"Uncles, my father died so terribly!"
Taino slammed his head against the stone floor.
Blood seeped from his forehead.
He and his grandson Tailong knelt on the ground, their hair disheveled.
They wept as if their hearts were being torn apart.
"That Qian Renxue is cruel and tyrannical. She went on a killing spree right in Heaven Dou City."
"She split my father in half!"
"Please, Clan Chief Bai and Clan Chief Niu, avenge my father!"
Tailong burst into tears as well. "Please, Grandfathers, stand up for my grandfather!"
"Let's fight our way back into Heaven Dou City and kill that Qian Renxue!"
Bai He, the Speed Clan's chief, let out a long sigh.
Niu Gao, the Defense Clan's chief, looked as dark as an iron pot.
Looking at the two men's miserable state, the pair felt weighed down with sorrow.
After their old friend Yang Wudi had died, their old friend Tai Tan had now died too. They were just as devastated.
"Bang!"
Niu Gao slammed his palm down hard on the table.
With a crack, several fractures spread across the stone tabletop.
"Avenge him?"
"With what are we supposed to avenge him?"
Niu Gao's voice was hoarse and gruff. "Didn't you hear the news that just came in?"
"Bone Douluo of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had an arm chopped off."
"Sword Douluo fought with all his strength just to protect Tang San and the others as they fled in disarray."
"Even a Titled Douluo couldn't beat Qian Renxue. The two of us are only Soul Douluos. We wouldn't even be enough to fill someone's plate!"
"Alas." Bai He only shook his head, his eyes full of cold helplessness.
Niu Gao folded his arms and snorted. "Old Orangutan has been a fool his whole life."
"He insisted on taking the entire Strength Clan and becoming the Tang Clan's loyal dogs."
"Tang Hao abandoned them back then and left them to fend for themselves, yet a few sweet words from Tang San were enough to have him completely wrapped around his finger."
"No one told him about the suicidal business of storming the execution grounds, but he still charged to the very front on his own."
"Now he's thrown his life away. Are we supposed to let the remaining two clans go to the grave with him?"
Tailong's eyes were bloodshot as he shouted, "My grandfather died for Young Master Tang San!"
"He died for the great cause of the Clear Sky Sect!"
"If you won't go, we'll go ourselves!"
"We'll find Young Master Tang San and follow him back to Heaven Dou City!"
Niu Gao let out a cold laugh.
His eyes were full of disgust for those mindless, slavish fools.
"Find Tang San?"
"Tang San's a stray dog himself now, fleeing into the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."
"How can he save anyone?"
"I, Niu Gao, am responsible for the lives of the hundreds of brothers in the Defense Clan. There's no way I'm going with you to my own funeral."
Niu Gao turned to look at Bai He.
"Old Bai Bird, the Heaven Dou Empire has been turned upside down."
"Spirit Hall has become an unstoppable force. The Heaven Dou Empire exists in name only."
"Starting today, my Defense Clan is going into seclusion and closing our doors for good. We won't take a single step outside our clan grounds."
Bai He also nodded helplessly. "That's what the Speed Clan intends to do as well."
"Taino, in consideration of our old friendship, we'll shelter the remnants of the Breaking Clan."
"If any surviving members of the Strength Clan are willing to come, we can shelter them too."
"But don't bring up revenge again."
Taino immediately sprang to his feet, his eyes blazing with madness.
"Fine!"
"Some old friends you are!"
"You're afraid of dying, but the men of the Strength Clan aren't!"
"The Strength Clan has no cowards!"
"Tailong, gather the surviving clansmen. We're going to find Young Master!"
"Young Master is a peerless genius. If we follow him, sooner or later we'll tear Qian Renxue limb from limb!"
Taino pulled Tailong up,
then stormed out, slamming the door behind him without looking back.
Only Bai He and Niu Gao remained in the hall, sighing.
Niu Gao spat. "They're asking for death."
Lick a boot to the bitter end, and you'll have nothing left.
Late at night.
Candles flickered in the great hall of the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace.
