Golden Dragon

Wang Qiu'er stood in the center of the Spirit Hall assessment main hall, looking expressionlessly at the two dumbfounded assessment personnel in front of her.

Golden long hair fell to her waist, glowing with a dazzling luster in the sunlight pouring down from the dome skylight. Her red eyes were deep and calm, like two pools of water without bottom. Her figure was tall and slender, and at the age of twelve, she was already half a head taller than her peers, standing there with an indescribable temperament of her own—not arrogance, not detachment, but a kind of innate majesty that made people dare not look down on her.

The two assessment personnel had just been chatting idly, discussing what to eat for lunch today. One said he wanted to eat braised pork, and the one said he had gotten fat recently and should eat less. Then they took Wang Qiu'er's application form, glanced at it, and froze in unison.

Wang Qiu'er.

Twelve years old.

Spirit: Golden Dragon.

Forty-second-rank Soul Ancestor.

The main hall was silent for a full ten breaths.

"Fo... forty-second rank?" The assessment personnel on the left swallowed a mouthful of saliva, his voice distorting, "Twelve years old? Forty-second rank? Golden Dragon?"

The assessment personnel on the right didn't speak; he just stared at the application form, stared at those few lines of words, stared at that number that made him doubt his life. He had been doing assessment work for twenty years and had seen countless geniuses, but a twelve-year-old Soul Ancestor—was this a talent a human could possess?

"Spirit..." He looked again, "Golden Dragon. The legendary ancient true dragon... it seems to be an even more powerful existence than the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon..."

His voice grew softer and softer until he completely lost his voice.

The two looked at each other and saw the same thing in each other's eyes: shock, then wild joy, and then vigilance.

Vigilance against each other.

The assessment personnel on the left took the lead, squeezing out what he thought was his most amiable smile: "Little girl, do you have any interest in entering the Papal Hall?"

He took a deep breath, trying hard to make his voice sound more persuasive: "I dare say you will become a Saintess. Really, with your talent, the pope will definitely cultivate you personally, and the position of future pope is not entirely out of the question—"

"Bullshit!"

The assessment personnel on the right directly interrupted him. He stepped forward, pushing his colleague aside, his face piled with an even more amiable smile.

"Little girl, don't listen to his nonsense. What's so good about the Papal Hall? There are too many rules and restrictions, and going there just means being used as a tool for others." He lowered his voice, leaning closer to Wang Qiu'er, "Come to our Hall of Enshrined. Our Hall of Enshrined is the true core of Spirit Hall, personally overseen by the first enshrined, senior Qian Daoliu, a ninety-ninth-rank Limit Douluo. Moreover—"

He paused, the smile on his face deepening.

"We have a senior in our Hall of Enshrined. While his spirit definitely cannot compare to yours, it is an existence of the same origin as yours. Golden Crocodile King, ninety-eighth-rank Super Douluo, Golden Crocodile Douluo. Having him teach you is definitely the best choice. Your Golden Dragon and his Golden Crocodile King both belong to true dragon descendants with interconnected bloodlines, and he can definitely unearth all your potential."

"The Papal Hall!"

"The Hall of Enshrined!"

The two spoke more and more excitedly, face-to-face, eyes glaring, saliva almost spraying onto each other's faces.

"The Papal Hall has more resources!"

"The Hall of Enshrined has a deeper foundation!"

"The Papal Hall has the pope to personally teach!"

"The Hall of Enshrined has the great enshrined overseeing!"

"You—"

"You—"

The two were at daggers drawn, looking as if they were about to fight.

Wang Qiu'er stood to the side, watching this farce expressionlessly.

She said nothing and did nothing, just quietly standing there like an exquisite yet emotionless sculpture.

Finally, the two assessment personnel remembered that there was still the main guest present.

They turned their heads simultaneously, smiles piling on their faces.

"Please wait a moment."

With that, the two looked at each other and saw hostility in each other's eyes. Then they turned around simultaneously and sprinted out, one to the left and one to the right, to fetch people from their respective factions.

The main hall fell silent.

