With a thought from Gu Ping'an, more than a dozen Blue Silver Grass vines attacked Qian Renxue in unison.
Qian Renxue's gaze sharpened slightly, and she hurriedly swung the Angel's Sword to slash at them.
With her very first strike, she realized something was wrong. The strength of his martial soul was nothing like Blue Silver Grass. Merely severing a few vines already took some effort.
"I can't drag this out. I have to finish it quickly!"
A sharp gleam flashed in Qian Renxue's eyes as the Angel's Sword traced an arc, sweeping aside all the incoming Blue Silver Grass.
"Angel Thrust!"
After sweeping the Blue Silver Grass aside, golden light bloomed from Qian Renxue. Her speed surged as she thrust straight at Gu Ping'an.
Facing the charging Qian Renxue, Gu Ping'an curled his lips slightly. He turned his outstretched palm upward and gently lifted his fingertips.
Two Blue Silver Grass vines that had been lying on the ground suddenly sprang up. They wrapped around Qian Renxue's ankles from below, pulling and lifting, instantly throwing her charge out of control.
Immediately afterward, the surrounding Blue Silver Grass swarmed her, binding her up like a rice dumpling.
Qian Renxue's face flushed crimson. She twisted her body but could not break free.
"You lost!"
Gu Ping'an shook his head slightly and spoke softly.
Qian Renxue's combat experience was far too lacking. She had not even noticed the Blue Silver Grass he had left on the ground beforehand-or she had noticed it and ignored it.
After struggling fruitlessly for a while, Qian Renxue lowered her head.
I lost!
She, the young mistress of Spirit Hall, a genius with rank-twenty innate soul power, had actually lost.
Watching from the side, She Long and Ci Xue stared with wide eyes. Neither had expected Qian Renxue to lose.
"Honor the wager! I trust that the reputation of the Qian Family, with its Six-Winged Angel martial soul, won't allow you to disgrace the Angel God."
Releasing Qian Renxue, Gu Ping'an looked at her calmly.
"Boy, do you have any idea who we are?"
Before Qian Renxue could speak, She Long and Ci Xue grew anxious. They unleashed the imposing pressure of Titled Douluos, and nine soul rings rose from beneath each of their feet.
They could hardly help being anxious.
They had been lost in a wager!
Even if only one of them had been lost, what if he chose them?
"Fine! It seems even the Qian Family, with its Six-Winged Angel martial soul-the family carrying on the Angel God's legacy-can't take a loss!"
Feigning helplessness, Gu Ping'an turned to leave.
"Stop right there!" Qian Renxue suddenly shouted in agitation.
Every other word out of his mouth was either the Qian Family's Six-Winged Angel martial soul or the Angel God.
If they really let him leave like this and word got out, what dignity would their Qian Family have left?
And how would the Angel God regard their Qian Family?
"Uncle She, Uncle Ci Xue," Qian Renxue called in a low voice.
Her meaning was clear: they had to make a choice and decide which of them would go.
She Long and Ci Xue exchanged a glance.
Finally, Ci Xue said fiercely, "Boy, which one of us do you choose?"
"Him!" Gu Ping'an pointed at the man holding a long-shafted Snake Lance martial soul.
If he remembered correctly, this man was called She Long, known as Snake Lance Douluo.
When Gu Ping'an singled him out, She Long's face darkened. He hesitated, unwilling to speak.
Under Qian Renxue's gloomy stare, She Long had no choice but to open his mouth.
"With the Angel God as my witness, I, She Long, swear upon my martial soul..."
"Come over here!"
Once She Long finished his oath, Gu Ping'an beckoned to him.
Looking thoroughly aggrieved, She Long walked to Gu Ping'an's side and stood half a step behind him, like a bodyguard.
He didn't attack?
Having secretly cast Spacetime Isolation on himself, Gu Ping'an relaxed a little when he saw She Long standing obediently behind him.
He looked at Qian Renxue again.
"Since you've given me a Titled Douluo, I'll tell you something.
"Tang Hao's son, Tang San, is studying at the Nuoding City Junior Soul Master Academy. You can station people in Nuoding City and wait for Tang Hao to appear."
"Of course, you'd better not touch Tang San or disturb him. Tang Hao isn't the only one backing him."
"Back then, Tang Hao had only just become a Titled Douluo, yet he managed to leave one of three Titled Douluos dead and the other two gravely wounded. I suspect the person behind Tang San may very well have intervened."
Despite her foul mood, Qian Renxue was still somewhat stunned by Gu Ping'an's words.
