Building Merit, Capturing Tang Hao

Qiangu Aoshi woke up three days later.

He opened his eyes, and a powerful aura suddenly erupted before quickly settling back down.

"Level 58 soul power..."

The soul power orb that had dropped from Zhao Wuji had raised his soul power by five levels. It would not be long before he could absorb his sixth soul ring.

"Master, you're awake. Would you like something to eat first?"

It was Zhu Zhuqing.

She had been drawn over by the aura Qiangu Aoshi had just released.

Zhu Zhuqing was not wearing her usual tight leather battle attire. Instead, she wore a casual purple dress, her hair pinned up. She had lost some of a young girl's youthful vitality and gained a married woman's radiant allure.

Qiangu Aoshi's Adam's apple bobbed as he activated Crane Control, Dragon Capture. An invisible force wrapped around Zhu Zhuqing and pulled her into his arms.

Zhu Zhuqing gave a little cry, and the pastries and fruit on her tray flew into the air.

Qiangu Aoshi raised a hand and grabbed. The force of Crane Control, Dragon Capture gathered the pastries and fruit back onto the tray, which he casually set aside.

He spoke bluntly. "I don't want to eat. I want to pet the cat."

Petting a cat meant petting it from head to tail. Once the kitty was thoroughly pleased, her soft, pale belly would be exposed.

He buried his face against that soft, pale belly and inhaled deeply, taking great lungfuls...

Ah, premium stuff straight to the lungs!

Only after petting her for two straight hours did Qiangu Aoshi reach for the pastries and fruit, taking a bite of pastry followed by a bite of fruit to restore his strength.

Zhu Zhuqing was so immersed in the pleasure of being petted that she could not pull herself free. After she finally recovered a little, she immediately said in a hoarse voice:

"Master, while you were cultivating, First Father and Second Father sent someone over. It seemed they had urgent business with you."

Qiangu Aoshi was somewhat surprised. Could it be that the matter of appointing him Holy Son had been settled so quickly?

He patted the big kitty. "Rest well. I'll come back to see you later."

Qiangu Aoshi pulled up his pants, got dressed, washed his face, and set out for the Consecration Hall.

A short while later, at the Consecration Hall!

After arriving, Qiangu Aoshi found that the atmosphere in the Consecration Hall was somewhat off today.

Qian Daoliu's usually gentle face was clouded. Only upon seeing Qiangu Aoshi did his expression ease slightly.

"So Aoshi has come."

"Bibi Dong rejected the matter of appointing you Holy Son. Her reason was that you are too young and have no merits."

"Hmph!"

"Jealous of talent and ability! When my son Qian Xunji appointed her Holy Maiden, did she have any merits at all?"

Qian Daoliu was somewhat angry. He was an upright gentleman. Although gentlemen sometimes remained silent—such as when he had not stopped Qian Xunji from violating Bibi Dong—they never actively did anything against their conscience.

"Bibi Dong has truly disappointed me. Back then, I overruled all objections and allowed her, an outsider, to ascend to the position of Pope because I valued her talent and ability. I wanted her to stabilize Spirit Hall until Xue'er grew up."

"But now, Bibi Dong has begun suppressing dissidents and envying the talented. She has turned Spirit Hall into a one-woman dictatorship."

"If Xue'er had returned and there were someone capable of replacing Bibi Dong, I would convene the Elders' Council and strip her of her position as Pope right now."

The other consecrated elders were also furious. A matter they had unanimously approved had been vetoed by Bibi Dong.

They could indeed dismiss Bibi Dong, but as long as she remained Pope, Qiangu Aoshi would need Bibi Dong's approval to become Holy Son.

Qiangu Aoshi was extremely displeased. In truth, he did not care much about becoming Holy Son.

But Bibi Dong had disgusted him, so he naturally had to disgust Bibi Dong properly in return.

"Uncle Angel, since the Pope says I have no merits, then I will earn some."

"I'll leave the Pope with nothing to say."

"When I was outside absorbing a soul ring last time, I encountered a boy named Tang San. He has a father named Tang Hao, a blacksmith from Holy Soul Village."

"I find this suspicious. I request permission to lead a team to investigate. If that Tang Hao is the culprit who severely injured the former Pope, then once we capture Tang Hao and bring him back, this merit should be enough to appoint me Holy Son, right?"

"The former Pope had nurtured the current Pope, yet the Pope has allowed the culprit who severely injured the former Pope to roam free for all these years."

Qiangu Aoshi raised a clenched fist.

"As long as I lead the team and capture Tang Hao, what excuse will the Pope have left to veto my appointment as Holy Son?"

Something flickered in Qian Daoliu's eyes, but he did not let anyone see it.

He knew exactly how his son, Qian Xunji, had died.

Although Tang Hao had severely injured Qian Xunji, Qian Xunji had actually died at Bibi Dong's hands.

Qian Daoliu was a Level 99 Limit Douluo. Yet when he had pursued Tang Hao, he had still allowed him to escape. It was clear that he had never truly wanted revenge on Tang Hao.

Times had changed.

Back then, he had not truly wanted revenge on Tang Hao, so he had let Tang Hao off the hook.

Now, he would let Qiangu Aoshi capture Tang Hao, establish merit, be appointed Holy Son, and pave the way for Xue'er's eventual return to Spirit Hall.

Qian Daoliu immediately agreed, looking at Qiangu Aoshi with expectation.

"Good. Since Aoshi has such resolve and is willing to earn merit for Spirit Hall, I will naturally support you with all my strength."

"Tang Hao consorted with soul beasts and murdered my son, the former Pope of Spirit Hall. His crimes are unforgivable. The fact that he has roamed free for so many years is Bibi Dong's failure of duty."

"Even when hunting a rabbit, a lion uses its full strength."

"I must remain stationed at Douluo Hall. Golden Crocodile, Azure Luan, Lion, Light Feather, Thousand Jun, Demon Subduing, accompany Aoshi on this trip."

"Since Aoshi brought back this lead, Aoshi will be in charge this time. Aside from capturing Tang Hao, you must also heed Aoshi's advice in ordinary matters."

Golden Crocodile and the others all understood that this was meant to establish Qiangu Aoshi's prestige. As his uncles, they had long stopped caring about empty fame. They had no objections whatsoever to using their reputations to pave the way for Qiangu Aoshi.

Thousand Jun and Demon Subduing were even more delighted. This was about paving the way for their son. What objections could they possibly have as fathers?

That very day, word spread from the Consecration Hall.

Qiangu Aoshi had brought back a clue concerning Tang Hao. The next day, he would lead a team out to investigate and capture Tang Hao.

With the Consecration Hall fanning the flames, the news quickly spread throughout Spirit Hall like wildfire.

This was building momentum!

Once enough momentum had been built, Bibi Dong would have no room to make further remarks!

When Bibi Dong learned the news, she snorted coldly. Tang Hao had hidden for so many years. How could he possibly be found so easily?

The higher Qiangu Aoshi was being praised now, the harder he would fall if he failed to produce Tang Hao in the future.

When the next day arrived.

The capture team assembled: Qiangu Aoshi, Zhu Zhuqing, Golden Crocodile, Azure Luan, Lion, Light Feather, Thousand Jun, and Demon Subduing, along with eight red-clad bishops and sixteen black-clad bishops. The grand procession departed Spirit Hall.

Along the way, Qiangu Aoshi was already wondering whether absorbing all the soul power Tang Hao dropped could let him break through to Soul Sage, or even Soul Douluo.