The Tomb of Qian Xunji? [Seeking collection, recommendation tickets, monthly tickets]

Wuhun City.

In front of a magnificent cemetery, a young man crouched on the ground, his fingers tracing the carved characters on a tombstone.

"The former Pope of the Spirit Hall... tsk, this doesn't look like the Douluo Hall."

Ji Ye stood up. At twelve years old, he was already nearly 1.8 meters tall, his gray cloth clothes stained with mud from his escape.

"That old geezer Flender is probably still being grabbed by the collar in some casino, being forced to pay up."

Six years.

Ever since he awakened his spirit at age six, Flender had stuck to him like a piece of dog-skin plaster.

Twin spirits, innate full spirit power of level twenty.

His first spirit, "Void," was the manifestation of space—ignoring defenses and invincible in close combat.

His second spirit, "Time," was conceptual control—freezing time and reversing cause and effect.

Each one exceeded the existing categories of spirits.

When Flender first approached him, he had smiled and said, "Shrek only recruits monsters," the implication being crystal clear.

A monster like you belongs to me.

Ji Ye had refused on the spot.

Fortunately, the news of his innate level twenty spirit power had been suppressed by Flender, preventing that deacon from reporting it to the Spirit Hall.

As a transmigrator, did he not know exactly what kind of people those at Shrek were?

Dai Mubai used his status as a prince to ruin girls outside the academy, Ma Hongjun would go after the village chickens when his evil fire flared up, and Oscar's spirit sausages were just plain disgusting.

As for Flender and Yu Xiaogang, one was a profiteer obsessed with money, and the other was a hack who plagiarized theories and was useless in actual combat.

They were going to teach him?

That would be like putting a top student in a mental asylum.

So, that very night, Ji Ye ran away.

The first time he ran, he made it five miles out of the village before Flender dropped from the sky, smiling as he hauled him back.

The second time he ran, he hid in the mountains for two days. Flender crouched at the cave entrance waiting for him for a full day and night, until Ji Ye finally couldn't stand the hunger and came out, only to be hauled back again.

The third time, he used his spirit.

With his first spirit, "Void," he condensed spatial energy into a translucent longsword; wherever the blade passed, the air tore open into the void.

The first time Flender was injured, it was from that sword grazing his shoulder, and the result was that the old geezer's eyes only shone brighter.

He became obsessed with taking Ji Ye as his disciple.

Ji Ye had considered killing Flender.

But a seven-ringed soul saint was a seven-ringed soul saint; injuring someone and killing them were two different things.

With time frozen for two seconds, he could land at most three strikes. After those three, Flender would react, activate his Owl spirit, and Ji Ye wouldn't be able to escape him on land or in the air.

So, he had to wait for an opportunity.

Half a month ago, he finally got it.

He lured Flender to the largest casino in Soto City and used "Time" to control the dice results, winning twenty-three times in a row.

Flender's eyes were practically falling into the pile of gold soul coins, his entire body trembling with excitement.

Ji Ye made an excuse to go to the restroom and took the chance to sneak out of the casino.

When he reached the casino entrance, he turned back and shouted.

"Table six! That middle-aged man with the eagle eyes and glasses is cheating!"

As soon as those words left his mouth, the gamblers at table six erupted.

They had already been annoyed by this guy winning dozens of times in a row, and seven or eight of them flipped the table and lunged at him.

"Damn you, you dare to cheat! I'll kill you!"

"No wonder this old bastard kept winning, he was cheating the whole time!"

"Brothers, beat him to death! This guy doesn't look like a good person anyway!"

"Screw your mother, give me back my money!"

"..."

Flender was completely stunned, getting beaten up by a mob while unable to fight back with spirit power.

Spirit masters were forbidden from attacking ordinary people; it was an ironclad rule.

As for what happened afterward, Ji Ye didn't know.

Regardless, he had already escaped the sight of that madman.

Ji Ye let out a long, deep breath.

Refreshing!

But I never expected to accidentally stumble into the mausoleum of Qian Xunji, the former Pope of the Spirit Hall.

The original work never mentioned this place.

Compared to that bunch at Shrek, the Elders and High Priests of the Spirit Hall—aside from that madwoman Bibi Dong—were all single-mindedly devoted to cultivation.

Golden Crocodile Douluo, Qian Daoliu; these people spent their entire lives pursuing the pinnacle of spirit power, never bothering with those convoluted schemes.

Except for Bibi Dong.

That woman had more hidden agendas than a hornet's nest.

Driven by curiosity, Ji Ye activated his second spirit, "Time," bypassed the guards, and slipped straight inside.

The interior of the mausoleum was simpler than Ji Ye had imagined.

There were no winding tomb passages, no traps or mechanisms; just a single circular hall.

The dome was painted with angel motifs, and a dozen angel statues stood around the perimeter, carved from white marble with wings unfurled and longswords in hand, their gazes cast downward toward the sarcophagus in the center.

The sarcophagus was golden, made of pure gold, and engraved with angel patterns and the emblem of the Spirit Hall.

"Rich."

Ji Ye had just uttered these two words when footsteps echoed at the entrance.

He sidestepped behind the nearest angel statue, his gray cloth clothes pressed against the cold stone, and held his breath.

The footsteps were light, quickly reaching the tomb.

Ji Ye snuck half his head out to peek.

A blonde woman stood before the sarcophagus.

She wore a white, gold-trimmed short skirt, and her hair was a pure, brilliant gold.

Her skin was fair, whiter than any woman Ji Ye had ever seen.

Her azure eyes gazed at the sarcophagus, her eyelashes long and thick.

Ji Ye froze for a second.

He had been transmigrated for twelve years and had seen plenty of women.

Widow Li at the village entrance, Auntie Wang who sold flatbreads near Shrek, the dancers in Soto City.

None of them could compare to the one before him. (There was truly no comparison.)

"Father, your daughter has come to see you."

The blonde woman spoke, her voice carrying a hint of hoarseness.

Ji Ye's mind buzzed.

Father?

Qian Xunji's daughter?

Qian Renxue?

Wasn't she supposed to be undercover in the Heaven Dou Empire? Why was she here?

Ji Ye stared at her face again.

She was indeed beautiful, but more importantly, there was something cold about her expression—a detachment that seeped from her very bones.

No wonder she could pass as a man for so many years.

Qian Renxue's hand brushed the edge of the golden sarcophagus, and she fell silent for a few seconds.

"The debt of killing my father, your daughter will settle sooner or later."

"That woman still sits on the Pope's throne, but she won't be sitting there for much longer."

Ji Ye understood that "that woman" naturally referred to Bibi Dong.

Good grief, the mother-daughter relationship was exactly as the original work described: as hostile as sworn enemies.

Qian Renxue said a few more things, her voice growing lower until it was almost inaudible.

Just as Ji Ye pricked up his ears to listen intently, his foot stepped on a loose floor tile.

A very faint "click" echoed.

Qian Renxue's voice stopped.

Ji Ye's heart stopped too.

It's over.

Qian Renxue turned around, her azure eyes sweeping across every angel statue.

"Who's there!"

"Come out!"

Ji Ye was still hesitating, but Qian Renxue's gaze had already locked onto the statue where he was hiding.

Their eyes met.

The scene was deathly quiet.

Ji Ye stepped out from behind the statue, brushing the dust from his sleeves.

"Would you believe me if I said I was just passing by?"

Qian Renxue stared at him.

He wore coarse gray clothing and an iron-gray mask that revealed only his eyes and mouth.

He was quite tall, but his build clearly belonged to a youth.