Spirit City.
Atop the magnificent city walls, Bibi Dong—wearing a nine-curved gilded crown and a silver papal robe engraved with a sun pattern—gently raised a glass of wine and toasted the young man standing before her.
"Ye Xuan, I toast to you."
Spirit Hall was the most powerful faction on the continent. As the Pope of Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong wielded supreme authority; even the emperors of the Tiantou Empire and the Star Luo Empire treated her with utmost courtesy.
From this, it was evident that anyone worthy of a toast from Bibi Dong was certainly no ordinary person.
In fact, the young man being toasted by Bibi Dong was the greatest prodigy Spirit Hall had seen in a thousand years!
Ye Xuan was the direct heir of the Ye Family of the Tiantou Empire.
When he was five years old, his family suffered a catastrophic tragedy, leaving him an orphan. With nowhere to turn, he was taken in and adopted by Spirit Hall.
At age six, he awakened twin martial souls: the Double Pupil and the Supreme Bone. Afterward, the Grand Elder Qian Daoliu took him in as a disciple, and his cultivation speed skyrocketed like a rocket! At age twelve, he achieved the rank of Spirit King and went out into the world to hone his skills through real-world trials.
When he returned at age twenty, he was already a Title Douluo of a generation! His title: "Supreme"! Eight years had passed in the blink of an eye.
Times had changed, and the Pope of Spirit Hall was no longer Qian Xunji, but Bibi Dong.
Although the supreme power of Spirit Hall had shifted hands, Ye Xuan held no particular emotional attachment to anyone other than Qian Daoliu, so he simply took things as they came and remained unbothered.
On the day Ye Xuan returned, Qian Daoliu had held a closed-door conversation with him that lasted the entire night without sleep. No one knew what the two of them had actually discussed.
Yet, no sooner had Ye Xuan returned than he was preparing to leave Spirit Hall once more, seemingly to carry out a mission assigned by Qian Daoliu.
As Ye Xuan was about to leave the city, he reached the city gates only to be intercepted by Elder Ju of Spirit Hall, who told him that His Holiness the Pope had personally come to see him off...
Although Her Holiness the Pope was a woman, her methods were ruthless and her strength formidable. In the dozen or so years since she rose to power, she had gradually seized control of Spirit Hall's supreme authority, standing in subtle rival balance against the Grand Elder Qian Daoliu.
Ye Xuan looked at Bibi Dong. Before transmigrating, he had read the novel Douluo Continent, but he only remembered the general plot. It seemed that Spirit Hall and Bibi Dong were the main antagonists of the original story.
Yet, through twenty years of personal experience, Ye Xuan felt that Spirit Hall had real meaning and value for ordinary commoners, and its actions were not evil or improper.
On the contrary, many of its policies and initiatives benefited the people at the bottom of society.
And while Bibi Dong's methods were ruthless, she did not seem to be a malicious evildoer either.
Bibi Dong held the wine cup in her delicate hand and drained it in a single gulp. The crystalline liquor inside the glass flowed past the rim and into the woman's mouth.
Drained to the last drop!
Bibi Dong lightly covered her mouth, wiped away the lingering droplets from the corner of her lips, and looked at Ye Xuan with gentle eyes, filled with approval and a hint of goodwill.
"Supreme Douluo, I had already heard rumors about you back when I was still just the Holy Maiden."
"It is said that back then, the Grand Elder Qian Daoliu originally intended to appoint you as the Holy Son, but he was blocked by the reigning Pope—he, well, my teacher Qian Xunji... Is that true?"
Ye Xuan lowered his eyelids, fixed his gaze on his wine cup, and did not answer directly.
He said, "For Her Holiness the Pope to personally offer a toast, Ye Xuan is deeply flattered and should return the courtesy."
Ye Xuan picked up the jade wine flagon, poured the fine wine into the glass goblet, raised his head, and drained it in one go!
The matter Bibi Dong mentioned was far too sensitive. Besides, time had passed, and the former Pope Qian Xunji had long since turned to dust; it was not appropriate for Ye Xuan to take up that conversation.
