Undercurrents in the Worship Hall

The Worship Hall, in its innermost secret chamber.

Crack.

His withered fingers suddenly tightened. Several deep dents appeared in the fragile pages of the ancient book.

Blood vessels webbed across Qian Daoliu's cloudy old eyes as he stared fixedly at those eight words.

"Tree of Creation, source of all things."

The scene Pei Yuan had reported half an hour ago replayed in his mind.

The green leaf pattern that had flashed across the hand of that menial when his sleeve slipped, and the terrifying vitality that overwhelmed every Plant-type Martial Soul...

Qian Daoliu's breathing grew heavier and heavier.

Suspicion?

No. Now, all that remained was pure greed and fanaticism!

He had lived too long and stood atop the world for too long. No one understood better than he did what this kind of power meant!

That good-for-nothing whom Bibi Dong had kept shut away in the Library Pavilion like a mother hen guarding her chick held within him the ultimate secret, one capable of overturning the continent's divine order!

He had to get his hands on it! At any cost!

Suddenly, the Soul Tool dedicated to contacting the Heaven Dou Empire in the corner glimmered.

Qian Daoliu strode over, took down the sealed message scroll, and glanced over it.

The shriveled skin on his face twitched violently.

Qian Renxue was returning to the city ahead of schedule, using a Heaven Dou Empire sacrificial ceremony as her pretext. She would arrive within days.

"Xue'er, you've come back at just the right time."

The corners of Qian Daoliu's mouth slowly curled into a sinister smile.

His five fingers snapped shut. The sacred Soul Power of the Six-Winged Angel burst from his palm, and the sealed message instantly crumbled into golden ash.

A perfect killing trap had already taken shape in his mind.

"Summon the Second Worship and Third Offering. Have them come to the chamber at once!" His Soul Power transmission pierced the void in an instant.

A quarter of an hour later.

In the dim secret chamber, the Second Worship, Golden Crocodile Douluo, and the others sat around a long table, their expressions grave.

Qian Daoliu stood at the head of the table, tapping its surface with a bent finger. His voice was cold enough to freeze.

"Xue'er is coming back. We'll use the young miss's return to the city as a pretext to root out internal threats and force the Pope Palace to open the Library Pavilion for a joint investigation."

His gaze swept over them like a blade. "As soon as our people step inside, seize that menial named Su Chen and bring him back!"

A deathly silence fell over the chamber.

Golden Crocodile Douluo's brow furrowed into a knot. "Elder brother, Bibi Dong's a complete madwoman now! For the sake of a menial, she dared smash an Elder Token in front of everyone. If we force our way in, she'll absolutely fight us to the death!"

Qian Daoliu let out a cold laugh and abruptly flipped his withered right hand.

Bang!

A heavy, dark-gold token slammed onto the table.

The instant it appeared, it was as if all the air had been sucked from the chamber!

An ancient, weighty sacred pressure, carrying the absolute authority of judgment, surged outward!

Nine incomprehensibly intricate Angel God Patterns were engraved across the token's surface.

"The Holy Judgment Token?!"

The Second Worship sprang from his chair, sucking in a sharp breath!

The others turned deathly pale, their pupils contracting violently.

The Holy Judgment Token! Spirit Hall's final trump card for restraining the Pope, with the power to depose her!

"The investigation of the Library Pavilion is a pretense." A vicious glint showed in Qian Daoliu's eyes. "The real killing move is to use that menial to force Bibi Dong to act!"

"If she backs down, Su Chen belongs to us. If she dares to stop us, she'll be guilty of sheltering a heretic and abusing her authority!"

Qian Daoliu jabbed a finger at the Holy Judgment Token. "Then I'll have every right to invoke it and strip her of the Pope's authority completely!"

The Worships exchanged glances, their backs chilled.

The Great Worship wasn't just fighting for power. He was going to flip the table and rip that increasingly powerful female Pope out by the roots!

At the same time, in the main hall of the Pope Palace.

The vast hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Bibi Dong sat high upon her throne, her fingertips tapping the armrest in a steady rhythm.

Below her, a black-robed spy knelt on one knee, head bowed.

"Reporting to Your Holiness, we intercepted the Worship Hall's sealed message and decoded it at the same time. Young Miss Qian Renxue is coming back."

"Also, the Worship Hall's core elders have all gathered in the Great Worship's secret chamber."

