"We have already lost; there's no need to lose any more people."
"Your mission now is to ensure the continued existence of the Bright Hall. Only through existence can there be room for development..."
The Pope glanced back, shaking his head wearily. He saw no hope left and could only resign himself to fate.
"Very well, your subordinate obeys your command!"
Under the Pope's persuasion, Elino finally gritted his teeth and agreed. He then ordered the others to withdraw.
Seeing everyone retreat, the Pope turned his gaze towards Ye Cangtian and said, "I have fulfilled your request. Come, it's time for us to settle this!"
With that, the Pope closed his eyes and exposed his neck.
"Don't be so eager to die."
Ye Cangtian looked at the Pope and continued, "I only promised to let these people go. It doesn't mean I will let the Bright Hall off the hook."
The Pope's eyes widened abruptly. "What do you mean?"
"It's simple. The Bright Hall has deep-seated grievances with Huaxia. Even if the Bright Hall has no more powerful figures, it's very likely to cause friction with Huaxia in the future."
"Therefore, I believe the decision of who leads the Bright Hall should be mine to make."
Ye Cangtian glanced at the Pope and said lightly.
His objective was simple: to have the Pope pass on the position to Nancy. This would make Nancy's succession legitimate, which was the most perfect outcome.
"Nonsense!"
Hearing Ye Cangtian's words, the Pope became agitated and indignant.
If Ye Cangtian were to designate someone to take over the Bright Hall, wouldn't the Bright Hall be destined to be absorbed by Huaxia forces in the future?
Even if such a thing didn't happen, the Bright Hall would become a vassal of Huaxia forces, losing its identity and ability to continue.
He would never agree to such a thing, even if it meant death.
Thinking this, the Pope looked at Ye Cangtian indignantly and continued, "Ye Cangtian, dream on! It's absolutely impossible for you to install a puppet in our Bright Hall!"
"Why so agitated?"
Ye Cangtian looked at the Pope and smiled. "From beginning to end, I never intended to install a puppet. I simply want to select someone who is relatively close to Huaxia to manage the Bright Hall.
This can at least guarantee decades of peace between the two sides! As for the future of the Bright Hall, I will not interfere!"
"I can swear to this!" Ye Cangtian added.
Hmm?
Hearing this, the Pope's eyes darted around.
He knew that people from Huaxia always valued their oaths, especially Ye Cangtian, who always kept his word.
Therefore, the Pope believed Ye Cangtian to some extent.
After a moment, he looked at Ye Cangtian and said lightly, "Ye Cangtian, the person you speak of is difficult to find!
The four Heaven-level powerhouses of the Bright Hall were all killed by you. Everyone here resents you deeply!"
"Heh, that's not necessarily true!"
A smile appeared on Ye Cangtian's face.
The Pope saying this indicated that he was beginning to waver, making the subsequent matters much simpler.
Thinking this, Ye Cangtian continued, "What do you think of Nancy?"
Nancy!
Upon mentioning Nancy, the Pope was taken aback. His gaze towards Ye Cangtian then shifted.
Nancy was no longer a traitor but had become the Saintess of the Bright Hall. Her status in the outer hall was higher than Hasar's, and even in the inner hall, she was on par with the Envoys.
And this status was exchanged by Ye Cangtian for the opening of Huaxia's ruins.
Thinking of this, the Pope seemed to understand something.
He suddenly looked at Ye Cangtian and gritted his teeth, "Ye Cangtian, you started planning when you sought the Saintess position for Nancy?"
"Yes."
At this point, Ye Cangtian no longer concealed it and continued, "However, at that time, it was merely an intention. Whether it could succeed depended on the development of events."
"Impressive, impressive. It seems my defeat is not undeserved!"
The Pope gave Ye Cangtian a thumbs-up upon hearing this.
Ye Cangtian had begun his subtle arrangements over a year ago to facilitate a regime change in the Bright Hall.