Qian Renxue sat beside the throne, symbol of supreme power.
One decree after another was swiftly reviewed and signed.
The entire city was placed under curfew.
The remaining loyalists of Emperor Xue Ye were purged.
Spirit Hall's elite troops took full control of the city defenses.
In just half a day,
the once-turbulent Heaven Dou City had been brought firmly under control.
Qian Renxue rubbed her temples.
She looked utterly exhausted.
She stood up,
then lowered her head to look at the armor she wore.
Dried, dark-red bloodstains covered her breastplate and skirt.
They were the marks left behind when Qian Sha Yu had taken control of her body and gone on a killing spree in the square.
The heavy, rusty stench of blood made her frown.
The smell made her deeply uncomfortable.
"Prepare hot water."
"I'm going to bathe."
Qian Renxue gave the order coldly.
In a side hall deep within the imperial palace,
Spirit Hall's elite soldiers had already prepared a brand-new, luxurious jade bath.
Scalding spring water poured from a carved dragon's mouth.
Steam billowed through the air.
The milky-white water gave off a faint fragrance of essential oils.
Qian Renxue dismissed all the guards and maids.
She reached up and undid the metal clasps at her chest.
Her bloodstained armor fell to the floor, piece by piece.
Her cold, golden robes slid down her smooth skin.
Her long, shapely, jade-white figure was revealed in all its glory.
Her elegant lines flowed gracefully.
She radiated a sacred, untouchable chill.
Qian Renxue lifted a long, snowy-white leg and stepped into the warm water.
The heat enveloped her from head to toe.
The tension in her skin gradually faded.
She lowered her whole body into the pool.
Leaning against the warm jade edge, she let out a long breath.
The strain of the past few days and the exhaustion weighing on her mind eased considerably at that moment.
Just as Qian Renxue closed her eyes, ready to relax for a while,
a teasing voice suddenly rang out of nowhere from the depths of her mind.
"Qian Renxue."
"What do you think of Tang San?"
The voice came out of the blue.
Like ice water poured into boiling oil.
"!"
Qian Renxue's whole body stiffened.
She instinctively hugged her chest tightly with both arms and sank beneath the surface.
"Qian Sha Yu!"
"What are you doing!"
Qian Renxue shrieked.
Shame and fury made her voice tremble.
"Why can you still talk right now? Keep your filthy eyes shut!"
She had actually forgotten that Qian Sha Yu, the so-called Second Personality, was there.
Within the spiritual world,
Qian Sha Yu sat cross-legged at the center of a sea of blood-red energy.
"Close my eyes?" His lips curled into a wicked smile. "Why should I close my eyes?"
"I'm borrowing your vision right now."
"Since your eyes are open, of course I can see everything clearly."
"Besides, I'm just admiring 'my own' perfect body. What are you getting so worked up about?"
Qian Renxue's expression shifted again and again.
Shame and anger nearly burned away her reason.
"Lies!"
"What makes you think she's 'your own' body?"
"You shameless bastard!"
Qian Sha Yu raised an eyebrow.
He flicked a finger against the blood-red divine sword in his hand and clicked his tongue in admiration.
"Tsk."
"I have to say, 'my' figure really is a rare beauty."
"Such delicate collarbones, a slender waist, long legs, and skin so white it doesn't have a single blemish."
Meanwhile, he thought to himself:
No wonder she'll become the Angel God.
She has both the face and the figure of a goddess.
My eyes are the real winners here.
His remarks were utterly blunt and unmistakably teasing.
Qian Renxue was so furious she nearly spat blood.
Even the golden light around her began to flicker out of control.
This damned Second Personality.
Not only was he bloodthirsty and ruthless, he was also a complete lecher!
As long as she kept her eyes open, he could use her vision to see every inch of her body!
Qian Renxue sank as deeply as she could beneath the milky-white steam and foam, leaving only her blazing golden eyes above the surface.
She hardly dared move at all.
She was afraid the rippling water would expose even more of her body.
Before you continue