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"Welcoming the Pope? Are you serious?"
At Tiandou Royal Academy, upon hearing that the Pope's convoy was about to arrive in Wuhun City, Xuan Ming was about to leave and stay in the Yin-Yang Eye of Ice and Fire for a while, but Xue Qinghe rushed over and blocked him at the entrance of the academy.
"That's the Pope of the Spirit Hall, what do you think?" Xue Qinghe said helplessly.
The Pope of the Spirit Hall is equal in status to the emperors of the two empires, but the two empires do not recognize this.
Of course, the Spirit Hall also does not think that the emperors of the two empires are qualified to be on par with the Pope.
Now that the Pope has come to Tiandou City in person, Emperor Xue Ye cannot go to greet him in person, but he must be thorough in his etiquette so as not to give the Spirit Hall any leverage.
As the crown prince, he is the most appropriate choice to represent the Tiandou royal family to greet them.
"What does this have to do with me?" Xuan Ming asked.
"I'm not a member of the Tiandou royal family, nor am I a member of the Spirit Hall. I have no obligation to welcome the Pope."
His public identity has always been under the name of Dugu Bo. Although he is close to Crown Prince Xue Qinghe, he does not belong to the Tiandou royal family, nor does he have any aristocratic status.
Although Emperor Xue Ye had tried many times before to find an opportunity to give him noble status, and even planned to grant him those fiefs in the Tiandou Imperial City that were exclusively for the royal children, in order to tie him completely to the side of the Tiandou Royal Family, he refused every time.
Although the royal family was dissatisfied with his refusal, they could not say much because of Dugu Bo's existence.
"But the Pope specifically asked to see you." Xue Qinghe said.
"Can't you just say that I'm missing?" Xuan Ming said.
"Anyway, I've been missing more than once or twice."
Xue Qinghe's eyes twitched, "You were lost."
Xuan Ming's expression froze. "I'm not lost, I just don't know the way."
"Whether you get lost or don't know the way, you can't avoid what happened today." Xue Qinghe said.
"Unless you want the Spirit Hall's people to look for you everywhere."
Xuan Ming sighed, "Where should we go to greet him? Are we supposed to go to the city gate to welcome him?"
"Not really. We just need to go to the Spirit Temple to represent the royal family." Xue Qinghe said.
"The Pope should have arrived in Tiandou City by now. It would be perfect if we rush over now."
Xuan Ming turned to look at A Rou, "I'll go take a look, you stay here and rest for the time being."
Xiao Wu has grown up, but A Rou has basically not changed over the years. If Bibi Dong and the others see her, they will definitely recognize her.
…
"Is this the Tiandou Royal Academy?"
"It's a great place, nestled between mountains and water."
Shortly after Xuan Ming and his group left, Shrek and his group, who came from Soto City, also entered the Tiandou Royal Academy.
However, after just a few steps, trouble arose.
"Who are you? This is the Tiandou Imperial Academy. How can a bunch of random people like you just come in casually?"
A team of soul masters who looked to be about eighteen or nineteen years old blocked the road. The student in the lead was wearing a gorgeous school uniform, his eyes full of arrogance. After looking up and down at the Shrek group, a disdainful arc appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Upon hearing this, everyone at Shrek frowned.
Dai Mubai took a step forward, emitting a powerful aura, and said coldly: "We are students from Shrek Academy, and we have been invited to come to Tiandou Royal Academy for exchange and study. What do you mean by this?"
When the student heard the words "Shrek Academy," he was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter. "Shrek Academy? I've never heard of it. The name sounds like a small academy in a remote village. How can they be worthy of studying and exchanging ideas at our Tiandou Royal Academy? Don't dream!"
The students behind him also burst into laughter, and the laughter was full of ridicule and contempt.
Everyone in Shrek glared at each other immediately, and Xiao Wu was so angry that her eyebrows raised, and she almost rushed forward to attack. Tang San quickly reached out to stop her, shook his head slightly, and signaled her not to be impulsive.
However, Dai Mubai was not a good-tempered person. He rushed up and started fighting with the group of people.
…
On the other side, Xuan Ming and Xue Qinghe had already arrived at the Spirit Temple.
The light in the hall was a little dim. Ju Douluo walked in front, leading the two along a long corridor, and finally came to a spacious hall.
In the center of the hall, Bibi Dong, dressed in a gorgeous purple robe, was leaning on the throne with his eyes slightly closed.
"Your Holiness the Pope, Prince Xue Qinghe and Xuan Ming have arrived." Yue Guan said.
