Hall, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was most concerned with the balance between these spirit master factions.

They were the ones least interested in seeing violent conflicts between spirit master organizations; stability allowed for longevity, and harmony brought wealth.

This whole affair was clearly a conflict triggered by Martial Soul Hall's insistence on snatching the 100,000-Year Soul Beast from Tang Hao's hands. Yet now, because the Pope had died, it was being framed as if the Clear Sky Sect had committed some heinous crime, as if they were utterly unforgivable.

A 100,000-Year Transformed Spirit Beast was a rare sight in a thousand years. In the unwritten rules of the spirit master world, such things belonged to whoever obtained them first. Tang Hao had guarded it for so many years, yet Martial Soul Hall had pursued him relentlessly—they really had no shame at all.

And to claim that Tang Hao had launched an unprovoked attack?

Was Tang Hao out of his mind? A single person attacking three Title Douluos?

They couldn't even come up with a plausible excuse.

Moreover, Qian Xunji is dead now. With their own boss having been killed, even if everyone knows Martial Soul Hall is in the wrong, no one can really say anything.

After all, the dead are to be respected...

"Alright, Fengzhi, don't overthink it. Even if Martial Soul Hall wants to take this opportunity to stir up trouble, not to mention that we wouldn't just stand by and watch, their own people wouldn't actually go through with it either," Gu Rong said.

The spirit masters of Martial Soul Hall come from all across the Spirit Master World, and their interests are deeply intertwined. The Title Douluo elders of the Elder Hall alone have varying degrees of vested interests with the Seven Great Sects and the Two Great Empires.

If the Pope hadn't been beaten to death, this war wouldn't have started in the first place.

Ning Fengzhi sighed, "I just don't know how far this will go."

Exterminating a sect is impossible. If Martial Soul Hall truly intended to wipe out the Clear Sky Sect, the Two Great Empires and the remaining Seven Great Sects would not just stand by and watch.

After all, if the Clear Sky Sect were destroyed, who knows if they would be next?

Furthermore, the elders and the Sect Master of the Clear Sky Sect are no pushovers. To wipe out the Clear Sky Sect, one would have to pay the price of at least three Title Douluo.

Who would be willing to die?

He didn't think the Title Douluo elders of Martial Soul Hall had lived long enough to be tired of life.

"The new Pope is here," Gu Rong said.

Ning Fengzhi looked up toward the direction of the Pope's entrance, "I only hope this new Pope is reasonably easy to get along with."

On the high platform, Bibi Dong finally appeared, dressed in a purple-gold gown and wearing the Nine-Curved Purple Gold Crown.

Standing on the stage, Golden Crocodile, who was in charge of the coronation ceremony, finally opened his eyes.

Just as he was about to speak, Golden Crocodile's gaze was drawn to a small golden kitten held in Bibi Dong's arms.

"What is the meaning of this?" Golden Crocodile frowned slightly and asked via voice transmission.

On such a solemn occasion, how could she bring something like that onto the stage?

Bibi Dong looked indifferent, "Is there any rule stating that a Pope cannot bring a kitten onto the stage during their coronation?"

Golden Crocodile was momentarily speechless, but he didn't want to argue with Bibi Dong on such an occasion. He had no choice but to pretend he hadn't seen it and began to direct the standard procedures leading up to the Pope's coronation.

Fireworks, music, welcoming guests...

Finally, at the last step, Golden Crocodile stepped forward and solemnly handed the scepter, which symbolized the Pope's authority, to Bibi Dong.

Bibi Dong took the scepter casually. Under Golden Crocodile's somewhat bewildered gaze, she held the cat, turned around, and looked at the tens of thousands of spirit masters below the stage.

Without any wasted words, Bibi Dong slammed the gem-encrusted scepter onto the ground, her spirit power surging.

Yellow—Yellow—Purple—Purple—Black—Black—Black—Black!

As the eighth black Spirit Ring appeared, an uproar erupted from the audience below.

"How old is she?" Ning Fengzhi asked, his expression stiff.

If he remembered correctly, Bibi Dong was only around thirty years old, right?

Even Tang Chen of the Clear Sky Sect, once considered the insurmountable peak of the Spirit Master World, had only been a Spirit Saint at the age of thirty!

"No, it's not over yet." Gu Rong's expression grew increasingly grave.

Under the gaze of the masses, a wave of spirit power pressure, unique to a Title Douluo, erupted from Bibi Dong. At the same time, a blood-red Spirit Ring slowly emerged above the eighth black one.

Nine rings! A Title Douluo!

The entire venue was shocked!

Except for Golden Crocodile, who was already in the know, every Spirit Master at the Coronation Ceremony had their eyes transfixed by the nine Spirit Rings floating around Bibi Dong, especially that blood-red ring symbolizing one hundred thousand years.

All objections to the young Bibi Dong taking the position of Pope vanished into thin air at this moment.

Martial Soul Hall was the authoritative institution of the Spirit Master World, and for Spirit Masters, the most important thing was strength!

To put it bluntly, Martial Soul Hall was not in the right this time, yet they could still openly bite back at the Clear Sky Sect simply because their fist was big enough!

Nine Spirit Rings were more substantial than any declaration!

"She is only thirty years old..."

Most of the Spirit Masters present were naturally aware of the Saintess Bibi Dong, and it was precisely because they knew her that they were so shocked!

A thirty-year-old Title Douluo!

And she even possessed the one-hundred-thousand-year Spirit Ring that every Spirit Master dreamed of!

"It seems the information we received earlier was true," Ning Fengzhi sighed.

