Qian Daoliu 2

"By the rules, the Holy Son's status is equivalent to that of an elder. He need not bow when meeting the Grand Consecrated Elder."

Qian Daoliu's gaze turned faintly cold.

"That applies to a Holy Son who follows the rules. You spread cultivation arts without authorization and disrupted Spirit Hall's cultivation system. Do you call that following the rules?"

"Does the Grand Consecrated Elder think the Martial God Body Refinement Art is useless?"

"It is useful, but it should only remain in the hands of the upper ranks."

Qian Daoliu's eyes darkened.

"Spirit Hall needs rules. Those above hold the core methods, while those below obey orders. You made the cultivation art public, and the thoughts of the lower-ranking soul masters have grown wild. Once they believe this path can work, who will still revere the elders? Who will still revere the Hall of Consecrated Elders?"

Su Chen smiled.

"Grand Consecrated Elder, does reverence come from hoarding things for yourselves?"

"Reverence comes from an insurmountable gap in strength."

"Exactly. It comes from strength. If Spirit Hall's lower ranks grow stronger, then Spirit Hall as a whole grows stronger. When danger comes, there will be more people able to fight with their lives on the line."

Su Chen took a step forward and stared directly into Qian Daoliu's eyes.

"As for the upper ranks being surpassed by the lower ranks, that only means the upper ranks failed to improve themselves. They don't dare let others learn because they fear others will surpass them after learning. That is a coward's way of thinking. Could it be that the mighty Grand Consecrated Elder of Spirit Hall is afraid as well?"

Qian Daoliu's face darkened.

"Insolence!"

The air within the hall abruptly froze.

An invisible pressure surged in from every direction, bearing down directly on Su Chen.

The pressure of a Peerless Douluo.

No Soul Rings appeared, nor did he possess his martial soul.

Su Chen remained standing without moving.

The Supreme Guidance Art began circulating through his body on its own. Spiritual energy flowed through the twelve primary meridians, gradually drawing away the oppressive sensation flooding into his body and dispersing it into the ground.

A flicker of surprise passed through Qian Daoliu's eyes.

Six years old.

Merely a Soul Scholar.

Yet he had not been forced to his knees.

"To withstand this old man's aura, no wonder the Pope dared to place her bet on you."

Qian Daoliu rose to his feet.

"However, this little ability alone is not enough to support the position of Holy Son."

Dazzling golden light erupted from Qian Daoliu's body.

The phantom of the Six-Winged Angel martial soul emerged in the air, its twelve wings slowly spreading open.

Boundless pressure transformed into a pillar of golden light that descended directly over Su Chen's head.

Angel Divine Light.

This was the inherited power unique to the Angel Clan.

Qian Daoliu did not intend to kill him.

As long as Su Chen lowered his head, the Holy Son's arrogance would shatter, and the prestige brought by Martial God Hall would become a joke before the Hall of Consecrated Elders.

The golden light pressed down.

Su Chen felt his shoulders sink slightly. This power was far stronger than the soul power he normally sensed, carrying a mountain-like pressure.

More terrifyingly, the golden light contained an intent that made people want to kneel and submit.

Countless voices whispered by his ears, chanting a sacred name and urging him to bow in worship.

Su Chen did not close his eyes.

He stared directly at the golden light, sending his spiritual power upward along the pillar.

This power was immense.

But it was far too mixed.

Chaotic thoughts ran rampant, filled with selfish desires.

[Ding!]

[Observing Angel Divine Power, Faith Poison has been detected.]

[Combining the principle of pure yang with the origin of the sword path, enlightenment successful.]

[Self-created method: Great Sun Tathagata Sword Intent]

An illusory golden sun rose within Su Chen's sea of consciousness.

Pure.

Overbearing.

Without the slightest trace of distracting thoughts.

The spiritual energy in Su Chen's body instantly reversed, transforming into scorching sword intent that surged out through his meridians.

A faint golden halo spread around Su Chen.

The halo was not dazzling.

Yet it forcibly pushed Qian Daoliu's Angel Divine Light back by an inch.

Qian Daoliu's pupils abruptly contracted.

"How is that possible?"

Angel Divine Light was power left behind by a god.

Not to mention a Soul Scholar with only a dozen or so levels of soul power—even a Title Douluo could only be suppressed before divine light.

Yet not only had Su Chen not knelt, the golden light around him was even purer than Angel Divine Light!

Su Chen raised his head.

"Grand Consecrated Elder, is this the Angel Godhood you take such pride in?"

Qian Daoliu stared at Su Chen.

"What do you know? This is a god's gift!"

"A god? A gift?"

Su Chen shook his head.

"I see poison."

Qian Daoliu's expression changed drastically.

"You dare insult the Angel God!"

The golden light surged again, and the floor of the hall trembled with it.

Su Chen still did not take a step back.

"I am merely speaking the truth."

"There are too many distracting thoughts within this divine light."

"That is the power of faith from countless believers!"

"Which is precisely why it is poison."

Su Chen's tone remained calm.

"When believers pray to gods, they pray for safety, wealth, and revenge. Every time they bow, their hearts are filled with greed and selfish desire. How many truly revere the gods themselves?"

"You absorb all that greed and selfish desire into your body and treat it as the source of your power."

"Grand Consecrated Elder, do you think that is a god, or a bin for collecting trash?"

