"Grandpa—!!!"
At that critical moment, a shrill, familiar cry rang out.
A golden streak shot in from the horizon at astonishing speed. It was Qian Renxue, who had dropped her disguise and been desperately escorted here by Snake Lance Douluo Yu Long!
She charged into the battlefield without a second thought, only for the sight before her to strike her like lightning—
Corpses lay everywhere, and blood flowed like rivers.
The once-glorious Spirit Hall had become ruins!
Her remaining grandfather and mother were covered in blood, their auras weak and fading.
And that pale figure floating in the air, radiating the pressure of World Annihilation...
That face, those familiar yet unfamiliar features...
"Duanmu Ci?!" Qian Renxue's voice turned shrill with overwhelming shock and disbelief. Her beautiful eyes widened, and her body swayed uncontrollably.
That youth she had once regarded as a pawn, the one she had constantly called "Little Ci"...
Had actually been the mastermind behind all this?!
"Xue'er! Run! Don't come over!!" Qian Daoliu roared with all his strength, his eyes nearly splitting apart.
That desperate cry instantly detonated the nerves of the remaining soul masters, already stretched to their limit.
"Run—!"
"Monster! He's a monster!"
"Even Titled Douluo..."
The morale that had barely held on because of Qian Daoliu's might completely collapsed!
The surviving soul masters screamed in terror. They no longer cared about honor or allegiance as they fled madly in every direction, wishing their parents had given them two more legs.
In the blink of an eye, on the vast battlefield—
Other than Qian Renxue, Qian Daoliu, Bibi Dong, and Sword Bone Douluo—
Only Tang San, Yu Xiaogang, and a few others remained, their expressions complicated as they stared fixedly at Duanmu Ci.
"Grandpa!" Qian Renxue threw herself to Qian Daoliu's side without hesitation, supporting his swaying body. Seeing the wounds on him so deep that bone was visible, as well as his dim golden light, tears instantly spilled from her eyes. "How are you?!"
"Cough... cough, cough... Grandpa... is fine..." Qian Daoliu forcibly suppressed the churning blood and energy within him, struggling to straighten his back, but the exhaustion and resolve to die in his eyes could not be concealed.
Qian Renxue abruptly raised her head. Her tear-filled beautiful eyes now burned with raging fury as she locked onto the demon god in the sky.
"Duanmu Ci! What exactly did you do?! What happened to the others?!"
She had vaguely seen several figures swallowed by that giant beast earlier, and an ominous premonition had already risen in her heart.
"Oh?" Duanmu Ci tilted his head slightly, a playful smile appearing on his pale face. "Why aren't you calling me 'Little Ci' anymore, Xue... sis?"
He deliberately drew out the words "Xue sis," his voice brimming with mockery.
Qian Renxue's delicate body trembled violently, and her face instantly turned as pale as paper.
"You... you knew my identity all along?!"
"Of course." Duanmu Ci spread his hands, his posture casual yet arrogant. "From the very beginning, your disguise was as laughable to me as a child's trick."
"Answer me! Where are the others?!" Qian Renxue's voice trembled with rage and fear as her nails dug deeply into her palms.
The curve of Duanmu Ci's lips widened. He reached out and lightly patted his lower abdomen, the gesture carrying a chilling frivolity.
"Of course... they went in here."
He licked his pale lips as though savoring a delicacy.
"The taste... was acceptable. What do you think, Xue sis? Are you satisfied with this 'surprise'?"
He looked down at Qian Renxue, admiring the horror and rage that surged into her eyes.
"You... you actually..." Qian Renxue felt a chill shoot from the soles of her feet to the top of her head, freezing her entire body.
The "little brother" she had spent every day with, the person she had approached daily, had actually been such a terrifying, evil man-eating demon?!
Every memory from the past had now been shrouded in a terrifying shadow.
"Surprised?" Duanmu Ci's voice turned cold, carrying a faint trace of reproach.
