Shui Bing'er felt a little embarrassed by the question and hurriedly explained,
"Senior, my Martial Soul is an Ice Phoenix. Soul Beasts from the Far North are the best match for its attributes."
As she spoke, she seemed to want to prove something. With a thought, four Soul Rings rose around her.
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple.
The best possible Soul Ring combination.
She extended her slender, jade-white hand, and the fourth Soul Ring blazed with light.
"Fourth Soul Skill, Sky-Filling Ice and Snow!"
In an instant, an extremely cold current spread out from her, and the snowflakes drifting down from the sky seemed to come alive. They grew denser, each one turning into a razor-sharp blade of ice that swept toward a distant iceberg with a howl.
"Crack! Crack!"
"I gained a lot from this trip to the Far North."
Shui Bing'er withdrew her Martial Soul, a trace of joy and confidence on her face.
"I got the fourth Soul Ring that suits me best."
She paused.
"And..."
A faint blush crept onto Shui Bing'er's cheeks. She stole a glance at Lan, who stood beside her with a calm expression.
In a voice only she could hear, she silently murmured to herself,
I also met you, the boy who was like a shark.
The group made a few quick preparations and didn't linger.
They chatted and laughed as they headed toward Heaven Dou Imperial City.
Meanwhile.
Spirit City.
The grand, solemn Worship Hall was so quiet that the sound of dust settling could be heard.
A figure slowly walked inside.
Long golden hair fell like a waterfall, catching the light streaming through the stained-glass windows in the dome and reflecting a sacred glow.
At eighteen, Qian Renxue was tall and stunningly beautiful, with skin as fair as snow. An innate nobility and aloofness radiated from her, making her seem like an angel who did not belong to the mortal world.
At the very back of the hall, beneath a huge, gleaming white Angel God Statue, stood an old man.
Qian Daoliu.
He was painstakingly polishing the statue's base with a piece of white silk, his expression pious and focused, as if performing some sacred rite.
Hearing footsteps, he did not turn around.
"Xue'er."
The old man's voice was calm and resonant, echoing through the empty hall.
"Have you always wondered why, all these years, I never truly prepared you to inherit the Angel God Position?"
Qian Renxue stopped and bowed slightly.
"Yes, Grandfather."
Her voice was cool and clear.
"Xue'er truly doesn't understand."
Qian Renxue raised her head and looked at the enormous Angel God Statue, a trace of confusion in her eyes.
"Only one heir remains in the Qian Family: me."
"Could there... be another descendant of the Angel God?"
Qian Daoliu stopped polishing, but continued to face away from her.
He let out a soft sigh.
"When you were six, the heir to the Angel God's Godhood Inheritance had already appeared."
"I thought that, with your innate Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul, you would naturally be that person."
As Qian Daoliu spoke, he shook his head slightly, his tone carrying a complicated emotion that was difficult to describe.
"But you weren't."
Qian Renxue's beautiful face changed slightly.
Her pale violet eyes suddenly narrowed.
"There's someone else?"
"That's right."
Qian Daoliu finally turned around. His gaze was deep as the sea, as though he could see through everything in the world.
"Starting that year, I mobilized the full power of Spirit Hall to investigate the matter across the entire continent."
"But twelve whole years have passed."
He looked at his granddaughter and spoke, one word at a time.
"There isn't a single clue."
"Twelve years..."
Qian Renxue murmured to herself.
"Not even one clue?"
How vast was Spirit Hall's influence? It reached almost every corner of Douluo Continent.
The Soul Master records in its possession listed the Martial Souls, Innate Soul Power, and other detailed information of most Soul Masters on the continent.
With a search net cast so wide, how could they still fail to find one person?
Just as Qian Renxue's mind reeled,
the pristine, imposing Angel God Statue before her suddenly lit up with a faint golden gleam.
The light flashed and vanished in an instant, so quickly it could have been an illusion.
But Qian Renxue had felt it clearly.
A strange stir and heat rose from deep within her bloodline, as if something far away had resonated with her.
That supposed heir to the Angel God Position...
Was she connected to them?
The thought flashed through her mind, stirring her thoughts into even greater confusion.
She drew her gaze away, bowed once more to Qian Daoliu's back, then turned and silently left the oppressive Worship Hall.
After leaving the Worship Hall, Qian Renxue headed straight for Pope Palace.
Unlike the Worship Hall's solemn simplicity, Pope Palace was more imposing and luxurious.
Beneath its high dome, Bibi Dong lounged against the Pope Throne that belonged to her.
She wore a sumptuous robe embroidered with gold and a Purple Gold Crown. One hand held the scepter that symbolized supreme power, while her exquisite face bore a trace of languor and weariness. She rested her chin on one hand, her violet eyes half-open, as if lost in thought.
When Qian Renxue walked in, Bibi Dong didn't even look up.
"Those worthless sons of the Heaven Dou Emperor are nearly all dead."
"Only you, the fake crown prince, are still alive."
Her voice was flat, yet carried authority.
"You've already aroused the suspicions of that old fool, Xue Ye."
Qian Renxue stopped in the middle of the hall.
Ever since she was nine, she had been alone, lying low among the members of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family.
For nine whole years.
If her grandfather hadn't secretly arranged for a Titled Douluo to protect her, she would likely have died long ago beneath a hail of open and hidden attacks.
"Bibi Dong."
Qian Renxue lifted her eyes.
"Do you wish I'd died in the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, too?"
"That way, no one would be left to threaten your position as Pope."
She turned her face slightly, as if unwilling to look at the woman on the throne. After a long struggle, she forced two words through her teeth.
"Is that right, my... sis, ter?"
"Older sister?"
Bibi Dong repeated the words. The languid expression vanished at once. She slowly sat upright, unmistakable coldness rising in her beautiful violet eyes.
Qian Renxue seemed not to notice the change and continued on her own.
"In this world, I have only one family member."
"That's my grandfather."
The moment she finished speaking,
Bibi Dong sprang to her feet.
The scepter in her hand slammed against the polished floor!
"Bang!"
A visible wave of purple Soul Power burst outward from the point of impact!
Qian Renxue had no time to react. An irresistible force slammed into her chest, and she let out a muffled groan.
A thin line of blood slowly trickled from the corner of her mouth.
The next moment, Bibi Dong's figure appeared before her like a ghost.
A hand as white as jade, yet cold to the bone, closed precisely around her slender throat.
"Whether you hate me or not, I don't care."
Bibi Dong looked down at her, her gaze complicated, filled with both loathing and a pity no one could understand.
"But don't forget your mission."
The feeling of suffocation washed over her. Qian Renxue's face turned red as she struggled to choke out a few words.
"You... don't... deserve..."
Bibi Dong's gaze turned icy.
She released her.
Qian Renxue staggered backward several steps and coughed violently. She wiped the blood from her mouth with the back of her hand, didn't look at Bibi Dong again, and hurriedly left.
The empty hall fell silent once more.
As if all her strength had been drained, Bibi Dong's body went limp, and she slumped back onto the cold throne.
She stared blankly toward the direction Qian Renxue had gone, but another face rose uncontrollably in her mind.
The baby she had abandoned with her own hands eighteen years ago, in the ice and snow.
It might be better if the baby had died.
She closed her eyes and murmured to herself.
Then no one else would have to live in such pain as she did.
Before you continue