After leaving the Worship Hall and returning to the Papal Palace, Qian Xunji settled Ah Yin and the two children into their quarters, then went back to his office.
On his desk lay a detailed account of everything that had happened in Spirit Hall during the year he had been away.
Qian Xunji read it carefully. What he found was shocking.
"So much happened in just the first month after I left?"
"Bibi Dong was denounced by everyone in Spirit City? Some people even wanted to kill her?"
"Because of Bibi Dong, public order in Spirit City kept getting worse, until Father and the others had no choice but to transfer her elsewhere?"
Qian Xunji pressed a hand to his forehead. "Of course... One word from above, and everyone below runs themselves ragged. I really didn't think it through."
"No wonder I didn't see Bibi Dong when I came back with Ah Yin..."
Qian Xunji continued reading the records from the past year. Everyone in Spirit Hall was seething with resentment. Spirit City had endured far too much humiliation.
Spirit Hall's Holy Maiden had betrayed it for someone from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, yet Spirit Hall had done nothing?
Outsiders were laughing at Spirit Hall. Its Soul Masters were furious, but the higher-ups had kept them in check.
At first, people across the continent had waited for Spirit Hall to retaliate. As time passed, no retaliation came.
They concluded that Spirit Hall intended to swallow the insult, and even gave its Soul Masters a new nickname.
The Soul Masters of Coward Hall.
A whole year had passed without Spirit Hall making a move. If that wasn't cowardice, what was? From the rank and file to the middle ranks and even some of the higher-ups, Soul Masters throughout Spirit Hall were nursing their anger.
The situation had grown dire. Spirit Hall's reputation had hit rock bottom. If its leaders continued to suppress those voices instead of doing something, its Soul Masters would lose all faith in it!
"Everyone in Spirit Hall and Spirit City is holding back their anger. They need an outlet!"
"If they don't get one, that anger will explode inside Spirit Hall. Father and the others don't want that."
"No wonder Father and the others said what they did when I came back."
"They thought I'd planned it all before leaving. Things had reached the point where Father had no choice but to act."
"And all because I didn't try to hide Bibi Dong's betrayal of Spirit Hall. I made it public by putting her in Spirit City's central square, where the crowds were thickest!"
"If I'd handled it internally, it never would have caused such an uproar or become known across the world!"
"Now Spirit Hall needs to retaliate—and strike like thunder—to rally the people before their faith scatters completely!"
"So that's it..." Qian Xunji slumped back in his chair. "I guess I really did deserve that beating."
"I didn't think that far ahead, but things have developed as though this was all part of my plan."
"After reading what happened in Spirit Hall this past year, I'm almost starting to believe I planned it myself."
"All I wanted was to punish Bibi Dong a little. Sigh... But since it's come to this..."
"The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan has to be crushed! Otherwise, Spirit Hall's people will lose heart, and once that happens, they'll be impossible to lead."
And the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan has spent an entire year playing dead, Qian Xunji thought.
"If anyone from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had come to Spirit City to apologize, perhaps even offer compensation, things might not have gone this far. But with everything piling up..."
Qian Xunji didn't know what else to say. Perhaps it was fate. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had played dead for a year and let public opinion fester. If they were wiped out now, they had only themselves to blame!
Even without compensation, they could have handed over Yu Xiaogang for Spirit Hall to deal with. That alone would have kept matters from reaching this point.
Almost any choice would have spared them this outcome. Yet out of all their options, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had somehow chosen the one road that led to death.
"Heh! You had a whole year, and you did nothing? You even got me beaten the moment I came back. You deserve to be wiped out!"
"Did you really think Spirit Hall's silence meant it didn't care? What a joke!"
"I just wasn't here, and Father and the others hadn't intended to act. But now that it's come to this, Father has to step in. Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, oh, Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan!"
"I'm exhausted..." Qian Xunji gave a wry smile. "So much to deal with the moment I get back."
"And we need to move against the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan soon. At this point, they don't have much time left."
Qian Xunji finished the remaining records, rubbed his brow wearily, and pushed the documents aside.
"No... Being Pope is too exhausting. I need people to help me. They can review everything and make recommendations, then I'll give the final approval! Hmm... I'll call this department the Cabinet."
Soul Masters had more stamina than ordinary people, but handling so many affairs was still exhausting.
"Someone, come in," Qian Xunji called, his gaze sharp.
The door soon opened. A Soul Master entered, knelt on one knee, and asked respectfully, "What are your orders, Your Holiness?"
"Summon Chrysanthemum Elder and Ghost Elder!" Qian Xunji waved a hand. "Go."
"Yes..." The Soul Master left.
Before long, Yue Guan and Gui Mei arrived. "What are your orders, Your Holiness?"
"Yue Guan, Gui Mei, you two are my most trusted aides. Your loyalty has not gone unnoticed."
"How many Soul Masters ready for battle can Spirit Hall mobilize on short notice?" After that brief preamble, Qian Xunji got straight to the point.
"Your Holiness, Spirit Hall can currently mobilize a little over five thousand Soul Masters on short notice."
"Most of Spirit Hall's Soul Masters are scattered across the Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire. That is the most we can gather quickly."
"Your Holiness, do you have something in mind?" Yue Guan asked tentatively after his report. Too much had happened this past year. With His Holiness back, a major move was sure to follow!
"Crush the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan," Qian Xunji said calmly.
"Crush the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan?" Yue Guan and Gui Mei exchanged stunned looks.
"That's right!" Qian Xunji rose slowly, his bearing commanding. "Spirit Hall gave the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan a year. What did they do with it? Nothing!"
"You know what people throughout Spirit Hall are saying. From top to bottom, they're seething with resentment!"
"Spirit Hall cannot let its people lose heart. If they do, we won't be able to lead them. Spirit Hall must act. It needs revenge! It needs to lift its people's spirits!"
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