As the Black Longbow rose, the light in the forest dimmed.
Gu Changye had not nocked an arrow, yet Soul Power gathered at both ends of the bow. Tree shadows flowed into his palm and formed a three-foot black arrow, its tip fixed on the Sky Azure Bull Python's forehead.
Tang San stepped forward. "The order you hold has been revoked."
"The Pope Token bears a seal, and the Soul Hunting Bureau's old files have a record of it," Gu Changye said. "A junior who has only just founded a sect has no standing to judge Spirit Hall's orders."
Tang San looked at the token's lower left corner. "The Ceasefire Order was issued after the Final Tournament five years ago. The Number Six Mark on your token is from the old system. When its number was cancelled, a horizontal line would have been left on the back. You've kept the back pressed against your palm because the Cancellation Seal is already stamped there."
The expressions of the Soul Hunting Team members nearest Gu Changye changed.
Most of them had only seen the token's front. Throughout the journey, Gu Changye had said the handover between old and new orders was a mess, and that as long as the Papal Seal remained, the hunt could continue. Now that Tang San had named the Cancellation Seal's location, some instinctively glanced at the back of Gu Changye's hand.
Salas shifted half a step sideways, blocking their view.
"Tang San has colluded with Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts. Spirit Hall has every right to deal with him. The five-year ceasefire has expired, so the old order is in force again."
A Soul Master in the rear ranks asked, "Bishop Salas, did the Papal Hall issue an Old Order Reinstatement Document after the ceasefire ended?"
Salas turned to