What?
The former Pope of Spirit Hall was a scumbag, and emotionally twisted at that?
Could the control and desire mentioned by the Sky Screen refer to the current Pope, Bibi Dong?
Good heavens!
What a bombshell!
The moment Qian Xunji made the list, everyone across the Douluo Continent was stunned.
All kinds of outrageous scenes flashed through their minds.
When everyone thought of Bibi Dong's evaluation on the Love Saint Ranking, they understood at once.
So the "bearing humiliation and shouldering a heavy burden" the Sky Screen mentioned was talking about Qian Xunji.
Case closed!
For a time, all the male Soul Masters who admired Bibi Dong began cursing him.
They cursed Qian Xunji thousands upon thousands of times, and Qian Daoliu got dragged into it too.
They accused him of failing to raise his son properly, letting him prey on a respectable woman.
"Ah, so it really was like this."
"Well, now everyone on the continent knows what happened back then."
"Ji'er, just look at what you've done."
Listening to the curses ringing out across the city, Qian Daoliu wore an awkward expression.
If he went out to stop them now, it would only blow the whole thing up even more and leave an indelible impact.
"Why did it have to be like this?"
"Bearing humiliation and shouldering a heavy burden, emotionally twisted!"
"What exactly did Father do to her back then?"
"Grandfather must know, right?"
"No, I have to go back. I must get to the bottom of this."
Qian Renxue could no longer suppress the shock and doubts deep within her.
After handing things over in her capacity as Xue Qinghe, the crown prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, she hurried back to Spirit Hall as fast as she could.
No matter what, she had to find out what had happened.
"Hahaha, Qian Daoliu, Qian Daoliu! So you've finally had your day!"
"You used to laugh at me. Who would've thought your own son would make the list?"
"Heavenly Dao really does have a discerning eye!"
As he traveled, Tang Chen threw back his head and laughed, letting out all the feelings pent up inside him.
The next time he saw Qian Daoliu, he would make him squirm—preferably in front of Bo Saixi.
"Hey, isn't that the former Pope?"
"How did he make the list?"
"Dad, this ranking even exposes the dead?"
"Going by the description, it seems Qian Xunji did a lot of awful things to Bibi Dong."
"No wonder that woman's so vicious!"
Wang Yuyan had just returned from outside when she saw the ranking, and she was astonished.
She had spent several years in Spirit Hall, so she had heard a thing or two about Qian Xunji.
She never would've guessed the two Popes had this kind of history between them.
"Actually, Bibi Dong's all right. She's just been through a lot."
"She has her reasons."
"From now on, don't gossip about her behind her back."
"After all, there are things about her that are truly pitiful!"
Duan Changsheng had once been in a relationship with Bibi Dong for about a year.
Back then, Bibi Dong was young and in the bloom of her youth.
Drawing on tens of thousands of years' experience, he'd soon won her over, and they'd become lovers.
He'd originally planned to take responsibility for her for the rest of their lives.
But one day, Bibi Dong had taken the initiative to break up with him without saying why.
Duan Changsheng had always respected women's decisions, so he agreed and didn't contact her again.
In his eyes, it was hard for men and women to have a truly sincere friendship.
Most people who claimed to have a "guy best friend" had something to hide.
But only after Bibi Dong gave birth to Qian Renxue and later became Pope did Duan Changsheng realize something was wrong.
He'd brought Wang Yuyan to Spirit City to investigate in secret.
After several years of looking into it, he'd uncovered some of the reasons, and they had a great deal to do with him.
But it had already happened. Given his refusal to go back to an old flame, even if there were reasons behind it, he wouldn't return to Bibi Dong and make up with her. He only wanted to get to the bottom of things.
After all, he and Bibi Dong had long since gone their separate ways. Living their own lives without disturbing each other was the best way to handle things.
"Dad, the way you put it, she's actually a pitiable person?"
"Why do I get the feeling you know an awful lot about her?"
"Dad, you're hiding something from me. You know her, don't you?"
Wang Yuyan heard a hint of something in Duan Changsheng's tone and couldn't shake the feeling that he was keeping something from her.
"Come on, I'm just an ordinary man. How would I ever get the chance to know your Pope?"
"Even if I wanted to, the Pope wouldn't give me the time of day."
"If you've got time to let your imagination run wild, you'd be better off making me dinner."
"Maybe tomorrow you'll get a surprise!"
Duan Changsheng had lived for tens of thousands of years and was a wily old fox. He quickly changed his expression, leaving his daughter no chance to spot a flaw.
"I knew it. You're just an old man who knows how to drink and chase women. How could you possibly know our Pope?"
"If you did know her, you'd have gone to put in a good word for me ages ago."
"Dad, take your time watching. I'm off to cook!"
Wang Yuyan wasn't interested in the Scumbag Ranking.
She wasn't getting married, so why care about who was a scumbag?
It was much better to spend every day happily with her dad.
"Go ahead. I'll step out for a bit and be right back."
Duan Changsheng smiled and glanced toward Spirit Hall.
Just now, he'd sensed Qian Daoliu's presence.
Qian Daoliu must have returned.
In that case, he had to pay him a visit.
A few days ago, when his daughter had been bullied, he'd already taught Hu Liena a lesson and gotten even.
But this couldn't go on forever. He needed to get his daughter a decent position in Spirit Hall.
As it happened, he had some connections with Qian Daoliu. He could ask him for a favor and get his daughter in through the back door.
Once he sensed that Qian Daoliu's aura had settled in the direction of the Angel Temple, Duan Changsheng took advantage of the crowd's distraction as they watched the ranking and slipped outside Spirit Hall.
Then he cast an invisibility spell and silently made his way to the Angel Temple.
The Angel Temple was Qian Daoliu's residence, and the Six-Winged Angel Statue was enshrined inside. It was sacred ground.
So no one dared come here.
Only the Pope and the elders and enshrined elders dared come when there was an urgent matter, to ask Qian Daoliu to step in or make an important decision.
By now, the Scumbag Ranking had updated twice in a row. Behind Qian Xunji were two old men: Emperor Xue Ye and Prince Xue Xing.
One was the emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire, with three palaces and six courtyards' worth of women, so his place on the Scumbag Ranking was well deserved. The other was Prince Xue Xing, who held immense power and was deeply trusted by Emperor Xue Ye; naturally, he had plenty of consorts too.
Their appearance on the ranking didn't draw much attention. People simply laughed it off.
"Little Liu, an old friend's here. Aren't you coming out to see me?"
Duan Changsheng glanced at the Sky Screen, stirred the Soul Power within him, and used a thousand-mile voice transmission technique.
At the familiar voice, Qian Daoliu's heart jolted. He transformed into a streak of light and appeared outside the hall.
There was only one person he had ever heard with a voice so uniquely captivating.
It was his teacher, who had saved his life and taught him a few moves when he was young.
Though he didn't know his teacher's name, he had always remembered the debt he owed him for saving his life and passing on his skills.
"T-Teacher, is that you?"
"Y-you're still alive!"