"You two stop being so sarcastic."
Ye Cangtian glared at the two women and said, "This is just my general idea, and it's not certain when it will be implemented! So you still have plenty of time. With your efforts, it's not impossible to reach the Quasi-Heavenly level."
Hearing this, Gu Qin and Gu Yue became obedient. Although the two women knew very well that with their talent, they might never reach the Quasi-Heavenly level in this lifetime, they were still prepared to give it a try.
"By the way, one last question. I remember Nami was at Earthly level cultivation before. Why did she suddenly become Quasi-Heavenly level today?" Gui Wu asked again. Earlier at the hospital, although she was absorbing the medicinal effects, she was still aware of her surroundings. When Nami made a move, her aura was clearly Earthly level, but in the underground vault today, it was different, which puzzled her.
"Idiot, this scoundrel is full of schemes. Of course, Nami is influenced by him," Nancy said impatiently.
"Heh, be careful what you say, or Nami will deal with you, and I won't intervene!" Ye Cangtian said teasingly to Nancy, then glanced at Gui Wu and said, "I got so many Dao Enlightenment Pills, and everyone else got them, would I shortchange Nami?" In fact, as early as when he decided to leave Nami at the entrance of the Huaxia ruins, Ye Cangtian had already given the Dao Enlightenment Pills to her. It was just that the situation at the entrance didn't require Nami to show her full strength, so Nami had been hiding her power all along. This was, to put it bluntly, learned from Ye Cangtian, so after hearing Nancy's words, Nami did not choose to appear, tacitly acknowledging it.
On the other side, Gui Wu patted her forehead upon hearing Ye Cangtian and Nancy's words, realizing her question was redundant. Seeing this, Ye Cangtian laughed heartily and said, "Alright, you two continue. I'm going to spend some time with Xin Wan." After speaking, Ye Cangtian got up and walked into the room.
A thousand miles away. In the Bright Hall Outer Chambers, the Pope sat in a high position, his gaze sweeping over the silent red-robed cardinals before him. His eyes seemed to spew fire. The reason was none other than the online videos of Saladin. They had shot themselves in the foot, and now the Bright Hall was undoubtedly destined to become a laughingstock for all factions. Just then, none of the red-robed cardinals before him had a solution.
"Why don't you say something! Are you all mute!" The roaring voice came, and all the red-robed cardinals trembled. It was clear that the Pope's anger had not subsided. However, remaining silent was not an option. So, a red-robed cardinal stepped forward, bracing himself. He slowly said, "Your Holiness, this operation was carried out by the Inner Chambers, and it has little to do with us. The Inner Chambers should resolve it themselves." The red-robed cardinal's idea was simple: whoever caused the trouble should step forward and clean up the mess, passing the buck.
"Nonsense!" With the Pope's roar, the red-robed cardinal was instantly sent flying by the Pope. While his statement might have been acceptable in other matters, it was an absolute taboo between the Inner and Outer Chambers. Both the Inner and Outer Chambers were parts of the Bright Hall. If they shirked responsibility when something went wrong, wasn't that creating conflict between the two sides? Without the support of the Bright Hall Inner Chambers, could the Outer Chambers, with their own strength, contend against the Hidden Group and the Dark Association? It was simply courting death! Moreover, although the trouble was caused by people from the Inner Chambers, it occurred in the secular world. Troubles encountered in the secular world should be handled by the Outer Chambers, so they could not escape responsibility.
"Hiss..." Seeing that the red-robed cardinal's half-face was swollen like a pig's head, the others instantly gasped. In their minds, the current Pope was like a madman; anyone who dared to provoke him would definitely not end well.
"Report!" Just then, a guard entered the hall and hurried to the Pope, saying, "Lord Malun from the Inner Chambers has returned." Hearing this, the red-robed cardinals in the hall breathed a sigh of relief. Malun was a powerful figure who had gone to the Huaxia ruins, and his return would surely divert the Pope's attention.
