Moving into the Holy Maiden Hall?

Bibi Dong paused, raised her eyes to Yue Guan below, and suddenly smiled.

She was in quite a good mood at the moment.

Come to think of it, she had to thank Yue Guan for bringing Xiao Feng back to her six years ago. Otherwise, she would not have advanced to the Title Douluo realm so quickly, nor would she have taken Ye Qifeng as her disciple now.

But Yue Guan did not feel so good.

Seeing Bibi Dong's smile, Yue Guan shuddered violently, nearly wetting himself in fright:

Damn it! His Holiness the Pope smiled? Nothing good ever happens whenever she smiles. I don't think I offended her, did I? I only asked one question...

During the year Bibi Dong had held power, he had seen it often enough. Every time a smile appeared on Bibi Dong's face, it meant the butcher's blade was about to fall, people were about to die—many people.

Yue Guan had seen too much, so he was afraid.

As Bibi Dong's smile grew increasingly unfathomable, Yue Guan's delicate body began to tremble involuntarily.

At last, Bibi Dong continued, "Come to think of it, Elder Ju has seen Xiao Feng before. He was the one Elder Ju and I brought back to Spirit City six years ago."

"Hiss—!" Yue Guan relaxed upon hearing that, only to freeze again. "Huh?"

"Six years ago? Hmm..." After pondering and recalling for a few seconds, a flash of insight struck Yue Guan's mind. He seemed to finally remember, and he cried out in a feminine voice:

"It was him? The newly conferred Holy Son is that baby boy from back then?!"

"Correct." Bibi Dong nodded, paying no attention to Yue Guan's fussing. Instead, she instructed him, "Elder Ju, first deliver the conferment edict to the Elder Hall. Inform them to hurry up and approve it, then produce the Holy Son's exclusive token and attire. I believe the order from Worship Hall will arrive soon as well."

"Yes, His Holiness the Pope! I'll go at once!"

With that, Yue Guan flashed away, clutching the Holy Son Conferment Edict as he hurried toward the Elder Hall.

After Yue Guan left, Bibi Dong summoned the Holy Emperor Warriors waiting outside the hall and handed them several commendation orders to carry out.

Among the commendation orders,

Siviss was already a Spirit Douluo-level Platinum Bishop, and his status was second only to the elders of the Elder Hall.

Unless he broke through to Title Douluo, his rank within Spirit Hall could not be raised any further.

Thus, his reward was resources needed for cultivation.

At the same time, everyone else at the Spirit Hall Holy Hall in the West District received corresponding Gold Soul Coin rewards.

Li Qing, the Dean of the Orphanage, had her rank within Spirit Hall raised by one level, advancing from Purple-robed Bishop to Black-robed Bishop.

If she wished, she could take on a higher-ranking position within Spirit Hall.

However, she refused.

On one hand, she loved the work of raising children and regarded it as her lifelong calling.

On the other hand, she was a person of calm temperament, uninterested in power, wealth, or status. She only loved children, and raising them into adults gave her a great sense of accomplishment.

If she could raise several more geniuses for Spirit Hall because of this, she would be very happy.

Li Qing did not know how Ye Qifeng's Martial Soul awakening had gone, but from the Holy Emperor Warrior who came to deliver the order, she learned that Ye Qifeng had already been accepted as a disciple by His Holiness the Pope.

She guessed his talent could not possibly be low.

Thus, she and the other teachers who had also received commendations were all overjoyed.

Because of Grand Consecrator Qian Daoliu, Worship Hall's order arrived at the Elder Hall before the Holy Son Conferment Edict had even been delivered. Its speed made Worship Hall seem even more anxious than the Pope Palace.

Therefore, the Elder Hall quickly approved the edict for the conferment of the Holy Son without even convening an Elder Council meeting.

Half an hour later,

Spirit Hall announced to the outside world that it had conferred a Holy Son and released illustrated information about the exclusive token representing the Holy Son's identity.

