bookbashuk Chapter 744 It's here, it's here, she's here.
Chapter 744 It's here, it's here, she's here.
After passing through the city gate, Yu Xiaogang, dressed in plain clothes, entered the city smoothly.
Aside from causing a commotion at the city gate guards when he pulled out the Pope's decree, someone his age with the strength of a level 29 Great Soul Master would hardly attract anyone's attention.
This time, Yu Xiaogang learned his lesson.
He no longer went to the Spirit Hall's archives, lest he encounter some ignorant person again, get beaten up, have his legs broken, and be thrown out of Spirit City, just like last time.
Besides, after the last incident, he's probably already on the blacklist in the Spirit Hall's archives. It's obviously impossible for him to go there to look up information or copy down Spirit Hall theory knowledge anymore.
This time, he planned to get straight to the point and go directly to see Bibi Dong.
Without pausing for even a moment, or even taking a breather, Yu Xiaogang went straight to the highest governing body of the Spirit Hall, the Papal Palace.
The Papal Palace
Yu Xiaogang's lips moved, and he muttered something to himself.
After many years, he finally returned to this supreme hall.
However, looking at the towering building before him, which exuded boundless solemnity and majesty, Yu Xiaogang's expression was extremely gloomy and complex. While filled with hatred and resentment, deep within his eyes also lay a strong sense of inferiority and a profound fear.
The Papal Palace, a sacred place in the hearts of all soul masters in the Douluo Continent, is the place Yu Xiaogang yearns for most, and also the place he fears most.
This place once gave him hope for life, but later became the source of his lifelong suffering.
The escape, the humiliation, the countless hardships, difficulties and even humiliations of the past two decades are all thanks to the former master of this temple, the previous pope, Qian Xunji.
If he could, Yu Xiaogang would even call it the source of all evil, the beginning of sin, and the starting point of the abyss. It would not be an exaggeration to attach all negative and sinful words to this building.
Standing before this magnificent papal palace, Yu Xiaogang was overwhelmed with a sense of bewilderment.
Dead memories began to attack him, and scenes from the past kept reshaping in his mind. He recalled every little thing that happened when he was in the Spirit Hall.
But these scenes were not pleasant memories; each one represented the humiliation and injustice he suffered in the Spirit Hall.
Back then, he went to great lengths to climb the social ladder by marrying the Holy Maiden and gaining the trust of that foolish woman, Bibi Dong. By using the identity of a guest elder in the Elder Hall that he had obtained through deception, he was able to freely enter and leave the Spirit Hall's archives and steal the vast amount of spirit knowledge stored there.
He finally compiled the theory of the ten core competitiveness of martial spirits and was awarded the honorary title of "Martial Spirit Theory Master".
He could have become famous, won the heart of a beautiful woman, and reached the pinnacle of his life, but all of this was destroyed by Qian Xunji.
More than 20 years ago, Qian Xunji publicly restrained him, called him a piece of trash, expelled him from Wuhun City, and threatened him that he would never set foot in Wuhun Hall again, or else he would twist his head off.
It is right here in this Papal Palace.
It was also here that Bibi Dong despised him as a good-for-nothing and abandoned him in public, showing no mercy whatsoever.
Those scenes are still deeply etched in Yu Xiaogang's mind, and he cannot let them go. If he hadn't deliberately avoided thinking about them, he would probably have been trapped in deep pain for the rest of his life, unable to extricate himself.
But now, it was as if yesterday was repeating itself, constantly replaying in his mind. Yu Xiaogang finally felt the intense humiliation and pain once again, and felt it with unparalleled clarity.
What Qian Xunji did to him back then not only brought him humiliation and pain, but also left him with psychological trauma.
A cowardly and incompetent person like Yu Xiaogang, who is also prone to self-deprecation and giving up easily, naturally harbors resentment but cannot hide his fear. In short, his feelings are extremely complicated.
In addition, there was the humiliation he suffered on his previous two visits to Wuhun City.
All these factors combined have led to Yu Xiaogang having no goodwill towards the Spirit Hall, Spirit City, or the Papal Palace before him. He is filled with hatred and only wants to destroy them all.
If it weren't for Tang San, the secret of twin martial souls, and the method of super absorption of soul rings, he wouldn't even want to step into this city or this hall again.
As time slowly passed, Yu Xiaogang awoke from his painful memories, forcibly suppressing the hatred in his heart, making his expression indifferent again, and putting on a profound and unfathomable look.
