Within the Pope Palace

Meanwhile, on the other side of Spirit Hall, inside the Pope Palace.

Bibi Dong looked at the guard below and asked, "Are you certain you personally saw that boy named Tai Yi possessing level twenty Innate Soul Power?"

"Absolutely certain, Your Holiness. As a guard of the Worship Hall, I personally saw Tai Yi begin absorbing his second Spirit Ring immediately after absorbing his first. Both his first and second Spirit Rings were thousand-year Spirit Rings. I did not dare delay after discovering this and came at once to report to Your Holiness."

That was how the guard answered.

"Alright, I understand. Return quickly. Do not arouse suspicion."

Hearing Bibi Dong's words, the guard did not dare linger and returned to continue being an overlooked guard.

After the guard left the Pope Palace, Bibi Dong asked, "Elder Yue, Elder Gui, Nana, what do you think of this Tai Yi?"

Only then did Yue Guan, Gui Mei, and Hu Liena recover from their initial shock. Yue Guan and Gui Mei had served the previous pope, Qian Xunji, for a time, so they knew what level twenty Innate Soul Power represented. Naturally, they remembered Qian Daoliu and Qian Xunji's excitement when Qian Renxue had tested at level twenty Innate Soul Power, as well as Qian Daoliu shouting the name of the Angel God.

Now, another person with level twenty Innate Soul Power had appeared in the Worship Hall. At that moment, both men were wondering whether following Bibi Dong had been a good choice or a bad one.

After all, neither of them was foolish. They had seen that ever since Bibi Dong took the throne, Spirit Hall had no longer been united. It had split into two factions: the Worship Hall, led by Qian Daoliu, and the Pope Palace, led by Bibi Dong.

After Qian Xunji died, Qian Daoliu, the old pope, had not chosen to take charge of Spirit Hall again. Instead, he had chosen to remain in the Worship Hall, teaching Qian Renxue and staying out of worldly affairs. Moreover, both men had witnessed Bibi Dong's Twin Martial Souls and seen her break through to become a Title Douluo at such a young age.

Furthermore, both had accompanied Qian Xunji when he went to deal with Tang Hao, so they naturally understood that Qian Xunji had not been killed by Tang Hao. He had died at Bibi Dong's hands, and both men had seen Bibi Dong's ruthlessness.

What was more, they had watched Qian Renxue, a genius with level twenty Innate Soul Power, abandon proper cultivation in the Worship Hall to go undercover merely to gain Bibi Dong's recognition. Thus, they wisely chose to join Bibi Dong's Pope Faction and follow the only person in all these years who had solved the cultivation problem of Twin Martial Souls. That was why they rejected the chance to become Spirit Hall offerings in the Worship Hall and remained in the Pope Palace.

Otherwise, with both of them possessing level ninety-five Soul Power and a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, why would they not have gone to the Worship Hall?

But now, they had learned that another person with level twenty Innate Soul Power had appeared in the Worship Hall. This person certainly would not be like Qian Renxue, disregarding his own cultivation to do other things outside. More importantly, they had heard the guard say that Tai Yi's first and second Spirit Rings were both thousand-year Spirit Rings. For ordinary Soul Masters, thousand-year Spirit Rings could only be absorbed as their third Spirit Ring. By that measure, Tai Yi had begun far ahead of everyone else.

Above him stood powerful elders such as Qian Daoliu and Golden Crocodile. Below, there had first been Qian Renxue, and now there was Tai Yi, another person of exceptional talent. Naturally, the two men began entertaining other thoughts.

However, they could not reveal those thoughts directly before Bibi Dong. Thus, in response to her question, they said, "Your Holiness, if what this guard said is true, then Spirit Hall has gained another peerless genius, one capable of standing alongside the Young Master."

The instant the words left their mouths, both men regretted them. They had become so caught up in their thoughts that they had forgotten Bibi Dong's hatred for Qian Renxue.

Sure enough, Bibi Dong's voice rang through the Pope Palace the next second.

"Shut up. Do not mention that disgrace."

To Bibi Dong, Qian Renxue's existence was a disgrace, a stain she could never wash away. Otherwise, she could have gone to find her Xiao Gang long ago.

Seeing Bibi Dong lose her temper, Hu Liena hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Teacher, please do not be angry."

Hearing Hu Liena's words, Bibi Dong gave the girl beside her a comforting glance. Over the years, Bibi Dong had raised Hu Liena as if she were her own daughter, and Hu Liena had not disappointed her. At only nine years old, Hu Liena was already a level twenty Soul Grandmaster, needing only to absorb her second Spirit Ring.

Then Bibi Dong looked at Hu Liena, Yue Guan, and Gui Mei below and said, "Enough. I have my own plans for Tai Yi. Nana, go call your brother and Yan. Have Elder Yue and Elder Gui take you to hunt Spirit Rings."

The three replied, "Understood."

Then the three left the Pope Palace.

Once only Bibi Dong remained in the Pope Palace, she asked the voice in her mind, "What did you mean when you said Tai Yi was not simple?"

It turned out that when Yue Guan and Gui Mei mentioned Qian Renxue and provoked her anger, the voice of the Divine Position she had inherited, the Rakshasa God, had appeared in her mind. The Rakshasa God told her that Tai Yi was not simple.

That was why Bibi Dong had immediately sent Hu Liena and the others away and questioned the Rakshasa God's voice in her mind.

In response to Bibi Dong's question, the Rakshasa God said, "You must understand that because of the rules of Douluo Continent, Innate Soul Power can reach no higher than level ten, like yours—Innate Full Soul Power."

"But this is not absolute. There is another group capable of breaking this rule: children chosen by gods the moment their Martial Souls awaken. They receive ten levels of Soul Power bestowed by the gods. Your daughter Qian Renxue and Tai Yi should both be such cases."

At this point, the Rakshasa God seemed to have discovered something interesting and said, "Not even one person ascends to godhood on Douluo Continent in tens of thousands of years, yet this time, three have appeared within your Spirit Hall alone."

Hearing this, Bibi Dong froze. She had never expected that the reason behind level twenty Innate Soul Power was being chosen by a god from the very moment one's Martial Soul awakened. Then she recalled how, when Qian Renxue tested at level twenty Innate Soul Power, Qian Daoliu's excited eyes had clearly shown that he knew something. Yet when she asked him, he refused to say.

At the same time, Bibi Dong understood why Qian Daoliu had not stepped forward to take control of Spirit Hall again after Qian Xunji's death, instead choosing her—the person who had killed his own son, Qian Xunji—as pope. After all, Bibi Dong knew that aside from Yue Guan and Gui Mei, perhaps no one else in Spirit City understood how Qian Xunji had died. How could that old bastard not know? So it was all because he wanted to focus on raising Qian Renxue to become a god.