Entering the Archives Tower

Pope's Palace.

Pope Qian Xunji was reviewing the list of candidates for the Temple Knights in his hand, with several feet of documents piled up on the table next to him.

Some of these are reports from the various Spirit Hall Branch, including information on financial expenditures and personnel appointments. Others are summaries of various intelligence data collected by the two holy halls. As the leader of the Spirit Hall, the number one power in the True Douluo Continent, Qian Xunji spends more than 80% of his time on these trivial matters.

This directly resulted in a significant slowdown in Qian Xunji's rate of strength improvement since he ascended to the Pope.

In response, His Holiness the Pope's father, Qian Daoliu, one of the two most powerful figures in the world (the existence of Bo Saixi is known to only a handful of people), the former Grand Elder of the Arbitration Court, clearly pointed out that Qian Xunji's actions, which put the cart before the horse, were wrong.

Back then, Qian Daoliu saw through the essence of this world—that strength reigns supreme—which is why he gave up the position of Pope of the Spirit Hall and instead promoted his disciple Clement, to the position, while he himself only took the position of Grand Elder of the Arbitration Court.

As it turned out, Qian Daoliu was right.

Even after Clement became Pope, when facing Qian Daoliu, whose strength was arguably unmatched in the Douluo Continent, he was always the respectful and devoted disciple.

Just like when his disciple Qian Xunji expressed his desire to become Pope, Qian Daoliu, Qian Xunji's Clement, easily gave up the position of Pope without much internal struggle.

Even if Clement is Level 95 Titled Douluo, given his age and strength, he could easily remain in the position of Pope for another hundred years.

Even though Teacher Qian Daoliu didn't explicitly support it, he didn't explicitly oppose it either, did he?

Therefore, the power of the Spirit Hall was successfully transferred smoothly, Clement, the former Pope, stepped down to the second line, holding a leisurely advisory position in the council of elders.

It's really quite leisurely.

After all, Qian Xunji is not the Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze, Clement is not the Third Sasuke Sarutobi, and there are no two advisors in the Spirit Hall, nor is there Danzo, the Danzo of the Mountain.

Qian Xunji is more like Tsunade Senju, whose two grandfathers are still alive. Not only is his own combat power amazing, but he can also summon Qian Daoliu, the ceiling of combat power who can sweep across half of the Douluo Continent, at any time.

Given this environment, what in this world could possibly interest Qian Xunji, who was born a winner in life?

Although he possessed extremely high Martial Soul soul talent, with a super-grade Martial Soul "Six-Winged Angel" and Innate Full Soul Power, and was already Titled Douluo at only forty-something years old, Qian Xunji knew that with his talent, he might not necessarily be able to reach Level 99 like his father, Qian Daoliu.

Even though they both possess the "Six-Winged Angel" Martial Soul and have Innate Full Soul Power, their aptitudes still vary.

Since he could no longer catch up with his father Qian Daoliu on the path of becoming Soul Master, Qian Xunji turned his attention to the Spirit Hall.

Qian Xunji harbors a grand ambition: to elevate the Spirit Hall to an even higher position, truly making it the number one and Weiyi power on the Douluo Continent!

If he can achieve this, then his name, Qian Xunji, will be that of the first emperor of the [Spirit Empire], not the son of Qian Daoliu, or a Pope.

One Pope Clement was furious about this!

"Your Majesty, Yao Qi requests an audience."

Outside the palace, Holy Emperor Warriors from one of the three major units of the Temple Guard spoke up, reporting to Pope Qian Xunji inside.

Qian Xunji didn't look up; his indifferent voice rang out. "Let him in."

"Yes!"

A few breaths later, Yao Qi, dressed in a long red robe, stepped into the Pope's Palace, stopped about ten meters away from Qian Xunji, and bowed, saying, "Your His Holiness the Pope."

"Tell me, what is it?" Qian Xunji still didn't look up, his eyes scanning the document in his hand line by line.

Yao Qi knew the boss's personality well and knew that he disliked others disturbing his precious time. So he immediately explained in the most concise language that Ling Yi had come to "Spirit City" to borrow the books that could be accessed in the "Spirit Hall" library tower.

