Qian Renxue

The top floor of the Martial Soul Temple.

Inside the office belonging exclusively to Salas, the Platinum Bishop of the Heaven Dou City Martial Soul Temple.

Salas, the noble and arrogant Platinum Bishop of the temple, was now standing respectfully beside a young person.

This young person also had a strange appearance. She was tall and slender, dressed in a plain-colored robe tailored in the style of men's clothing, low-key yet luxurious.

Yet her face was that of an incomparably beautiful woman with long golden hair cascading over her shoulders.

If anyone else had seen such a bizarre sight, their jaw would surely have dropped.

And across the entire Soul Master World, there was only one person who could make Salas treat her with such respect.

She was Qian Renxue, daughter of the previous Pope Qian Xunji, granddaughter of the Pope before him—now the Grand Worshipper of the Worship Hall, Qian Daoliu—and inheritor of the Angel Lineage.

"I truly never expected that you had silently replaced Xue Qinghe, the Empire's crown prince. It seems the day Spirit Hall completely takes control of the Heaven Dou Empire is not far away."

Salas spoke to Qian Renxue with wholehearted conviction, the loyalty and fervor in his eyes entirely genuine.

The world only knew that Salas was a loyal supporter of the current Pope, Bibi Dong. This was why Bibi Dong trusted him enough to appoint him Platinum Bishop of the Heaven Dou Empire's Martial Soul Temple, placing the affairs of the temple throughout the empire in his hands.

But the world did not know that Salas had never been loyal to Bibi Dong alone. His loyalty had always belonged to the Angel Lineage.

It was Qian Daoliu who had discovered him in his youth, and Qian Xunji who had steadily promoted him until he became part of Spirit Hall's upper ranks.

His loyalty to Bibi Dong was partly because she was the widow of the former Pope, Qian Xunji, and partly because of Qian Daoliu's instructions.

That was also why Qian Renxue had dared to reveal her greatest secret to Salas.

And it was why Salas treated Qian Renxue with such respect.

"Not yet. Although I have replaced Xue Qinghe, Xue Ye is not so easily fooled. My foundation is still unstable, so I can only keep a low profile to avoid arousing Xue Ye's suspicions."

Qian Renxue looked at Salas. "That is why I need your cooperation."

"Please give your orders, miss. If there is anything you need from me, Salas, I will certainly give it my all."

Salas hurriedly declared his position.

While the two were talking, someone suddenly knocked on the door to Salas's office.

They promptly fell silent. Salas returned to his desk and called out, "Who is it? What is the matter?"

"Lord Bishop, it's me."

A somewhat fawning male voice came from outside.

Salas recognized the visitor as the guard stationed outside the upper floor. "Come in."

The door creaked open, and a male guard entered with a female deacon.

"Lord Bishop, Your Highness the Crown Prince..."

By then, Qian Renxue had already transformed into the Heaven Dou Empire's crown prince, Xue Qinghe, and was seated on a sofa to one side, leisurely sipping tea.

The deacon hurriedly greeted them both.

"What is it?"

Salas asked.

"This..."

The guard hesitated and covertly glanced in Qian Renxue's direction. The implication could not have been clearer.

Salas immediately slammed his hand on the desk, feigning fury. "The crown prince is this bishop's honored guest! Say whatever you have to say. There is nothing that needs to be hidden from His Highness!"

The guard pursed his lips. But since the bishop had said so, he naturally had to report truthfully.

So he had the female deacon who had registered Ning Chen as a Soul Master tell Salas and Qian Renxue about Ning Chen's information.

After the report was finished, Salas waved a hand and told them to wait outside.

"A twelve-year-old Soul Elder? It has been some time since a genius Soul Master like this appeared on the continent."

Qian Renxue's eyes lit up. She was currently short on capable people, and she immediately took a great interest in Ning Chen.

"Does miss intend to recruit him?"

Salas was exceptionally shrewd. He understood the hidden meaning as soon as he heard her words and quickly guessed Qian Renxue's intentions.

"I am currently in need of people. And if he reached the Soul Elder realm at twelve, there is an eighty percent chance that he possesses Innate Full Soul Power. Someone like that would attract not only my attention—even His Holiness the Pope would be interested."

There was no need for Qian Renxue to conceal her thoughts, so she stated them plainly.

"Then shall this subordinate arrange a meeting between miss and this person?"

Salas asked.

"Yes."

Qian Renxue nodded in agreement. "Arrange a quiet room. Once I have met him, it will be time for me to return to the palace."

"Yes." Salas promptly left to handle the matter.

Downstairs, Ning Chen waited for quite a while before the female deacon finally hurried back at a jog, her face openly filled with envy.

"Little brother, come with me quickly."

Even the way the female deacon addressed him had changed.

"What is it?"

Ning Chen pretended to be bewildered, but inwardly he was certain that Spirit Hall had noticed his talent and wanted to recruit him.

"A great person wants to see you!"

The female deacon lowered her voice and spoke to Ning Chen with a mysterious expression.

"A great person? Who?"

"Oh, you'll know when you see them. Little brother, hurry and come with me."

Following the female deacon, he headed toward a quiet area within the Martial Soul Temple.

Just as Ning Chen was still guessing who this great person might be—whether it might be Salas, the temple's Platinum Bishop—

the female deacon had already brought him before a room.

She gently knocked on the door, and a warm, jade-like male voice spoke from within. "Come in."

It was obvious that the owner of that voice was young. It could not possibly belong to the now white-haired Salas.

Ning Chen was somewhat disappointed. Had his talent failed to move Salas?

But Ning Chen did not have time to think further. At the female deacon's signal, he pushed open the door and entered the room.

Inside, a handsome and elegant man in plain robes smiled warmly at Ning Chen.

"Little brother Cao Benqi, let me introduce myself. I am Xue Qinghe, the Empire's crown prince..."

By nightfall, Ning Chen had returned to the inn he rented in Heaven Dou City.

Everything that had happened at the Martial Soul Temple during the day remained vivid in his mind.

He had never expected that he had intended to join Spirit Hall today, only to unexpectedly encounter Xue Qinghe.

More precisely, he had encountered Qian Renxue disguised as Xue Qinghe.

Although this turn of events was beyond his expectations, it was also perfectly reasonable.

Moreover, accepting Qian Renxue's recruitment was actually better for Ning Chen than joining Spirit Hall directly.

Qian Renxue might also have been hopelessly love-struck. Even though she knew Tang San and Spirit Hall had an irreconcilable enmity, she had still constantly wanted to win Tang San over.

And despite knowing Tang San was a threat to Spirit Hall, she had let him go again and again, ultimately allowing Tang San to become a god and leading to Spirit Hall's eventual defeat.

But compared to the madwoman Bibi Dong, she was genuinely not a bad leader.

After all, Yue Guan and Gui Mei had served her faithfully for so many years, working tirelessly on her behalf.

Yet once Gui Mei died and Yue Guan could no longer unleash the Martial Soul Fusion Skill, causing his strategic value to plummet, Bibi Dong simply abandoned him without mercy.

If even Yue Guan was treated that way, what hope was there for anyone else?