Settling Old Scores

"Why... why won't you kill me..."

Bound and unable to move, Qian Renxue realized in despair.

Just now, Gao Yang had actually shattered her Divine Core.

This meant that she, Qian Renxue, was no longer an Angel God!

In fact, after plummeting from her divine pedestal, she did not even retain the realm of a Titled Douluo!

The present Qian Renxue was merely a rank-eighty-nine Soul Douluo!

And a Soul Douluo devoid of any soul power, weaker even than an ordinary person!

"Xiao Xue, can't you see it yet? What he wants is not just revenge, but judgment."

Bibi Dong, whose divine soul had likewise been shattered to become a Soul Douluo, wore a look of calm resignation.

She had done everything she could.

From poisoning Qian Xunji and seizing control of Spirit Hall to completing the Rakshasa God Trial, hunting down Gao Yang, and unsparingly besieging Gao Yang after ascending to godhood.

Every step, she believed, had been executed to perfection.

Yet reduced to her current end, she could only blame the heavens for not standing by her side.

"You're right, there is someone more qualified than me to kill the two of you."

Gao Yang's voice was cold as he looked at Qian Renxue and Bibi Dong, a mother and daughter as exquisitely beautiful as twin blossoms.

Right in front of countless Spirit Hall soul masters and Star Luo Empire surrendered troops, he brought the mother and daughter before Ning Rongrong.

The entire battlefield fell into a pin-drop silence; the reversal had happened far too swiftly.

Two gods had fallen just like that, without warning and without reason.

Let alone the others, even Ning Rongrong felt dizzy at this moment.

Clutching Xiao Tian, she had already prepared herself to take her own life alongside her daughter the moment Gao Yang died.

Instead...

"Rongmei, I said I would let you exact your revenge with your own hands."

With a shove from Gao Yang, the mother and daughter Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue collapsed at Ning Rongrong's feet.

Qian Renxue sat on the ground, still failing to digest the reality of her defeat.

It was Bibi Dong instead who used her slender, frail body to shield Qian Renxue behind her.

"Ning Rongrong, I gave the order to annihilate the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, I gave the order to torture Ning Fengzhi, and I pursued you and Gao Yang personally."

Even in defeat, Bibi Dong maintained the poise of a pope-graceful, magnanimous, composed, and elegant.

"What are you trying to say?"

Equally beautiful, Ning Rongrong asked coldly.

Xiao Tian in her arms also stared at Bibi Dong with a fierce, milky rage.

"All these crimes, I, Bibi Dong, bear them alone!" Bibi Dong lifted her snow-white, delicate neck and looked at Ning Rongrong with a pleading gaze. "But Xiao Xue is innocent! I beg you to spare her! For the sake of us both being mothers, I implore you to spa-mph..."

Whoosh!!

Before Bibi Dong could finish, an arrow pierced into her crimson lips, tore through her oral cavity, and flew out from the back of her head.

The arrow's momentum unspent, trailing fresh, crimson blood, it slammed deep into the ground.

And the brilliant light in Bibi Dong's pretty eyes gradually dimmed.

Her vitality drained away at terrifying speed.

As for the sentiment she wished to convey before dying, Ning Rongrong understood, but she could not do it.

"Spare her... Heh..." Ning Rongrong's delicate face bore not a trace of expression. "Not to mention that Qian Renxue is not innocent, even if she were, so what! The premise of sparing one's family is that one's family did not share in the benefits.

Since she enjoyed the glory, status, wealth, and treasures bestowed upon her by Spirit Hall, she should share in Spirit Hall's weal and woe.

For me to spare her?

Who among them spared my Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect back then!"

Thud!

As Ning Rongrong finished speaking, as if in response to her words, Bibi Dong's corpse collapsed heavily into Qian Renxue's arms.

Feeling the warmth in her embrace, Qian Renxue finally realized that she...

Had lost her mother all over again!

"Ma!!" Subconsciously, Qian Renxue steadied Bibi Dong, then snapped her glare toward Ning Rongrong. "Bastard, if you have the guts, kill me too, otherwise-mph..."

Whoosh!!

Another blood-stained arrow drove fiercely into the ground.

Before her death, Qian Renxue's gaze toward Ning Rongrong remained filled with disdain.

You were merely luckier than I!

If I had encountered Gao Yang first, today's outcome would still be unknown!

