Bing Jiu's Tour! The Entire Audience Was Stunned!

"Little Jiu, before you leave for the Heaven Dou Empire, I have one final question for you."

"Please ask, Mother."

Bibi Dong leaned forward and gently took Bing Jiu's hand.

"When I first met you, these hands of yours were covered in frostbite."

Bing Jiu froze slightly at her words.

Bibi Dong placed her hand in her palm and gently rubbed it.

A familiar warmth spread through Bing Jiu's body.

Six years had passed, yet that feeling had never changed.

"Although I do not wish to reopen your wounds, Ning Fengzhi, as the Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, favors the Heaven Dou Empire. If you go to its capital, you will most likely encounter him."

"When that time comes, what do you intend to do?"

Bibi Dong's question struck directly at the heart of the matter.

If it had been Bing Jiu a few years ago, Bibi Dong would never have asked her this.

After all, Ning Fengzhi was her father. It would have been far too cruel for a little girl.

But now that she had grown to the point of practically being designated the next Pope, would she be able to...

Bibi Dong narrowed her eyes, eagerly awaiting Bing Jiu's answer.

Yet after waiting for a while, Bing Jiu merely kept her head lowered and gave no reply.

Seeing this, Bibi Dong sighed.

She thought that perhaps it was still too difficult for a twelve-year-old girl.

Just as Bibi Dong reached out, intending to comfort Bing Jiu—

"Mother."

Bing Jiu grabbed Bibi Dong's wrist and pressed it to her own cheek, a smile curling across her lips.

"Mother, you should not be asking what I will do when I see Ning Fengzhi. You should be asking... when Ning Fengzhi sees how much I have grown, how will he feel?"

"Do you think he will smash his head against the ground and offer me his pathetic, worthless knees and his apology?"

After saying that, Bing Jiu smiled, stepped forward, and cupped her hands in salute.

"Mother, that is your daughter's answer. Please take care of yourself, at least until I return."

With that, Bing Jiu turned and left the Papal Hall.

After she left, Bibi Dong stood there blankly for several seconds before helplessly shaking her head.

She always surpassed her expectations...

However, the ease on Bibi Dong's face lasted only an instant before it was replaced by a chilling coldness.

She sat alone upon the Pope's throne, a symbol of the continent's highest authority, and pondered for a long time.

A crystalline tear slipped from the corner of her eye, but before it could reach the ground, she waved her hand and scattered it.

She opened her eyes. Her pale violet pupils looked incomparably beautiful in the darkness.

"This continent would be better off destroyed."

The next day

After several days of preparation, today was the grand occasion of Bing Jiu's first visit to the Heaven Dou Empire as the Spirit Hall Saintess.

Before dawn had even broken, Bing Jiu had been dragged up to be dressed.

As the Spirit Hall Saintess, she represented Spirit Hall whenever she went out. Bibi Dong would never allow Bing Jiu to go on tour dressed in ragged clothes.

Thus, everything prepared for Bing Jiu within the hall was the finest of the finest.

Clothes made from ice silkworm silk, boots woven with golden thread—every item was among the best on the entire continent.

"Little Jiu, Little Jiu, come here for a moment."

"Hm? Grandpa Guang Ling, what is it?"

Guang Ling Douluo came rushing over in a huff. After dismissing everyone, he called Bing Jiu, who was still being dressed, outside.

Once they reached a place where there were only the two of them, he mysteriously pulled a bow from behind his back.

Upon closer inspection, the bow was covered in mysterious engravings and silver-white gemstones. Although it emitted no aura fluctuations, Bing Jiu knew that its power was simply unimaginable.

"Grandpa Guang Ling, this is your own bow. How can you give it to me?"

"Ah, Little Jiu, what's mine is yours."

Guang Ling Douluo generously slung an arm over Bing Jiu's shoulder, looking as though he were the greatest man under heaven.

