Entering the Notice of the Powerful

Meanwhile, in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the sect master's study.

Ning Fengzhi sat by the window, holding a cup of fragrant tea. Steam curled upward, veiling his refined features.

Across from him sat a white-haired old man. He was Chen Xin, the Sword Douluo, one of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's two guardian Douluo.

"Fengzhi, have you seen the news from Heaven Dou City?" Chen Xin asked, his voice aged but still vigorous.

Ning Fengzhi set down his teacup and nodded slightly. "I have. A Soul Sage retainer under Crown Prince Xue Qinghe brought back a six-year-old child and placed him in the Crown Prince's Palace. That child's talent should be quite impressive."

"More than impressive." Chen Xin shook his head, his expression grave. "The sect has already uncovered the details. When that child awakened his Martial Soul at the Spirit Hall in Vast Sea City, the deacon overseeing the awakening cried out in shock on the spot.

"Though the Vast Sea City Spirit Hall sealed off the news, my people still inferred from a few clues that the child is very likely to possess Innate Full Soul Power."

"Innate Full Soul Power?" Ning Fengzhi's pupils narrowed slightly. His teacup trembled, and a few drops of tea splashed onto the table.

As the sect master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Fengzhi knew better than anyone what Innate Full Soul Power meant. It signified a genius one in ten thousand; so long as they did not die prematurely, they would at least become a Title Douluo in the future.

More importantly, while the Seven Treasure Glazed Pagoda Martial Soul possessed support abilities unmatched under heaven, it needed to be paired with powerful battle Soul Masters to unleash its true strength.

If a future Title Douluo could be recruited by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, what an immense source of support would that be?

"Uncle Sword, do you think we can recruit this child?" Ning Fengzhi asked after pondering for a moment.

Chen Xin stroked his long beard and slowly shook his head. "Difficult. Since the child has already been brought into the Crown Prince's Palace by Crown Prince Xue Qinghe, it means the crown prince has gotten there first. If we rashly try to recruit him, we may offend the crown prince and damage the bond between master and disciple."

Ning Fengzhi sighed at that. Chen Xin had a point. Though the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect stood above the rest, Ning Fengzhi and Xue Qinghe were master and disciple. It was likely not worth falling out with the future emperor over a single genius.

Besides, in Ning Fengzhi's view, the child was still young. Once he reached the proper age, he would surely enter Heaven Dou Royal Academy to study. There would be plenty of chances to make contact then.

If he truly proved to be a monstrous genius, then even if it meant offending Xue Qinghe, they would have to bring him into the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

With that thought, Ning Fengzhi immediately gave orders to have someone keep an eye on the child and wait to see how things developed.

He also had them thoroughly investigate the child's origins. The more detailed, the better.

Meanwhile, far away in Spirit City, the atmosphere within Pope Palace was utterly unlike the undercurrents stirring in Heaven Dou City.

Inside the towering Pope Palace, directly beneath the vaulted ceiling and above nine steps, stood a throne.

Seated upon it was a woman dressed in the pope's robes.

She wore the Nine-Curved Purple Thorn Crown and held a golden scepter over two meters long. The gemstone at its tip emitted a soul-stirring glow.

Her features were exquisitely beautiful, her skin as fair as snow, yet an unmelting frost shrouded her eyes and brows.

She was Bibi Dong, the current pope of Spirit Hall.

Below the hall, a middle-aged man in a red bishop's robe knelt trembling on the ground. His forehead pressed against the cold stone tiles, and he scarcely dared to breathe.

Bibi Dong's gaze settled upon the red-clad bishop, her tone devoid of even a trace of warmth. "You are saying that the child with Innate Full Soul Power from Vast Sea City was taken away by an elder of our Spirit Hall?"

"Y-yes, Your Holiness." The red bishop's voice trembled slightly. Cold sweat slid down from his temples and dripped onto the stone floor, leaving dark stains. "Upon receiving the news, this subordinate hurried to Vast Sea City day and night, but by the time I arrived, the person had already been taken away.

