My Name Is Bibi Dong, the Current Saintess of the Martial Soul Hall

The voice was like a clear mountain spring dripping onto jade.

It carried a hint of perfectly tempered softness amidst its coldness, along with an undeniable sense of reserve and distance that belonged to someone of high status.

The moment she heard this voice, Qian Renxue, who had been smiling with her eyes curved like crescent moons, felt her small body tremble violently.

The smile on her face faded as quickly as a receding tide, instantly replaced by a pale and flustered expression.

Almost subconsciously, she shrank back behind Ye Qing, her small hand gripping the corner of his clothes as if the voice belonged to something truly terrifying.

Ye Qing keenly sensed Qian Renxue's abnormal reaction.

He furrowed his brows slightly, looked down at the little girl hiding behind him—who seemed to have even softened her breathing—and asked in a low voice:

"What's wrong, Xiao Xue? Do you... know the person outside?"

Qian Renxue shook her head vigorously, burying her small head even lower without answering.

But her slightly trembling fingertips and suddenly rigid body said everything.

Ye Qing's confusion deepened.

In Martial Soul Hall, who could this woman be to frighten Qian Renxue—the granddaughter of the Grand Pontiff and daughter of the Pope—to such an extent?

Although he already had a faint guess in his heart, he did not voice it.

He patted the small hand clutching his clothes to reassure her, then looked up toward the courtyard gate and said slowly in a clear, childish voice:

"Yes, please come in."

He could roughly guess who was outside.

In Martial Soul Hall, there was likely only one woman qualified to enter the guest courtyard behind the Pope Palace at will, and capable of triggering such intense fear in Qian Renxue.

That was the woman who was now the Saintess of Martial Soul Hall, and also Qian Renxue's biological mother: Bibi Dong.

Sure enough, the moment his voice fell, the heavy courtyard gate was gently pushed open by a hand as slender and white as jade, with nails trimmed clean and neat.

The first thing to come into view was a jade foot stepping into the courtyard, clad in a silver high-heeled shoe.

Immediately after, a tall, slender, and gracefully curved figure stepped slowly into the courtyard.

The afternoon sun outlined her stunning profile.

Her long purple hair draped over her shoulders like fine silk, soft and slightly curled at the ends.

She wore a well-tailored light purple dress that reached her knees, perfectly accentuating her slender waist and full bosom, while also revealing her straight, long, and dazzlingly white legs.

Her features were as exquisite as if carved by the most brilliant artist; her brows were like a painting, her nose bridge high, and her lips a faint cherry pink.

Most striking were her eyes, which were also a deep, profound purple.

Yet they were calmer and more complex than Qian Renxue's, as if they held endless thoughts and deep, swirling vortices.

Beautiful, yet carrying an unapproachable sense of detachment and nobility.

Bibi Dong.

Ye Qing silently recited the name.

This was his first time seeing this future Empress of Martial Soul Hall from such close proximity.

She was also one of the female characters with the most tragic and complex fates in the original work.

She was indeed beautiful—breathtakingly so—and the noble temperament that blended a woman's elegance with the nascent aura of a future empress was truly unique.

This was Ye Qing's first impression of her.

But Ye Qing knew very well that the woman before him was far more than just beautiful.

Her talent was among the absolute best of all female spirit masters on the Douluo Continent, and she would eventually attain the godhood of the Rakshasa God.

Her methods and temperament were also among the most ruthless in the history of Martial Soul Hall's Popes, capable of leading the organization to an unprecedented peak and establishing the Spirit Hall Empire.

It was just her taste in men, though...

Ye Qing couldn't help but inwardly complain.

First, she was blinded by Yu Xiaogang, that "Grandmaster" whose theories were loud and flashy but whose practical combat was a disaster, and whose personality was cowardly and stubborn.

Then, her carefully nurtured disciple, Hu Liena, also became hopelessly devoted to Tang San, that thief from the Tang Sect...

In terms of picking the wrong people, this master and disciple were cut from the same cloth; it was truly something else.

As Bibi Dong fully entered the courtyard and her calm purple eyes, which seemed capable of seeing through everything, swept over them, Qian Renxue, who had been hiding behind Ye Qing, suddenly let go of his clothes like a startled little rabbit.

Her small body stiffened instantly, and then, using both hands and feet, she bolted from behind Ye Qing without looking back, fleeing the courtyard at a speed bordering on a sprint, not even daring to offer a greeting.

Her small figure quickly vanished around the corner of the corridor outside the gate.

The sight was exactly like a mouse seeing a cat—no, even worse than that.

It was a fear and detachment that originated from the very marrow of her bones.

Ye Qing watched Qian Renxue's panicked retreat, then looked at Bibi Dong, who stood in place with a calm, ripple-free expression, as if the person her own daughter had feared and fled from wasn't her at all. For a moment, he didn't know what to say.

The relationship between this mother and daughter was even colder and more bizarre than he had imagined.

He could only offer a bitter smile in his heart before casting his gaze back toward the purple-haired woman who had walked to the opposite side of the stone table and sat down with elegant poise.

He did not rise, merely nodding slightly with a smile that matched his age—one tinged with a hint of curiosity and confusion—as he spoke first to break the silence, which had grown somewhat awkward following the flight of Qian Renxue:

"May I ask who this beautiful sister is...?"

He deliberately used the slightly intimate term "sister," both as a probe and to project a touch of childlike innocence.

Bibi Dong did not answer immediately.

She first cast a calm, indifferent glance with those deep purple eyes toward the courtyard gate where Qian Renxue had vanished.

Deep within her gaze, a flash of extremely complex emotion seemed to flicker, too swift for anyone to capture.

Only then did she fix her gaze back upon Ye Qing.

Her eyes were very calm, so calm they were almost detached.

Yet Ye Qing could sense that beneath that stillness lay a form of meticulous scrutiny and evaluation.

Not until Qian Renxue's aura had completely faded into the distance did Bibi Dong lower her eyelids slightly, her long, curled lashes casting faint shadows upon her lids.

She raised a slender hand to elegantly pour herself a cup of tea that had long since gone cold, though she did not drink, merely tracing the rim of the smooth porcelain cup with her fingertips.

Then, she lifted her eyes to look at Ye Qing, her red lips parting slightly. Her voice remained melodious and pleasant, yet carried a formulaic, perfectly measured sense of distance:

"My name is Bibi Dong."

She paused, then added, her tone as flat as if she were stating a fact unrelated to herself:

"I am the current Saintess of Martial Soul Hall."

Ye Qing nodded gently, his face appropriately showing a look of sudden realization, even though he had already guessed as much.

He continued to ask in that well-behaved, childlike tone:

"So it is the Saintess. I wonder, what business does the Saintess have in coming to see me personally?"

He remained inwardly vigilant.

For Bibi Dong to seek him out—the God Child of Sea God Island—at this specific time, while avoiding both Qian Daoliu and Qian Xunji, it could never be as simple as just stopping by to say hello.