The Challenge Has Been Issued!

"Spirit Hall has no need for traitors. Your daughter can either choose Spirit Hall, and I will grant her honor—but she will serve as the vanguard in the campaign against the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan—or she can use her death to atone for Spirit Hall..." Ye Xunfeng declared loudly.

"Your Holiness!" The elder was the first to kneel, panic written across his face.

"Though Spirit Hall values freedom in matters of love, you should understand one thing: you may fall for anyone, but never someone from the Upper Three Sects! Especially not a worthless piece of trash!" Ye Xunfeng sneered.

In truth, he could understand Qian Xunji's actions in his previous life. But Qian Xunji had been too foolish, choosing the worst path possible and even failing to eliminate the root of the problem.

If Bibi Dong had not fallen for him and had instead loved Yu Xiaogang as she had in the original story, he would still show no mercy today.

He might even have gone further than Qian Xunji had in the original story. They said Angels pitied all living beings and possessed noble character, but he was not like that. He had, in truth, been raised by hatred.

His Martial Soul and some of the education from his previous life kept him from crossing certain moral lines, but Ye Xunfeng would never tolerate or pity traitors.

"I will persuade her. I beg Your Holiness to give me some time." Cold sweat streamed down the elder's face.

"I will give you one week. After one week, I will act. Oh, and while you are at it, summon the one from the Elephant Armored Sect." Ye Xunfeng lowered his eyes slightly and looked at the kneeling elder with a trace of pity.

Tsk.

Bibi Dong, Qian Renxue.

He had not originally intended to use Qian Renxue as Xiao Xue's nickname, but then he had suddenly thought of that shattered soul.

A trace of helplessness rose in Ye Xunfeng's heart. That name was, after all, an imprint left behind by the child's soul from her previous life. If he discarded it completely, it might affect the fusion of her soul.

Naturally, he was unhappy about using that name.

It also made him deeply uncomfortable.

More importantly, this child absolutely could not be raised by Qian Daoliu and Bibi Dong. Forget it. He would raise her himself later.

He did not need to raise her into some great female protagonist like the one in Phoenix Against the World from his previous life; as long as she did not become lovesick, that would be enough.

Ye Xunfeng arrived at a side hall of Pope Palace.

"How is Xiao Xue?" Ye Xunfeng asked calmly.

"She is doing well. She was very obedient today." Bibi Dong spoke gently, then suddenly recalled something. Hesitating, she said somewhat bashfully, "I want to go to Slaughter City once the child is a little older and obtain Divine Slaughter's Domain."

Ye Xunfeng paused, then said evenly, "Of course. Also, what plans do you have for your Soul Rings?"

"I want every Soul Ring of my second Martial Soul to be a hundred-thousand-year one." Bibi Dong smiled. "But that is obviously impossible. There are not that many Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts on the continent."

Ye Xunfeng chuckled softly. How could Douluo Continent possibly lack that many Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts? They simply rarely came out.

After all, in The Unrivaled Tang Clan, practically every high-level Titled Douluo had a hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring.

"If there are none on land, there are always some in the sea. I will take you hunting later. I happen to need Soul Bones as well," Ye Xunfeng said calmly.

Soul Rings could not be wasted.

Bibi Dong's eyes lit up. "Thank you, Brother Xunfeng."

Holding Xiao Xue, Ye Xunfeng said, "No need to thank me. I will take the child to my hall first. Rest well and spend more time cultivating."

Hearing this, Bibi Dong took it as concern for her and immediately nodded excitedly.

Ye Xunfeng carried Ye Qingxue to his sleeping chambers.

Ye Xunfeng slowly released a thread of spiritual power into the child's sea of consciousness. It easily passed through the seal and saw Angel God Qian Renxue, her eyes tightly shut.

Qian Renxue in this life looked very much like she had in her previous one. The Angel Clan's hereditary power was ultimately formidable.

Ye Xunfeng looked bitterly at that divine soul and shook his head helplessly.

Slaughter City.

"Rakshasa, Rakshasa, destroy Spirit Hall!"

"Rakshasa God! Rakshasa God!"

