If You Stand in My Way, Qian Daoliu, Then Fight!

"I'm not discussing that right now. Who slipped us aphrodisiacs yesterday?" A trace of killing intent flashed through Ye Xunfeng's eyes.

Ye Xunfeng slowly rose to his feet, pulled out a set of clothes from the cabinet beside him, and quickly changed.

"Rest for today. I'll handle this matter first." Ye Xunfeng gently used Soul Power to ease Bibi Dong's body, then left the room.

Pope Palace.

"Investigate it. Find out who handled the meal sent to the rear hall today." Ye Xunfeng's voice sounded calm, yet carried a chilling coldness. "Bring them here directly once you find out. Don't alert anyone else."

When Yue Guan saw Ye Xunfeng's utterly grim expression, his heart skipped a beat. He did not dare ask a single unnecessary question and immediately ran off after accepting the order.

Less than half an hour later, Yue Guan returned with two cooks trembling from head to toe behind him.

"Your Holiness, it has been investigated." Yue Guan cupped his hands and bowed, replying in a lowered voice. "Chef Zhang and Chef Li from the Imperial Kitchen were in charge of the rear hall's meals today. I questioned them carefully one by one. From the moment the food left the stove until it was served, it never left their sight. There was only one exception..."

Yue Guan paused, lowering his voice further. "While they were preparing the meal, the former pope, Qian Xunji, visited the Imperial Kitchen. He claimed he wanted something to eat and stayed in the kitchen for a full quarter of an hour."

Ye Xunfeng's pupils abruptly contracted.

Qian Xunji.

He should have known it was him!

He had crippled his Soul Power, broken all four of his limbs, and reduced him from the lofty pope of Spirit Hall to a cripple who could barely walk. How could he possibly swallow that humiliation?

Thinking it over, scheming against him and Bibi Dong so they would sleep together and have a child—if the child's talent was high enough and possessed the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul, perhaps the child really could replace him in Qian Daoliu's heart. That was his only sinister means of turning things around.

Ye Xunfeng sneered. Even if that were true, by then his strength would likely have long surpassed Qian Daoliu's. Who would care about Qian Daoliu's opinion then?

If he had not been unsure whether he could defeat him before, heh.

"Have you identified what was inside that jade vial?" Ye Xunfeng asked again.

"It has been identified." Yue Guan's expression was equally ugly. "It was a specially made aphrodisiac, mixed with ingredients that promoted pregnancy. It is extremely rare and cannot be found on the market at all."

Ye Xunfeng immediately let out a cold laugh.

Qian Xunji had been pope for so many years, so it was normal for him to have such things. But how did he still have them?

Ye Xunfeng sneered again.

"Bring him here." Ye Xunfeng slowly stood up, his tone as still as a dead pool. "I want to ask my dear elder brother what excuses he still has left."

Yue Guan found himself in a difficult position and could not help advising in a low voice, "Your Holiness, although Qian Xunji has lost his Soul Power, he is still the Grand Pontiff's biological son. Should we inform the Grand Pontiff first? The Grand Pontiff is, after all, a Peerless Douluo..."

"I said, bring him here." Ye Xunfeng's voice suddenly turned cold.

After thinking it over, Yue Guan immediately turned and went to fetch him.

Sigh, the new pope was good in every way, except his temper was especially terrible whenever Qian Xunji was involved.

Before long, Qian Xunji was dragged into the Pope Palace by two guards.

The moment he saw Ye Xunfeng, panic flashed through Qian Xunji's eyes. But he quickly forced himself to calm down and put on an innocent expression.

"Y-you... why did you call for me?" Qian Xunji's voice was terribly weak. "I'm already a cripple. Are you still unwilling to let me go?"

Ye Xunfeng ignored him. He slowly picked up the two empty bowls from the table, walked over to Qian Xunji, and stared down at him.

"Do you know what this is?"

The moment Qian Xunji's gaze fell upon the familiar pattern on the bowls, his pupils shrank. All color vanished from his face in an instant.

Wasn't this soup sent to Bibi Dong's hall? How had it ended up in the Pope Palace?

"I... I don't know what you're talking about." He hurriedly turned his head away, his voice trembling badly. "Isn't it just a bowl of soup? What is so special about it?"

"Pregnancy-promoting medicine." Ye Xunfeng calmly uttered three words, his gaze frighteningly cold. "Tell me, what exactly were you trying to do?"

Qian Xunji's body began trembling uncontrollably. His lips quivered for a long time, but he could not force out a single word.

"I've already investigated everything." Ye Xunfeng crouched down, meeting Qian Xunji's gaze at eye level. There was not a trace of warmth in his violet eyes. "Other than the cooks and the people serving the food, you were the only one who visited the Imperial Kitchen today. You had barely been crippled before you started sneaking into the Imperial Kitchen, and afterward you even wanted to go to the Saintess Palace. I have truly never seen anyone so shameless."

If, in the original story, Bibi Dong had betrayed Spirit Hall first, then no one would have had anything to say about his final fate. Ye Xunfeng might even have thought Qian Xunji had shown mercy.

But the current Bibi Dong had done nothing at all.

Ye Xunfeng reached out and lightly patted Qian Xunji's face, his movement filled with mockery and disdain.

Cold sweat streamed down Qian Xunji's forehead as his body shook even more violently.

He opened his mouth, wanting to find an excuse to defend himself, but swallowed his words before they came out.