Qian Daoliu froze where he stood.

"Nonsense... Faith is the foundation of gods! Without faith, how could godhood remain stable?"

"The foundation?"

Su Chen pointed at the angel phantom in the air.

"If power is obtained through the bows of others, then if people stop bowing one day, would the gods fall from their divine altars? Can gods held hostage by their believers even be called gods?"

"True light is the sun in the sky. The sun shines upon people not because it wants them to bow, but because the sun itself hangs there. Whether people bow or not, the light remains."

"You regard godhood as so lofty that you would even give up your lives to inherit it. Yet in the end, you do not even understand what light truly is."

"You willingly become slaves to a group of believers, yet still believe it is the highest glory."

The hall fell silent.

The golden light in the air fluctuated violently.

The fury on Qian Daoliu's face froze, replaced by shock he could not conceal.

Faith Poison.

Slaves to believers.

Those words had directly exposed the deepest secret of the Six-Winged Angel Clan.

For thousands of years, they had offered worship. For thousands of years, they had obsessed over the Angel Godhood. For the Angel inheritance, Qian Daoliu had long been prepared to sacrifice his life at any moment.

Qian Daoliu had cultivated to become a Peerless Douluo, so he was naturally no fool.

He had long noticed the chaotic thoughts mixed within Angel Divine Power. Each time he used that divine power, he had to expend mental energy suppressing those disorderly thoughts.

So that was not a god's trial.

It was the poison brought by faith.

The golden light slowly dissipated.

The hall returned to its original lighting.

Qian Daoliu sat back down in his chair, seeming to have aged considerably.

He looked at the boy beneath the steps with a complicated expression.

Six years old.

He had merely stood beneath divine light and glanced at it, yet he had seen through the secret the Six-Winged Angel Clan had guarded for thousands of years.

Even the pure sword intent emanating from him was closer to true light than Angel Divine Power.

Qian Daoliu let out a long sigh.

"What is the golden light on your body?"

"Sword intent."

Su Chen withdrew his aura.

"Great Sun Tathagata Sword Intent."

"You saw through it just now as well?"

"I thought the divine light was too muddled, so I casually came up with a pure method."

The corner of Qian Daoliu's eye twitched violently.

Casually.

Again, casually.

Creating a cultivation art was casual. Seeing through the flaws of godhood was casual. And now, even this sword intent, pure to the extreme, had been created casually.

Qian Daoliu remained silent for a long time.

He had originally summoned Su Chen to suppress the Papal Hall's momentum and warn this young man, who was currently in the spotlight, not to overstep his boundaries.

But now.

A trace of apprehension arose in Qian Daoliu's heart.

It was not merely apprehension toward talent.

It was the instinctive reverence one felt when facing someone capable of seeing through the rules, and even reshaping them.

Whether Spirit Hall having such a person was a blessing or a disaster, he did not know.

But one thing was certain.

This boy's path was far broader than that of the Six-Winged Angel.

"Grand Consecrated Elder, is there anything else?"

Su Chen clapped his hands.

"If there is nothing else, I am going back to eat lunch."

Qian Daoliu looked at Su Chen and waved his hand.

"Go back."

"The Hall of Consecrated Elders will no longer interfere in Martial God Hall's affairs."

Su Chen nodded.

"Thank you."

With that, he turned and walked toward the doors of the hall.

Just as he was about to reach the entrance, Qian Daoliu suddenly spoke.

"Su Chen."

Su Chen stopped and looked back.

"Does the Grand Consecrated Elder have any further guidance?"

"If one day Spirit Hall faces a crisis of destruction, what would you do?"

Su Chen thought for a moment.

"If someone dares touch my rice bowl, I will smash their pot."

Qian Daoliu was stunned for a moment, then helplessly shook his head.

The answer sounded crude, but it was more practical than any lofty declaration.

"Go."

Su Chen stepped through the hall doors with light footsteps.

Inside the hall, Qian Daoliu looked at the empty doorway and murmured softly.

"The Papal Hall really picked up an incredible monster."

Outside the Hall of Consecrated Elders, Golden Crocodile Douluo had been waiting beside the steps.

When he saw Su Chen walk out completely unharmed, with not even his clothes in disarray, Golden Crocodile Douluo's face filled with astonishment.

"Did the Grand Consecrator not keep you?"

Su Chen stopped and glanced at Golden Crocodile Douluo.

"He did."

"Then how..."

"We chatted about a few trivial matters. The Grand Consecrator thought I made sense, so he let me come back to eat."

Golden Crocodile Douluo watched Su Chen's retreating figure, finding it somewhat unreal.

That was a Peerless Douluo.

Even the Pope usually had to avoid his edge, yet today he had let a six-year-old child walk out so easily.

Golden Crocodile Douluo hurried into the main hall.

"Big Brother, you're just letting him leave?"

Qian Daoliu sat above, his expression already calm again.

"From now on, let the younger generation handle the affairs of the Papal Hall themselves."

"Big Brother, you mean... we won't interfere in Martial God Hall's affairs?"

"Not just Martial God Hall."

Qian Daoliu closed his eyes.

"From now on, no one in the Hall of Consecrated Elders is permitted to touch Su Chen's position as Holy Son again."

Golden Crocodile Douluo was filled with confusion, but could only lower his head and comply.

"Yes."