Preparing to Drug Someone (Please Follow!)

"Your Holiness, the Clear Sky Sect has always been at odds with us. How can we let one of their people stay in Pope Palace?" Bibi Dong said with a stern face and utmost seriousness.

"That makes sense." Ye Xunfeng set down his pen completely, then seemed to think of something and said with a smile, "Bibi Dong, take this eldest daughter of the Clear Sky Sect away and make arrangements for her to become an ordinary disciple. Understand?"

Bibi Dong looked at Ye Xunfeng, then at Tang Yuehua, who was crying off to the side. "I understand."

Ye Xunfeng looked at the documents in his hand and sighed inwardly.

"No wonder it was overturned by Tang San later." Ye Xunfeng muttered under his breath. "This mess is even worse than I imagined."

"What did Your Holiness say?" Yue Guan asked curiously from the side.

"Nothing." Ye Xunfeng closed the documents and rubbed his temples. "Yue Guan, what do you think is Spirit Hall's biggest problem right now?"

Yue Guan thought for a moment before answering carefully, "This subordinate does not dare speak recklessly."

"Speak. I won't blame you."

"Yes." Yue Guan took a deep breath. "This subordinate believes Spirit Hall's greatest problem is... its people's hearts have scattered."

Ye Xunfeng glanced at him, signaling for him to continue.

"When Qian Xunji was in power, he favored his relatives and cronies while suppressing dissidents. Many capable soul masters became disheartened. They either left or simply gave up."

"That's putting it nicely. In truth, the capable ones weren't dared to be used, while the incapable ones were looked down upon..." Ghost Douluo quietly added from the side.

"Most branch hall masters in various regions rose through connections. They know nothing about administration and only know how to amass wealth. The lower-ranking soul masters are full of complaints, and their sense of belonging to Spirit Hall is getting weaker and weaker." Yue Guan finished in one breath, silently sighing to himself as well.

Ye Xunfeng remained silent for a long time.

Qian Xunji had run wild, while Qian Daoliu had refused to manage anything...

What a bunch of fools. A foundation built over ten thousand years, ruined in one day.

I really want to beat up Qian Daoliu too.

He had already learned a thing or two about what Yue Guan mentioned while traveling the continent with Ah Yin.

But knowing about it was one thing; solving it was another.

With an organization this massive, how could reform possibly be easy?

At the very least, he could not allow this situation to keep driving people apart, nor could he allow that notion to continue spreading—that anyone who was not from Spirit Hall should kill geniuses at all costs...

And there were those responsible for awakening Martial Souls who decided this Martial Soul was bad or that Martial Soul was worthless, failing to report even Innate Full Soul Power. Otherwise, how could something like Oscar have happened?

A food-system soul master with Innate Full Soul Power. How could such talent have been allowed to slip away?

"Yue Guan, starting tomorrow, accompany me to inspect the branch halls in various regions." Ye Xunfeng rose to his feet, his gaze firm. "I want to see with my own eyes just how much decay lies beneath this so-called angelic glory."

Yue Guan froze for a moment, then bowed. "Yes, Your Holiness."

Late at night, Ye Xunfeng stood alone on the terrace of Pope Palace, gazing up at the stars.

Moonlight spilled over him, stretching his shadow long behind him.

"Mother, I've taken this seat." Ye Xunfeng murmured softly. "But this isn't the end. It's only the beginning."

He raised his head and looked into the distance, toward Sunset Forest.

Ah Yin, are you doing well?

Once I finish dealing with things here, I'll come see you.

The wind seemed to carry a trace of Blue Silver Grass's scent, gentle and lingering.

Ye Xunfeng looked at the Blue Silver Grass beside him and gently curled its leaves between his hands.

Inside a dilapidated house in Elder Hall.

Qian Xunji climbed out of bed. His limbs did not appear to have any major problems, though his whole body felt weak. Still, they seemed usable.

"Father, you can't treat me like this! What right do you have to treat me like this?" Qian Xunji said resentfully. "I'm the Pope! I'm the one who should be Pope! Why should I be replaced by that bastard?"

"Enough! After all the sins you've committed, don't you have any idea yourself? In the past, because you were my only son, I endured again and again!" Qian Daoliu said calmly. "No matter how outrageous your actions were, I had no choice but to forgive you."

"Forgive me? Funny, that's really funny, hahaha..." Qian Xunji laughed and cried like a madman. "You never cared about me at all. No matter what I did, you thought I was useless, doomed to accomplish nothing. It's true, I couldn't be like my bastard younger brother—a Titled Douluo at nineteen, someone who might even become a god in the future. But I worked hard too! I worked hard too! But hard work was useless!"

"Heh." Qian Daoliu laughed aloud. "It isn't that you didn't work hard. It's that you put your efforts into other things—into suspicion, into doubt, into everything opposed to our Angel Clan. With such a crooked heart, you were destined never to break through Rank 95."

Qian Daoliu swung an arm and turned to leave.

Qian Xunji seemed to want to chase after him, but after taking only two steps, he collapsed onto the floor. His eyes were full of resentment, but then he seemed to recall something. His eyes lit up, and he returned to his room, rummaging through cabinets until he found an emerald-green jade bottle.

"Descendants, talent..." Qian Xunji kept muttering.

Star Dou Forest.

"This purple power can only be removed bit by bit with the Domain of Slaughter. This is..." Tang Hao wailed.

"Brother Hao, let's quickly obtain your seventh Soul Ring, then return to the Clear Sky Sect and discuss this with Father..." After a moment of silence, Tang Xiao gently patted Tang Hao's shoulder.

"This..."

Suddenly, a delicate cry came from the other side. "Is anyone there? Save me! Behind me, behind me is a giant spider..."

With black hair and purple eyes, she looked both pure and seductive. The instant she appeared, she completely captivated Tang Hao and Tang Xiao, two blockheads who had barely ever met women.

If Ah Yin had been the inexplicable yearning of his heart back then, the woman before him made his heart race at first sight.

Tang Hao vaguely heard his own heart pounding in his chest.

Tang Hao immediately summoned the Clear Sky Hammer. "Beautiful lady, don't be afraid. I'll help you right away."

The woman hid behind Tang Xiao with smiling eyes and said with a smile, "Thank you both. My name is Chu Ying, and my Martial Soul is Dark Blue Silver Grass."

In Elder Hall, Qian Xunji sneaked out of his room. He covered his face with black cloth and quietly slipped into the kitchen.

"You, you, give me something to eat. Hurry up!" Qian Xunji snapped at the cooks with a vicious expression.

Qian Xunji saw the best food and moved to snatch it, but where no one could see, his eyes rolled around as though he were plotting something wicked.

"Go, go, get out of here. This is about to be delivered to the Saintess and... Leave now. Do you still think you're the Pope?" The cook knew Qian Xunji had been stripped of his position, but since he was still Elder Qian Daoliu's son, the cook did not dare throw him out outright.

When Qian Xunji heard that it was Bibi Dong's meal, he immediately used his sleeve to conceal his movements and slowly sprinkled in some colorless, odorless powder.

He completely failed to notice the unfinished sentence...

The meal was meant to be delivered to Pope Palace, while the Saintess was currently stubbornly staying in Pope Palace and refusing to leave.