Meanwhile, in Spirit City.
Pope's Palace.
Qian Xunji sat upon the lofty Pope's throne, listening to the intelligence his subordinate had brought him.
"Bibi Dong has returned from hunting for a Soul Ring and brought back a baby boy."
The subordinate kept his head lowered, not daring to look at the Pope's expression.
Qian Xunji fell silent for a moment.
He thought back to three months ago, when Bibi Dong had left Spirit City under the pretext of hunting for a Soul Ring.
He had thought something was strange even then.
Bibi Dong had already obtained her Eighth Soul Ring. She had no need to hunt for another.
But he hadn't stopped her.
Because he knew Bibi Dong hated him.
Every time that woman looked at him, her eyes were like knives. If she hadn't lacked the strength, she would have attacked him long ago.
Qian Xunji didn't care.
Bibi Dong was now a Level 83 Soul Douluo, a top-tier powerhouse across the entire continent. But before him, a Level 95 Titled Douluo, she had no right to resist.
As for his daughter... Qian Renxue.
Qian Xunji furrowed his brow.
He truly doted on the child. He had considered sending her to her grandfather's place so she could live with him.
After all, the child would one day inherit the Angel God and become the next Pope of Spirit Hall.
But ever since she had learned to speak, all she did was cry for her mother. Mother, mother, mother.
Qian Xunji was helpless. He could only let her live with Bibi Dong for the time being.
Perhaps the child could soften Bibi Dong's heart.
If that didn't work, he could always send her to her grandfather later.
Then he waved his hand.
"Understood. You may leave."
Deep within Spirit Hall, in a side hall.
A little girl of just over three stood by the window, watching snowflakes drift down outside.
She had short golden hair, delicate features, and wore a tiny white dress.
Even at three years old, Qian Renxue already had the makings of a beauty. Her eyes were especially striking, sparkling as though they held stars.
But there were no stars in her eyes now. 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 after hunting for a Soul Ring."
"Will Mother come see me?"
The maid fell silent for a moment.
Qian Renxue never got an answer.
She was used to it by now.
Ever since she could remember, her mother had never held her.
When she cried, her mother never came to comfort her.
When she smiled, her mother never came to see her, either.
When she was sick, it was always the maid and the physician who stayed by her bedside. The one who should have been there never appeared.
A three-year-old girl didn't yet understand hatred, or why her mother didn't love her.
She only wondered if she wasn't being good enough.
If she wasn't good enough as a person.
If she behaved a little better, became a little better, would her mother hold her the way other mothers held their children?
Footsteps sounded outside.
Qian Renxue's eyes lit up, and she ran toward the door.
It opened.
Bibi Dong stood in the doorway, holding a baby in her arms.
Qian Renxue froze.
"Mother..."
Her voice was very small, touched with uncertainty.
Bibi Dong's gaze fell on her, cold and utterly devoid of warmth, as though she were looking at a stranger.
"Go back to your room."
Bibi Dong's voice was flat. There was no anger or disgust in it, only flatness.
That flatness chilled the heart more than disgust ever could.
Qian Renxue stopped where she was.
She saw the baby in her mother's arms.
He was wrapped in swaddling clothes, his tiny face peeking out.
Bibi Dong held him awkwardly, but with great care, as though he were something precious.
She had never shown Qian Renxue such tenderness.
"Mother... who is this?" Qian Renxue's voice trembled.
Bibi Dong didn't answer. She walked past her and entered the room.
Qian Renxue instinctively followed, reaching out to tug at her mother's clothes. Bibi Dong suddenly turned around, her voice icing over. "I told you to go back to your room."
The coldness in her voice was like a knife.
Qian Renxue's hand froze in midair, and tears spilled from her eyes all at once.
She turned and ran off.
The three-year-old girl stumbled as she ran, big tears pattering onto the ground and splashing into tiny droplets.
By the time she reached her room, she was sobbing so hard she could barely breathe. She collapsed onto the bed, buried her face in the blankets, and let out muffled cries like a wounded little beast.
The room was silent.
No one came to knock.
No one came to see her.
Luo Dong was laid on a soft bed.
Bibi Dong stood beside it, looking down at him with a complicated expression.
That little girl just now—was she Qian Renxue?
Golden-haired, looking like a little angel, yet treated coldly by her own birth mother.
Luo Dong sighed inwardly. Of course he knew why Bibi Dong was like this, but what could a three-year-old girl understand about political schemes, or the filthy adult world?
But now wasn't the time to think about that.
Luo Dong felt hungry.
As a baby, his body's instincts were more honest than his thoughts.
A gnawing emptiness began to torment him. His stomach was empty, and his body's instinctive reaction made him cry out uncontrollably.
"Waaah—"
"Waaah—"
The baby's cries were high-pitched and piercing, echoing through the quiet room.
His little face flushed red, and his arms and legs thrashed about, beyond the control of reason.
Bibi Dong's thoughts were interrupted by the crying. She looked down at him.
She had no experience. In fact, after Qian Renxue was born, a wet nurse had taken her away. Bibi Dong had never fed a child herself, and had barely even touched one.
Now she was at a loss, not knowing what to do.
Just then, a pale golden panel appeared in her mind with new information.
[Daily Quest triggered] [Quest: Mother's Feeding] [Feed Luo Dong your milk and let him have his fill] [Quest Reward: Soul Power Level +1] [Time Limit: 30 minutes]
Bibi Dong froze.
Soul Power Level—raised by one?
She was currently at Level 83, and this quest would directly reward her with one Soul Power Level?
At the Soul Douluo realm, every level required years of arduous cultivation to achieve, and the higher one went, the harder it became.
How many people had been stuck at a bottleneck for over a decade, or even their entire lives?
And this quest only required her to feed this baby for her to gain one whole level?
She was stunned.
Countless thoughts raced through her mind. It was unbelievable, utterly incomprehensible.
She looked instinctively at the baby. Luo Dong was crying himself hoarse, his little face flushed red, drool trickling from his mouth. He was wailing pitifully.
He was clearly starving.
She was torn.
Bibi Dong had never been one to hesitate, but right now, she truly was conflicted.
She, his mother, had never fed Qian Renxue.
She had never wanted to see that daughter from the moment she was born.
She instinctively recoiled from her, loathed her, couldn't bear her.
In the past three years, she had never held Qian Renxue.
The rare times she had interacted with her had only been because she had no choice while they were in Spirit Hall.
And with outsiders present, she had to put on an act.
But now—
Bibi Dong looked at the baby's flushed face, then at the panel in her mind.
A rapid increase in strength was something she desperately wanted right now.
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