Bibi Dong's Question: Who Dared Use Spirit Hall as a Stepping Stone?

Yes.

Li Yifei had just said that the Rakshasa Demonic Thought would not tolerate Bibi Dong killing Yu Xiaogang.

Because that "Triple Trash" was part of the "plan."

What plan?

Whose plan?

Li Yifei did not answer directly.

His thoughts slowly appeared on the screen, carrying the detachment of someone telling another person's story.

[Li Yifei: I told you, the Douluo Continent I saw was a storybook.]

[Li Yifei: And since it is a storybook, it naturally has a protagonist.]

[Li Yifei: And unfortunately, your Spirit Hall, including you, Bibi Dong...]

[Li Yifei: Are all merely... stepping stones on the protagonist's path to success.]

Stepping stones.

Those three words were light and casual, yet more vicious and cruel than all the humiliation before them combined.

They denied everything Bibi Dong had.

Her struggles, her pain, her ambition, her power...

None of it belonged to her.

It was all merely a prearranged backdrop and stepping stone to fulfill someone else.

"No..."

Bibi Dong's lips moved, forming a soundless syllable.

She felt as though an invisible force were violently dragging her soul down from the lofty Pope's Throne and throwing it into the lowliest mud.

At that moment, the three people from Spirit Hall in the Chat Group felt the same suffocating pressure.

[Little Fox Demon: A stepping stone? Teacher... our Spirit Hall... is someone else's stepping stone?]

Hu Liena felt her faith groaning beneath an unbearable weight.

[???: ...]

Qian Renxue's nails dug into her palms.

She, the inheritor of the Angel God, a future god.

She was also merely a... stepping stone in someone else's storybook?

What absurdity! What humiliation!

Their reactions were intense and agonized.

They desperately needed a more detailed explanation, or rather... a denial.

[Bibi Dong: Explain in detail.]

Bibi Dong's thoughts seemed to have been squeezed out through clenched teeth.

Her voice suppressed a fury like an erupting volcano.

She wanted to see just who dared to use her, Bibi Dong, and the entire Spirit Hall as stepping stones!

Those four words from Bibi Dong, brimming with endless fury, sent a chill through every girl watching the Chat Group.

They could imagine just how furious the Pope on the other side of the screen was.

Yet Li Yifei's reply was like a basin of ice water falling from the heavens, extinguishing all her fury and leaving behind only bone-deep cold and despair.

[Li Yifei: It isn't just you, Bibi Dong.]

His thoughts calmly stated an even crueler fact.

[Li Yifei: The other inheritor of a Deity in your Spirit Hall, the Angel God, is likewise part of that stepping stone.]

This sentence struck Qian Renxue far harder than it struck anyone else.

If being labeled a "stepping stone" alongside Spirit Hall had previously made her feel the anger and unwillingness of being implicated as part of a group,

then Li Yifei was now plainly telling her:

Qian Renxue, you too are that stepping stone.

The Angel God's inheritance that you took such pride in, everything you fought for, all existed merely to pave the way for that so-called "protagonist."

[???: Impossible!]

Within the Crown Prince's East Palace, Qian Renxue whispered in shock as her golden eyes contracted sharply.

For the first time, the innate nobility and confidence around her showed signs of crumbling.

Why?

She could not understand!

The Angel God was the ruler of the skies, the Deity who commanded light, a First-level God on the same level as the Rakshasa God.

Even across the entire God Realm, it stood at the very peak.

What kind of protagonist required the inheritors of two First-level Gods to serve as his stepping stones?

Qian Renxue was not the only one who wanted to ask that question.

Everyone in the Chat Group wanted the answer.

[World's Number One Princess: Wait... Brother Yifei, are you saying that the protagonist of that storybook took down Spirit Hall's two gods all by himself?]

Ning Rongrong's tone was filled with disbelief.

Though she hated Spirit Hall, she had to acknowledge its strength.

A force with the inheritances of two Deities did not look like something that could be overthrown so easily.

[A Little Goose: This protagonist... has cheats, right?]

Dugu Yan's remark hit the nail on the head.

[Little Fox Demon: Teacher... Lord Angel Priest...]

Hu Liena was completely lost.

She could not imagine that her invincible teacher and the equally invincible Angel Priest of legend would become someone else's stepping stones.

Li Yifei's next sentence answered all their doubts.

[Li Yifei: Because the god behind the protagonist is stronger than both of your gods combined.]

Like a thunderclap, those words shattered everyone's narrow understanding.

There were differences in strength... even between gods?

[Is Jade Not Jade: Aren't gods all supreme? There are differences in strength among them too?]

Even Liu Erlong, who had remained silent all this time, could not help asking.

Though she hated Bibi Dong, this topic had already gone beyond personal grudges and touched upon the ultimate mysteries of the entire world.

[Li Yifei: Of course.]

Li Yifei began his "explanation."

[Li Yifei: Gods are divided into ranks as well.]

[Li Yifei: The lowest rank is God Officials, followed by Third-rank Deities, Second-rank Deities, and First-rank Deities.]

[Li Yifei: Above all Deities are the true rulers of the God Realm, those who possess supreme authority... the God Kings.]

God Officials, third-rank, second-rank, first-rank... God Kings!

A new worldview, vast enough to make them tremble, slowly unfolded in the minds of all the girls.

For the first time, they learned that even the distant and unreachable "gods" had such strict internal ranks.

[World's Number One Princess: Heavens... God Kings... just how powerful must they be?]

Ning Rongrong murmured.

[Little Ice Cube: The kings of Deities...]

Shui Bing'er's thoughts were also filled with shock.

Meanwhile, Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue both seized upon the most crucial piece of information.

First-rank Deities.

Li Yifei had defined their inheritances as "First-rank Deities."

In the entire God Realm, that rank stood second only to the illusory and distant "God Kings."

It should have been something to take pride in.

But when combined with the earlier claim of being "stepping stones," an intense sense of foreboding instantly engulfed them.

With her last shred of hope—or perhaps her final struggle—Bibi Dong's thoughts sounded in the group.

[Bibi Dong: Our Rakshasa God and Angel God are First-rank Deities.]

[Bibi Dong: So what?]

[Bibi Dong: Could the god behind that protagonist possibly be a God King?]

Even she found the question absurd as she asked it.

God Kings were figures of legend.

How could one casually stand behind a mere mortal?

Yet Li Yifei's answer utterly shattered her last lingering hope.