The Pope's Death

The moment Qian Xunyi set foot in Spirit City, the atmosphere was already heavy and oppressive. Pedestrians along the road were observing a silent mourning.

He raised his head and looked toward the Papal Hall halfway up the mountain. It was draped entirely in white mourning cloth.

Qian Xunyi led the three great generals of the Body Camp up the mountain.

Passing through the Papal Hall, he found it empty, with only a handful of Hall Guard Knights standing watch.

Qian Xunji's funeral was not being held here.

Generally speaking, when a Title Douluo of Spirit Hall fell, their funeral was held in the Hall of Douluo.

Qian Xunyi headed toward the Hall of Douluo.

The Hall of Douluo was much more crowded.

The elders of the Papal Hall, the worshippers of the Worship Hall, and Spirit Hall's upper echelon had all gathered here.

Dressed in white robes, they stood in rows along both sides, candles in hand, heads lowered as they silently prayed for Qian Xunji.

At the front of the hall, Qian Xunji's coffin rested in the center. Qian Daoliu stood beside it in white robes, grief written across his face.

Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue wore white mourning robes and white headbands, praying sorrowfully for Qian Xunji.

Qian Xunyi changed into mourning clothes as well.

"Brother Ji..." A grief-stricken voice drew everyone's attention within the Hall of Douluo.

"I came too late, Brother Ji. Yi'er has come to pay his respects..." Qian Xunyi cried as he ran inside.

"Yi'er." Seeing his other son, the grief in Qian Daoliu's heart eased somewhat. "You're back. It's good that you're back."

Qian Xunyi, clad in mourning clothes, hurried all the way to Qian Xunji's coffin and offered incense.

Qian Xunyi looked at Qian Xunji's coffin and asked, "Sister-in-law, how did my brother die?"

Bibi Dong knelt to one side, covering her face as she wept. "Big Ji went to hunt a Hundred-Thousand-Year Transformed Soul Beast beside Tang Hao in order to obtain a Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring for me. Who would have thought that the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast would sacrifice itself to Tang Hao? Big Ji, he..."

"What happened to him?" Qian Xunyi asked.

"He was severely injured by Tang Hao. Not long after returning, he died with hatred in his heart," Bibi Dong explained through her tears.

"Is that so?" Qian Xunyi looked toward Qian Daoliu.

Qian Daoliu let out a sigh and nodded.

"Hmph. Those rats of the Clear Sky Sect—I'll settle this score with you before long," Qian Xunyi said bitterly.

"Wuwuwu... I'll definitely avenge Father," Qian Renxue said through tears.

As she spoke, she summoned her Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul.

Yellow, purple, purple, and red—four Soul Rings circled around Qian Renxue.

She swung the Angel Sword in her hand resentfully, looking as though she were ready to avenge Qian Xunji.

When they saw that Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring, Bibi Dong froze. Qian Daoliu froze. Every elder and worshipper present froze as well.

Qian Renxue had exceeded her limits in absorbing Soul Rings from her very first ring, but it had never been this outrageous. Yet the blood-red fourth ring made everyone present feel as if they were dreaming.

Forget a fourth Soul Ring that was a hundred thousand years old—even a ten-thousand-year fourth Soul Ring would have been a world-shaking achievement.

"Xue'er, your fourth Soul Ring?" Qian Daoliu could not help asking.

"Grandfather, I..." Qian Renxue was just about to explain when Qian Daoliu shook his head. "Put away your Martial Soul. We'll talk after the funeral."

At the side, although Bibi Dong still maintained her performance as a virtuous wife and mother, her hands had already clenched her mourning robes tightly.

Damn it. She had only just begun planning to prepare a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring for her ninth ring. Why did this bastard get a Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring for her fourth ring?

How had she done it?

The prayer ceremony continued until the latter half of the night. As if deliberately, Qian Daoliu signaled with his eyes, and the elders and worshippers gradually left.

After he and Qian Renxue kept watch for a while longer, he said to Bibi Dong and Qian Xunyi, "Xue'er is tired. I'll take her back."

With that, he picked up Qian Renxue and left. Only Qian Xunyi and Bibi Dong remained in the Hall of Douluo.

Qian Xunyi rose to his feet and walked to Qian Xunji's coffin, his gaze turning cold as he looked at Bibi Dong.

"Sister-in-law, I'll ask you one more time. How did my brother die?"

Bibi Dong wept as she explained, repeating the same story from before.

"Hmph." Qian Xunyi snorted coldly. Suddenly exerting force with his hand, he pushed open the coffin lid. Looking at the cold corpse inside and sensing the aura emanating from it, he cast a chilling sideways glance at Bibi Dong.

"You're saying the wounds from spider spears on Brother Ji's body, as well as the Spider Empress Venom, were inflicted by that crude brute Tang Hao who carries the Clear Sky Hammer?"

"Bibi Dong, the old man may be willing to turn a blind eye, but that does not mean I am."

Seeing that her actions had been exposed, Bibi Dong no longer intended to conceal anything. She looked at Qian Xunyi with hatred and said, "That's right. I killed that beast Qian Xunji. Not only him—your entire Angel Clan deserves to die."

From dozens of meters away, Qian Xunyi clenched his hand around empty air.

At once, Bibi Dong felt an invisible hand seize her throat.

To an outsider, a ring of purplish-gold Soul Power had appeared around Bibi Dong's neck.

"Urgh... urgh..." Her neck was tightly constricted, making it difficult for Bibi Dong to breathe.

Bibi Dong struggled desperately, thrashing with both hands and feet. Even the eight spider spears extending from her back furiously attacked that purplish-gold Soul Power.

Qian Xunyi raised his hand, and Bibi Dong's body was lifted off the ground.

At that moment, Bibi Dong once again felt a deep sense of powerlessness.

The first time she had felt such helplessness was when she encountered Qian Xunji in the secret chamber.

Later, hatred had become her driving force. More than ten years of cultivation had made her a Soul Douluo. When she faced Qian Xunji again, she no longer felt that same powerless inability to resist. Even if Qian Xunji had not drunk that bowl of poison, even if he had not been severely wounded by Tang Hao, Bibi Dong believed that if they fought to the death, even if she died, she could still make Qian Xunji pay a terrible price.

The gap between them was no longer so obvious.

Yet now, she felt that same powerlessness again in the face of Qian Xunyi.

Qian Xunyi grabbed Bibi Dong by the throat, then flung her away with force. Her body flew backward and smashed into the wall, cracking the wall behind her like a spiderweb.

Bibi Dong slid down under the pull of gravity, blood flowing from the corner of her mouth. She glared at Qian Xunyi with hatred and transformed into her hideous Martial Soul Avatar—

"I'll fight you to the death—"

With that, she charged at Qian Xunyi. As she rushed forward, her Soul Rings emerged.

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black—eight Soul Rings surrounded Bibi Dong.

"Since when did an insect dare to be so arrogant?" Qian Xunyi did not even activate his Martial Soul. He simply struck out with one hand, and his Soul Power transformed into a giant palm that slammed into Bibi Dong's Death Spider Emperor True Body.

She was sent flying once more, crashing heavily into the wall.

Bibi Dong felt as though she were a blood bag, bursting the instant she struck the wall.

The white wall behind her was splattered with her blood and the liquid produced by the exploded Death Spider Emperor formed from her Soul Power.

Just like a Bursting Spider.