The Elder Palace.
This was the largest building in Spirit City besides the Supreme Pontiff Palace, representing the absolute pinnacle of power within Spirit Hall.
Inside the tall, domed structure, right through the entrance, was a spacious hall.
The vaulted ceiling was nearly thirty meters high, with four surrounding levels.
The first level had no rooms; from the second level upward, each floor contained ten rooms.
Except under extremely special circumstances, only those with a soul power of level 90 or above—possessing the strength of a Titled Douluo—were qualified to live here.
This was the seat of supreme authority in Spirit Hall.
Even Supreme Pontiff Qian Xunji was constrained by it.
Ultimately, it came down to strength.
Especially the seven consecrates living on the very top floor.
If any one of them stepped forward, their power would far eclipse the Pope’s.
Because they were all Peak Douluos or Super Douluos with soul power levels of at least 96, reaching all the way to Limit Douluo.
At this moment, the Elder Palace was dead silent.
There wasn’t a single servant in sight, and the guards were nowhere to be seen.
When Qin Xuan walked into that massive hall, his heart violently trembled, and the hairs all over his body stood on end.
At the same time, his martial soul seemed drawn by some force, resonating with two targets ahead whose auras were even more powerful than Qian Xunji’s.
At the innermost part of this massive hall…
In front of a statue of a Six-Winged Angel towering over ten meters high, seven people stood silently.
With their backs to the main doors, their hands were clasped in prayer, their eyes closed as they faced the statue.
From their silhouettes, it was seven men.
They all wore distinct, personalized golden armor, differing only in the color of their inner robes and capes.
The man standing in the very center was tall but not particularly robust.
His shoulder armor was shaped like a six-winged angel, and his inner robe and cape were dark blue.
His long golden hair draped smoothly over his back, combed neatly.
He gave off an incredibly peculiar feeling.
It was as if all the sunlight piercing through the massive windows of the hall was focused solely on him.
Just by standing there, his figure seemed infinitely magnified, as if he were the absolute center of the Elder Palace.
Even the incredibly burly old man standing to his left, wearing fierce crocodile-shaped shoulder armor, was reduced to a mere supporting character.
He instilled an undeniable urge to bow in worship.
“Qin Xuan greets the two teachers, and greets the five consecrates.”
Qin Xuan stepped forward.
Even though he wasn’t accustomed to kneeling, he still dropped to one knee and paid his respects respectfully.
After a long while…
The figure standing on the far left, remarkably petite compared to the others, was the first to lose patience.
He turned his head slightly and whispered:
“Brat Qin Xuan, I heard from the Pope that you’re going to the Slaughter Capital.
Not bad, not bad.
You’ve got guts.
This old man is starting to admire you.”
His left eye was covered in frost, and he had flowing silver hair.
Due to his martial soul, his left arm took on an ice-like form.
Although his true age made him an old man, his appearance and voice still resembled a youth.
He was none other than Spirit Hall’s Fifth Consecrate, Light Feather (Guang Ling) Douluo, boasting a soul power of level 96.
“Light Feather, be serious,” the burly old man standing to Qian Daoliu’s left shot him a side-glance and strictly reprimanded him.
“Oh…” Light Feather Douluo pouted and muttered a soft acknowledgment, not daring to argue.
He resumed his praying posture.
Qin Xuan didn’t dare interrupt either, remaining silently on one knee, waiting patiently.
A long time passed.
The man standing in the very center finally opened his eyes and slowly turned around.
He looked to be in his thirties or forties, bearing some resemblance to Qian Xunji.
But his aura far surpassed the latter.
A faint smile perpetually graced his face.
His presence was calm and tranquil, giving off a highly comfortable feeling.
He was Spirit Hall’s Grand Consecrate, the level 99 Limit Douluo, Qian Daoliu.
The remaining six men clearly delayed their movements by half a beat.
After bowing devoutly to the Six-Winged Angel statue, they turned around to follow his lead.
“Rise!” Qian Daoliu spoke.
A gentle wave of soul power lifted Qin Xuan to his feet.
“Thank you, Grand Consecrate.” Qin Xuan was somewhat flattered.
In his memory, he hadn’t interacted much with Qian Daoliu; they had only met once a little over a year ago when he was taken in as a disciple by Qianjun and Xiangmo.
Yet, the man had actually used soul power to telekinetically lift him—only a step away from lifting him by hand.
Although Qin Xuan didn’t care much for it…
“Xunji told me you want to temper yourself in the Slaughter Capital.
He heavily praised your performance recently and strongly supports this matter.” Qian Daoliu kept his hands clasped behind his back, asking with a gentle yet majestic tone, “What do you have to say?”
“Qin Xuan is willing to go,” Qin Xuan said firmly.
Simultaneously, he sneered inwardly.
That old bastard Qian Xunji clearly couldn’t wait for him to die, conveniently ignoring entirely the part about him agreeing to let Qin Xuan marry Bibi Dong.
If he hadn’t unlocked the system, he would have found a roundabout way to refuse or at least stall for time.
But now that he had the immortal herb, the [Phoenix Fire] to protect against miasma in the Slaughter Capital, and the Vertical and Horizontal Sword Techniques and Ghost Valley Breathing Technique which would be like bringing a gun to a knife fight in that place…
what was there to hesitate about?
Staying in Spirit Hall would only make him a thorn in Qian Xunji’s side.
“Sigh, foolish child,” Qian Daoliu sighed softly.
As the saying goes, no one knows a son better than his father.
How much sh*t was in Qian Xunji’s pants, what kind of character he had, and what sinister plots he was brewing—how could Qian Daoliu not know?
As the Pope of Spirit Hall, over fifty years old, he had yet to marry or spread his branches to produce heirs for the Angel Clan.
On one hand, his standards were too high.
He looked down on ordinary women, believing them unworthy of bearing the Angel Clan’s bloodline.
He was a bit like Qian Daoliu in that regard, otherwise, Qian Daoliu wouldn’t have waited until he was seventy to have Qian Xunji.
It was just that Qian Daoliu wasn’t as extreme.
On the other hand, it was because of Bibi Dong.
Bibi Dong possessed the two supreme twin martial souls—Death Spider Emperor and Soul-Eating Spider Emperor—and innate full soul power.
Furthermore, she was a great beauty herself.
Whether it was her temperament or her looks, looking across the Douluo Continent, it was hard to find anyone superior.
Ever since Qian Xunji took Bibi Dong as his disciple, Qian Daoliu noticed that his son’s gaze had changed.
It had filled with greed and lust.
Although he hid it well, he couldn’t hide it from his own father.
That wasn’t the look of someone watching a disciple or a junior.
It was the look of a predator watching its prey.
Like a creepy old man looking at a little girl, wanting to eat her clean until not even the bones were left.
It was just that Qian Daoliu chose to turn a blind eye to it.
He thought that if Qian Xunji could one day make Bibi Dong fall in love with him and the two naturally came together, it wouldn’t be a bad thing.
Maybe they could even give birth to a quasi-Angel God for the clan.
Thus, he delayed pointing it out.
Through this, Qian Daoliu’s personality flaw was fully exposed.
He always liked to look back and forth, hesitating and over-calculating everything he did.