From today on, as long as I am here, Spirit Hall will forever have only one voice!

At the center of the square.

Qin Zheng listened to the thunderous cheers all around him, yet his pitch-black eyes remained utterly unmoved.

He merely stood there in silence, his dark dragon robe snapping in the wind, his ink-black hair flying freely. There was neither joy nor sorrow on his incomparably handsome face.

He carried himself like a true emperor, reigning over all beneath heaven!

"Regarding this title."

Qin Zheng's voice rang out once more.

"Whether you acknowledge it or not."

"Whether you think I am weaker than your so-called Grand Consecrator, or weaker than the Pope."

"I do not care!"

The moment his words fell.

The entire venue abruptly fell silent!

Everyone held their breath and listened intently.

He did not care?!

The Ancestor actually said... he did not care?!

That was far too domineering!

But it made sense!

With the Ancestor's strength, why would he need to care about others' opinions?!

Let him be strong; a clear breeze still brushes the mountain ridge.

Let him be tyrannical; the bright moon still shines upon the great river.

Such bearing, such poise... worthy indeed of Ancestor Qin Emperor!

The gazes of the crowd upon Qin Zheng grew even more fervent.

Just as everyone was filled with emotion.

Qin Zheng's voice rang out again.

This time, his tone suddenly sank.

"But."

"From this day onward."

"As long as I remain."

"Spirit Hall may have only one Young Master of Spirit Hall."

"And the Saintess can only be the Young Master of Spirit Hall!"

Boom—!!!

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

The entire venue fell deathly silent!

One could hear a pin drop!

Everyone froze where they stood, eyes wide and mouths agape, staring fixedly at the black-robed figure in the center of the square.

Spirit Hall... could only have one Young Master?

The Saintess... could only be the Young Master of Spirit Hall?!

Th-this... what did that mean?!

For a moment, intense confusion arose in everyone's hearts.

They looked at one another, seeing incomprehension and curiosity in each other's eyes.

Just as everyone was baffled.

A voice suddenly rang out from the crowd!

"Ancestor!"

Everyone turned toward the voice.

A middle-aged man dressed in a Spirit Hall deacon's uniform stepped out from the crowd.

His face was slightly pale, clearly showing that he had mustered tremendous courage.

"Ancestor, this junior has something he does not understand."

The middle-aged man bowed in salute, his voice trembling slightly.

"I ask the Ancestor to clear up this junior's confusion."

Qin Zheng lowered his gaze and swept it over him indifferently.

"Speak."

The middle-aged man took a deep breath and gathered his courage before asking.

"Ancestor, does our Spirit Hall... have an heir?"

"Who is it?"

At that moment, everyone's gaze focused squarely on Qin Zheng.

Their eyes were filled with curiosity and anticipation.

They wanted to know as well.

Whom would this Qin Emperor ancestor choose as Spirit Hall's heir?

Qin Zheng lowered his eyes, looking at the middle-aged deacon bowing below him. His pitch-black eyes showed not the slightest ripple.

He fell silent for a moment before slowly speaking.

"Her name..."

"Tomorrow, I will announce it to the world."

His voice was calm, carrying a trace of indifference.

"Today, you need only remember this."

"Spirit Hall has one, and only one, heir."

"No one may overstep their bounds."

"No one may offend her."

"Otherwise..."

He paused, and an icy glint flashed through his dark eyes.

"Your fate will be the same as his."

As his words fell—

He pressed down slightly with his foot!

"Bang—!"

"Ugh..." Snake Spear Douluo let out a pained groan and spat out another mouthful of blood. His entire body was forced down once more.

Waves of piercing pain surged from his chest!

It felt as though his breastbone would be crushed beneath that foot in the next instant!

The entire venue fell deathly silent once again!

Everyone stared at Snake Spear Douluo struggling in agony beneath Qin Zheng's foot, their bodies turning cold.

The same fate as him?!

That was a Titled Douluo!

Yet beneath the ancestor's foot, he was no better than an ant!

Was he only fit to be used as an example?!

The middle-aged deacon's face went pale. He repeatedly bowed.

"Yes... yes! This junior understands!"

"This junior shall take his leave!"

With that, he hurriedly retreated.

He did not dare linger for even a moment.

In the square.

Everyone was secretly speculating.

Who would Spirit Hall's heir be?

Judging by the ancestor's attitude, this heir... might even be a woman?

But they had never heard of any young woman becoming Spirit Hall's heir...

How could she have caught the ancestor's eye?

Wait!

All at once, someone recalled what the protagonist had said earlier.

A successor of a god-tier martial soul with innate full soul power at level twenty, the granddaughter of Grand Worshipper Qian Daoliu—wouldn't that be... the Pope's daughter!?

The Pope actually had a child!

Many eyes flickered as though they had grasped some crucial secret.

"It's just... the heir is actually going to infiltrate the Heaven Dou Empire?"

"Go undercover? Hmph! With the Ancestor here, why would she need to go undercover?! With the Ancestor's strength, wouldn't it be enough to just attack them directly?!"

"That's true! With the Ancestor here, what Heaven Dou Empire, what Star Luo Empire, what Three Upper Sects... they'll all have to bow their heads and submit!"

"Tsk, tsk... it looks like the Ancestor is backing the Young Mistress!"

The scattered murmurs spread across the plaza like a rising tide.

Everyone was guessing and discussing.

And at the center of it all was undoubtedly Qian Renxue.

Beside Qian Daoliu.

Several worshippers stood there without saying a word.

They discreetly glanced at Qian Daoliu, then looked toward Qin Zheng in the center of the plaza, each harboring their own thoughts.

Yet without exception, they all greatly approved of Qin Zheng's actions.

They, too, could not stand the thought of their Spirit Hall's young mistress—a possessor of a god-tier martial soul—having to conceal her identity and infiltrate the Heaven Dou Empire.

That was the Six-Winged Angel martial soul, born with full innate soul power at rank twenty!

That was Spirit Hall's future!

How could she be made to do something so underhanded?!

Now that the Ancestor had voiced it for them, it was immensely satisfying!

At the center of the plaza.

Qin Zheng listened to the surrounding discussions, but not a ripple stirred in his dark eyes.

He slowly withdrew his gaze and looked once more at Qian Daoliu before the angel statue.

"Secondly."

His calm voice rang out again.

This time, his tone abruptly turned cold.

"Someone once provoked me when I had just awakened."

"This person was an elder of Spirit Hall."

"By virtue, having received the grace of the Qian Family's ancestors, I should not have killed him lightly."

"But he actually dared to make a move against a descendant of the Qian Family, each strike intended to kill."

"His crime deserves death!"

BOOM—!!!

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

The entire plaza fell into dead silence once more!

Everyone froze where they stood.

He had actually intended to attack a descendant of the Qian Family?

For a moment, intense shock rose in everyone's hearts.

They looked at Snake Spear Douluo beneath Qin Zheng's feet, their eyes filled with sympathy and fear.

They sympathized because they knew that the person Qin Zheng spoke of was Snake Spear Douluo!

This veteran Title Douluo of the Elder Hall would likely perish here today.

They feared because the Ancestor's decisiveness in killing far exceeded their imagination.

If he said kill, then he killed—without the slightest mercy.

Had those six Title Douluo not been elders of Spirit Hall, they likely would not even have had the chance to exchange blows with the Ancestor before being slain outright!

Such methods, such bearing...

Worthy indeed of the Qin Emperor Ancestor!