Breaking Ties

"Damn it! I almost fell for that wicked woman's tricks again!"

Qian Renxue finally caught on. Bibi Dong had used reverse psychology on her again.

She had lost to that trick more times than she could count.

Whenever someone said something bad about her, Qian Renxue refused to accept it and agreed to whatever they said in a fit of anger.

Bibi Dong had perfected the trick. She had been pulling it on Qian Renxue since she was little.

"Ding! Congratulations, Host. You have completed the task. Reward: System Shop!"

The electronic voice echoed in Chen Qi's mind. He froze, and a shopping cart icon suddenly appeared out of thin air before his eyes.

At a thought, the cart opened, and a dazzling array of goods poured out like a fountain.

Mysterious Heaven Skill: 10 Favor Points.

Various Hidden Weapons: 100 Favor Points.

Heaven-Defying Marrow Cleansing Pill: 1,000 Favor Points.

Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring: 1,000 Favor Points.

Unlimited Martial Souls: 10,000 Favor Points.

The goods kept coming, one after another. Any one of them was a treasure capable of shaking the world and sparking battles that would leave rivers of blood.

Then again...

Actually, staying by Qian Renxue's side wasn't so bad. He, Chen Qi, loved listening to her bicker with Bibi Dong. It'd be even better if they started fighting.

After seeing how incredible the System Shop was, Chen Qi's attitude did a complete 180.

Any one of these things could defy fate and change a person's life. You could even get an unlimited number of Martial Souls.

As long as you had enough money, ten thousand Martial Souls were within reach.

Imagine it: someone proudly revealed their Martial Soul, while you smiled faintly and summoned ten thousand different Martial Souls behind you, each one ringed with nine Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings. How amazing would that be?

"System, how do I get Favor Points?"

"Whenever someone's favorability toward you increases, you'll receive the corresponding number of Favor Points."

Chen Qi was a little disappointed. This was going to be tough. Getting Qian Renxue to like him more was practically harder than climbing to heaven.

Without any Favor Points to earn, Qian Renxue was about as useful as a lump of garbage.

Qian Renxue noticed the way Chen Qi was looking at her had suddenly changed. Before, at least he'd looked at her like she was a person.

Why was he looking at her like she was garbage now?

"Chen Qi, what are you thinking about?"

"I was wondering why my Martial Soul is garbage."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Chen Qi froze. How had he blurted out what he was thinking?

The veins in Qian Renxue's forehead bulged. She wanted to tear Chen Qi apart right then and there.

"Chen Qi! You've gotten bold, haven't you? You think you're so noble because you're a god, so you look down on us mortals as garbage? You've made me so angry!"

Her eyes reddened. It was the first time Qian Renxue had ever cried, and she was crying over a Martial Soul she'd known for just two days.

"Master, please listen to me. It's not what you think."

"Enough. Stop making excuses. From now on, you can be a god, and I'll remain the bound Qian Renxue I've always been! Nobody understands me."

With that, Qian Renxue walked toward the bedroom without looking back, while Chen Qi silently teleported along behind her.

Chen Qi looked at Qian Renxue curled up under the covers, and a pang of sorrow rose in his heart.

When all was said and done, Qian Renxue was only a child—a rather unusual one, perhaps, but still a child.

But wasn't Chen Qi a lonely child, too?

His family life had been miserable. His parents divorced when he was young, and he lived with his alcoholic father. Every night, once his father got drunk, he used Chen Qi as a punching bag.

At school, his poverty and loneliness made him an easy target for his classmates' taunts and bullying.

He had fallen into severe depression for a time. Then he discovered computers, and the countless games on them saved him.

That was why Chen Qi stayed cooped up at home. Deep down, he was afraid the outside world would hurt him.

Only by retreating into his own world could he find a little peace.

Perhaps Qian Renxue was the same.

Back when Chen Qi had read the novel, he hadn't paid much attention to Qian Renxue. He'd barely read any fanfiction about her either, but he still knew some of her story.

As the wicked fruit of Bibi Dong and Qian Xunji's crime, she should never have been born.

Though her father and grandfather had doted on her, the absence of a mother's love had always haunted Qian Renxue.

She had tried to get close to Bibi Dong once. Naturally, things hadn't gone well.

So Qian Renxue's love had curdled into hatred, and she had turned against Bibi Dong.

Her father's death and the burden of inheriting Spirit Hall had both fallen on Qian Renxue's shoulders.

But she was only six years old!

Perhaps going to the Heaven Dou Empire and impersonating Xue Qinghe would actually be good for Qian Renxue.

"I know what's weighing on your heart. It's the responsibility your family has placed on you. You've worked so hard, only to be called garbage. That's it, isn't it?"

Under the covers, Qian Renxue paused, then showed him her tear-streaked face.

"You gods will never understand what I want. Nobody ever will."

"Companionship?"

Chen Qi had hit the nail on the head. He'd been through this himself and knew just how lonely it could be.

The layers of pressure, her grandfather's expectations, her mother's rejection—not to mention that she couldn't even have an identity to show the outside world.

That was why she read novels, to ease that loneliness.

Qian Renxue froze. She couldn't understand how Chen Qi had guessed what she wanted most.

Was it because he was a god? Did he know through some kind of mind-reading ability?

"So what if I do? Not a single person will understand me."

"I can. We're actually alike. I understand how you feel."

"No, you can't. You're a god."

Qian Renxue shut down the conversation. In her eyes, no god could ever understand a mortal.

They had never interfered in mortal affairs, treating mortal lives and deaths like a game.

How could gods like that understand mortals?

Qian Renxue simply didn't know that the reason the gods stayed out of the mortal world was that they were shackled by the absurd God Realm Committee.

"Actually, I'm not a god. I lied to you. I'm just an ordinary person, like you. I don't know why I became your Martial Soul either."

Since things had come this far, Chen Qi might as well stop pretending. He was Qian Renxue's Martial Soul, after all. She was bound to find out who he was sooner or later.

Sure enough, when Qian Renxue heard him, her expression froze. She'd thought Chen Qi was a god from a completely different world, but it turned out she'd been mistaken.

"Now that you know, you should be able to understand me, right? Like I said, we're alike. If something's bothering you, tell me everything."

"You lied to me!"

Qian Renxue's eyes grew even redder. She wasn't upset because he'd deceived her. She was happy because she'd finally gotten the answer she wanted.

Her Martial Soul, that special Martial Soul named Chen Qi, was just an ordinary person like her, someone crushed by life.

Qian Renxue honestly told Chen Qi about her experiences and grievances.

Her story was just as it had been in the original: a mother's love denied, a father who died young, and a family full of expectations.

Every burden weighed on Qian Renxue like a mountain.

So when she saw that her Martial Soul was a human, she had actually been thrilled.

At last, she would have someone to talk to.

But when Qian Renxue learned that Chen Qi was a subordinate of the Angel God, that excitement gradually faded.

In her eyes, gods were gods and humans were humans. They could never understand each other.

Chen Qi was nothing more than an instrument sent by the Angel God to keep watch over Qian Renxue. Every part of her private life—even bathing and sleeping—had to be monitored.

When she learned Chen Qi wasn't a god, that excitement returned. Perhaps he was the only person she would ever have to confide in.

The next morning, Chen Qi woke from his sleep and immediately saw the resentful little girl in his arms.

"Good morning, Master. What a coincidence—you just woke up too."

Qian Renxue looked at him, lightly slapped him, and said with a smile,

"Get lost!"