At his words, the smile froze on Li Qing's face. His brows furrowed slightly, and his eyes filled with confusion. "It's not you? Then who else could it be?"
He was even more puzzled inside. It wasn't Bo Saixi? Then who could it be? Sea God Island had a strict hierarchy. There were young female Soul Masters, sure, but considering status, standing, strength, and looks, who could be worthy of me, the Sea God Inheritor? Could it be Sea Maiden Douluo? That big sister who carried the Sea Demon Flute around all day and sang songs that gave people nightmares? No thanks... She's pretty enough, but it just doesn't feel right.
Watching Li Qing's expression that said "who else could it be but you," and hearing his complaints about Sea Maiden Douluo, Bo Saixi was both annoyed and amused.
She took several deep breaths, trying to calm her racing heart and the heat in her cheeks, and silently gritted her teeth. You little brat. To my face, you're always calling me big sister so sweetly, but behind my back, you call her "that woman," and you even complain about Sea Maiden's singing? Honestly...
But business came first.
Bo Saixi steadied her emotions and decided to stop beating around the bush, lest the boy lead her off track again.
Her face regained its faintly mysterious, encouraging smile as she teased, "Don't worry. You'll definitely be pleased with this person. In terms of looks, talent, and family background, she's absolutely no worse than your big sister here."
"Better than you, big sister?"
Disbelief was written all over Li Qing's face. He shook his head like a rattle drum and retorted, "Don't tease me, big sister. On Sea God Island, who could be prettier or more talented than you? If there really were someone like that, I doubt you'd be sitting in the High Priestess's seat."
He meant every word. In his heart, Bo Saixi was the pinnacle of beauty and strength.
Li Qing's blunt, infuriating flattery left Bo Saixi momentarily speechless. She shot him an exasperated look.
This boy could really drive a person mad sometimes.
She couldn't be bothered to keep teasing him and gave him the answer outright, her voice ringing clearly in his ears:
"She isn't from Sea God Island. She's from the mainland, from Spirit Hall."
Li Qing: "???"
Spirit Hall? That Spirit Hall that was at odds with Sea God Island?
Watching Li Qing freeze in an instant, Bo Saixi's lips curled into a meaningful smile as she continued:
"Her name is Qian Renxue. She's the biological granddaughter of Qian Daoliu, the current High Priest of Spirit Hall."
"Qian Renxue? Qian Daoliu, the High Priest of Spirit Hall's... biological granddaughter?"
Li Qing murmured the name. He stood rooted to the spot, as if struck by a restraining spell.
His normally clear, bright eyes were wide, his pupils slightly contracted, and his mouth hung open as though he'd just heard something outlandish.
A brief silence fell over Sea God Hall, broken only by the distant sound of waves.
Sunlight streamed through the stained-glass windows, casting colorful patches across Li Qing's stunned face and making him look rather ridiculous.
Yet in that instant, his inner world was swept by a storm far more violent than the sea outside.
Holy crap! Qian Renxue?! The future Angel God?! Qian Renxue, the cold, stunning beauty with peerless talent from the original story, who was ultimately... by that overpowered Tang San?! How did she get mixed up with Bo Saixi? And... and she's supposed to marry me?!
Wait! No, that's not the point! Qian Renxue herself should still be in the Heaven Dou Empire, disguised as the crown prince, Xue Qinghe. She has nothing to do with Sea God Island! It's Qian Daoliu! It has to be that old fox, Qian Daoliu! He came to Sea God Island! He must've found out that I'm the Sea God Inheritor, and that's why he thought of arranging a marriage. He wants to bind Sea God Island and Spirit Hall together this way! That old fox really knows how to work the angles!
Li Qing's thoughts raced like a precision instrument, instantly connecting several seemingly unrelated clues: Bo Saixi had suddenly brought up a marriage alliance, the other party was from Spirit Hall, and she was Qian Daoliu's granddaughter... It all pointed to the High Priest of Spirit Hall, who had once been mentioned in the same breath as Bo Saixi and Tang Chen!
Bo Saixi, standing opposite him, was every bit as shocked as Li Qing—if not more so.
His thoughts, rattling off like a string of firecrackers, reached her without missing a word. For the first time, her exquisite face showed something close to naked astonishment.
First, he actually knew Qian Renxue would become the future Angel God?!
Bo Saixi's pupils contracted sharply. A storm surged in the depths of her blue eyes.
The Angel God!
That was Spirit Hall's highest-level secret. Even most of the Titled Douluo within Spirit Hall might not know Qian Renxue's true potential or ultimate goal!
Li Qing, a twelve-year-old boy who had never left Sea God Island—how could he know?
Did he really possess the ability to foresee the future?
Could his prophecies about Tang San and the Asura God not have been groundless? Could he truly have glimpsed a fragment of fate?!
And what did he mean by Qian Renxue pretending to be the crown prince of the Heaven Dou Empire? What were they planning? Were they trying to take over the entire empire?
If that was true, then before long, Spirit Hall would unite the entire Douluo Continent.
No wonder Lord Sea God had agreed to this marriage alliance.
Second, this child's powers of analysis and intelligence were absurdly extraordinary!
Qian Daoliu's visit—and the marriage alliance he proposed—had been top secret from beginning to end.
Li Qing had never met Qian Daoliu. Before this, Bo Saixi had never mentioned him or told Li Qing anything about Spirit Hall's connection to the marriage alliance!
Yet, based solely on the information that Qian Renxue was Qian Daoliu's granddaughter and that the prospective bride was from Spirit Hall, he had immediately deduced that Qian Daoliu had proposed the alliance himself—and accurately guessed his intentions.
He wanted to bind Sea God Island and Spirit Hall together!
That level of insight and logical reasoning was downright frightening!
Was this really the sort of mind a twelve-year-old should have?
Bo Saixi felt her long-held understanding of the world take another brutal blow.
The boy she had watched grow up held more secrets than she'd imagined. He was even more unfathomable than she'd thought.
"Whew..."
Only after a long while did Li Qing recover from his shock.
He let out a long breath. His expression turned extraordinarily complicated, mingling disbelief and absurdity with a hint of something hard to describe... disdain?
He looked up at Bo Saixi, brow deeply furrowed, and hesitated before asking, "Big sister, this... this might not be a good idea, might it?"
Bo Saixi quickly suppressed the storm within her and put on her gentle yet resolute smile again. "Oh? What's wrong with it? Let's hear your reasons."
Li Qing gathered his thoughts, trying to find the most reasonable argument against what he considered an utterly ill-advised marriage. "First, you know that decades ago, Spirit Hall launched a major attack on Sea God Island. The two sides have a deep-seated grudge. The people of Sea God Island, including the Sacred Pillar Douluos, surely don't have a good impression of Spirit Hall. Now we're supposed to form a marriage alliance with Spirit Hall? How... how are we supposed to explain that to the island's people? Will they accept it?"
He paused to study Bo Saixi's expression, then continued with righteous conviction, "Second, does Lord Sea God know about this? Will he agree? This concerns the future of Sea God Island, after all!"
Li Qing tried to invoke Lord Sea God's authority and Sea God Island's public opinion to put a damper on the whole affair.
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