Grandpa?
Qian Renxue's heart jolted, but she quickly collected herself and sent the attendants at the door farther away.
Only after confirming that no outsiders remained nearby did Qian Daoliu reveal himself.
"Greetings, Great Enshrined."
Snake Lance Douluo and Porcupinefish Douluo emerged from hiding and bowed together.
"Mm, rise. Keep watch from the shadows. Don't let anyone approach."
"Yes."
After answering, the two concealed themselves once more.
"Xue'er, it's been so long. Did you miss your grandpa?"
"Grandpa, why have you come here? Has something happened?"
Qian Renxue's brows drew together slightly. More than ten years had passed since she went undercover, and she had long since grown from a nine-year-old girl into a young woman in her twenties.
Naturally, she suspected a deeper reason behind Qian Daoliu's arrival.
Has something happened to Spirit Hall? Could it have something to do with that Ninth Elder?
As she pondered, Qian Renxue released the Soul Bone Disguise Skill and returned to her original appearance.
A breathtaking face, beautiful enough to topple a nation, was revealed. Golden hair spilled over her shoulders, and her skin, whiter than snow, looked delicate enough to break at a touch. A trace of solitary pride lurked in her indifferent eyes, and her noble bearing hardly seemed that of a mortal woman.
At the sight, Qian Daoliu's confidence swelled. This is in the bag!
With peerless beauty that outshines Hu Liena's countless times over, how could she fail to win Liu Hao over? Unless something's wrong with him down there, but that's clearly impossible. If something were wrong, he wouldn't have come running for Hu Liena.
"Xue'er, you've heard about Spirit Hall's newly appointed Ninth Elder, Liu Hao, haven't you?"
"Yes. Twelve years old, a rank ninety-nine Limit Douluo. Has that been confirmed?"
"His strength has been confirmed, yes. We haven't checked his bone age, but his age is probably genuine too. With strength like his, he has no reason to lie about something like that."
With her grandfather personally confirming it, Qian Renxue grew even more curious about this Ninth Elder.
Someone really had reached rank ninety-nine Limit Douluo at the age of twelve. It was simply unbelievable.
How high must his innate soul power be? Rank forty? Fifty? Or even higher?
And with talent like that, he must have a god's favor.
Would that god be more powerful than our Qian Family's Angel God?
For a moment, Qian Renxue sank into thought.
"Xue'er, I came here this time to talk about your future."
"My future? What do you mean?"
"Xue'er, your talent was originally the greatest on the entire continent. In the future, you could even inherit the Angel Godhood. A bright future lay before you, but now..."
"Grandpa, what exactly happened? Does it have something to do with that Ninth Elder?"
"As expected of my granddaughter. You're clever indeed. That's right, it's because of Liu Hao." Qian Daoliu nodded in satisfaction and continued, "Liu Hao appeared far too suddenly, and there's something far too strange about him. He has shattered everything we thought we knew on the Douluo Continent, even knowledge stretching back ten thousand years.
"Most importantly, after obtaining the pinnacle of power in this world, he joined Spirit Hall for a woman. That shows he is still at a stage where primal desires govern him.
"Someone ruled by primal desires is the most frightening kind of person, especially when he also possesses invincible strength.
"You must understand that without fear to keep primal desires in check, they become incredibly dangerous, because he will turn into an insatiable demon who does whatever he pleases.
"Liu Hao is now in the early stages of that state. For some unknown reason, he hasn't completely lost his reason yet, but that certainly won't last long.
"Because this is the instinct of living beings. It is the Way.
"Once primal desires completely take control of Liu Hao's mind, Spirit Hall will be the first to suffer, followed by the entire continent.
"Then the whole world will be thrown into turmoil because of Liu Hao. Living beings will be plunged into misery, the people will have no means to survive, and cries of suffering will fill the land..."
After listening to that lengthy speech, Qian Renxue felt rather dazed. "Grandpa, if Liu Hao is that dangerous, what should we do?"
"Xue'er, that will depend on you."
"Huh? On me? What do you mean?"
"Xue'er, you are favored by the Angel God. Angels possess the power to purify evil, so you are ideally suited to guide Liu Hao onto the right path."
"Grandpa, aren't you also favored by the Angel God? You should have the power to purify evil too, shouldn't you?"
"Alas, although I also have the Angel God's favor, I cannot reach Liu Hao's heart."
"Why is that?" Qian Renxue asked in confusion.
"Because to reach Liu Hao's heart, we must begin with his desires, and his strongest desire at present is for beautiful women."
"..."
Qian Renxue fell silent for a moment, then pressed her lips together. "So, Grandpa, you want me to seduce Liu Hao?"
"Although it may look somewhat similar in practice, 'seduce' isn't quite the right word, because it has negative connotations. What I want you to do is something truly great, a meritorious act that will save the entire continent. This is for the benefit of all living beings, so it shouldn't be described with a disparaging term.
"Or do you lack confidence in your ability to reform Liu Hao?"
"..." Qian Renxue's expression kept shifting. She had no idea how to answer.
"Looking at it another way, Liu Hao may be the only man on this continent worthy of you." Qian Daoliu looked into Qian Renxue's eyes and asked, "Think about it. You have extraordinary talent that stands in a class of its own, and peerless beauty unmatched in this world. As such a daughter favored by heaven, could you fall for a man who is inferior to you in every way and only fit to be your follower?"
Qian Renxue shook her head instinctively. "Of course not."
"Exactly. No matter how you look at it, you and Liu Hao are a match made in heaven." Seeing that his granddaughter was wavering, Qian Daoliu hurried to strike while the iron was hot.
"Xue'er, now that Liu Hao has entered the picture, there's no longer any point in remaining undercover in the Heaven Dou Empire. Why not return to Spirit Hall with me now and get to know Liu Hao, before too much time passes and something unexpected happens?"
"Well..." Qian Renxue hesitated. "Grandpa, I've already spent more than ten years undercover here, and success isn't far away. If I give up now, wouldn't all those years of effort..."
"..."
Qian Daoliu was momentarily at a loss for words too. After all, he had been the one to suggest that his granddaughter come here undercover.
Although he had done it with her best interests in mind, it had indeed cost her so many years of her youth.
The sunk cost was too high. Asking her to abandon it all so suddenly was genuinely difficult.
"Alas, Xue'er, I understand how you feel. You've poured so much of your heart and blood into this. But you must understand that if you fail to cut the knot when you should, you will be caught in the resulting tangle. We've already reached a critical moment. The longer we wait, the more likely Liu Hao is to have his reason devoured by desire. If even you cannot reform him by then, we'll be in trouble."
"Grandpa, how about this? I'll find an excuse to ask Xue Ye for a few days away and meet Liu Hao first. Then, depending on how things go, I'll decide whether to abandon the Heaven Dou Empire entirely. What do you think?"
"That... would work too. But you must hurry."
"Yes, I know."
In a private dining room at a hotel in a small city fifty li west of Spirit City, several middle-aged men of distinguished bearing sat around a table, sharing a meal.
"Now that Spirit Hall has gained an elder with such terrifying strength, its ambition to dominate the continent will likely swell even further."
"There's no need to waste words stating the obvious. Everyone has seen what Spirit Hall has been doing over the years.
"Whether it's establishing branch halls in villages and towns across the continent, awakening martial souls for free, identifying promising young Soul Masters, and winning the people's hearts.
"Or establishing a Soul Master rank certification system to build an image of official authority.
"Or secretly drawing in and supporting small and medium-sized powers such as the Lower Four Sects.
"Which of these measures wasn't laying the groundwork to unify the continent?"
Before you continue