"The Mysterious Heaven Skill I told you to promote—how far did you spread it? The Titled Douluo of Spirit Hall learned it quite well, but outside... why hasn't there been the slightest word? Xue sis, it seems... you didn't take my words to heart."
"You..." Qian Renxue opened her mouth, only to find herself unable to refute him.
She had been the one to begin the deception.
On the other side, Tang San suddenly clenched his fists, his heart pounding wildly!
The Mysterious Heaven Skill!
Not only did Duanmu Ci know about the Mysterious Heaven Skill, but even Spirit Hall's Titled Douluo had learned it?
No wonder their Soul Power circulation had felt strangely familiar when they fought earlier!
Who exactly was this Duanmu Ci?
What connection did he have to the Tang Sect?
Enormous doubts and a sense of impending danger seized him in an instant.
Qian Renxue took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing her surging emotions and humiliation. She straightened her back and looked directly at the lofty demon god.
"I was the one who deceived you! If you want to kill or torture someone, come at me! But... please spare my grandfather!"
Her voice trembled with determination, yet it was exceptionally clear.
"Oh?" A trace of amusement flashed 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.
"Xue sis, it seems you have misunderstood something."
"Spare your grandfather? Of course... that isn't impossible."
A faint spark of hope instantly ignited in Qian Renxue's eyes.
"However," Duanmu Ci changed his tone, a cold curve forming on his lips as his gaze locked firmly onto Bibi Dong, "your beloved Pope mother will have to agree to one thing first."
Bibi Dong's heart sank. Never had the shadow of death felt so clear.
She forcibly suppressed the trembling in the depths of her soul. Rakshasa Divine Power circulated madly through her body, trying to resist the omnipresent terrifying pressure.
She raised her head, frost covering her stunningly beautiful face. She spoke one word at a time, her voice hoarse but clear.
"Speak! What do you want me to do?"
Her instinct to survive, along with her complicated and indescribable feelings for Qian Renxue, made her choose to lower her head for now.
The Duanmu Ci before her was already an existence she could not defeat.
Duanmu Ci floated above the mountain of corpses and sea of blood, looking down at the ants below who were barely holding on.
He watched with great interest as they struggled in despair and offered their final price.
"Very simple." His gaze lingered for a moment on Qian Renxue's beautiful but pale face, then seemed to casually sweep toward Spirit City.
"Xue sis..." He deliberately stretched out the intimate form of address. "...and that little fox, Hu Liena. I want them."
"Impossible—!"
Bibi Dong practically screamed the words, her entire body trembling slightly from extreme fury and humiliation.
Her face instantly turned livid, and her eyes fixed fiercely on Duanmu Ci as though she wanted to devour him alive.
"Duanmu Ci! You can demand any treasure, any territory, even for my Spirit Hall to bow and submit—I can consider it!"
Every word seemed to be squeezed from between her teeth.
"But them? Don't even think about it! Absolutely impossible!"
Hu Liena was the disciple she had personally raised, the precious treasure into whom she had poured countless efforts, a rare warmth in her cold life.
Qian Renxue... this daughter who carried that beast's blood—
Though there was hatred, resentment, and an irreconcilable estrangement—
That bond of blood, that instinct belonging to a mother—
At this moment, when faced with such a naked threat, was ignited and transformed into an equally fierce desire to protect.
This was the one thing that could never be touched—her reverse scale as the Pope and as a "mother"!
The smile on Duanmu Ci's face did not diminish in the slightest. It even carried a trace of knowing amusement, as though he had expected this.
He shrugged lightly.
"Heh..."
"No matter." He spread open his palm, facing it upward. "If you refuse, then at most... it only means whether or not I take the lives of you few people."
Power was his sole pursuit, the foundation upon which he stood above all else.
Now that he possessed power sufficient to crush the continent, enjoying a few "spoils of war" was only natural.
But if they failed to appreciate his favor and insisted on using eggs to smash against a rock—
He would not mind casually crushing a few annoying bugs before finding some other amusement.
Before you continue