One day later, in Spirit Hall, intelligence expert Lor Diarra had already received Meyers's message. Tianlin and Ning Rongrong had suddenly appeared in Gengxin City—a rare opportunity.
Normally, they stayed in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. The furthest they'd go was Heaven Dou City, not far from Seven Treasure Mountain, making them hard to target.
But Gengxin City was in the Star Luo Empire's territory, outside the Glazed Tile Sect's reach.
He immediately reported to Pope Bibi Dong and the elders.
"Your Holiness, Jun Tianlin is alone—this is a once-in-a-lifetime chance. We must not let it slip by. We have to eliminate him completely," said a tall, thin elder to Bibi Dong.
This was Ghost Leopard Douluo, one of the original nine elders.
Now there were only seven, as Porcupinefish Douluo and Demon Bear Douluo were killed by Tianlin, and Mad Lion Douluo died at Yu Yuanzhen's hands. Their nine became six.
Fortunately, Sacred Dragon Clan's master Tuoba Xi broke through, giving them new blood.
"To kill Jun Tianlin, who do we send? You?" Spirit Kite Douluo sneered at Ghost Leopard. She had no interest in this mission.
Tianlin possessed both ultimate fire and ultimate ice, which completely countered her. Reaching Title Douluo level was hard enough; she didn't want to die.
"Even if I can't beat him alone, can't we gang up on him?" Ghost Leopard retorted. "If the seven elders work together, I don't believe we can't kill a mere Soul Sage like Jun Tianlin."
"Don't be so naive, Ghost Leopard," said Guimei's gloomy voice. "I've dealt with Jun Tianlin. He's no fool. If he dares reveal his identity here, he must have a backup plan. And as vice and successor of the Glazed Tile Clan, would Tianlin and Ning Rongrong really have no protectors? I suspect Chen Xin and Gu Rong are nearby."
"According to Grand Worship's intel, Sword Douluo Chen Xin has broken through to level 99. If he appears and teams up with Tianlin, are you planning for us all to be wiped out?"
"Then what about the Worship Hall? Can't we have the grand worshipers take action?" Ghost Leopard was embarrassed. Guimei had a point—maybe Tianlin's appearance was a trap to lure them in.
But if the elder council couldn't act, there was still the Worship Hall, where even the weakest were Super Douluo.
"That's out of the question. My Worship Hall will not intervene," came Qian Renxue's voice as she walked into the Pope's Hall, looking at Bibi Dong.
"Why not? Jun Tianlin is Spirit Hall's enemy. Are you going to let him go? Or do you still have feelings for him? Don't forget your status, my dear 'sister'!" Bibi Dong said coldly.
Facing Bibi Dong's questioning, Qian Renxue was unafraid and even smiled. "Sister, I heard the Heaven Dou Empire recently invited that 'Grandmaster' Yu Xiaogang to train their young soul masters. He's our enemy too, right? If you want, I'll have someone bring you his head. Killing such a useless Grandmaster won't take much effort."
Back at the Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, she'd already noticed Bibi Dong's favoritism toward that useless man, or she wouldn't have sheltered him then.
Which made Qian Renxue dislike Yu Xiaogang even more. She couldn't understand how he had beaten her father—a Title Douluo with the Seraphim martial soul and the Pope of Spirit Hall, losing to such a waste.
"Don't you dare!" Bibi Dong erupted, her soul power shaking the elders back—except for Qian Renxue, who didn't move at all.
Her strength now far surpassed all the elders, including level 95 Guimei.
In the original, when Qian Renxue first appeared, she was a Soul Sage in her seventies, able to contend with Title Douluo. Over the years, aided by the Heavenly Snow power, she'd broken through to mid-level Soul Douluo (level 85).
With her pure soul power, far beyond normal Title Douluo, only monsters like Tianlin could match her. Ordinary soul masters below Super Douluo were no match. Bibi Dong couldn't intimidate her with soul power alone.
Qian Renxue smiled coldly at Bibi Dong, mocking her. Killing Yu Xiaogang would be far easier than Tianlin, yet you can't even do that—what right do you have to demand anything from others?
The elder council dared not interrupt. One was the daughter of the former Pope, granddaughter of the Grand Worship; the other, the former Pope's disciple and current Pope. Neither was to be trifled with.
Qian Renxue continued, "I have two reasons for refusing. First, my grandfather promised—in the name of the Angel God—that the Worship Hall would no longer act against the Glazed Tile Sect. The Qian family would never break that oath."
"Second, Ghost Elder is right. There's no way the Glazed Tile Sect wouldn't send protectors for Jun Tianlin and Ning Rongrong. Chen Xin is likely nearby. The two strongest in the Worship Hall, Second Worship are dead, and Grand Worship is still injured. Even if all five remaining went, at best it'd be a pyrrhic victory. Even if the elders joined, once Chen Xin uses his life-for-burning technique and becomes half-divine, far surpassing Ultimate Douluo, you'd all die. If the two empires struck then, what would we do?"
"And besides, mustering all of Spirit Hall just to deal with a man under twenty—have we no shame?"
At this, the Title Douluo all lowered their heads. Qian Renxue's concerns were justified. Losing face was one thing; being slaughtered by Chen Xin would be a real loss.
Many served Spirit Hall only for status and wealth, not out of true loyalty.
Dying for Spirit Hall? Forget it.
"So you're saying we do nothing and just let them leave?" Bibi Dong pressed.
"No. This time, I'll go see him myself. If I'm right, he revealed himself in Gengxin City just to lure me over," Qian Renxue guessed. Indeed, besides Ning Fengzhi, no one knew Tianlin better than her.
Bibi Dong frowned. "You? Aren't you afraid he'll attack you? Even if your level surpasses his, I don't think you can beat him."
Qian Renxue was surprised—was Bibi Dong worried about her?
A flash of softness crossed her eyes. She murmured, "Don't worry. He won't attack me!"