Qian Xunji looked at Qian Yu, and a decision had already taken shape in his heart.
He nodded, then turned his gaze back to Bibi Dong, his voice cold and hard:
"Bibi Dong, I'll give you one final chance.
Take back what you just said and settle down as my Saintess.
I can pretend none of this ever happened."
The corner of Bibi Dong's mouth lifted slightly in a mocking smile:
"Your Holiness, I won't take back a single word."
"Impertinent!"
Qian Xunji slapped the armrest, and the thunderous impact echoed through the vast hall.
"You're the Saintess of Spirit Hall. I've poured every resource into raising you, and this is how you repay Spirit Hall?!"
"Repay you?"
Bibi Dong's voice was cold as ice.
"Ever since I entered Spirit Hall at six, everything I've done for the past ten years has been repayment.
Cultivating, carrying out missions, bringing glory to Spirit Hall!
I've never slacked off."
Bibi Dong paused, her voice trembling faintly:
"But I have the right to choose my own life.
I want to be with Xiaogang. Is that really a crime?"
"Xiaogang?"
Qian Xunji sneered, his gaze shooting like a knife toward Yu Xiaogang, who was pinned to the ground.
"You mean this good-for-nothing?"
Yu Xiaogang's body trembled, and he lowered his head.
"He's not a good-for-nothing!"
Bibi Dong's voice rose sharply, a flash of anger in her eyes.
"His Martial Soul Theory is unmatched. He just—"
"He just lacks Innate Soul Power and can't even break through level thirty."
Qian Xunji cut her off, his tone full of contempt.
"Bibi Dong, you have Twin Martial Souls and Innate Full Soul Power. You're destined to become a Titled Douluo, perhaps something even greater.
Being with a good-for-nothing like him is a waste of your talent!"
"My talent is mine to decide."
"You don't get to decide!"
Qian Xunji sprang to his feet, and his immense Soul Power pressure came crashing down like a mountain.
"You're the Saintess of Spirit Hall. Spirit Hall decides whom you marry!
What do you think this place is?
You can just leave with whoever you want?!"
Bibi Dong let out a muffled groan and swayed, but forced herself to stand firm.
She gritted her teeth and spoke word by word:
"Then I'll leave Spirit Hall."
The moment she said it, the hall fell utterly silent.
Qian Xunji's face turned ashen.
Qian Yu stood to one side, taking it all in. He already understood.
Qian Xunji's fury stemmed from far more than Bibi Dong trying to elope.
Bibi Dong had Twin Martial Souls and Innate Full Soul Power. She was a genius Spirit Hall had spent countless resources cultivating.
If she eloped with Yu Xiaogang, it would not only be a tremendous loss for Spirit Hall, but also an open challenge to its authority.
And now Qian Xunji had dragged him into it too. His intentions were obvious.
"You want to leave Spirit Hall?"
Qian Xunji laughed in his rage.
"Fine. Then tell me, how do you expect to leave?
Every level of Soul Power you have was built on Spirit Hall's resources.
Every Soul Ring you possess was hunted for you by people Spirit Hall sent.
You think you can just walk away? What do you take Spirit Hall for?!"
Bibi Dong fell silent for a moment, then raised her head, her gaze growing ever more resolute:
"Then I'll return everything to Spirit Hall.
I can have my Soul Bones removed, and my Soul Rings..."
"Absurd!"
Qian Xunji cut her off with a shout.
"Remove your Soul Rings and Soul Bones, and you'll become a good-for-nothing just like Yu Xiaogang.
You might even die!
You think you can threaten me with your death?"
"I'm not threatening you."
Bibi Dong's voice was terrifyingly calm.
"I'm simply stating my choice."
Qian Xunji stared at her, his chest heaving violently.
After a long moment, Qian Xunji suddenly smiled.
There was a hint of malice in that smile, and a hint of calculation.
Qian Xunji slowly sat back on his throne. His gaze shifted to Qian Yu, then returned to Bibi Dong.
His tone suddenly grew meaningful:
"Bibi Dong, you say you want to choose your own life.
Fine. I'll give you a choice."
A flicker of wariness crossed Bibi Dong's eyes.
Qian Xunji pointed at Qian Yu:
"If you insist on being with that good-for-nothing, I'd rather destroy you than let you take a single step outside Spirit Hall."
Qian Xunji paused, the corner of his mouth curling into a smile:
"But I'll give you another option.
Marry Qian Yu!"
Bibi Dong's pupils abruptly contracted.
Qian Xunji continued, his tone leaving no room for argument:
"Qian Yu is my junior fellow disciple and the direct disciple of my father, Angel Douluo.
He's a genius from a branch of the Angel Qian Family, with Twin Martial Souls and Innate Full Soul Power.
Throughout his cultivation, he's repeatedly broken records for being the youngest to reach certain titles, such as Soul Douluo.
He's now an eighty-sixth-level Soul Douluo, and it won't be long before he becomes a Titled Douluo.
In terms of talent, status, and strength, how does he not surpass that good-for-nothing?"
Qian Xunji rose to his feet, standing with his hands behind his back as he looked down at Bibi Dong:
"Rather than let you elope with Yu Xiaogang, that good-for-nothing, and waste your talent, you should marry Qian Yu.
You both have Twin Martial Souls. If you were joined together, your children would surely possess extraordinary talent.
It would strengthen the bloodline of the Qian Family and the foundations of Spirit Hall!"
Bibi Dong's face turned deathly pale.
She whipped around to look at Qian Yu, an expression of utter complexity flashing through her eyes.
Qian Yu!
She knew of him.
A genius from a branch of the Angel Qian Family, the direct disciple of Qian Daoliu, and one of the brightest stars of Spirit Hall's younger generation.
He had spent these past years cultivating abroad and rarely appeared at Spirit Hall's social gatherings. The two of them had hardly interacted.
But now, Qian Xunji had brought him into the open. His intentions were plain as day.
"You—"
Bibi Dong's voice trembled faintly.
"What do you take me for?
A tool for bearing children?"
"I'm offering you a way to survive."
Qian Xunji's gaze turned icy.
"Bibi Dong, don't be ungrateful.
Either marry Qian Yu, settle down as my Saintess, and one day become a pillar of Spirit Hall.
Or—"
Qian Xunji's gaze swept toward Yu Xiaogang as he said coldly:
"I'll kill this good-for-nothing right now, then lock you up until you change your mind."
Yu Xiaogang abruptly raised his head, terror filling his face:
"Bibi Dong—"
"Silence!"
A guard forced his head back down.
Bibi Dong's body trembled slightly, her fists clenched so tight her nails nearly dug into her palms.
She looked around—
The guards on either side of the hall stood expressionless.
Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan still wore that same smile, while Ghost Douluo Gui Mei stood in the shadows like a specter.
And Qian Xunji sat upon his throne, high above them all, like a god no one could defy.
A bone-deep chill suddenly swept through her.
This wasn't a discussion. It was an order.
Qian Xunji had never given her a choice.
"Qian Yu."
Qian Xunji suddenly spoke, his tone turning cordial.
"What do you think?"
Everyone's eyes turned to Qian Yu.
Bibi Dong looked at him too, her reddish-purple eyes carrying a measure of scrutiny, a measure of wariness, and a trace of... an almost imperceptible plea.
Before you continue