Spirit City.
At this moment, Spirit City had already been thrown into a massive uproar—
Pope Qian Xunji, accompanied by two Titled Douluo, had actually been severely injured by Tang Hao of the Clear Sky Sect, who had only just advanced to Titled Douluo!
The moment this news came out, the upper ranks of Spirit Hall were instantly shocked beyond measure.
"Isn't this Tang Hao far too monstrous?! How did he manage to severely injure Pope Qian Xunji?!"
"Those were three Titled Douluo! How did Tang Hao defeat them?!"
Everyone found it unbelievable.
If they had not personally seen Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo return with the severely wounded Qian Xunji, they would have thought someone was telling them a joke.
Inside the Pope's Bedchamber, Qian Daoliu frowned deeply as he looked at his unconscious son.
Earlier, he had already summoned Spirit Hall's finest healing-type Soul Masters to treat him. His injuries appeared healed, yet Qian Xunji himself remained unconscious.
Qian Daoliu released his spiritual power and thoroughly examined Qian Xunji inside and out. Then, he poured a vast amount of Soul Power into Qian Xunji's body.
Qian Renxue's eyes brimmed with tears, while the Six Great Elders were also deeply worried.
After a long while, Qian Daoliu finally stopped, and the Six Great Elders and Qian Renxue anxiously wanted to know Qian Xunji's condition.
"Big Brother, how is he?" Golden Crocodile asked urgently, his brow tightly furrowed.
"What exactly happened to Xunji? Why can't he wake up?"
Qian Daoliu sighed. "Tang Hao's attack injured his Martial Soul. His Martial Soul has been damaged, and this is not something ordinary healing-type Soul Masters can treat."
"Then, Big Brother, should we ask a Nine-Heart Begonia Soul Master to take a look?" Guang Ling suggested.
The Nine-Heart Begonia was the continent's foremost healing Martial Soul, said to be capable of reviving the dead and regrowing flesh from bone. Moreover, this Martial Soul was even more outrageous than the Qian Clan's single-inheritance Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul. In any era, only two Nine-Heart Begonia Martial Soul possessors could exist at once.
Although the Qian Clan's Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul could only be passed down through a single line, there was no limit on the number of generations. If an ancestor lived long enough, even four generations living under one roof was possible.
That was why the Nine-Heart Begonia Martial Soul carried such an air of mystery across the continent.
Qian Daoliu's gaze shifted. What Guang Ling had said was indeed an option, and he was not worried that Ye Renxin would refuse. But Nine-Heart Begonia Soul Masters were simply too rare.
The strongest Nine-Heart Begonia Soul Master on the continent, Ye Renxin, currently enjoyed traveling everywhere to practice medicine. He roamed all across the continent and was difficult to find.
"No. Ye Renxin's whereabouts are uncertain, and he is difficult to locate. It is only a case of Martial Soul damage. Later, I will inject some Angel Divine Power into him, and he should wake up," Qian Daoliu said, voicing his plan.
The Six Great Elders considered it and did not object. Mainly because Qian Daoliu was right—Ye Renxin truly was hard to find.
The only person connected to him was his granddaughter, Ye Lingling.
But Spirit Hall had not fallen so low as to trouble a little girl.
"Oh, right, where did Xiao Zhan go?"
After putting his mind at ease, Qian Daoliu swept his gaze around and discovered that Ao Zhan, who had previously been inseparable from Qian Renxue, was nowhere to be seen.
Earlier, he had been too focused on Qian Xunji's injuries to notice, but only now did he realize that someone was missing!
Ordinarily, with Qian Xunji severely injured, Ao Zhan should have come over with Qian Renxue, shouldn't he?
"Xiao Zhan? We haven't seen him at all."
"Who knows? Didn't he come with Xue'er?"
The others all spoke up, their gazes coincidentally settling on Qian Renxue.
"Xue'er, where did Xiao Zhan go?" Qian Daoliu asked.
Qian Renxue wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and shook her head. "I don't know. When it was time to sleep tonight, I didn't see Brother Zhan. I kept waiting, but he never came back, and then I fell asleep. When I woke up after hearing that Father had been injured, I still didn't see him. I thought he was here."
"Then that's strange. Where did Xiao Zhan go?" The Seven Great Elders frowned.
But speak of the devil, and he appeared.
Just then, Ao Zhan's voice rang out. "Grandpa Qian! Xue'er!"
Everyone looked toward the entrance, where Ao Zhan ran in looking extremely flustered.
There were leaves in his hair and dirt on his clothes.
"Brother Zhan!" Qian Renxue's eyes lit up as she hurriedly threw herself at him.
Ao Zhan held her and patted her back. "Alright, alright. Don't get so excited."
Then, he glanced at Qian Xunji, who was still lying on the bed, and asked Qian Daoliu, "Grandpa Qian, is Uncle Qian alright? I heard he was badly injured by Tang Hao. What happened?"
"Sigh, this is what happened..."
After Qian Daoliu explained what had happened, he asked Ao Zhan, "Xiao Zhan, where did you go just now?"
Ao Zhan said, "I fell asleep beneath a big tree. The news of Uncle Qian's severe injuries shook Spirit Hall's higher-ups, and their commotion woke me up."
That was naturally a lie. He had gone to beat Tang Hao up, and while he was at it, he had taken Tang Hao's wife, Spirit Bone, and storage Soul Tool. He had even been present when Qian Xunji was severely injured, but none of that could be said.
Still, this excuse could withstand scrutiny. After using the power of space to return, he really had lain beneath a large tree for a while, and he had run here from there. Many people had seen him along the way.
Besides, when he had stayed in Spirit Hall before, he truly did sometimes spend the night sleeping beneath large trees. Qian Daoliu and the others all knew this.
Sure enough, after hearing this, Qian Daoliu and the others did not doubt him in the slightest. Qian Daoliu even told him, "You should change that habit of yours. Sleeping outside at night makes it easy to catch a chill. Besides, Xue'er sleeps with you now. If you do not return at night, you will easily make her worry."
"Yes, yes, Brother Zhan. I was terribly worried when I didn't see you at bedtime," Qian Renxue said as she hugged him.
"I understand. I won't do that again," Ao Zhan said softly.
Then, he looked at Qian Daoliu. "Grandpa Qian, may I take a look at Uncle Qian's condition?"
Qian Daoliu and the others froze. They suddenly recalled that when Ao Zhan's Martial Soul had awakened, it seemed to have erupted with powerful life force. That meant he might also be capable of healing others!
"Xiao Zhan, do you possess the power to heal others?" Qian Daoliu asked.
"Yes. My Azure Dragon Martial Soul is aligned with wood and possesses powerful life energy. I should be able to heal Uncle Qian."
"Then hurry and take a look."
If Ao Zhan could heal Qian Xunji's injuries, then Qian Daoliu would not need to expend Angel Divine Power.
After all, Angel Divine Power was needed to begin the Angel God Trial.
Yet even as the High Priest of the Angel God, Qian Daoliu possessed very little Angel Divine Power. Recovering it through cultivation would take a very long time.
Now that Qian Daoliu had seen hope of the Angel God appearing in Qian Renxue, good steel had to be used on the blade. Therefore, unless necessary, it was best not to expend it.
After Qian Renxue let go of him, Ao Zhan walked over to Qian Xunji, grasped one of his wrists, and injected a stream of azure energy brimming with life into Qian Xunji's body.
When Qian Daoliu and the others saw the azure energy in Ao Zhan's hand, they all felt pleasantly warm, as though every cell in their bodies was leaping with joy.
Amid their astonishment, they became filled with hope that Qian Xunji could wake up.