His Crime, Merely a Moment of Confusion?

The moment they saw that figure in a gray robe, everyone's pupils contracted sharply!

"G-Great Worshipper!!"

"Greetings, Great Worshipper!"

In the plaza.

All Spirit Hall disciples, deacons, and guards dropped to their knees in unison!

Their voices were respectful to the extreme!

The Great Worshipper!

He was the pillar that held Spirit Hall steady!

He... had actually come!

And... he had been here for quite some time?!

Then everything that had just happened... the Great Worshipper had seen it all?!

An immensely complicated feeling arose in everyone's hearts.

The Great Worshipper had arrived.

Then... what would he do?

Would he turn against this mysterious ancestor for the sake of the six elders?

Or... would he too submit to this ancestor?

For a moment.

Everyone's gazes swept back and forth between Qin Zheng and Qian Daoliu.

The air was thick with tension.

Just then!

"Buzz—!"

"Buzz—!"

"Buzz—!"

Several overwhelming auras suddenly surged up from all corners of Spirit City.

The next moment!

Several figures appeared in the sky at once!

Of the Consecration Hall's seven great worshippers, aside from the Second Worshipper, Golden Crocodile Douluo.

The other six had all arrived!

They stood together in the sky, soul power surging around them, their auras heavy and solemn!

Six pairs of eyes stared fixedly at the black-robed youth in the center of the plaza!

The atmosphere instantly became taut with hostility!

Qin Zheng raised his eyes, calmly looking at the five worshippers in the sky, as well as Qian Daoliu before the angel statue.

There was not the slightest ripple in his pitch-black eyes.

"Looks like."

He spoke faintly, his voice utterly calm.

"You have chosen to become enemies of this seat?"

The instant his words fell!

Boom—!!

An utterly terrifying pressure suddenly erupted from Qin Zheng's body!

Black soul power swept outward in every direction like a tidal wave!

Wherever it passed, the air let out explosive booms as though unable to bear the strain!

The five worshippers in the sky bore the brunt of it!

"Pfft—!"

All five spat out mouthfuls of blood, their bodies flying backward like kites with severed strings!

They crashed heavily onto the bluestone ground at the edge of the plaza!

"Crack—!"

The hard bluestone ground was smashed into five deep craters!

"Cough, cough..."

Azure Luan Douluo struggled to climb to his feet, his face deathly pale, his eyes filled with shock and disbelief.

W-What kind of power was this?!

Just a trace of pressure... had sent all five of them, Titled Douluo, flying? They were Consecration Hall consecrators!

Every one of them was a Super Douluo above level ninety-five!

They were far beyond the trash from Elder Hall.

Yet before this youth... they could not withstand even a trace of his pressure?!

The other consecrators suffered the same fate.

They lay limp on the ground, trembling all over, without even the strength to stand.

Their eyes, fixed on Qin Zheng, were filled with utmost terror and reverence.

Th-this... was the ancestor's strength?!

Too terrifying!

Too absurd!

Just as everyone stood shocked, horrified, and unable to believe it.

Before the angel statue.

Qian Daoliu slowly raised his head and looked toward the black-robed figure in the center of the square.

There was not a trace of anger on his handsome face.

He fell silent for a moment, then drew a deep breath and slowly stepped forward.

"This junior, a descendant of the Qian family, Qian Daoliu."

"Pays respects to Ancestor."

As his words fell.

He clasped his hands and bowed deeply, performing the proper salute of a junior.

His posture was humble, his attitude respectful.

There was none of the bearing of the Grand Consecrator about him.

BOOM!!!

Those words were like thunder from the nine heavens, crashing down upon everyone's heads!

The entire venue fell silent!

A pin drop could be heard!

Everyone froze in place, their eyes wide as they stared fixedly at the figure bowing before the angel statue.

The Grand Consecrator...

The Grand Consecrator, he...

He actually... acknowledged him?!

He called that youth... Ancestor!

And... even referred to himself as a junior?!

My heavens!

Th-this was real?!

"Gulp..."

Someone swallowed.

The sound was especially clear in the deathly silent square.

Immediately after!

As if setting off a chain reaction!

"Buzz—!"

Every Spirit Hall disciple, deacon, and guard in the square erupted!

"Ancestor! He really is the Ancestor!"

"Even the Grand Consecrator acknowledged him! It has to be true!"

"Our Spirit Hall's ancestor... has awakened!"

"Wonderful! Wonderful! With the Ancestor here, our Spirit Hall will surely become even more glorious!"

Cheers like rolling mountains and crashing seas resounded throughout all of Spirit City!

Every face was filled with fervor and excitement!

Ancestor!

He truly was the Ancestor!

Although the six elders had just had their martial souls crippled, and even His Holiness the Pope had been suppressed.

But so what?!

The Ancestor is here!

With the Ancestor's terrifying strength!

He could absolutely lead Spirit Hall to another peak!

No!

A peak more glorious than ever before!

Everyone trembled with excitement, their eyes filled with fanatical worship.

As they looked at the black-robed figure in the center of the square, it was as though they were gazing upon a true god.

No...

He inspired even greater awe and worship than a god!

At the center of the square.

Qin Zheng listened to the thunderous cheers around him, yet his pitch-black eyes showed not the slightest ripple.

He merely looked calmly at Qian Daoliu, who stood bowed before him, and slowly spoke.

"So."

"You came here just to pay your respects to me, is that it?"

His voice was calm, carrying a trace of indifference and amusement.

At his words, Qian Daoliu slowly straightened.

He looked at Qin Zheng, a complicated emotion on his handsome face.

After a moment of silence, he slowly spoke.

"Not entirely."

"This junior came mainly because of Spirit Hall's six elders."

He paused, his tone turning slightly grave.

"Or rather... because of Bibi Dong."

Boom!

Those words exploded across the square like a clap of thunder!

Everyone froze.

For the six elders?

For Bibi Dong?!

The Grand Worshipper was... pleading on their behalf?!

But...

But they had offended the Ancestor!

The Grand Worshipper... dared to plead for them?!

For a moment, everyone held their breath.

The atmosphere instantly grew tense.

At the center of the square.

Qin Zheng's pitch-black eyes narrowed slightly.

"Oh?"

He chuckled softly, a faint hint of mockery in his voice.

"You came to ask me to spare Bibi Dong?"

Qian Daoliu nodded, his attitude respectful.

"Yes."

"I ask the Ancestor to show mercy and spare her and the six elders."

"They... were only momentarily muddleheaded when they offended the Ancestor's heavenly might."

"I ask the Ancestor to give them a chance to mend their ways, for Spirit Hall's sake."

As his words fell.

The entire square once again sank into dead silence.

Everyone held their breath, staring fixedly at Qin Zheng.

They wanted to know how the Ancestor would answer.

Would he agree... or refuse?

And just as everyone waited anxiously...

Qin Zheng smiled.

It was not a gentle smile.

There was a trace of coldness in it, a trace of mockery.

"A momentary lapse in judgment?"

He spoke slowly, his voice calm.

"Earlier, your granddaughter Qian Renxue was oppressed by Bibi Dong."

"A successor of a god-tier martial soul, born with innate full soul power at level twenty, was actually forced by her to hide her identity in the Heaven Dou Empire and lurk within the deep palace."

"Where were you then?"