Qian Daoliu nodded.
Qian Chenming was silent for a moment, and his gaze grew profound.
"I did not die," he slowly said. "I was only trapped in a certain place."
"Trapped?" Qian Daoliu froze. "Trapped for so many years?"
"Mhm." Qian Chenming nodded. "The flow of time in that place differs from the outside world. It felt like I stayed there for a very long time, but only a few decades passed outside."
"And in that place, I could see every movement in your mortal realm."
With those words spoken.
The Six Great Enshrined looked at each other in dismay.
This kind of claim was something they had never heard of before.
"Then how did you get out, Father?" Qian Daoliu pursued.
"Naturally, the great Angel God helped me break free. She said that as long as one's heart has yearning, one can return to the human world."
Qian Chenming glanced at Qian Daoliu, his face neither red nor pale, and a meaningful smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.
Immediately, his expression changed, and before it could be guarded against, he slapped Qian Daoliu on the head with a crisp, loud sound.
The entire main hall instantly fell silent.
The Six Great Enshrined widened their eyes, watching the supreme Great Enshrined of the Spirit Hall, a ninety-ninth-rank Peerless Douluo, get slapped in public by his own old man just like that.
It was simply too humiliating.
Qian Daoliu himself was also dumbfounded, yet at over a hundred years of age, he was at a loss like a child at this moment.
He even revealed a pitiful expression.
He stood frozen in place, his lips slightly parted, and his face was filled with utter astonishment: "Father... what is this..."
"What is this?"
Qian Chenming sneered, poking Qian Daoliu's chest with his finger. "I am doing this to beat some sense into you, unfilial son, on behalf of the past generations of ancestors of the Spirit Hall!"
"How I was resurrected-do you have no self-awareness in your heart? I was literally ticked back to life by you!"
As his voice fell.
Qian Daoliu opened his mouth, unable to speak.
Qian Chenming grew even angrier the more he spoke, and his voice pitched up a notch: "I, Qian Chenming, fought through fire and water for the Spirit Hall my entire life, and it turns out I had a son who is better off hiding in this rotten Worship Hall every day, chanting scriptures and worshiping gods!"
"You handed power over to an outsider. Is this how you manage the Spirit Hall?"
"Father, it is not like that. I just wanted to cultivate..."
Qian Daoliu's face flushed red as he tried to defend himself, but Qian Chenming did not give him a chance at all.
"What else do you want to say? Say that your cultivation is important? Say that you disdain power struggles?"
"My foot!"
Qian Chenming slammed a palm onto the table beside him, jolting the teacup three inches into the air.
"Is that cultivation? That is rotting on your feet!"
"That is avoidance!"
"How did your father teach you back then? The Spirit Hall is the root of our Qian Family, the life of our Qian Family! And look at you, acting completely hands-off and letting an outsider hollow out our family foundation!"
When the conversation reached this point.
Seeing the situation, the Six Great Enshrined widened their eyes at one another, wanting to laugh yet not daring to.
They had never seen Qian Daoliu looking so battered and exhausted.
Light Feather Douluo's mouth twitched, and he even tried hard to hold back a laugh, his shoulders shrugging.
Jiang Mo and Qian Jun both turned their heads away as well.
Even Golden Crocodile, who shared quite a bit of brotherly camaraderie with Qian Daoliu, coughed.
He thought to himself that it was a well-deserved scolding.
For all these years, the Great Enshrined had ignored worldly affairs and cooped himself up with them in the Worship Hall.
How could they not harbor some opinions?
Furthermore, that woman Bibi Dong was simply incapable of making them yield sincerely.
Why should someone with a different surname be able to govern the Spirit Hall?
At this moment, Golden Crocodile only felt that it somewhat tasted of setting things right.
As for the aggrieved Qian Daoliu, he hung his head. After a long while, he finally spoke in a hoarse voice: "Father, I..."
"You what you?" Qian Chenming slapped him on the back of the head again. "Get your act together! Speaking so spinelessly!"
Qian Daoliu raised his head, looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar father before him.
He was still that majestic and imposing father, exactly the same as a century ago.
Subsequently, Qian Daoliu took a deep breath and nodded: "I heard you."
"Speak louder!"
"I heard you!"
"That's more like it."
Qian Chenming nodded with satisfaction, then turned to look at the Six Great Enshrined. "You fellows are also veterans of the Spirit Hall. You didn't even know to help Daoliu out more, letting him act the fool every day."
He was actually lecturing them.
Upon hearing this, the Six Great Enshrined hastily cupped their fists in unison: "Yes!"
They couldn't afford to provoke him; they truly couldn't afford to provoke him.
Even the Great Enshrined had to cower before him, so how could they dare say anything?
At this time, Light Feather Douluo finally could not hold it in anymore, and he let out a chuckle.
Qian Chenming glared at him. "What are you laughing at? Do you think I am joking?"
Light Feather Douluo quickly put away smiles. "I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare. The Old Pope's lesson is correct."
Taking advantage of this.
Qian Daoliu, who had already lost all face, hurriedly spoke up: "Alright, all of you get out. My father and I have matters to discuss privately."
Afterward.
Once everyone had gone out.
The very instant the door closed, Qian Daoliu's knees went soft, and he dropped straight to the ground in a kneel.
"Father..."
His voice trembled, his head lowered almost touching the ground: "Your son was wrong."
Qian Chenming directly turned his back to him without uttering a sound.
Qian Daoliu gritted his teeth, forcing the words out one by one: "I should not have let the Spirit Hall be handed over to an outsider just because I grew weary of the mortal world and gave birth to indolent thoughts."
As his voice fell.
Qian Chenming finally turned around, looking down at his kneeling son: "Get up."
Only then did Qian Daoliu dare to raise his head, and seeing that his father's mood had eased a lot, he immediately said in a bashful, low voice:
"But Father, from now on... when you want to discipline your son, could you please not do it in front of so many people?"
Qian Daoliu's voice grew lower and lower. "Your son is the Great Enshrined after all, and there are still so many people watching in the Worship Hall. Please leave me some dignity..."
Before he finished speaking, Qian Chenming kicked him squarely in the buttocks.
It was still the familiar spot and size.
"I leave you dignity?"
"You damn well gave the Spirit Hall away to someone else, and you're still asking me for dignity?"
Qian Chenming pointed at his nose and cursed: "If I didn't consider the fact that you are my own flesh and blood, those few slaps just now would have beaten you to death!"
Hearing this, Qian Daoliu, with tears of grievance in his eyes, scrambled up, knelt properly again, and never dared to utter another peep.
However, the moment outsiders were mentioned, Qian Daoliu still said with extreme earnestness: "Father, that Bibi Dong is Ji'er's wife, so she cannot really be considered an outsider. Moreover, both her innate talent and her ability to manage the Spirit Hall make everyone from top to bottom convinced."
Hearing these words, Qian Chenming narrowed his eyes.
"Ji'er's wife?"
He sneered. "Then let me ask you, where is Ji'er now?"
Qian Daoliu's body stiffened, his lips moved, but no sound came out.
He never imagined that his father would actually ask such a question.
"Since she is his wife, why did she slaughter her husband?" Qian Chenming sighed with a hint of grief.
Inside the vast Worship Hall, it instantly became as silent as death.
Qian Daoliu began to tremble slightly.
It seemed his father knew everything.
This made it impossible for him not to have already guessed the direction of the plot to come.
At this moment.
Qian Chenming's pair of all-seeing eyes were already fixed down upon him: "Tell Father, why did you choose to watch idly as Ji'er went to his death back then?"
Before you continue