Qian Renxue?

Qian Renxue knew she was in the wrong. She lowered her head and knelt on one knee upon the golden carpet.

"Grandfather!"

"I want to ask you to help me get Chen Xing back."

"As long as you agree to help me take Chen Xing back from Bibi Dong, I'll listen to you in everything from now on."

As she spoke, there was even a slight tremor in the girl's voice.

Everyone's hearts tightened at her words.

The matter of Chen Xing had only barely been glossed over last time, yet now it had been brought up again.

And judging by the situation, if Chen Xing was not brought back this time, Qian Renxue would not let the matter rest.

Qian Daoliu's eyelids trembled slightly atop the throne. An imperceptible flicker of guilt passed through his eyes, and even his breathing became heavy.

If he had any say over Bibi Dong, he would have snatched Chen Xing back long ago.

Who did not know that he was a genius? Who would not want to keep him under their own control?

But reality was never that simple...

Faced with Qian Renxue's request, Qian Daoliu could only refuse.

With forced anger in his voice, he said,

"If you have cast the Infiltration Plan aside over nothing more than this, then you have truly disappointed me."

"As the Saintess of the Worship Hall and the bearer of the Angel Martial Soul, you are already fifteen years old. Are you still going to act so impulsively?"

"He is merely a talented young man. Whether he can truly grow into anything remains uncertain."

"Even if he does grow up, will he not still belong to Spirit Hall?"

Changing his tone, Qian Daoliu's voice became earnest and solemn.

It was as though he were entrusting her with some grave responsibility.

"Xue'er!"

"You bear a more important responsibility. Let go of this obsession."

As he spoke, Qian Daoliu slowly descended from the platform and came to the girl's side.

He had just raised a hand, intending to pat her shoulder.

But Qian Renxue avoided him.

The girl's golden eyes were unyielding as she raised her head and looked straight at Qian Daoliu.

"Grandfather, I only want Chen Xing."

"As for everything else, no matter when you wish to tell me, I will not press you for answers."

Her words fell.

Silence filled the vast hall, and Qian Daoliu's hand remained suspended in midair.

A stunned expression appeared on his usually unfathomable face.

At the same time, the other six people in the hall held their breaths.

It was a simple sentence, yet the amount of information it contained was immense.

Clearly, Qian Renxue had already guessed certain things. She had even guessed that there was an unusual relationship between herself and Bibi Dong.

This child...

She thought far too deeply!

Everyone present felt heartache over Qian Renxue's circumstances.

She had lost her father from the moment she was born. Her birth mother treated her as an enemy, and she had never experienced even the slightest bit of parental affection while growing up.

Only her grandfather had shown her some care.

But what was missing could never be replaced by anything else.

A parent's love was one of a kind...

Even though she knew Qian Daoliu possessed information about her parents and had refused to tell her, she did not choose to force him to answer.

Instead, she used it as a bargaining chip to exchange for a so-called "fairness."

How could that not break one's heart?

The atmosphere in the hall gradually grew heavy. It was so quiet that they could even hear the girl's trembling breaths.

Pinned beneath that unwavering golden gaze, Qian Daoliu felt deeply guilty.

His aged face instantly fell, as though he had suddenly grown more than a decade older.

Elsewhere.

Just as Bibi Dong had planned for Chen Xing.

He spent his mornings reading the ancient texts stored within Spirit Hall, his afternoons conducting practical combat training with Bibi Dong, and his nights meditating instead of sleeping.

In less than a week, Chen Xing had already felt his own improvement.

Most obviously, he could now last longer against Bibi Dong, and occasionally even found opportunities to strike back once or twice.

It had to be said that before a Peerless Douluo, even being beaten one-sidedly offered lessons that could not compare to anything outside.

Inside the hall.

Bibi Dong had already reduced the restrictions she placed on her physical strength. She had discovered that the little brat before her was like a sponge.

He constantly absorbed combat experience, summarized it, put it into practice, failed, then summarized it again and practiced once more...

A few days ago, he could only flee in a sorry state whenever faced with an attack.

Now, he was like a wolf cub.

Whenever she let her guard down for even a moment, he would seize the opening and throw a punch at her.

Those little fists showed her no mercy at all when they struck her. It was obvious that this brat held quite a grudge against her...

Just like now.

She had just sensed a familiar presence enter the range of her spiritual detection and lost focus for an instant.

Then Chen Xing's little fist suddenly struck her lower abdomen.

The pain made her suck in a sharp breath.

"This little brat is really trying to kill me..."

Fortunately, even without Soul Power protection, the physical strength of a Peerless Douluo was not something a Soul Elder like Chen Xing could break through.

Still, Bibi Dong could not help feeling a surge of irritation. Without realizing it, she put more force into the pink fist she swung.

Chen Xing was still delighted that he had landed another solid hit on the woman and did not notice that she had increased her strength.

A blur of a fist rapidly enlarged in his vision. He habitually raised his arm to block, only for another immense force to strike his lower abdomen.

"Pwah—"

The dark green figure flew backward, tracing an arc through the air before crashing heavily onto the red carpet at the entrance of Pope Hall.

"Damn it!"

"Teacher, that's playing dirty..."

Chen Xing braced himself with his elbow and tried to get up, only to discover that the blow had directly broken his ribs and forearm.

His broken ribs pressed against his internal organs, making it difficult for him to breathe. Whenever he tried to rise, his chest felt unbearably tight, so he simply lay flat on the ground.

"Who... who told you to lose focus..."

"You deserved it!"

Bibi Dong also realized that she had hit a little too hard. A trace of guilt flashed through her eyes, and even her voice lacked its usual coldness.

There was nothing she could do. Her attention had not been fully focused just now, and she had accidentally put too much force into the blow.

Fortunately, the little brat could take a beating. She could give him a medicinal herb later and have a healing Soul Master treat him. He should be fine.

With that in mind, she wanted to step forward and inspect Chen Xing's injuries first.

But just as she took a step, the great doors of Pope Hall suddenly opened.

The evening sun shone directly through the entrance, bathing Chen Xing in a crimson glow.

Against the light, the boy saw a familiar figure.

The familiar aura around her felt strangely close.

"Huh?"

"Qian Renxue?"

Because his forearm was broken, Chen Xing looked rather miserable.

He supported himself against the ground with one hand, turning his head sideways to look at the newcomer.

The sight instantly broke through Qian Renxue's defenses...

"Chen Xing..."

For some reason, seeing the boy treated like this made the girl's eyes redden slightly.

A sour ache unconsciously rose to her nose.

The next second, Qian Renxue ran straight to Chen Xing and dropped to her knees beside him.