Bibi Dong's tapping stopped.

"Leave." Her voice was cold as ice.

The spy vanished like a shadow.

In the empty hall, Bibi Dong narrowed her eyes slightly. Her gaze was as if she were looking at a corpse; she saw right through the old fossils' scheme.

Use Qian Renxue's name to tear down her defenses? Force her to give up her seat?

If she backed down, Su Chen would be taken away. If she stood her ground, they had an even more venomous move waiting.

Was she afraid?

Bibi Dong shot to her feet.

Boom!

The purple-black divine might of the Rakshasa God roared like a prison and crushed the air in the hall, making the pillars groan!

She showed not the slightest fear, nor any intention of backing down.

"Angela." Her voice, wrapped in Soul Power, pierced through the hall doors.

Angela shoved the doors open and rushed in, dropping heavily to her knees.

"Take my written order!" Bibi Dong looked down at her from above, every word dripping with bloodlust. "Mobilize the first and second units of the Judgment Knights. Full battle gear. Take control of the Library Pavilion!"

Angela's pupils shrank sharply.

The Judgment Knights! The Pope's killing machine. Mobilizing them was tantamount to declaring war at the highest level!

"Pass down the order." Bibi Dong's voice held not a trace of emotion. "Anyone who dares approach within three hundred paces of the Library Pavilion, whatever their pretext..."

"No warnings. Kill them on the spot!"

Angela's hands trembled like a sieve. She pressed her forehead hard against the cold stone floor.

This was madness.

For the sake of a menial without even a Soul Ring, Her Holiness was truly going to wage all-out war against the Worship Hall and bathe Spirit City in blood!

"Your subordinate... obeys!" Angela scrambled out, her red robes already soaked through with cold sweat.

Third floor of the Library Pavilion.

Su Chen lounged on a repaired bamboo chair, a light blanket draped over him.

In his mind, the Light Screen of the Eye of Omniscience glowed softly.

All of Spirit City lay spread out before him like an ultra-high-precision data map.

The deep red points representing the Judgment Knights were closing in like a rising tide, surrounding the Library Pavilion until not even a drop of water could get through.

Meanwhile, in the direction of the Worship Hall, the golden points representing the high-ranking elders had gathered into a volcano on the verge of eruption.

A playful smile curled at the corners of Su Chen's mouth.

The Holy Judgment Token in Qian Daoliu's possession, along with his bold threats to flip the table, had all been laid bare under the Eye of Omniscience's watch.

He had not only seen through the old man's trump card; at the edge of the screen, a marker labeled [Binder 002 · Qian Renxue] was also speeding toward Spirit City's coordinates.

"Well, aren't you all having fun?" Su Chen silently whistled.

Two behemoths standing atop the continent were testing each other recklessly on the edge of a cliff, all for his sake—the bait in sheep's clothing.

He didn't need to do anything.

He only needed to keep playing the helpless good-for-nothing, freshly recovered from a serious illness.

He could watch Bibi Dong's protectiveness flare to its absolute limit, and watch Qian Renxue—because of that damned system mission—force herself to charge through the deadly line her mother had drawn.

Deep in his Sea of Divine Consciousness, the World Tree Martial Soul swayed gently, concealing every trace of his aura without leaving a single gap.

Deep in the night, Spirit City.

Dark clouds blotted out the moon, and the pressure over the entire city was suffocating.

The undisguised killing intent from the Pope Palace and the hidden undercurrents of the Worship Hall collided violently over the inner city.

Every high-ranking Soul Master in the city was on edge. Even their breathing grew quieter.

The storm was coming.

Pope Palace, underground chamber.

Bibi Dong sat cross-legged.

A wisp of Rakshasa malice, stirred by her murderous intent, was firmly suppressed by the lingering woody fragrance in her Sea of Divine Consciousness.

It was Su Chen's lingering aura.

Her mind had never been clearer. The killing intent of a level-ninety-nine Peak Douluo had been honed sharper than a blade.

Bibi Dong slowly raised her head.

Her gaze seemed to pierce through layers of earth, striking straight at the Worship Hall.

A cruel smile curved her bloodless lips. Every word she uttered seemed dredged up from the depths of hell, cold enough to pierce to the bone.

"If you really dare lay a hand on Su Chen..."

"I won't hesitate to erase the Worship Hall from Spirit Hall's map forever."