Wang Qiu'er stood in place, raising her head to look at the dome's skylight. Sunlight poured down from there, landing on her face and illuminating those red eyes to make them even deeper.

She saw dust dancing in that beam of sunlight, fine and dense like countless golden elves.

She watched for a moment, lowered her head, and continued to wait.

The people from the Papal Hall arrived faster.

The main hall doors were pushed open, and a figure walked in.

Wang Qiu'er's gaze fell upon that figure.

It was a woman. She was not tall, yet she gave off a feeling that required one to look up to her. A bright golden long dress reached from head to toe, tailored exquisitely to perfectly outline her slender waist and elegant curves. Dazzling precious light flickered over the gorgeous dress, which was inlaid with over a hundred red, blue, and gold gems, every single one of which was worth a city.

Atop her head rested the Nine-Curve Purple-Gold Crown, purple-gold light circulating to set off her entire person as even more noble and inviolable. In her hand, she held a scepter about two meters long, inlaid with countless gems; at the top of the scepter was a red gem the size of a fist, within which fire seemed to burn.

She stood there, saying nothing and doing nothing, and the air throughout the entire main hall seemed to freeze.

Bibi Dong.

The current pope of Spirit Hall.

Wang Qiu'er looked at her, her gaze as calm as water.

Bibi Dong was also sizing up this girl.

Golden long hair, red eyes, a tall and slender figure. Standing there, she looked like a straight tree, yet also like a sword not yet drawn from its scabbard but already revealing its sharp edge.

She was just about to speak—

"Your Holiness the Pope, hold on."

An aged and sonorous voice came from outside the hall doors.

The hall doors were pushed open once more, and another figure walked in.

It was an old man.

His figure was exceptionally burly with knotted muscles, like a moving iron tower. A golden robe draped over him should have appeared solemn and dignified, but it was stretched taut by his sheer muscles, instead exuding a fierce aura.

Behind him floated a huge, ferocious avatar—the Golden Crocodile King.

The crocodile king's body was a full dozen meters long, covered entirely in golden scales, with each scale flashing metallic luster. Its massive jaws were open to reveal terrifying fangs, and a pair of vertical pupils coldly stared straight ahead.

Behind him, a huge tail dragged on the ground, covered completely in scales and spikes, capable of grinding everything to powder with a gentle sweep.

At the old man's feet, nine soul rings slowly rose.

Two yellows, two purples, four blacks, one red.

Nine soul rings.

Titled Douluo.

That red hundred-thousand-year soul ring shone brilliantly in the sunlight, radiating a pressure that made all living things tremble.

Golden Crocodile Douluo.

The second enshrined of the Hall of Enshrined, a ninety-eighth-rank Super Douluo. Spirit: Golden Crocodile King, a top-tier spirit rumored to contain a trace of true dragon bloodline.

He looked at Bibi Dong, his gaze calm yet carrying a trace of an elusive hostility.

Bibi Dong looked at him, the corners of her mouth lifting slightly to reveal a meaningful smile.

At her feet, nine soul rings similarly rose.

Yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black, red.

Ninety-ninth-rank Limit Douluo.

One of the pinnacle existences standing atop the entire continent.

Two nine-ringed Titled Douluos stood facing each other, two massive pressures colliding and intertwining within the main hall, making the air grow thick. Those gems inlaid upon Bibi Dong's dress began to tremble slightly, and the Golden Crocodile King avatar behind Golden Crocodile Douluo emitted a low roar.

Just as the two were about to make a move—

"Enough."

A voice came from outside the hall doors.

The voice was very old and very plain, but it was like a basin of cold water poured down, instantly dissipating the daggers-drawn atmosphere in the main hall.

Qian Daoliu walked in.

His pace was very slow and very steady, like an ordinary old man taking a post-meal stroll. No soul rings lit up on his body, and no pressure was released; he simply walked in, as casual as walking into his own backyard.

Yet the moment he appeared, Bibi Dong and Golden Crocodile Douluo simultaneously restrained their auras.

The great enshrined.

