Zhao Wuji's Death, Bibi Dong's Malice

Not long after, Zhao Wuji woke from his dizziness.

When his vision refocused, he saw a Red Dragon charging straight at him with unmatched might.

In his haste, Zhao Wuji hurriedly unleashed his third soul skill, Gravity Enhancement, hoping the intensified gravity would restrain Qiangu Aoshi's movements and allow him to evade this fatal blow.

The suddenly increased gravity did indeed have some effect on Qiangu Aoshi.

His legs bent, shattering the floor beneath his feet. He exerted all his strength to soar into the air like an enraged dragon ascending to heaven, using gravity's downward pull to push the Red Dragon's might to its peak.

Zhao Wuji was not skilled in speed and could not dodge the Red Dragon at all. He could only watch helplessly as the Red Dragon swooping down from the sky rapidly filled his vision.

Boom!

The floor shattered, and dust billowed everywhere.

The Coiling Dragon Staff tore a huge hole through Zhao Wuji's body, churning his organs into a mass of pulp.

Zhao Wuji's lips trembled. Filled with intense unwillingness, the light faded from his eyes, and he fell backward, unable to die in peace.

Qiangu Aoshi had defeated Zhao Wuji alone.

Clusters of light burst forth from Zhao Wuji's corpse.

The Vigorous Vajra Bear martial soul!

And seven soul rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black!

As well as several hundred clusters of Soul Power!

Qiangu Aoshi was overjoyed. Absorbing Zhao Wuji's Soul Power clusters would be enough to raise his Soul Power by four to six ranks.

He stepped forward and absorbed the clusters of Soul Power into his body one after another.

Clap, clap, clap—

A burst of applause rang out as the Black Prison's manager said admiringly,

"Young Master Aoshi, your strength has grown again. With the cultivation of a Soul King, you defeated a six-ringed Soul Emperor, Zhao Wuji, overcoming the strong while weaker."

"As expected of the Coiling Dragon Staff martial soul, and as expected of the descendant of the Sixth and Seventh Worshippers."

Qiangu Aoshi had no time to listen to the Black Prison manager's flattery. The clusters of Soul Power darted around inside and outside his meridians like little mice.

"Zhao Wuji is dead. His martial soul and soul rings cannot be wasted. Handle them according to the usual rules."

The Black Prison manager nodded.

He had someone bring in a six-year-old child, one who had awakened a martial soul at the Spirit City Orphanage this year.

The Spirit City Orphanage took in mostly descendants of commoners whose villages and towns had been destroyed by fallen soul masters.

The vast majority of them could not inherit good martial souls. They had either sickles or hammers, either hoes or Blue Silver Grass... nothing but useless martial souls.

Ever since Qiangu Aoshi had awakened his martial soul, he had developed this line of business.

The martial souls and soul rings of executed fallen soul masters were given away—the martial souls to children from the orphanage who had awakened useless martial souls, and the soul rings for soul masters who had reached a Soul Power bottleneck to choose freely.

In short, martial souls, soul rings, and Soul Power were all put to use.

After entering, the child excitedly ran before Qiangu Aoshi, dropped to his knees, and banged his head against the floor three times.

To be granted a martial soul was no less than changing their fate against the heavens.

Sometimes, Qiangu Aoshi thought about how these children he granted martial souls to would grow up and spread throughout Spirit Hall's headquarters, as well as its various sacred halls, main halls, branch halls, and sub-halls.

In the future, he could directly build up his own faction.

He would call it the Eternal Gang.

That was getting ahead of himself. Qiangu Aoshi waved his hand.

"Go. Absorb the Vigorous Vajra Bear martial soul. Cultivate diligently in the future and become a pillar of Spirit Hall."

Someone would naturally deal with Zhao Wuji's corpse.

Qiangu Aoshi did not need to worry about anything afterward. He immediately left the Black Prison and returned to his courtyard to cultivate.