"Let him in," the Pope's gloomy voice sounded. Others did not know the inside story, but he and Hassall were perfectly clear. Malun's action team had been out of contact for a long time, and even he and Hassall thought they were likely dead. Now that he had returned, he probably wouldn't bring any good news.
"Malun pays his respects to Your Holiness." After a short while, Malun arrived at the center of the hall and bowed to the Pope. The Pope nodded calmly and asked, "Malun, your team has been out of contact for so long. What happened, and why have you returned alone?"
"Reporting to Your Holiness, the Bright Team was annihilated by Ye Cangtian and his men, including Lord Tuers and Morris, all perished! Only I, having lost my cultivation, was ordered to retreat by Lord Tuers..." Before returning, Malun had already thought of his explanation. Now, hearing the Pope's inquiry, he answered immediately. As the words spread, the faces of all the red-robed cardinals in the hall changed. The action team this time was drawn from the Bronze Armor Knights, consisting of 30 red-robed cardinals and 3 Quasi-Heavenly level experts. Such a formidable lineup could easily destroy ordinary first-rate forces. Yet, they couldn't even penetrate the entrance of the Huaxia ruins. This showed the immense power of the Huaxia forces, far exceeding their imagination.
Upon hearing this, the Pope's brows furrowed tightly. The anger that had not yet subsided flared up again. However, Malun was from the Inner Chambers, and it was not appropriate for him to punish him, so he could only suppress his rage and say, "Malun, you have been out of contact for so many days. If what you said is true, you should have returned earlier. But why did you only return today?"
"Reporting to Your Holiness, my cultivation was previously crippled, and I was severely injured. It was difficult for me to break through China's blockade line in such a state. Therefore, your subordinate found a safe place, consumed a Nine Revolutions Golden Elixir to recover my cultivation, and then returned here..." For this question, Malun did not need to fabricate. This was the truth. However, he recovered his cultivation not to break through the Chinese blockade line, but to make himself valuable. After all, with cultivation, he was useful to the Bright Hall. This way, even if he faced punishment, it would be much lighter. Without cultivation, it was hard to say...
On the other side, after listening to Malun's explanation, the Pope remained silent for a moment and finally nodded, tacitly accepting it. The next moment, he glanced at Malun again and said, "Malun, you must be returning to the Inner Chambers, right? Coincidentally, I have something to ask you to relay to the Inner Chambers..."
Upon hearing the Pope's intention, Malun felt like cursing. The Pope asking him to relay the matters in Kyoto was like putting him in a difficult position! His operation had already failed, which was bound to arouse dissatisfaction from the Inner Chambers' higher-ups. In such a situation, delivering another piece of bad news would only make them even more furious. At that time, he could easily become a scapegoat. However, it was the Pope himself who spoke to him, and he couldn't refuse this favor, nor could he openly defy the Pope, as that would bring him no benefits.
Thinking of this, Malun said, "Your Holiness, please rest assured, I will relay this matter. If there is nothing else, I shall take my leave..." The Pope waved his hand upon hearing this. With Malun responsible for relaying the matter, his mood improved considerably. He then asked, "Hassall, what do you think we should do about this?"
Hassall was taken aback by the question but still stepped forward, bracing himself. "Your Holiness, the Inner Chambers will definitely take corresponding measures. We just need to cooperate with them. At the same time, we should organize some welfare activities to try and salvage the image of the Bright Hall..."
Hearing the first part of the sentence, the Pope's brows immediately furrowed. If everything was handled by the Inner Chambers, wouldn't that imply the Outer Chambers were completely incompetent? However, hearing about the welfare activities later, the Pope's tightly furrowed brows relaxed considerably. Although he looked down on such activities, it was still a way to some extent... Thinking of this, the Pope said, "Good, we will do as you say. This matter will be handled entirely by you!" With that, the Pope flashed and left the hall directly. Now, as soon as he saw those useless red-robed cardinals, his anger would surge, so he chose to avoid seeing them. On the other side, watching the Pope's departure, all the red-robed cardinals breathed a sigh of relief.