Qian Xunji left his office and passed through corridor after corridor before returning to his brightly lit room.
Beside the soft, spacious bed stood a large crib. Qian Renxue and Qian Renfeng were already asleep inside.
Ah Yin sat on the edge of the bed, watching the doorway as though she had been waiting for him to return.
Weariness showed on Qian Xunji's face. He went straight to Ah Yin and pulled her into his arms. "I'm exhausted..."
Ah Yin raised a hand and gently stroked his face. "Does Spirit Hall have that much for you to deal with?"
"So much!" Their eyes met, and Qian Xunji saw his reflection in hers. "Spirit Hall went a whole year without a pope. Far too much happened in that time."
"And far too much of it needs me, as pope, to deal with it. There's no way I can catch up anytime soon."
"But I'm not that hardworking. I plan to form a Cabinet. From then on, the Cabinet will handle official business first and add its recommendations. If I approve, I'll stamp it."
"That'll take a lot off my shoulders, and I'll have more time to spend with you and the children..."
"But for now, I may be too busy to spend much time with you or them. Ah Yin, will you resent me?"
Ah Yin gazed at Qian Xunji's handsome face, then shook her head slightly. "How could I resent you? I only wish I could help you, so you wouldn't have to work so hard."
Qian Xunji rolled over, bringing Ah Yin down onto the bed with him. She nestled against his broad chest.
"Something big is going to happen soon. Do you know what?" Qian Xunji asked, looking at her in his arms.
"What is it?" Ah Yin was curious. Though she had undergone Soul Beast Transformation, she had little experience of such matters.
"Spirit Hall intends to wipe out the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan," Qian Xunji said calmly, as though it were nothing out of the ordinary.
"Wipe out the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan?" Ah Yin stared at him in surprise. "Xunji, what do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said. We heard about what happened to Spirit Hall over the past year while we were in Yelin City."
"For a year, everyone in Spirit Hall has been seething, and its reputation has suffered badly."
"If we don't wipe out the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, Spirit Hall's people will lose heart. Then it'll be hard to hold them together."
Qian Xunji rubbed at his forehead. "Bibi Dong's betrayal of Spirit Hall is known throughout the world now."
"Yet Spirit Hall has done nothing for an entire year. The world looks down on us, and our Soul Masters are furious. When I left, I never imagined it would come to this."
"But no one believes me. Ah Yin, do you?" Qian Xunji asked, looking earnestly at her.
"Xunji, I believe you," Ah Yin said with a nod.
She did not understand all of it. She only knew that Qian Xunji was her husband now, and she would believe what he told her.
"And when we destroy the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, Father will take part too..."
"What?" Ah Yin exclaimed. "Father is a Level-Ninety-Nine Peerless Douluo. Why would he..."
"It seems unbelievable, doesn't it? Too much for a mere Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan?"
Ah Yin said nothing, but her expression made her answer clear.
"It comes down to how much damage Bibi Dong's betrayal has done. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan hasn't shown the slightest intention of apologizing in the past year. This is no longer just an internal problem for Spirit Hall. Its future is at stake!"
"Right now, the whole affair has turned Spirit Hall into a powder keg. It needs an outlet. Without one, it'll explode from within!"
"So the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan must be wiped out, and we must crush it with overwhelming, lightning-swift force! Nothing less will rally Spirit Hall's people again!"
"Spirit Hall hasn't shown its strength in a long time. The world has forgotten how fearsome it is. People have even forgotten that someone invincible stands among us!"
"This will show the world Spirit Hall's strength and restore its authority. Once it's done, our standing will rise far beyond what it was before..."
"Xunji, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan is one of the Upper Three Sects. If you destroy it outright, won't that..." Ah Yin asked worriedly.
"Heh." Qian Xunji smiled faintly. "A year ago, we would have faced enormous resistance! Even if we'd succeeded, Soul Masters across the continent would no longer see Spirit Hall as a sacred place for cultivation. They'd see it as an evil force instead!"
"But Spirit Hall gave the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan a year to make amends and apologize. They did neither. We've shown them every courtesy. If we destroy them now, they'll have brought it on themselves!"
"The world won't object. People may even think this is exactly what Spirit Hall should do. It would be stranger if we did nothing!"
Qian Xunji smiled bitterly. "Father says Spirit Hall is the guardian of Douluo Continent. But it seems many people dislike having us as their guardian. Some even wish we'd disappear."
"What do you think, Xunji?" Ah Yin asked.
"What do I think? It's hard to put into words... Being a guardian is both a burden and a constraint!"
"If you ask me, I'd rather Spirit Hall didn't have that role. Then we could do whatever we wanted!"
"Ah Yin..." Qian Xunji's gaze softened as he looked at the woman in his arms. Slowly, he slipped a hand beneath her clothes.
"The children are here, Xunji." Ah Yin blushed and sat up. "Shall we go next door?"
"Hahaha! Let's!" Laughing, Qian Xunji put an arm around Ah Yin and led her out of the room.
Early the next morning, Qian Xunji got up and headed to the Papal Palace to begin another grueling day.
Whether mobilizing Soul Masters or preparing to strike the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, the plans required the pope's attention.
"How many more days?" Qian Xunji asked Yue Guan and Gui Mei, who knelt on one knee before him.
He was asking how long it would take to assemble five thousand Soul Masters ready for battle.
"Your Holiness, we can assemble five thousand Soul Masters ready for battle within two days at the latest," Yue Guan replied.
"Your Holiness, so soon?"
"Mm..." Qian Xunji's eyes turned cold. The sooner, the better. Spirit Hall could not afford to wait any longer.
"You two may go. Speed up the mobilization. We leave in two days!"
"Yes, Your Holiness!"
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