Conflict

"Boom!"

Qian Renxue's call was like a boulder dropped into a tranquil lake, sending waves surging in every direction.

Killing intent solidified and shot into the sky. When Bibi Dong turned around again, the two of them were met by a pair of scarlet eyes.

Cold sweat poured down Lin Beiya's back. This is bad. Yet his body still moved of its own accord, stepping in front of Little Angel. At the same time, the Aries Gold Cloth quietly enveloped him, and a Crystal Wall appeared before Bibi Dong.

The little brat's move only made Bibi Dong pause for half a second before she ignored him completely. Her icy voice passed through the Crystal Wall and reached their ears.

"I believe I told you not to call me that, didn't I?"

"Filthy Angel Clan. The blood flowing through your veins makes me sick."

"It seems I'll have to teach you a lesson you'll never forget before you learn to behave."

Lin Beiya's brows knitted together. Feeling Little Angel trembling behind him, he cursed the woman inwardly. She really knows how to say the most hurtful things. Whoever you have a grudge against, go after them. Why take it out on a child?

Although the murderous woman before him had her reasons for being pitiful, she kept approaching, leaving Lin Beiya no choice but to swing his fists at her.

"Starlight Extinction."

Lin Beiya crossed his palms in front of him. Golden light gathered into a single point and blasted toward Bibi Dong.

A flicker of surprise crossed Bibi Dong's eyes, along with a trace of envy. Then she said disdainfully,

"Hmph. How dare a grain of rice try to shine like the sun? The Angel Clan's lapdogs are just as loathsome."

A surge of dark-red Soul Power rose. Bibi Dong crushed Lin Beiya's full-power attack with one hand, shattering the Crystal Wall as well.

Since he'd obtained his Soul Ring, the Crystal Wall had never before been broken by an enemy's attack. It scattered into twinkling points of starlight and vanished into the air.

Lin Beiya's heart sank to the bottom. Now he could only pin his hopes on the powerful expert secretly protecting Qian Renxue. He had no idea whether that person could stand against Bibi Dong as she was now. If not, Little Angel might only get a beating, but he might not get away without losing a layer of skin.

Fortunately, Lin Beiya's fears were unfounded. As Bibi Dong's casual Soul Power attack reached them, a golden iron staff engraved with dragon patterns dropped from the sky, instantly shattering the attack before embedding itself halfway into the ground.

The Coiling Dragon Staff was easy to recognize in Spirit Hall. He just didn't know whether it belonged to Qian Jun or Falling Devil Douluo. Whoever it was, the two of them were safe now.

The brothers were both Level 96 Super Douluo. Bibi Dong as she was now couldn't match them.

"Bibi Dong, you've gone too far."

"Tch."

With her plan thwarted, Bibi Dong didn't care to say another word. Hearing the voice from above, she turned and walked straight toward Pope Hall.

Watching the woman gradually disappear into the distance, Lin Beiya finally withdrew his Sacred Cloth and let out a long breath.

The Coiling Dragon Staff disappeared, and in its place stood a middle-aged man dressed much like Qian Daoliu.

"Are you all right, Xiao Xue?"

"Seventh Grandfather, I'm fine."

"Mm."

Their brief exchange made the man's identity clear. He was Seventh Elder of Douluo Hall, Falling Devil Douluo.

Seeing that Little Angel was merely in low spirits and otherwise unharmed, the Super Douluo finally spared a moment to turn his gaze to Lin Beiya.

He curled his lips slightly. This Seventh Elder seemed quite pleased with Lin Beiya's performance just now.

"You're a good kid. If you have any questions about cultivation in the future, you can ask Xiao Xue to bring you to me."

"Thank you, Seventh Elder. I won't stand on ceremony."

"Hahaha, you've got spunk, kid!"

After giving Lin Beiya a few words of encouragement, Falling Devil Douluo flashed out of sight once more. Whether he'd returned to Douluo Hall or was still lurking in the shadows, no one could tell.

After that little incident, Qian Renxue had completely lost interest in shopping around Spirit City. Her eyes rimmed red, she looked at Lin Beiya and said,

"Bei Ya, let's go back."

"Okay."

He didn't ask the idiotic question of whether she still wanted to go shopping. Lin Beiya quietly followed Little Angel toward Douluo Hall.

The petite figure in front of him kept her head bowed. Lin Beiya didn't know what to say, so he simply stayed quietly by her side.

"That was my mother. Ridiculous, isn't it? She actually wanted to kill me."

"Maybe."

Lin Beiya neither agreed nor disagreed with Qian Renxue. In the timeline without him, Qian Renxue had lived just fine. It was hard to say whether Little Angel had simply been well protected or whether Bibi Dong had never actually intended to kill her.

As they spoke, the two had already returned to the pavilion in the Central Garden. Little Angel's expression was desolate as she said,

"Do you want to hear about it?"

"Uh..."

Lin Beiya wanted to say no. He might know more about what had happened than she did. But looking at Little Angel's red-rimmed eyes, he just couldn't bring himself to refuse. All he could do was nod quietly.

"Actually, I don't know that much either. I only know that my parents' relationship was already bad for as long as I can remember."

"Especially the way Mother looked at Father. It was as if she were looking at an enemy."

"And the hatred in her eyes spilled over onto me. No matter how hard I tried, I could never seem to earn her approval."

As if recalling those painful memories, tears slowly slid down Qian Renxue's cheeks. Seeing her weep so pitifully, Lin Beiya had no idea what to do.

"Maybe your father did something to hurt her. She might have taken that hatred out on you, too."

"Maybe."

Lin Beiya sighed. With a family like Little Angel's, if she hadn't had Qian Daoliu to support her, her life might have been even harder than his had been as an orphan.

Even though he knew the truth, he couldn't tell Little Angel. All Lin Beiya could do was quietly keep the heartbroken girl company. Bathed in the glow of the setting sun, their shadows slowly overlapped, and Qian Renxue, exhausted from crying, leaned against his shoulder and dozed off.

Only when her breathing grew steady did Lin Beiya finally let out a quiet breath. In either of his two lives, he'd never had much experience comforting women.

Night was about to fall. Lin Beiya left Qian Renxue in the care of a maid and returned to his lodgings.

Sitting cross-legged on his bed, Lin Beiya felt a growing sense of urgency. In any case, his first encounter with Bibi Dong had not gone well.

She would eventually rule Spirit Hall. Whether or not Bibi Dong planned to harm him in the future, he had to grow stronger as quickly as possible and gain the strength to protect himself.

The next day, after cultivating all night, Lin Beiya went to morning class at Spirit Academy as usual. After lunch with Shi Nuo, he headed straight for the Training Ground. He was still a little worried about whether yesterday had affected Qian Renxue.

He didn't know whether Little Angel had already grown used to it or had simply buried everything deep inside. At any rate, today Qian Renxue seemed nothing like the despondent girl from the day before. Instead, she threw herself into physical training and Soul Fighting with a renewed vigor, as though she meant to turn her grief into effort.

Usually, Little Angel followed Lin Beiya's training for a while before complaining that she was tired. Today, even after he'd started panting heavily, she was still full of energy.

"Xiao Xue, that's enough for today. Too much of a good thing can be bad."

"Okay."

Qian Renxue paused, then gave Lin Beiya a charming smile.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. I'm used to that sort of thing. I was just sad in the moment. I'm going to train hard and make her see me in a new light."