At these words, Yu Xiaogang looked utterly terrified and immediately said, "Lord Adjudicator, I'm one of Pope Bibi Dong's people. If you kill me, I'm afraid you'll have trouble!"
"Trouble?"
Qian Xun'an sneered. "Right, you don't know yet, do you? Bibi Dong was wounded by me and is still recovering, so she has no time to deal with you.
"Besides, I was able to kill Tang Hao. If I want to kill you, do you think Bibi Dong could stop me?"
At that, cold sweat poured down Yu Xiaogang's body, and his heart began pounding violently.
He had never imagined he would provoke someone like this. The man was practically a demon—decisive and utterly merciless.
Trembling, Yu Xiaogang pleaded, "Please spare me, Lord Adjudicator! Please spare me!"
Qian Xun'an said coolly, "Spare you? Is this how you beg for mercy?!"
The next moment, Yu Xiaogang immediately fell to his knees before Qian Xun'an and began frantically kowtowing.
"Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!"
Yu Xiaogang kowtowed again and again as he pleaded, "Lord Adjudicator, I'm willing to join you! I'm willing to join you! I know you and Bibi Dong are at odds... I can help you... deal with Bibi Dong!"
Hearing that, Qian Xun'an sneered and muttered, "Bibi Dong, you certainly found yourself a 'good man'!"
"Men, lock him up in the Spirit Hall's prison. Keep him alive. He may be useful someday!"
Qian Xun'an gave the order without hesitation.
"Yes!" The spy immediately seized Yu Xiaogang and took him away.
As Yu Xiaogang was dragged off, he shouted frantically, "Please don't, Lord Adjudicator! I really can help you! Please, give me a chance..."
Days passed, one after another.
Several months went by.
Those months had been quite peaceful. Bibi Dong eventually woke up. Though Qian Xun'an had hit her hard, her ninth Soul Skill was the Undying Body, and she gradually recovered in the end.
In a dim secret chamber, a pool of purple liquid lay before Bibi Dong. Her beautiful body was immersed in it.
Her fair skin looked even more crystalline against the purple water, her perfect body like a flawless sculpture carved from jade.
Even so, the wounds Qian Xun'an had inflicted still remained on her body.
Her eyes were tightly shut, and her long hair fell over her shoulders. Her face was contorted with pain, as though she were enduring agony beyond what an ordinary person could imagine.
"Ah!" At last, after struggling violently and enduring indescribable pain, Bibi Dong could no longer hold back a cry. Her entire body trembled.
Along with that scream, a faint green light appeared above Bibi Dong's head and rapidly expanded, turning into a cloud of green that enveloped her.
Bibi Dong's body rose and fell within the green cloud.
Suddenly, the cloud contracted sharply, shrinking to a single point. It was like a heartbeat—or perhaps the green light itself was beating like a heart.
Bibi Dong opened her eyes. She had returned to her original appearance, but still wore the same expression of pain as before.
"Pfft—"
Just then, Bibi Dong's expression suddenly changed. She abruptly sat up in the pool, then spat out a mouthful of blood.
Her beautiful eyes were filled with venomous hatred. "Bastard, bastard, bastard..." She growled the three words one after another, each brimming with deep hatred and fury.
"How dare you do something like this to me?" Bibi Dong growled, her hatred reaching the heavens. "Qian Xun'an, I'll make you pay! I'll make you end up just like your big brother—devoured by me!"
Her eyes were full of resentment.
The purple liquid began flowing ceaselessly into Bibi Dong's body.
The pitch-black city gate gave off an oppressive feeling. Four enormous characters—Slaughter City—hung high above it.
Two rows of black-armored warriors stood silently before the gate.
Tang San entered Slaughter City. He looked from side to side and saw criminals committing all manner of evil throughout the wicked city. Some knelt in the streets, while others were imprisoned in buildings. Their clothes were tattered, their faces haggard, and they looked like beggars.
Evil—true evil. This was the real face of Slaughter City.
This city was known as the City of Slaughter. There was no public virtue here, no order. The only things that existed were violence, slaughter, and strength.
Tang San did not stop. He continued walking inward, slowly but firmly.
Before Tang San could show his identity token, a woman with a black veil over her face had already emerged from inside.
"Welcome to Slaughter City." The woman's voice was pleasant. She stepped aside in front of Tang San and gestured for him to enter.
