Each Other's Only Family

[With Qian Daoliu, a Peerless Douluo, escorting them, the group returned to Spirit Hall without a hitch.]

[As for Xie Yue, who had originally planned to hunt for his fifth soul ring?]

[He had passed out. How could he possibly absorb a soul ring? They could only give up for now.]

[Hu Liena was in no hurry about that, though she was somewhat eager to invite Bi Shuo to meet her teacher.]

[Bi Shuo naturally did not refuse, for he was quite interested in this Pope whom Hu Liena said resembled him.]

[At that moment, in the Papal Hall, Pope Bibi Dong looked at the young man before her with astonishment written all over her face.]

[The same long purple hair, even the same martial soul, and the same beauty.]

[If the young man before her changed into the same attire as hers, Bibi Dong even felt that there would no longer be any difference between them...]

[No, the young man before her might be even more captivating than she was.]

[Compared to her, Bi Shuo possessed an additional air, an air of... perfection and elegance?]

[Bibi Dong could not put it into words, but there was one thing she could be certain of.]

[The two of them were indeed related by blood. Perhaps they were not full siblings, but their relationship would not be far removed from that.]

["So... perhaps I should call you my sister?"]

[Bi Shuo fixed his purple eyes on the Pope before him, a glimmer of understanding flashing in their depths.]

[Perhaps... Priest knew I was related to the Pope of Spirit Hall, and that was why he said he was unworthy of taking me as his disciple?]

[But that did not seem quite right either.]

[In any case, all of this might have become a secret, and Bi Shuo could only leave it to his future self to unravel.]

["...Perhaps."]

[Looking at the flawless young man before her with a somewhat complicated gaze, the thirty-six-year-old Bibi Dong no longer knew how to face this blood relative who had suddenly appeared.]

[Bibi Dong's gaze grew somewhat unfocused. She thought of her parents, whom she had almost forgotten, and of that... person.]

["In that case..."]

[As he gazed into Bibi Dong's somewhat unfocused eyes, a little understanding appeared in Bi Shuo's eyes.]

[He had seen the essence of the woman before him at first glance.]

[The Pope was already incomparably noble, her position transcendent, yet considerable wounds still remained within her heart.]

[Since I am her younger brother, of course I must make my sister happy.]

[Because we are each other's only family.]

[And so, before everyone's eyes, Bi Shuo made an utterly shocking move.]

[Bi Shuo slowly knelt on one knee before Bibi Dong, placing one hand over his heart and raising the other toward the heavens.]

[A smile appeared on his flawless face, and he slowly spoke:]

["Then, my sister, I shall pledge my allegiance to you."]

["I swear upon my martial soul, in the name of protection, that I shall stay by your side, accompany you, and never leave or forsake you."]

["Even as one millennium after another passes, this oath shall endure, because..."]

["We are each other's only family!"]

[Bi Shuo's voice was melodious, and the words he spoke were unexpectedly pleasing to the ear. It was not merely his voice, nor merely that simple oath.]

[Some wanted to laugh, for this talk of allegiance at their very first meeting naturally made them think that Bi Shuo coveted the status of the Pope's younger brother.]

[But seeing Bi Shuo's utterly sincere bearing, that laughter caught hard in their throats and turned to silence.]

[For some reason, everyone felt that Bi Shuo was serious, and that he was not coveting the status of the Pope's younger brother.]

[The reason was simply what Bi Shuo himself had said:]

[Each other's only family.]

The scene fell silent, and the Celestial Screen ended once more.

"Each other's... only family?"

She stared somewhat blankly as the Celestial Screen ended, Bi Shuo's utterly earnest words echoing in her mind.

Bibi Dong suddenly could not imagine what expression her future self on the Celestial Screen would wear after hearing those words from Bi Shuo.

Or how she would face this younger brother who had appeared out of nowhere.

She could not imagine it.

If it really came down to family...

The image of a child suddenly surfaced in her mind, but a moment later, the image of another man appeared.

The man who disgusted her, who had turned her into what she was now.

She no longer knew how to face that child, so...

"Yes... perhaps I still have a younger brother in this world."

"I still have... family."

"And just as she said, we are each other's only family."

"..."

In the imperial gardens of the Heaven Dou Empire, Xue Qinghe, who was watching the Celestial Screen with his "imperial father," suddenly fell silent.

"To think Spirit Hall has gained yet another genius."

Xue Ye had something of a headache. Just as Prince Xue Xing had feared, Xue Ye, too, had fallen into an indescribable agitation.

"Spirit Hall's rise is unstoppable..."

"That Dugu Feng looks about the same age as Xue Ke. Should we try arranging a marriage alliance with Spirit Hall?"

"It is just that Dugu Feng does not look easy to deal with, whereas that young man Bi Shuo seems quite good."

"One is the Great Enshrined's disciple, and the other is the Pope's younger brother... Qinghe, what do you think? Which would be more suitable?"

"Qinghe?"

"Ah, I shall leave the decision to you, Father. I do not know how to choose."

The somewhat distracted Xue Qinghe abruptly snapped out of his daze and answered his imperial father respectfully.

Wonderful. He really was picking one.

The face beneath the soul skill twitched. For a moment, Qian Renxue did not know whether to call Xue Ye confident or arrogant.

Her future junior fellow disciple, and... her uncle.

How could either possibly be offered up for a marriage alliance?

But...

Each other's only family?

If he knew I existed, would those words about family include... me?

"Bibi Dong's younger brother...?"

At Nuoding Academy, Yu Xiaogang slowly set down the book in his hand. A flicker of reminiscence passed through his eyes, but he quickly put it aside.

He now had Tang San and Ye Wuhen.

Soon, he, Yu Xiaogang, would make all those who had once looked down on him open their eyes wide!

"But Sea God Island... heh, so that is how it is."

Yu Xiaogang, who had been worrying about how to verify the validity of his Limit Soul Ring Theory, recalled the Sea God Island Qian Daoliu had mentioned, and his anxiety vanished in an instant.

"Teacher, I've brought Ye Wuhen."

As his thoughts churned, Tang San pushed open the door and entered, followed by a six-year-old child with blue-green hair.

"Mm, Xiao San, you've come at just the right time. I happen to have a few things I intend to caution you about."

Composing his expression, Yu Xiaogang looked gently at his ideal disciple and the other child who would soon become an outstanding disciple.

"I imagine you must be very puzzled as to why that man named Xie Guhong could absorb six Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings."

"Your teacher's guess is that Xie Guhong must possess the inheritance of a legendary god to have achieved this."