The bishop swallowed. "Clan Master Yu said that if he couldn't thank His Holiness the Pope in person for the kindness that had given him a new lease on life, he would stand outside the hall until he turned to stone—and never leave."
"Yu Xiaogang? Yu Yuanzhen?"
Qian Xunji froze for a moment, then the corners of his mouth visibly lifted.
"Come. Let's go to the main hall. I want to meet my 'kindred spirit.'"
With a thought, Qian Xunji switched to the second form of his Martial Soul. Twelve sacred wings of light flashed behind him and vanished, while the flawless crown of holy light disappeared into the void.
In an instant, he became a holy Pope, radiating the light of righteousness and compassion for all creation.
A short while later, in the main hall of Pope Hall,
Yu Yuanzhen paced anxiously across the hall. Meanwhile, Yu Xiaogang sat in a chair, looking almost like a different person compared to the depressed, dejected figure he had been a year ago.
He was still lean, but his hair was combed to perfection, and his eyes shone with something called "academic confidence."
"His Holiness the Pope has arrived—"
At the announcement, Qian Xunji emerged slowly from the rear hall in a snow-white Pope's robe trimmed with gold, wearing a warm smile. He looked as if a god had descended upon the world.
"Greetings, Your Holiness the Pope!"
Yu Yuanzhen took Yu Xiaogang by the arm and dropped to one knee without hesitation, paying him a grand salute.
Yu Xiaogang, especially, looked up at Qian Xunji with an almost fervent, worshipful gaze. This was the man who had awakened him with a single sentence when he had been a good-for-nothing struggling in the mire.
"Clan Master Yu, there's no need for such formality. Please, rise. Xiao Gang, you too."
Qian Xunji raised his right hand slightly, and a gentle surge of sacred Soul Power lifted father and son to their feet. He studied Yu Xiaogang with a deep gaze and nodded in satisfaction.
"Not bad. Your eyes are clear, and your brilliance is contained. It seems that over the past year, you've found your own path."
Hearing the praise, Yu Xiaogang trembled with excitement, his eyes reddening on the spot.
"It is all thanks to Your Holiness's words, which awakened me from my dream that day. If Your Holiness hadn't recognized my worth, I might have spent my whole life in a stupor. I will never forget Your Holiness's kindness!"
Yu Yuanzhen hurried forward and took a lead-lined box from his Storage Soul Tool. It gleamed with the luster of thunder, and he offered it with both hands.
"Your Holiness the Pope, this is a thunder-attributed Ten Thousand Year Right Arm Bone from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. It's a small token of our appreciation, offered to thank Your Holiness for guiding my good-for-nothing son."
Yu Yuanzhen paused, a flicker of embarrassment crossing his aged face, then continued.
"Actually, we've come today not only to offer our thanks, but also to ask a favor. Over the past year, Xiao Gang has studied every text in the clan's collection, and his Martial Soul Theory has begun to take shape.
"But to fully resolve Luo Sanpao's flaws, he still needs access to the vast collection of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. It's just... Ning Zhen is an old fox who never shows his hand until he sees the rabbit, and our Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan has never gotten along particularly well with them."
"So, I'm shamelessly asking Your Holiness to consider Xiao Gang's devotion to the Dao and... write him a letter of recommendation. With you putting in a word, Ning Zhen wouldn't dare turn him away."
Looking at the lead-lined box containing the Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone, then at the hopeful father and son, the mischief in Qian Xunji's heart grew like wild grass.
You want me to write Yu Xiaogang a letter of introduction so he can enter the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?
That's like a mouse becoming the cat's bridesmaid—walking right into the jaws of the fun.
"Clan Master Yu, you're being far too formal."
Qian Xunji accepted the box and spoke righteously. "I have always cherished talent. Xiao Gang's ability to regain his confidence after adversity is his own good fortune. I merely gave him a nudge in the right direction. There's no need to stand on ceremony."
