Sixth on the Background Ranking: Qian Renxue

"The Heaven Dou Empire and the Star Luo Empire were facing off?"

High above the outskirts of the Heaven Dou Empire, Qian Daoliu appeared.

Seeing the Soul Masters of the two empires confronting each other, he slowly came to a stop.

For Spirit Hall, this was excellent news.

If the two empires truly went to war, their Soul Master forces would be greatly weakened.

Then Spirit Hall's plan to unite the continent would become much easier.

Just as Qian Daoliu considered how to add fuel to the fire, the words on the Sky Screen began to scroll again.

[Rewards for seventh place on the Background Ranking have been distributed. Sixth place will now be announced.]

[Sixth place on the Background Ranking: Spirit Hall's young master, Qian Renxue (Xue Qinghe).]

The introduction for sixth place was even shorter than those before it.

But those few words were enough to leave anyone speechless.

Spirit Hall's young master! What weight did that title carry?

Spirit Hall was the foremost power in the Douluo Realm. At its pinnacle stood the Peerless Douluo Qian Daoliu, known as "Invincible in the Sky."

Below him, the Worship Hall held no fewer than seven Super Douluo, all above Rank 95.

Among them, the Second Worship, Golden Crocodile Douluo, had reached an astonishing Rank 98 in Soul Power.

As for ordinary Titled Douluo, Spirit Hall had twenty or thirty by conservative estimate—more than every other faction combined.

Such terrifying strength was enough for Spirit Hall to bear down on the entire Douluo Continent.

"What? Spirit Hall has a young master? How come I've never heard of her? Isn't Hu Liena Spirit Hall's Holy Maiden?"

"I don't know either, but 'young master' sounds even more important than 'Holy Maiden.' She's Spirit Hall's rightful heir!"

Inside Spirit Hall, the vast majority of members looked bewildered when they saw the name Qian Renxue.

Only a handful of elders and core leaders knew she existed.

"Wait, Hu Liena, aren't you Spirit Hall's Holy Maiden? Who's Qian Renxue?"

Yan stared wide-eyed at the striking words on the Sky Screen.

"This is the first I've heard of her too. But judging by her name, is she related to the previous Pope?"

The surname Qian was distinctive within Spirit Hall.

The Qian Family had founded Spirit Hall and remained its true masters.

The moment Hu Liena saw the name, she understood that the position of Spirit Hall's future Pope would not be hers.

But she was not upset. Spirit Hall had given her so many resources; she was already content.

What truly shocked Hu Liena now was something else.

"Spirit Hall's young master, its rightful heir, only ranks sixth on the Background Ranking?"

[Qian Renxue is the daughter of Spirit Hall's former Pope, Qian Xunji, and its current Pope, Bibi Dong.

Her background consists of Spirit Hall (in part) and the Heaven Dou Empire (the First Prince's faction).

As a descendant of the Angel Clan's Qian Family, Qian Renxue inherited the family's God Level Martial Soul, the Six-Winged Angel, and was born with Innate Full Soul Power at Rank 20.

Furthermore, Qian Renxue took the place of Xue Qinghe, the Heaven Dou Empire's First Prince, so her background combines both.]

[Sixth place on the Background Ranking. Reward: one Martial Soul Evolution, a one-level increase in life essence, and one Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone.]

Inside the Heaven Dou Empire's palace, Xue Ye's head buzzed as he finished reading Qian Renxue's detailed introduction.

"Qian Renxue took Qinghe's place? What is going on?

Where is Xue Qinghe now? Summon him to the palace at once!"

"Your Majesty, the First Prince said he had matters to discuss with the leader of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. He left the palace some time ago."

At the servant's report, Xue Ye was both shocked and furious:

"Could the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect be involved too? Send word immediately: capture Xue Qinghe at all costs, and put the Heaven Dou Empire on a war footing!"

At Xue Ye's command, the entire Heaven Dou Empire sprang into action.

In the Star Luo Empire's palace, the mood was entirely different.

Seeing that the First Prince, Xue Qinghe, had long since been replaced, the Star Luo Emperor burst out laughing:

"Hahaha! The first prince of an empire was swapped for an outsider! That old fool Xue Ye is an idiot.

Dai Weisi, what do you think we should do next?"

Since receiving his reward from the Sky Screen, Dai Weisi had drawn far more attention than before.

The Star Luo Emperor had now issued an imperial decree naming Dai Weisi the Star Luo Empire's sole heir.

Dai Mubai, meanwhile, had been expelled from the imperial family and was wanted throughout the nation.

The same had happened within the Zhu Family, one of the Star Luo Empire's great noble houses.

Zhu Zhuyun, the crown princess, had been confirmed as the Zhu Family's heir, while Zhu Zhuqing had been struck from the family rolls.

At the Star Luo Emperor's question, Dai Weisi stepped forward and said excitedly:

"Father, this will surely throw the Heaven Dou Empire into turmoil.

Right now, the Soul Masters of both nations are facing off at the border over the Hundred-Thousand-Year Transformed Soul Beast.

We can seize this chance to make the first move and go to war with the Heaven Dou Empire.

With chaos within and enemies without, the Heaven Dou Empire will struggle to hold out."

The Star Luo Emperor considered Dai Weisi's words for a moment, then nodded:

"Good. The Heaven Dou Empire is in trouble. This is our chance to strike.

Send the order at once: every Soul Master in the Star Luo Empire is to prepare for war!

Weisi, go make your preparations as well. This time, we will defeat the Heaven Dou Empire and unite the Douluo Continent!"

"Yes!"

With Qian Renxue's identity exposed, both the Heaven Dou and Star Luo empires grew tense.

More and more Soul Masters gathered at the border, and the air between the two sides grew thick with gunpowder.

Qian Renxue, meanwhile, was fleeing the Heaven Dou Empire as fast as she could.

She had already realized the Sky Screen might expose her identity.

So she had prepared in advance, using her status as a disciple of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's leader as a pretext to head there.

But Qian Renxue's real intention had been to find a chance to assassinate Ning Rongrong before leaving the Heaven Dou Empire.

She simply had not expected her identity to be exposed so quickly.

After all, she was Spirit Hall's young master, yet she had only ranked sixth on the Background Ranking.

What kind of backgrounds could the people above her have?

Because she had prepared ahead of time, Qian Renxue soon reached the Heaven Dou Empire's border under the escort of several Spirit Hall guards.

Both sides were watching each other closely, and the atmosphere was heavy.

On the wasteland between the two empires stood a huge purple palace.

The Soul Masters on both sides knew the Hundred-Thousand-Year Transformed Soul Beast was hiding inside, yet not one of them dared take a step forward.

After all, the last Soul Master who had tried to seize the beast was now a puddle of minced flesh.

And so, for the moment, the two sides had formed a strange, unspoken understanding, with Zi Tian Palace as the dividing line.

Watching the Soul Masters face each other down, Qian Renxue stopped, her brows drawing together.

Crossing the border under so many watchful eyes and escaping toward Spirit Hall would be no easy task.

As Qian Renxue hesitated, a commotion broke out behind her.

"An edict from Xue Ye! All Soul Masters of the Heaven Dou Empire are to seize Qian Renxue at once.

She is here at the border!"