Chapter 117: Protection

You've become so proficient without even paying attention; if you actually put your mind to it, what would you become?

How is it that a genius Spirit Master like you is so adept at court struggles?"

Golden Crocodile Douluo took a long moment to compose himself, suppressing the urge to retort, and instead voiced his previous thoughts.

He did not know whether he should let Qian Renxue return to the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace now to continue acting as an undercover agent.

Qian Daoliu was currently unable to make a decision, as he had completely lost faith in his own judgment; it would take at least a few months for the situation to settle down even slightly.

The rest could only be decided by Golden Crocodile Douluo.

Zhou Heng thought for a moment, considered the practical circumstances, and then silently shook his head.

"The undercover mission should still be able to continue.

But if I may speak frankly, the true goal of the undercover mission should change."

"Oh? I would like to hear the details." Golden Crocodile Douluo did not understand how the goal of an undercover mission could change; could there be something in the Heaven Dou Empire more important than the throne?

"I feel that, in Qian Renxue's current state, she is indeed not quite in line with the will once left behind by the Angel God."

Zhou Heng's words were shocking, directly questioning that the successor of the Angel God had not inherited the Angel God's will. If it were anyone else, even his own grandson speaking like this, Golden Crocodile Douluo would have slapped him across the face and made him kneel on the ground to sober up.

But the person who said this was Zhou Heng, who had saved Qian Renxue.

Golden Crocodile had also seen the special circumstances Zhou Heng displayed earlier.

In Golden Crocodile Douluo's heart, Zhou Heng was undoubtedly someone recognized by the Angel God.

Someone like this would not speak without reason.

"She is too concerned with those political games in the court. She has already somewhat forgotten her original intention.

What is the purpose of the Spirit Hall unifying the continent?

Isn't it to overthrow the corrupt nobility and let the common people live good lives under the will of the Angel God?

It is not for personal desire, but for all humanity on the continent, which is why this path was chosen.

She has stayed in Heaven Dou for too long and has somewhat forgotten the ultimate goal, instead caring excessively about the throne and the process of unification.

She has become, to some extent, less compassionate."

These words were an evaluation made after sensing the will of the Angel God and the successive High Priests within the Angel Holy Sword.

Compared to the will of her predecessors, the current Qian Renxue truly has not inherited the will of the Angel God.

She has now had her attention captured by political games and has forgotten her original intention.

Zhou Heng had tried his best to soften his meaning so it wouldn't sound so harsh.

But for Golden Crocodile Douluo, these words were still a heavy blow.

Why does the Spirit Hall have successive Angel God successors go out to the continent to gain experience?

One reason is to broaden their horizons, and the other is to experience the mindset the ancestral Angel God had when saving the continent.

Only by maintaining compassion, justice, and love can the owner of an Angel Martial Soul attain a state of mind consistent with the martial soul and achieve progress in their soul power realm.

Qian Xunji lacked this mindset, so he only relied on the talent of his Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul to forcibly cultivate to Title Douluo before his soul power began to stagnate.

As an owner of the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul, Qian Xunji barely managed to obtain a Black Grade Five Trials before the statue of the Angel God, and the result of the trial was not particularly outstanding.

Golden Crocodile Douluo was somewhat afraid that this cute little Xue'er would become like that dog Qian Xunji—not like his father, and in short, someone who did not resemble the will of the Angel God.

Golden Crocodile Douluo asked in a deep voice: "Then, why should the undercover mission continue? Wouldn't it be better to take this opportunity to have her return to the Spirit Hall and be properly reformed by the Grand Pontiff's side?"

"Doing that would have little meaning.

That would only be forcibly changing her thoughts, rather than her truly understanding what she should do.

In the end, she only chose this way because she was taught to.

Such a character is extremely dangerous in any aspect."

Zhou Heng did not say Qian Xunji's name; theoretically, he didn't even know the former Pope Qian Xunji.

But to Golden Crocodile Douluo, these words were equivalent to Zhou Heng pointing at Qian Xunji as a negative example.

"Only by remaining in that position, while still maintaining compassion for the commoners and care for the people, not immersing herself in power struggles, and realizing the corruption of the nobility, can she go further and approach the mindset of the Angel God.

As long as she can guarantee her original intention, holding onto her will without being disturbed by external objects or tempted by power, then she is a successor who truly conforms to the will of the Angel God."

"That is true." Golden Crocodile Douluo thought about it and felt that what Zhou Heng said was very correct.

To put it bluntly, whether she usurps the country or not, or whether the continent is unified or not, did not matter to Golden Crocodile Douluo; what mattered was that Qian Renxue must not grow up crooked.

This was Gan Daoliu's only seedling, his only granddaughter; if she grew up to be like that ghost Qian Xunji, Golden Crocodile Douluo estimated that Qian Daoliu would be able to commit suicide before the statue of the Angel God.

In the time that followed, Golden Crocodile Douluo discussed with Zhou Heng and planned how Qian Renxue should return to the Heaven Dou Empire and how she should continue her undercover activities.

It was just that what Golden Crocodile Douluo was most worried about was Qian Renxue's personal safety.

After all, the Snake Lance and Pufferfish by Qian Renxue's side looked very loyal and reliable; they were Title Douluo who had grown up in the Spirit Hall from a young age and had been taught by the Spirit Hall.

But the problem was, the one who betrayed them looked far more loyal and reliable than those two, and was even a member of the Angel Clan, treated by Qian Renxue and Qian Daoliu as their confidant.

With that precedent, Golden Crocodile Douluo felt a chill looking at Snake Lance and Pufferfish, fearing that these two might also be turncoats.

Golden Crocodile Douluo wanted Zhou Heng to help look after Qian Renxue, and for this, he took a right leg bone out of his Storage Soul Guidance Device.

It was a 60,000-year-level Blood Tiger's left arm bone, with the attached skill Burning Blood, an explosive soul bone skill that could ignite the soul power in the body, causing soul power to surge in a short time.

However, the duration was only five minutes, though there were no negative side effects.

This soul bone was something Golden Crocodile Douluo had obtained from a Spirit Master when he was young; he had been turning it over in his hands for over a hundred years. If the soul bone weren't quite special, Golden Crocodile Douluo would have long since polished it to a patina.

Now that he took it out for Zhou Heng, even though he knew it was for his (grand)daughter, Golden Crocodile Douluo's cheeks still twitched.

Zhou Heng accepted the soul bone with a smile on his face and then readily agreed to Golden Crocodile Douluo's request.