"The main thing is that teachers and students throughout the academy have been spreading a rumor: the Pope intends to appoint Hu Liena as the Saintess of Spirit Hall, but for certain reasons, he still hasn't made a decision. Ever since that rumor spread, that fox has practically been wagging her tail up in the sky. Maybe because of the conflict between Worship Hall and Pope Hall, the Pope deliberately overlooked Sister Xue and me, even though we're older than that slutty fox. But I want to see whether, once Xiaoshuang enters the academy at an even younger age than Hu Liena and with better talent, the Pope can still pretend not to see her. When that slutty fox loses the Saintess position, her expression will definitely be quite a sight."
"That's all? I thought it was something serious. It's only the Saintess title—boring. If she wants it, let her have it. Don't tell me you care about it, Sister Yao?" Qian Ningshuang looked at Tian Yao with a bored expression. As a transmigrator, she thought that if people called her Saintess every day in the future, she would die of embarrassment just hearing it.
"It's not that I care that much about the position. But throughout Spirit Hall's history, nearly every Holy Son and Saintess has come from our Qian and Tian Families. You could count the outsiders who became Holy Sons or Saintesses on one hand. And among those few outsiders, every single one had been among the most talented and gifted people of their era. No matter how you looked at it, Hu Liena wasn't worthy."
Just as Tian Yao had said, she did not truly care about the position itself. She fully approved of Qian Renxue or Qian Ningshuang becoming Saintess, since their talent and background were right there for all to see. She would not object even if several other familiar companions became Holy Son or Saintess.
But Hu Liena? Forget it. In terms of background, she was a commoner whose Martial Soul had mutated through sheer luck. In terms of talent, Spirit City might not have had hordes of people better than her, but there were still a few.
There was another reason as well: as a Spirit Control System Spirit Master, it was doubtful whether Hu Liena could hold down the title of Saintess of Spirit Hall.
One had to know that challengers for the honor of being Spirit Hall's foremost figure of the generation would never stop coming.
It was not that Tian Yao looked down on Spirit-type Spirit Masters. According to Spirit Hall's records, such Spirit Masters were rare, but rarity did not mean strength. Their advantage was merely their strange, hard-to-guard-against methods. Once an opponent's soul strength exceeded their own, Spirit-type Spirit Masters could basically do nothing. Tian Yao herself had beaten Hu Liena down precisely because her soul strength was greater.
Of course, ordinary Spirit-attribute Spirit Masters generally did not have poor soul strength, and under normal circumstances, Spirit-type Spirit Masters could still sweep through most opponents. But no one could guarantee that among the countless challengers, there would not be someone with greater soul strength than Hu Liena.
If that truly happened, where would Spirit Hall's dignity go?
And Hu Liena was also a Control System Spirit Master. How should one put it? Control System Spirit Masters truly were the soul of team battles, but only team battles. Once it came to one-on-one combat, exceedingly few Control System Spirit Masters could shine.
Surely she could not bring a team along at that point. If she did, would the Saintess title belong to Hu Liena or to the team?
"Alright, since you don't care about the title either, Xiao Yue, stop sulking. If you really don't want to see that face, just withdraw from the academy. What can you even learn there? With all the grandfathers of Worship Hall teaching you, staying there is nothing more than wasting time."
Qian Renxue stretched out her other hand and rubbed Tian Yao's head, comforting the sulking Tian Yao.
After a pause, she continued:
"Besides, it doesn't really matter whether that Hu Liena can become Saintess or not, or whether her expression looks good or ugly. If that person in Pope Hall wants to give it to her, then let him. Without Worship Hall's recognition, and when she herself is inferior in skill, her Saintess title would truly be nothing more than a title. Xiaoshuang shouldn't go to the academy either. Don't make trouble for yourself there."
Under other circumstances, if she could make that person in Pope Hall unhappy, Qian Renxue would be delighted and would certainly lend a hand. But using Qian Ningshuang as a pawn to upset that person in Pope Hall? Forget it. Her little sister was more important.
"That's right, Xue'er is correct. If you really can't get over it, Yao'er, then after this soul hunt ends, Grandpa will take you to withdraw from the academy. While we're at it, have your little companions withdraw too. We old fellows have nothing better to do, so we'll teach you ourselves. Could the academy possibly teach better than us old fellows? Let the Pope toss Wuhun Academy around as she pleased."
Tian'e outside the carriage also spoke up at the right moment to comfort his granddaughter.
Conflicts among youngsters were, when all was said and done, just mutual dislike. They merely needed to avoid each other and stay out of each other's sight. Given enough time, they would forget about it.
But conflicts between adults were far more than mere dislike. The certain reasons Tian Yao had mentioned for why the Pope had delayed making a decision were Tian'e himself.
If he had not taken the lead in opposing it, that little girl called Hu Liena would have become Saintess long ago.
Part of the reason was Hu Liena's talent. With Qian Renxue as such a dazzling example before her, Hu Liena's talent simply did not catch Tian'e's eye. Now that there was an even stronger Qian Ningshuang, he thought even less of her.
In Tian'e's heart, Hu Liena, the Pope's disciple, might not even surpass Tian Yao and the other descendants of the High Priests in the future.
The first reason Tian'e did not think highly of Hu Liena's future was education. One side could receive, at most, the instruction of a Spirit Douluo at the academy, while the other could have several Super Douluo personally teaching them at any time. How could those be compared? Yes, Hu Liena was the Pope's disciple, but did the Pope have that much time to personally instruct her? The High Priests always had time to spare.
Then there was the matter of resources and access to knowledge. As the Pope's disciple, Hu Liena would not be much worse off than Tian Yao and the others in most resources. But when it came to the most important resource for Spirit Masters—Spirit Bones—the gap between the two sides would be completely widened.
Before Pope Hall and Worship Hall fell out, the Spirit Bone resources accumulated by Spirit Hall over tens of thousands of years had been shared. But after their split, Pope Hall having six Spirit Bones would already be its limit.
As for the Spirit Bones held by Worship Hall, Tian'e would not dare claim there were enough to outfit each youngster with several sets, but one for each of them was certainly possible. The strongest among them could even receive several more, and after the old fellows died, each of them could receive another one or two.
Then came knowledge and theory. Knowledge and theory might seem to have little effect on a Spirit Master's strength, but they could greatly broaden a Spirit Master's experience and insight. Many times, a Spirit Master's survival, death, and opportunities depended entirely on their own knowledge and experience.
The truly valuable theoretical knowledge of Spirit Hall was all in the Wuhun Research Institute under Worship Hall. Tian'e was not deliberately restricting the people of Pope Hall in this regard; they could enter and read it whenever they wished.
The problem was that the Pope believed a certain great master's theories were the best and looked down on Worship Hall's research. Would those under her dare to go read it? If the Pope's disciple truly shamelessly went to study it, how could she command respect afterward?
And that certain great master's theories, to be fair, were somewhat useful to ordinary Spirit Masters. But if some genius believed in them, then unless they truly possessed astonishing fortune, they would be ruined.
"Let's stop talking about such troublesome things. Xiaoshuang, tell us a story."
Just as Tian'e sank into thought, Qian Renxue's voice inside the carriage interrupted him.
Before you continue