Roast Meat

"Heh, Your Excellency the Pope is well-informed. I just returned to the Martial Soul Hall, and you personally came to greet me. How thoughtful."

Facing Bibi Dong's inquiry, Golden Crocodile retorted with a cold laugh. The disharmony between the Pope's Palace and the Worship Hall wasn't a recent development. It was clear Bibi Dong had heard about Feng Xinglie and had come specifically to win him over.

"Second Worship has worked hard and achieved great merit. To bring such a genius into the Pope's Palace, I naturally must come to thank you personally."

"The Pope is joking. When did I ever say this child would join the Pope's Palace?"

"It is Second Worship who is joking, isn't it? With such high talent, this child naturally should assume the position of Holy Son of the Martial Soul Hall. Do you intend to break the rules and appoint him in place of the Pope?"

Just as the tension between the two grew thicker, a majestic voice echoed from the sky:

"Bibi Dong, when did my disciple become someone you could boss around?"

Everyone looked up and saw Qian Daoliu descending from the sky, his six angel wings spread. He nodded at Douluo Golden Crocodile, who returned the gesture, then snorted at Bibi Dong and turned to leave.

However, Feng Xinglie, who had been secretly following, trying to slip out with them, was stopped...

"My good disciple, where do you think you're going?"

Qian Daoliu asked kindly.

Anywhere is fine, as long as I'm not with you two...

Of course, Feng Xinglie only dared to think this in his heart.

"Oh? When did the First Worship start taking disciples?"

Seeing it was Qian Daoliu, a hint of solemnity flashed across Bibi Dong's expression.

"From the first time I met this child, I felt a strong connection. Coupled with his excellent talent, I naturally took him in."

After speaking, Qian Daoliu even turned his head to look at Feng Xinglie and asked:

"Child, don't you agree?"

Ha... haha... Yes, whatever you say goes...

Seeing Feng Xinglie nod blankly, Bibi Dong couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle:

"Since he is the First Worship's disciple, then this position of Holy Son, wouldn't it naturally belong to him?"

Saying this, she took out a token from her storage Soul Tool and presented it to Feng Xinglie:

"This is the 'Holy Son Token, bestowed by the Pope.' You must cultivate diligently in the future and become the face of the Martial Soul Hall."

Looking at the token, Qian Daoliu couldn't help but mock:

"The Pope is quick. The person hasn't even arrived in Martial Soul City, and the token is already prepared."

However, this time, Bibi Dong ignored him, still smiling as she offered the Holy Son Token to Feng Xinglie.

No, can you two ancestors take your conflict outside and fight? Don't both target me!

Feeling the gazes of the two, Feng Xinglie didn't know whether to take the token or not. Offending either of them would have dire consequences later. Who would have thought that upon arriving at the Martial Soul Hall, he would be forced to take sides? He felt that the two people who were at odds with each other were unusually united in roasting him over a fire.

One added fuel, the other sprinkled salt...

"Thank... thank you, First Worship, Great Soul Grand Master Master, thank you, Great Pope, Great Soul Grand Master Sister!"

(What does the struggle at the pinnacle of the world have to do with me, a six-year-old child? I don't even know them. I'll just take whatever they give me. Don't ask me, Little Lie doesn't know 0.0~)

Feng Xinglie chose to escape.

He snatched the Holy Son Token and, like an ordinary child receiving a gift from an elder, held the token and bowed twice to the left and twice to the right. Seeing this, the two lost the mood to continue fighting.

"It's getting late today. I'll take my disciple back to rest first."

Emphasizing Feng Xinglie's identity as his disciple, Qian Daoliu pulled Feng Xinglie and walked towards the Worship Hall. Although Bibi Dong wanted to stop him, in terms of strength, she was far inferior to Qian Daoliu. Even with the entire Pope's Palace as her backing, she could only glare hatefully at Qian Daoliu's retreating back before turning to leave.

"Phew... I've finally survived for now..."

Feng Xinglie wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. He truly hadn't expected things to be so intense right after arriving at the Martial Soul Hall. Logically, possessing extraordinary talent should be a joyous occasion. Being taken as a disciple by a Limit Douluo, and being enfeoffed as Holy Son by the Pope of the Martial Soul Hall, were all incredibly good things. But why did these happy events, when combined, feel so sorrowful...

Feng Xinglie sighed, temporarily pushing these troublesome matters to the back of his mind, and carefully examined the Holy Son Token in his hand:

"It's exquisitely crafted, like a work of art... Heh, Bibi Dong really knows how to win people over, directly throwing me the position of Holy Son. But how much weight does this empty title without real power hold, that's another matter."

The key wasn't being enfeoffed as Holy Son, but being enfeoffed by the "Pope." She could grant it, and she could revoke it at any time. Moreover, as long as he remained Holy Son, Feng Xinglie would, on the surface, be Bibi Dong's person. Although the vast majority of people on the Douluo Continent would show him respect due to this empty title, to those in power, he was merely a pawn. He didn't think that bearing this title would make him equal to Saintess Hu Liena; that vixen was genuinely raised as a daughter by Bibi Dong. Rather, if he didn't obey in the future, she could easily find a pretext to dismiss him as Holy Son, and then, through a series of maneuvers, promote Hu Liena to the position of Pope.

