Whale Gum

"Everyone out!"

Inside the Papal Palace.

The moment Golden Crocodile Douluo stepped through the hall doors, he let out a deep, stern shout.

"Yes!"

The maids and stewards standing by in the hall were all startled. Yet they did not dare hesitate in the slightest, immediately bowing before filing out with barely a sound.

In no more than a few moments.

Only Qin Zheng, Qian Renxue, and Golden Crocodile Douluo remained in the entire Papal Palace.

The hall doors slowly closed.

"Ancestor, please." Golden Crocodile Douluo respectfully bowed to Qin Zheng.

"You've been thoughtful." Holding Qian Renxue's little hand, Qin Zheng slowly walked toward the Pope's throne of cold jade.

His gaze swept casually over the seat that symbolized Spirit Hall's supreme authority. There was not a ripple in his dark eyes, as though he were merely looking at an ordinary object.

Then.

He released Qian Renxue's hand and calmly took his seat.

His dark black dragon robe spread across the throne, forming an extreme visual contrast with the noble seat.

Clearly, he was seated upon another's seat of power.

Yet the innate aura of supremacy around Qin Zheng made it seem as though the throne had always belonged to him. It felt perfectly natural, without the slightest hint of incongruity.

Qian Renxue stood quietly beneath the throne, her head tilted up as she looked at the young ancestor seated above.

Sunlight fell across his incomparably handsome profile, outlining its cool, profound contours.

Though he appeared to be only seventeen or eighteen, he possessed the regal bearing of one who ruled the world and looked down upon all living beings.

The girl's heart grew faintly warm, and she unconsciously clenched her skirt.

Qin Zheng lowered his eyes, his gaze settling on the well-behaved little girl standing below. His low, gentle voice slowly rang out.

"Xue'er, I remember you said that you awakened the Six-Winged Angel god-grade martial soul at the age of six, with innate full soul power at level twenty?"

Qian Renxue hurriedly nodded, her golden eyes clear and pure.

"Yes, Ancestor."

"And now that you are nine, what level is your soul power?"

Qin Zheng's tone was even, revealing neither pleasure nor displeasure.

At his words.

A faint blush instantly colored Qian Renxue's little face. Somewhat embarrassed, she lowered her eyes, her fingertips nervously twisting her skirt as her voice became as soft as a mosquito's buzz.

"Ancestor... Xue'er is only level twenty-nine now."

Once she finished speaking, she lowered her head even further.

Nine years old, with soul power at level twenty-nine.

It sounded terrifyingly impressive. If word got out, countless sects would fight desperately to recruit her.

But the problem was.

She had possessed innate full soul power at level twenty!

At six, she had already reached a height that others might not attain even after more than a decade of cultivation. Yet after a full three years, she had only advanced nine levels.

Compared to her earth-shaking talent, such progress was truly far too slow.

"Level twenty-nine... a Grand Soul Master..." After hearing this, Qin Zheng said nothing. He merely frowned slightly and fell silent.

The atmosphere in the hall instantly became somewhat stifling.

Standing to one side, Golden Crocodile Douluo's heart tightened when he saw Qin Zheng's unreadable expression. He quickly stepped forward half a pace, bowed, and spoke up in Qian Renxue's defense.

"Ancestor, please calm your anger!"

"The Young Mistress is absolutely not lacking in talent, nor has she neglected her cultivation. It is simply that..."

"She simply has not had enough time to devote herself to cultivation, nor has anyone truly been able to teach her with full dedication!"

Qin Zheng raised his eyes, his dark gaze falling upon Golden Crocodile Douluo as he spoke mildly.

"Oh? Continue."

Having received permission, Golden Crocodile Douluo immediately breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly went on.

"Ancestor may not know this, but ever since the Young Mistress awakened her god-grade martial soul at the age of six, His Holiness the Pope has assigned her all manner of tasks every few days."

"Though they are all trivial matters—attending various Spirit Hall ceremonies, or receiving envoys from affiliated sects."

"Yet when all these scattered tasks are added together, they practically fill the Young Mistress's every day!"

"The Young Mistress is already exhausted simply dealing with these mundane affairs each day, leaving her with barely any time to meditate and cultivate."

"To reach level twenty-nine in three years is already the result of the Young Mistress desperately squeezing out every bit of time she could to cultivate!"

At this point, Golden Crocodile Douluo's face was filled with heartache and helplessness.

Hearing this, Qin Zheng lightly tapped the armrest of his chair with his fingertips, his voice calm and unruffled.

"You could have stopped this."

Golden Crocodile Douluo gave a bitter smile and shook his head.

"Ancestor, it is not that we do not want to—it is that we cannot!"

"The current Pope of Spirit Hall is the young mistress's birth mother, and she is also the Grand Priest's daughter-in-law. We priests are, in the end, outsiders."

"If we openly objected, Her Holiness the Pope would only need to say, 'The young mistress is Spirit Hall's future successor. Naturally, she must become familiar with the affairs of the Hall from a young age and contribute to Spirit Hall.' What could we possibly do then?"

"Moreover, the Grand Priest... had also tacitly approved of this matter."

"What else could we say?"

The hall fell silent once more.

Qin Zheng said nothing. The rhythm of his fingers tapping against the armrest gradually slowed.

How could he fail to see through all the twists and turns behind this?

Bibi Dong was not nurturing Qian Renxue at all.

She was clearly suppressing her deliberately, wearing away at her talent.

Hatred had blinded her eyes. Even her own biological daughter had become a tool for venting her hatred and taking revenge on Qian Xunji.

However...

A faint, nearly imperceptible smile flickered deep within Qin Zheng's dark eyes.

Bibi Dong had actually done quite well in this matter.

That was right.

Quite well indeed!

Because if Qian Renxue had cultivated steadily over the past three years, then with her innate rank twenty talent, she would likely have already broken through to Soul Elder by now, perhaps even begun striving for Soul Ancestor.

By then, she would have already obtained her earlier soul rings.

Trying to replace them with soul rings of a higher age afterward would be extremely difficult.

It might even damage her foundation.

But things were different now.

Nine years old, rank twenty-nine, and she had yet to obtain her third soul ring.

There was still time for everything.

Qin Zheng's thoughts drifted to an extremely special heavenly treasure from Douluo Continent: whale glue.

It was a special gelatinous substance extracted from the brains of deep-sea whale soul beasts after they were hunted, containing an immensely vast and pure power of utmost yang.

For ordinary soul masters, whale glue was an excellent tonic.

It could temper the body and raise soul power.

But for a soul master like Qian Renxue, who possessed a god-grade martial soul with the light attribute—

Whale glue was an even greater treasure!

Taking whale glue from childhood to temper the body could greatly raise a soul master's physical limits, allowing her to withstand soul rings of a much higher age in the future.

Even soul rings beyond one hundred thousand years!

More importantly—

In this era, the true value of whale glue had yet to be discovered by the world.

Those noble clans and wealthy families merely treated it as a plaything to heighten pleasure. They had no idea of its heaven-defying effects on soul master cultivation.

At that thought, Qin Zheng's tapping fingers paused.

He remembered that when he had roamed the continent two thousand years ago, he had hunted several deep-sea giant whales, extracted quite a bit of whale glue, and stored it deep within the Star Dou Forest.

Two thousand years had passed.

He did not know whether that whale glue was still there.

If it was, it would save him quite a bit of trouble. If it was gone, he would likely have to make a trip to the deep sea himself and hunt several whale soul beasts, which would be rather time-consuming.

Still, he could also consider having Spirit Hall gather it for him.

"Ancestor..."