Voices mingled with the smell of blood as cries rose and fell throughout the outer city.

"Great Slaughter King, this..."

"My messenger, leave him be. We will rule the inner and outer cities separately." The Slaughter King swirled the Bloody Mary in his hand and smiled.

The truth was that he could not defeat him. If he fought with all his strength, he would be forced out of the body again. It was not worth it.

One week later.

That elder forced his daughter to kneel before Ye Xunfeng.

"Pope, Your Holiness, I..." The woman spoke tremblingly.

"I do not want to hear about feelings or any unavoidable hardships. I only want to ask: what do you choose?" Ye Xunfeng leaned forward slightly and asked sternly.

"I... I am willing to serve Spirit Hall." The woman answered immediately.

"Good. Yue Guan." Ye Xunfeng withdrew his gaze and stopped looking at the kneeling father and daughter. He turned and walked back to the main seat of Pope Palace, flicked his robes, and sat down steadily.

"This subordinate is here." Yue Guan stepped forward from the side of the hall and bowed to await his orders.

"Two matters." Ye Xunfeng tapped the tabletop with one finger. His voice was not loud, yet it carried an undeniable chill. "First, issue a challenge to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan in Spirit Hall's name."

Yue Guan abruptly raised his head, shock flashing through his eyes.

A challenge?

Spirit Hall was going to move against the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan?

Yet he did not ask. He merely bent lower. "May I ask, Your Holiness, on what grounds?"

"Luring away the daughter of a Spirit Hall elder and stealing Spirit Hall's secrets." Ye Xunfeng's tone was as calm as if he were reading a menu. "And that Yu Xiaogang secretly read forbidden books in Spirit Hall's library and copied Spirit Hall's core secrets without authorization. Organize all this evidence into a dossier and make it public. Let everyone on the continent see what kind of thing the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan has raised."

Yue Guan's heart trembled.

This was meant to trample the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's dignity into the mud.

Who was Yu Xiaogang?

He was the biological son of Yu Yuanzhen, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's sect master. Even if he was a worthless failure, someone his own people found humiliating to mention, he was still the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's face.

Now that Spirit Hall was publicizing the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's affairs, it was equivalent to pointing at Yu Yuanzhen's nose and accusing him of failing to teach his son and failing to govern his sect.

Even worse, luring away an elder's daughter and stealing secrets were not particularly serious charges on their own. The crucial point was that they had been caught. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan would not be able to hold its head up even among the Upper Three Sects.

Meanwhile, Spirit Hall could stand on the moral high ground and wage war with justification!

"This subordinate understands." Yue Guan asked no further questions and turned to carry out the order.

Ye Xunfeng leaned against the back of his chair, his gaze falling upon the father and daughter who were still kneeling there. He was silent for a moment.

"Get up."

The elder felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He rose shakily, the cold sweat on his forehead having soaked a patch of his collar.

His daughter followed behind him, her face pale and her lips tightly pressed together. She clearly had yet to recover from the fear she had just experienced.

"What is your daughter's name?"

"Y-Your Holiness, her name is Liu Qing," the elder answered hurriedly.

Ye Xunfeng glanced at Liu Qing.

She was not exceptionally beautiful, but she had delicate features and a trace of innocence between her brows. At a glance, she was clearly the sort of young woman who had never experienced much of the world.

No wonder she had been deceived by trash like Yu Xiaogang.

It seemed Spirit Hall needed to strengthen its education...

Spirit Hall's people could not all be naive, gullible fools.

No, foolish, pale, not sweet...

"Liu Qing, listen carefully." Ye Xunfeng's voice softened somewhat, though it remained cold. "Your father has borne half the burden of your mistake for you. But you must repay the other half yourself. In three days, Spirit Hall will launch an expedition against the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. You will accompany the army and, before then, keep Yu Xiaogang under control."

Liu Qing's body trembled slightly, but she bit her lip and did not cry. She merely lowered her head deeply. "Yes... Your Holiness."

"You may leave."

The father and daughter withdrew from the hall. Ye Xunfeng sat alone in the empty Pope Palace, tapping the tabletop again and again with his fingers, producing dull thudding sounds.