The Revelation of Origins

Following an order from Qian Daoliu, the entire Worship Hall began to bustle with activity. The normally solemn and austere Worship Hall now resembled a marketplace, with people coming and going in an endless stream.

This gave Bibi Dong, over at the Pope Palace, quite a scare. She assumed that Qian Daoliu was mobilizing his forces to finally break ties with her, which prompted her to start gathering her own people just in case.

Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan and Ghost Douluo Gui Mei had it even worse. As the two henchmen under Bibi Dong and the only two Title Douluos at her disposal, they were pushed to the front lines. They were now forced to eat, drink, and sleep within the Pope Palace, unable to return to their own homes.

The crux of the matter was that the two of them were genuinely terrified. If the Great Worship Qian Daoliu truly decided to make a move, they would be nothing more than decorative ornaments—mere sitting ducks.

Meanwhile, the other six Worships found the current state of the Great Worship Qian Daoliu to be extremely strange. What had come over the man who usually remained calm even if Mount Tai collapsed before him, and whose heart didn't skip a beat even with a fierce tiger behind him? How could he be so composed?

The six Worships felt deeply puzzled. They felt it might be inappropriate to ask directly, yet they couldn't suppress the curiosity in their hearts.

Consequently, the gazes of the Third Worship Qing Luan, the Fourth Worship Mighty Lion Douluo, the Fifth Worship Guangling Douluo, the Sixth Worship Qianjun Douluo, and the Seventh Worship Xiangmo Douluo all shifted in unison toward the Second Worship, Golden Crocodile Douluo.

Golden Crocodile Douluo sensed the five gazes and understood what the others were thinking. He thought to himself, You are all too embarrassed to ask, so I suppose I have to be the one to do it. I am the oldest in the entire Worship Hall and have the highest seniority; how could I act like a meddlesome child?

"Big Brother, what has come over you? Why are you so uncharacteristically agitated?"

Although the Second Worship Golden Crocodile Douluo was one generation senior to the Great Worship Qian Daoliu, and his own cultivation had reached level 98—with his ninth soul ring being a 100,000-year ring—it didn't change the hierarchy.

The Great Worship Qian Daoliu was a level 99 Peerless Douluo, possessed the god-level martial soul Six-Winged Angel, and had a soul ring configuration of eight black and one red, earning him the title of "Invincible in the Sky."

They were brothers-in-arms, and in the Douluo Continent, strength was the ultimate authority. Therefore, it was perfectly appropriate for Golden Crocodile Douluo to address Qian Daoliu as Big Brother.

Upon hearing Golden Crocodile Douluo ask the question, the other five Worships pricked up their ears like primary school students in class, terrified of missing a single word.

The most gossipy of them all, the Fourth Worship Mighty Lion Douluo, even pulled out a small notebook.

"Old Second, you don't know this, but today I felt a sense of bloodline affinity from that child. It is a feeling I have only ever experienced with Ji'er and Xue'er."

Golden Crocodile Douluo had indeed sensed the angelic aura on that child as well. There was no reason for Guangling Douluo to feel it while he, Golden Crocodile Douluo, could not.

"Big Brother, are you implying that the child is Ji'er's son?"

"That is correct."

"Then, who is the child's mother?"

"I do not know either, but it is certainly not that woman."

At this moment, a new line appeared in Mighty Lion Douluo's notebook: [The former Pope of Martial Soul Hall, Qian Xunji, led an indiscreet private life.]

As for the woman the Great Worship Qian Daoliu spoke of, everyone in the Worship Hall seemed to glance vaguely in the direction of the Pope Palace before returning to their normal expressions.

"Reporting to the Great Worship, the two of us arrived at the address the child mentioned. However, the village had already been destroyed by a beast tide. Fortunately, the local Martial Soul Hall mobilized a large number of soul masters in time to save many villagers, and the child was among them."

"Although our Martial Soul Hall tried its best to provide relief, there were too many affected villages, and it was ultimately difficult to attend to everything."

Ghost Leopard Douluo knew that this child was very likely the bloodline of the former Pope Qian Xunji. He seemed afraid that Qian Daoliu would blame the local Martial Soul Hall for their incompetence, which had led to the child wandering the streets.

It was hard to imagine how a three-year-old child had survived while wandering the streets and begging for food, which explained his cold personality.

Qian Daoliu understood what Ghost Leopard Douluo meant. Martial Soul Hall was merely a religious organization; it could never replace the machinery of a state.

Thinking of this, a unique, domineering aura flashed in Qian Daoliu's eyes, though it vanished in an instant.

"We have found the surviving villagers and learned about the child's background. We have now compiled his past into this document."

As he spoke, Ghost Leopard Douluo took out a document, handed it to Xiangmo Douluo with both hands, and then retreated, kneeling respectfully on one knee alongside Demon Bear Douluo.

After receiving the document from Ghost Leopard Douluo, Xiangmo Douluo handed it to Qian Daoliu with both hands.

The document read:

Name: Yu

Gender: Male

Age: Four years old

Native Place: Xiaozhang Village, Wolong Ridge, Shuangxiong Town, Tianyun City.

Father: Unknown.

Mother: Gu Xiyuan, possessed the Jade Sword martial soul. She served at the Tianyun City Martial Soul Branch four years ago. Later, due to health reasons, she resigned from her position at Martial Soul Hall and returned to her hometown. Seven months later, she gave birth to a son and named him Yu.

However, no one knew who the child's father was. It was only heard that she once inadvertently mentioned that the child's biological father had a status vastly different from her own, and that it was impossible and inappropriate for them to have any connection.

Seeing this, Qian Daoliu recalled the entry in the Pope's daily log: four years ago, Pope Qian Xunji stayed overnight at the Tianyun City Martial Soul Branch, and a woman named Gu Xiyuan served him.

At this moment, everyone in the Worship Hall noticed that Qian Daoliu's hands were trembling uncontrollably.

Consequently, everyone's eyes shifted in unison toward Golden Crocodile Douluo. Golden Crocodile Douluo immediately gave them a look that said, I understand.

"Big Brother, could that child really be...?"

They saw Qian Daoliu tightly grip Golden Crocodile Douluo's hand and say excitedly, "Yes, he is indeed Ji'er's son."

Upon hearing this from Qian Daoliu, everyone in the Worship Hall, except for Golden Crocodile Douluo, bowed to him. "Congratulations, Great Worship."

If one were to ask why not Golden Crocodile Douluo, it was because his hand was still being gripped by the excited Qian Daoliu.

As Golden Crocodile Douluo watched the others bowing, he thought, Have I been left out of the crowd?

At this moment, after the others finished their bows, they saw Golden Crocodile Douluo pull his hand away from Qian Daoliu with lightning speed, then bow respectfully to him and say, "Congratulations, Big Brother."

"Big Brother, since the child's identity as Ji'er's bloodline has been confirmed, please give him a name so he can be formally recognized and return to the family." As he said this, he glanced at the others.

The others realized, Forget it, we were only thinking of congratulating the Great Worship, but Golden Crocodile Douluo actually thought of having the Great Worship name the child and bring him back into the fold. Ginger really is spicier when it's old.

Listening to Golden Crocodile Douluo's words, Qian Daoliu said slowly, "Since his mother named him Yu, let us call him Qian Renyu."