Irrelevant

"I never had the chance. Ever since I got pregnant, Qian Xunji kept me locked away in the depths of Pope Hall. I had no way to contact the outside world," Bibi Dong said.

"And without proof, nobody would believe me even if I told them."

"Isn't your daughter proof?" Nan Feng asked.

"You endured all these years. Couldn't you have found the time to pretend to be a good mother and get that child to help you take revenge?"

"Or are you saying you couldn't bring yourself to do it?"

"..."

"Yes." Bibi Dong nodded, her expression complicated.

Before Qian Renxue awakened her Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul, Bibi Dong hadn't hated the child so much. Sometimes, she even thought that the child was innocent, so she had simply tried to stay away from her.

But when Qian Renxue displayed her Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul in front of her, revealing that nauseating aura of holiness, Bibi Dong no longer felt even the slightest mercy for the child!

Qian Renxue belonged to the Angel Family. She had nothing to do with her!

And the approach Nan Feng had suggested was no longer an option now that she no longer cared whether it would hurt Qian Renxue.

Even if she spread the story, as long as Qian Renxue and Qian Xunji denied it, nobody would believe anything she said.

Her Martial Soul was the Death Spider Emperor!

Qian Renxue's Martial Soul was the Six-Winged Angel!

Two completely opposite Martial Souls!

If she said Qian Renxue was her daughter, would anyone believe her?

Without conclusive evidence, a few words from her wouldn't be enough to shake Spirit Hall's reputation.

"You're too softhearted. You still don't know how to be ruthless," Nan Feng said, shaking his head.

"You should have raised your child from the very beginning, influencing her bit by bit and guiding her until she killed her father with her own hands. Better yet, you could have had her destroy the Angel Family herself. Then you could have told her the whole truth, driven her to the brink of collapse, and taken advantage of the moment to kill her, wiping out the bloodline of the Holy Angel for good."

"Or you could have guided Qian Renxue down the same path you took, made her go through what you did, and let Qian Xunji and Qian Daoliu watch it happen with their own eyes..."

"Stop!" Bibi Dong hurriedly cut him off.

What kind of thoughts were going through this guy's head?

"Not vicious enough? I have plenty more ideas. I'm sure you'll find them interesting," Nan Feng said.

"You could..."

"That's enough! I don't want to hear it!" Bibi Dong's face darkened.

I thought my plan to take revenge by destroying the Angel Family was already crazy enough!

I had no idea!

No wonder he grew up in a hellhole like Slaughter City!

Compared to you, I'm practically a saint!

Spirit City.

Inside the empty Pope Hall, two middle-aged blond men who looked alike stood on the dais.

"The Spirit Hall Branch in Star Luo Empire reported that she got out." Qian Daoliu's expression was grim.

"What are you going to do about it?"

If Bibi Dong had died in Slaughter City, they could have buried this scandal forever without getting their hands dirty.

Qian Renxue's talent was unprecedented in ten thousand years. She might well restore the glory of the Angel God.

So he couldn't make a move against Bibi Dong, and neither could Qian Xunji.

Bibi Dong could die—in fact, she had to die—but only in an accident. She couldn't die at their hands.

Otherwise, if the truth came out during the Angel God Trial and the child couldn't bear the blow, causing her trial to fail, he would die with regrets!

"So what if she got out?" Qian Xunji said dismissively.

"Father, have you gotten old? Why are you more and more timid?"

"Tang Chen has been missing for years, and Sea God Island is a world away. You're the only Peerless Douluo on the continent. What do you have to be afraid of?"

"What do I have to be afraid of?" Qian Daoliu's face darkened.

"If you hadn't caused this scandal, would I have anything to worry about?"

He had killed countless people in his life, but he had never done anything so shameful!

That bastard had brought shame upon their ancestors!

"Scandal?" Qian Xunji's expression didn't change.

"Father, you didn't feel that way once you saw Xiao Xue's talent."

Qian Renxue had inherited his Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul and Bibi Dong's talent. She had gained the Angel God's recognition, received God-Given Level 10 Soul Power, and possessed an unprecedented top-tier talent with Innate Level 20!

Would the Angel God not know Qian Renxue's origins?

The God-Given Level 10 Innate Soul Power from the Angel God couldn't be faked!

Qian Renxue's Innate Level 20 had already proven that their Angel God didn't care about this so-called scandal.

If the Angel God had been angry about it, Qian Renxue wouldn't have had Innate Level 20. She would have been a useless cripple with no Soul Power!

"You..." Qian Daoliu was momentarily at a loss for words.

"Father, those who achieve great things don't get caught up in petty details," Qian Xunji said calmly.

