Qian Renxue's Doll, Setting Out for the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well! Sword Douluo's Guess! Ling Xiao's Overwhelming Presence!

"Your Highness, a few days ago, such a shocking phenomenon appeared in the skies over Spirit City. Do you know what caused it?"

Chen Xin asked in a low voice, his expression grave.

The source of the disturbance had been deep within Spirit Hall. He couldn't get anywhere near it.

Xue Qinghe had been brought into the Pope Palace and personally treated by the Pope.

He had been the closest to it.

Perhaps he could have gleaned some specific information.

"I don't know the exact details either.

"I've only occasionally heard people mention the Worship Hall, the enshrined, and similar things. Senior Sword Douluo, do you know what the Worship Hall is?"

Xue Qinghe's brows knitted slightly as well. Then, at just the right moment, he let a hint of confusion show.

"The Worship Hall..."

Chen Xin's tone grew even more solemn.

"Most Soul Masters know that Spirit Hall has a Pope and elders, each with astounding cultivation, but they don't know that Spirit Hall's true foundation lies in the Worship Hall.

"Every enshrined there is a peak powerhouse, standing at the very summit of Titled Douluo.

"And the Great Enshrined of the Worship Hall, Qian Daoliu, is a towering figure in the Soul Master World."

He paused, a deeply complicated emotion flickering through his eyes.

"My grandfather was defeated by him and passed away with regrets."

"Qian Daoliu was the previous previous Pope of Spirit Hall. His Martial Soul is the Six-Winged Angel.

"That phenomenon from a few days ago was almost certainly his doing."

Sword Douluo's expression was especially grave.

Qian Daoliu hadn't shown himself to the outside world for a very long time—so long that Chen Xin had once thought the old geezer had quietly fallen.

He hadn't.

Though he'd already suspected as much, Xue Qinghe's words had only made him more certain.

"When I get back, I'll have to explain things properly to Fengzhi. We'll need to adjust our attitude toward Spirit Hall accordingly."

Sword Douluo stroked his beard, mulling it over to himself.

Xue Qinghe's mouth fell open, and he put on a thoroughly shocked expression.

He wasn't pretending.

He genuinely hadn't expected the speculation to point to his grandfather...

The actual person in question was sitting right in front of him.

What a hilarious scene...

She'd nearly burst out laughing.

It took all her effort to swallow the laugh rising in her throat.

After getting the answer he wanted, Sword Douluo returned to his carriage, his expression grave.

He had barely left when Snake Lance Douluo and Porcupinefish Douluo, disguised as accompanying guards, came over.

"Young Master, everything all right on your end?"

Snake Lance Douluo lowered his voice. As he spoke, he discreetly placed a hand on Qian Renxue's back.

A stream of pure Soul Power slowly flowed into her body.

Since Qian Renxue's Soul Power had mysteriously vanished, her mere third-level Soul Power couldn't sustain the disguise of the Angel God Suit for long.

So every hour or two, the two of them had to channel Soul Power into her body to keep her Soul Skill active.

Because of this limitation, she had to pretend to be ill from time to time, giving herself a chance to replenish her Soul Power.

"I'm fine. Thank you both for your concern, uncles."

Qian Renxue smiled.

Deep down, however, a trace of impatience welled up.

In the past, she might have been able to endure it.

But ever since Ling Xiao had upgraded her Martial Soul, she'd grown restless. She no longer wanted to remain a half-crippled person.

"Teacher? Teacher?"

"Are you all right?"

She called for Ling Xiao in her mind, but still got no response.

It wasn't until two days later, late at night, that she finally heard from him.

The envoy party had stopped in a small village near Sunset Forest.

After a day on the road, Qian Renxue was just about to undress and go to bed—

when Ling Xiao's voice suddenly rang in her mind.

"Don't sleep yet, don't sleep! I've found a treasure trove that can help you recover your cultivation!"

Qian Renxue hurriedly pulled her clothes back up halfway through taking them off, covering her chest. She was both angry and embarrassed.

"Teacher, couldn't you have picked another time? Why do you always show up without a word?!"

"Ah, I didn't want to either!"

Ling Xiao's voice carried just the right hint of fatigue and weakness.

"I only just recovered, after all."

Qian Renxue had been about to scold him a little and settle an old score while she was at it.

Although she knew that, under the circumstances, he'd had no choice and had only been trying to help her.

And with time, her embarrassment and anger had long since turned into worry.

Hearing him say that only made her more concerned.

"Teacher, are you all right?"

"Why don't you rest a little longer? My recovery can wait!"

"Ah, how could that do?"

There was an undeniable firmness in Ling Xiao's voice.

"You lost your cultivation because of me. I let you suffer for so many years for nothing."

"Don't worry. Even if all I have left is a wisp of remnant soul, I'm not so easy to kill."

His fierce, protective words, tinged with a touch of tragic resolve, moved Qian Renxue beyond measure.

She wanted to persuade him again, but feared hurting her teacher's pride, so she could only nod.

"Teacher, I'll do as you say!"

Deep down, she secretly swore that from now on, she'd be a good and dutiful student to him!

"Good. Pack up and leave right now."

"Oh, and don't bring anyone."

"Uh... if I disappear, it'll definitely arouse suspicion and cause a panic..."

With Ling Xiao there, Qian Renxue wasn't worried about her safety.

She was only afraid that Snake Lance Douluo and the others might wake up in the middle of the night, find her gone, and cause unnecessary trouble.

"No problem. Put the jade pendant you're wearing on the bed."

Ling Xiao sounded confident.

At his words, Qian Renxue took the ring-shaped jade pendant from her waist and placed it on her pillow.

The next second, her beautiful eyes widened. She covered her mouth, almost crying out in surprise.

The jade pendant flashed faintly, then transformed into a figure identical to her, lying on the bed.

Its aura and Soul Power fluctuations were exactly the same as hers!

"This... Teacher, how did you do that?"

Qian Renxue reached out and touched the figure that looked exactly like her. It was cool and smooth, with a wonderfully silky feel.

It didn't seem like a real person... more like a layer of shimmering, watery light.

She was just about to poke it with her finger again...

"Don't poke it. You'll burst it!"

Qian Renxue sheepishly withdrew her hand and stood at attention.

Only then did Qian Renxue reluctantly pull her hand back.

"Just a trivial little trick. Hurry up and change. We're leaving."

There was a hint of smugness in Ling Xiao's voice.

He'd combined Three Thousand Lightning Movement from the Wind Lightning Pavilion of Dou Qi Continent with the Angel God Suit's disguise skill, forging them into a Soul Skill.

At Ling Xiao's instruction, Qian Renxue changed into a set of dark clothes.

A layer of gray mist shrouded her.

Then she strode right past the guards and slipped out of the small village.

Not a single one of them noticed her.

"Teacher, this road leads to Sunset Forest... Are we going to hunt Soul Beasts?"

Qian Renxue remembered that Ling Xiao had previously extracted energy from the bodies of many Soul Beasts and used it to help her Martial Soul break through.

Was he going to use the same trick again?

"You'll know when we get there."

After saying that, Ling Xiao seemed to decide she was moving too slowly, and attached a burst of spiritual power to her.

She immediately felt as light as a leaf.

Under the cover of the gray mist, even the Soul Beasts couldn't detect her.

Before long, she vanished into the night-dark forest...