Qian Renxue's Confusion

By the afternoon of the third day, Ye Han finally finished recording all the contents.

He carefully checked it page by page to ensure there were no omissions, then neatened the stack of manuscript paper and placed it on the desk.

Right at that moment, a knock sounded at the door.

Ye Han got up to open it, and standing outside was none other than Qian Renxue.

She was not wearing her platinum long dress today, having changed into simple casual wear instead. Her long golden hair draped loosely over her shoulders, lacking a bit of her usual high-and-mighty oppressive aura and looking quite a bit more approachable by comparison.

"Are the records finished?" Qian Renxue's gaze swept over the thick stack of manuscripts on the desk inside.

"Mn." Ye Han turned sideways, inviting her into the room.

Qian Renxue stepped into the room, walked over to the desk, and casually picked up the topmost page to skim it.

After briefly scanning a few pages, she put the paper back in its original place.

Lowering her gaze to look at Ye Han, she retrieved a dark golden token from her bosom and handed it over.

The front of the token was engraved with the emblem of Spirit Hall, and the back was carved with an unfurled scroll.

"This is the pass token for the Spirit Hall Library Pavilion," Qian Renxue explained. "With it, you can freely enter and exit the Library Pavilion to consult all the ancient texts inside."

Ye Han reached out to take it, the token carrying a trace of chilliness as it settled in his palm.

"Consider it compensation for providing these materials," Qian Renxue continued. "Remember, it is strictly for your personal use."

Ye Han nodded and put the token away properly. "Many thanks."

Qian Renxue quietly watched him, a trace of complex emotion flashing through her golden eyes before returning to calm in a flash.

"When do you plan to leave Spirit City?" she asked, breaking the silence.

"Just in the next day or two," Ye Han replied. "The records are already finished, so there's nothing left to do staying here either."

Qian Renxue was silent for a moment, simply giving a soft acknowledgment. "That's fine too."

She spoke no more, turning and leaving the room.

Early the next morning.

After leaving Spirit City, Ye Han and Dugu Bo did not head straight back to Heaven Dou City.

Following Ye Han's suggestion, the two changed direction and traveled northeast, with their destination being Xuanfeng City-a medium-sized city on the border of the Heaven Dou Empire.

Inside Spirit City, within Douluo Hall.

Qian Renxue stood before the tall window, gazing out at the direction where Ye Han's group had departed outside the city, her expression complex.

She had changed back into her platinum-gold long dress, her golden hair scattered casually over her shoulders, while her formerly sharp golden eyes were now veiled with an indescribable, lingering melancholy.

Beside her, Qian Daoliu walked over at a leisurely pace.

This Great Enshrined of Spirit Hall wore a simple white robe, his hair and beard as white as snow, and his face looked kind and benevolent.

He walked to Qian Renxue's side, following her line of sight to gaze outward, a faint smile rising at the corners of his mouth. "Since you care about him so much, why didn't you try to win him over just now? He stayed in Spirit City for several days, and you went to see him numerous times. If you wanted to recruit him, the opportunities were naturally plentiful."

Qian Renxue did not turn her head, still gazing out the window.

Qian Daoliu continued, "Although this old man has never laid eyes on that youth myself, judging from your and Golden Crocodile's descriptions, he has harbored resistance to joining Spirit Hall all along. Otherwise, he wouldn't have repeatedly found excuses to politely decline."

He paused slightly. "Just now, if you and Bibi Dong had sung the same tune, coupled with that old acquaintance from the Star Dou Great Forest, even if you stepped forward with your true identity, getting him recruited into the Worship Hall should not have been difficult."

Hearing these words from her grandfather, Qian Renxue fell silent.

The daylight from outside fell upon her face, setting off that peerlessly beautiful countenance with even greater clarity.

After a long while, she finally spoke in a low voice, "Grandfather, I don't know which identity to use to win Ye Han over anymore."

"Is it Qian Renxue, or Xue Qinghe?"

She turned her head to look at Qian Daoliu.

"I have interacted with him under both of these identities, and I have extended intentions of recruitment to both. He accepted the olive branches thrown by both sides, yet he has never truly nodded in agreement."

Hearing this, Qian Daoliu also quieted down, gazing out the window with his hands clasped behind his back.

Qian Renxue spoke once more, asking the question buried deep in her heart for a long time.

"Grandfather, have the all years I've spent lurking in the Heaven Dou Empire truly been meaningful?"

Her voice was very soft. "If I hadn't spent all these years lurking, with my innate talent, I'm afraid I would have already broken through to become a Soul Saint. A soul master's most precious dozen-odd years of cultivation time in life are all consumed in this lurking mission that still shows no results..."

She lowered her eyelids, her voice growing lighter and lighter.

"Sometimes I wonder, if I hadn't gone to Heaven Dou back then and had instead stayed in Spirit City to focus on cultivation, what kind of person would I be now?"

Qian Daoliu fell silent once more.

He looked at his granddaughter, complex emotions surging within his murky eyes.

Regarding the wrongdoings committed by his son Qian Xunji back then, out of a desire for compensation, he was unwilling to meddle in grievances related to Bibi Dong.

Coupled with Bibi Dong's peerless natural endowment and formidable methods, he even intentionally allowed matters to take their course.

Especially the entanglements between Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue as mother and daughter; he was even less willing to intervene.

