After explaining what had just happened to Bibi Dong, Yue Guan hurried off to calm the commotion. Lin Ze'an also headed home by himself.
However, just as he approached the little courtyard, Lin Ze'an came to a halt.
"What's this?"
He opened his eyes slightly wider and stared at the people standing outside his home, puzzled.
Two people stood by the gate, their auras steady. A man and a woman waited quietly outside the courtyard.
At the front stood a burly old man with an imposing presence—his great-grandfather, Golden Crocodile Douluo.
Seeing Lin Ze'an approach, Golden Crocodile's face immediately broke into a kindly smile. He strode forward. "You little rascal, you really did make quite a commotion. Is everything taken care of?"
Lin Ze'an nodded. "Mm, it's all taken care of."
He looked at Golden Crocodile, then at the two strangers standing by the gate, and asked in confusion, "Great-grandfather, who are they?"
When Lin Ze'an looked their way, the two dropped to one knee at the same time and said respectfully, "Greetings, Elder."
Golden Crocodile Douluo patted Lin Ze'an on the shoulder and explained, "These people are ones your great-grandfather asked the Pope for."
"With your talent, you should be devoting all your attention to cultivation at your age. You'll need people to help you handle all the other affairs, too."
He looked at the man and woman standing beside him and explained to Lin Ze'an, "These two are Ghost Leopard and Ling Yuan. They're both Level 89 Soul Douluos, assigned to protect you personally."
The reason he had chosen these two was that they were only one step away from becoming Titled Douluos, making them the strongest Soul Douluos in Spirit Hall at present.
Even if they broke through and became Titled Douluos in the future, they would still have to continue their protective duties.
Lin Ze'an turned to Ghost Leopard and Ling Yuan, looking a little dazed. "You can get up."
What were the odds? They'd assigned him these two unlucky fellows.
One would be used as a stepping stone for Jian Chenxin's record in the battle at Jialing Pass, while the other would be used as a stepping stone for Daming and Erming.
Though that was what he thought, he still said to Golden Crocodile with delight, "Thank you, Great-grandfather. And please thank the Great Elder and His Holiness the Pope for me, too."
Seeing how polite Lin Ze'an was, Golden Crocodile smiled. "All right, no need to be so formal. Your palace in the Elder Hall is finished. Go move in."
"It'll be safer there, too. That way, some clueless fool won't come along and interrupt your cultivation."
Lin Ze'an was just about to say something when Ling Yuan and Ghost Leopard stepped forward and said respectfully, "We'll take care of it. Second Worship and Elder, there's no need for you to trouble yourselves."
As soon as they finished speaking, the two pushed open the courtyard gate and got to work.
In no time at all, one large chest after another was carried out of the courtyard.
Lin Ze'an stared, dumbfounded. They were that efficient?
"Wait! That stone table..." Lin Ze'an hadn't even finished speaking when Ghost Leopard lifted the entire stone table from the courtyard.
...Actually, that one didn't need to go.
Ling Yuan was even more over the top, gathering up every flowerpot and herb in the courtyard.
Half a day later, Golden Crocodile had just escorted Lin Ze'an to his new home when he received a message from Qian Daoliu and hurried back to the Worship Hall.
Lin Ze'an stood before the brand-new palace, with Ling Yuan on one side and Ghost Leopard on the other. The three of them looked at one another, their expressions all a little strange.
"This..." He opened his mouth, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Wasn't this palace a little different from the other elders'?
"Elder, there's no need to be puzzled," Ling Yuan said softly, flattering him. "Doesn't this just show how highly His Holiness the Pope regards you?"
Lin Ze'an looked at the two Soul Douluos standing before him, both showing him the utmost respect, and helplessly rubbed his brow. "Just call me by my name."
At first, he'd thought it was pretty novel, but now it just felt awkward.
Ghost Leopard and Ling Yuan exchanged glances, then hurriedly knelt. "We wouldn't dare, sir!"
Lin Ze'an: "..."
He waved a hand, his eyes full of helplessness. "Fine. Just find somewhere to put everything for now."
With that, he stopped paying attention to them and walked straight into the palace.
Inside, the palace was even more spacious than it had looked from outside.
He made his way upstairs and soon reached the top floor.
At the very center was a lavish cultivation chamber, fully equipped with everything he could need.
Beside it were a bedroom, a study, a bathroom, and all kinds of other rooms for every need.
Only after he had looked through several of the rooms did Lin Ze'an stop at the end of the corridor and gaze outside through a huge stained-glass window.
From this height, he could see the Pope Palace in the distance.
He needed to get used to this unusually special new home. He also needed some time to process everything that had happened today.
If his senses hadn't deceived him, when he used his third Soul Skill in front of the Pope Palace, some unknown force had seemed to approach him.
It hadn't managed to touch him before Mo Ruier erased it, but he still needed to take it seriously.
But who could it have been...?
Just as Lin Ze'an was racking his brains, footsteps sounded on the stairs.
Ling Yuan appeared behind him and said softly, "Elder, everything has been put away in the storage room on the first floor."
"As for anything else that's missing, I'll go out and get it as soon as I can."
Lin Ze'an turned around and looked at the Soul Douluo standing before him, treating him with such respect.
"Thanks for the effort."
After a moment's thought, he added, "Ling Yuan, right?"
Ling Yuan was slightly taken aback. She hadn't expected Lin Ze'an to make a point of confirming her name, and hurriedly nodded. "Yes, I'm Ling Yuan."
Lin Ze'an sighed and turned to look at the distant scenery, saying helplessly, "You and Ghost Leopard can just relax. There's no need to be so respectful."
"You're both Level 89 Soul Douluos. To be honest, I'm not used to this. Just put yourselves at ease."
"I know why you're doing this. Isn't it for a ninth Soul Ring?"
Sigh... Just a little thought made it obvious that these two weren't treating him so respectfully simply because they'd been ordered to.
Investing in his talent? What direct benefit would that give them?
The only possibility was that they wanted to curry favor with him and get a high-quality ninth Soul Ring in return.
Seeing that her intentions had been exposed, Ling Yuan hurriedly knelt. "Please don't be angry, Elder. I did have ulterior motives, but I truly do want to follow you!"
"As you know, a Soul Master's strength and potential are partly determined by the age of their ninth Soul Ring."
"And some high-age Soul Beasts, even those that aren't a hundred thousand years old, are already close to—or even on par with—Titled Douluos in strength..."
By the time she finished speaking, Ling Yuan's head was nearly buried in the ground.
People like her, who had painstakingly cultivated step by step, might have elders to help them hunt for Soul Rings, but that still wasn't enough to get a powerful Titled Douluo like Elder Chrysanthemum to act.
So obtaining a high-quality Soul Ring was difficult for them. It was their only option...
Seeing her like this, Lin Ze'an sighed and helped her to her feet. "All right. Since you've joined me, I won't treat you unfairly."
"When you break through to Level 90, I'll ask my master to help you hunt for your ninth Soul Ring."
Before you continue