Yu Xiaogang was still unsure of Bibi Dong's attitude towards him, or whether she still held onto their past feelings, but no matter what, he was determined to see Bibi Dong this time.
If he could see Bibi Dong, he would have a chance to persuade her to hand over what he wanted.
Once he obtains the solution to the conflict between twin martial souls and the method for absorbing soul rings beyond the limit, he will be able to successfully cultivate Tang San, this genius disciple, into a talent.
If the mistress can successfully become a powerful figure of her time, then she can completely shake off the label of "useless" that the world has imposed on her.
And he will eventually reach the pinnacle of life, becoming a true and respected master of martial spirit theory, with his name resounding throughout the entire Douluo Continent.
To achieve this goal, what does it matter if he's humble or humiliated? He'd even eat shit if it were excrement.
Besides, it's just a little injustice, nothing to brag about.
With a slight shift of his gaze, Yu Xiaogang turned his attention to the Papal Palace, but when he saw the neatly arranged and imposing guard knights standing in front of the palace gates, he couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.
Fortunately, the papal decree in his arms gave him immense courage and a sense of security, allowing him to...
He forced himself to suppress his fear and the instinctive trembling in his body, so as not to embarrass himself on the spot.
Once his restless heart had calmed down, Yu Xiaogang walked over with his head held high and an indifferent expression, only to be blocked by two temple knights clad in silver armor.
"stop!"
With a shout, all one hundred paladin knights guarding the entrance to the Papal Palace simultaneously raised their longswords, staring coldly at Yu Xiaogang, and issuing a scathing warning:
"This is forbidden territory. Take another step closer and you will be killed without mercy."
The hundred paladins performed the same action in perfect unison, which made Yu Xiaogang tremble, feel a chill down his spine, and break out in a cold sweat.
But he forced himself to remain calm, quickly took out the papal decree that Ning Fengzhi had lent him, and raised it high to show it to the other party, afraid that if he was too slow, he would be killed by a sword.
Perhaps the papal decree in his hand gave him confidence, or perhaps the other party's attitude displeased him; after Yu Xiaogang took out the papal decree, his tone became affected and forceful:
"Open your eyes wide and take a good look at what this is! You dare to stop me?"
"Let me take a look."
The leading paladin frowned, and without waiting for Yu Xiaogang's consent, he stepped forward and snatched the token from his hand, examining it from both sides.
"Oh? A papal decree?"
When the paladin saw the six symbols on the token, his eyes lit up, but he didn't seem surprised, nor did he show the expected respect.
How could he not kneel upon seeing the papal decree?
Seeing that he had already produced the papal decree, yet the paladin knights in front of him did not bow in greeting, Yu Xiaogang frowned slightly, feeling somewhat puzzled.
But at this moment, his mind was focused on meeting Bibi Dong as soon as possible, and he didn't think much about this. He simply stated his purpose with a cold face:
"Yes, it's the papal decree. Can we go in now?"
"I want to see the Pope!"
After saying this, Yu Xiaogang lifted his foot to step into the Papal Palace.
However, the paladin in front of him did not make way. He simply said "Wait" and turned to walk into the Papal Palace, seemingly to report inside.
Yu Xiaogang was stunned for a moment and had to stop in his tracks. He didn't realize that the papal decree he had borrowed was still in the other party's hands and had not been returned to him.
By the time he realized what was happening and tried to get his revenge, it was too late; the paladin had already disappeared into the Papal Palace.
It didn't take long.
The paladin who had gone in to report returned to the temple gates, but the papal decree that Yu Xiaogang had taken out was nowhere to be found.
"Go in."
The paladin knight, his hands empty, returned to the palace gate and simply waved to Yu Xiaogang, signaling him to follow him inside.
However, Yu Xiaogang became anxious and immediately pressed for an answer:
"Wait a minute, where's my papal decree?"
That papal decree was borrowed from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. If he loses it, how will he explain it to Ning Fengzhi?
Upon hearing this, the Temple Knight replied indifferently:
"What papal decree? It's gone, confiscated."
"What? It's been confiscated?"
Upon hearing this, Yu Xiaogang nearly jumped up. He was furious and immediately began to berate the other party:
"No! What right do you, a mere paladin of a paladin, have to confiscate my papal decree? Give it back to me right now!"
Faced with Yu Xiaogang's accusations, the paladin smiled coldly and silently drew his longsword from his waist:
"Watch your tone!"