Someone else had intervened back then?
How could Spirit Hall have heard nothing about it?
"Who is this person behind Tang San you mentioned?" Qian Renxue stared at Gu Ping'an with fierce eyes. The thought that someone else had helped kill her father back then made the hatred in her heart impossible to contain.
"I can't say!"
Gu Ping'an shook his head slightly. "All I can tell you is that destroying Spirit Hall is one of the things that person intends to do."
"Destroy Spirit Hall?" Qian Renxue gave a derisive laugh.
"Aren't you underestimating Spirit Hall?"
"Aren't you underestimating the person behind Tang San? What if he's stronger than Spirit Hall's Qian Daoliu?" Gu Ping'an countered.
Qian Renxue's expression abruptly changed.
Someone who could name her grandfather, Qian Daoliu, should not be an ignorant fool.
Then...
The more she thought about it, the heavier her heart grew.
"The three great Limit Douluos of this age-Spirit Hall's Qian Daoliu, Sea God Island's Bo Saixi, and the Clear Sky Sect's Tang Chen-would be no match for that person even if they joined forces," Gu Ping'an continued.
He was not lying, either.
The Asura God really was the daddy backing Tang San.
And the three great Limit Douluos together truly were no match for the Asura God.
Once the Asura God passed his position to Tang San, Tang San would certainly destroy Spirit Hall.
Everything he had said was true.
"And you? Who are you? What powers are backing you?"
Qian Renxue stared straight at Gu Ping'an.
She found him increasingly mysterious.
Many soul masters did not even know Sea God Island existed, yet he knew the name of its Limit Douluo and knew that her grandfather was a Limit Douluo as well.
"All I can say is that we can be friends." Gu Ping'an smiled faintly.
He had no power backing him. What could he say?
Whether they became friends depended on her choice.
Tang San had a band of helpers in the original story. He could find allies too.
As for the Asura God, that could wait.
After parting ways with Gu Ping'an, Ci Xue and Qian Renxue traveled in silence.
A long while later.
"Uncle Ci Xue, do you think what he said was true?" Qian Renxue suddenly asked.
The information Gu Ping'an had revealed was far too shocking.
Tang Hao's son, Tang San, had a supreme expert stronger than her grandfather backing him.
She still found it difficult to believe.
"Young mistress, I think it's possible," Ci Xue said in a low voice.
"Back then, the Pope brought two Titled Douluos and a large number of Spirit Hall soul masters.
"The Pope was a Titled Douluo himself. With three Titled Douluos joining forces, even if they couldn't win, they shouldn't have lost-much less ended up with one dead and two gravely wounded."
They had always found that strange.
Even if Tang Hao knew the secret technique of Ring Detonation, he should not have been strong enough to fight three opponents alone and leave one dead and two gravely wounded.
It made much more sense if someone else had intervened from behind the scenes.
"Make the arrangements. I need to return to Spirit Hall."
After thinking it over, Qian Renxue decided to return to Spirit Hall and ask her grandfather in person.
Meanwhile.
Gu Ping'an looked at She Long, who followed behind him with a face like a corpse, and casually tossed him a manual.
It was the earliest version of his cultivation method.
It was considerably better than a meditation method.
"Feeling bitter? Do your job properly. Following me is no worse than following her."
She Long caught the manual with a stiff expression. He opened it and froze on the spot.
With his experience as a Titled Douluo, he could easily tell that this cultivation method was more profound than any meditation method on the Douluo Continent.
The hand gripping the manual trembled slightly.
"Am I the only one allowed to cultivate this?" She Long glanced at the little booklet in his hand, which bore the words "Basic Cultivation Method," then looked up at Gu Ping'an's back.
"Do as you please!" Gu Ping'an waved a hand indifferently.
The fact that he had asked whether only he could cultivate it proved that, despite his displeasure, She Long had honestly settled into his role as a bodyguard.
"Oh, right. Go pay your former mistress a visit." Gu Ping'an slowly turned to look at She Long behind him.
As he turned, Gu Ping'an transformed into Xiao Wu's likeness from head to toe.
"Find a woman who looks similar to this and have her infiltrate Tang San's life. Make Tang San fall in love with her."
"Remember, brainwash her before sending her over. Don't let her actually fall in love with Tang San."
After speaking, Gu Ping'an had She Long bend down slightly and pressed a hand against his shoulder a few times.
She Long stared blankly as Gu Ping'an changed from a boy into a girl, then from a girl back into a boy.
"This... all right!"
Before you continue