Upon hearing the name Ling Yi, Qian Xunji's first feeling was one of unfamiliarity. However, as Yao Qi recounted the story, Qian Xunji's powerful mental strength allowed her to instantly recall the relevant memories and review all the information about Ling Yi.

Qian Xunji turned a page of the document in his hand, glanced up at Yao Qi for a moment, then looked away and said indifferently, "For such a trivial matter, you take him to the Collection Tower to find Musos. There's no need to bring it up again later."

Although His Holiness the Pope's eyes were calm, and His Holiness the Pope's voice was also calm, Yao Qi still couldn't help but feel a slight sweat on his back.

No matter the occasion, His Holiness the Pope's oppressive aura is always suffocating.

Swallowing hard, her throat dry, Yao Qi bowed and said, "Yes."

"Go down," Qian Xunji said casually.

"Yes."

As soon as the words fell, Yao Qi took more than ten steps back until he was almost at the entrance of the Pope's Palace before turning around and walking outside.

As soon as he stepped outside, Yao Qi shook his head inwardly with a wry smile. If it weren't for Ling Yi, he really wouldn't have bothered to come here looking for excitement and thrills.

If Ling Yi had arrived in Spirit City immediately after the "Blue Silver Rice" deal was finalized last year, Yao Qi wouldn't have needed to come to His Holiness the Pope to report it.

But almost a year has passed. His Holiness the Pope is truly busy with countless affairs. The matter of Ling Yi and "Blue Silver Rice" is not worth His Holiness the Pope's attention. He has probably forgotten about it long ago. If he does not report it, it would be disrespectful to His Holiness the Pope.

Fortunately, this matter was not a trivial matter for His Holiness the Pope, and it was glossed over so easily, which relieved the anxious Yao Qi.

With her mind racing, sorting out all the details of the matter, Yao Qi headed towards her residence, intending to take Ling Yi to the Collection Tower to finalize the matter of borrowing the books as soon as possible.

"Spirit City", Collection Tower.

Following behind Yao Qi, Ling Yi looked up and examined the six-story stone pagoda, which clearly had a long history.

Since it was initially stated that Ling Yi borrowed books from the Spirit Hall's collection, it did not include Yang Shelly, a member of the Breaking Clan. Therefore, at this time, Yang Shelly stayed at Yao Qi's residence, using the abundant spiritual energy of heaven and earth in Spirit City to cultivate her Soul Power.

Upon arriving at the foot of the tower, Ling Yi revealed a hint of surprise, seemingly astonished by the tower's age. The stone walls were slightly mottled, with scattered cracks winding and forming a spiderweb pattern.

Yao Qi was unfazed and led Ling Yi toward the door that was not closed.

As soon as they entered, a slightly strange smell wafted into their nostrils—the smell of paper and ink, wood, animal leather, and toner...

Before Ling Yi make any further judgment, seemingly sensing the presence of the two, a middle-aged man dressed in the same red robe as Yao Qi emerged from behind a row of bookshelves.

"Huh? Yao Qi? What brings you here? This is a rare guest—"

"Musos ~" Yao Qi didn't mind the other party's teasing and walked forward with a smile, introducing him to Ling Yi: "Come, Ling Yi, this is the person in charge of this Collection Tower, Musos."

"Musos, this is Ling Yi, the one who researched ' Blue Silver Rice.' With His Holiness the Pope's permission, I brought Ling Yi to the Archives Tower to read the books on the fourth floor and below..."

After Yao Qi finished his introduction, Ling Yi was the first to bow, slightly curtsy, and said politely, "Junior Ling Yi greets His Excellency Bishop Musos."

Musos looked Ling Yi up and down, a warm smile playing on his lips. "Not bad! I've heard Yao Qi mention you before; you're a remarkably talented young man. To have researched ' Blue Silver Rice ' has benefited countless ordinary people across the continent. Excellent, truly excellent!"

Just then, a clear and melodious voice came from the direction of the second floor of the stone tower:

"Uncle Mu, who's here? Who's worthy of such high praise from you—?"

To be continued tomorrow, goodnight everyone~