Just as Feng Xinglie was contemplating his bleak future, a clearly displeased voice suddenly came from ahead:

"It seems you like this Holy Son Token very much."

Snapping back to attention, Feng Xinglie quickly withdrew his gaze and looked forward. He saw Qian Daoliu staring at him with an unfriendly expression.

"Master, this token given by the Pope is very beautiful, I like it very much!"

Beautiful?

Seeing that Feng Xinglie was only attracted by the appearance of the Holy Son Token, Qian Daoliu's expression softened slightly. He then took out a pendant and handed it over:

"This is a storage Soul Tool. After activating it with soul power, you can put things you don't need inside."

Feng Xinglie thanked him and quickly stuffed the "unneeded" Holy Son Token inside. Then, holding the even more beautiful pendant, he cherished it and polished it repeatedly. Qian Daoliu was very satisfied with this and nodded, saying:

"From today onwards, you are my disciple. As long as you stay true to yourself, you will not have to look at anyone's face, including the Pope's."

Feng Xinglie repeatedly agreed. Qian Daoliu then summoned a Cardinal and had him lead Feng Xinglie to familiarize himself with the Martial Soul Hall's environment before taking him to his pre-arranged residence to rest.

"Sigh, the road ahead is rough... It's come to this, I'll sleep first."

With a plop, he collapsed onto the bed. The continuous travel had exhausted this child's body. No matter how heavy his heart was, Feng Xinglie quickly fell asleep:

"No matter how miserable things get in the future, they can't be as miserable as today, right?"

Heh heh.

He had brothers, he had them.

The next day, before dawn, a hurried knocking echoed from outside.

"Who is it? This early in the morning!?"

After finally getting a good night's sleep in days, Feng Xinglie, disturbed, crawled out of his covers with a displeased look:

"Coming, coming, stop knocking! Are you in a hurry to reincarnate!?"

Casually throwing on some clothes, Feng Xinglie opened the door with a string of curses. Just as he was about to lash out, he swallowed all his complaints upon seeing the visitor's face. The person was an extremely cute little girl, with golden hair framing a pair of eyes like purple crystals. In the Martial Soul Hall, there was only one person with such a face in Feng Xinglie's memory: the inheritor of the Angel God, Qian Renxue.

"You are Feng Xinglie?"

"Ha... haha... I am Feng Xinglie. May I ask what business you have with me, elder sister?"

It was like a grandson returning home, possessing the highest immunity. Even if he angered Bibi Dong, at most he'd receive a severe punishment. But if he angered this living ancestor before him, Qian Daoliu could bring those enshrined experts, all at least level 96, to tear him into eight pieces. Seeing Qian Renxue's eyes misting over, looking as if she were about to cry, Feng Xinglie's heart leaped into his throat, and his tone became even more cautious than yesterday.

"It's you! The bad guy who stole Mommy!"

Saying that, Qian Renxue actually raised her long sword and attacked Feng Xinglie.

"Huh? No, I only arrived at the Martial Soul Hall yesterday. How could I have stolen your mother?"

While hastily dodging, Feng Xinglie instantly understood. It was likely a misunderstanding caused by Bibi Dong's bestowed title of "Holy Son." Qian Renxue, who lost her father at a young age and desperately craved maternal affection, greatly desired her mother's approval. However, due to the Secret Chamber Douluo incident, Bibi Dong naturally couldn't show her a good face. Now, hearing that her mother had suddenly brought home a "son (Holy Son)" made Qian Renxue's unease reach its peak.

"So what should I do... She definitely doesn't have the guts to hit me, but I can't just keep getting beaten. Where can I run?"

While pondering, he dodged a few more attacks. He then realized that Qian Renxue wasn't swinging her sword to slash, but was using the flat side of the blade to swat at him like a fly swatter, making him want to laugh and cry. Looking again, seeing her big eyes, which were already on the verge of tears, staring at him with a watery gaze because she couldn't hit him, she bit her lip and swatted at him with her long sword.

"How about... I let her hit me a couple of times to vent her anger? That way, after she calms down and I explain, not only will I avoid Qian Daoliu's punishment, but Qian Renxue will owe me a favor..."

Making up his mind, Feng Xinglie pretended to fail to dodge, stumbling and falling towards the floor. Unexpectedly, a shout that made his hair stand on end came from beside him:

"First Spirit Ability: Angel Assault!"

"What the hell! Big sister, are you playing with me!?"

It turned out that Qian Renxue, seeing that she couldn't hit him no matter what, became impatient. Thinking that he could dodge it anyway, she directly activated her first spirit ability. But as a yellow spirit ring lit up beneath her feet, she was stunned to find Feng Xinglie unsteady and about to fall, completely unable to dodge.

"Careful! Quickly get down!"

Hearing Qian Renxue's shout, Feng Xinglie let out a wry smile:

"Get down? Little aunt, do you know the attack range of this spirit ability..."

Seeing the spirit energy, shining with golden light, condense into a holy shield, Feng Xinglie twisted his body with his waist and, while facing the Angel Assault head-on, a yellow spirit ring also lit up beneath his feet:

"First Spirit Ability: Collapsing Ape Giant Arm!"