"Putting aside whether that papal decree is yours or not, how dare you, a mere level 29 Great Soul Master, act so arrogantly here? This is Spirit City, the sacred Papal Palace, not a place where you can run wild."
"If it weren't for His Holiness the Pope's order, I would have chopped your dog's head off with a single sword stroke right now."
"you"
Seeing the other person's cold eyes, as if they might strike him with a sword at any moment, Yu Xiaogang shrank back, swallowing the rest of his words, only gritting his teeth inwardly:
"Damn it! Even a gatekeeper knight is so arrogant. There's not a single good person in the Spirit Hall."
Seeing Yu Xiaogang meekly shut his mouth, the paladin scoffed disdainfully:
"Do you still want to see His Holiness the Pope? If not, then get out of here."
The so-called Master Yu Xiaogang in front of me does not seem to be favored by His Holiness the Pope, who probably does not want to see him.
The Pope's impatient and disgusted expression when I went in to report just now said it all.
Otherwise, I wouldn't dare to make things so difficult for the other party; I'm just trying to ease His Holiness the Pope's burdens.
This was the thought in the mind of the Soul Emperor-level Guardian Knight, who was usually quite humble and gentle.
"Yes, of course I want to see him."
Yu Xiaogang nodded hurriedly. Of course, his purpose in coming here was to see Bibi Dong. He would not give up until he saw her.
"Then shut up and come with me."
The paladin snorted, sheathed his sword, and turned to lead the way.
Yu Xiaogang pursed his lips tightly. Despite feeling extremely humiliated, he dared not say anything more and silently followed.
As for the papal decree, we'll have to figure out a way to get it back from Bibi Dong later.
…………
Not long after.
The paladin led Yu Xiaogang to the council hall of the Papal Palace.
As expected, His Holiness the Pope was nowhere to be seen. He was just here a moment ago; it seems he really doesn't want to see this useless master.
The paladin already knew what was going on and pointed to a seat in a secluded corner for Yu Xiaogang to sit down:
"His Holiness the Pope is very busy and cannot see you for the time being. Please wait here."
After saying that, the Temple Knight turned and left.
The door closed.
The enormous council hall, covering an area of over a thousand square meters, was surrounded by a magnificent golden light, but at this moment, only Yu Xiaogang was there.
Bibi Dong was not there, and no one else came in. The entire council hall was extremely deserted, giving Yu Xiaogang a strange feeling that he had been abandoned by the whole world.
Half an hour later, Yu Xiaogang sat in a secluded corner, feeling completely numb.
He dared not get up, much less move around, for fear that some fool might mistake him for a thief or a robber and kill him with a sword.
Two hours passed, and Yu Xiaogang still hadn't seen Bibi Dong.
No one came in to pay attention to him, and naturally no one brought him tea or food, or even a glass of water.
His throat was parched, but no one came in to bring him a cup of water or a cup of tea. He could only swallow his thick saliva to keep his mouth moist.
As the sun began to set, Yu Xiaogang still hadn't seen Bibi Dong.
When he arrived at Wuhun City and the Papal Palace, it was still morning. Now it was already afternoon, but he still couldn't find Bibi Dong.
It seems to have been deliberately forgotten.
In order to see Bibi Dong as soon as possible and get what he wanted, Yu Xiaogang was in a hurry and rushed all the way, and didn't even have time to eat.
By now, he hadn't eaten all day, not even a drop of water, let alone food. He was so hungry that his stomach was practically touching his belly, and his eyes were starting to glaze over.
But Yu Xiaogang could only force himself to endure it; he wouldn't give up until he saw Bibi Dong.
Time passed, and just as Yu Xiaogang was about to reach his limit, the three-meter-high arched doorway of the Papal Palace council chamber suddenly opened, and a gentle voice rang out from outside:
"You all stay outside and wait. No one is allowed to disturb us without my order."
"Yes, Your Holiness the Pope!"
The voices of the Temple Knights were clear and loud, filled with fervent worship and respect, so loud that Yu Xiaogang in the council hall almost fell off his seat.
But the words "His Holiness the Pope" made his eyes light up, and his listless spirits instantly lifted.
"She's here, she's here, she's finally here."
With rapid breathing, Yu Xiaogang quickly straightened his clothes, sat up straight, and looked toward the entrance of the council hall.
The door opened, and a fragrant breeze wafted in from outside.
But he saw nothing. (End of Chapter)