This Is... the Will of the Gods

Spirit City,

the towering city gates reflected a cold, sacred gleam beneath the sunlight,

and a luxurious carriage rolled slowly inside,

within the carriage, Bibi Dong still maintained her trembling, timid demeanor,

her innocent, wide eyes curiously took in the scenery outside the window, like some country girl who had never seen the world,

but beneath that harmless exterior, the Rakshasa God empress, reborn for a second life, was sneering madly to herself,

Spirit Hall, Qian Xunji... I've finally come back.

Bibi Dong gritted her teeth in secret. The despair and humiliation she had suffered in that secret chamber in her previous life still seemed to ache faintly,

she drew a deep breath, forcing her overwhelming hatred to the very bottom of her heart,

There was no rush. Now that she had a second chance at life, she had all the time in the world to hollow out this gilded cage from within, then flay the white-haired man before her and tear out his tendons.

Seated across from her, Qian Xunji lazily swirled the glass of red wine in his hand. His deep, dark-purple eyes seemed to wander carelessly, but they caught every tiny shift in Bibi Dong's expression.

Still acting? With acting like that, it'd be a crime if you didn't win an Oscar.

Qian Xunji grumbled inwardly, though a warm, avuncular smile curled his lips,

"Child, we're here.

From now on, this will be your home."

Bibi Dong played along perfectly, giving him a look full of gratitude and attachment as she timidly called out,

"Thank you... Pope."

"Good girl." Qian Xunji replied meaningfully.

That's right. Be a good little "gift package." I'll mail you off in no time. Hope you and your big brother Xiao Gang have a lovely reunion...

After they got out of the carriage, Qian Xunji didn't arrange for Bibi Dong to stay anywhere himself. He simply found a trusted bishop to take her away to rest, then headed straight for the Elder Hall,

before he had even stepped through the entrance, a subtle yet pure wave of spiritual power rippled out from deep within the Elder Hall.

The old man's out of seclusion?

Qian Xunji raised an eyebrow and strode into the hall.

At the center of the great hall, beneath the Angel God Statue, Grand Pontiff Qian Daoliu stood with his hands behind his back. His face glowed with health; there was no trace of the dullness or fatigue he'd shown before his seclusion,

"Father." Qian Xunji inclined his head slightly,

"Xunji, you're back!"

Qian Daoliu turned around. The moment he saw his son, his dignified old eyes narrowed into two crescent moons,

he grinned like a jolly Buddha. "That 'Primary Soul Tool Technology Compendium' you gave me last time was simply miraculous!"

Qian Daoliu excitedly rubbed his hands together. This Peerless Douluo of level ninety-nine now looked like a mischievous old man who'd just gotten a new toy:

"During these few days of seclusion, I thought this long-lost art would be obscure and difficult to understand,

but once I started studying it... ahem, for someone at my level, the method of engraving the Core Array was almost too simple and straightforward."

Qian Daoliu wasn't boasting,

just how formidable was the spiritual power and control of a level-ninety-nine Peerless Douluo?

Those low-grade, level-one-to-three Soul Tool arrays were like asking a university professor to solve a simple linear equation—a complete mismatch in ability,

"So, Father, you've already mastered it?" Qian Xunji asked with a smile.

"Mastered it? I've done far more than that!" Qian Daoliu swept his hand grandly,

"Immediately after coming out of seclusion, I secretly dispatched dozens of our Spirit Hall's most trusted, core craftsmen, along with support-type Soul Sages,

and we've already set up a completely secret production line,

within three months, Spirit Hall will have an entire logistics unit equipped with Storage Soul Tools. We might even come up with a few little attack-type devices."

Seeing the old man's decisive, no-nonsense manner, Qian Xunji couldn't help but give him a silent thumbs-up,

Spirit Hall owed much of its present strength to the old man's efficiency.

"Father, you're brilliant. But I've come today to report something even more important." Qian Xunji put away his smile and lowered his voice, feigning solemnity.

Qian Daoliu's expression turned serious. "Oh? What is it?"

"I brought back an unparalleled genius from a remote town down below," Qian Xunji said unhurriedly,

"she has Innate Full Soul Power, and she has Twin Martial Souls."

"What?" Qian Daoliu's whole body jolted, his old eyes widening at once,

"Twin Martial Souls?! Are you sure?!"

"Absolutely. Her Martial Souls are the Death Spider Emperor and the Soul-Eater Spider Emperor, both top-tier Beast Martial Souls."

"Excellent! Wonderful! The heavens favor Spirit Hall!"

Qian Daoliu stroked his beard again and again, so delighted that even the wrinkles on his face spread into a smile,

"With such extraordinary talent, if she's carefully nurtured, she'll surely become a pillar of Spirit Hall in the future!

Xunji, you've done a great service this time.

How do you plan to cultivate her?

Perhaps I should take her on myself... or you could accept her as your direct disciple?"

Watching Qian Daoliu's desperate eagerness to recruit talent, Qian Xunji silently rolled his eyes.

Take her as a disciple? She was the Rakshasa God empress from her second life. Keeping her by his side would be asking for death.

"Father, about this child..."

Qian Xunji cleared his throat and looked at Qian Daoliu with utter sincerity. "I plan to sell her."

"..."

The air inside the Elder Hall suddenly fell into deathly silence.

Qian Daoliu's hand stopped in the middle of stroking his beard, pulling out several white hairs,,

he stared at his son with wide eyes, as if he were looking at an idiot.

"You... what did you say? The wind was too loud. I didn't hear you clearly."

Qian Daoliu asked, the corner of his mouth twitching.

"I said I plan to bundle up this Twin Martial Soul genius and sell her off."

Qian Xunji enunciated every word clearly and firmly.

"You little brat!"

Qian Daoliu flew into a rage. The Soul Power of a level-ninety-nine powerhouse nearly blew the roof off the great hall,

he pointed at Qian Xunji's nose, shaking with anger,

"Did a door hit you in the head?

She has Twin Martial Souls! A once-in-a-century Twin Martial Soul talent!

You should be treasuring her like a jewel, not handing her over to someone else!

Who but Spirit Hall is worthy of teaching such a genius?"

Qian Daoliu was truly beside himself,

if not for his son's recent Martial Soul Evolution and the divine miracle he'd brought, he would have loved to slap Qian Xunji so hard he stuck to the wall.

Facing the old man's thunderous fury, Qian Xunji didn't panic in the slightest. He clasped his hands behind his back, lifted his chin, and let a compassionate, pseudo-divine gleam shine in his eyes.

"Father, please calm down first." Qian Xunji sighed, his voice grave,

"Do you think I don't want to keep her in Spirit Hall? Do you think I don't understand the value of Twin Martial Souls?"

"Then why would you—"

"This is... the will of the gods." Qian Xunji cut Qian Daoliu off, delivering the all-purpose line that never failed.