Tang San looked at Slaughter City before him, hatred showing in his eyes.
"Qian Xun'an, you killed my father. One day, I'll kill you and avenge him!"
With that, Tang San resolutely entered Slaughter City.
Two and a half years passed.
During that time, Qian Xun'an enjoyed a rare stretch of peace since his return.
Besides searching for evidence that Bibi Dong had killed his big brother, Qian Xun'an also began working to reform Spirit Hall.
With Bibi Dong no longer standing in his way, and his prestige in Spirit Hall having risen even above Pope Bibi Dong's after that battle, Qian Xun'an's reforms went very smoothly.
As he dealt with Spirit Hall's day-to-day affairs, he reorganized Spirit Hall Academy, replacing many of its teachers and establishing rules for the academy.
If anyone was found giving gifts or abusing personal connections, Qian Xun'an's Judgment Hall would take action immediately.
After all, the academy was the foundation of Spirit Hall's future. If he wanted Spirit Hall to endure, Qian Xun'an first had to get the academy in order.
After taking care of some of Spirit Hall's mundane affairs, Qian Xun'an had quite a bit of free time.
Whenever he had time, he went fishing with Guangling Douluo and enjoyed life.
After all, compared with his life in that mysterious world, where he had to stay on guard every day and worry about being attacked, things were pretty good for Qian Xun'an now.
"Little Xun'an, you're not getting any younger. When are you going to find yourself a wife?"
Guangling Douluo turned to Qian Xun'an and asked.
Qian Xun'an smiled. "I'm busy with Spirit Hall's affairs all the time. How am I supposed to find one?"
Guangling Douluo smiled. "Little Xun'an, this is important. Are you going to spend your whole life working for Spirit Hall? You should marry and have children, too, and leave behind an heir for Spirit Hall!"
"As for an heir, Xiao Xue is enough," Qian Xun'an said calmly.
"You rascal, did you have an old flame in that other world?" Guangling Douluo asked, looking at Qian Xun'an.
Qian Xun'an shook his head. "That world was full of Spirit Beasts. What, was I supposed to fall in love with one?"
"Hahahaha... You rascal!"
Guangling Douluo laughed.
"By the way, what are you planning to do next?" Guangling Douluo turned to Qian Xun'an and asked.
Qian Xun'an replied calmly, "I don't believe Bibi Dong could have covered her tracks so completely back then. I'll find the evidence and put Bibi Dong on trial."
Guangling Douluo nodded. "Though Bibi Dong covered everything up, there must still be some traces left behind. Don't rush. Keep searching, and you'll find them eventually."
Qian Xun'an nodded.
Just then, a fish took the bait on Qian Xun'an's line.
He had just pulled it out of the water when a spy suddenly appeared in the forest behind him.
The spy walked up to Qian Xun'an and immediately dropped to one knee. "Hall Master, we've found a lead."
At those words, Qian Xun'an was delighted. He immediately stood and looked at the spy. "Tell me quickly. What lead?"
The spy began, "We found out that after the former Pope returned injured, he spent all his time recovering in that secret chamber. During that period, several maids and guards looked after his daily needs.
"Most of those maids and guards later disappeared. They were probably killed.
"But one of them may still be alive!"
Qian Xun'an's eyes lit up. He immediately asked, "Have you found out where that person is?"
The spy replied, "He was being hunted and had nowhere to hide. In the end... he fled to Slaughter City!"
At the spy's words, Qian Xun'an's eyes lit up. He sneered, "Slaughter City, huh?"
"What kind of place is Slaughter City?" Qian Xun'an asked.
Guangling Douluo immediately answered from beside him, "Slaughter City is known as a paradise for the fallen. Some Soul Masters who have committed countless crimes flee there to escape pursuit by Spirit Hall or other forces.
"Without the King of Slaughter's permission, even powerful Soul Masters from outside are suppressed there. Even Titled Douluo grow weak when they can't use their Soul Skills.
"To put it simply, Slaughter City is a gathering place for criminals, a paradise of evil, and the place with the densest killing intent on the Douluo Continent."
The spy immediately explained, "No one can use Soul Power or Soul Skills in Slaughter City, so the people Bibi Dong sent to hunt that guard back then didn't dare enter.
"But if they returned to Spirit Hall without completing the mission, they would die too.
Before you continue