"You call me Grandpa, so of course I give you the best. Besides, your grandpa here is a rank ninety-seven Super Douluo. Unless an Evil Soul Master above rank ninety-five appears, otherwise, hehe."

Guang Ling Douluo patted his chest.

"Your grandpa will beat them like they're grandsons!"

"Hehe..."

Bing Jiu gave an awkward laugh and raised a thumbs-up at Guang Ling Douluo.

Guang Ling Douluo was so thrilled that, if Qing Luan Douluo had not come over to drag him away, he probably would have taken off his shoes to give them to Bing Jiu too.

After finishing her preparations, Bing Jiu arrived before the departure ceremony.

There, led by Tuoba Xi, more than a thousand of Spirit Hall's strongest knights, personally selected by Bibi Dong, stood before the hall like a forest of steel. Every one of them radiated a murderous air.

Clearly, they were knightly powerhouses who had truly undergone countless trials. Otherwise, they would not have been qualified to attend Bing Jiu.

When Bing Jiu emerged, several thousand knights, including Tuoba Xi, simultaneously dropped to one knee before her.

They shouted in unison.

"Greetings, Saintess!"

The cry was so thunderous that nearly half of Spirit City could hear it.

Many citizens who had long been waiting emerged from their homes and looked eagerly toward the Spirit Main Hall.

"My heavens! With a sound like that, the Spirit Hall Saintess must have come out. What an honor—I can actually see her today."

"Isn't that so? The Saintess has only held her position for six years, but reports of her achievements have never stopped during those six years! She has even been hailed as the most powerful Saintess in Spirit Hall's history."

"More than that. You may not know this, but according to rumors, the Saintess has also maintained frequent correspondence with Crown Prince Xue Qinghe of the Heaven Dou Empire. They say she may even become the future Empress of the Heaven Dou Empire!"

"Oh my, the future Pope of Spirit Hall and the Empress of the Heaven Dou Empire—Saintess will surely become the most noble woman on the continent!"

"Rise!"

Bibi Dong took Bing Jiu's hand and led her to the front of the platform, raising the Pope's scepter high.

"Warriors of Spirit Hall, tell me, what is Spirit Hall's duty!"

Several thousand warriors raised their arms and roared, "To protect! Spirit Hall is the continent's protector! Anyone who endangers the continent shall be subjected to Spirit Hall's holy judgment!"

"Good! You are indeed the warriors of my Spirit Hall!"

Bibi Dong guided Bing Jiu to the front of the platform. She first patted her shoulder approvingly, then bent down and slipped a token into her hand.

Bing Jiu was slightly startled and was just about to speak.

Bibi Dong immediately sealed her lips with a kiss. "Do not refuse. This is what you deserve, what I should give you. Now go and show them the majesty of my Spirit Hall's Saintess!"

"Mm!"

Bing Jiu nodded firmly, without the slightest trace of timidity in her voice, as though she had long grown accustomed to all this.

She cleared her throat. The instant her scarlet eyes lifted, boundless killing intent surged forth from all around her.

This shocked not only the soldiers, but even the visiting powerhouses watching from the side, leaving them drenched in cold sweat.

A Soul Saint in his seventies nearly collapsed to the ground in fright.

His voice trembled.

"Th-this killing intent... I have only felt it once before from the Clear Sky Hammer! But if we judge by the same rank, the Saintess's killing aura far surpasses that of a Clear Sky Hammer powerhouse!"

"This is truly unprecedented in my life. It seems that no matter what happens in the future, we must never offend Spirit Hall."

Seeing the shocked expressions of the visiting powerhouses, Bibi Dong nodded in satisfaction.

That was right. Why make even a simple departure ceremony so grand?

The purpose was to intimidate those forces harboring evil intentions!

They were to witness Bing Jiu's strength, become too afraid to defy Spirit Hall, and ultimately submit!

A wise bird chooses a good tree to rest in.

And Spirit Hall happened to be the finest tree of all!