Forcedly Gathered Destiny

Bibi Dong and Golden Crocodile immediately raised their right hands as well. Seeing that the leaders had cast their votes, the other worshippers naturally followed suit.

Thus, the vote ended on a pleasant note, and Shang An, the newly appointed Holy Son, left an extremely deep impression on the elders and worshippers.

All of this had been within Shang An's expectations. Before the meeting began, he had already spoken with Qian Daoliu. This was beneficial to Spirit Hall, so Qian Daoliu did not object, though he did make one request.

He wanted Shang An to personally deliver a secret letter to Qian Renxue. Shang An saw no problem with that and agreed.

Therefore, the outcome of this meeting had long been decided. The meeting was merely a notification for the elders and worshippers, a formality.

Afterward, the worshippers discussed the reforms in detail. Shang An did most of the talking, while they listened and raised questions to prevent any omissions in the finer details.

They might not have possessed forward-looking vision, but they did have considerable wisdom and life experience.

However, Shang An had clearly prepared thoroughly. At the very least, no flaws in the plan were discovered during the meeting.

In the end, Bibi Dong was appointed the chief person in charge of Spirit Hall's reform plan, while Shang An participated in decision-making as an advisor.

Although Qian Daoliu intended for Shang An to serve as the chief person in charge, Shang An refused. He might have proposed Spirit Hall's reform plan, but every step had already been written down, along with methods for handling possible accidents. As long as Spirit Hall was not foolish, it could carry things out step by step without issue.

He could not spend his time on this. Power and the like were all empty things. In this fantasy world, only strength that belonged to oneself was real.

Moreover, with the loyal core team Shang An had selected, coupled with the support of the upper ranks, even if he did not participate in the entire plan, he could still ensure that its overall direction did not go wrong at any time.

His teacher, Bibi Dong, could also use this reform to raise her prestige and lay the foundation for the establishment of the Spirit Hall Empire.

Before Pope Palace,

Shang An held the petite Hu Liena in his arms.

"Alright, Nana. This is far enough."

"Junior Brother, can I really not go with you?"

Hu Liena did not let go. She had only just returned from Devil Training Camp and reunited with the junior brother she had missed so dearly. Before they could properly enjoy their time together, she now had to part from him again.

"Nana, we have plenty of days ahead of us. Next time, next time I'll take you with me."

Hu Liena bit her lip and reluctantly released Shang An.

"Alright, but you have to keep your word. Otherwise, otherwise I'll ignore you for a month... a week."

Hu Liena still did not dare make the punishment too harsh. If she truly ignored Shang An, would that not let some seductive vixen take advantage of the opening?

"Alright, alright. I'll definitely keep my word."

Shang An did not make some protagonist-style oath to the heavens. After all, there would definitely be a next time.

He looked at Bibi Dong behind Hu Liena, walked over, and gently embraced her.

"Teacher, after I leave, you must take good care of yourself."

"Don't stay up late. You can hand matters over to Elder Ju and Elder Gui. If I come back and find that you've grown thinner, I'll be heartbroken."

"Mm."

Bibi Dong nodded and said nothing more. They had already said everything that needed to be said the night before.

Hu Liena, however, looked suspiciously at the master and disciple. One was a teacher like a mother to her, and the other was the junior brother she loved dearly.

But weren't Teacher and Junior Brother a little too intimate? Ah! She could not think such disobedient thoughts. Junior Brother had been raised by Teacher, so it was perfectly normal for them to be close. Yes, that was it. Hu Liena hurriedly suppressed that outrageous thought.

What she did not know was that the truth was often exactly what she had imagined.

"Then, Teacher, I'll be going first. Take care, both of you!"

Bibi Dong watched Shang An's departing figure until it gradually vanished from sight. Only then did she withdraw her gaze and lead the equally reluctant Hu Liena back into Pope Palace.

Outside Spirit City, Shang An sat in an ordinary carriage. This time, he was traveling, so it would not be suitable to be overly conspicuous.

Of course, this ordinary was only relative. There were no Spirit Beasts pulling the carriage, no ceremonial escort, and no precious treasures decorating it, but the carriage itself was made of extraordinary materials, while its interior was classically furnished and comfortable. It was no inferior to the carriages of certain great nobles.

Besides Shang An, there was a stunningly beautiful woman with a voluptuous figure inside the carriage. Her figure and appearance were exceptional. She wore a black dress, and her brows and eyes were exquisitely beautiful. Compared to the current Pope, she was only slightly lacking in temperament.

This woman was Shang An's Dao Protector, Spirit Hall's newly promoted elder, Lingyuan Douluo Ni Huang. Her Martial Soul was the Red Fire Spirit Kite, and she was a Rank 94 Title Douluo.

"Sister Ni Huang, how is your cultivation of the Nine-Layer Fire Phoenix Art going?"

"I must thank you, His Holiness the Holy Son. After cultivating this wondrous meditation technique of yours, not only has my cultivation speed increased tremendously, but the quality of my Soul Power has greatly improved as well. Even my Martial Soul shows signs of undergoing a second evolution."