Then why did you take it?
Yu Yuanzhen didn't know what to say.
"Enough. There's no need for further discussion."
Qian Xunji flicked his sleeve.
"As for the letter of recommendation... A letter would be too impersonal, and wouldn't show how highly I regard Xiao Gang. How about this? Clan Master Yu, return to the clan and take care of its affairs. Tomorrow morning, I'll be free, and I happen to need to inspect the Spirit Hall Branch in Seven Treasure City. I'll personally take Xiao Gang to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."
"Ah?"
This time, Yu Yuanzhen was completely dumbfounded.
The dignified Pope of Spirit Hall was going to personally... serve as a tour guide and bodyguard, escorting his good-for-nothing son to another clan to study?
Even the emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire couldn't ask for that kind of treatment.
Yu Yuanzhen instinctively sensed something was off. This pie falling from the sky was simply too enormous. But then he thought about it: Qian Xunji was the Pope, with most of the continent's Soul Masters under his command. What could he possibly want? Yu Xiaogang to stop bathing? Luo Sanpao to fart?
There was no reason at all! The only explanation was that His Holiness the Pope was truly selfless, truly cherished talent, and truly possessed a sacred heart filled with compassion for all creation!
"Your Holiness is truly benevolent. I... I thank you on behalf of the ancestors of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan!" After finishing that train of thought, Yu Yuanzhen was so moved that he nearly burst into tears. He bowed deeply.
"Off you go. Take it easy on the road."
Qian Xunji suppressed his laughter and sent the deeply grateful Yu Yuanzhen on his way.
Only Qian Xunji and Yu Xiaogang remained in the hall.
Qian Xunji descended the steps, went to the table himself, and poured two cups of hot tea. He pushed one toward Yu Xiaogang, who looked somewhat overwhelmed by the attention.
"Xiao Gang, sit."
Qian Xunji pointed to the rosewood chair beside him. His voice was warm, carrying the characteristic generosity and composure of someone in a position of power.
Yu Xiaogang didn't dare sit properly. He perched on the very edge of the chair, barely resting half his backside on it. He hadn't even reached the threshold of a Soul Grandmaster at level twenty; he was stuck at the awkward bottleneck of level nineteen, unable to advance or retreat. Facing the unfathomable Pope before him, who held sway over the Soul Masters of the world, he felt reduced to dust by his own inferiority.
Qian Xunji took in Yu Xiaogang's unease.
"Xiao Gang, do you know why, among all the talented young men on this continent, I regard you so highly?" Qian Xunji picked up his teacup and gently stirred the leaves floating on the surface, his voice deep and distant.
Yu Xiaogang raised his head in bewilderment. "I'm a fool... Perhaps it's because Your Holiness is compassionate and pities what I've been through?"
"Wrong."
Qian Xunji set the teacup back on the table. It made a sharp, measured clink.
"Pity? I have no pity for the weak. I value you because—"
"There are no useless Martial Souls in this world."
Boom—
For Yu Xiaogang, those short words were no different from another lifeline.
There are no useless Martial Souls...
Yu Xiaogang's pupils contracted sharply. Wasn't this the very truth he had wanted to roar from the highest point on the continent, as he spent the past year researching theory night and day until his eyes were bloodshot?
"Your Holiness..." Yu Xiaogang's eyes turned scarlet in an instant, and two streams of scalding tears burst free, no longer held back.
"You... You understand me! The whole world laughs at me, Yu Xiaogang, and calls me a good-for-nothing. Only you..."
That famous line you'd use to arm yourself in the future—I'll say half of it for you first. Look how moved you are.
"So, you must believe in your Luo Sanpao, and believe even more in the wisdom you've accumulated in your mind. Soul Power is nothing but brute strength.
"You're not going to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to beg for a place to stay and study. You're going there to exchange theories and work together to find a way through the Martial Soul bottleneck."
Before you continue