The last sparks of resistance in Heaven Dou City had been completely extinguished.
Deep within the imperial palace, the air was filled with killing intent.
The dark-red stench of blood lingered for a long time within the cold Golden Throne Hall.
Qian Renxue sat upright upon that supreme dragon-headed throne.
Her slender fingers gently brushed over the mountain of military and political reports piled atop the desk.
The vital routes connecting all four city gates were entirely guarded by Spirit Hall's elite forces.
Every surviving civil and military official and noble in the city trembled beneath the threat of death.
No one dared raise even the slightest objection.
This great upheaval in Heaven Dou had completely come to an end through the bloodiest and most brutal means.
Qian Renxue rubbed her slightly aching temples.
She slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.
The situation had completely stabilized.
Her thoughts began drifting toward places farther away.
Should I immediately arrange for a carrier pigeon to deliver a message, or return to Spirit City myself?
Qian Renxue silently weighed her options.
I have already carved out the Heaven Dou Empire, this piece of the cake, for Spirit Hall.
As long as I report this victory to Grandfather.
And have him send the Worship Hall's forces to formally take over Heaven Dou City.
Then, with one of the two great empires fallen, Spirit Hall can rightfully begin its grand undertaking of unifying the continent.
"Ha ha ha!"
Yet an unrestrained burst of wild laughter suddenly echoed from the depths of her mind.
"Unifying the continent? You really dare say that, Qian Renxue."
Dark-red baleful energy churned within the blood-colored Sea of Spirit.
Qian Sha Yu sat cross-legged atop the waves of blood, his eyes carrying a cold, mocking sneer.
"What good is going back to Spirit City to find that idiot grandfather of yours?"
"A level ninety-nine Peerless Douluo, conquering Douluo Continent as slowly as an ox pulling a cart!"
"You're just as stupid. You hold nuclear-level combat power, the strongest in the world, yet you insist on spending twenty years enduring and lurking in secret."
"You grandfather and granddaughter are both begging for food while clutching golden bowls."
Those words were like a resounding slap across her face.
Qian Renxue's expression shifted.
A flicker of anger rose in her golden eyes.
"Qian Sha Yu, you may insult me, but I will not allow you to insult my grandfather like that!"
Qian Renxue replied coldly, "You understand nothing at all."
"Grandfather is one of the only three Peerless Douluo remaining in this age. His strength has long surpassed the limits of the mortal world."
"But Grandfather personally warned me back then."
"The power of a level ninety-nine Peerless Douluo is too terrifying. A moment of carelessness could completely shatter the balance of the entire continent."
"Unless Spirit Hall faces a crisis of utter destruction, he absolutely cannot casually interfere in worldly conflicts."
As she said this, Qian Renxue looked proud.
Her own grandfather was a Peerless Douluo, and she shared in that glory.
However, Qian Renxue suddenly changed her tone and said gravely, "But Grandfather is not invincible."
"There is more than one Peerless Douluo on the continent. There is also Tang Chen of the Clear Sky Sect, and Bo Saixi of Sea God Island."
Her grandfather, Qian Daoliu, had personally told her of these two.
When she had learned that there were two other Peerless Douluo on the continent whose strength was not far below her grandfather's, it had deeply shocked her young self.
She refused to believe that, after hearing this, Qian Sha Yu would still dare look down on her grandfather.
"If Grandfather acted rashly, he would inevitably draw the joint restraint of Tang Chen from the Clear Sky Sect and Bo Saixi from Sea God Island."
"Then, if the three Peerless Douluo erupted into a chaotic battle, the entire continent would be reduced to scorched earth."
"Spirit Hall has endured and planned in secrecy only to maintain the balance of the overall situation."
After hearing Qian Renxue's righteous defense.
The mockery in Qian Sha Yu's voice not only failed to stop, but he laughed so hard that he rocked back and forth.
"Balance?"
"Maintaining the overall situation?"
"Qian Renxue, Qian Renxue, you really are Grandfather's obedient little granddaughter. You believe whatever he tells you."
Qian Sha Yu slowly opened his scarlet demonic eyes.
He flicked the Slaughter Blood Sword in his hand with a fingertip. A clear, piercing ring came from its blade.
"The real reasons your grandfather Qian Daoliu dares not act lightly are only two."
"First, he is the Angel God's servant."
"His entire body and all his Soul Power have been prepared for your future Angel God Trial."
"He is the sole sacrificial key on your path to godhood."
"To ensure that this key remains flawless, he cannot allow himself to suffer even the slightest irreversible injury."
"So when he fights, he holds himself back at every turn, terrified of damaging his foundation and affecting your ascension to godhood."
Qian Renxue's delicate body trembled.
A sacrificial key?
Her grandfather's final days were connected to her Divine Trial?
That taboo term made her heart skip a beat.
Qian Sha Yu had no intention of stopping.
He continued tearing apart the lies of the continent's highest echelon in the cruelest possible manner.
"As for the second point, that is even more laughable."
"The three Peerless Douluo restraining one another?"
"This is simply the greatest joke on the entire continent!"
"Your grandfather clings stubbornly to the so-called balance between the three greatest experts, yet he has no idea what kind of lives those other two are living now."
Qian Sha Yu's lips curled into a mocking arc.
"Tang Chen of the Clear Sky Sect went mad long ago in pursuit of godhood."
"He was parasitized by the Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King while undergoing the Asura God Trial in Slaughter City."
"Now he has lost his mind and has completely become a monster that knows only blood-drinking and slaughter."
According to the original plot.
Slaughter City had been destroyed by Tang San, and the Slaughter King should have already emerged.
But Tang Chen's end was also near, and he could not even remember who he was anymore.
Qian Daoliu spent every day guarding against Tang Chen, all for nothing.
"What?"
This earth-shattering secret left Qian Renxue staring blankly.
Tang Chen, the legendary sect master of the Clear Sky Sect, had actually become a monster of Slaughter City?
"Then what about Bo Saixi of Sea God Island?" Qian Renxue asked instinctively.
"Bo Saixi?"
Qian Sha Yu snorted.
"Bo Saixi is likewise the Sea God's servant."
"The Sea God's rules have confined her within the bounds of Sea God Island."
"She cannot take even half a step beyond Sea God Island for her entire life!"
Qian Sha Yu erupted into rampant laughter deep within her mind.
"Tang Chen is finished!"
"Bo Saixi is confined!"
"Looking across all of Douluo Continent, your grandfather Qian Daoliu is the only Peerless Douluo alive under heaven who has complete freedom of movement and stands at the absolute peak of power!"
"He possesses the ability to sweep aside the two great empires at any time, crush the Upper Three Sects, and kill any titled expert with a single sword strike."
"Yet he actually clings to those rotten old rules and refuses to move."
"He forcibly turned an unbeatable hand of divine trump cards into twenty long years of miserable internal attrition."
"Begging for food while clutching a golden bowl—that is exactly what your Qian Clan is doing!"
"..."
Qian Renxue stood in the center of the empty Golden Throne Hall.
A cold wind swept through her hair.
Every word Qian Sha Yu spoke struck like thunder.
They shattered all the beliefs she had held for the past twenty years.
Tang Chen was finished.
Bo Saixi could not leave the sea.
Her grandfather was the truly invincible existence on the entire continent!
Yet for the sake of this so-called balance of the overall situation, Spirit Hall had made her, a little girl, infiltrate the imperial palace at the age of nine, live undercover, and disguise herself for twenty years.
She had sacrificed her youth.
Her cultivation had been held back.
In the end, she had nearly failed when success was within reach.
An indescribable sense of grievance and confusion spread through Qian Renxue's chest.
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