In contrast, they had only planned for a month for today's events. Comparing the two, they were far behind.
Ye Cangtian saw no point in discussing the matter further with the Pope and directly asked, "Talking about that is useless. Do you agree to this matter or not?"
Hearing this, the Pope's eyes rolled.
If Ye Cangtian's words held true, handing over the Bright Hall to Nancy would be the best choice.
After this battle, the Bright Hall's strength had greatly diminished and would require a long period of recovery.
With Nancy taking over the Bright Hall, it would undoubtedly usher in a period of peaceful development.
After all, Nancy's relationship with Ye Cangtian was likely known to everyone internationally.
Therefore, in the eyes of other powers, Huaxia would surely not stand by if the Bright Hall were attacked.
However, if the Bright Hall were handed over to someone else, the outcome would be different.
Firstly, seeing the Bright Hall's weakened state, international powers might become greedy and jointly attack the Bright Hall.
Secondly, such a choice would also offend Ye Cangtian.
In that case, Ye Cangtian might bring his forces to destroy the Bright Hall, and then the Bright Hall would be in dire peril.
Thinking this, the Pope took out paper and brush from his Qiankun bag and, with a wave of his hand, wrote something on the paper.
"Here, this is what you wanted, and it's within my maximum authority."
A moment later, the Pope threw the paper with writing on it to Ye Cangtian.
Ye Cangtian took it and scanned it. The general meaning was that the position of Pope would be passed to Nancy, but nothing was mentioned about the inner hall.
Upon seeing this, Ye Cangtian understood the meaning of "maximum authority."
The Pope was in charge of the outer hall, while the inner hall was managed by Guang Yu. Therefore, the Pope had no right to interfere in matters of the inner hall.
Thinking this, Ye Cangtian looked at the Pope and said lightly, "Alright, everything is over. It's time to conclude. Do you intend to do it yourself, or shall I send you off?"
"I'll do it myself."
Upon hearing Ye Cangtian offer another choice, the Pope hesitated for a moment before ultimately choosing to end his own life.
The next moment, the Pope took out a dagger and unhesitatingly stabbed it into his own heart.
As his heart was pierced and his life force rapidly drained, the Pope looked at Ye Cangtian and said, "I lost to you in this life. If there is a next life, I will be the one who wins..."
Ye Cangtian nodded at his words and said, "Alright, if there is a next life, I welcome you to be my enemy!"
Only after hearing Ye Cangtian's reply did the Pope relax his body and fall to the ground, his life extinguished in a short while.
Seeing this, Ye Cangtian turned to Emerson and others and said, "Thank you all for your righteous intervention just now. Everything has ended. Please withdraw from the Bright Hall. Huaxia will offer generous gifts later!"
Ye Cangtian's intention was simple: to send these people back where they came from.
Before his death, the Pope had indeed issued an unconditional surrender order. It would be inappropriate for these people to remain here.
After all, without the suppression of Heaven-level powerhouses, these forces were very formidable.
If they were to do anything, the Bright Hall might not be able to cope.
Ye Cangtian did not want to see such a situation, so he could only speak in this manner.
On the other side, upon hearing Ye Cangtian's words, Emerson led the way and bowed respectfully to Ye Cangtian.
"Mr. Ye, although we live in the Bright Ruins, we are willing to be eternal friends with Huaxia forces! If you need anything in the future, just send a message..."
"Yes. Good."
Ye Cangtian replied lightly. Seeing this, Emerson did not hesitate and directly led his family away from the Bright Hall. Other forces also followed suit.
After all the forces had left, Ye Cangtian slowly walked towards Elino.
Seeing Ye Cangtian approach, Elino became noticeably vigilant. This person was a Heaven-level powerhouse. If he were to do anything to him, his life would likely be forfeit.
"Elino, you heard what the Pope said just now."
"Now I ask you, what are your thoughts on the Pope's decision just now?"