However, it did not disclose any specific information about the Holy Son's identity, not even his name.

As soon as the news came out, the continent was thrown into an uproar. Discussions erupted everywhere, filled with all manner of doubts and speculation.

Especially among the major powers—the Heaven Dou Empire, Star Luo Empire, Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, and Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.

As for the Clear Sky Sect, it was still cowering atop snowy peaks and living in hardship, having yet to recover its strength. It was not worth mentioning.

The leaders of those major powers—Xue Ye, Dai Tianfeng, Ning Fengzhi, and Yu Yuanzhen—were all utterly bewildered, unable to understand what Spirit Hall was suddenly up to.

Pope Bibi Dong had only taken office two years ago, yet Spirit Hall was already rushing to establish some Holy Son.

Could it be that internal conflict had erupted within Spirit Hall?

Why had there not been the slightest sign beforehand?

Since they had established a Holy Son, why not reveal his identity?

Could it be that his talent was outstanding, so they were hiding him away in secret?

If his talent was heaven-defying, shouldn't they announce it to bolster Spirit Hall's prestige?

There had to be some unknown purpose behind this...

There was definitely something suspicious going on...

Those few old foxes could not help overthinking things again. They became even more curious about what kind of person this Holy Son of Spirit Hall truly was.

Thus, the leaders of the major powers sent orders to the spies under their control, commanding them to investigate every piece of information related to Spirit Hall's Holy Son at all costs...

After Ye Qifeng followed Gui Mei out of the Pope Palace,

he was taken directly to a palace beside the Pope Palace. It was the Holy Maiden Hall—the place where Bibi Dong had once lived. Even the plaque had not yet been replaced.

"Your Highness, Holy Son! This will be your residence from now on."

Gui Mei lifted his broad black robe without even revealing his hands, gesturing toward the palace before them.

"Holy Maiden Hall?"

Ye Qifeng stared at the three gilded words on the plaque before him, his face full of astonishment.

"Your Highness, Holy Son, there is no need to be surprised."

In a hoarse, muffled voice, Gui Mei explained, "This palace is both the Holy Maiden Hall and the Holy Son Palace. It is the residence of both the Holy Son and Holy Maiden. Holy Sons and Holy Maidens throughout the generations have all lived here."

"For example, the previous Pope and the current Pope both lived here when they were the Holy Son and Holy Maiden."

"Someone will come replace the plaque soon."

Gui Mei, who normally did not speak much, had unusually said so much at once.

He knew that the Holy Son possessed astonishing talent and that his future achievements would be immeasurable.

Even the Second Worship had personally appeared to snatch him away, and now he had been directly conferred as the Holy Son.

Who knew? He might even become the next Pope.

Gui Mei could not help wanting to build goodwill with him. At the very least, he could not afford to offend him. Thus, he tried his best to meet the Holy Son's requests, answer his questions, and leave a good impression.

After bringing Ye Qifeng to the palace entrance, Gui Mei stopped. "Your Highness, Holy Son, you may go in yourself. It would not be convenient for me to enter."

"Oh, all right. Thank you for the trouble, Elder Gui." Out of courtesy, Ye Qifeng immediately prepared to bow slightly to Gui Mei.

Gui Mei hurriedly stopped him and said:

"Your Highness, Holy Son, according to Spirit Hall's rules, the Holy Son's status is above that of an elder. Therefore, there is no need for Your Highness to bow to me."

"I see. Still, Elder Gui is a senior. It is only proper for this junior to pay his respects." Ye Qifeng did not care much about such things.

"There is a distinction between superiors and subordinates. There is no need for the Holy Son to do so."

Gui Mei's impression of Ye Qifeng improved further, but he still emphasized the point.

Then he took his leave. "I still have matters to attend to, so I will take my leave first."

With that, Gui Mei's figure turned into a wisp of Ghost Mist and departed.