When Bibi Dong originally arranged for Qian Renxue to lurk in Heaven Dou, he did not step out to stop it.

At the time, he only felt that letting Qian Renxue temporarily leave Spirit City to avoid Bibi Dong would be good for both of them.

Yet looking at it now...

Qian Daoliu let out a long sigh.

After a long time, he finally spoke slowly, his voice deep. "Did you give rise to this kind of doubt because of that youth named Ye Han just now?"

Hearing the question, Qian Renxue was silent for a long time, finally nodding gently.

She made no sound, her golden eyes rarely revealing a trace of confusion.

It was precisely because she had witnessed Ye Han's talent and combat power with her own eyes that she began to doubt her own choices back then.

Had she not fallen into a life of covert operations and instead devoted herself single-mindedly to rigorous cultivation, reaching the same height as her grandfather would not have been a difficult task with her aptitude.

By that time, joining forces with Spirit Hall's crowd of Titled Douluos and the various worshippers of the Worship Hall to make a joint move would have made sweeping the entire continent an absolute breeze.

Yet what about reality?

More than a dozen years of time slipped by in a flash, and she had consumed her best cultivation years on the grand lurking scheme of the Heaven Dou Empire.

Until now, the day when the plan would reap results remained as distant as ever.

Catching the flash of confusion in his granddaughter's eyes, Qian Daoliu already understood in his heart. He turned to look at the Second Worship, Golden Crocodile Douluo, who had been quietly standing to the side all along.

"Golden Crocodile, in your view, how is this child Ye Han?"

Golden Crocodile Douluo bowed slightly. "What Miss said is not false. This youth's cultivation speed is terrifying, his actual combat capability is extremely strong, he excels at fighting across ranks, and he even masters several self-created soul skills.

According to Miss, when he had not yet obtained his fifth soul ring, he was able to leap ranks to slay a 30,000-year-old Insect King relying merely on his cultivation as a quasi-soul king.

Even though there was the factor of attribute suppression, to achieve this kind of battle record, it would be no easy feat for even an ordinary Soul Saint."

Qian Daoliu's gaze narrowed slightly.

Golden Crocodile Douluo pondered slightly, voicing his own judgment. "This child's growth speed is simply too astonishing. Even the Clear Sky Douluo of the Clear Sky Sect back then fell far short of him at this age. If there is an opportunity, we must do our utmost to pull him into our camp. If we allow him to grow outside, in the future, he will be an even greater variable than Tang Hao the Clear Sky Douluo!"

Qian Daoliu slightly nodded in assent, his gaze falling back onto Qian Renxue.

"Xue'er, what do you plan to do next?"

Qian Renxue pondered for a moment, the confusion in the depths of her eyes slowly fading and being dyed with determination once again.

"I still have to go back."

She spoke softly, "So much has already been invested on the Heaven Dou side, and with the sunk cost right there, I cannot give up for the time being. That Soul Douluo in the Crown Prince's Mansion who helps me conceal my identity has a time limit on his camouflage abilities; I cannot linger outside for too long."

Qian Daoliu nodded gently and urged no further.

Qian Renxue cast one last glance at the direction where Ye Han had departed outside the window, then abruptly turned around, her platinum-gold long dress drawing a graceful arc in the air.

Three days later, outside Xuanfeng City.

Ye Han jumped down from the carriage, raising his eyes to look at the outline of the medium-sized city not far away.

The city walls could not be considered towering, but they were extremely sturdy. People came and went in an endless stream at the city gates, presenting a bustling scene.

Dugu Bo walked to his side and asked, "Kid, running all the way here to Xuanfeng City by taking a deliberate detour-what on earth is it for?"

Ye Han withdrew his gaze and answered candidly, "I previously probed through channels of acquiring medicinal herbs via medical clinics, and heard that there is a possibility of finding a medicinal herb I need right here."

"A medicinal herb?" Dugu Bo raised an eyebrow. "What kind of medicinal herb is worth you making a personal trip? One that even clinic channels can't procure? Furthermore, this old man's Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well has countless rare treasures. Could it be that none of them are what you want?"

"It's a rather special type of ginseng with an unconventional medicinal nature and extreme rarity." Ye Han did not speak the true name of the Crystal Blood Dragon Ginseng. "I also just happened to catch wind of the information by chance, and since I'm already out, I might as well come over and try my luck."

Dugu Bo let out an "oh" and did not continue questioning.

"Speaking of which," Dugu Bo suddenly recalled something and looked at Ye Han with zest, "that woman Bibi Dong actually promised you a favor, allowing her to clear up your doubts once in the future. What does this kid plan to take this opportunity to consult her about?"

Hearing this, Ye Han helplessly shook his head slightly.

"There's nothing I need to ask," he said in a flat tone. "It's nothing more than trading an empty check for an empty check."

Dugu Bo was stunned, then burst out laughing. "An empty check? That saying is certainly fresh. But do you truly have no bottlenecks in your cultivation that require a Titled Douluo's guidance? Bibi Dong's cultivation is a whole cut above this old man's!"

Ye Han did not reply immediately.

He knew clearly in his heart that before breaking through to become a Seven-Ring Soul Saint, he basically would not encounter any bottlenecks.

Moreover, he had already mastered five Heavenly Flames by now, and once they were completely fused into his bloodline, his future path of cultivation would be practically smooth sailing all the way.