Choosing a Pope? I'll Still Reward You with an Immortal Herb!

"Please give your instructions, Your Highness."

Yue Guan forcibly suppressed the longing in his heart and waited for Qian Renyuan to speak.

Qian Renyuan held the jade box in one hand, his gaze sweeping over Yue Guan's face.

"If one day, my mother and I issue you orders at the same time, and those two orders completely contradict each other."

"Whom will you obey?"

Yue Guan's pupils contracted slightly. He had thought Qian Renyuan might ask him to seek rare medicinal herbs or carry out some dangerous task.

But he had never imagined that the other party would make him choose in front of Bibi Dong.

The Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum was right before his eyes. As long as he gave the answer Qian Renyuan wanted to hear, he might immediately obtain this Immortal Grade Herb and shatter the bottleneck that had trapped him for years.

But Bibi Dong was still standing beside him. As an elder of Spirit Hall, he had served the Pope Palace's orders all these years. If he switched allegiances for the sake of an Immortal Herb, who would dare trust him in the future?

Yue Guan instinctively looked toward Bibi Dong.

"What are you looking at me for?"

Bibi Dong gripped her scepter, her expression revealing neither pleasure nor anger.

"The Holy Son is asking you."

Yue Guan's heart sank. The Immortal Herb was less than half a foot away.

Yue Guan closed his eyes. When he opened them again, the burning fervor in his gaze had been forcibly suppressed.

"As an elder of Spirit Hall, this subordinate shall naturally obey the Pope's orders."

As his words fell, Yue Guan's hand had already clenched into a fist.

He had given his answer, and also given up the Immortal Herb most suited to him.

Dugu Bo raised a brow. He had thought Yue Guan would immediately side with Qian Renyuan for the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum. He had not expected this man, who usually appeared exceedingly effeminate, to hold fast to his principles at the crucial moment.

"What a pity."

Dugu Bo spoke softly.

Yue Guan did not raise his head. He feared that if he looked at the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum once more, he would regret his choice.

Qian Renyuan lowered his eyes and looked at him for a moment before suddenly loosening his hand.

The jade box fell.

Hearing the sound, Yue Guan instinctively reached out and caught it.

The icy jade box landed in his palm, yet his entire body froze in place.

"Your Highness?"

"It is your reward."

Yue Guan abruptly raised his head, almost thinking he had misheard.

Qian Renyuan stood with his hands behind his back.

"Today, if you could betray my mother for an Immortal Herb, then tomorrow, if someone offered you something better, you would betray me just the same."

"I would not dare use such a person."

Yue Guan opened his mouth, but for a moment, he could not say a word. Only now did he understand what Qian Renyuan had truly wanted to see.

If he had truly chosen the Holy Son just now, this jade box would likely never have fallen into his hands.

"You did not lie for the sake of an Immortal Herb." Qian Renyuan looked at the jade box in Yue Guan's hands. "That is your value."

Yue Guan's hands began trembling uncontrollably. He had already prepared himself to lose the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, yet now, this Immortal Grade Herb had truly fallen into his hands.

Bibi Dong looked at her son, a trace of unusual light appearing in her eyes.

"Yue Guan." Bibi Dong suddenly spoke.

Yue Guan immediately turned around. "This subordinate is here."

"From today onward, the Pope Palace's duties will be assigned to other elders." Bibi Dong looked at Qian Renyuan. "You will follow Yuan'er."

Yue Guan's body shook. He had chosen Bibi Dong just moments ago, yet Bibi Dong was now personally handing him over to Qian Renyuan. This was not punishment, but fulfillment.

"This subordinate... obeys!"

Yue Guan gave Bibi Dong a deep bow, then turned and faced Qian Renyuan once more.

Qian Renyuan looked at him. "And now?"

Yue Guan held the jade box containing the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum in both hands and solemnly lowered his head.

"From this day forward, whenever Your Highness gives an order, Yue Guan will act first!"

Qian Renyuan nodded lightly. "Open it."

Yue Guan immediately lifted the lid. Brilliant golden light once more illuminated his face, and the medicinal fragrance of the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum spread through the air again.

"Absorb it here."

Yue Guan froze for a moment. "Your Highness, the medicinal power of an Immortal Grade Herb is immense. If this subordinate breaks through here, I fear it may damage the hall."

"With us here, what are you afraid of? The Grand Priest, the Pope, the Seventh Priest, and Dugu Bo."

"Could we not protect a single person like you?"

Yue Guan glanced at the people in the hall and realized his worries had been unnecessary.

With three Super Douluos stationed here, along with Poison Douluo, there was probably no safer place on the entire continent to make a breakthrough.

Yue Guan sat down cross-legged and carefully took out the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum.

He first placed the stamen at the very top into his mouth. It melted as soon as it entered.

Boom!

A scorching medicinal force rushed down his throat and into his body. Yue Guan's back suddenly straightened as golden light shone through from beneath his skin.

He did not dare waste any time and immediately consumed the petals one by one.

With every petal he swallowed, the golden glow around Yue Guan grew richer. By the time the final petal entered his mouth, his entire body was completely enveloped in a sphere of golden light.

The Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum martial soul appeared behind him on its own. Its petals unfurled and rapidly expanded.

Nine soul rings slowly rose around the martial soul, its immense aura crashing in every direction.

Bibi Dong raised her scepter, and purple-black Soul Power enveloped the entire hall, blocking all the impact.

Qian Daoliu watched the ever-expanding Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, a trace of seriousness appearing in his eyes.

"Such pure medicinal power."

The Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum had originally shared the same origin as Yue Guan's martial soul. Once its medicinal power entered his body, it did not need to be repeatedly refined, instead actively merging into every part of his body.

Yue Guan's bones continuously crackled, while the Soul Power that had accumulated in his meridians for years seemed to have finally found an outlet, madly charging toward the bottleneck that had trapped him for so long.

Veins bulged across Yue Guan's forehead, and his robe was completely soaked with sweat.

He had touched this bottleneck countless times before, only to return empty-handed every time.

But this time, that towering wall that had once seemed indestructible was rapidly cracking beneath the medicinal power of the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum.

"Break for me!"

Yue Guan abruptly opened his eyes. The Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum behind him bloomed at once, and dazzling golden light shot straight toward the ceiling of the hall.

The Soul Power barrier over the Pope Palace shook violently. Golden light passed through the barrier, forming the phantom of an enormous chrysanthemum above Spirit City.

Golden petals covered much of the sky, bathing all of Spirit City in a pale golden hue.

Within the Elder Hall, several figures cultivating with their eyes closed opened them at the same time.

Outside the Worship Hall, the guards all raised their heads to look at the slowly blooming giant golden chrysanthemum.

In a shadowed corner of Spirit City, Gui Mei silently appeared. Staring at that familiar martial soul phantom, a distinct ripple appeared in his eyes.

"Yue Guan... broke through?"

Inside the Pope Palace, Yue Guan's aura continued to rise.

The nine soul rings spun faster and faster before finally contracting along with the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum and sinking into his body. The bottleneck that had trapped him for so many years completely shattered.

Yue Guan slowly opened his eyes, a flash of golden light passing through them.

He raised his hands and felt the surging Soul Power within his body, still somewhat dazed.

Years of bitter cultivation had failed to help him cross that barrier, yet Qian Renyuan had allowed him to take this step with just a single immortal herb.

Yue Guan rose to his feet, walked straight to Qian Renyuan, and then dropped to one knee.

"Your subordinate, Yue Guan, thanks Your Highness for the grace of remaking me!"