The throne had been seized successfully—Qian Renyu's attitude!
"Grand Pontiff, you..."
Bibi Dong glared at Qian Daoliu.
Qian Daoliu's firm words echoed through Pope's Palace, heavy and somber.
Bibi Dong's expression twisted with fury. With Qian Daoliu forcefully interfering in the change of the Pope, there was no way she could keep the position.
Qian Daoliu wouldn't let Bibi Dong continue. His gaze turned cold.
Yue Guan and Gui Mei watched Qian Daoliu's reaction, their hearts pounding as if they were about to burst.
Qian Daoliu was the Grand Pontiff of Spirit Hall, and he controlled the Worship Hall. Every powerful figure there answered to him alone.
Anyone admitted into the Worship Hall was at least a Rank 96 Titled Douluo.
Though Qian Daoliu usually stayed out of things, when he did step in, Yue Guan and Gui Mei had no standing to speak up for Bibi Dong.
Bibi Dong clenched her teeth and glared at Qian Daoliu's resolute expression. Then she broke eye contact and fixed her icy gaze on Qian Renyu, who still sat on the Throne in midair.
At that moment, even though Qian Renyu was her own son, a piece of her flesh and blood, there wasn't the slightest trace of affection in Bibi Dong's eyes.
"Since you want this position, I hope you can truly hold on to it!"
"Once I've dealt with everything, if you don't have what it takes, I'll make sure what happened today happens to you!"
"This position isn't as easy to hold as you imagine!"
Bibi Dong's face darkened as she snarled through clenched teeth.
A cold smile played on Qian Renyu's lips. He didn't care in the least that his 'birth mother' had lost her composure.
Brilliant red light erupted once more inside Pope's Palace. The Brilliant Golden Throne turned into countless specks of light and slowly faded away.
Qian Renyu descended from the air and landed calmly not far from Bibi Dong. Meeting her deeply shadowed gaze, he smiled coldly. "You don't need to worry about that."
"Nor do I need to tell you how I'll hold on to this position!"
Bibi Dong felt the words catch in her throat. Gripping the Pope's Scepter tightly, she glared at Qian Renyu with forced bravado, then turned to look at Qian Daoliu.
"Grand Pontiff, I hope you won't regret the decision you made today!"
Bibi Dong gave a low shout, but in the end, she didn't dare unleash her full strength and clash head-on with Qian Daoliu.
She accepted that the position of Pope had been taken from her, then leaned on the Pope's Scepter and walked out with a chilling expression.
The position was already gone. With Qian Daoliu's support, there was no chance of taking it back, and Bibi Dong didn't want to make herself a laughingstock by staying there.
Qian Daoliu watched Bibi Dong leave. Her threat echoed in his ears, and his expression grew complicated.
Memories of events from many years ago surfaced in his mind.
When Qian Xunji died, Qian Daoliu knew full well that Bibi Dong had killed him. He had truly wanted to strike her dead on the spot.
But in the end, for Qian Renyu and Qian Renxue's sake, and to give the siblings more time to grow, he had spared her.
Now Qian Renyu had become a Titled Douluo, and he possessed a Martial Soul as wondrous as the Brilliant Golden Throne.
After years of yielding, the time had finally come to an end.
"Xiao Yu, I'm afraid you won't have an easy time holding this position."
Qian Daoliu sighed. "If you hadn't shown your strength today, even I wouldn't have known what you were truly capable of!"
"You should've come to the Worship Hall to discuss this with me before you acted!"
Qian Renyu smiled faintly. He could see the helplessness in Qian Daoliu's expression, and he knew his grandfather didn't mind him taking the position of Pope.
It had all happened too suddenly, though, and Qian Daoliu hadn't been prepared at all.
"Grandpa, Spirit Hall has kept a low profile for too long. If we let her keep leading it, the only thing waiting for us in the end is destruction."
"The Spirit Master Tournament finals are being held right now. The major powers across the land are all watching, so this is the perfect time to make the transfer of power known to everyone."
"Let them know that I'm in charge of Spirit Hall now!"
Qian Renyu spoke calmly, yet an overwhelming air of pride radiated from him.
Standing alone in Pope's Palace, he held himself as straight as a pillar that could support the heavens.
Qian Daoliu thought that he really was getting old. The complexity in his expression remained. "Whatever you want to do, Grandpa will support you."
"But now that you're in control of Spirit Hall, what will you do about her?"
"You must have already made up your mind, since you decided to seize the position."
Qian Renyu fell silent for a moment.
He looked in the direction Bibi Dong had gone.
After a brief pause, he used his terrifying Soul Power to isolate Yue Guan and Gui Mei from himself and Qian Daoliu.
"If someone gives birth to you but doesn't raise you, one severed finger can repay them."
"If someone gives birth to you and raises you, a severed head can repay them."
"If someone doesn't give birth to you but raises you, there's no way to repay them."
"She gave birth to me and Xiao Xue, but she never raised us."
"If you hadn't protected the two of us when we were young, Grandpa, we would have died long ago!"
"I don't feel much for her. When the time is right, I'll sever my last tie to her."
"Once that bond is cut, I'll send her on her way!"
His quiet words echoed beside Qian Daoliu.
Though spoken calmly, they rang like a thunderclap.
Qian Daoliu's expression grew even more complicated. He was surprised, yet not surprised, by Qian Renyu's answer—the three kinds of upbringing.
He had witnessed everything that had happened to the siblings when they were young. He knew exactly how many times Bibi Dong had tried to kill them.
Even the mission to infiltrate the Heaven Dou Empire had been an arbitrary decision made by Bibi Dong.
Qian Daoliu still remembered that when the mission was assigned, Qian Renyu had originally been meant to carry it out. But in the end, Qian Renxue had taken it upon herself.
At the time, Qian Renyu had looked at Bibi Dong with boundless hatred.
Now, all that hatred had reached the moment it would erupt.
"Fine. You can decide what to do about these things."
"Remember what Grandpa just said. I only want to see Spirit Hall grow stronger and stronger."
"Grandpa believes you can become a worthy Pope!"
Qian Daoliu was silent for a moment, then lightly patted Qian Renyu on the shoulder. With his hands clasped behind his back, he left Pope's Palace.
Qian Renyu watched Qian Daoliu leave, then released the Soul Power isolating Yue Guan and Gui Mei. His indifferent gaze settled on the two of them.
Meeting Qian Renyu's eyes, Yue Guan and Gui Mei froze in alarm, watching him uneasily.
After sizing them up, Qian Renyu gave a cold snort. "Issue this Emperor's decree: summon every elder at the Titled Douluo level here!"
"Anyone who fails to appear will be executed without mercy!!"
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