Qian Xunji's cinnabar brush jerked to a halt in his hand, and his face changed dramatically.
He knew that aura all too well. Apart from the Ruler of the Far North, there wasn't a second being on the entire continent who could give off such a presence!
Before he could even rise, a roar that shook the heavens rang out from beyond the hall. It brimmed with the majestic might of a Level 99 Peerless Douluo:
"Damnable beast! You dare come to Spirit Hall and run wild? Do you really think there's no one here to stop you?"
Qian Daoliu's voice boomed across the sky like rolling thunder. Right after it, a sacred golden light no weaker than the frigid tide surged into the heavens, tearing a gap through the swirling snow.
"Your age may be great and your cultivation profound, but you have no idea how deep Spirit Hall's reserves run!"
Qian Daoliu's murderous voice rang out again, with a fierceness peculiar to an old father.
"Today, I'll take you down myself and claim your Spirit Bone, so my son can take another step forward. Prepare to die!"
"Holy crap!!!"
Qian Xunji's heart lurched. The teacup in his hand nearly flew right out.
It was over! Everything had gone completely off the rails!
His father had mistaken Snow Empress for some wild Soul Beast that had come to deliver itself to their doorstep. He'd planned to wait until she arrived, then find a chance to gently introduce her to the old man. But Snow Empress was a tough one, too. She'd probably flown straight into Spirit City without a care, right into the old man's line of fire!
Qian Xunji's toes struck the ground. He turned into a streak of golden light, smashed through a side window of the hall, and shot into the clouds.
"Dad, hold your sword!!!"
Qian Xunji flew into the air and took one look. His heart sank.
Above the vast plaza before Pope Hall, Qian Daoliu hovered in midair. The massive Six-Winged Angel Avatar behind him radiated blinding golden light, and he had already raised the Holy Sword, formed from pure sacred power. Its destructive pressure bore down on the figure opposite him.
Snow Empress stood opposite him, clad in white as pure as snow, her silver hair whipping wildly around her. Under the pressure of Spirit City, her exquisitely beautiful, icy face was set in grim resolve.
She knew this place was full of powerful beings, but the pride of the Ruler of the Far North would never let her bow her head. At that moment, her [Snow Dance Shining Sun] domain was fully unleashed. The aura of the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Abyss clashed furiously with the holy light, and the space around them fractured into tiny black cracks under the impact of their opposing extremes of power.
Worse still, the Worship Hall and Elder Hall below had already been roused.
Golden Crocodile Douluo, Qian Jun Douluo, Demon Subduing Douluo... an entire row of Titled Douluo had arrived. They were all itching for a fight, their Martial Souls possessed, eyes fixed on Snow Empress.
In their eyes, she wasn't some beauty. She was a walking Spirit Bone of the highest quality and greatest age!
"Ji'er? Perfect timing!" Qian Daoliu caught sight of Qian Xunji from the corner of his eye. Far from lowering his sword, he laughed aloud.
"Watch as your father captures this beast for you! With cultivation this high, her Spirit Bone is top grade. It'll surely help you on your path to godhood!"
At his words, a glint of cold light flashed through Snow Empress's ice-blue eyes. The Emperor Sword had already taken shape, and she looked ready to perish together with her foe.
"Father! Stop! Stop right now!"
Qian Xunji used Teleportation to place himself between the two opposing auras, cold sweat running down his forehead.
He knew that if they really fought, even if Snow Empress managed to escape, she'd never be able to set foot inside Spirit Hall again. His future wife wasn't even through the door yet, and she was already locked in a fight to the death with her father-in-law. How was he supposed to keep that story going?
He took a deep breath, hurriedly gathered his Soul Power, and used Sound Transmission, sending his voice like a needle into Qian Daoliu's ear.
"Dad, please take back your divine power! Don't fight! That's my wife! The daughter-in-law I brought home myself!!!"
"Cough... cough, cough!!!"
Qian Daoliu, who had been about to swing his sword, suddenly froze. The imposing Six-Winged Angel phantom behind him shuddered violently in the air, nearly crumbling on the spot.
For the first time, Qian Daoliu's usually unreadable face—the face of a Peerless Douluo—wore an incredibly colorful expression.
He widened his wise old eyes and stiffly turned his head. He looked at the son standing in front of him, then at the woman opposite them. She was ethereally beautiful and cold, but the demonic aura—no, the Soul Beast aura—rolling off her was strong enough to knock an ordinary Titled Douluo unconscious.
Snow Empress was in human form, but as a Level 99 Limit Douluo, Qian Daoliu could see clearly: her very essence wasn't human!
"W-what did you say?" Qian Daoliu sent back, his voice wavering.
"Ji'er, don't joke with me! This... this is clearly a beast! She's a Soul Beast, and one that's lived for hundreds of thousands of years! You expect me to hold a Soul Beast grandchild?"
"Dad, I'll explain everything later! For now, you absolutely cannot attack her. She's shy, and if you really hurt her, your son will be a bachelor for the rest of his life!" Qian Xunji pleaded frantically.
Qian Daoliu's feelings were a tangled mess. He looked at the Worshipers below, waiting for a show and ready to claim credit at a moment's notice, then at Snow Empress in the air, cold as frost and seemingly ready to self-destruct at any second.
He had a thousand questions. He even wanted to crack Qian Xunji's skull open to see if it was full of paste. But as Spirit Hall's pillar, he knew he absolutely couldn't let things fall apart now.
The Pope's fiancée was a Soul Beast hundreds of thousands of years old? If word got out and the rumor proved true, Spirit Hall's newly established righteous image would collapse in a heartbeat.
Qian Daoliu took a deep breath and reluctantly lowered the Holy Sword in his hand, the weapon that could destroy heaven and earth. His Martial Soul Avatar vanished in an instant.
He clasped his hands behind his back, his face once again calm and inscrutable. Addressing the stunned Worshipers and Elders below, he spoke with an even, authoritative voice:
"All right, today's sudden drill is over. The Worshipers and Elders responded reasonably quickly, but you still need to be more vigilant."
The people below: "???"
Golden Crocodile Douluo scratched the back of his head, utterly bewildered.
"Big Brother, wasn't that drill a little too realistic? The cold nearly froze my eyebrows off! How could that have been a drill?"
Qian Daoliu gave him a cool glance. Golden Crocodile Douluo immediately hunched his shoulders and shut his mouth.
"Ji'er, bring our... our honored guest with you and follow me inside." Qian Daoliu didn't look at Snow Empress again. But his voice betrayed a barely suppressed urgency as he turned and strode toward the main entrance of Pope Hall.
That was the back of a man who was about to put Qian Xunji on trial.
Qian Xunji let out a long breath, his legs almost giving way. He turned to Snow Empress, who was still on guard, cold air surging around her, and felt a pang of guilt.
"Snow Empress... I'm sorry."
Before you continue