Bibi Dong had not never been openly contradicted before.
As the Pope of Spirit Hall, she had seen countless opponents, both overt and covert. But never had a ten-year-old child dared to curse her as a "stinking woman" in front of everyone in Pope's Palace, call her disciple a "simp," and say that "even dogs would shake their heads at Spirit Hall."
What chilled her to the bone was not the insults themselves.
He had called Hu Liena a fisher of men and said, "Like teacher, like student." He was clearly not merely insulting her disciple—he was using Hu Liena to curse Bibi Dong by implication.
This child definitely knew something.
That bastard child—she must have told him something.
Her icy voice descended from the dais.
"What a Xue Qinghe. What a Sword Dao Chen Xin. One is his elder brother, the other his teacher. You truly raised an excellent disciple!"
On the surface, she was praising them. In truth, she was saying that Li Hanche was so arrogant and so openly hostile toward Spirit Hall because the Heaven Dou Empire and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect stood behind him.
Xue Qinghe faced Bibi Dong on the dais.
His bearing was calm, his tone respectful, and his manners impeccable, yet every word concealed a needle.
"Your Holiness overstates it. Hanche is young and does not know how to measure his words. He offended Your Holiness because I have failed to discipline him properly. My father often teaches me that, as the crown prince, one must win people over through virtue and never rely on strength to bully the weak."
He paused slightly.
"Your Holiness is a Titled Douluo. To strike a ten-year-old child so heavily... if word of this gets out, I fear it would not reflect well upon