As he thought of his perfect plan, and of that breathtaking face he would soon possess completely, Qian Xunji's smile grew ever more shameless, tinged with the excitement of imminent success.
His gaze slowly shifted downward, settling on the man standing respectfully below the dais, his body slightly bowed.
Yu Xiaogang.
"You did very well."
Qian Xunji's voice was gentle, full of approval.
At His Holiness the Pope's praise, Yu Xiaogang's face, somewhat twisted by jealousy, immediately filled with a fawning smile.
"It is my honor to ease Your Holiness's burdens."
He gave an ingratiating smile, making himself as humble as possible.
After Bibi Dong had driven him out of the library in front of everyone, the more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and the deeper his hatred grew.
Why?
Why had that fellow named Ning Lin stolen everything from him the moment he appeared?
Bibi Dong's trust and affection should both have belonged to him, Yu Xiaogang!
While hiding in a dark alley, he had seen Ning Lin and Bibi Dong chatting happily at the Heavenly Fragrance Tower, and even heading to the Star Dou Great Forest together. The flames of jealousy in his heart had burned away his last shred of reason.
Without hesitation, he had gone to the Papal Hall and told Bibi Dong's teacher, the reigning Pope, Qian Xunji, everything, embellishing it as he went!
He would destroy Ning Lin!
He would make Bibi Dong understand the price of betraying him!
Just then, the doors to the hall slowly opened.
Several guards escorted a figure inside.
"Your Holiness, Her Highness the Saintess is here."
Bibi Dong had arrived.
Her lovely face was frosty, and her phoenix eyes held a trace of anger at having her date forcibly interrupted.
But when her gaze swept across the hall and caught sight of Yu Xiaogang standing there, the anger on her face froze, then turned into bone-deep disgust.
So that was it.
So it was you.
In that instant, Bibi Dong understood everything.
Why her teacher had suddenly summoned her.
Why the guards had been so forceful.
It was all because of the vile, shameless informer standing before her!
She could not even be bothered to spare Yu Xiaogang another glance. It would sully her eyes.
She simply felt sick.
More sickened than she had ever been.
Bibi Dong raised her head and looked straight at Qian Xunji on his throne, her voice clear and cool.
"Teacher, didn't you say there was something important?"
Her tone was challenging.
The smile on Qian Xunji's face faded.
"Insolence."
His voice was not loud, but it carried the oppressive authority of the Pope.
"I am your teacher, and the Pope of Spirit Hall."
"Is that how you speak to your master?"
Bibi Dong fell silent.
She took a deep breath, suppressing her anger.
She could sense that something was very wrong with her teacher today.
The look in his eyes beneath that gentle mask filled her with an inexplicable unease.
But she had no proof.
Nor had Qian Xunji actually done anything to her.
All her anger right now stemmed from this man's brutal disruption of her plans with Ning Lin.
Ning Lin...
Was he awake now?
Had he seen that letter?
Would he go to the mountain behind the hall to wait for me?
The thought that Ning Lin might be waiting there in vain filled Bibi Dong with agitation.
She did not want to waste time here.
"If there's nothing else, Teacher, I'll be leaving."
Bibi Dong bowed slightly, then turned to leave.
"Stop!"
Qian Xunji's voice suddenly rose!
"Are you in that much of a hurry?"
He rose from his throne and descended the steps one by one, his eyes fixed intensely on Bibi Dong's back.
"In that much of a hurry to see that lover of yours?"
"Bibi Dong! Do you still remember who you are?"
"Acting like this, are you even worthy of being Spirit Hall's Saintess?!"
His words struck Bibi Dong's heart like a heavy hammer.
Bibi Dong spun around, fury blazing in her beautiful phoenix eyes.
"What do my relationships have to do with whether I'm Spirit Hall's Saintess?"
She stood her ground.
"Teacher, the Saintess is a person too, not some emotionless tool in your hands!"
"Well said!"
Yu Xiaogang finally found an opportunity to interrupt.
He stepped forward, putting on a look of anguished disappointment.
"Your Highness! You are mistaken!"
"How exalted is the position of Spirit Hall's Saintess! You bear the future and glory of all Spirit Hall on your shoulders!"
"You should devote yourself single-mindedly to cultivation, offering everything to Spirit Hall's grand ambitions! How can you lose yourself in romance and become entangled in the mundane affairs of the mortal world?"
His speech was lofty and self-righteous, as though he were some noble defender of virtue.
Looking at his hypocritical face, Bibi Dong felt her stomach turn.
"Yu Xiaogang, who gave you the right to speak here?"
"What gives a fraud who steals other people's work the right to stand here and tell me what to do?"
"You..."
Yu Xiaogang choked, his face flushing crimson.
Just as he was about to keep arguing, using those lofty principles to browbeat Bibi Dong—
Boom—!
A tremendous crash rang out!
The Papal Hall's two heavy metal doors were smashed open from outside by brute force!
The door panels twisted and buckled, flying inward before slamming into the floor with a deafening crash.
Amid the billowing dust, a blood-soaked figure staggered inside.
His clothes were already torn to shreds, his body covered in crisscrossing wounds deep enough to expose bone.
Blood dripped from the hem of his clothes onto the ground, instantly staining a stretch of obsidian red.
He leaned on a longsword he had seized from somewhere, gasping for breath as his chest heaved violently.
Despite his wretched condition, his back remained ramrod straight.
His gaze pierced through every obstruction, swept past the stunned Pope, and finally settled on Yu Xiaogang, who had still been spouting his grandiose nonsense.
Towering fury burned in those eyes.
"That's pure fucking bullshit!"
Ning Lin!
When the three people in the hall saw his face clearly, each reacted differently.
Qian Xunji's pupils abruptly contracted.
How was this possible?!
For the first time, cracks appeared in his gentle composure.
After Yu Xiaogang had come to inform him that Ning Lin and Bibi Dong had gone to the Star Dou Great Forest together, he had immediately issued an order to kill.
He had dispatched twelve of Spirit Hall's most elite Red-Clothed Cardinals!
Twelve Soul Emperors!
Two of them had even been level sixty-nine Soul Emperors at the very pinnacle!
Such a force would have been more than enough to surround and kill a Titled Douluo!
Yet now, this Ning Lin, who according to their intelligence was merely a level fifty-one Soul King, had actually fought his way out of that certain-death trap?!
Not only had he escaped, he had slaughtered his way right to the Papal Hall's doors?!
Was this brat a monster?!
A flicker of shock and uncertainty passed through Qian Xunji's eyes.
As for Bibi Dong, she froze completely the moment she saw Ning Lin.
Her heart felt as though a hand had clenched around it, the pain leaving her unable to breathe.
Joy and piercing heartache, two utterly opposing emotions, exploded in her chest at the same time.
Before you continue