Chapter 21: Ability outweighs everything

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"How are you sure that coming to me will save your lives?" Bibi Dong said amusedly.

"I am not the Grand Elder's opponent. If he insists on punishing you slightly, I won't be able to stop him."

"Moreover, I have just taken office. You ran to me, and if you attract the Grand Elder's hostility, how can I continue to be Pope?"

The expressions of Yue Guan and his companion were very ugly.

They also knew that now was not the best time to pick a side, but they had no other choice; otherwise, they wouldn't have come over with such a low-down attitude.

Previously, they had risked their lives to bring Qian Xunji back to Wuhun City and even aimed to crash into the Elder Hall, all so that everyone in the Elder Hall could see their miserable state—it really wasn't that they didn't put in the effort!

It was that they themselves had already fallen apart! But even so, after the Grand Elder saw Qian Xunji's miserable state, he still erupted with that terrifying killing intent toward them. If it hadn't been for the fact that so many Titled Douluo were present at the time, the Grand Elder definitely wouldn't have let them off!

They had served in the Spirit Hall for over fifty years, and they had joined the Spirit Hall when Qian Daoliu was still the Ruling Elder. They knew that old guy's temper best.

He cared about face! Qian Daoliu didn't care if they had tried their best; he only cared about the results!

What if they had tried their best? Qian Xunji was seriously injured, and three Spirit Hall Titled Douluo plus a group of Spirit Saints were beaten to a pulp by one Tang Hao—that was the most important fact! The Spirit Hall's face had been trampled into the ground by them in one battle!

As the face of the Spirit Hall, the Pope had actually been beaten into such a ghostly state.

That was one thing, but the most fatal thing was that Qian Xunji hadn't been saved!

If Qian Xunji hadn't died, he and Gui Mei would have been credited with protecting him, and coupled with that miserable state, their status in the Elder Hall would only have been higher, not lower.

The problem was that Qian Xunji died! No one cared how hard they had fought anymore!

So what if they fought to the death? Qian Xunji was dead; it was the same whether they fought or not.

Now, he and Gui Mei were feared by everyone in the Elder Hall; everyone hid far away from them, afraid of being implicated.

If they didn't choose to run to the Pope Palace, which was in the limelight and the center of everyone's attention, so that everyone could see them, then once this limelight passed, no one would even know when they died in a corner of the Elder Hall!

Not to mention that they were still in a seriously injured state now; even if they were intact, it wouldn't be difficult for the Grand Elder to make them disappear discreetly! And being targeted by the Grand Elder—damn, there was nowhere to run!

Now their only way to survive was Bibi Dong's side! "Should I keep them?" Bibi Dong looked at Nan Feng, who was lying on the table reading a book.

"Hmm?" Nan Feng looked up.

"Keep them. Two Titled Douluo, why not keep them?"

"But what if Qian Daoliu takes action?" Bibi Dong said.

If she didn't keep them, their life or death would have nothing to do with her. If she kept them, and Qian Daoliu killed them, the Elder Hall would 100% unite to oppose her as Pope.

"Let him take action. Isn't that just right?" Nan Feng stretched.

"Two Titled Douluo elders who fought to the death for his son—even if they didn't have merit, they had hard work. But because his son died, he wants to make these two pay with their lives? That's too interesting. Who would dare to work for him anymore?"

"If you do a good job, it's taken for granted; if there's a problem, it's a dead end. Rewards and punishments are unclear, and it all depends on his mood. It would be a miracle if this Spirit Hall could be good."

Qian Daoliu wouldn't take action; after all, these two didn't die in the original work.

However, if Bibi Dong refused Yue Guan and Gui Mei's defection, that might not be the case.

In the original work, Bibi Dong was isolated and helpless at this time, so she would have accepted the defection of two veteran Titled Douluo, even if there were risks.

But now, with him here, and after all his messing around, Bibi Dong's career ambition wasn't too strong. She belonged to the type who had the mindset that it was best if she could do a good job, and it didn't matter if she couldn't. Naturally, she didn't care that much about whether these people stood on her side.

At worst, just have a fight.

Anyway, it wasn't her who would be making a fool of herself. The Grand Elder bullying the little Pope—everyone would only laugh at the Spirit Hall.

"Pope Crown?" Yue Guan and Gui Mei nervously scanned the meeting hall.

There was no one else, only Bibi Dong and the two of them.

And that cat on the table! Was it that cat that spoke just now? Can a cat speak human language? "The two elders, please rise," Bibi Dong said.

"The two of you have joined the Spirit Hall for a long time, over fifty years to this day, so it can be considered hard work. The Grand Elder won't blame the two of you too much for this matter."

Yue Guan and his companion's expressions stiffened.

Won't blame? That's exactly what he would do!! It was precisely because they had joined the Spirit Hall for over fifty years that they knew what kind of person the Grand Elder was! Qian Daoliu didn't care about the attitude of the people below, nor did he care if they tried their best; he only cared about ability!

