"Liu. Hao."
Bibi Dong's angry voice rang out, but after a brief pause, her tone softened again.
"Where have you been these past three days? Didn't you say you wanted to pursue Nana? Why haven't you gone to see her?"
The seemingly simple questions were laden with precise probes.
Had Liu Hao not had his formidable strength to fall back on, she might really have had him dancing in the palm of her hand.
"Hehe... I went to awaken my second martial soul and acquire soul rings for it. Would you like to see?"
"Awaken your second martial soul!?"
Bibi Dong's pupils contracted, surprise and suspicion flashing through her eyes.
"Aren't twin martial souls supposed to awaken at the same time? They can awaken one at a time?"
Bibi Dong's affection +2. Current affection: 32.
Liu Hao offered no explanation. He simply released his second martial soul, the Purple Flame Ultimate Emperor Phoenix, and activated Martial Soul Possession.
A pair of deep-purple wings sprouted from his back. His hair turned purple as well, and a purple flame mark appeared between his brows.
Then, ring after ring emerged beneath Liu Hao's feet, spreading from the inside out.
Red, red, red, red, red, red, red, red, gold!
In an instant, an ancient, bloodthirsty, savage aura poured from Liu Hao.
At the same time, a trace of sacred, noble pressure faintly spread through the air.
In this state, Liu Hao resembled a deity descended into the mortal world.
Bibi Dong, who stood closest, saw the sight and felt a buzz in her head. Her mind went utterly blank, and she froze in place, her eyes vacant.
Ghost Douluo beside her fared little better. His entire body stiffened and trembled.
With his dark-attribute martial soul, he felt as though he had encountered his natural enemy. His mind churned with unease, and his eyes filled with terror.
Meanwhile, deep inside the Worship Hall, not far from the Papal Palace...
A handsome middle-aged man with an imposing physique and a majestic bearing abruptly opened his eyes as he sat cross-legged before the Angel God Statue.
"This is... divine might!? No, that's not right. It doesn't quite feel like it. Something seems to be missing. It lacks the weight of divine might, as though it's an empty shell with a divine body but no divine power?"
Eager to discover the exact cause, the middle-aged man immediately rose and raced toward the Papal Palace.
In the square before the Papal Palace, apart from a few powerful Titled Douluos who felt their hearts flutter with dread, everyone else remained completely unaware.
That was because Liu Hao had deliberately restrained his aura rather than unleashing all his power.
Once Liu Hao withdrew his martial soul and soul rings into his body, the Titled Douluos in the square all breathed sighs of relief. That unsettling feeling finally vanished.
Bibi Dong's and Ghost Douluo's bodies finally returned to normal as well.
"How... how did you do it? So many Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings... and that golden one, how old is it?"
Bibi Dong no longer cared about Liu Hao's three-day absence. All she wanted to know now was where the man before her had hunted down so many hundred-thousand-year soul beasts.
If she could do the same, perhaps she could swiftly raise her soul power level, reach level 99, and inherit the Rakshasa God's divine position.
"They're god-bestowed soul rings rewarded by divine trials. Don't you have divine trials too?"
After a moment's thought, Liu Hao decided to bluff his way through for now.
After all, this pope's affection was still too low for him to trust her.
He wasn't afraid of Bibi Dong. What worried him was the Rakshasa God behind her stirring up trouble.
Whether passively or deliberately.
If the Rakshasa God happened to notice an odd human like him and attacked him, he might attract the God Realm Committee's attention.
Then, with a little bad luck, he might have to face deities in a mortal body. That was far too dangerous.
"Divine trials! God-bestowed soul rings!" Bibi Dong exclaimed in shock. "You actually have... wait, how do you know I have divine trials?"
"People undergoing divine trials carry a trace of divine essence. Anyone who's had contact with a god should be able to sense it, right?"
Liu Hao wasn't lying about that. As someone with two god-king-level martial souls, he was indeed extremely sensitive to divine essence.
Bibi Dong's affection +2. Current affection: 34.
"What..."
Bibi Dong's pupils abruptly contracted. If that was true, didn't it mean Qian Daoliu might have known about her divine trials long ago?
