Six Paths - Ten-Tails Jinchuriki

"Grandfather—!!!"

Just then, at this critical moment, a familiar, anguished cry rang out.

A streak of golden light shot in from the horizon at astonishing speed—it was Qian Renxue, shedding her disguise, escorted at all costs by Snake Lance Douluo Yu Long!

She charged recklessly into this battlefield, and the scene before her struck her like a thunderbolt—

Corpses littered the ground, blood flowed like a river, The once-glorious Martial Soul Hall had been reduced to ruins!

Her only remaining grandfather and mother were drenched in blood, their auras feeble, And that figure suspended in midair, radiating the oppressive pressure of World Annihilation, pale and ghastly...

That face, those familiar yet unfamiliar features...

"Duanmu Ci?!" Qian Renxue's voice turned shrill with extreme shock and disbelief, her beautiful eyes wide, her body swaying uncontrollably.

That youth she had once treated as a pawn, calling him "Little Ci" this and "Little Ci" that...

Was he the one behind all of this?!

"Xue'er! Run! Don't come near!" Qian Daoliu's eyes split at the corners as he roared with all his remaining strength.

That desperate cry instantly shattered the frayed nerves of the surviving soul masters on the battlefield.

"Run—!"

"Monster! He's a monster!"

"Even Titled Douluo..."

The morale that had barely held thanks to Qian Daoliu's Kamui collapsed completely!

The remaining soul masters let out terrified screams, abandoning all honor and allegiance, and fled wildly in every direction, cursing that they hadn't been born with more legs.

In an instant, on the vast battlefield, Aside from Qian Renxue, Qian Daoliu, Bibi Dong, and Sword Bone Douluo, Only a handful remained—Tang San, Yu Xiaogang, and a few others—their gazes complex, locked onto Duanmu Ci.

"Grandfather!" Qian Renxue threw herself to Qian Daoliu's side without a second thought, supporting his swaying body. Seeing the wounds that cut to the bone and the dimming golden light, tears streamed down her face. "How are you?!"

"Cough... cough... Grandfather... is fine..." Qian Daoliu forced down the churning blood in his chest, struggling to straighten his back, but the exhaustion and will to die in his eyes were impossible to hide.

Qian Renxue jerked her head up, her tear-filled eyes now blazing with fury, fixed on the demon god in the sky:

"Duanmu Ci! What have you done?! What happened to the others?!"

She had vaguely glimpsed several figures being devoured by that giant beast earlier, and a foreboding dread had already taken root in her heart.

"Oh?" Duanmu Ci tilted his head slightly, a playful smile curling on his pale face. "Why aren't you calling me 'Little Ci' anymore? Big, sis, sis?"

He deliberately dragged out the words "Big sis," dripping with sarcasm.

Qian Renxue's delicate frame trembled violently, her face turning deathly pale:

"You... you knew my identity all along?!"

"Of course." Duanmu Ci spread his hands, his posture casual and arrogant. "From the very start, your disguise was as laughable as a child's game in my eyes."

"Answer me! What about the others?!" Qian Renxue's voice shook with rage and fear, her nails digging deep into her palms.

The curve of Duanmu Ci's lips widened. He reached out and patted his own lower abdomen lightly, a gesture that carried a chilling frivolity:

"Naturally... they're in here."

He licked his pale lips as if savoring a fine meal, "The taste... was passable. Well, Big Sis Xue, is this 'surprise' to your liking?"

He looked down at Qian Renxue, savoring the shock and fury surging in her eyes.

"You... you actually..." Qian Renxue felt a wave of cold air rush from her feet to her head, her entire body turning icy.

The "little brother" she had lived with day and night, the one she approached daily, was actually such a terrifying, such an evil man-eating demon?!

Every memory of the past now cast a horrifying shadow.

"Surprised?" Duanmu Ci's voice turned cold, carrying a faint hint of reproach, "The 'Mysterious Heaven Skill' I told you to spread—where did you spread it? The Titled Douluo of Martial Soul Hall learned it well enough, but outside... not a whisper. Big Sis Xue, it seems you didn't take my words to heart."

