Qian Renxue: Dad, You Weren't Ruthless Enough Back Then, Nor Were You Vicious Enough! (Please Read, Please Vote)

Heavenly Strategy Mansion, Heaven Dou City!

Unlike the previous scene, when they saw the contents of the Heavenly Dao Golden Ranking this time, She Long raised his Snake Lance and warily watched Porcupinefish Douluo across from him, carefully shielding Qian Renxue behind him.

If the other man made even the slightest move, he would be met with an utterly merciless attack!

There was no other choice. Although they were both Titled Douluos sent by Spirit Hall to protect Qian Renxue, She Long had already joined the Qingyun Sect.

Porcupinefish Douluo, on the other hand, was, in a sense, one of Bibi Dong's men.

Playing with the Tricolor Jade Pendant in her hand, Qian Renxue wasn't nervous at all. Instead, a trace of understanding appeared in her eyes.

Why had that woman never shown her any motherly affection, from the time she was a child until now?

Why had the father she'd never met become a taboo subject for her?

Qian Renxue hadn't understood before, but today, she finally did.

It turned out that the other woman hadn't willingly chosen to have her. She'd been forced into it in a secret chamber!

If she were in Bibi Dong's shoes, would Qian Renxue sympathize with the woman whose story fit the "beautiful, strong, and tragic" mold?

If she hadn't met Qin Yun and been guided toward new ways of thinking, Qian Renxue might have been uncertain.

Perhaps not—but because she was strong on the outside and softhearted within, when it came down to it, her compassion might have outweighed her reason.

But what about now?

Qian Renxue could tell her with certainty: she absolutely wouldn't!

Bibi Dong had brought her current fate entirely upon herself!

Beautiful, strong, and tragic?

Give me a break. Maybe those three words could all be applied to her, but the core of her story was completely different!

Why did people sympathize with characters who were beautiful, strong, and tragic, and even resent it when they failed?

Because their goals were lofty enough. As idealists, they were willing to sacrifice themselves for their convictions and their cause!

Even if they died, they would have died for something worthwhile!

But what about Bibi Dong?

After going through all those things, what if her goal had been to unify the continent, end its division, and reform the Soul Master world?

If that had been the case, Qian Renxue wouldn't have cared about whether Bibi Dong had ever sympathized with her or acted like a mother.

As long as that had been Bibi Dong's ideal, Qian Renxue would have become her comrade!

But what had she actually wanted?

After suffering injustice, all Bibi Dong could think of was destroying the entire continent!

Everything fell within the scope of her destruction, whether good or bad.

Rather than revenge, it was pure, unadulterated retaliation against society!

Qian Renxue simply couldn't understand such an ideal, let alone sympathize with her.

Besides, why had Bibi Dong ended up in this state?

As the Saintess of Spirit Hall, it was no exaggeration to say that everything Bibi Dong had was bestowed upon her by Spirit Hall.

In a way, she'd been treated even better than a princess. Calling her the crown princess wouldn't have been an exaggeration!

And yet, because of love, she'd wanted to leave Spirit Hall and elope with Yu Xiaogang?

It was true that the Heavenly Dao Golden Ranking hadn't said Bibi Dong planned to join the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.

But she'd run off all the same. Did it really matter whether she joined or not?

It was like a general halting his army just as it reached the imperial capital, all because he wanted an apology from the emperor.

No, how much authority would you need to have for your subordinates not to rebel against you?

Based on what Qin Yun had taught her, Qian Renxue was certain.

Even if Li Shimin had been there, he'd have been chopped into mincemeat the moment he finished saying that!

What, you don't want to be a dragon? You want to be a cricket instead?

And although Qian Renxue had never met her father, she could still see the effort he'd made from some of his actions.

He'd driven Yu Xiaogang out of Spirit City and kept the two of them apart, hoping to win Bibi Dong back through physical separation.

Unfortunately, she'd been so deeply in love that the farther away Yu Xiaogang was, the more obsessed Bibi Dong became.

In the end, when there was no way to control Bibi Dong, he'd resorted to what happened in the secret chamber.

On that point, even though he was her father, Qian Renxue still had to criticize him!

"You weren't ruthless enough back then, nor were you vicious enough!"

Since he already knew she was a hopeless romantic and an ungrateful wretch who could never be won over, why had he hesitated to cripple her Soul Power just because he valued her talent?

After all, he'd only needed to make use of her talent to give Spirit Hall—or rather, the Qian Family—an outstanding heir.

Back then, Qian Xunji could have crippled Bibi Dong's Soul Power before forcing himself on her in the secret chamber.

That way, with Spirit Hall's resources and Qian Xunji publicly backing her, she could have held on even if she'd been seriously injured, until Qian Renxue had grown up.

He'd had a better choice right in front of him, but hadn't taken it. Qian Renxue didn't know what to say.

Of course, because of their blood ties, both Bibi Dong and Qian Xunji still mattered to Qian Renxue as family.

Even if she blamed them, that was a family matter.

But Yu Xiaogang?

"Truly, one rotten mouse can spoil a whole pot of rice!"

She instinctively gripped the Tricolor Jade Pendant and cursed under her breath.

Then, seeing Porcupinefish Douluo standing on guard, Qian Renxue spoke up.

"Don't be nervous. Relax!

"We're all on the same side. There's no need to fight.

"But there's one thing I want to make clear: my surname is Qian, my father's surname is Qian, and my grandfather's surname is Qian. We all possess Angel Martial Souls!

"As a member of Spirit Hall, I'm sure I don't need to tell you what the right choice is."

Qian Renxue's meaning was clear.

Spirit Hall belonged to the Qian Family, not to Bibi Dong.

An elder like Porcupinefish couldn't very well take the Qian Family's pay and then smash the Qian Family's rice pot, could he?

As for what would happen if he refused...

Given what he knew of Qian Renxue, and the lightning covering the Snake Lance, the outcome spoke for itself.

If they decided he was an enemy, he likely wouldn't make it out of Heavenly Strategy Mansion alive today!

He only earned a few hundred a month. Why follow Bibi Dong down a path with no turning back?

At that thought, Porcupinefish Douluo dropped to one knee.

"Porcupinefish pays his respects to my lord!"

"A wise choice! With Porcupinefish Douluo on my side, I'll truly be in my element!"

Meanwhile, in the Worship Hall of Spirit City.

When they saw the news on the Heavenly Dao Golden Ranking and learned that Qian Xunji hadn't died at Tang Hao's hands, but had instead been assassinated by Bibi Dong, Qian Daoliu, who had long suspected as much, was able to maintain at least a semblance of calm.

But the other worshippers in the Worship Hall clearly couldn't sit still.

Mighty Lion Douluo: "Goddamn it!"

"Big Brother, Golden Crocodile isn't here, so I'll say what needs to be said.

"Just give the word, and I'll go to the Palace of the Pope right now and twist Bibi Dong's head off!"

"That's right, Big Brother. Mighty Lion's words may be crude, but now that this has happened, we need to take action for the sake of Spirit Hall's reputation!"

Spirit Hall's reputation didn't matter, but the faith in Angel God was the foundation of the Qian Family!

With everyone raising their voices, now that this had happened, it really did need to be dealt with.

It was just...

Qian Daoliu slowly opened his eyes. A flash of golden light shot out as he raised a hand to quiet them.

"Calm down!"

"She may be young, but you're not necessarily a match for her. Since things have come to this, I'd better go there myself!"