Kid, Who Allowed You to Speak?

Golden Crocodile Douluo's heart jolted, and he instantly came to his senses. He hurriedly stopped, bowed with his head lowered, and respectfully reminded the young girl beside him.

"Xue'er, think carefully and answer the ancestor's questions properly. Do not be perfunctory."

"Okay!" Qian Renxue immediately nodded heavily.

The softness on her little face vanished, replaced by a hint of seriousness and solemnity.

She raised her eyes to Qin Zheng beside her. Her clear golden eyes were filled with purity as she slowly spoke in the most childish and sincere tone.

"In reply to Ancestor, Spirit Hall is very good, and Spirit City is especially good too. Spirit City is huge and prosperous. It's the very, very best place on the entire continent..."

"All the grandpas of the Consecration Hall in Spirit Hall are also very powerful..."

The girl's words were simple and straightforward.

There were no schemes or grand ambitions, no discussion of rise and decline, gains and losses.

It was entirely the pure perspective of a child.

It was fine to listen, but impossible to use as a reference.

Yet Qin Zheng simply listened quietly at that moment.

But just as Qin Zheng listened to Qian Renxue's account, a soft, effeminate voice laden with mockery and ridicule abruptly cut her off.

"Oh? Isn't this our esteemed Second Consecrator?"

The voice drifted over, neither masculine nor feminine.

It swept in on the breeze crossing the plaza, harsh and abrupt.

"Hm?"

Golden Crocodile Douluo, who had been standing there respectfully and calmly, suddenly stiffened. His aged brows and eyes instantly darkened.

An extremely sharp, violent aura exploded from his eyes.

The air around him instantly froze.

He abruptly turned, his hawk-like gaze locking directly onto the end of the corridor where the voice had come from. The pressure of a Rank 98 peak Douluo stirred around him, poised to erupt.

Three figures slowly emerged and entered everyone's sight.

The leader wore a brocade robe embroidered with blooming flowers.

His skin was pale, his features effeminate, and his figure slender.

Chrysanthemum Douluo, Yue Guan!

At that moment, a faintly smiling curve hung at his lips. His eyes were frivolous, carrying undisguised amusement.

At his side stood a silent figure shrouded in bone-chilling cold and deathly energy.

Ghost Douluo, Gui Mei!

Behind Ghost Douluo followed a timid young girl.

The girl wore a light-purple dress. Her delicate features were as beautiful as a painting, and her skin was white as snow.

Despite her young age, she already possessed the bearing of a devastating beauty. A natural charm and liveliness lay hidden in her shifting gaze. She was none other than the still-young, not yet fully grown Hu Liena.

Hu Liena tightly clutched Ghost Douluo's robe, her little head slightly lowered, yet she could not help secretly raising her eyes to curiously study the group in the center of the plaza.

Her clear almond-shaped eyes were full of innocence and curiosity.

Golden Crocodile Douluo stared at Chrysanthemum Douluo's effeminate appearance, and disgust instantly surged within him. His voice was cold and hard as iron, filled with condescending disdain.

"Chrysanthemum Guan, where I am is none of your concern."

"If you have nothing better to do, then get the hell out of my sight. Don't stand here and offend my eyes!"

The Consecration Hall and Elder Hall of Spirit Hall had long harbored deep grievances against one another. Moreover, Chrysanthemum Douluo's effeminate, affected, and sycophantic nature made Golden Crocodile Douluo detest him to the extreme.

Chrysanthemum Douluo was long accustomed to this. The mocking smile on his face did not diminish in the slightest, as though he had not heard the insult at all. He spoke leisurely.

"Second Consecrator, you jest. I have no wish to disturb you without cause."

"However, Gui Mei and I came under His Holiness the Pope's orders to take someone away, yet Second Consecrator has refused to release them for so long. It truly puts us in a difficult position."

"Still..."

His voice paused. His narrow eyes slightly narrowed as his gaze passed over Golden Crocodile Douluo and landed meaningfully on Qin Zheng, who stood tall and possessed peerless looks.

"I truly never expected that the ever-dignified Second Consecrator would today humble himself before an unknown brat still wet behind the ears, bowing his head and following at his side."

