The Spirit Hall had never been united as one.
Even among the Titled Douluo, the members of the Elder Hall were always competing with one another.
As the Pope's trusted confidants, Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo occupied positions many people coveted.
Why were Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo allowed to stay by the Pope's side?
While everyone else was left out in the cold?
Lingyuan Douluo believed she was no worse than the two of them.
This time, Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo had botched their mission. They were bound to be punished.
If she performed well, she might even replace them and become the Pope's trusted confidant.
"Ling Yuan, Tang San is the chief culprit behind the destruction of Spirit Hall."
"As long as he's alive, none of us will have a good ending."
"What's there for you to gloat about?"
Chrysanthemum Douluo saw right through Lingyuan Douluo's little scheme, and he was furious.
At a time like this, Lingyuan Douluo wasn't trying to find Tang San. She was still busy with infighting.
It was utterly foolish.
If Spirit Hall fell, none of them would meet a good end.
Lingyuan Douluo didn't care.
"That's because you're useless!"
"If you'd caught Tang San from the very beginning,"
"would we be dealing with all these troubles now?"
Lingyuan Douluo sneered disdainfully.
If she and the other elders had been at Shrek Academy back then, Tang San would never have escaped.
That so-called Tang Hao? She didn't take him seriously at all.
"Stop making such bold claims."
"If you'd been the one to face Tang Hao, you might not have done any better than us."
Ghost Douluo gave a cold snort.
He wasn't exaggerating Tang Hao's abilities.
Tang Hao really was outrageously strong.
Ordinary Titled Douluo were no match for him!
"Don't make excuses for yourself."
"Bad is bad."
Lingyuan Douluo couldn't be bothered to argue. She turned and headed back to Spirit Hall.
Their mission was to deal with Tang San and leave no one alive at Shrek Academy.
Now that he'd escaped, their mission was over.
As for tracking people down, that wasn't his specialty.
"Old Ghost, I'm afraid we're in for a lot of trouble when we get back."
Chrysanthemum Douluo's face was pale.
He couldn't imagine how Bibi Dong would punish them.
Bibi Dong was a madwoman.
Whenever she flew into a rage, she couldn't care less whether her subordinates lived or died.
"We can only accept our bad luck this time."
Ghost Douluo sighed helplessly.
If he hadn't been bound so tightly to Spirit Hall,
he would've wanted to run away.
Back at Spirit Hall...
The elders waited anxiously, bracing themselves for Bibi Dong's reprimand.
But when the Pope appeared, everyone froze.
The person seated in the Pope's chair wasn't Bibi Dong.
It was Qian Xunji, who had died long ago—and now returned to life.
"Everyone, it's been a long time."
Qian Xunji spoke with a touch of emotion.
His gaze slowly passed over each of their faces.
"Greetings, Your Holiness."
"Your Holiness, you've returned in triumph. We swear to follow you to the death."
Chrysanthemum Douluo stared blankly for only three seconds before quickly reacting.
He was both thrilled and excited.
Although he knew Qian Xunji had come back to life,
he'd never expected Qian Xunji to reclaim the position of Pope as soon as he returned.
That meant they no longer had to serve that madwoman, Bibi Dong.
Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo would much rather follow Qian Xunji than Bibi Dong.
"Damn flatterer. You beat me to it again."
Lingyuan Douluo cursed inwardly.
She hadn't reacted in time, and Chrysanthemum Douluo had snatched away her chance to make a good impression.
If she tried to declare her loyalty now, it would be too late to make an impact.
Still, out of respect, the elders bowed to Qian Xunji and made their allegiance clear.
"Yue Guan, Gui Mei, tell me what's going on."
Although Qian Xunji had returned in triumph, he still put his trust in Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo.
The first reason was simple: he was used to having them around.
When he'd been in power, he had always treated the two as his trusted confidants.
And Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo had never let him down.
Most of the time, they hadn't disappointed Qian Xunji.
The second reason was that they were powerful.
Together, they could accomplish far more than either could alone.
Though Tang Hao had once beaten them to a miserable state,
that was because Tang Hao was a freakish genius.
It didn't mean they were useless.
Chrysanthemum Douluo suppressed his delight and carefully explained how everyone had vanished from Shrek Academy.
He believed Qian Xunji would understand the difficulties they'd faced.
Qian Xunji knew how monstrously strong Tang Hao was.
Bibi Dong might not understand them, but Qian Xunji certainly would.
Just as he'd expected, after Qian Xunji heard the report,
he didn't make too much trouble for Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo.
When all was said and done, the two of them weren't to blame.
Tang Hao was indeed too powerful for Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo to handle.
If anyone was to blame, it had to be Bibi Dong.
Bibi Dong knew perfectly well that Tang San would one day be the chief culprit behind Spirit Hall's destruction.
Yet she hadn't taken the matter seriously enough.
If Bibi Dong had mobilized the full strength of the Elder Hall from the beginning,
how could Tang San still be alive?
In the end, it all came down to Bibi Dong's poor command.
"Yue Guan, Gui Mei, you may leave."
"Once we find Tang San and the others, I won't give them a chance to catch their breath."
Qian Xunji didn't punish anyone.
He wasn't like that madwoman, Bibi Dong, who treated her subordinates as if they weren't people.
He'd received a proper education and had been influenced by Qian Daoliu from a young age.
The only mistake Qian Xunji had ever made was forcing Bibi Dong into the secret chamber.
Aside from that, his subordinates had almost nothing bad to say about him.
"Old Ghost, we finally don't have to put up with Bibi Dong anymore."
As they walked out of Pope Palace...
Chrysanthemum Douluo's voice brimmed with the joy of having survived a catastrophe.
He'd been preparing himself for Bibi Dong's punishment.
But he hadn't expected Bibi Dong to fall from power.
Not only had she lost the position of Pope,
she'd also been driven out of Spirit Hall.
It was as if Heaven itself had opened its eyes.
Ghost Douluo nodded.
With Qian Xunji back, their good days had returned.
Following Qian Xunji meant they didn't have to worry about his moods spiraling out of control.
Bibi Dong would take her anger out on them at the slightest provocation.
Qian Xunji, however, would never do that.
The Angel Clan's upbringing was no empty boast.
"Grandpa Chrysanthemum, Grandpa Ghost, Teacher wants to see you."
As Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo were musing, a graceful figure suddenly appeared in front of them.
It was Hu Liena, the current Saintess of Spirit Hall.
Bibi Dong hadn't gone far after being driven out of Spirit Hall.
Instead, she'd found a place to settle down in Spirit City.
Her plans to become a god still required the help of Spirit Hall.
She couldn't just leave.
"Nana, go back and tell Bibi Dong not to contact us anymore."
"We're afraid the Pope might get the wrong idea."
Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo showed Bibi Dong no courtesy at all.
Now that Bibi Dong was nothing, thinking she could still see them was sheer wishful thinking.
They didn't even need to guess: Bibi Dong surely had something unpleasant in mind.
She'd been the Pope before, so Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo hadn't dared to defy her.
But now, Bibi Dong was just an ordinary citizen.
She had no right to throw her weight around in front of them.