"You're the one who wants to unite the continent, and you're the one who put those sects under immense pressure. Before you, Spirit Hall wasn't like it is today."

Before his father's time, Spirit Hall had never interfered in the affairs of the continent or competed with the sects and empires for power. It had always remained neutral.

His father had ambition to unite the continent, so Spirit Hall began to expand. Its relations with the sects and empires had grown tense only in the past few decades.

"Father, you've killed so many people in your life. Why have you suddenly become so softhearted?" Qian Xunji asked, perplexed.

"You were the most outstanding executioner Spirit Hall had seen in a thousand years. I still remember how spirited you used to be."

"Or are you really afraid of Tang Chen?"

"That man has been missing for years. You're still afraid of him?"

Qian Daoliu didn't reply. His expression grew grimmer.

"Don't tell me you're really worried he'll become a god?" Qian Xunji said with a laugh.

"Father, it's been twenty thousand years. Ever since the God Ancestor ascended, there hasn't been a trace of a god on Douluo Continent for twenty thousand years. Were there no geniuses more talented than Tang Chen in all that time?"

"There were! But did they become gods?"

"No!"

"You don't need to worry."

"Enough." Qian Daoliu cut him off.

"Don't do anything rash until we confirm what happened to Tang Chen."

Qian Xunji sighed. "Father, even if you lost to Tang Chen once, you don't need to fear him if he dares to come to Spirit City."

As a High Priest of the Angel God, he could draw on Angel God Power in Spirit City and attain a stable demigod state.

Tang Chen could also use Ring Detonation to force himself into a false demigod state for a short time, but it wouldn't last. There was no need to fear him!

Once that time ran out, Tang Chen would be finished!

Qian Daoliu looked at him as if he were an idiot. "If Spirit City's thousand-year legacy is destroyed, how am I supposed to face the ancestors of the Qian Family?"

Why was he so insistent on fighting Tang Chen on the ground, where he had the advantage?

It was true that if he flew high into the sky, Tang Chen wouldn't be a match for him.

But why would Tang Chen fly up there to fight him?

Spirit City was on the ground!

He could fly up high, but what about Spirit City?

What about the Angel God Temple?

If Tang Chen dared to attack Spirit City, Qian Daoliu was absolutely sure he could beat him—but what about everyone else?

What about Spirit City?

What about the Angel God Temple?

If Tang Chen went berserk, Qian Daoliu couldn't stop him!

In the end, he might win, and Tang Chen might die, but countless people in Spirit City would die with him!

He couldn't take that gamble! He wouldn't risk it!

"Enough. Forget Tang Chen. What are you going to do about this?" Qian Daoliu asked.

"What else can I do? The Martial Soul Hall Saintess made it out of Slaughter City. Isn't that a good thing?" Qian Xunji said.

"Father, I know you're worried this will tarnish the Qian Family's reputation, but as long as the story doesn't get out, nobody will ever know."

"Besides, as long as that good-for-nothing is still around, Bibi Dong will always be under control."

"But what if she suddenly stops caring about that good-for-nothing?" Qian Daoliu asked.

"It doesn't matter," Qian Xunji said.

"So many years have passed. Even if she tells people, who would believe her?"

"Without proof, she'd just be digging her own grave."

"Besides, Xiao Xue has grown up, and then there was what happened three years ago. If Bibi Dong really tells people and doesn't even care how it affects Xiao Xue, just to get back at me, do you think Xiao Xue would still care about her as her mother?"

"If she dares to do that, we can deal with her openly and legitimately, and the impact on Xiao Xue would be minimal. Isn't that right?"

"What if something goes wrong?" Qian Daoliu was still worried.

"Father, stop talking about things going wrong." Qian Xunji was getting impatient.

"What could go wrong? No matter how talented she is, she's only a Soul Douluo. With you guarding Spirit City, what kind of trouble could she cause?"

"Besides, with her talent and strength, and that good-for-nothing as her weakness, once Spirit Hall unites the continent, we can have her do all the things we can't—or shouldn't—do."

"The Angel God's holy radiance will remain pure and unstained!"

"So stop worrying. I'll handle this. It won't tarnish the Angel God's reputation."

Seeing Qian Xunji like this, Qian Daoliu knew he wouldn't listen. He shook his head and disappeared from Pope Hall.

"Old people are such a pain. They hesitate over everything..."

Qian Xunji sat back on the Pope Throne.

What was the point of being hung up on a little reputation?

Did Spirit Hall really grow to its current size by relying on all that talk about being righteous and aboveboard?

You put on a good face for other people. As for the shameful things, they're like years of dust beneath a table: if you can't see them, they don't exist.