Martial Soul Hall Saintess Bibi Dong possessed Twin Martial Souls!

But wasn't it impossible to cultivate with Twin Martial Souls?

It wasn't as if Martial Soul Hall hadn't had Spirit Masters with Twin Martial Souls before, but without exception, those Spirit Masters had all blown themselves up!

In fact, there was almost a consensus in the Spirit Master World: possessing Twin Martial Souls was practically synonymous with having a useless martial soul!

No, it was even worse than a useless martial soul. People with useless martial souls could at least cultivate normally, but those with Twin Martial Souls would just end up blowing themselves to pieces while training!

Up until now, the highest level reached by someone with Twin Martial Souls was Spirit Emperor. Legend had it that the person was the fastest cultivator of their generation, adding spirit rings to both martial souls simultaneously, which granted them nearly double the cultivation speed. However, after reaching the Spirit Emperor realm—or rather, upon reaching level sixty and attempting to add a spirit ring—that genius with Twin Martial Souls had exploded!

Those who possessed Twin Martial Souls thereafter all met similar ends.

But now, Bibi Dong's terrifying cultivation speed proved that the rumors about her Twin Martial Souls were true, and that she had simultaneously attached Spirit Rings to both of her Martial Souls!

In other words, Bibi Dong had solved the cultivation dilemma of Twin Martial Souls!

"..."

High upon the platform, Bibi Dong felt quite satisfied as she watched the reactions below.

Initially, she had not intended to directly expose the fact that she had become a Title Douluo, especially not her Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Ring. Although she had become the Pope, she was almost completely isolated and without support within the Martial Soul Hall.

Rashly exposing her strength would certainly increase her prestige and provide a great bonus to her control over the Pope Hall in the short term. After all, for a Spirit Master, nothing was more important than strength; nine Spirit Rings were more direct and effective than any words.

However, this would also invisibly create many enemies for her. Those old fogies in the Elder Hall were all thinking of placing their own people in key positions within the Pope Hall before she could truly take power. If she were not strong enough, those people would not take her seriously and might even lower their guard, giving her more time and opportunities to reclaim power.

But once she revealed her strength, those people would remain highly vigilant against her and might even unite to trip her up. In the current Pope Hall, she didn't have a single person she could trust or use. Being too conspicuous would bring a lot of trouble.

And if a conflict were to break out, she didn't know the attitude of that old thing, Qian Daoliu. If he were to step out and shield the Elder Hall, she would have no choice but to endure it. In that case, the Pope's prestige would suffer a major blow, and she would have to spend even more time and energy to make up for those losses.

Therefore, hiding her strength was far more cost-effective and safer than showing it off.

But Nan Feng insisted that she reveal her strength directly, saying it was simple and brutal—whoever refused to submit could just be killed.

Having endured for so many years, even a tortoise would have reached its limit.

If you've got the guts, then do it. At worst, let everyone watch Martial Soul Hall make a fool of itself!

If the Elders fought the Pope, and the Grand Priest shielded the Elders, the prestige of the Pope—the highest leader of Martial Soul Hall—would be damaged, and she might even become a laughingstock.

The one losing face would be Martial Soul Hall!

They only needed to enjoy the thrill!

Thinking about it, that logic did indeed hold up.

What Qian Daoliu valued most was the development of Martial Soul Hall. If that old thing didn't care about the reputation of Martial Soul Hall, why should she?

Bang!

Under the gaze of the masses, Bibi Dong suddenly slammed the Pope Scepter in her right hand onto the ground, where it embedded itself firmly.

Following that, she held the little golden kitten in her arms with both hands, raised it high above her head, took a deep breath, and shouted loudly:

"Long live Martial Soul Hall!!"

With the support of her profound Spirit Power, Bibi Dong's voice resounded through every corner of the coronation site, echoing continuously.

Golden Crocodile stared at this scene with a dazed expression.

Bibi Dong! Are you trying to reach the heavens?!

Why are you holding that cat up there!!

A cat is sitting on the Pope's head—do you have any idea what this is called?!

Before Golden Crocodile could move to stop this absurd scene, the tens of thousands of Spirit Masters below responded to Bibi Dong's cry, shouting in unison:

"Long live Martial Soul Hall!!"

"Long live the Pope!!"

Gazing at Bibi Dong, who was surrounded by nine Spirit Rings, the eyes of every Spirit Master belonging to Martial Soul Hall were filled with fanaticism. The shouts rose and fell, shaking even the massive Martial Soul City. The expressions of Ning Fengzhi and his party, who had come to observe the ceremony, were incredibly awkward.

They couldn't shout along, but they couldn't stay silent either.

It was so antisocial!

Golden Crocodile's expression was even worse. You can shout all you want, but put that damn cat down!

Don't keep it on your head!

The shouting continued for nearly a minute. Bibi Dong tapped her foot lightly, and a vast wave of Spirit Power rippled outward, instantly silencing the frenzied crowd.

Golden Crocodile breathed a sigh of relief, but just as he thought it was over, the Holy Spirit Cat held high in Bibi Dong's hand suddenly erupted with a dazzling golden light, drawing the eyes of everyone present.

Bibi Dong took a deep breath. "Long live the Angel God!!"

Golden Crocodile was stunned.

Bibi Dong! What the hell do you mean by this!

Before Golden Crocodile could move to intervene, the tens of thousands of Spirit Masters below once again responded to Bibi Dong's cry.

"Long live the Angel God!!"

"Long live the Pope!!"

"Long live Martial Soul Hall!!"