"According to Tom, the person in charge of the Vast Sea City branch hall, that elder presented Spirit Hall's elder token. They did not dare stop him. This subordinate was incompetent. I beg Your Holiness to punish me."

Bibi Dong did not speak immediately. She merely tapped the armrest of her throne lightly with her fingers, producing dull thuds.

The sound echoed through the hall. Each knock seemed to strike the red bishop's heart, making his body tremble even more violently.

After a moment, Bibi Dong finally spoke slowly, with a faint, almost imperceptible sneer in her voice. "An elder token? All of Spirit Hall's elders are Title Douluo. Who besides Worship Hall could mobilize a Title Douluo to personally collect a child who had just awakened his Martial Soul without my knowledge?"

The red bishop lowered his head even further.

Naturally, he knew just how delicate the relationship between His Holiness the Pope and Worship Hall was.

In name, Spirit Hall revered the pope above all else, but in truth, those priests within Worship Hall did not particularly trust this new pope.

His Holiness had only held the position for five years, and her foundation was still unstable. Worship Hall had never ceased openly and secretly hindering her.

Bibi Dong paid no further attention to the red bishop kneeling below. Her gaze passed beyond the palace doors toward the gray, hazy horizon, while entirely different thoughts churned in her mind.

To be honest, she had not thought much of the child named Zhao Ming.

According to the intelligence sent back from Vast Sea City, the child's Martial Soul was a Steel Whip. Though the deacon overseeing the awakening had judged its hardness to be close to that of a top-tier Martial Soul, it was ultimately still only a high-tier Martial Soul.

Innate Full Soul Power paired with a high-tier Martial Soul was certainly rare, but it was not enough to warrant the personal attention of the pope herself.

That was precisely why she had initially sent only a red bishop to fetch him instead of dispatching a Title Douluo.

In her view, sending a red bishop for a genius with Innate Full Soul Power and a high-tier Martial Soul already showed sufficient regard.

Yet she had not expected Worship Hall to beat her to it.

Alongside Bibi Dong's anger, a trace of doubt arose in her heart.

Those old men of Worship Hall, especially Qian Daoliu, had always held themselves in extremely high regard. Ordinary geniuses could not even catch their attention.

A high-tier Martial Soul with Innate Full Soul Power might be considered astonishingly gifted in the outside world, but in Worship Hall's eyes, it was nothing special.

Why would that old bastard Qian Daoliu specifically send a Title Douluo to snatch a child like this?

Had she misjudged him?

Bibi Dong narrowed her eyes slightly, her slender fingers gently stroking the scepter.

Her intuition had always been sharp. It had helped her make the right decisions countless times at the edge of life and death.

At that moment, that intuition stirred again, telling her that this matter was not as simple as it appeared.

Could that child's Martial Soul possess some special quality she did not know about?

Or perhaps Qian Daoliu had snatched him not because of the child's talent at all, but for some other scheme?

Countless thoughts flashed through Bibi Dong's mind, only to be suppressed one by one.

No matter what Qian Daoliu's purpose was, Worship Hall had already taken the child away. She could not confront Worship Hall head-on over a six-year-old child. At least, not yet.

"Rise." Bibi Dong withdrew her thoughts and spoke indifferently to the red bishop below.

As though granted a pardon, the red bishop hurriedly climbed to his feet. Yet he remained bent at the waist, not daring to lift his head and look directly at the pope's face.

"This matter is not your fault." Bibi Dong's voice remained indifferent, though it carried less chill than before. "Since Worship Hall intervened, it is only natural that you could not stop them. Leave."

"Thank you, Your Holiness!" The red bishop bowed deeply and backed out of the hall. Only when the palace doors closed behind him did he finally let out a long breath, realizing that cold sweat had already soaked through his back.