As long as you could complete the tasks he entrusted, you were a hero! But if you couldn't, no matter how hard you worked, even if you fought to the death, even if you died on the mission, the Grand Elder wouldn't bother to take another look! The Spirit Hall didn't need trash! This was the truth they had understood on their first day of joining the Spirit Hall! Why could the Spirit Hall attract more Spirit Masters than the two great empires and the Seven Great Sects? It was because of this simple and brutal promotion method: as long as you had power, no matter who you were, the Spirit Hall was willing to accept you.

Even for those Spirit Masters with bad reputations, the Spirit Hall had specialized 'black gloves'!

Gui Mei even used to be in charge of this area!

In the Spirit Hall, ability outweighs everything! Attitude is irrelevant! Effort? Loyalty? What's the use of that!

Trash is trash!

"Pope Crown, as long as you are willing to save us this one time, we are willing to swear loyalty to the death!" Yue Guan and Gui Mei said in deep voices.

They really didn't dare to gamble on whether the Grand Elder would have a moment of soft-heartedness! Qian Xunji was dead, and that was Qian Daoliu's son! An old man of over a hundred years old lost his son; the fact that Qian Daoliu hadn't killed them on the spot in the Elder Hall was already restrained enough!

"Swear loyalty to the death?" Bibi Dong looked subtle.

"Alright, the two of you may stay. As for the Grand Elder, I hope I still have a bit of face."

Qian Daoliu's look at her had problems. Although he hid it very well, she was too familiar with that kind of suppressed anger, hatred, and killing intent!

That was her from before!

In other words, Qian Daoliu probably knew she had killed Qian Xunji, but he was wary of the Rakshasa God inheritance she possessed and didn't dare to take the risk. Plus, this matter couldn't be seen in public, so that old thing didn't even want to expose it.

Caution was Qian Daoliu's strength, but being overly cautious made him appear somewhat cowardly.

However, she didn't dare to provoke that old thing again.

A rabbit would bite when pushed to the limit, not to mention Qian Daoliu wasn't a rabbit.

If she really provoked that old thing, she wouldn't have an easy time either.

"Thank you, Pope Crown!!"

Yue Guan and his companion breathed a sigh of relief.

They had been living in fear for so long! Finally, they could relax a little!

It should be known that since they woke up from their serious injuries, the two of them hadn't even dared to close their eyes!

They were afraid that old man Qian Daoliu would quietly wipe them out!

"However, the two of you still seem to be seriously injured," Bibi Dong said.

Yue Guan and Gui Mei brought Qian Xunji back, but when they were in the Elder Hall, all the healing-type Spirit Masters in Wuhun City were arranged by Qian Daoliu to save Qian Xunji, and Yue Guan and Gui Mei were completely left aside.

If it hadn't been for the fact that the Titled Douluo present had worked together for so many years and helped them stabilize their injuries, this pair of brothers would probably have died in the Elder Hall on the day they rushed back to Wuhun City due to their serious injuries.

Now that they had recovered for nearly half a month, their injuries were still very serious, which was why they didn't even have the thought of running away and ran directly to the Pope Palace to defect to her.

"Xiao Feng." Bibi Dong tapped the head of the small cat on the table.

"Yes, yes, you only know how to order people around." Nan Feng leaped and transformed back into human form in mid-air, landing on the ground.

Yue Guan and his companion were stunned.

What kind of martial soul is this? "Don't you ever forget my great kindness today!" Nan Feng looked at Yue Guan and Gui Mei seriously.

"In the future, if I have something to do, you two better step up!"

As he spoke, Nan Feng grabbed Yue Guan and his companion's shoulders.

The Horse Talisman activated, and a terrifying healing power surged into their bodies. In just a few breaths, it completely repaired their broken bodies, and even the hidden injuries accumulated over many years disappeared without a trace!

A divine doctor!!

Yue Guan and Gui Mei were shocked.

If this person had been present when Qian Xunji was injured, he wouldn't have died from his injuries, right?

"Hey, you two better not tell anyone about this," Nan Feng reminded them.

The healing consumption of his Horse Talisman was very strange; he still hadn't figured out exactly what was going on.

However, in front of him, there were no concepts of "too seriously injured" or "vital parts."

A hole in the hand and a hole in the heart had the same healing consumption.

Internal injuries and external injuries were the same to him. For healing-type Spirit Masters, repairing surface damage wasn't difficult, but repairing internal meridians and important organs was much harder, as healing Spirit Masters needed to control their own spirit power to "rebuild" those damaged areas. The more delicate the area, the harder it was to repair.

But for him, a wound was a wound. There was no heavy or light, only more or less. It only looked at "quantity," not "quality."

The more areas injured, the greater the healing consumption.

Yue Guan and Gui Mei were indeed seriously injured, but they were mainly internal injuries. Healing these internal injuries didn't consume as much as when he healed those Fallen Ones in the City of Slaughter who were covered in blood and whose knife wounds could see the bone.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 22 =====