Qian Renxue Publicly Holds Hands

The scarlet digits of the countdown, [58], [57], pulsed frantically across Qian Renxue's retina.

With every flicker, her nerves twitched violently.

On the young master's seat atop the high platform, every muscle in Qian Renxue's body was coiled tight as iron, and the cold sweat on her back was enough to nearly soak through her platinum formal attire.

Her reason sounded an eighteen-level alarm in her mind; to step down at this critical juncture and take a man's hand was equivalent to kicking the dignity she had spent twenty years accumulating into the mud!

But the system's bone-chilling erasure warning hung over her like a blade at her throat—she had no choice at all!

Meanwhile.

In the center of the plaza, on the red carpet.

Su Chen kept his head lowered, his right hand rising with agonizing slowness.

Thousands of murderous, scrutinizing, and malicious gazes from the entire assembly pinned themselves to his palm like spotlights.

Deep within his Sea of Divine Consciousness, the vast, god-like life essence of the World Tree churned violently, threatening to erupt.

Su Chen suppressed it with all his might, utilizing its "Absolute Concealment" property to force a thread of soul power so weak it was nearly non-existent through his meridians.

A flash of light flickered in his palm, dim as a candle in the wind.

A withered, gray, leafless "dead twig" floated lonely in his hand.

Forget soul power fluctuations; even the weeds by the roadside possessed more vitality than it.

Dead silence.

The vast plaza fell into a momentary, deathly silence.

"Pfft~"

Immediately following, suppressed laughter erupted into a roar, wave upon wave, instantly sweeping through the ranks of the Martial Soul Hall elite.

On the left side of the high platform, Pei Yuan, the Enforcement Elder of the Worship Hall, leaped out.

He pointed at Su Chen, laughing so hard he sounded like a pig, tears streaming down his face, his voice sharp and piercing with undisguised malice: "Your Holiness the Pope! Is this the one-in-a-million special constitution you spoke of? Is this the Holy Son candidate who concerns the century-long grand plan of Martial Soul Hall?! A broken twig that isn't even good enough to start a fire?!"

The mockery landed like slaps across the faces of the Pope's faction.

Qian Daoliu's face was dark enough to wring water from, his withered palm suddenly raised high.

"Hum!"

The Holy Judgment Token in his hand erupted with golden light, the angelic divine might of a Limit Douluo crashing down, bearing directly upon the jade throne.

Qian Daoliu pointed at Bibi Dong, his voice infused with divine might like rolling thunder, causing everyone's eardrums to buzz: "Pope! You dare to profane the position of Holy Son with such scrap! You are trampling the century-old iron laws of Martial Soul Hall into the dirt! Utterly preposterous!"

Dozens of Cardinals below wore suspicious expressions, beginning to whisper among themselves.

The sliver of trust they had held for Bibi Dong collapsed the moment they saw that dead twig.

Bibi Dong sat motionless on the throne, her face as cold as water.

The purple-black Rakshasa killing intent in the depths of her eyes was almost tangible enough to drip.

She didn't even look at the dead twig.

What the martial soul was didn't matter; she only needed to protect this person!

The veins on the back of her hand, gripping the armrest, bulged, and her gaze shifted slightly, secretly sending an extremely dangerous look to Angela at the foot of the stairs.

Angela felt a chill run down her spine, her right hand instantly tightening around her sword hilt.

Behind her, sixteen elites of the Judgment Knights hunched simultaneously, soul power surging wildly within their bodies.

Undercurrents surged; if the Worship Hall made a move, they would immediately disregard everything to force a breakout and take Su Chen away!

Swords were drawn and bows bent! A bloody battle was on the brink!

Just as they stood on the edge of this deadlocked situation where all pretense was about to be lost, the countdown on Qian Renxue's retina dropped below [10] seconds!

"Clack!"

A crisp sound of high-heeled military boots hitting the ground suddenly echoed from the right side of the high platform, precisely piercing through the clamor and confrontation of the crowd.

Everyone turned in unison to look at the source of the sound.

Qian Renxue stood up abruptly from the young master's seat!

Gritting her teeth, she suppressed the urge to tear that broken system in her head to pieces and strode down the white jade steps.

Her pace was swift, carrying an unquestionable, sharp aura.

Qian Daoliu's astonished gaze fell upon her.

Bibi Dong's pupils constricted, locking onto her.

Qian Renxue ignored it all.

She looked straight ahead, walking directly toward the gray-clad servant in the center of the plaza holding the dead twig.

The Cardinals along the way instinctively stepped aside, their faces filled with horror.

What was this usually aloof young master doing, stepping into this death trap?

Was she going to purge the sect in public and execute this piece of trash with her own hands?

Countdown [3].

Qian Renxue stopped half a foot in front of Su Chen, looking down at him from her superior position.

Su Chen lifted his eyes slightly, meeting her gaze just in time.

His face remained pale and terrified, and his body was still trembling.

But before his retinas, on the Eye of Omniscience screen, Qian Renxue's emotion panel was churning violently like boiling water.

[Extreme Humiliation: 99%]

[Survival Instinct: 100%]

[Internal Monologue: Damn system, damn Bibi Dong, damn Su Chen! I will endure this! To stay alive, I accept this social death!]

