Qian Renxue stood in the center of the great hall, her palace dress perfectly outlining her graceful figure.
Yet her flawless face was now filled with resistance.
"I won't marry."
Qian Renxue's red lips parted, uttering those three words.
Her fair, slender neck tilted slightly upward, bearing her unique pride and breathtaking beauty.
On the high dais, Bibi Dong sat upon the Papal Throne.
Bibi Dong wore the Nine-Curved Purple Gold Crown and held a scepter. Her splendid golden gown was extravagantly luxurious.
Hearing Qian Renxue's refusal, Bibi Dong's expression remained calm.
Her deep, beautiful eyes didn't even ripple.
"You have no right to choose in this matter."
Bibi Dong looked down at Qian Renxue, her tone as indifferent as if she were discussing something that had nothing to do with her.
"One month from now, right here in Spirit Hall."
"Prepare for the wedding."
"The man you're marrying is Gu Qing."
At the sound of that name, Qian Renxue's delicate body trembled, and fury instantly flooded her exquisite face.
Gu Qing!
That adopted son Bibi Dong had taken in!
"Why?"
Qian Renxue lifted her head and glared at Bibi Dong on the throne, her voice brimming with outrage.
"Why are you treating me like this?"
"Even if you don't like me, I'm still the Young Master of Spirit Hall!"
"What gives you the right to decide my marriage just like that?"
Faced with Qian Renxue's barrage of questions, Bibi Dong's lips curled into a cold sneer.
Her smile held a bone-chilling menace.
As Bibi Dong looked at the face before her, so much like Qian Xunji's, something deep inside her surged wildly.
Could the vile things Qian Xunji had done to her in that secret chamber really end so easily just because he was dead?
Absolutely not.
That nightmare had destroyed her life.
And the person standing before her was Qian Xunji's daughter.
Bibi Dong lowered her eyelids, her gaze turning utterly cold.
"A father's debt is paid by his daughter."
Bibi Dong's red lips parted, delivering those words.
They struck Qian Renxue's ears like a bolt from the blue.
Qian Renxue knew nothing of the truth about the secret chamber back then, and couldn't understand the deeper meaning of those words.
All she felt was wronged. All she felt was heartbroken.
"A father's debt is paid by his daughter?"
"But..."
Qian Renxue's eyes reddened in an instant, and her voice shook with a mournful quaver.
"I'm your daughter too!"
A brief, dead silence fell over the great hall.
Bibi Dong's fingers tightened sharply around her scepter, her knuckles blanching from the pressure.
"Shut up!"
Bibi Dong rose abruptly and looked down at Qian Renxue, her eyes full of revulsion.
"You are not my daughter."
"You're an abomination!"
At those words, Qian Renxue staggered back two steps as if struck by lightning.
Her tears burst forth, streaming down her exquisite cheeks.
Why?
She had no idea what she had done wrong, nor what her father had done all those years ago to make her own mother hate her so much.
Qian Renxue parted her lips, wanting to explain herself, wanting to ask for the truth.
But Bibi Dong gave her no chance to speak.
"There's no need to say anything."
Bibi Dong sat back down on the throne and spoke in a tone that allowed no room for negotiation:
"You have no say in this."
"The wedding date is set. The whole world will know."
"Now, go back and prepare."
Qian Renxue stood frozen in place, staring at that utterly cold face as the last shred of hope in her heart shattered.
She spun around and hurried out of the great hall, dragging her luxurious skirt behind her.
By the time she left the Pope Palace, the wind had dried the tears on Qian Renxue's face.
In their place were unyielding defiance and deep resentment.
She hated Bibi Dong's heartlessness.
But she hated the man called Gu Qing even more.
In Qian Renxue's eyes, Gu Qing was the one who had stolen the motherly love that should have been hers.
She was Bibi Dong's actual daughter, yet Bibi Dong had given all her affection to that adopted son!
She had heard that Gu Qing had lived in seclusion for years, using his status as Bibi Dong's adopted son to claim the best resources in Spirit Hall.
And he was always boasting that he was some peerless genius.
How could a useless man who hid behind a woman and didn't even dare show his face possibly be worthy of her, Qian Renxue?
Qian Renxue stopped and glanced back at the towering Pope Palace.
She clenched her fists, her sharp nails biting into her palms and bringing her mind into sharper focus.
"You want to marry me?"
Qian Renxue swore silently.
"Gu Qing, I'll make you back down, one way or another!"
"I'd like to see what nerve you, a spoiled waste of space, have to dare enter my household!"
The great hall once again fell quiet and empty.
Bibi Dong sat on the throne, watching the direction Qian Renxue had gone. The coldness in her eyes gradually faded.
When Gu Qing's handsome face came to mind, a trace of tenderness slipped into her expression.
The smile came from the heart, softening the imposing authority of the Pope that surrounded her.
She had adopted Gu Qing when he was little.
In the blink of an eye, eighteen years had passed.
For all those eighteen years, Bibi Dong had treated Gu Qing as her own, caring for him dearly and pouring every last bit of warmth in her heart into the boy.
"It's been so long since I went to see that little rascal."
Bibi Dong murmured softly.
She rose slowly and smoothed her skirt.
She could tell Gu Qing about the wedding, and take the opportunity to see how he was doing.
A secluded place in the rear mountains of Spirit City, rich in spiritual energy.
A soul-power fluctuation, laden with immense pressure, suddenly surged through a valley shrouded in mist year-round.
The stone door, sealed for months, slowly opened.
Clad in white, Gu Qing stepped out of the stone chamber where he had been cultivating in seclusion.
He was tall and straight, with strikingly handsome features. A glint of light flickered faintly in his deep-set eyes.
After this stretch of arduous cultivation, he had officially emerged from seclusion.
Feeling the Soul Power within him surging like a vast ocean, Gu Qing let out a long breath.
"I've finally reached Level 90."
Gu Qing's thoughts stirred.
He raised both hands at once, light blazing from his palms.
Twin Martial Souls, manifested together!
A verdant Blue Silver Grass sprang from the palm of his right hand.
It was crystalline and transparent, radiating an immense vitality.
This was Life-Type Blue Silver Grass, with exceptional healing power and incredibly resilient binding abilities.
Meanwhile, the light in his left palm was a deep blackish purple.
Another Blue Silver Grass wound upward, radiating a dark aura that made one's heart quail.
This was Dark-type Blue Silver Grass, with terrifying powers of corrosion and devouring—enough to turn any opponent into dry bones in the depths of despair.
Just then, a crisp mechanical notification rang in Gu Qing's mind.
[ Ding! ] [ Daily check-in successful! ] [ Congratulations, host! You have gained three months of Soul Power cultivation! ] [ Congratulations! Your affinity with Life-Type Blue Silver Grass has increased. Your sensory range when using Blue Silver Grass has increased by 100%! ]
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