If I Were Emperor

Looking down at Ling Yi, who remained composed and dignified throughout, Qian Xunji's eyes sharpened like a hawk's. The pressure of Titled Douluo and the aura he had cultivated over many years in charge of the Spirit Hall emanated simultaneously, engulfing Ling Yi like a tidal wave.

The overwhelming pressure, as heavy as a mountain, permeated the entire Pope's Palace, causing Musos and Yao Qi to change their expressions drastically. While resisting this mountain-like pressure, they looked worriedly at the weakest person present— Ling Yi!

However, the scene that came into view was far beyond their expectations.

As before, Ling Yi stood tall and composed, his expression calm and collected, as if the overwhelming pressure that even the two Soul Douluo found difficult to bear was nothing more than a gentle breeze to Ling Yi.

Behind Ling Yi, Chen Jianjun's usually cold and stern face revealed a rare, mocking smile.

Sensing the powerful aura permeating the hall, Chen Jianjun instantly determined that Qian Xunji was only at level Level 95 at this moment.

Ling Yi treated his Level 97 pressure as nothing; it was just a bit of the aura of a powerful person added, so what was it?

On the Pope throne, Qian Xunji also noticed Ling Yi's ease and comfort. A glint flashed in his eyes, and after giving a meaningful glance to "Erlang" who was completely shrouded in bright silver armor, his gaze remained focused on Ling Yi.

"Ling Yi, your performance has once again exceeded my expectations."

As he spoke, Qian Xunji slowly withdrew his imposing aura, staring intently at Ling Yi, not missing a single subtle change in his expression.

"Eight years ago, you sent news about ' Blue Silver Rice ' to the Spirit Hall through the Heaven Dou Martial Soul Temple."

"At that time, you were just a Four-Ring Soul Ancestor, and the strongest person by your side was Dugu Bo, who was close to becoming a Seven-Ring Soul Sage."

"You brought ' Blue Silver Rice,' which yields seven or eight times more than similar rice varieties, to ' Heaven Dou City,' and to Xue Ye, who was then the Third Prince. Because of your relationship with the [Blacksmith Association], and the reputation and connections you cultivated within the southern border army of the [Heaven Dou Empire], everyone believed that you intended to pledge allegiance to Xue Ye, leaping from the small puddle of the [Water Wood Duchy] into the vast lake of the [Heaven Dou Empire]..."

"As the cultivator of ' Blue Silver Rice, 'Ling Yi, as long as anyone on the Douluo Continent eats it, people will know you."

" On that Xue Ye, they thought this was your pledge of allegiance. Back then, I sent Yao Qi to ' Heaven Dou City ' to find you and bring the leadership of promoting ' Blue Silver Rice ' under the auspices of the Spirit Hall..."

At this point, Qian Xunji's icy expression thawed slightly as he looked at Ling Yi with a strange expression. "But with the promotion of ' Blue Silver Rice ' by my [Spirit Hall], your [Green Wood Merchant Association] has also begun to gradually expand its trade network. Coupled with the influence of the [Blacksmith Association] on blacksmiths throughout the continent, you, Ling Yi, and the [Green Wood Merchant Association] you founded have grown at a speed that no one could have imagined, faster than anything sensible!"

"What a brilliant plan! What boldness! What foresight!"

As Qian Xunji's words echoed in the vast Pope's Palace, Musos and Yao Qi looked at Ling Yi with completely bewildered expressions.

Therefore, in a sense, the Green Wood Merchant Association developed by relying on the Spirit Hall.

Musos and his companion were filled with shock, for they suddenly realized that, looking back along the lines of His Holiness the Pope, over the past eight years, the Green Wood Merchant Association had indeed followed the Spirit Hall's promotion of "Blue Silver Rice," gradually expanding its trade network and gaining recognition from people all over the continent in the shortest possible time!

Admittedly, the development of the [Green Wood Merchant Association] relies more on its own exchange of interests with Soul Master forces and families in Soul Master regions, but among the larger number of ordinary people, it is truly inseparable from the influence of the [Spirit Hall] and "Blue Silver Rice"!

"More than that!"

Chen Jianjun, who was also pondering the message in Qian Xunji's words, added in his mind, "And there are also the ' Farmer's Three Forms ' and the ' Basic Body Tempering Technique ' that spread along with the ' Blue Silver Rice '!"

"Ah Yi's vision cannot be encompassed by the mere Green Wood Merchant Association. His true goal is to promote Body-Tempering Martial Dao and pave a new path for the Douluo Continent!"

Sensing the sudden surge of emotion from Chen Jianjun behind him, Ling Yi guessed what Chen Jianjun was thinking. Unconcerned, he simply met Qian Xunji's gaze, neither confirming nor denying his assertion, but instead asking with a Qian Xunji smile:

"Your His Holiness the Pope, in these past eight years, has the strength and influence of the Spirit Hall declined in the slightest?"