At this point, the evidence was conclusive. Any defense would be a waste of effort.

"Y-you can't kill me!" Qian Xunji finally forced out a sentence, his voice hoarse and frantic. "My father won't let you touch me! I'm his only son who inherited the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul. He still needs me to continue the family line!"

Ye Xunfeng cut him off directly, a cold smile curling across his lips. "So what? He can just have another son."

Qian Xunji was rendered speechless. He collapsed to the floor in despair, no longer having even the strength to struggle.

Ye Xunfeng stood up, too lazy to spare him another glance. He slightly clenched his hand, and a completely transparent spear appeared in his grasp.

Under the candlelight in the hall, the spear shaft gleamed with an icy chill. Even from far away, one could feel the killing intent rushing toward them.

"I gave you a chance." Ye Xunfeng spoke softly, as though talking to himself. "I said I would spare your life and let you live to watch the people I care about remain well, to watch the things you care about disappear bit by bit. But you refused to listen. You insisted on seeking death yourself."

He suddenly turned, the spear tip aimed directly at Qian Xunji's throat.

"Since that is the case, I'll grant your wish."

Qian Xunji was so frightened that his soul nearly left his body. He desperately tried to retreat, but his limbs were powerless. Under the pressure of Ye Xunfeng's Titled Douluo aura, he could only watch helplessly as the icy spear tip drew closer and closer.

Just as the spear tip was about to pierce his throat, a golden figure suddenly appeared at the entrance of the Pope Palace.

"Stop!"

Qian Daoliu's voice was both furious and urgent. With a raised hand, golden Soul Power transformed into a thick curtain of light, firmly blocking the space in front of Qian Xunji.

Ye Xunfeng's spear tip slammed viciously into the light curtain with a muffled boom, sending sparks flying everywhere.

He withdrew his spear and coldly looked toward Qian Daoliu at the doorway. "You intend to stop me?"

Qian Daoliu strode into the main hall, his gaze sweeping back and forth between Ye Xunfeng and Qian Xunji, who lay sprawled on the ground. His expression was so gloomy it seemed ready to drip water.

"What exactly happened?" His voice was low and accusatory.

Ye Xunfeng did not waste words. "Your precious son wanted to force himself on his disciple and drugged her, causing both Bibi Dong and me to be affected."

Qian Daoliu's pupils suddenly contracted.

Ye Xunfeng's tone was calm. "Your precious son wanted his own disciple. You people of the Angel Clan have truly opened my eyes to how low you can sink. The more I learn about you, the more disgusting you become."

Qian Daoliu's body instantly stiffened.

He looked up at Qian Xunji, who was curled up in the corner and did not dare lift his head. The expression on his face changed from shock to fury, then finally into indescribable exhaustion.

"Xunji..." His voice was hoarse. "Y-you really did such a thing?"

Qian Xunji said nothing. He merely curled up in the corner with his head lowered, not daring to look Qian Daoliu in the eye.

His silence was the best confession.

Qian Daoliu closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, they were filled with disappointment and grief.

"Xunfeng." He turned toward Ye Xunfeng, a trace of pleading in his voice. "He... he is my biological son, after all. Could you... spare his life?"

Ye Xunfeng looked at Qian Daoliu. There was not the slightest ripple in his violet eyes; he only found it laughable. "Spare him? When he gave my mother miscarriage-inducing medicine, did he ever think of me? When he sent people to hunt down my mother and me, did he ever think to spare our lives? I already gave you enough face by allowing him to cling to life in the Elder Hall."

Qian Daoliu's face shifted between green and white. His lips moved for a long while, but he could not utter a single word in rebuttal.

"I know he is your son." Ye Xunfeng's tone remained calm, yet it concealed hatred that had been suppressed for years. "But I am your son too. Where were you when he harmed me? Fine, you were not in Spirit Hall then. But what about afterward? What were you doing while he was hunting us down? You were in the Elder Hall, praying before that Angel Statue, turning a blind eye to everything outside!"

Qian Daoliu's body jolted as an expression of extreme pain appeared on his face.

"For all these years, my mother dragged around a body covered in injuries and raised me alone in an isolated forest." Ye Xunfeng's voice finally wavered, carrying deeply suppressed hatred. "She did not dare return to Spirit Hall until the day she died. Even then, she still spoke for your Angel Clan, still spoke of Spirit Hall's virtues. But who will repay all the suffering she endured?"

He tightly gripped the Atlas Spear, and even its shaft trembled slightly.

"Qian Xunji must die." Ye Xunfeng spoke each word distinctly, his tone incomparably resolute. "Today, no one can stop me."

Qian Daoliu remained silent for a long time. At last, he slowly raised his head. His golden eyes were filled with complicated emotions—guilt, helplessness, and a trace of stubbornness.

"What if I insist on stopping you?"

Ye Xunfeng looked into his eyes without yielding in the slightest. "Then fight."

Three simple words seemed to silence the entire hall.

Qian Daoliu looked deeply at him, slowly raising his right hand. Behind him, the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul burst forth.

Six radiant golden wings shone brilliantly beneath the candlelight as nine Soul Rings slowly rose beneath his feet.

Eight black and one red—this was Qian Daoliu, the Angel Douluo, the Angel God's high priest, invincible in the skies!

"Good." Qian Daoliu's voice was low. "Then let me see just how capable you, the heir of a god, truly are."

Ye Xunfeng said nothing. He merely held the Atlas Spear horizontally before him.