A New Pope Takes Power

Yet as Qian Daoliu looked down at the five Soul Bones, there was little joy in his eyes. Instead, he let out a long sigh in his heart.

That sigh seemed to release all the weariness he had carried for years.

He raised his head and looked at the young man seated in the air in the distance. Remembering how Qian Juechen had fought with everything he had in that battle, Qian Daoliu said slowly, "These Soul Bones are his spoils. The Pope's Position is his too. What to do with them is up to him."

Qian Jun, Jiang Mo, and the other elders of the Worship Hall exchanged glances but said nothing.

It was only right. Qian Juechen had killed Bibi Dong with his own hands, so what she left behind naturally belonged to him. He had earned it.

But Qian Daoliu did not leave after saying that.

He stood in midair, silent for a moment. Then, before the elders, the arriving senior members of Spirit Hall, and everyone else watching, he spoke.

"From this day forward, all affairs of Spirit Hall will be overseen by the new Pope, Qian Juechen. The Elder Hall, the Worship Hall, and every force under Spirit Hall will obey his orders."

The expressions of everyone present shifted. They all understood that Qian Daoliu was handing over power. A new generation of the Qian family was taking its place, and Qian Juechen's era was about to begin.

Qian Daoliu turned slowly toward the towering Angel Sacred Mountain in the distance. A complicated look flashed through his eyes.

"It is time for this old man to withdraw into seclusion. From now on, unless Spirit Hall faces a matter of life and death, no one is to disturb me at Angel Sacred Mountain."

With that, Qian Daoliu gave no one a chance to speak. He walked toward Angel Sacred Mountain, one step after another.

The Peerless Douluo who had once stood at the summit of the Soul Master World and held all beneath heaven in awe now looked strangely desolate from behind.

As he went farther away, his figure grew smaller. Even his back, once straight as a mountain, seemed to bend a little.

The woman who had killed his son was dead, and his grandson was capable of bearing the weight of Spirit Hall.

Yet Qian Daoliu could not bring himself to be happy. He had watched his son die, then watched his grandson follow that bitter history to the position he held today.

After all he had done, he did not know how to face Qian Juechen, much less how to mend their relationship.

So he chose to leave. He returned the Pope's Position to Qian Juechen and placed Spirit Hall's future in the hands of this younger member of the Qian family.

Perhaps only then could he give the boy enough room to stand on his own, while preserving a little dignity for himself and allowing himself time to face the past.

Once Qian Daoliu vanished from sight, everyone's gaze returned to the young man who bore some resemblance to the former Pope.

Those senior members of Spirit Hall who had followed Qian Xunji and been repeatedly suppressed after Bibi Dong rose to power could no longer hide their excitement as they looked at Qian Juechen.

They had waited too long for this day. After Qian Xunji's death, their standing in Spirit Hall had plummeted. His former followers had been pushed aside, their authority stripped away bit by bit, and their voices within Spirit Hall had grown weaker.

They had been on the verge of losing everything. Yet at the crucial moment, a chance to turn things around had appeared.

The former Pope's son had reclaimed a place at the very pinnacle of Spirit Hall's power in a way no one had expected: through overwhelming strength.

Some even clenched their fists in secret, thinking that dawn had finally come.

Of course, not everyone welcomed it. The bishops and senior officials who had openly sided with Bibi Dong kept their heads lowered. Anxiety gnawed at them, and their faces were grim.

They knew what happened when someone new took power.

As former officials who had stood against the new Pope, they might well be his first targets.

Many had already begun planning an escape. Some had even prepared for the worst, hoping to flee to the Two Great Empires for protection.

Fortunately for them, Qian Juechen was not that ruthless. Now that he had inherited the Pope's Position, every move he made had to serve both Spirit Hall's interests and his own.

Those senior officials who had sided with Bibi Dong were, at heart, opportunists with a little more influence than most. Yes, they had stood with her before,

but most had been loyal not to Bibi Dong herself, but to the power she held. Whoever occupied the Pope's Position was the person they would stand behind.

Rather than launch a purge now and have them die in an internal struggle, he could give them a chance to atone through service.

They could serve as the vanguard in his coming plans and devote whatever value they had left to him, their new Pope.

Of course, a few would still need to be singled out and made examples of.

Qian Juechen spent nearly half an hour adjusting his breathing in midair. Not one of the elders, Worship Hall elders, or senior officials dared disturb him. They stood quietly where they were and waited for him to recover.

Once he had regained some Soul Power, Qian Juechen opened his eyes and stood. Every gaze settled on him, waiting for the new Pope's first decree.

Qian Juechen glanced at the crowd, then at the ruins of the Papal Palace, which he had cleaved apart. "Pass on my order. Notify every bishop, elder, and Worship Hall elder in the city to stop what they're doing at once and convene at the Worship Hall for a papal meeting."

"Second, order the Angel Legion and every other unit in the city to maintain the lockdown. Nothing about today must get out. Summon craftsmen immediately to rebuild the Papal Palace."

Having issued those orders without a trace of emotion, Qian Juechen set off first for the Worship Hall on Angel Sacred Mountain.

With the Papal Palace gone, they did not even have a proper place to meet. Since Qian Daoliu had stepped back, the Worship Hall would serve as his temporary office.

The others looked at one another, then followed in silence.

Several days later, news spread from Spirit City across the continent as though it had grown wings.

It shook the entire Soul World with astonishing speed.

Spirit Hall had a new Pope!

Qian Juechen, son of the former Pope Qian Xunji, had formally succeeded to the Pope's Position. Bibi Dong had stepped down.

The new Pope's enthronement ceremony would be held in Spirit City in the middle of the month. Spirit Hall formally invited the Two Great Empires and the continent's major sects and factions to attend.

The sudden news plunged the entire continent into an eerie silence.

To most factions, Qian Juechen was an utterly unfamiliar name.

Yet this unfamiliar young man had risen overnight to the highest position in one of the continent's most powerful organizations.