The Good-for-Nothing... Yu Xiaogang?

Noon, at the Pope's Palace.

Something was wrong with the atmosphere in the great hall. Qian Xunji said nothing, and no one dared to speak.

At last, Qian Xunji asked coldly, "Dong'er, as your teacher, how is it that I had no idea when you became acquainted with a direct descendant of the Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan?"

"Some teacher I am."

Thud!

Bibi Dong dropped to her knees in the center of the hall. "Teacher, you know me. When I'm not at the Academy, I'm by your side. Apart from hunting soul beasts, I've stayed in the city. I don't know any disciple of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Clan. Please believe me."

Qian Xunji studied Bibi Dong's earnest face. He truly had never seen her associate with anyone like that.

And whenever she went out to hunt soul beasts, he led the party himself.

Yue Guan stepped forward and stopped beside Bibi Dong. Cupping his hands, he said, "Your Holiness, I think... we may have the timing wrong."

Qian Xunji raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Yue Guan continued, "According to Lin Fan, the Saintess will indeed meet this man, but perhaps not yet. Everything that boy spoke of lies in the future. Since it hasn't happened, there's still a chance to change it. So it makes perfect sense that the Saintess doesn't know him now."

He paused, then added, "As for whether this man exists, we can verify that right now. We need only find out whether the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan has the good-for-nothing Lin Fan described."

Qian Xunji nodded and turned toward Gui Mei, who had been standing in the shadows all along.

"Gui Mei, you oversee all the intelligence Spirit Hall gathers in secret. Tell us."

Gui Mei emerged from the shadows and stood beside Yue Guan. His answer was brief and direct. "Your Holiness, the man Lin Fan described does exist."

"He is Thunder Douluo's second son, Yu Xiaogang. He was clever from childhood, but his Martial Soul mutated when it awakened at age six, leaving him with only half a level of Innate Soul Power. He should be around the Saintess's age now, about sixteen, and has yet to reach level ten."

"I've heard he's read extensively, hoping to find a way to resolve his Martial Soul's mutation."

Qian Xunji gave a cold laugh. "Half a level of Innate Soul Power, and not even a Soul Master at sixteen. He really is a good-for-nothing."

"And yet, Dong'er, as Spirit Hall's Saintess and my disciple, what could you possibly see in him?"

"Uh... well..." Bibi Dong had no answer.

She didn't even know what Yu Xiaogang looked like. How could she have fallen for him?

She opened her mouth, wanting to defend herself, but had no idea where to begin.

After struggling for a long moment, Bibi Dong gritted her teeth and came up with a way to prove her innocence.

"If you're concerned, Teacher, I'm willing to take people to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan myself and bring Yu Xiaogang back. Kill him or imprison him—it's your decision."

The hall fell silent again.

Qian Xunji looked at her, then suddenly smiled. "I'm glad to hear you say that."

He paused. "But moving against him now would only alert them. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan is one of the Upper Three Sects, after all. Attacking one of their direct descendants without cause—Thunder Douluo's son, no less—would give them grounds to condemn us."

Gui Mei immediately said, "I can make him die without a trace. No one will be able to find out what happened."

"There's no rush." Qian Xunji raised a hand. "A good-for-nothing with half a level of Soul Power can't cause much trouble. What matters most now is getting the whole story out of that boy."

"Yes," the three answered in unison.

Bibi Dong left the Pope's Palace with Yue Guan and Gui Mei, leaving Qian Xunji alone.

"The Angel God... Qian Renxue... a daughter?" Qian Xunji murmured.

The Angel God was a secret the Qian family had guarded for generations. Only those of the family's direct bloodline knew anything about her inheritance.

If he truly would have a daughter named Qian Renxue, and she could become the Angel God...

He would be lying if he said the thought held no appeal.

But when he closed his eyes, he remembered Lin Fan's words: "Qian Xunji was killed by Bibi Dong's own hand."

"No." He opened his eyes, his gaze darkening. "If I do what Lin Fan said I would, Spirit Hall will still be destroyed. Wouldn't that make his prediction come true?"

"It seems I'll have to speak with Father."

Back in her own courtyard, Bibi Dong still couldn't calm down. The reason she would turn against her teacher was apparently a good-for-nothing.

She was gifted, certainly. She had become a Soul Emperor shortly before turning sixteen. But Bibi Dong would never look down on ordinary people simply because she was exceptional.

That didn't mean she was the sort of person who would fall for just anyone, either.

"This is so frustrating! Why did I have to hear any of this?" Bibi Dong burrowed under her covers and spent ages trying to think of a reason.

Yet she still couldn't imagine what she might see in the good-for-nothing Lin Fan had described.

She didn't know whether she would become that kind of person in the future, but one thing was clear: right now, she didn't want any of Lin Fan's story to come true.

"Yu Xiaogang, was it..." She bit her lip. "If you dare show your face in front of me, I'll be the first to cut you down."

Meanwhile, Yue Guan and Gui Mei walked back to the courtyard with their arms draped over each other's shoulders. Yue Guan asked the question that had been weighing on him: "Old Ghost, that Lin Fan kid seems to know a thing or two. Do you think we'll die too?"

Gui Mei replied coldly, "Of course. If Spirit Hall really falls, do you think either of us will survive?"

Yue Guan pressed on. "Aren't you curious when we'll die? How it'll happen? Whether we'll die horribly or in an instant?"

"Not curious," Gui Mei said. "I've already died once."

"Come on, do you have no heart?"

Behind the Pope's Palace stood the Worship Hall, the place Soul Masters outside called Douluo Hall.

"Your Holiness!"

Qian Xunji nodded. "I have matters to discuss with my father."

Everyone but Golden Crocodile Worshipper vanished from the hall in the blink of an eye.

Qian Xunji walked all the way to the far end. Facing the two men, he bowed. "Father. Uncle Golden Crocodile."

Golden Crocodile, who was standing, smiled. "What brings you here today, nephew? And looking so serious, too."

"Father, Uncle Golden Crocodile, this concerns Spirit Hall's very survival. I have to be serious."

Qian Daoliu, seated in meditation, finally opened his eyes. "What is it, Xunji?"

Qian Xunji said, "It began yesterday."

"I was returning from the Star Dou Great Forest with my disciple when an ordinary man fell out of the sky right in front of me, at Spirit Hall's gates. He survived the fall, so I took him to a guest residence."

"To my surprise, he seemed able to glimpse the secrets of heaven. He knew about me, about you, and even about the future."

"According to him, we're all characters in a novel called Douluo Continent. It records everything that happens to us, and Spirit Hall is ultimately destroyed."

Golden Crocodile raised his voice in disbelief. "Impossible! Who on this continent could destroy Spirit Hall? The Upper Three Sects?"

"And we're characters written in a book? What a joke."

Qian Daoliu merely asked, "What else did he say?"

"He said I would have a daughter named Qian Renxue. She would eventually inherit the Angel God's Divine Position, but even she wouldn't be able to prevent Spirit Hall's destruction."

At that, a golden gleam flashed in Qian Daoliu's eyes.