"You!..." Qian Renxue opened her mouth but found she had no rebuttal.

Deception—she had started it.

On the other side, Tang San suddenly clenched his fists, his heart pounding!

Mysterious Heaven Skill!

Not only did Duanmu Ci know the Mysterious Heaven Skill, but all the Titled Douluo of Martial Soul Hall had learned it?

No wonder their soul power flow had felt oddly familiar during their earlier fights!

This Duanmu Ci—who exactly was he?

What connection does he have with the Tang Sect?

A massive question mark and a sense of crisis instantly seized him.

Qian Renxue took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing her surging emotions and humiliation, straightened her back, and stared directly at the lofty demon god above:

"I deceived you! If you want to kill or torture me, come at me! But... I beg you, spare my grandfather!"

Her voice carried a resolute tremor, yet it was exceptionally clear.

"Oh?" A flicker of amusement passed through Duanmu Ci's eyes, as if he had heard something interesting. He slowly shook his head, but his gaze shifted away from Qian Renxue and landed on Bibi Dong, whose face was dark as she gripped the Rakshasa Scythe tightly.

"Sister Xue, you seem to have misunderstood something."

"Spare your grandfather? Of course... that's not impossible."

A faint glimmer of hope ignited in Qian Renxue's eyes.

"However," Duanmu Ci's tone shifted, a cold arc curling at the corner of his mouth as his gaze locked firmly onto Bibi Dong, "that requires your dear Pope mother to agree to one thing as well."

Bibi Dong's heart sank heavily. The shadow of death had never been so clear.

She forced down the trembling deep within her soul, the Rakshasa Divine Power swirling wildly inside her, trying to resist the omnipresent, terrifying pressure.

She lifted her head, her stunning face covered in frost, and spoke word by word, her voice hoarse yet distinct:

"Speak! What do you want me to do?"

The instinct to survive, along with her complex, indescribable feelings for Qian Renxue, made her choose to bow her head for now.

The Duanmu Ci before her was already an existence beyond her power to contend with.

Duanmu Ci hovered above the mountain of corpses and sea of blood, looking down at the struggling ants below, enjoying the spectacle of desperate struggles and final bargains.

"Simple." His gaze lingered for a moment on Qian Renxue's beautiful yet pale face, then swept casually toward Martial Soul City.

"Sister Xue..." He deliberately drew out the intimate address, "...and that little fox, Hu Liena. I want them."

"Impossible--!"

Bibi Dong almost roared the words, her entire body trembling slightly from extreme anger and humiliation, her face instantly turning ashen, her eyes fixed on Duanmu Ci as if she wanted to devour him alive.

"Duanmu Ci! Any treasure, any territory, even if you want my Martial Soul Hall to submit, I can consider it!"

Every word seemed squeezed through her clenched teeth, "But them? Don't even think about it! Absolutely not!"

Hu Liena was the disciple she had raised with her own hands, pouring in countless efforts, treasured like a jewel—a rare warmth in her cold life.

Qian Renxue... this daughter carrying the blood of that beast, though there was hatred, resentment, and an unbridgeable rift, that bond of blood, that instinct of a mother, was now ignited by the naked threat, transforming into an equally fierce protective urge.

This was the inviolable scale of her being as the Pope, as a "mother"!

The smile on Duanmu Ci's face did not diminish in the slightest; it even carried a hint of "just as I expected."

He shrugged lightly.

"Heh..."

"No matter." He spread his palms, facing upward. "If you refuse, it's nothing more than... whether I take a few of your lives or not."

Power was his only pursuit, the foundation upon which he stood above all.

Now, with this power capable of crushing the continent in his hands, enjoying some "spoils" was only natural.

But if the other party was ungrateful and insisted on smashing an egg against a rock, he wouldn't mind casually crushing a few annoying bugs and finding other amusements.