Evil Soul Valley!

Spirit Hall.

Qian Xunji pinched the thin intelligence report between his fingers, his fingertips turning white from the force.

The paper trembled slightly in his hand. His gaze was nailed to those glaring words, and the veins at his temples began to throb uncontrollably.

He raised his head. In his usually imposing, inscrutable eyes, flames of fury and humiliation now churned together.

Several supervisors standing in attendance instinctively shrank back, even softening their breathing.

"You—"

His words squeezed out through clenched teeth, every syllable icy.

"I told you to 'proceed carefully' and 'purchase in secret'!"

Qian Xunji slowly rose to his feet, glaring at the three men. "And what happened? Now every teahouse and tavern across the continent is discussing how their Pope is a 'silver spear with a wax tip'!"

He walked down the steps, one step after another, his soft-soled boots embroidered with gold thread striking the stairs with clear, heavy echoes.

"Your purchase order said, 'Urgently needed by His Holiness the Pope'?" Qian Xunji stopped before the head of the procurement department, bent down, and stared into his sweat-soaked face.

"Are you stupid, or do you think I am?"

"This subordinate... this subordinate would not dare..." The clerk's teeth chattered.

"Would not dare?" Qian Xunji straightened and suddenly kicked over the incense burner beside him.

Clang—!

The hundred-pound incense burner rolled into a palace pillar. Ash scattered across the floor, rising into a hazy cloud beneath the candlelight.

The three men in the hall prostrated themselves, not daring even to breathe.

"Now the noblewomen of Heaven Dou City are discussing me at tea parties, the brutes of Star Luo are mocking me in taverns, and even barbarians like the Clear Sky Sect want to send me Blood Jade Whale Glue to nourish my body!"

Qian Xunji's voice abruptly rose, echoing through the vast hall. "I, Qian Xunji! The current Pope of Spirit Hall! The dignity, reputation, and face I built up over so many years—ruined! All ruined!!"

He grabbed another stack of intelligence reports from the desk and hurled them viciously at the three men.

The papers scattered like snowflakes, densely covered with rumors gathered from every region:

"Pope exhausted after bedding ten women in one night, requires Whale Rubber to sustain his life..."

"Qian Xunji indulged himself in lust during his youth; now karma has come for him..."

"The Qian Family bloodline is flawed; the Pope likely cannot produce heirs..."

Every line was like a red-hot brand pressed against Qian Xunji's heart.

"I haven't even taken a wife yet, and this kind of nonsense is already spreading! Tell me, what am I supposed to do?!"

"Say something!" he roared. Golden light surged in his eyes as the Pope's pressure crashed down like a mountain collapse and tsunami.

"Weren't you all so capable before? Why aren't you talking now?!"

The three men were nearly pressed flat against the ground by the pressure, their bones groaning under the unbearable strain.

"This subordinate... knows his fault... This subordinate handled matters poorly... Please show mercy, Your Holiness..." The head of the procurement department slammed his forehead against the floor until it bled.

"Mercy?" Qian Xunji laughed, but his smile was as cold as the ice of the Far North.

"Now you know you were wrong? Now you beg me for mercy?"

He slowly returned to his throne, every step seeming to tread upon the heart of someone dying.

The moment he sat down, it was as though all his strength had been drained away. He slumped against the chair and covered his face with one hand.

The candles crackled. The great hall was silent as death.

After a long while, a suppressed voice, nearly a sob, slipped through his fingers.

"From now on... people across the continent will respectfully call me Your Holiness the Pope to my face, but behind my back... they'll all laugh at me. Laugh at me, Qian Xunji, for being a worthless cripple who needs Whale Rubber just to function as a man..."

He lowered his hand, and his eyes were actually red.

"My life... my reputation... it's over... all over..."

He tilted his head back toward the ceiling, unwilling to say another word.

The three men remained kneeling on the ground, no longer daring even to beg for mercy.

Then Qian Xunji suddenly opened his eyes and looked toward the Elder Palace.

