Refuse the Ancestor?

A faint, mosquito-like voice interrupted Qin Zheng's thoughts.

He came back to himself and looked down at Qian Renxue below.

"What is it?"

The little girl's eyes were slightly red, a thin mist clouding her golden pupils. Her small face was filled with disappointment and dejection.

Seeing him look over, she hurriedly lowered her head, her voice thick with self-reproach.

"It's Xue'er's fault."

"Xue'er neglected her soul power cultivation and disappointed Ancestor..."

As it turned out, seeing Qin Zheng remain silent for so long, Qian Renxue assumed that her ancestor was deeply disappointed with her cultivation progress. Grievance and guilt immediately welled up in her heart.

Her nose stung, and she nearly burst into tears.

Seeing this, Qin Zheng realized that he had been so preoccupied with the matter of whale glue that he had neglected the little girl's feelings.

"Silly girl, what are you overthinking?"

"When did I ever say I was disappointed in you?"

Qian Renxue raised her head, her wet golden eyes looking at him in confusion. "But, Ancestor..."

"No buts." Qin Zheng cut her off. "It doesn't matter if your cultivation progress is a little slow. A solid foundation is what matters most. This is nothing."

"Ancestor..." Looking into his gentle eyes, all the grievance and unease in Qian Renxue's heart vanished in an instant, leaving only warmth behind.

And at that very moment.

Bang!

The heavy doors of the Papal Palace were violently shoved open from outside!

A woman's icy, piercing voice, carrying boundless fury, suddenly rang through the entire hall.

"Within Spirit Hall, someone openly injured titled Douluo elders and defied the orders of the Spirit Hall Pope and the Grand Worshipper. Can anyone tell this Pope what punishment such a crime deserves?"

As her voice fell.

A slender figure clad in the Pope's robes slowly stepped into the hall.

She held a scepter in hand. Her face was exquisitely beautiful, yet cold as frost, and an aura that warned strangers to stay away radiated from her brows. Her soul power churned faintly around her body; she was clearly furious beyond measure.

The current Pope of Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong!

Behind her followed a cluster of figures.

Each one was surrounded by the heavy soul power fluctuations unique to titled Douluo, their auras steady and their gazes sharp.

Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo, whom Qin Zheng had sent flying earlier, were among them.

Though their faces remained pale, bolstered by their numerical advantage, resentment and smugness rekindled in their eyes as they stared fixedly at Qin Zheng on the throne.

Seven titled Douluo from the Elder Hall had come!

"M-Mother?"

The instant Qian Renxue saw Bibi Dong, her golden eyes lit up.

Her tiny body instinctively took half a step forward, her soft pink lips parting. With a child's natural longing and joy toward her mother, she was about to rush forward.

But the moment the word left her lips, her voice abruptly stopped.

Bibi Dong's gaze swept over her indifferently. In those beautiful yet icy eyes, there was not the slightest trace of a mother's warmth toward her daughter.

There was only bone-deep indifference and undisguised disgust.

As though the person before her was not the biological daughter she had carried for ten months and given birth to.

But rather, an eyesore—an unnecessary object.

With only a single glance.

She turned her head away in distaste and did not spare Qian Renxue another look.

Qian Renxue's little foot froze in midair, the joy on her face abruptly frozen over like ice and snow.

She stood there blankly, her small hands slowly clutching at her skirt. Her nose stung, and her eyes instantly reddened.

The heart that Qin Zheng had just warmed with his gentle care was once again wrapped in icy coldness, while grievance surged up like a tide.

She bit her lower lip and no longer dared make the slightest sound.

She merely lowered her head in silence, hiding all her emotions away.

Only Little Green and Little White, coiled around Qian Renxue's wrists, seemed to sense their little master's sadness and gently nuzzled her cheeks from either side.

Before long, Bibi Dong's gaze passed over Qian Renxue and fell directly upon Qin Zheng, seated on the Papal throne.

When she saw the young man in black robes sitting calmly upon the throne that symbolized Spirit Hall's highest authority.

Bibi Dong's pupils suddenly contracted.

The next moment, intense killing intent and fury surged through her eyes.

"Good! Very good!"

She practically ground out those three words through clenched teeth.

"As Pope, I never knew that the throne of Spirit Hall's Pope could be sat on by any stray cat or dog."

With that, Bibi Dong abruptly turned to Golden Crocodile Douluo beside her.

"Second Consecrator!"

"You allowed an outsider of unknown origin to sit upon the Pope's throne and profane Spirit Hall's supreme authority. Is this what you, as the Second Consecrator of the Consecration Hall, are supposed to do?!"

"Allowed?" Golden Crocodile Douluo sneered. His aged face was full of disdain, utterly unbowed by her imposing presence.

He stepped half a pace forward, standing before the throne. Without the slightest hesitation, he met Bibi Dong's gaze, his voice ringing loud and clear.

"Bibi Dong, stop trying to pin such baseless accusations on me!"

"It's true that you are the Pope. You have ruled Spirit Hall for many years, commanded the Elder Hall, and wielded quite the authority."

He paused, and his tone suddenly sharpened. "But even if you are the Pope, before Spirit Hall's ancestor, your orders have to wait their turn!"

"Ancestor?"

Upon hearing this, Bibi Dong seemed to have heard the greatest joke in the world and let out a scornful laugh.

Her gaze returned to Qin Zheng, sweeping over his excessively young and handsome face. The contempt in her eyes was undisguised.

"Second Consecrator, it seems you truly are getting on in years."

"Not only are your eyes failing, but your mind has grown muddled too."

"A brat who still reeks of milk, who looks no more than seventeen or eighteen, and you dare recognize him as Spirit Hall's ancestor?"

"Hahaha!"

The moment her words fell, the elders behind her burst into uproarious laughter.

"Second Consecrator, if you're too old and lacking in energy, you could just say so!"

Chrysanthemum Pass picked up the thread, laughing sinisterly. "There are plenty of young and promising people waiting to take a seat in the Consecration Hall. Why cling to your position and make such a huge joke of yourself?"

"Exactly! Recognizing a child as an ancestor—if word gets out, wouldn't Spirit Hall become the laughingstock of the entire continent?"

Another elder chimed in with a mocking tone. "I think the Second Consecrator has gone senile. You should hurry home and retire instead of embarrassing yourself here!"

For a time, jeers, ridicule, and accusations rose one after another, and the entire Papal Palace was filled with the elders' unrestrained mockery.

They were all trusted confidants personally promoted by Bibi Dong.

They had always been bitterly opposed to the Consecration Hall.

Now that they had found an opportunity, they naturally intended to thoroughly humiliate Golden Crocodile Douluo.

Hearing those piercing taunts, Qian Renxue's little face flushed red with anger. She suddenly raised her head, wanting to defend their ancestor. "You're talking nonsense! He really is—"

"Xue'er."

A calm, gentle voice suddenly came from the throne, cutting her off.

Qin Zheng had not spoken from beginning to end.

His dark eyes calmly swept over the clamoring crowd below. There was not the slightest trace of anger in his gaze, only the indifference of one looking down upon ants.

It was as though he were watching a group of clownish fools putting on a ludicrous performance before him.

Only when Qian Renxue grew anxious did he speak a single indifferent sentence.

Upon hearing Qin Zheng's voice, Qian Renxue immediately closed her mouth and looked at him aggrievedly.