Xuan Ming and Xue Qinghe bowed slightly and saluted.
Bibi Dong slowly opened her eyes and her gaze swept over the two of them before finally landing on Xuan Ming.
"Your Highness, you have worked hard. Let's send him to rest first."
"This..." Xue Qinghe was stunned. All the speeches he had carefully prepared in advance were choked back by Bibi Dong's words.
"Your Highness, please follow me." Yue Guan did not give Xue Qinghe a chance to say anything more and took him out of the hall.
As the palace door slowly closed, only Bibi Dong and Xuan Ming were left in the huge conference hall, and the atmosphere became a little subtle.
After a moment's silence, Bibi Dong stood up, walked down the platform, and walked gracefully to Xuan Ming. She looked at him with concern and asked, "Your injury..."
"Thank you, Your Holiness, for your concern. I am fine now." Xuan Ming lowered his head slightly and took a step back.
"You still don't want to listen to my explanation?" Bibi Dong frowned slightly, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes.
"I dare not." Xuan Ming lowered his head, and did not even look at Bibi Dong, including the two dragons behind him.
Bibi Dong took out the Nine-Tailed Fox Heart Lotus and said, "If I say this thing is responsible, would you believe me?"
"Believe it." Xuan Ming said.
Bibi Dong was slightly stunned. "Then why did you insist on leaving?"
"Your Holiness, do you think that as long as it's just a misunderstanding, I should just laugh it off and pretend nothing happened?" Xuan Ming asked back.
"Just like when I was nearly beaten to death on the street, simply because I was mistaken for a slave."
"That's not what I meant." Bibi Dong was a little anxious and subconsciously reached out to grab Xuan Ming.
Xuan Ming took another step back, his eyes calm but distant, "I believe it."
Bibi Dong's hands froze in mid-air, her eyes filled with regret and heartache, "I... really didn't mean that at the time."
"I know that His Holiness has recognized the wrong person." Xuan Ming's voice was calm, without a trace of emotion.
Bibi Dong's hands slowly dropped, a hint of sadness flashed in her eyes. She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down.
Xuan Ming still kept his head down and remained silent, like a lifeless statue.
The hall fell into a dead silence. Only the faint candlelight was swaying gently, making a crackling sound, which added a bit of depressing atmosphere.
After a long while, Bibi Dong spoke again: "Xuan Ming, give me a chance to make up for my past mistakes, okay?"
Xuan Ming finally slowly raised his head and looked directly at Bibi Dong. There was neither anger nor resentment in his eyes, only an indescribable calmness. "Your Holiness, the past is the past. What's the point in bringing it up again? I'm just an insignificant person, not worth your concern."
Bibi Dong's heart ached, "You are not insignificant..."
"Your Holiness, please do not transfer your feelings for another person to me. I can't bear it." Xuan Ming interrupted.
"I've lost a lot. I hope you won't trample on my remaining dignity."
Bibi Dong's body trembled slightly, a mist appeared in her eyes, and her lips trembled slightly. She seemed to have a thousand words to say, but she didn't know where to start.
After a moment, she took a deep breath and looked at Xuan Ming with a firm gaze.
"What if I'm not wrong?"
"…"
"What if I didn't treat you as someone else?"
"…"
Xuan Ming was silent for a moment, then lowered his head slightly. "I'm sorry, Your Holiness, I never talk about what ifs."
"What a waste of time!" The nine-tailed fox suddenly rushed out from Bibi Dong's body, and a terrifying evil power surged out and fell on Xuan Ming's body.
In just a moment, Xuan Ming fainted.
"What are you doing!" Bibi Dong quickly caught Xuan Ming and drove away his evil thoughts.
"Don't you just want to get him? It's such a simple thing?" The Nine-tailed Heavenly Fox said lightly.
"He won't wake up any time soon, so you can do whatever you want."
Bibi Dong glared at the Nine-Tailed Fox, "What do you know! How could I resort to such despicable tactics!"
"Oh, I think you used it last time." The Nine-tailed Heavenly Fox looked at Bibi Dong sarcastically.
"It's just that you didn't succeed. Do you need me to help you recall it?"
"You!" Bibi Dong's expression froze, and she felt a little guilty.
"Last time, I thought it was a dream..."
"What you think about during the day, you dream about at night. Now it can also be a dream." The nine-tailed fox landed on Xuan Ming's shoulder.
"He won't know anyway, so at worst I can just wash it for him after I'm done."
"roll!"