Su Chen felt no ripples in his heart; he almost wanted to applaud.

Qian Renxue took a deep breath, her chest heaving violently for a moment.

She suppressed the humiliation and stiffness on her face, forcibly replacing it with a mask of aloof, compassionate majesty.

She suddenly extended her right hand, clad in a white-gold silk glove.

Countdown [1].

As her hand reached out, Qian Renxue grabbed Su Chen's left hand, which was clutching a withered branch!

Under the gaze of everyone whose eyes were practically popping out of their sockets, she forcefully and domineeringly pried open Su Chen's fingers, interlaced her own, and squeezed tight!

Fingers locked!

The moment their skin touched, the trace of extremely subtle life force in Su Chen's palm flowed through her fingertips, instantly soothing the soul power in Qian Renxue's body that had been agitated by her humiliation.

A strange sense of tranquility welled up in her heart; Qian Renxue's tense body instinctively softened slightly, and subconsciously, she gripped even tighter.

"Hum~"

This scene triggered a magnitude-ten earthquake across the plaza of thousands!

Time seemed to stand still; the jaws of every bishop and knight hit the floor, their mouths agape wide enough to fit a fist.

Pei Yuan's laughter stuck in his throat like a strangled duck; his face turned purple-red, and his eyes bulged as large as copper bells.

The high and mighty Young Mistress, the pride of Martial Soul Hall...

Was actually holding the hand of a male servant tightly in full view of everyone!

Fingers locked! No killing intent, only an eerie intimacy!

Su Chen hunched his shoulders, appearing on the surface too terrified to move, looking exactly like a maiden being abducted by a bully.

But on the screen, Bibi Dong's panel had completely exploded!

[Jealousy Level: 1000% (Limit broken!)]

[Possessive Berserk State fully activated!]

"Crack!"

A crisp sound of shattering echoed throughout the venue.

The jade armrest of the throne was crushed into powder by Bibi Dong!

Purple-black Rakshasa Death Qi overflowed uncontrollably, faintly manifesting as a hideous Demon Spider phantom behind her.

Her eyes instantly bloodshot, she stared fixedly at those two tightly locked hands, her killing intent practically piercing through Qian Renxue on the spot!

In the deathly silent plaza, Qian Renxue braced herself against the pressure of the Young Mistress, her cold voice infused with Angel soul power, spreading steadily across the crowd:

"Mother is far-sighted."

Qian Renxue straightened her back, looking straight ahead, forcibly draping her "social death" act in an impeccable cloak of legal justification.

"Since this person possesses a special constitution that can influence the future of the sect and is qualified to be a Holy Son candidate, then as the Young Mistress of Martial Soul Hall, it is only right that I share the burden for the sect."

She even raised the hand she had locked with Su Chen's, displaying it to everyone, her words landing with heavy impact:

"This person shall be jointly cultivated by the Pope and myself."

The entire venue was silent, not a sound to be heard.

The wind stopped.

Qian Daoliu's hand, holding the Holy Judgment Token high, froze completely in mid-air.

The wrinkles on his old face twitched wildly, his eyes filled with extreme absurdity and shock.

The two greatest power representatives in the history of Martial Soul Hall, who had always been at odds.

The Pope and the Young Mistress.

Had actually reached an unprecedented united front over the issue of this waste!

The Pope's inherent authority combined with the Young Mistress's orthodox legitimacy.

The superposition of these two supreme wills of Martial Soul Hall turned the clamor of Pei Yuan and the others into the barking of clowns.

The impeachment from the Worship Hall had completely lost its internal legal support.

The Holy Judgment Token in Qian Daoliu's hand, representing supreme authority, could no longer sense any legal basis, its golden light fading rapidly and uncontrollably.

It could not pass judgment on the two most powerful figures who had reached an unprecedented consensus against it!

Seeing the Young Mistress and the Pope joining forces to protect him at all costs, the six great Super Douluo elders of the Worship Hall on the left side of the high platform exchanged glances.

Even the most hot-tempered Golden Crocodile Douluo clenched his fists tightly, but in the end, he said nothing and sat heavily back into his chair, abandoning his stance.

A storm of shock surged through the hearts of every Cardinal present.

They were stunned by this bizarre, extreme triangular relationship, their minds conjuring countless dramas of power struggles, yet no one dared to challenge Su Chen again.

Qian Daoliu's chest heaved violently as he let out a cold snort, the sound like muffled thunder, causing the high platform to hum with vibration.

With a sudden flip of his withered palm, the dimmed Holy Judgment Token turned into a streak of light and was retracted into his sleeve.

Looking down from his vantage point, he cast a deep, piercing gaze at Su Chen, who stood on the red carpet, his hand held tightly by Qian Renxue.

On the surface, he could not suppress the forced alliance of these two women.

Yet, he absolutely refused to believe that a piece of deadwood without even a shred of soul power could possess such magic, causing the two most powerful women in Martial Soul Hall to cast aside all shame.

Qian Daoliu turned and strode away.

A cold resolution settled in the depths of his heart.

Since the rules of the light could not kill him, then he would resort to the shadows.

If he didn't dig up every last detail of this brat's ancestry, he would write the name Qian Daoliu backward!