Yet saying nothing at all would seem disrespectful to Bibi Dong.
Thus, he simply used the opportunity of the toast to sidestep the topic while simultaneously conveying his respect to Bibi Dong.
Bibi Dong smiled faintly. "You really are cautious."
"Don't worry. Although rumors outside claim that I am at odds with the Grand Elder, that has nothing to do with you. I believe you feel the same way, am I right?"
Ye Xuan remained calm and composed, neither servile nor overbearing as he replied:
"Your Holiness, Ye Xuan has received the grace of Spirit Hall, and no matter what happens, I will never do anything ungrateful or treacherous."
Bibi Dong sighed. "To achieve the rank of Title Douluo at age twenty, you truly are a peerless talent. Even standing before you, I can only catch a glimpse of your dust, falling far behind."
"It really is a pity. It's a shame I was still too young back then and lacked seniority, otherwise how wonderful it would have been if you had been my disciple?"
"How about this, Ye Xuan? Let me lay it all out for you plainly."
Bibi Dong pressed her palm gently upon the scepter symbolizing papal authority, gazed straight into Ye Xuan's eyes, and stepped a few paces closer, close enough that he could catch the delicate fragrance radiating from her.
Ye Xuan met Bibi Dong's gaze, his eyes frank and open.
"Your Holiness, please speak your mind."
Bibi Dong's voice was sharp and resolute, carrying a majestic presence.
"Qian Xunji was narrow-minded and envious of better men. He regarded Spirit Hall as his own private property, and back then he blocked your appointment as Holy Son simply because your surname isn't Qian!"
"The only reason he appointed me as Holy Maiden was because I am a woman, believing that after some years I would inevitably have to return the power to the Qian family—not to mention that he had the unfathomably powerful Elder Hall to keep me in check."
"But I am not like Qian Xunji! I can give you more!"
"Ye Xuan, you are a talent of the age! Your potential is so high that the world vastly underestimates it! Before stepping into the realm of Title Douluo, looking at you is like a frog at the bottom of a well looking up at the moon; but once you step into the realm of Title Douluo, looking at you is like a mere mayfly gazing at the vast azure sky!"
At this point, Bibi Dong paused, a slightly complicated expression crossing her face.
Even with a talent like hers, achieving godhood required inheriting a divine position.
Yet Ye Xuan might not need to inherit any god's position at all; he could rely entirely on his own cultivation to become a god! Standing before Ye Xuan, she truly could not summon her usual pride...
Nor could she easily put on the airs of a Pope.
Bibi Dong took a deep breath and said to Ye Xuan:
"Ye Xuan, as long as you choose to follow me, whatever you want, I can give it to you. I can immediately appoint you as the Holy Son of Spirit Hall! I can also fulfill any request you make!"
"You only need to draw a clear line between yourself and the Elder Hall."
A look that confirmed his suspicions appeared on Ye Xuan's face.
Bibi Dong had come to see him off certainly not because of his handsome looks; her real purpose was still to recruit Ye Xuan under her command.
Ye Xuan shook his head slightly. "Your Holiness, Ye Xuan suffered a massive upheaval in my youth, and thanks to being taken in by Spirit Hall and personally taught by the Grand Elder, I have achieved what I am today. Ye Xuan would never dare forget this kindness."
Bibi Dong's expression turned disappointed.
However, the very next moment, she heard Ye Xuan say:
"However, Your Holiness need not worry. Although Ye Xuan will always be a part of Spirit Hall, I have no interest in fighting for power and profit."
"On the day I returned, the Grand Elder had a private, all-night conversation with me. Part of what we discussed was my dislike for political infighting, and the Grand Elder told me that I do not need to take sides with the Elder Hall, and that everything would follow my personal wishes."
Qian Daoliu demanded almost nothing of Ye Xuan.
Everything was left to Ye Xuan's own will.
There was only one thing that had caused Qian Daoliu—his teacher—to even bow in salute to him, his own disciple.