The secret room deep in the Worship Hall has no windows.
The only light comes from the huge Angel God Statue on the wall,
It is a miraculous picture embroidered with gold thread, hanging from the dome to the ground, glowing warmly under the candlelight.
Qian Renxue stood in front of the statue, her blond hair hanging down her shoulders, and the skirt of her golden palace dress trailing on the bluestone ground.
Qian Daoliu stood behind her, with white clothes and white hair, like another statue.
He had been standing for a long time, seemingly praying devoutly.
Qian Renxue spoke first.
"Grandpa, you can obviously kill Tang Hao. Why not?"
Her voice was not loud, but the echo in the secret room amplified it several times, as if there were countless Qian Renxue questioning her at the same time.
Qian Daoliu was silent for a moment.
"Grandpa has had thoughts of murder."
His voice was as calm as ever.
"When Tang Hao lifted Clear Sky Hammer, my killing thoughts locked him.
But as soon as he moved, he was targeted by another divine thought."
Qian Renxue turned around. "Which god?"
"I don't know." Qian Daoliu said, "But the personality of that divine thought is not inferior to Angel God."
He paused.
"If I insist on having my own way, I may fall before him."
Qian Renxue's fists were clenched.
"So you let him go? Let the enemy who killed your father leave alive?"
"Grandpa's mission is not to avenge you."
Qian Daoliu's voice still does not fluctuate.
"Grandpa's mission is to recreate Angel God and protect the next successor."
Qian Renxue's body is shaking.
"Your father is dead, and grandpa is also heartbroken. But he is not Angel God. He is just a loser who failed to inherit the throne of God.
Over the years of our Qian Family, he is not the only one who has been chosen by divine thoughts.
No one survived."
He looked at Qian Renxue.
"You are the first and only one."
Qian Renxue said nothing.
She had heard this story. As long as she could remember, her grandfather told her that she was chosen by God.
But she never asked: Can the chosen person choose someone else?
Qian Renxue's lips moved. "Then why did you ask me to go undercover Heaven Dou?"
Qian Daoliu was silent for a moment.
"It's your and her choice to go to Heaven Dou."
His voice was as flat as a lake.
"Bibi Dong sent you to Heaven Dou, and you picked up.
It's not that I can't stop you, but I want you to make a choice for yourself, even if you are provoked.
Qian Renxue's pupils shrank slightly.
"Why?"
"Because grandpa wants you to be happy. Ever since you were a child, you have always thought of ways to please her.
But every time she comes back injured, this time she takes this mission to inspire you,
Grandpa knew you would agree without hesitation and didn't want to put you in a dilemma.
Qian Renxue's shoulders were twitching, and tears couldn't stop flowing down. He couldn't help it any longer, and moved forward to hug Qian Daoliu.
"Grandpa..."
She remembered the look in Bibi Dong's eyes when he said to her, "Go to Heaven Dou and stare at that old guy Xue Ye for the Spirit Hall."
He was so indifferent, alienated, and disgusted, as if he was getting rid of something that was in the way.
"Grandpa, Xiao Xue... shouldn't question you."
Qian Daoliu stroked her hair, and there was a smile on her calm face,
"Xue'er, if you dare to ask, it means you have really grown up. Grandpa will only be happy for you."
Qian Renxue's voice gradually became quieter, and his eyes turned red.
"Grandpa, have you ever made a choice in your life?"
Qian Daoliu did not answer.
He turned around and looked up at the Angel God Statue.
The golden thread shimmered under the candlelight, and the angel's six wings hung from the dome to the ground, swallowing up his shadow.
"When I was young, I also thought about pursuing my own path like Tang Chen."
His voice floated from the direction of the statue, as if separated by a layer of veil.
"Tang Chen and grandpa are both enemies and friends. He is pursuing the road to becoming a god, leaving Clear Sky Sect and everyone behind.
Grandpa is pursuing the inheritance of Angel God, so he doesn't dare to make a wrong step."
He paused.
"He chose. But grandpa couldn't.
Angel God thought I chose your father, but he didn't survive. Then he chose you."
He turned around and looked at Qian Renxue.
"Grandpa cannot let the inheritance of Angel God be cut off in my hands.
So I have no choice but to wait. Wait for you to grow up and wait for you to take over."
Qian Renxue bit his lip. "Grandpa, have you asked me? Have you asked me if I want to?"
"No." Qian Daoliu did not deny it.
"Because God waits for no one. When you were nine years old, Angel God Nian chose you.
Grandpa didn't tell you because he didn't want you to be burdened or afraid."
His voice slowed down, but that slowness was not gentleness, but a deeper obsession.
"Do you think grandpa wants you to take this path?
