A Filthy Bitch Thought She Could Steal His Place?

Bibi Dong listened to Qian Juechen's challenge and looked at the senior Spirit Hall soul masters watching from all around. For a moment, she felt dazed.

Her fingers clenched so hard that her nails broke the skin of her palm. Only when blood seeped out did the sharp pain bring her back to her senses.

She absolutely could not lose her composure now.

What mattered most was not her anger, nor was it fighting him. She needed to establish her position.

She was the rightful Pope of Spirit Hall. By any measure, she was its supreme leader. In name, the entire organization was under her command, and she represented its dignity.

And this man before her, regardless of who he was or who stood behind him, had openly swung his sword at her, split the dome of the Papal Palace, and challenged the Pope's authority in front of everyone.

If she held fast to that point, she would have the moral high ground.

As long as she maintained it and kept her footing, even with the Worship Hall's support, he would have trouble dealing with her in the short term. Unless he intended to kill her—but he probably lacked the ability.

She possessed Twin Martial Souls, had survived Slaughter City, and had inherited the Rakshasa God's Divine Position. Now, in her thirties, she had reached the rank of Titled Douluo. She had absolute confidence in her strength.

If Qian Daoliu had been standing before her today, Bibi Dong might have panicked. She might have been wary.

After all, he was a level ninety-nine Limit Douluo who could draw on the Angel God's power within Spirit Hall. He was Spirit Hall's strongest member in every sense, and she could not possibly defeat him as she was now.

But she faced an eight-ring Soul Douluo. So what if his martial soul was powerful? So what if his soul ring configuration was astonishing? So what if he possessed four hundred-thousand-year soul rings? An entire rank separated them—an uncrossable gulf.

Once Bibi Dong calmed down and thought it through, her nerves steadied. Now that she knew where she stood, the rest would be much easier.

"How dare you! I am the Pope of Spirit Hall. My every word and deed represents Spirit Hall, and the Papal Palace is its symbol."

"Today, before everyone's eyes, you attacked the Papal Palace and challenged the reigning Pope. Do you mean to make an enemy of all Spirit Hall?"

Her face contorted with anger, Bibi Dong raised the Pope's Scepter and shouted her challenge at Qian Juechen in midair.

At her words, the bishops beside her, who had still looked somewhat panicked, joined in.

They had already sided with Bibi Dong. If something happened to her today, they would not escape the reckoning.

They might be bishops, but Spirit Hall had no shortage of people who could replace them.

Only their long service and the backing of Bibi Dong, the new Pope, had allowed them to secure their positions.

If Bibi Dong fell today and that man took power, they would never keep their posts. They might not even keep their lives.

They exchanged glances. Better to take a gamble than waver.

If they won, riches and power beyond measure awaited them. If they lost, it would only be the fate already in store for them. What was there left to fear?

"Who are you to attack the Papal Palace in Spirit City and attempt to assassinate the reigning Pope? You're courting death!"

"Where are the guards from the legions? Where are the palace guards? Surround this villain and seize him!"

Several Red Cardinals spoke up in support of Bibi Dong, one after another. But not one member of the Angel Legion, which had sealed off and surrounded the Papal Palace, obeyed their orders.

Even the legion commander, himself a Titled Douluo, merely stood to one side and watched. His task was to let no one in and no one out, and to handle any unexpected developments.

The Grand Priest had made his wishes clear: whoever won or lost, there must be no casualties.

The commander wanted Qian Juechen to win—he was a member of the Qian family, after all. But he did not believe Qian Juechen, still only a Soul Douluo, could contend with Bibi Dong, who possessed a hundred-thousand-year soul ring and had long since become a Titled Douluo.

Qian Juechen listened to Bibi Dong and looked at the lackeys beside her, still barking even with death at their door. He sneered.

He turned to the Red Cardinals who were still shouting. "Who am I? Prick up those dog ears and listen." His voice cracked like a whip as he began to circulate his Soul Power.

"My name is Qian Juechen. I am the only son of the late Pope Qian Xunji and the rightful heir to Spirit Hall. A few old dogs like you don't get to tell me what I can say or do."

"Besides, Spirit Hall belongs to the Qian family. How could we let some filthy bitch from outside steal our place?"

Qian Juechen spared them no dignity. As soon as he finished speaking, he swung with all his might, sending an even more terrifying sword slash hurtling toward them.

The searing heat and rising flames threatened to set the already-damaged Papal Palace ablaze.

Seeing the depth of Qian Juechen's killing intent, Bibi Dong grew angrier still.

"How dare you! You must have a death wish!" With a sharp cry, Bibi Dong activated Martial Soul Possession and rushed up to meet the attack.

If he refused to talk, she would show him just how vast the gap was between a Soul Douluo and a Titled Douluo.

She had to stop this strike—not only because it could destroy the entire Papal Palace, but because she would never allow Qian Juechen to rise to power by trampling her authority with one sword strike after another before so many witnesses.

She would make everyone see who truly ruled Spirit Hall!

"Break!" Bibi Dong gathered her strength and drove a palm strike straight at the flaming sword beam.

But just as she was about to collide with it, something changed.

No! Bibi Dong's expression shifted. An immense spatial fluctuation appeared beside her.

The flaming sword beam, powerful enough to cleave the entire Papal Palace, vanished before her eyes. Her full-force strike hit nothing.

She realized what had happened and spun around, but it was too late.

At some point, the Heaven-Burning Flame Sword that had blotted out the sky had split into several blades. By some unknown means, they had appeared directly before the Red Cardinals.

The Red Cardinals who had been shouting moments earlier did not even have time to react.

Sword light flashed. Flames surged skyward, and blood splashed across the ground. The terrifying blades shredded the Red Cardinals in an instant, and the searing heat vaporized the flesh and blood scattered through the air, filling it with a thick, bloody stench.

The many powerful onlookers stared in shock. So did Bibi Dong, still suspended in midair.

Qian Juechen's strike had never been aimed at Bibi Dong. His targets had been the Red Cardinals who spoke for her from the start. Bibi Dong, a Titled Douluo, had tried to intercept the strike and protect them, only to become the distraction that drew their attention away.

She whipped around and fixed her gaze on Qian Juechen nearby. Looking at his face, which bore some resemblance to Qian Xunji's, Bibi Dong felt her anger deepen. She slowly spoke four words, all trace of her initial contempt gone from her eyes.

"Spatial Transfer..."