Gongs boomed, and firecrackers crackled.
Heaven Dou Imperial City was filled with laughter and cheerful voices.
Today, their Heaven Dou Empire was about to gain another Titled Douluo serving as a consecrated elder. It was a day of nationwide celebration.
Emperor Xue Ye sat at the highest point of the podium. Looking at the people surging toward the imperial city, he smiled.
Standing behind him, Dugu Bo was still eating the lollipop Yanyan had shared with him. It wasn't really appropriate for an occasion like this, but it was a precious gift from Yanyan, so of course he had to finish it with heartfelt gratitude.
Seeing their master and father like this, Dugu Yuan and Yu Tianshuo looked at him with utter disdain. Thinking the same thing, they licked their own lollipops a couple more times. These were gifts from Yanyan! Of course they had to savor every last bit, no matter the occasion.
Honestly, these people...
Watching them, Xue Qinghe wanted to rub her forehead and sigh. But the lollipop in her mouth stopped her from raising her hand, so she could only keep watching those childish fools.
Only Dugu Yan and Na'er seemed completely unbothered. Seeing everyone enjoy the lollipops they had brought, the two looked quite pleased.
Mm! Everyone on our side is eating the candy we brought. This is so fun, hehe.
Thinking this, Dugu Yan smiled.
The two Titled Douluo concealed in the shadows watched all this in silence, though their thoughts were quite different.
Snake Lance Douluo thought:
At an occasion this formal, they're just standing there eating lollipops. The young master has been led astray by that fellow Tianshuo.
His expression darkened even further.
Porcupinefish Douluo, on the other hand, wasn't thinking anything like that. He wondered:
I wonder what flavor the young master and the others are eating. They all look like they're really enjoying them.
Thinking this, Porcupinefish Douluo began to drool a little.
As everyone's thoughts wandered, Emperor Xue Ye began to speak.
"My dear subjects!"
"Today is a day worth commemorating!"
"The empire is about to welcome another Titled Douluo!"
"This will..."
Watching Emperor Xue Ye speak as if he were giving a speech beneath the national flag, Yu Tianshuo was already getting bored.
When he got bored, he always wanted to find something to do, so he turned his attention to Xue Qinghe.
Just as Qian Renxue sensed his gaze and was about to turn around, Yu Tianshuo's voice came through their mysterious connection.
"Hey, hey, can you hear me?"
Hearing the "hey, hey" he always started with, Qian Renxue had grown used to ignoring it. She calmly replied, "Mm, I can hear you. What's up?"
Seeing how coolly she responded, Yu Tianshuo didn't comment. He simply asked a question that left Qian Renxue at a loss for an answer.
"That second-in-command of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan I killed—if I remember right, he was a spy for the Pope's Palace. I killed him just like that. The Pope's Palace won't come after me, will they?"
Yu Tianshuo waited for a response.
But after quite a while, Qian Renxue still hadn't replied. Just as he was about to turn and look at her, Dugu Bo called out to him first.
"Stop daydreaming. In a moment, wave to the people outside with me. Once the speech is over, we're done."
Yu Tianshuo was taken aback. But when he saw Qian Renxue already waving, he understood why she hadn't answered him.
As for Qian Renxue, she was still wondering how Yu Tianshuo had found out that Yu Luomian was a spy.
After thinking it over for a moment, she sent her reply through their connection.
"I'm not sure either. At first, Spirit Hall's plan really was to use Yu Luomian to destroy the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. But my mother probably wouldn't offend a rising star like you just because of someone as insignificant as Yu Luomian... would she?"
As she said this, Qian Renxue grew a little uncertain. Ever since becoming the pope, her mother really had become somewhat unpredictable. As her daughter, even she couldn't guess what her mother was thinking.
Hearing Qian Renxue's reply, Yu Tianshuo wasn't sure either. After all, Bibi Dong was famously unreasonable and irrational. Although he agreed with the goal of unifying the continent, that didn't mean he agreed with Bibi Dong.
Her mind was filled with nothing but romance and destruction—first Yu Xiaogang, then the end of the world. She really might make trouble for Yu Tianshuo now because he had killed Yu Luomian.
So Yu Tianshuo sent his reply at once.
"Forget it. I don't care. If your mom gives me trouble, I'll beat up Yu Xiaogang. Every time she gives me trouble, I'll beat him up once. I'll leave him barely alive, and then we'll see if your mom doesn't feel heartbroken."
As he spoke, Yu Tianshuo maintained a warm smile and waved to the people of Heaven Dou.
Hearing his words, Qian Renxue grew curious. She knew nothing about the tangled love and hate among the older generation. Since Yu Tianshuo seemed to know about it, she asked him directly, "Who's Yu Xiaogang? Why would you beat him up if my mother gives you trouble? And can you tell me the stories of the older generation? I asked my grandfather before, but he wouldn't tell me either."
There was a faint sadness in her eyes. What she didn't say was that she wanted to learn from those events why her mother treated her this way.
Not noticing the sadness in Qian Renxue's eyes, Yu Tianshuo dropped a bombshell on her.
"Oh, that? It's normal you don't know. The story is that Yu Xiaogang was your mom's old flame, but your dad took a fancy to her and stuck his nose in. In the end, the two of them never got together, and then your mom redirected her hatred for your dad onto your family. I'm skipping over some of the details, but that's pretty much it."
Yu Tianshuo wasn't making this up. Bibi Dong and Yu Xiaogang really had been a couple, but they later split up for some reason—or, more precisely, that coward Yu Xiaogang ran away.
Then Qian Xunji stuck his nose in. Well, not exactly his nose. And that led to the most infamous "Secret Chamber Douluo." Bibi Dong gave birth to Qian Renxue in bitterness, so it was only natural she resented her.
After being violated by a rapist and forced to bear his child, anyone would have turned dark.
Though trying to destroy the world seemed a bit extreme. It was hard to tell whether the Rakshasa God had influenced her or if she'd already had those thoughts herself.
While Yu Tianshuo was still wondering whether Bibi Dong's madness was her own or the result of outside influence, Qian Renxue's eyes had widened in shock. But since everyone was waving, no one noticed that anything was wrong.
Quite some time passed before Qian Renxue finally processed everything Yu Tianshuo had told her.
She sent her words through the connection in a trembling voice.
"So my mother treats me so coldly because of my father?"
Sensing the tremor in her voice, Yu Tianshuo didn't answer directly. He only nodded at her.
Just as Qian Renxue was about to lower her head in dejection, Yu Tianshuo's slap on her back brought her back to her senses.
Before you continue