Hearing Ling Yi's question, Qian Xunji narrowed his eyes slightly and replied after a few breaths, "No, not only has it not decreased, but due to the promotion of ' Blue Silver Rice,' the number of newborns on the mainland has increased significantly each year for the past eight years. In recent years, the number of children of the appropriate age for the ' Martial Soul Awakening Ceremony ' has also increased. Consequently, the number of students recruited by my [Spirit Hall] has also increased, including many promising talents!"

From Qian Xunji's perspective, those so-called "good seedlings" were nothing more than mediocre individuals with Innate Soul Power at levels four or five.

However, from the perspective of the Pope of the Spirit Hall, these "mediocre people" are the very foundation and framework of his power, and are indispensable!

Although Qian Xunji was arrogant and conceited, he was not a completely foolish person who looked down on everyone.

If he were really that stupid, no matter how much Qian Daoliu indulged him, he wouldn't let him run wild on the throne of the Pope.

Without Qian Daoliu's support, if Qian Xunji makes any major mistake that causes a loss of strength to the Spirit Hall, his position as Pope will definitely be unstable.

"So, you admit that you planned this all along, eight years ago?" Qian Xunji asked with a cold smile and an indifferent voice.

"If I said I had no ulterior motives, His Holiness the His Holiness the Pope wouldn't believe me," Ling Yi Ling Yi shrugged, replying casually. "But since the Douluo Continent has been improving over the past eight years, does it still matter whether I had any plans back then?"

"..." Upon hearing Qian Xunji fell silent, his heavy aura making the spacious Pope's Palace feel oppressive.

"Really."

After a while, Qian Xunji's voice rang out again. "[Lingyun City] has achieved its current status and strength in the Douluo Continent, and has been able to achieve mutual benefit with all parties, making the continent stronger than ever before. This is all a testament to your abilities, Ling Yi. Whether you have any schemes or not is really unimportant—"

"Whoosh—" *2

Just as Musos and Yao Qi breathed a sigh of relief, Qian Xunji suddenly changed the subject and asked:

"Then what is your purpose in promoting ' Blue Silver Grass ' so vigorously, even going so far as to bring together various Soul Master families to plant it all over the continent?"

Only then did Qian Xunji reveal his true intentions, asking about the ultimate purpose of his sudden meeting with Ling Yi earlier that day.

It was clear that at this Qian Xunji, Qian Xunji's aura was extremely condensed, and the unique aura that combined the Titled Douluo and the position of Pope was almost solidified!

In response, Chen Jianjun quietly circulated his Soul Power, ready to strike at any moment.

If Qian Xunji dares to resort to any tactics like arguing or smashing a cup as a signal, he will go all out and lead Ling Yi out of ' Spirit City '.

With Erlang around, Chen Jianjun wasn't worried about the famous "Wudi in the Sky" Qian Daoliu, whom he had never met before.

As for the others, to be honest, Chen Jianjun didn't know how many Titled Douluo the Spirit Hall had or what their strength was, but he was confident that with his Level 97 strength, even if a Level 98 Titled Douluo appeared, he would be able to take Ling Yi and escape unscathed!

Don't forget, although Ling Yi is Healing System Soul Master now, his strength has already reached the Seven-Ring Soul Sage realm!

Looking across the Douluo Continent, there are no more than five Healing System Soul Master who can surpass Ling Yi in terms of cultivation level!

Fortunately, the scenario that Chen Jianjun was wary of did not occur.

Before Qian Xunji could see, Ling Yi raised his right hand, his slender palm open, and a small, emerald-green grass quietly sprouted from his jade-white palm.

Along with this emerald green grass appeared seven rings radiating various colors of shimmering light.

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black—!

"Seven rings? Soul Saint?!" Qian Xunji's eyes showed obvious astonishment as he looked at the Soul Ring under Ling Yi's feet.

If the intelligence is correct, Ling Yi in front of me is only thirty-two years old, right?

At the age of thirty-two, he is Seven-Ring Soul Sage. His Qian Xunji surpasses even that of Qian Xunji.

A hundred years before the events of the Douluo Continent, in Qian Xunji's memory, only his father, Qian Daoliu, Tang Chen of the Clear Sky Sect, could have achieved such a level of cultivation progress.

In recent decades, the only ones who have been able to surpass this progress are Tang Hao of the Clear Sky Sect and his disciple Bibi Dong.