As she spoke, Ni Huang looked at Shang An gratefully. Without him, she might still be wandering at her current rank. Among Title Douluo, each rank was a world apart. Being stuck at a rank for several years was commonplace if one had poor luck.

"Sister Ni Huang, there's no need to be so polite. We're family. I told you, just call me Xiao An."

"Alright, Xiao An. Still, I have to thank you."

Ni Huang revealed a gentle smile. If anyone else in Spirit Hall saw this, they would probably cry out in disbelief. After all, Lingyuan Douluo's temper was as famously fiery as her figure.

"By the way, Xiao An, what are we going to Nuoding City for?"

Ni Huang was somewhat curious. Nuoding City was merely an inconspicuous little city on Douluo Continent. It had neither strength nor special features. If it were not relatively close to Spirit City, she might not even have known such a city existed.

"To catch a rabbit."

A mysterious smile appeared on Shang An's lips.

"To catch a rabbit?"

"You'll find out when we get there."

Being cryptic was actually rather interesting.

On the streets of Nuoding City, a luxurious carriage traveled down the road. Pedestrians all moved aside on their own initiative, afraid of causing trouble.

"Hm!"

Shang An sensed an immense concentration of destiny gathering ahead. Its grandeur surpassed that of anyone he had ever seen. Even his Pope teacher, the most powerful person on Douluo Continent, was far inferior.

His Golden Eyes of Truth activated on their own. Through the carriage curtain, he saw an ordinary-looking, dark-skinned youth, the sort who would disappear into a crowd without notice. Only his eyes, gleaming with sharp light, were somewhat noteworthy.

There was nothing extraordinary about the youth himself, yet in Shang An's Golden Eyes of Truth, he shone with soaring blue light. The density of his destiny even exceeded that of Spirit Hall as a whole.

Shang An's expression turned grave.

"No. With destiny this immense, why is it still blue?"

Destiny was roughly divided into eight grades: gray, white, green, blue, purple, orange, red, and gold. Whether there were grades beyond those was unknown.

Most people, even Spirit Masters, possessed gray destiny. Those with white destiny were generally figures at the level of Black-Robed Bishops within Spirit Hall. Xie Yue, Yan, and several of Spirit Hall's elders possessed green destiny. As for blue destiny, Shang An had only seen it on Bibi Dong and Qian Daoliu.

Destiny was not fixed. If one's strength or influence was sufficient, one's destiny naturally would not be low. After Bibi Dong passed the seventh trial of the Rakshasa God, her destiny became blue tinged with purple. By Shang An's estimate, if Bibi Dong became a god, her destiny would completely turn purple.

Yet the youth's destiny was so immense that even turning purple would be more than justified, but it remained only blue. Moreover, this destiny possessed no spiritual nature. It gathered without merging, dull and lifeless, as though it had been forcibly condensed. The method was far too crude.

"Forcibly condensed? Could this person be Tang San, the artificial protagonist of the Asura God?"

"I never expected it. I never expected the Asura God to give Tang San such an enormous destiny cheat."

People with powerful destiny avoided misfortune and encountered good fortune in adversity. They were Children of Destiny. Unless someone with even stronger destiny acted against them, or a powerful expert with overwhelming strength intervened, it was nearly impossible to kill such people directly.

Shang An naturally possessed neither such ability nor such destiny. After recultivating the Golden Eyes of Truth and gaining the ability to observe destiny, the first person he looked at was himself.

He discovered that his own destiny was completely void, not even possessing gray destiny. He did not know whether that was good or bad, but so far, he had not noticed any effect on himself.

But that did not mean Shang An had no way to deal with Tang San. He could plant an Inner Demon in Tang San and slowly erode his destiny. At the same time, he could weaken Tang San's destiny by seizing his opportunities. Once Tang San's destiny reached its lowest point, he could slaughter him.

"Xiao An, what's wrong?"

Ni Huang spoke. She had not cultivated the Golden Eyes of Truth and could not sense destiny. Seeing Shang An staring straight at the carriage curtain with a grave look in his eyes, she was momentarily puzzled. Was there something wrong with the carriage?

"Nothing. I merely saw an interesting person."

Afterward, he would slowly torment and toy with Tang San to wear down his destiny. How could that not be interesting? However, Shang An did not mention destiny. Telling others would only cause unnecessary worry.

"An interesting person?"

Ni Huang was surprised. This was the first time she had seen Shang An call someone interesting.

"Tang Hao's son. He even has Twin Martial Souls. Tell me, isn't that interesting?"

"Tang Hao?"

Ni Huang did not react immediately. After all, Tang Hao had vanished without a trace after briefly appearing and hammering the Pope to death all those years ago. Then, a flash of realization struck her mind.

"Could he be that Clear Sky Douluo!"

Ni Huang looked at Shang An in astonishment, hoping for confirmation.

"That's right. That coward."

Shang An even sneered as he spoke, his words filled with deep contempt for the so-called Clear Sky Douluo.