Yet the person seated on the throne reacted as if she had been pricked by a needle.
"Silence."
Bibi Dong's voice was soft, but it poured down over her like a bucket of ice water.
She slowly lowered her head. Her purple eyes, so deep their bottom could not be seen, gazed coldly at the girl below.
"How many times have I told you?"
"Don't call me Mom."
The smile on Qian Renxue's face froze instantly, and her tiny body stiffened where she stood.
She didn't understand. Every time she came running over full of hope, why was this the cold answer she got?
Her eyes reddened at once. Crystal-clear tears brimmed in them, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall.
The hurt passed in a flash.
She sniffed hard, forcing down the sourness in her throat.
Mom's unhappy. I must not be good enough yet, or strong enough.
As long as I can prove myself, prove that I'm the daughter she can be proudest of, she'll smile at me!
Yes, that must be it!
Qian Renxue clenched her little fists and raised her head again, her face eager, as if she were about to show off a precious treasure.
"Mom! I awakened my Martial Soul today!"
"It's the Six-Winged Angel! And..."
She paused, seeming to want to save the most astonishing news for last. Her voice rose a little.
"I have Innate Full Soul Power, rank twenty!"
Innate Full Soul Power, rank twenty.
Those words exploded in Bibi Dong's mind like a thunderclap.
Her pupils contracted sharply.
Memories sealed away burst forth like water through a shattered dam.
That night six years ago, when wind and snow had raged.
The infant, still swaddled, whom she had thrown into the Far North with her own hands.
That... other child of hers and that beast.
If he was still alive, he would be six today too. He would be due for his Martial Soul Awakening.
What would he be like...?
For a brief moment, Bibi Dong's eyes showed a rare flicker of struggle and tenderness.
My son...
Perhaps you were not at fault. You were innocent.
But...
I wasn't at fault either!
If anyone was to blame, it was that beast, Qian Xunji!
The instant the thought surfaced, the hint of tenderness that had just appeared was swallowed whole by boundless hatred.
The struggle and pain vanished from her peerlessly beautiful face, leaving only an abyss of resentment and madness.
She looked at Qian Renxue below, at the face seven parts similar to Qian Xunji's, at her golden hair, at her Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul...
Every last detail constantly reminded her of that humiliating past!
"Hum—"
The air gave a faint shudder.
Two yellow, two purple, and four black Soul Rings rose abruptly. Behind her, the phantom of a monstrous dark-green spider appeared silently, radiating a terrifying aura that made the heart quail.
"If you're such an eyesore..."
Bibi Dong's voice seemed to come from the depths of the netherworld.
"Then... you may as well disappear."
She reached out. The Death Spider Emperor phantom behind her moved with her, spreading its blade-covered legs and dropping fiercely toward the horrified Qian Renxue!
She would Devour the wretched child before her, born of that man's bloodline!
Qian Renxue froze in terror. Extreme fear flooded her young heart, leaving her unable even to cry out. She could only watch as the shadow of death engulfed her.
At this critical moment.
"Stop!"
A furious, commanding shout boomed through the hall like a great bell.
Brilliant golden holy light appeared from nowhere, shattering the dark-green spider phantom in an instant. Then a towering figure, as imposing as a mountain, stepped in front of Qian Renxue.
The newcomer wore Golden Armor and had a stern, dignified face. He was none other than the Pope of Spirit Hall, Qian Xunji.
"Bibi Dong, have you gone mad?!"
Qian Xunji glared at the woman on the throne, his voice full of disbelief.
"She's your daughter! You're going to kill her?"
Bibi Dong slowly withdrew her hand, and her Soul Rings vanished as well. She merely stared coldly at Qian Xunji, the corner of her mouth curling into a mocking smile. She said nothing.
Seeing her like this only fueled Qian Xunji's anger, but he said no more.
He scooped up Qian Renxue, who was still trembling, wrapped her in his cloak, and left without sparing Bibi Dong a glance.
"From today on, I'll teach Xue'er myself."
His icy voice echoed through the empty hall.
When the father and daughter had disappeared completely beyond the hall doors.
"Ha..."
"Ha ha ha ha ha!"
Bibi Dong suddenly began to laugh. Her laughter was crazed, yet filled with boundless grief and hatred.
She slowly rose to her feet, and eight Soul Rings appeared again, revolving around her.
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black.
Each Soul Ring marked the pain she had struggled through in the hellish years since.
She lifted her hand and looked at her long, slender, pale fingers, as if she could see them stained with blood that would never wash clean.
"Qian Xunji..."
Her voice was as faint as a wisp of smoke.
"Back then, I was no match for you, so you destroyed me."
She raised her head. Her gaze seemed to pierce the dome of Pope Palace and look toward some distant place. In her purple eyes, flames blazed, ready to consume everything.
"Wait three more years."
"Three years from now, I'll be the one making the rules of this game."
"I'll make you suffer a million times more than death!"
Spirit Hall, Worship Hall.
This was the holiest place in all of Spirit Hall, indeed in all of Douluo Continent.
Unlike the gloomy oppression of Pope Palace, the Worship Hall held nothing but boundless solemnity and reverence.
A colossal Angel God Statue stood in the center of the hall, a hundred meters tall. Twelve wings spread behind it as if to embrace the whole world, radiating a gentle, sacred golden glow.
Beneath the statue, an old man with a full head of white hair knelt in devout prayer.
He wore simple hemp robes, utterly out of place amid the splendor, yet the aura around him—deep as an abyss and steady as a mountain—proved he was a peerless powerhouse.
He was none other than the Grand Consecrated Elder of Spirit Hall, Qian Daoliu, a level-ninety-nine Peerless Douluo.
Just then.
"Hum—"
The entire Worship Hall gave a sudden, gentle tremor.
The colossal Angel God Statue burst into unprecedented golden radiance, illuminating the whole hall as bright as day.
An indescribable, divine pressure descended from above.
Qian Daoliu shuddered all over and snapped his head up. His aged eyes brimmed with fervor and excitement.
A divine sign!
This was the sign that the Angel God had sent down a divine oracle!
A voice—ethereal and majestic, impossible to identify as male or female—echoed in Qian Daoliu's mind and throughout the entire hall.
"The inheritor of the divine throne has appeared."
The brief words rang through Qian Daoliu's heart like a thunderbolt.
He froze for a moment. Then overwhelming joy surged through him.
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