"This sight has truly broadened our horizons and taught us a tremendous lesson."

"Chrysanthemum Guan, how dare you!" Golden Crocodile Douluo roared, and his vast soul power suddenly erupted!

Rumble—!!

A torrent of soul power swept violently in all directions.

The bluestone ground trembled slightly as overwhelming pressure instantly descended upon Chrysanthemum Douluo.

Chrysanthemum Douluo's soul power was already far weaker than Golden Crocodile Douluo's.

Caught off guard, before he could even mobilize his soul power, his body staggered back several steps. His blood and qi churned, and he was utterly unable to withstand that peak pressure.

Yet his face showed no panic. Instead, he spoke sternly.

"Second Priest! You'd better think this through!"

"We are acting under the Pope's orders. If you attack me publicly today and act so recklessly, you are not only scorning the Pope's authority, but also disregarding the First Priest's command!"

The moment the words "First Priest" fell, the soul power Golden Crocodile Douluo had unleashed froze abruptly in midair, and the pressure sweeping in all directions came to a sudden halt.

His face turned livid, his chest heaving violently, his heart filled with frustration and conflict.

He did not fear Bibi Dong's majesty, nor did he care for Spirit Hall's rules of checks and balances.

But Qian Daoliu was Spirit Hall's pillar.

He could not openly defy the First Priest, could he?

For a moment, even someone as domineering as Golden Crocodile Douluo was trapped in an impossible dilemma, forced to suppress his blazing fury with nowhere to vent it.

The atmosphere in the plaza instantly became stifling and stagnant.

The tense confrontation remained locked in place.

Hu Liena blinked her clear almond-shaped eyes, looking first at Golden Crocodile's livid expression, then at Chrysanthemum Douluo's cold and haughty face, her delicate features full of confusion.

Then, her gaze drifted involuntarily toward Qin Zheng.

It was not because of anything he had done.

She looked at Qin Zheng simply because he was far too handsome.

His brows and eyes were cold and peerless, his figure straight as a pine. Even standing silently without moving, he possessed an unmatched, transcendent presence that made her glance at him again and again.

Just as the entire plaza had fallen deathly silent and the stalemate showed no sign of breaking—

A calm, languid young voice slowly rang through the plaza.

"How noisy."

"Your strength clearly surpasses theirs. If words cannot convince them, then beat them into submission. Why restrain yourself here and make trouble for yourself?"

That simple sentence instantly shattered the stagnant atmosphere.

Everyone's eyes snapped toward Qin Zheng, surprise, curiosity, and suspicion intermingling in their gazes.

Upon hearing this, Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo were briefly stunned before both let out low chuckles, their eyes filling with undisguised contempt and mockery.

Before coming here, they had already investigated Qin Zheng's background in secret.

This person had appeared out of nowhere.

He had no sect registration, no record with Spirit Hall, and no foundation in any faction.

It was as though he had been born from thin air.

His only connection was Golden Crocodile Douluo before them.

In their eyes, he was merely an unknown junior sheltered by Golden Crocodile, someone who did not know the immensity of heaven and earth.

At most, he was a somewhat talented youngster.

Even Golden Crocodile, a Rank 98 powerhouse, dared not act rashly now out of consideration for the First Priest. What kind of waves could a nameless youth possibly stir up?

Speaking like this was simply inviting ridicule!

Chrysanthemum Douluo steadied himself and raised a hand to gently brush the flowers embroidered on his sleeve. His effeminate face was full of amusement, and his tone was utterly disdainful. "Boy, you certainly have a big mouth. What, do you think your meager soul power can overpower Ghost Douluo and me?"

"I'm truly curious to see just how a nameless little brat like you intends to force the two of us, two Titled Douluo, into submission today."

The disdain and mockery in his words were barely concealed as they landed nakedly in everyone's ears.

"I dare not comment on the Second Priest's actions, but I am also curious where you found the nerve to speak like this before us Titled Douluo."

Ghost Douluo stepped half a pace forward as well, black mist churning around him. His icy eyes fixed firmly on Qin Zheng, carrying an inherently chilling pressure.