This is... Divine Will

Martial Soul City.

The towering city gates refracted a cold and sacred luster under the sunlight.

A luxurious carriage rolled slowly through the entrance.

Inside the cabin, Bibi Dong maintained her trembling, timid appearance.

Her wide, innocent eyes peered curiously at the sights outside the window, much like a naive village girl who had never seen the world.

Yet, beneath that harmless exterior, this Rakshasa God Empress, reborn after a second loop, was sneering wildly in her heart.

Martial Soul Hall, Qian Xunji... I have finally returned.

Bibi Dong gritted her teeth in secret; the despair and humiliation from that secret chamber in her past life still seemed to ache.

She took a deep breath, forcing the monstrous hatred deep into the recesses of her heart.

No rush. Since I have lived another life, I have plenty of time to hollow out this golden cage from the inside, and then skin and dismember this white-haired man before me.

Qian Xunji, sitting opposite her, lazily swirled the red wine in his glass. His deep, dark purple eyes appeared indifferent, yet he was taking in every subtle micro-expression on Bibi Dong's face.

Still acting? It would be a waste of talent if you didn't win an Oscar for this performance.

Qian Xunji mocked her in his thoughts, though the corners of his mouth curled into a gentle, elder-like smile.

"Child, we have arrived. From now on, this is your home."

Bibi Dong cooperated perfectly, revealing a look of gratitude and attachment as she timidly called out:

"Thank you... Your Holiness."

"Good girl," Qian Xunji replied with a meaningful tone.

Yes, keep playing the part of the perfect "gift package." I'll have you shipped out soon enough. I hope you and your little brother Xiao Gang have a wonderful reunion...

After stepping out of the carriage, Qian Xunji did not settle Bibi Dong in immediately. Instead, he found a trusted bishop to take her away to rest, while he headed straight for the Elder Hall.

Before he even stepped through the main gate, a subtle yet pure mental fluctuation rippled out from the depths of the hall.

The old man has finished his seclusion?

Qian Xunji raised an eyebrow and strode into the hall.

In the center of the great hall, beneath the statue of the Angel God, the Grand Pontiff Qian Daoliu stood with his hands behind his back, his face glowing with health—not a trace of the dryness or fatigue from his recent seclusion remained.

"Father," Qian Xunji bowed slightly.

"Xunji, you've returned!"

Qian Daoliu turned around. The moment he saw his son, his majestic old eyes instantly crinkled into two crescents.

He laughed like a Maitreya Buddha, "That 'Primary Soul Tool Technology Compendium' you gave me last time—it is simply miraculous!"

Qian Daoliu rubbed his hands in excitement; the formidable level-99 Peerless Douluo looked like an old urchin who had just received a new toy:

"During these days of seclusion, I expected this long-lost technique to be obscure and difficult to grasp. But once I delved into it... ahem, for someone at my level, the core array inscription methods are, frankly, a bit too simple."

This was no boast on Qian Daoliu's part.

What was the level of mental power and control possessed by a level-99 Peerless Douluo?

To him, those first to third-tier low-end soul tool arrays were like asking a university professor to solve a basic linear equation—it was a dimensionality-crushing blow.

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

"Mastered it? That's an understatement!" Qian Daoliu waved his hand, his spirit soaring.

"The moment I left seclusion, I secretly dispatched dozens of our most core, absolutely loyal high-level craftsmen and auxiliary-type Soul Sages from Martial Soul Hall. A strictly confidential assembly line is already set up. Within three months, Martial Soul Hall will be able to arm an entire logistics team with storage soul tools, and we might even produce some small offensive gadgets."

Watching the old man's swift and decisive style, even Qian Xunji had to give him a mental thumbs-up.

Martial Soul Hall's current foundation owed much to the old man's execution.

"Father is wise. However, I have come today to report something even more important." Qian Xunji dropped his smile and lowered his voice, feigning seriousness.

Qian Daoliu's expression turned solemn: "Oh? What is it?"

"I have brought back a peerless genius from a remote town," Qian Xunji said unhurriedly.

"Innate Full Soul Power, and furthermore, Twin Martial Souls."

"What?" Qian Daoliu jolted, his old eyes widening instantly.

"Twin Martial Souls?! Truly?!"

"Absolutely true. The martial souls are the Death Spider Emperor and the Soul-Eater Spider Emperor—both top-tier beast martial souls."

"Good! Very good! Heaven blesses my Martial Soul Hall!"

Qian Daoliu stroked his beard in excitement, his face creased with a blooming smile.

"Such a heaven-sent talent, if nurtured with care, will surely become a pillar of strength for our Martial Soul Hall in the future! Xunji, you have performed a great service this time. How do you intend to cultivate her? Perhaps I should take her on personally... or you could make her your direct disciple?"

Watching Qian Daoliu's thirst for talent, Qian Xunji rolled his eyes in his heart. Take her as a disciple? That was a Rakshasa God Empress from a second playthrough; was he supposed to keep her by his side just to wait for his own death?

"Father, regarding this child..." Qian Xunji cleared his throat and looked at Qian Daoliu with an expression of utmost sincerity, "I intend to sell her."

"..."

The air inside the Elder Hall suddenly fell into a deathly silence. Qian Daoliu's hand, which had been stroking his beard, froze abruptly, plucking out several white hairs in the process. He stared at his son with wide eyes, looking at him as if he were a complete fool. "You... what did you say? The wind was too loud; I didn't hear you clearly just now." Qian Daoliu asked, his mouth twitching.

"I said, I intend to pack up this genius with Twin Martial Souls and sell her off." Qian Xunji enunciated every word clearly, his tone resonant and firm.

"You bastard!" Qian Daoliu erupted in a fit of rage, the soul power fluctuations of his level ninety-nine strength nearly blowing the dome off the grand hall. He pointed at Qian Xunji's nose, trembling with fury: "Has your brain been caught in a door? That is a Twin Martial Soul, a once-in-a-century talent for the entire continent! You aren't treating her like a precious treasure, but instead, you want to hand her over to someone else? Aside from our Martial Soul Hall, who else is worthy of teaching such a genius?"

Qian Daoliu was truly pushed to his limit. If it weren't for the fact that his son had recently undergone a Martial Soul Evolution and brought back a divine miracle, he would have been tempted to slap Qian Xunji against the wall and leave him stuck there.

Facing the old man's thunderous rage, Qian Xunji remained entirely unflustered. He clasped his hands behind his back, lifted his chin slightly, and a glimmer of compassionate, charlatan-like radiance flickered in his eyes. "Father, please calm your anger." Qian Xunji let out a long sigh, his tone heavy and profound, "Do you think I don't want to keep her in the Martial Soul Hall? Do you think I don't know the value of a Twin Martial Soul?"

"Then why—"

"This is... the will of the gods." Qian Xunji interrupted Qian Daoliu, uttering the infallible, universal phrase that never failed to work.