Task, Feeding the Child

Meanwhile, Martial Soul City.

The Pope's Palace.

Qian Xunji sat on the high Pope's throne, listening to the intelligence submitted by his subordinates.

"Bibi Dong has returned from hunting for a spirit ring, carrying an infant, male."

The subordinate kept his head down, not daring to look at the Pope's expression.

Qian Xunji was silent for a moment.

He recalled that three months ago, Bibi Dong had left Martial Soul City under the guise of hunting for a spirit ring.

He had found it a little strange at the time.

Bibi Dong had already acquired her eighth spirit ring and had no need to hunt for another.

But he hadn't stopped her.

Because he knew Bibi Dong hated him.

The woman's gaze towards him was always like a knife; if it weren't for her insufficient strength, she would have likely attacked him long ago.

Qian Xunji didn't care.

Bibi Dong's current strength was Level 83 Soul Douluo, a top-tier powerhouse on the entire continent, but before him, a Level 95 Titled Douluo, she didn't have the qualification to resist.

As for his daughter... Qian Renxue.

Qian Xunji frowned.

He actually doted on this child and had considered sending her to her grandfather's place, to be with him.

After all, this child would become the inheritor of the Angel God in the future and the next Pope of Martial Soul Hall.

But ever since the child could speak, she had been crying, wanting her mother, wanting her mother, wanting her mother.

Qian Xunji was helpless and could only let her live with Bibi Dong for now.

To see if the child could influence Bibi Dong.

If that didn't work, it wouldn't be too late to send her to her grandfather's later.

He then waved his hand.

"I understand, you may go."

Deep within Martial Soul Hall, a side hall.

A little girl, just over three years old, stood by the window, watching the snowflakes drift down outside.

She had short golden hair, delicate and cute features, and wore a small white dress.

Three-year-old Qian Renxue already had the outline of a future beauty, especially her eyes, which sparkled as if filled with stars.

But there were no stars in her eyes at this moment, only anticipation.

"Is Mother coming back today?"

She asked the maid beside her.

The maid lowered her head, not daring to meet her eyes: "Yes, Your Highness, Madam is returning today from hunting for a spirit ring."

"Will Mother come to see me?"

The maid was silent for a moment.

Qian Renxue didn't receive an answer.

She was already used to it.

Ever since she could remember, her mother had never held her.

When she cried, her mother wouldn't come to comfort her.

When she laughed, her mother wouldn't come to watch.

When she was sick, it was always the maid and the physician who stayed by her bedside; the person who should have been there never appeared.

The three-year-old little girl didn't understand what hatred was, nor why her mother didn't like her.

She just wondered, was she not well-behaved?

Was she not good enough?

If she were just a little more obedient, a little better, would her mother hug her like other mothers?

Footsteps sounded outside.

Qian Renxue's eyes lit up, and she ran towards the door.

The door opened.

Bibi Dong stood at the entrance, holding an infant in her arms.

Qian Renxue froze.

"Mama..."

Her voice was small, tinged with uncertainty.

Bibi Dong's gaze fell upon her, cold and devoid of warmth, as if looking at a stranger.

"Go back to your room."

Bibi Dong's voice was flat, without anger or disgust, just plainness.

A plainness that was more chilling than disgust.

Qian Renxue's footsteps halted.

She saw the infant in her mother's arms.

The infant was wrapped in swaddling clothes, revealing a small face.

The way her mother held him was unfamiliar, yet incredibly careful, as if cradling something precious.

That carefulness was something she had never received.

"Mama... who is this?" Qian Renxue's voice trembled.

Bibi Dong didn't answer, walking past her into the room.

Qian Renxue subconsciously followed, reaching out to tug at her mother's clothes. Bibi Dong suddenly turned, her voice instantly turning cold: "I told you to go back to your room."

The coldness in that voice was like a knife.

Qian Renxue's hand froze mid-air, and tears immediately welled up.

She turned and ran away.

The three-year-old little girl ran unsteadily, tears falling to the ground like large pearls, splashing tiny droplets.

By the time she reached her room's door, she was crying so hard she couldn't breathe. She threw herself onto the bed, burying her face in the quilt, letting out suppressed sobs like a little beast.

The room was silent.

No one knocked on the door.

No one came to see her.

Luo Dong was placed on a soft bed.

Bibi Dong stood by the bed, looking at him with a complex gaze.

That little girl just now—it was Qian Renxue, wasn't it?

Golden hair, looking like a little angel, yet treated with coldness by her own mother.

Luo Dong sighed inwardly. Of course, he knew why Bibi Dong was like this, but what could a three-year-old little girl understand about political schemes or the dirty adult world?

--But now wasn't the time to think about that.

Luo Dong felt hunger.

As an infant, his body's instincts were more honest than his thoughts.

He began to feel an unbearable emptiness, his stomach hollow. The instinctive physiological reaction made him cry out uncontrollably.

"Waa—"

"Waa—"

The infant's cries were high-pitched and piercing, echoing in the quiet room.

His little face turned red, his limbs flailed, completely beyond rational control.

Bibi Dong's thoughts were interrupted by the cries, and she looked down at him.

She had no experience. In fact, Qian Renxue had been taken away by a wet nurse after her birth. She had never personally fed a child, and had rarely even had physical contact.

At this moment, she was at a loss, not knowing what to do.

Just then, a pale golden panel in her mind popped up with new information.

[Daily Quest has been triggered]

[Quest: Mother's Feeding]

[Feed Luo Dong with your breast milk until he is full]

[Quest Reward: Soul Power Level +1]

[Quest Time Limit: 30 minutes]

Bibi Dong froze.

Soul Power Level, an increase of one level?

She was level eighty-three now, and this quest directly rewarded one level of Soul Power?

It was known that at the Soul Douluo level, each level increase required years of arduous cultivation, and it became more difficult the further one progressed.

Many people were stuck at bottlenecks for over a decade, or even a lifetime.

And this task only required her to feed this Infant to directly increase her level by one?

She was stunned.

Countless thoughts flashed through her mind; it was unbelievable, inconceivable.

She instinctively looked toward the Infant. Luo Dong was crying at the top of his lungs, his little face flushed red, saliva streaming down—his wailing was truly miserable.

Clearly, he was starving.

Conflict.

Bibi Dong had never been an indecisive person, but at this moment, she was truly conflicted.

She had never even nursed Qian Renxue, the daughter she had given birth to.

That daughter—she had not wanted to see her since the moment she was born.

She felt an instinctive resistance, disgust, and an inability to tolerate her.

For these past three years, she had never once held Qian Renxue.

Any occasional contact had only occurred because it was unavoidable within Martial Soul Hall.

With outsiders present, she had been forced to put on a show.

But now—

Bibi Dong looked at the Infant's flushed face, then back at the panel in her mind.

Rapidly increasing her strength was what she urgently craved right now.