Ning Rongrong simply hugged Xiao Tian and pointed toward the corpses of Qian Renxue and Bibi Dong.

"Good daughter, don't be afraid. Open your eyes wide and look closely, these are the enemies of our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect!

Today, Mommy has finally... gotten her revenge..."

"Mommy, don't cry. Xiao Tian will wipe Mommy's tears..."

To Xiao Tian, the concept of a blood feud was still unclear; she merely felt heartache as she wiped away her mother's tears.

At the other end, taking advantage of the period while Asura Divine Power still coated his body, Gao Yang used thunderous tactics to purge the soul masters within Spirit Hall who remained diehard loyalists to the Qian family and Bibi Dong.

The remaining fence-sitters Gao Yang did not drive to absolute extermination.

He handed the remaining cleanup entirely over to Dai Mubai's brother, Dai Weisi.

Dai Weisi possessed a certain backbone; even knowing Spirit Hall possessed two gods, he had still advocated for battle and refused to surrender.

On this point alone, Gao Yang held a sliver of favorable impression toward him.

Now that Dai Mubai had perished, the only prince remaining capable of inheriting the Star Luo orthodoxy was this one...

Through this battle, fewer than one in ten soul masters remained on the Douluo Continent.

Titled Douluo were scarcer still.

Yet all of this had nothing to do with Gao Yang anymore...

Hum!

A Crimson Veil enveloped a ten-meter radius around Gao Yang, cutting off everyone's line of sight.

Then, with a thought, Xiao Wu's lithe figure slipped out from within his body.

"These are Rongrong's clothes; put them on first."

Facing a expanse of snowy white, Gao Yang turned around and tossed a long blue dress into Xiao Wu's arms.

Bound by their respective identities, even after parting, Gao Yang still maintained proper politeness toward Xiao Wu.

"Th-thank you, Brother Gao Yang..."

Having just separated, Xiao Wu's pretty face was flushed red, and her mind was swimming.

Words simply could not describe it!

Precisely because of this, Xiao Wu's gaze toward Gao Yang's back carried a hint of lingering attachment and internal conflict.

"Xiao Wu... what... do you plan to do in the future?"

Even though Gao Yang felt Xiao Wu's gaze, he made no proactive overtures.

After all, she was still Tang San's nominal fiancee.

"I..." Xiao Wu's gaze dimmed, and after a long while, she finally resolved herself. "I am Ge's fiancee, and also Rongrong's good sister. Therefore, I do not intend to see you ever again from this day forth. Brother Gao Yang, can you understand me?"

"I can." Gao Yang sighed. "I wish you and Brother Tang happiness."

Only for Xiao Wu to shake her head.

"Brother Gao Yang, you and I..." Her voice choked. "Things have reached this point, how could I still have the face to marry Ge."

"Then you..."

"Rest assured, Brother Gao Yang, I won't do anything foolish to end my life." Xiao Wu offered a poignant smile. "I want to return to the Star Dou Great Forest so that Ge will never be able to find me for the rest of his life. With his potential, perhaps once he forgets me, he too can ascend to godhood."

"Matters of the heart, I cannot help you." For some reason, hearing her say this, Gao Yang suddenly felt a sense of relief.

"I have a friend who is also a soul beast, living in the Star Dou Great Forest as well. Perhaps... you could go find her. With her around, you'll be safe, and absolutely guaranteed not to be found by Brother Tang..."

"Then... won't Gao Yang still be able to find me..."

Xiao Wu cast a coquettish, reproachful glare at Gao Yang, and as if thinking of something, the blush on her face instantly surged up past her neck...

The Crimson Veil dissipated, and Xiao Wu had already departed alone.

Leaving not even a reason behind for Tang San.

Three days later, Tang San awoke. Seeing that Xiao Wu had left without a parting word, he had no time to inquire about the details of the battle and went off alone to search for her.

Meanwhile, Gao Yang had already taken Ning Rongrong and their daughter Xiao Tian aboard a ship bound for Sea God Island.

It could be considered making up for Ning Rongrong's earlier regret of never having visited Sea God Island.

When she witnessed sea soul beasts and sea soul masters with her own eyes, Xiao Tian danced with excitement.

Night.

The night was already deep, and Ning Rongrong rested in Gao Yang's embrace.

A single sentence made Gao Yang's hair stand on end...

The two nestled together, and through the night not another word was spoken.