Holy Spirit Cult, Zhongli Wu

Bone Flute Douluo, martial soul Bone Flute, a Rank 94 Titled Douluo, ranked ninth in the Hall of Worship.

Magnetic Force Douluo, martial soul Dark Magnetic Demon Essence, a Rank 93 Titled Douluo, ranked tenth in the Hall of Worship.

Though both were immensely powerful, neither assumed the arrogant bearing of a superior before Long Wushang. Instead, each of them appeared exceptionally friendly and cordial.

After all, they understood very clearly.

The young man before them was highly likely to replace Zhongli Wu in the future and become the true leader of the Holy Spirit Cult, or perhaps an existence akin to a Supreme Worshipper.

Seeing that the two worshippers from the Hall of Worship had already taken the lead in declaring their stance, the other elders in the plaza naturally did not dare remain where they were.

They stepped forward one after another to greet Long Wushang.

However, two people alone were exceptions.

Masked Douluo and Abomination Douluo.

Compared to the two Titled Douluos from the Hall of Worship, Long Wushang's attitude toward these two was noticeably colder.

He merely swept his gaze over them casually and did not even say much.

Anyone could see this obvious difference in treatment.

Under normal circumstances, as an important figure in the Holy Spirit Cult's future, Long Wushang should have tried his best to win over every force among the upper ranks.

But the Holy Spirit Cult was not a place that cared about feelings or rules.

Only interests and positions existed here. Whoever could bring greater benefits was worth following.

Naturally, Long Wushang would not waste too much energy or goodwill on those who did not share his position.

"Since the two elders are here as well, I can save myself the trouble of sending someone to notify you."

Long Wushang gave the order with an indifferent expression.

"Now, all elders and worshippers are to proceed immediately to the main altar's conference hall."

"By order of the Supreme Cult Leader, I have something to announce to everyone."

The moment those words were spoken, the expressions of everyone present changed drastically.

The Supreme Cult Leader Ye Xishui had personally given the order?

And Long Wushang himself had come to make the announcement?

Clearly, this matter was far from simple.

Yet Long Wushang ignored everyone's reactions.

He merely patted the obedient Tang Ya beside him lightly, signaling for her to follow, then turned and led the Saintess toward the conference hall specially used by the Holy Spirit Cult for major meetings.

Only after Long Wushang and the people from the Hall of Worship had vanished from sight did the atmosphere in the plaza gradually return to normal.

Masked Douluo and Abomination Douluo exchanged a glance.

Both of their faces became somewhat grave.

"This guy..."

"He has barely involved himself in the cult's affairs all these years, yet the moment he appears, he summons every member of the upper ranks."

Abomination Douluo stared in the direction Long Wushang had left, his brows tightly furrowed.

"I have a feeling that something major is about to happen."

"Go notify the Cult Leader immediately."

"I'll go over first and see what's going on."

"No matter what, we cannot let that brat lead us around by the nose."

Masked Douluo likewise understood the importance of the matter. He said nothing more, merely nodded, and with a flash, vanished from where he stood.

Abomination Douluo took a deep breath and headed toward the conference hall.

Inside the conference hall.

Aside from those still in seclusion or away carrying out missions, nearly all the elders and worshippers of the Holy Spirit Cult who could make it had gathered there.

The atmosphere in the vast conference hall was especially solemn.

The worshippers sat on the left, while the elders sat on the right. Though there was no open conflict between the two sides,

their clearly divided seating arrangement was enough to show that factional divisions had always existed within the Holy Spirit Cult.

At the very front, several seats had been arranged.

The seat in the center, the most distinguished position, belonged to Zhongli Wu, the current Cult Leader of the Holy Spirit Cult.

However, that seat remained empty at the moment.

Meanwhile, Long Wushang had already taken his seat beside the Cult Leader's seat.

Behind him, Blue Silver Saintess stood quietly in attendance, her gaze lowered. Only her flushed face revealed her current emotions.

Not one of the elders or worshippers urgently summoned here today knew Long Wushang's true purpose in gathering everyone.

After all, although Long Wushang was the Holy Spirit Cult's Holy Son and also the blood relative of Supreme Cult Leader Ye Xishui, he did not usually interfere in the cult's affairs easily.

It could even be said that, because of the Supreme Worshipper, he had only appeared in the Holy Spirit Cult a handful of times in total, as though he disliked this group of evil soul masters.

Yet now, he had suddenly summoned all the upper ranks and had even invoked the Supreme Cult Leader's decree to interfere in the cult's affairs.

This uncharacteristic action naturally gave rise to countless speculations among those present.

Some closed their eyes to rest, quietly waiting for the truth to be revealed.

Others secretly observed Long Wushang, trying to discern something from his expression.

But whoever they were, none of them rashly spoke at this moment.

Just as everyone waited, a set of footsteps finally sounded outside the conference hall.

Zhongli Wu, the Cult Leader of the Holy Spirit Cult, had finally returned.

In truth, he had only just returned to the Holy Spirit Cult's main altar not long ago.

During this trip, he had personally gone to Mingdu and brought back Fire Phoenix Saintess Ma Xiaotao, who had been taken from Shrek Academy, to the Holy Spirit Cult.

According to his original plan, he should have handled other matters first before arranging Ma Xiaotao's subsequent training.

But the moment he returned to the main altar, he learned from Masked Douluo something that caught him by surprise.

His younger brother, who had always been cultivating in seclusion—the child his mother had borne with Uncle Long, Long Wushang—

had unexpectedly ended his seclusion and directly summoned every elder and worshipper in the cult who could attend, intending to interfere in the cult's affairs.

More importantly, he claimed to have an extremely important matter to announce.

Though Zhongli Wu was puzzled, he did not dare show the slightest negligence.

His strength had already reached the level of a Rank 98 Super Douluo, but two great mountains still loomed above him. As long as his mother remained alive and Uncle Long did not die, he could not act recklessly.

Thus, the moment he received the message, he brought Ma Xiaotao, who had already completed her dark transformation, and hurried to the conference hall.

As the heavy doors slowly opened,

a tall, upright figure appeared before everyone's eyes.

"Greetings, Cult Leader!"

Seeing Zhongli Wu arrive, everyone in the conference hall rose and bowed.

Even Long Wushang stood from his seat and showed this nominal elder brother the respect he was due.

However, his gaze met Zhongli Wu's only briefly before quickly shifting away.

Compared to Zhongli Wu, his attention was more focused on the figure behind him.

She was a tall woman with an alluring temperament.

She wore a provocative black-and-red long dress and a veil that concealed her face, revealing only her slender legs and snowy-white skin.

Judging from her attire, combined with the current point in time, Long Wushang quickly determined her identity.

One of the Holy Spirit Cult's Twin Saintesses, the Fire Phoenix Saintess.

She was also Ma Xiaotao, once a disciple of Shrek Academy's inner court, the disciple of his old nephew Yan Shaozhe, and the owner of the Evil Fire Phoenix martial soul.

But she no longer resembled the proud, radiant Shrek genius she once was. Under the corrosion of the evil fire, she had completely embarked upon another path.

Zhongli Wu naturally noticed Long Wushang's gaze.

However, he displayed no unusual reaction. He merely nodded expressionlessly, then slowly walked toward the main seat.

Only after sitting down did he look toward Long Wushang beside him.

"Brother Shang, it has been a long time. Has your cultivation been going smoothly lately? Are you satisfied with the Saintess?"