No.

How can I bear this monstrous blame alone?!

Those old bastards have asked me for plenty of Whale Rubber for the younger members of their families too.

Now our reputations are in tatters, while nothing happens to them!

That's far too unfair!

He abruptly rose and charged toward the Elder Palace.

Elder Palace.

Not long after Qian Xunji rushed into the Elder Palace, he was thrown back out.

"If even the slightest rumor gets out that we can't perform, you'll be sorry!"

With that, the Elder Palace gates slammed shut with a bang.

"A bunch of old fossils! We share the blessings, but when there's blame to bear, I'm the only one carrying it!"

Qian Xunji, bruised and swollen, cursed a few times before limping away.

"It hurts like hell!"

Inside the Elder Palace, Qian Daoliu looked at the Sixth Elder and Seventh Elder as they entered.

"Did you warn that unfilial brat?" Qian Daoliu asked.

"Reporting to the Great Worship, we have warned him!" Qianjun Douluo patted his chest.

"Mm, good!" Qian Daoliu nodded.

"He suffered such a minor setback and already couldn't keep his composure. Xiao Ji still lacks the right temperament!"

The remaining elders all nodded in agreement.

Faced with Qian Xunji's reputation being utterly ruined—and their own reputations being ruined along with his—the elders did not hesitate in the slightest. With perfect unity, they chose to let Qian Xunji shoulder everything alone.

Qian Xunji wanted them to share the blame?!

Impossible! Absolutely impossible!

Seven days later · Li Family meditation chamber.

Zhang Qingxuan sat alone upon a meditation cushion, Soul Power circulating endlessly around him. After completing his final cycle, he slowly exhaled a long breath of turbid air.

He opened his eyes, a faint glint shining within them. His days of quiet cultivation had clearly brought considerable progress.

He silently called out in his heart, his voice calm and even. "System, are there any special locations on this continent where I can check in?"

After a brief silence, that familiar, mechanical voice sounded deep within his mind.

[Ding! Searching this world's core leyline nodes and fate convergence points... Search complete.]

[Within the current range of Douluo Continent, there are seven locations that meet the check-in criteria.]

[The list is as follows:]

[First, Pope Palace of Spirit City]

[Second, imperial capital of the Heaven Dou Empire]

[Third, imperial capital of the Star Luo Empire]

[Fourth, Lake of Life in the Star Dou Great Forest]

[Fifth, Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well in Sunset Forest]

[Sixth, core region of the Far North]

[Seventh, Evil Soul Valley]

Each name was imprinted with incomparable clarity into Zhang Qingxuan's consciousness.

"Seven..." Zhang Qingxuan murmured, his gaze slowly sweeping over the list.

He knew the first six locations. They were nothing unusual.

Only the final one—

"Evil Soul Valley?"

Zhang Qingxuan's brows furrowed slightly.

The name carried a heavy air of ominousness and strangeness. The words "evil soul" alone instinctively inspired rejection and vigilance.

He swiftly searched through his memories. Whether it was his vague knowledge from his past life or the books he had read in the Li Family archives during this life, he had never formed any clear impression of this place.

"Evil souls... judging by the name alone, it must be connected to those Fallen Soul Masters who lurk beyond the light of day and act with extreme methods."

His fingers lightly tapped against his knee as his thoughts raced. "For the system to rank it alongside Spirit City, the capitals of the two great empires, and several Soul Beast habitats, it must be extraordinarily special. Danger and opportunity often go hand in hand..."

After pondering for a moment, a figure entered his mind.

"Qian Xunji is the Pope of Spirit Hall and commands the continent's Soul Masters. His knowledge of such hidden places should far surpass that of ordinary people."

"Perhaps I can learn the location and true nature of Evil Soul Valley from him."

At that thought, resolve flashed through Zhang Qingxuan's eyes.

Without alarming anyone else in Li Mansion, his figure swept through the courtyard like a wisp of smoke, speeding toward the Pope Palace.