Then why had he never moved against her? Was he so confident that the Angel God would defeat her?
"Hehe, you must be Elder Liu Hao, the newly appointed Ninth Elder."
Suddenly, a deep, resonant voice rang out inside the palace.
"Qian Daoliu! What are you doing here?"
Bibi Dong spoke immediately, her tone icy.
"Bibi Dong, it's one thing not to notify me when you appoint a new elder, but as Spirit Hall's Great Enshrined, am I not even allowed to attend the new elder's investiture ceremony?"
"As pope, I have the authority to appoint elders on my own. Besides, Elder Liu Hao won't be joining your Worship Hall. Why would I need to notify you?"
"Oh?" Qian Daoliu's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. He turned to Liu Hao with a smile. "Elder Liu Hao, do you perhaps have some misunderstanding about my Worship Hall?"
"Not at all. The Worship Hall is quite impressive. Everyone there is a powerhouse above level 96. It's just that I prefer working with beautiful women. Your Worship Hall has nothing but male enshrined, so it doesn't really suit me."
"..."
Qian Daoliu was momentarily speechless. Clearly, he hadn't expected that reason.
Yet he truly had no way to refute it. After all, the Worship Hall's seven enshrined were indeed all men.
No, there was actually one woman, but she was currently undercover in the Heaven Dou Empire.
Qian Daoliu thought of Qian Renxue's peerless beauty, enough to topple cities and kingdoms. Just as he hesitated over whether to have her find time to return for a visit, he noticed Liu Hao's appearance.
This fellow's looks are... beyond words! Xiao Xue surely wouldn't like someone so ugly, would she?
Qian Daoliu secretly gritted his teeth and decided to test him first. If Liu Hao was weaker than him, he would never let Xiao Xue suffer that grievance.
But if...
No. Qian Daoliu didn't dare follow that thought any further.
That would be too cruel.
Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong...
Suddenly, nine clear peals of a bell rang out in succession.
The penetrating sound carried throughout Spirit City.
It signaled that the auspicious hour had arrived, and the investiture ceremony could officially begin.
"Since the Great Enshrined wishes to watch the Ninth Elder's investiture ceremony, please take your seat promptly."
Bibi Dong looked at Qian Daoliu with an indifferent expression, then turned to Ghost Douluo. "Gui Mei, escort the Great Enshrined and the Ninth Elder to their seats."
"Yes."
Ghost Douluo bowed, then respectfully gestured for Qian Daoliu and Liu Hao to proceed.
"Great Enshrined, Ninth Elder, please follow me."
"Mm."
Both men nodded and followed him.
Outside the Papal Palace, the many seats in the circular square were divided into different sections according to their elevation and the value of the materials they were made from.
The finer the materials and the higher the seat, the more distinguished its occupant.
The seats for Bibi Dong and Qian Daoliu, for instance, stood at the very top. They were inlaid with all manner of expensive, rare gems that glittered brilliantly.
The other Titled Douluos from the Elder Hall and the Worship Hall, along with the Titled Douluos, representatives, sect masters, clan leaders, and others from the Two Great Imperial Houses and the Various Great Sects, had somewhat lower seats. The gems inlaid in their chairs were considerably less impressive as well.
As for the members and representatives of weaker, smaller sects, and even ordinary soul masters, their seats were lower still and had no gems inlaid in them.
Of course, Bibi Dong hadn't prepared seats especially for Qian Daoliu and the other enshrined because she had known in advance that they would come.
Nor had she taken the initiative to send her subordinates to notify anyone in the Worship Hall.
After all, the Papal Palace and the Worship Hall had always governed separately, without interfering with each other.
Their seats were there purely as a precaution.
She feared they might suddenly come on a whim, find no seats waiting for them, and seize the opportunity to challenge her authority as pope.
Dressed in a magnificent purple-and-gold papal robe and wearing a splendid crown, Bibi Dong held the Pope's Scepter, the symbol of supreme authority, in her right hand. With graceful steps, she slowly ascended the platform and parted her crimson lips.
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