Do you think grandpa wants to watch you go Heaven Dou, go on adventures, and get entangled with a boy of unknown origin?"
Qian Renxue was stunned. She had never heard her grandfather say "don't want to".
"I don't want to. But I have no other choice. Because you were chosen by Angel God, not my grandfather."
Qian Daoliu's voice fluctuated for the first time.
It's not sadness, it's the exhaustion of being overwhelmed by the mission for too long.
Qian Renxue's tears fell again, but she didn't wipe them away.
"What if I don't become a god?"
Her voice was very soft, as if she was testing an abyss.
Qian Daoliu was silent for a long time. It was so long that Qian Renxue thought he would not answer.
"Then grandpa will wait for the next one."
Qian Renxue's body froze.
"Do you know what Heaven Dou Imperial Family, ancestor is?"
Qian Renxue was stunned for a moment.
"Martial Soul, a winged human race who once had the ability to fly, is one of the messengers who follows Angel God."
Qian Daoliu's voice is very low.
"What now? Swan, even flying is difficult."
He continued,
"It's not that they don't want to become stronger, it's that Martial Soul has degenerated. From generation to generation, the bloodline has become thinner and the inheritance has been broken.
Heaven Dou Imperial Family was once the top force in the mainland, but now, it can't even produce a decent Titled Douluo."
Qian Renxue's eyes are full of surprise.
"Do you think you have been undercover Heaven Dou for so many years, why haven't you been discovered?"
Qian Daoliu looked at her.
"In addition to the effect of Angel Soul Bone, it is more because their Martial Soul has degraded.
Degenerated to the point where you can't even sense the aura of an 'angel'. If it had been a thousand years ago, you would have been discovered on the first day you entered Heaven Dou City."
Qian Renxue's little mouth opened wider and wider, and suddenly he understood something.
"We at the Qian Family can survive until now because there are people in every generation who inherit the Angel God ideals.
Use the power of God to feed back Martial Soul and maintain its integrity."
Qian Daoliu's voice deepened.
"If it breaks down in your generation, Angel Martial Soul will slowly degenerate like the winged humans.
The next generation, and the next generation, are getting weaker and weaker."
His eyes fell on her face.
"Are you willing to see the descendants of the Qian Family and Martial Soul reduced to a ball of scrap metal?"
Qian Renxue didn't speak. She thought of those Heaven Dou Imperial Family's children. If Qian Family's Angel Martial Soul became like that...
She didn't dare to think about it.
Qian Daoliu looked at her and didn't wait for her to reply.
"You don't have to become a god. Grandpa won't stop you, but you have to know it yourself."
Qian Renxue's hands are shaking, she understands.
He paused and his eyes fell on her face.
"You can choose."
Qian Daoliu's voice became lower, as if coming from a far away place.
"But God will not wait for you. If you delay for one day, the glory of Angel God will be reappeared one day later.
If you delay for one year, Spirit Hall will have one more year without a real guardian."
He raised his head and looked at Angel God Statue.
"You choose."
Worship Hall was quiet for a long time. The candle flame jumped a little and ashes fell from the wick.
Qian Renxue stood there, looking at grandpa's back.
That back figure was once her most solid support, but now she realized that the mountain was empty.
What's inside is not her, but Angel God's obsession.
She turned around and walked towards the door.
When I walked to the door, the voice of Qian Daoliu came from behind.
"Xue'er."
She stopped.
"That silver-haired boy, his light is very clean, but the brighter the light, the darker the shadow."
He paused.
"It's your choice, I won't stop you. But remember, you are no longer alone."
Qian Renxue There is no looking back.
"I know."
She opened the door and went out.
Worship Hall's door slowly closed behind her.
Qian Daoliu stood there and looked at the closed door for a long time.
Then he raised his head and looked at Angel God Statue.
"Tang Chen, have you reached the path you chose?"
No one answered. The holy fire burned quietly in the palm of the statue.
Qian Renxue stood on the steps outside the Worship Hall, the night wind drying the tears on his face.
She looked down at the golden feathers in her palm.
There is a burn mark on the edge of the feather, which was left when it was folded off last time.
She grasped it tightly, the cold edge digging into her palm.
She remembered Chen Jieqi saying, "There is some disguise, so you don't have to act so tiredly."
She suddenly wanted to ask herself: If you take off the mask of Xue Qinghe and the shell of Qian Renxue, who is she?
She doesn't know.
But she knew that someone was watching.
Not to see if she is the successor of Angel God, not to see if she is the young master of the Spirit Hall, but to see her.
She put the feathers into her sleeves and walked down the steps.
In the distance, the sacred fire of Angel God Statue is still burning.