Send Her Away, Quickly

Early the next morning,

just as dawn was breaking,

the stone doors to the Pope Hall's top-secret underground chamber swung open with a thunderous crash. Several solemn-faced female palace guards strode inside and, without another word,

"invited" the exhausted, haggard Star Luo Empress Zhu Wanying out. They bundled her into an unassuming carriage and hurried her out of Spirit City before nightfall.

Standing on the high balcony of Pope Hall, Qian Xunji let the cold morning breeze wash over him as he watched the carriage disappear into the distance. He let out a long breath of relief.

"Damn it, send her away quickly. If I keep her locked up any longer, this Pope's upright and righteous persona might really become impossible to maintain."

Yesterday, he had nearly lost control and crossed that final line.

He had to admit, the Star Luo Zhu Family's genes really were the finest on the entire continent.

Last night, Zhu Wanying had looked humiliated and desperate, yet forced to obey. Paired with that outrageously curvaceous figure of hers, she was a downright lethal temptress.

Qian Xunji stretched, banishing those wanton thoughts from his mind, then turned and walked into the council hall.

By then, the hall was already dazzling with golden light.

"Reporting to Your Holiness the Pope!"

A red-robed cardinal in charge of finances was so excited that his voice trembled. Clutching a thick stack of gift inventories, he dropped to his knees with a thud.

"We've struck it rich! Spirit Hall has made an absolute fortune this time!"

"Look at you, getting excited over so little." Qian Xunji settled onto the papal throne and lifted his teacup to wet his throat.

"Tell me, how much protection money did those sects send over?"

"Your Holiness, after yesterday's battle at Jialing Pass, every force whose name appeared on that joint letter sent compensation at the first opportunity. Some even airlifted it overnight on flying Soul Beasts!"

The cardinal swallowed and opened the inventory, reading aloud:

"Every second- and third-rate sect that took part sent at least five hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins, along with all kinds of rare ores and medicinal herbs.

"And the Two Great Empires' imperial families each sent ten million Gold Soul Coins, as well as ten-year logging rights to two large Soul Beast forests."

Qian Xunji raised an eyebrow. "What about the Upper Three Sects?"

"The Clear Sky Sect sent fifteen million Gold Soul Coins and the transfer deeds to two iron mines. As for the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan..."

At this point, the cardinal's eyes nearly popped out of his head.

"These two really went all out. They sent not only mountains of Gold Soul Coins and heavenly treasures,

"but... but each family even offered up a complete Spirit Bone that was at least ten thousand years old."

Listening to the cardinal's report, Qian Xunji could no longer suppress the grin tugging at his lips.

"Hahahaha! Those two old foxes, Ning Zhen and Yu Yuanzhen, must be feeling guilty. They're paying a fortune to avert disaster!"

"Take it all! Put every last bit of it into the treasury!" Qian Xunji swept a hand through the air.

"Set aside half the Gold Soul Coins and keep investing them in subsidies for commoner Soul Masters and printing the General Theory of Martial Souls. I'll make Spirit Hall's prestige utterly eclipse these so-called nobles!"

Just as expected, once news of the battle at Jialing Pass sprouted wings and spread across the continent,

and the General Theory of Martial Souls continued to take the world by storm, Spirit Hall's prestige reached an all-time peak on Douluo Continent in just a few days!

Commoner Soul Masters revered Pope Qian Xunji as if he were a god. Plenty of Soul Masters from minor sects even clamored to leave their sects and join Spirit Hall.

Walking through the streets of Spirit City, even the lowest-ranking deacons and guards held their heads high and strode about with a swagger, as if they wanted to carve "I'm number one under heaven" into their foreheads.

Yet as he looked upon this flourishing scene, Qian Xunji sat in Pope Hall, his deep eyes growing ever more clear-headed.

"Pass down the order: convene a meeting of all senior officials of cardinal rank and above!"

At that day's meeting, Qian Xunji didn't praise a single person. Instead, contrary to his usual behavior, he slammed his hand on the table.

"Every one of you, rein in your arrogance!"

Qian Xunji's icy gaze swept across the cardinals below, all of them beaming and congratulating themselves. His level-ninety-five pressure left them struggling to breathe.

"Do you think Spirit Hall is invincible now? Do you think everyone has to bow to your wishes wherever you go? Idiots!"

Qian Xunji barked, "Pride comes before a fall! The higher the peak, the deeper the plunge! Our reputation has reached its height. Now we're staring down an abyss!

"Every force on the continent fears and hates us. They're offering gifts and submitting on the surface, but who knows how they're sharpening their blades behind our backs!"

"Starting today, Spirit Hall will be governed by ironclad rules on a military footing.

"Anyone who dares flaunt Spirit Hall's name, bully men, or prey on women, tarnishing the shining image I've worked so hard to build..." Qian Xunji sneered.

"I won't wait for outsiders to deal with them. I'll skin them alive myself, rip out their tendons, and hang them outside the Judgment Tribunal to dry!"

To be a perfect great villain, it wasn't enough to possess strength that could crush all opposition. He also needed an immaculate mask of justice that no one could find fault with.

Under this iron-fisted command, Spirit Hall became like a finely tuned machine. It shed all its arrogance and bluster, growing ever more restrained, rigorous, and unshakable.

A few days later,

in the imperial palace of the Star Luo Empire, inside the emperor's bedchamber,

the atmosphere was so oppressive it felt as if water might drip from the air.

The Star Luo Emperor, Dai Tianfeng, lay on his sickbed. He had woken up, but his chest was still wrapped in thick bandages.

The humiliation of Qian Xunji crushing the Hell White Tiger with a single stomp at Jialing Pass, the death of the Guardian Douluo, and the astronomical compensation he had paid just days ago had left the emperor's face terrifyingly dark.

But what made him even more furious now, his eyes bloodshot, was the empress standing before his bed, freshly returned to him safe and sound by Spirit Hall's carriage convoy: Zhu Wanying.

"Your Majesty... Tianfeng, you're finally awake. I'm so glad you're all right..." Zhu Wanying looked at her husband, her eyes reddening as tears streamed down her cheeks. She tried to step forward and take Dai Tianfeng's hand.

"Get away!!!"

Dai Tianfeng flung out a hand and smashed the bowl of medicine beside his bed. The liquid splashed all over Zhu Wanying.

"Tianfeng? You..." Zhu Wanying froze in place, staring in disbelief at the husband with whom she had shared life and death for so many years.

"Don't call me by my name! It makes me sick!"

Dai Tianfeng glared at Zhu Wanying's flawless, stunning face, his eyes bloodshot with jealousy and suspicion.

"You were kidnapped by that bastard Qian Xunji and spent a day in Spirit Hall. Then he sent you back completely unharmed?"

"Do you take me for a three-year-old? What kind of man is Qian Xunji?

"He's the most arrogant Pope on the entire continent! He took you away, alone with him behind closed doors. You expect me to believe he did nothing?"

Dai Tianfeng pointed at Zhu Wanying, his voice hoarse with rage.

"Speak! What despicable tricks did you use to please him so he'd spare your life? You've disgraced the entire Star Luo Imperial Family!"