Marry Ye Guyue

His voice was cold, laced with disappointment and anger.

The slap sent Bibi Dong's head jerking to the right. She was slow to react—so stunned that she couldn't even process what had happened.

Ye Guyue, who had once treated her so well, seemed like a stranger now.

Her cheek burned, but she didn't feel the pain. The hurt in her heart was far more unbearable.

The slap plunged the Pope Palace into deathly silence.

The guards pinning Yu Xiaogang down were drenched in sweat. Droplets fell to the floor one after another, each clearly visible.

Qian Xunji stared in shock. The disciple his father had taught had changed so much after returning. Or had Ye Guyue simply given up on Bibi Dong completely?

"Se... Senior Sister?"

Bibi Dong came to her senses and stiffly turned her head. All she saw was the disappointment written across Ye Guyue's face.

"Don't call me Senior Sister. I don't have a junior sister like you."

Ye Guyue's words held no warmth.

"Senior Sister, it's me, Dong'er." Bibi Dong's eyes reddened, her expression pitiful.

"You're not anymore."

Ye Guyue's tone was cold. "If you're still clinging to that theory of yours, then get out. Get out of the Spirit Hall, get out of my sight, and never come back."

"The Spirit Hall has never needed a good-for-nothing, a traitor, a heartless ingrate!"

Every word Ye Guyue spoke cut to the heart, each one a knife.

By now, Bibi Dong was sobbing uncontrollably. Choking on her words, she said, "Senior Sister, you can't—you can't do this."

Bibi Dong reached out with trembling fingers and caught Ye Guyue's sleeve.

Ye Guyue flung her sleeve free and stepped back.

At that moment, Bibi Dong felt as if a knife had carved through her heart.

"Bibi Dong, are you still going to choose? I'm asking you one last time." Ye Guyue's voice was cold.

Bibi Dong fell silent. She looked at Yu Xiaogang, pinned to the ground and forced to swallow his humiliation, then at Ye Guyue, whose expression remained cold.

Crushed from both sides, she immediately crouched down, clutching her head and weeping.

She didn't know what she should choose. No matter what she did, it all seemed wrong. Why?

Why had things turned out this way?

"Bibi Dong, I'll give you a choice."

After a moment of silence, Qian Xunji finally spoke. He had been turning this idea over in his mind for a long time.

Now it was time to say it.

Qian Xunji leaned forward, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

"I want you to marry your senior brother."

"Compared to that good-for-nothing Yu Xiaogang, who's only reached level twenty-nine, your senior brother is far stronger."

Bibi Dong's delicate frame shuddered as she wept. He wanted her to marry Ye Guyue?

Qian Xunji continued, "Ye Guyue is also my disciple. He has exceptional talent and a boundless future. Even Tang Hao and Tang Chen are no match for him."

"If the two of you were together, I wouldn't oppose it. I'd even support it wholeheartedly. If my father hadn't stopped me from teaching him back then, I wouldn't have been willing to let Ye Guyue go."

Bibi Dong didn't know what to say. Her expression shifted between light and dark.

She had witnessed Ye Guyue's talent with her own eyes. He truly had extraordinary gifts, was adored by all seven Great Enshrined, and had broken records time and again.

"Guyue, show Bibi Dong your Martial Soul and Soul Rings."

Qian Xunji also wanted to see what Ye Guyue had gained during his time away.

A low dragon's roar rang out as golden dragon wings gradually appeared. His Soul Rings were one yellow, one purple, four black, and one red.

Seven Soul Rings settled at Ye Guyue's feet.

Even Qian Xunji was taken aback by the sight.

A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring?

Bibi Dong covered her small mouth, her face full of disbelief. So this was her senior brother?

"Guyue, you've reached Soul Saint!"

Qian Xunji was overjoyed.

With Ye Guyue's talent, reaching Soul Saint at this age meant he would surely become a Titled Douluo within the next ten years.

The youngest Titled Douluo on the entire continent—his very own disciple.

Yu Xiaogang was utterly stunned. Seven rings, including a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring?

How was that possible?

He had to be dreaming.

Qian Xunji let out a hearty laugh. "Good! Excellent!"

Then he turned to Bibi Dong. "You have only two choices now: marry Ye Guyue, or I'll kill Yu Xiaogang right here."

"A good-for-nothing who wants to climb to the top? What a delusion!"

Yu Xiaogang's face went deathly pale. If Qian Xunji really killed him, how could he go on living?

He immediately looked at Bibi Dong and shouted anxiously,

"Bibi Dong, I..."

Before he could finish, the two guards pinned him down again.

Qian Xunji's expression turned icy. "Yu Xiaogang, shut up."

Then he turned to Ye Guyue with a broad smile.

"Guyue, what do you think of this proposal?"

Ye Guyue's gaze was calm. He glanced at Bibi Dong, then said to Qian Xunji, "Teacher, give me some time to think it over."

Qian Xunji's eyes narrowed. He realized that he was only Ye Guyue's teacher in name; in truth, Ye Guyue would need to ask his father.

Besides, Ye Guyue had spent the past twenty years focused entirely on cultivation and had never experienced romantic feelings. Springing this on him so suddenly was indeed somewhat inappropriate.

"No rush, Guyue. Take your time."

Qian Xunji raised a hand in a gesture of command. "Take Yu Xiaogang to the dungeon and keep a close watch on him. Bibi Dong, think this over carefully. Give me your answer in three days."

Two guards carried Yu Xiaogang, whose legs had gone limp, out of the Pope Palace.

Bibi Dong sat frozen on the ground, at a loss. The silence in the Pope Palace seemed to leave her unable to catch her breath.

Yu Xiaogang had been dragged off to the dungeon, and even her senior brother was deeply disappointed in her.

"Teacher, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave."

Qian Xunji nodded and didn't stop him. Ye Guyue was perceptive enough to understand how important this matter was.

Ye Guyue left first.

Bibi Dong struggled to her feet and bowed to Qian Xunji. "Teacher, I'll take my leave as well."

Qian Xunji gave a quiet assent, and Bibi Dong left the Pope Palace on unsteady legs.

The palace doors swung open, and blinding sunlight fell across her face. Bibi Dong found the warm rays increasingly hard to bear; in fact, she wasn't used to them at all.

As her vision gradually cleared, she saw Ye Guyue standing motionless straight ahead, holding a leaf. He noticed Bibi Dong's arrival and turned to look at her, but his gaze was still cold.

Bibi Dong felt as if she had plunged into an ice cave.

"Senior Sister..." Bibi Dong ventured.

Ye Guyue didn't answer. Instead, he released the leaf, letting it drift into the air.

"Bibi Dong, although we haven't met often—you were taught by Teacher, while I was taught by Grandpa Qian—you've disappointed me so much."

Bibi Dong's eyes reddened, tears welling in them. Choking on her words, she said, "I'm sorry, Senior Sister. Dong'er has disappointed you."

Ye Guyue sighed. "Bibi Dong, do you really think Yu Xiaogang truly loves you?"

Bibi Dong froze at his words.

Before she could speak, Ye Guyue continued, "Yu Xiaogang doesn't love you at all. He only got close to you to use you, to get the resources he wanted and improve himself. Do you understand?"

Bibi Dong looked up at Ye Guyue, who remained cold, her face full of disbelief.

"No, that's impossible. Senior Sister, you must be lying to me, right? You have to be."