The former became Soul Ancestor at fifteen, Soul King at nineteen, Soul Emperor at twenty-four, and Soul Saint at thirty. Now, at only thirty-six, he's already Eight-Ring Soul Douluo. With such talent, it's no wonder the Clear Sky Sect reveres him as their number one prodigy, praising him as destined to inherit the title of "Clear Sky Douluo" and reach the same level of Level 99 as Tang Chen!

Bibi Dong, who has already been named Qian Xunji saintess by Qian Xunji, is even more talented than Tang Hao. At the age of twenty-two, she has already broken through to the Six-Ring Soul Emperor realm!

Therefore, the talent that Ling Yi is showing at this moment is not the best in Qian Xunji's perception, and may not even be in the top three.

Because in his memory, there seemed to be a little girl named Ah Yin by Ling Yi's side who broke through to the Six-Ring Soul Emperor five years ago, when she was only twenty-one years old!

Thinking of Ah Yin, Qian Xunji suddenly had a thought. He stared intently at Ling Yi and the small green grass in his hand, and said, word by word, "Blue—Silver—Emperor—?!"

"Not bad~" Ling Yi smiled and nodded slightly, "This is my Martial Soul, 'Azure Wood Blue Silver Emperor '!"

"But on my Spirit Hall's Awakening Register, your Martial Soul back then was merely the most ordinary ' Blue Silver Grass '!" Qian Xunji frowned, and said in a deep voice, "And your Innate Soul Power was only half a level!"

"But that little girl beside you named Ah Yin, with Innate Full Soul Power, her Martial Soul could be aptly named ' Blue Silver Emperor.'"

"If Ah Yin's martial soul mutated, making her a born 'Blue Silver Emperor,' the probability of such an occurrence is one in a billion."

Ling Yi spoke, his gaze shifted to the emerald green grass in his hand. "Then my 'Azure Wood Blue Silver Emperor ' Martial Soul is me, this wild grass, climbing step by step, step by step, to the throne of the emperor, becoming the ' Blue Silver Grass ' emperor of this Douluo Continent!"

If Ling Yi hadn't known that Qian Xunji definitely wouldn't understand, he would have Ling Yi said something like:

"I am but a commoner from a remote mountain village; what does the world matter to me?!"

Compared to Old Zhu starting with just a bowl, Ling Yi's initial conditions were slightly better. At the same time, the era in which Old Zhu lived was far more chaotic than Ling Yi's isolated "Water Wood Duchy." However, in this world where great power belongs to oneself, Ling Yi's ability to reach his current position step by step certainly shows that he is not being arrogant.

Ling Yi would not say that he was inferior to Old Zhu, nor would he say that he was better than Old Zhu, but when he compared himself to Old Zhu, in a sense, it was an affirmation of both himself and Old Zhu!

"You've been planting ' Blue Silver Grass ' all over the continent to Martial Soul Evolution?" Incredulity flickered in Qian Xunji's eyes; he found it hard to accept this conclusion.

"How is this possible?!"

"Why is it impossible?" Ling Yi held the "Azure Wood Blue Silver Emperor" in his right hand. With a thought, a pale green light instantly spread from his palm, covering the huge Pope's Palace in the blink of an eye.

Immediately afterwards, "Blue Silver Grass" sprouted on the floor and walls of the Pope's Palace, growing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Ling Yi stood there, his eyes filled with arrogance as he looked at Qian Xunji: "If I raise an army, conquer fertile land, and establish my own kingdom, can't I become a king?"

"If I could control the entire Douluo Continent, wouldn't I be worthy of the title of Emperor?"

"Holy shit! Holy shit! Holy shit—!" *2

Seeing Ling Yi's domineering words and actions, Musos and Yao Qi, who never expected this scene, cheered in their hearts, and their bodies trembled slightly with excitement.

It's only because this is the Pope's Palace and His Holiness the Pope is still up there, otherwise the two of them would have really shouted "Holy crap!" out loud!

Qian Xunji, equally surprised, stared blankly at Ling Yi, who was exuding an air of unbridled pride and domineering charisma.

In the nearly sixty years since his birth, apart from Tang Chen back then, no one has ever shown such a domineering attitude in front of Qian Xunji.

Even his father, Qian Daoliu.

As his son, no one understands Qian Daoliu better than him.

If we were to evaluate Qian Daoliu's personality, Qian Xunji's first impression would be that he was cowardly!

In Qian Xunji's view, although Qian Daoliu was strong, he did not have the heart of a decisive and ruthless strongman!

If it were Qian Xunji with a power Level 99, even if there was only a one in ten thousand chance, even if failure meant death, he would still try to break through to the level 100 realm and become a god!

Although Qian Daoliu was a ruthless and competent adjudicator in his early years, his indomitable spirit seemed to have diminished considerably after he was over seventy years old and had his son, Qian Xunji.

Qian Xunji had some vague guesses about this, but he was unwilling to accept them.