He circulated the Mysterious Heaven Skill he had obtained from Tang San, absorbing and refining the clusters of Soul Power running wild inside and outside his meridians.

Papal Hall!

Bibi Dong wore the Nine-Curve Purple-Gold Crown, a magnificent purple-gold gown, and held a platinum scepter.

Her slender, jade-white fingers held a dossier sent over from the Worship Hall. Every line in it sang Qiangu Aoshi's praises.

Most crucially, it stated that Qiangu Aoshi had broken Spirit Hall's record of ten thousand years by reaching Soul King at only twelve years old, and proposed establishing him as Spirit Hall's Holy Son.

The dossier had already been drafted. All that remained was for Bibi Dong to stamp it with the Pope of Spirit Hall's great seal, and the matter would become final.

But!

Would Bibi Dong place her seal upon it?

On her incomparably beautiful yet imposing oval face, her phoenix eyes were lowered, making it impossible for anyone to discern even a trace of emotion within them.

Bibi Dong's voice was pleasant to hear, but her words sent chills down one's spine.

"Heh, the Grand Worshipper has already retired, yet he remains so concerned with Spirit Hall's affairs. How admirable."

Her meaning was plain: she was accusing Qian Daoliu of retiring without truly stepping down, still trying to use his influence to interfere in Spirit Hall's affairs.

Bibi Dong dared to say such words, but Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan and Ghost Douluo Gui Mei, standing on either side, did not dare to hear them.

At that moment, they wished they could stab their own ears deaf.

That was the Grand Worshipper, Spirit Hall's foremost figure!

Invincible in the sky, his prestige had accumulated for more than a century. He was an unfathomably powerful Rank 99 Ultimate Douluo.

Bibi Dong tapped her index finger against the platinum scepter.

"Qiangu Aoshi is a genius rarely seen in a century. Becoming a five-ringed Soul King at merely twelve years old only proves that his cultivation talent is exceptional."

"The position of Spirit Hall's Holy Son carries immense authority and stands below only myself. It cannot be bestowed lightly."

"Qiangu Aoshi is too young, his temperament is unstable, and he has no achievements to his name. If he is established as Spirit Hall's Holy Son, I fear everyone in Spirit Hall will be unconvinced and thus question Spirit Hall's leadership."

"The Grand Worshipper's intentions are good, but he has been detached from Spirit Hall's lower and middle ranks for too long. He actually believes that the position of Spirit Hall's Holy Son can be given to whomever he pleases with a single word."

Yue Guan and Gui Mei watched their noses, and their noses watched their hearts. They said nothing, as though they had not heard Bibi Dong's words.

How could they dare respond?

Bibi Dong was calling Qian Daoliu a muddleheaded old fool.

Other than pretending to be deaf, they did not dare say a single word.

Bibi Dong swiftly wrote her instructions on the dossier, then tossed it to Yue Guan.

"Yue Guan, send the dossier back to the Worship Hall."

Holding the dossier bearing Bibi Dong's instructions, Yue Guan's legs went weak. He cautiously asked,

"Your Holiness, will you truly not reconsider? After all, this is the Grand Worshipper's intention!"

The authority on Bibi Dong's beautiful face grew heavier. She raised her scepter and struck the ground. A ripple spread outward, and the pressure of her Soul Power forced both Yue Guan and Gui Mei to bend at the waist.

"Yue Guan, I am Spirit Hall's Pope. The Grand Worshipper need only focus on his cultivation. I have far more matters to consider."

Yue Guan's eye twitched. He respectfully took the dossier and withdrew.

He was merely an employee. Once he delivered the dossier to the Worship Hall, he would leave. In any case, this was Bibi Dong's decision.

As Bibi Dong watched Yue Guan's back gradually disappear, her five jade-white fingers tightened, leaving faint indentations on the platinum scepter.

That old bastard wants to use Qiangu Aoshi to divide my authority. I already have Spirit Hall completely in my grasp. If I do not nod, do not dream of taking the position of Holy Son from me.