Qian Chenming's fingers stopped.
He looked up at Chrysanthemum Douluo, a hint of a smile on his lips.
"She does cherish old ties."
Chrysanthemum Douluo dared not respond and merely kept his eyes lowered.
He could not fathom Qian Chenming's thoughts, but even knowing this matter might incur his displeasure, he had come anyway.
There was no helping it.
After all, he and Gui Mei had doted on Hu Liena since she was little.
At that moment.
Qian Chenming fell silent briefly, then smiled calmly.
"They were master and disciple. Such bonds are hard to sever; that is only human nature. This Pontiff is not an unreasonable person. Let her go."
Chrysanthemum Douluo raised his eyes slightly, somewhat surprised, and was just about to bow.
Qian Chenming's words interrupted him. "But there is something I want you to tell her on my behalf."
"Please speak, Your Holiness."
"I will not stop her from seeing Bibi Dong. But she must think carefully about where her loyalty lies: with the former pope imprisoned in the dungeon, or with Spirit Hall."
"What she chooses and how it ends will depend on her own actions."
Chrysanthemum Douluo's heart tightened. Bowing, he answered solemnly, "I will remember."
In truth, Qian Chenming had no need to remind him specifically.
He understood the stakes better than anyone.
In the past, Qian Xunji's kindness toward him had been as weighty as a mountain; he had nurtured and promoted him, bestowing immense favors. Even without Qian Chenming saying anything, if Hu Liena remained obstinate after meeting Bibi Dong this time and failed to distinguish what mattered most, he would never indulge her.
Then.
Remembering something, Chrysanthemum Douluo spoke again. "Then, Your Holiness, the mission to ambush the contestants..."
"What, do you have no confidence in your Holy Maiden?"
Hearing this, Qian Chenming answered with a question.
Understanding his meaning, Chrysanthemum Douluo hurriedly withdrew with the utmost respect, not daring to say anything more.
Meanwhile.
In a canyon a thousand miles away.
Ranks of Heaven Dou cavalry were escorting the younger generation from the various academies toward Spirit City to participate in this gathering of stars at the Soul Master finals.
Dozens of carriages rolled over the gravel on the main road, their bodies jolting violently.
The carriage at the very front came to a rumbling halt.
The letter in Ning Fengzhi's hand nearly slipped from his grasp. He lowered his head and read it again, still unable to believe it.
"Bibi Dong has been deposed? The pope whose strength was the greatest mystery in Spirit Hall is simply gone like that?"
The carriage was so quiet that the sound of wheels rolling over dirt was audible.
Sword Douluo Chen Xin sat opposite him, his brows drawn into a deep furrow. "Fengzhi, is the news reliable?"
Ning Fengzhi did not answer immediately. He folded the letter, tucked it into his sleeve, and gazed at the desolate landscape passing outside the window.
"The six great enshrined took action personally. Golden Crocodile Douluo led men to seal off the Pope's Palace. The one sitting in that chair now is a young man named Qian Chenming."
"Qian Chenming?" Bone Douluo Gu Rong sounded utterly astonished.
"A direct descendant of the Qian Family? When did someone like that emerge in Spirit Hall?"
"The letter says he possesses an incomparably pure six-winged angel martial soul."
Ning Fengzhi added.
The carriage abruptly fell silent.
Chen Xin slowly exhaled, his voice low. "The six-winged angel is the Qian Family's hereditary martial soul. Its previous bearer was Qian Xunji."
"When did another descendant like this suddenly appear in the Qian Family?"
Hearing Qian Xunji's name, Ning Fengzhi could not help speaking again. "This involves an incident from the past. It is said that Spirit Hall's former pope, Qian Xunji, died at Bibi Dong's hands."
"And that was the spark that ignited this palace coup."
"What? Something like that actually happened?"
Gu Rong was completely dumbfounded.
His intense curiosity could no longer conceal how incomprehensible he found the matter.
Chen Xin, however, shook his head. "But wasn't it rumored back then that Qian Xunji died from Tang Hao's attack?"
At this.
Ning Fengzhi neither agreed nor disagreed. Only after a long while did he speak. "Perhaps there is no contradiction in both things having happened."
As his words fell.
All three inevitably sank into deep thought.
Spirit Hall had a new pope, but how strong this new pope was remained unknown.
Ning Fengzhi only felt that this journey to Spirit City would likely leave an impression unlike any before.
Outside.
Shrek's carriage traveled in the middle of the procession, and its occupants suddenly noticed Ning Fengzhi's carriage slowing down.
Everyone noticed at once, and Tang San and the others all looked out the window.
"Dad, what's wrong?" Ning Rongrong called worriedly.
Ning Fengzhi lifted the carriage curtain, his expression unchanged. "Nothing serious. I merely received some news from Spirit City."
"About what?"
Ning Fengzhi glanced at her and said gently, "Let's not discuss that now. The journey is tiring, Rongrong. Get some rest."
With that.
The convoy continued onward. Ahead lay the main road to Spirit City, with open land on either side and distant mountains dark as ink.
At the very rear of the procession, an extravagantly luxurious carriage proceeded steadily, surrounded by heavily armed guards.
Xue Qinghe sat inside the carriage, studying the surrounding scenery as the familiar feeling of returning home welled up in her heart.
Yet just then, the carriage abruptly slowed. The wind lifted a corner of the curtain before it fell again.
Xue Qinghe's fingertips paused slightly. When she looked up, two figures had already knelt soundlessly in the shadows of the carriage.
Snake Lance Douluo and Porcupinefish Douluo.
"Your Highness," Snake Lance began, his voice kept extremely low. "Something has happened in Spirit City."
Xue Qinghe did not answer immediately. She merely closed the book in her hands slowly before speaking.
"Speak."
Porcupinefish Douluo drew a deep breath. "Bibi Dong... has been deposed."
Deathly silence filled the carriage.
Xue Qinghe's movements stopped.
It was not surprise, nor anger, but a blankness even she had never anticipated.
A moment later, she spoke very softly. "Who did it?"
"The six great enshrined, led by Golden Crocodile Douluo. They sealed off the Pope's Palace." Snake Lance paused. "The one sitting in that chair now is the new pope, Qian Chenming."
"Qian Chenming?"
Xue Qinghe repeated the name, as though grinding it over and over on her tongue.
Since the six great enshrined had acted, it must have been her grandfather's idea.
But.
She was clearly the Qian Family's only remaining direct descendant.
When had this Qian Chenming appeared...?
The carriage remained quiet for a long time.
Xue Qinghe lowered her eyes, her slender fingers slowly tightening.
She kept murmuring the name, then raised her head as though struck by a sudden realization.
"Qian Chenming... my great-grandfather had that name too..."
At that thought.
Xue Qinghe dared not think any further.
She truly could not understand what had happened. Perhaps they merely shared a name. Then just who was this person...?
As she thought.
Xue Qinghe suddenly smiled, but the smile did not reach her eyes.
"What about her?"
Snake Lance and Pufferfish exchanged a glance.
"She has been imprisoned in the dungeon. The specifics are unknown."
Xue Qinghe said nothing.
She looked out the window, where the wilderness on either side of the main road gradually blurred in the twilight.
Bibi Dong.
That woman had once been her nightmare, the source of the deepest hatred of her life.
She hated her, hated her for destroying everything she had with her own hands, hated her for making her grit her teeth to fall asleep on countless nights.
Yet now, hearing that she had been deposed, she felt not the slightest pleasure.
Instead, an indescribable feeling welled up inside her.
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