Eight-Winged Angel

The six enshrined elders exchanged uneasy glances at Qian Renxue's proposal. People who had cultivated to their level rarely thought about such things unless they met someone they truly loved.

Besides, the stronger the bloodline, the harder it was to have children. Wasn't Qian Renxue asking the impossible?

"Well... Young Master, our hearts just aren't in it," Lion Enshrined said.

The other enshrined elders shook their heads as well.

Qian Renxue took several beads from her Soul Tool, different from the ones she had shown them earlier. "These are Spirit Ring Enhancement Beads. Using one on an existing Soul Ring increases its age by twenty thousand years. Apart from Grandfather and Grandfather Sky Crocodile, none of you has a Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring. That's a regret for you too, isn't it? With one of these beads, you could raise your ninth ring to a hundred thousand years."

At once, every enshrined elder present fixed a burning gaze on Qian Renxue.

Who wouldn't want a Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring? Every enshrined elder here had been Heaven's Chosen in his youth, cultivating as though bottlenecks did not exist. Yet the gulf between ranks ninety-seven and ninety-eight had kept them from reaching the true peak. Today, in the Worship Hall, juniors in their eyes like Yue Guan, Gui Mei, and Xiong Ju had gained Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Rings and absorbed Immortal Herbs. It was only a matter of time before they surpassed the elders. Of course they envied them. But Soul Rings could not simply be replaced. Once absorbed, there was no going back.

Qian Renxue continued, "Have a child, and I'll give you a Spirit Ring Enhancement Bead."

The enshrined elders no longer objected to having children. Each began considering whom he might marry and start a family with.

Only Sky Crocodile looked torn. How could he not want a Spirit Ring Enhancement Bead? His eighth ring was eighty thousand years old. One bead would make him a Soul Master with two Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Rings. That extra ring might give him the foundation he needed to break through to the Limit Realm. But Sky Crocodile was a generation older even than Qian Daoliu. At his age, the spirit was willing, but the flesh was weak.

"Uh, Young Master, could we work something out? I happen to have a son. How about letting him do this in my place?"

Seeing his predicament, Qian Renxue did not press him. "All right."

"Thank you, Young Master."

After Sky Crocodile left to arrange a marriage for his son and the other enshrined elders went looking for partners, Qian Daoliu, who had remained silent, finally asked:

"Xue'er, if you have Spirit Ring Enhancement Beads, why not use them yourself? If you raised all your Soul Rings above a hundred thousand years, you'd have an even stronger foundation when you ascended to godhood."

"I've already ascended to godhood once," Qian Renxue said. "God-Bestowed Spirit Rings have enhanced all my Soul Rings before, so Soul Ring Enhancement Beads can't increase their ages. The Divine Ancestor gave us these treasures to strengthen Spirit Hall."

Qian Daoliu felt a pang of guilt. "Grandfather was too cautious. If I hadn't held back after you awakened your Martial Soul, your foundation could have been stronger still."

"Grandfather, I haven't even been born in this timeline yet." Qian Renxue smiled.

"Haha. But the grandfather in that timeline was still me," Qian Daoliu said.

"Yes." Qian Renxue nodded. "But you needn't worry about my foundation. I'm absorbing this Divine Seed, and its power is becoming part of my foundation. The ages of my Soul Rings are steadily rising. Before long, I'll reach—or even surpass—what Tang San achieved in my Previous Life."

With that, Qian Renxue summoned her Martial Soul. Her Six-Winged Fallen Angel had gained another pair of wings, evolving into an eight-winged angel. Unlike its six ink-black wings, the new pair bore pure white feathers.

After decades of absorbing the Divine Seed in this world, her Soul Ring Configuration had reached four black rings and five red ones. Her eighth and ninth rings had even reached the level of Ferocious Beast Soul Rings.

Such a configuration was unmatched in this era, yet it still fell short of Tang San's peak.

Now that she had returned to this era, Spirit Hall would grow far stronger under her leadership than it had in her Previous Life. But she knew that divine power had decided the outcome of that war.

And what good was becoming a god? She and her mother had become First-level Gods, yet they had been no more than pieces moved across the ancient gods' board.

Only a Divine King could escape a pawn's fate. And only a Divine King could...

Qian Renxue lifted her face and closed her eyes. She thought of the man who had fished her shattered soul from the river of time when she was lost within it, giving her a second chance.

They shared an enemy in Tang San. But the Tang San she had faced was only a fledgling child. She had even become a god before he did, yet in the end she had fallen to him.

When that man was born, Tang San was already a Divine King. He had entered the world caught in the Divine King's schemes, endured for ten thousand years, then struck at the crucial moment and brought Tang San down.

Qian Renxue knew he had not done it for her. Even so, she could not deny that she had feelings for the man who had saved her.

But she also knew he had escaped a pawn's fate, while she was merely a drowning woman who had just reached shore.

I once swore to protect others, yet I've also wanted to destroy everything. I've been kind, and I've fallen into evil. Two opposing powers run through me. Only by bringing them into balance, accepting the Angel God's inheritance, and ascending to godhood again can I enter the realm of Divine Kings.

I must become a Divine King! Resolve hardened in Qian Renxue's eyes.

Huo Yuhao's Divine Voice suddenly interrupted her thoughts:

"Qian Renxue!"

Qian Renxue gently touched the God Ring on her finger, wondering what he was about to say.

"A warning: Yu Xiaogang—the man who has your mother hopelessly smitten—has left the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. It won't be long before he meets her."

The name swept away her good mood in an instant. Her warm gaze turned cold, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes. "Let him come. I've prepared everything. This time, I'll erase him from my mother's heart."

What Qian Renxue had found hardest to accept in her Previous Life was that her mother had still loved Yu Xiaogang deeply in her final moments. But Qian Renxue knew exactly what kind of man her mother had been unable to let go of, even in death.

Heaven had shown her the truth but given her no chance to act. Now that chance had come.

And so, through Qian Renxue's efforts, Spirit Hall's strength rose across the board. Only the three leaders of Pope's Palace—Qian Xunji, Elder Golden Bell, and Elder Silver Hammer—remained in the dark.