Goddess of the Agility Sect

The side courtyard outside the ancestral hall, where the Speed Clan held its meetings, was packed with clan members and elders.

The elders who had awakened from their stupor had no time to wonder why they had slept so deeply tonight. Nor could they properly straighten their clothes. They could only hastily wipe their faces with the hems of their robes and rush to the ancestral hall without regard for appearances.

They now sat in their seats, their old eyes wide as they stared at Bai Chenxiang sipping tea at the head table, so shocked their jaws nearly dropped.

"Y-you... Clan Leader Bai Chenxiang?"

The Great Elder, Min Feng, who was two years older than Bai Chenxiang, rose to his feet with his cane and stammered.

The Great Elder was not the only one visibly shocked. Every clan member who knew how beautiful Bai Chenxiang had been in her youth wore the same expression, as though they had seen a ghost.

The dead could not return to life, and aged appearances could not be restored—this was common knowledge among the enlightened. Unless one reached the Soul Power Level of a Titled Douluo while still young, causing one's appearance to remain eternally fixed at that moment, one would only take on the appearance of old age once their vitality waned and their soul power ran dry.

Bai Chenxiang was merely a Soul Emperor with a soul power level in the sixties. Even as the Phoenix God's former beloved wife, she should not have been able to avoid her body's decline into old age and eventual death.

How had she suddenly rejuvenated like a flower on the verge of withering after only a short while apart? As everyone puzzled over this and wondered whether they should secretly win over Bai Feng, Bai Chenxiang's neglected daughter, who had long since grown up and was old enough to marry, Bai Chenxiang's expression darkened. The pressure of a Soul Emperor swept toward the clan members.

"Silence!"

After receiving treatment from Bi Ji and Lin Wan'er, two top-tier healing Martial Souls, Bai Chenxiang's combat strength had long become the ceiling of the Speed Clan—the pillar holding it up.

The others had no choice but to submit. One after another, they bowed, just as they had when Bai Chenxiang's grandfather had still been alive and had overruled all objections to invest in Tang San.

Tears filled her eyes. Bai Chenxiang, now youthful once more, spoke coldly to the elders below. "It has been a hundred years since Tang San became a god. What do you elders think of the Tang Sect and its Tang Sect Leader today?"

The elders called upon by the clan leader raised their heads. After pondering for a moment, they pushed the Second Elder, Min He, forward to answer Bai Chenxiang's question.

"Reporting to the Clan Leader, I believe there was nothing wrong with the former clan leader investing in Tang San and joining the Tang Sect. We, who could only hide away in the deep mountains and live hard lives, finally found a purpose. We even built a sect and residences right beneath the royal family's nose..."

The Second Elder was old, and his speech had inevitably become long-winded. After his rambling circled around for a while, Bai Chenxiang's head began to ache.

Just as she was about to interrupt the Second Elder's praise of Tang San, his tone shifted, and he began discussing the Tang Sect's problems.

"But the sect leader chosen by the Tang Sect now simply does not have the strength to reach the level of a Titled Douluo. And as for protecting the sect, the two relatives of Miss Xiao Wu, Tang San's wife in the past, are unwilling to leave the Star Dou Great Forest to shelter us. If this continues, the prosperity of the Speed Clan will, with time..."

This time, the Second Elder had learned to be clever. He did not make his words as absolute as before, leaving Bai Chenxiang room to give him a signal before he fully voiced his thoughts in front of relatives and friends.

After all, who knew whether speaking ill of a god behind their back would be discovered? If Tang San heard his slander and sent down divine punishment, his entire family's lives would be at stake.

No one who had climbed to the position of sect elder was a fool. Their usual schemes against outsiders were so shrewd that even Bai Chenxiang, the Phoenix God's wife and the mother of a Goddess, had to yield them some ground.

Thus, she did not reveal any emotion and continued asking the other elders who had yet to speak, "Do the rest of you elders share the Second Elder's view?"

"Of course we do."

The Great Elder rose and looked directly at the rejuvenated Bai Chenxiang. He understood that the youthful clan leader must have been influenced by someone tonight, and that person had offered precisely what Bai Chenxiang wanted.

Otherwise, Bai Chenxiang, who had long since given up on the outside world and spent years ignoring all affairs as the Agility Sect's ceremonial figurehead, would never have suddenly summoned all the inner clan relatives for a meeting. And the topic of that meeting concerned the Tang Sect they had attached themselves to, as well as the god Tang San.

"Then that makes things easier. It saves me the trouble of wasting my breath explaining the news I have just learned."

Having said that, Bai Chenxiang ignored whether the elders and bewildered clan relatives could understand, and respectfully addressed the honored guests atop the roof beams. "Would you be willing to come down and speak with us, so that the clan members may see your faces and know your identities?"

Had the clan elders not been perceptive and spoken pleasing words, Bai Chenxiang, who had only recently come to her senses, would never have dared ask Lin Wan'er and the others to come down and speak.

If someone in the clan failed to recognize their place and angered the honored guests who had given her hope in the final moments of her life, she would not even have a place to cry. Perhaps she could only properly educate her daughter, who carried Ma Hongjun's bloodline, to leave the sect and stay far from Tang San's schemes.

In the future, she would let descendants carrying their bloodline strive to become gods and ascend to the God Realm, where they could tell Ma Hongjun the truth of what had happened and of Bai Chenxiang's undying love for him.

Lin Wan'er had not intended to show herself or go down to support Bai Chenxiang. She only wanted to stay above and cuddle with Zi Ji and Bi Ji, enjoying the warm embraces of her elder sisters.

However, for some reason, Zi Ji found Bai Chenxiang quite to her liking. Half coaxed and half pushed, she persuaded Lin Wan'er to go down, say a few words, and show herself.

She called it gaining experience early, rather than hiding beneath the protection of a group of Ferocious Beasts.

With a sigh, Lin Wan'er activated Martial Soul Possession. In her Star Guardian form, the green-haired little girl held a Scepter that granted her flight and calmly descended before the Speed Clan members.

"Good evening, everyone."

Since she had already shown her face, Lin Wan'er felt it would be too much of a loss not to display a little of her power and gather some faith. She cast a Wish from Star Blessing upon everyone present.

The bright moon hung high in the sky, and stars glittered throughout the deep night. The side courtyard's openwork design further amplified the output of Lin Wan'er's soul skill.

The silver gauze formed from starlight drifted above everyone's heads. Curious, playful children ignored their families' attempts to stop them and instinctively reached out to grasp the hard-won radiance in their hands.

"As long as I live, no one will suffer."

The power of Wish took effect. The starlight gauze resting upon their heads and clutched in their hands was easily absorbed through their skin, transforming into an endless supply of soul power that replenished their aging hearts.

The elderly clan members discovered that their age spots, legs that ached whenever it rained, and bodies hampered by limited movement had all been healed. Their gazes toward Lin Wan'er could not help but carry several degrees of reverence.

Whether human or soul master, when faced with something beyond their understanding, their first instinct was to attribute it to ghosts or gods.

However, considering that the Douluo Continent did not seem to believe much in ghosts or the souls of the dead, and instead preferred to believe that divine favor would descend upon them, the faintly glowing Scepter in Lin Wan'er's hand gathered quite a bit of faith.

A small portion came from those near death and those afflicted by illness. Most of it came from pure children who had yet to awaken soul power.

To those young and ignorant children, Lin Wan'er was not only pretty, but powerful as well—she could make their fathers, mothers, grandfathers, and grandmothers happy!

As a result, there were truly many, many children who sincerely believed Lin Wan'er was a Goddess.