The true stabilizing pillar of Spirit Hall.

A ninety-ninth-rank Limit Douluo, holder of the God-rank spirit Six-Winged Angel Spirit, one of the oldest and most powerful existences on this continent.

Qian Daoliu walked between the two, glancing at Bibi Dong and then at Golden Crocodile Douluo.

"You two," he said, his voice very plain, "if you fight here, not to mention whether this Hall of Enshrined beneath your feet will remain."

He paused, his gaze falling upon Wang Qiu'er standing to the side.

"Even this girl won't survive."

Bibi Dong was silent for an instant, retracting the aura from her body.

Golden Crocodile Douluo also stepped back, and the Golden Crocodile King avatar slowly dissipated.

Qian Daoliu walked up to Wang Qiu'er and lowered his head to look at her.

Within those cloudy, vicissitudes-of-life eyes, a trace of complex light flickered at this moment.

"I am the great enshrined of the Hall of Enshrined, Qian Daoliu," he said. "I guarantee that no one here can force you. Whether it is the Papal Hall or the Hall of Enshrined, whichever one you want to join, you will join."

He paused.

"You choose for yourself."

Wang Qiu'er raised her head and looked at this old man.

Her gaze fell upon his face, upon his cloudy eyes, and upon his graying hair.

Then her gaze crossed past him, landing behind him.

Landing on that golden thread.

It was a thread that only she could see. It extended from the top of Qian Daoliu's head toward the distance, piercing through the walls of the main hall, piercing through the layers of halls within Spirit Hall, and stretching all the way to some unseen place.

The end of that thread was connected to a rose-gold light.

She was very familiar with that light.

From the moment she arrived in Spirit City, she had sensed its existence. It was calling to her, guiding her, telling her—walk this way, walk this way, walk this way.

She did not know what it was.

Yet she trusted it.

"The Hall of Enshrined," she said.

Qian Daoliu was slightly startled.

He hadn't expected this girl to answer so simply. No hesitation, no thought, not even taking a second glance at Bibi Dong—she chose just like that.

"Why?" he asked.

Wang Qiu'er looked at him without answering.

She simply looked at that golden thread, at that rose-gold light, and at that unspeakable guidance that had led her all the way here.

Qian Daoliu glanced along her line of sight, seeing nothing.

Yet he seemed to understand something.

He smiled.

Fate once more?

The smile was very faint and very light, yet carried a hint of profound meaning.

"Good," he said. "Then the Hall of Enshrined it is."

He turned around and glanced at Golden Crocodile Douluo.

"This child is handed over to you."

Golden Crocodile Douluo nodded, his gaze falling upon Wang Qiu'er with a trace of satisfaction and anticipation.

Golden Dragon.

One of the noblest bloodlines among true dragon descendants.

Having him teach her could not be more appropriate.

Bibi Dong stood in place, watching this scene unfold. No expression existed on her face, save for the depths of those eyes, where a trace of imperceptible gloom flashed.

She said nothing more.

She turned around and walked out of the hall.

The bright golden skirt hem dragged on the ground, emitting a soft, rustling sound. The scepter inlaid with countless gems was held within her hand, trembling slightly before calming down once more.

The hall doors slowly closed behind her.

Wang Qiu'er stood in place, watching her leave.

Then she withdrew her gaze and looked at the burly old man before her.

Golden Crocodile Douluo was also looking at her.

"Golden Dragon," he said, his voice low and carrying a hint of a smile. "I haven't seen this spirit in many years."

He reached out a hand and pointed outside the doors.

"Let's go, I'll take you to the Hall of Enshrined. There is a courtyard there that will be yours from now on."

Wang Qiu'er nodded, following behind him as she walked out of the hall.

When she reached the doorway, she suddenly stopped and turned back.

She looked into the depths of the main hall, looking at the beam of sunlight pouring down from the skylight, and at the direction where that golden thread extended.

That rose-gold light was still flickering there.

As if waiting for her.

And as if calling to her.

She watched for a moment, withdrew her gaze, and turned to leave.

The hall doors slowly closed behind her.