She kept her voice very calm, as though discussing an insignificant piece of official business, and took the initiative to offer Bibi Dong a way out.
"It seems we've both been drawn into the same inconceivable law. Since you can see that Diary too, you must also understand its extraordinary nature."
Qian Renxue lowered her gaze to the golden notification box, her tone carrying a measure of businesslike composure. "Adding each other as friends grants both parties a five percent increase in Soul Power purity."
"No matter how much you dislike me, surely His Holiness the Pope wouldn't turn down a tangible increase in strength?"
At these words, Bibi Dong's fingers tightened slightly around her scepter.
Five percent Soul Power purity.
For someone like her, stuck at the Peak Douluo realm and striving for godhood, that five percent increase in purity was more tempting than any Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone.
But adding a friend-with this unfilial daughter?
Bibi Dong's purple eyes fixed on Qian Renxue's face, which bore some resemblance to Qian Xunji's, and that sharp pain and revulsion surged up from the depths of her heart again.
She's the daughter of that beast Qian Xunji, the most humiliating, filthiest stain on my entire life.
Bibi Dong roared inwardly, reason and hatred locked in relentless battle. But she's also flesh of my flesh.
Hmph. Friends.
Do you think a mere friend connection can erase our respective positions and the rules between us, and qualify you to be my friend?
Bibi Dong gave a cold scoff, but in the end, her slightly trembling hand still rose and tapped the golden panel in midair.
[Ding! Pope Bibi Dong has accepted your friend request.] [Congratulations to both parties! System reward received: permanent 5% increase in Soul Power purity!]
"Hum!" A mysterious, boundless golden power descended from the void in an instant, pouring into mother and daughter alike.
Bibi Dong distinctly felt the Rakshasa Divine Power within her, which had become somewhat impure from devouring too many evil Soul Beasts, being forcibly cleansed and substantially purified in that very moment.
The strength was real, but the atmosphere in the secret chamber grew even stranger because of this sudden "friendship."
Bibi Dong felt as though her thoughts were a tangled mess.
She had absolutely no idea what expression to wear before this unfilial daughter.
Punishing her was no longer possible. That absolute law was simply an insurmountable mountain.
Remaining here would only make her feel increasingly flustered and out of control.
"Since Your Holiness has received the reward, let us proceed with official business."
Watching Bibi Dong's shifting expression, Qian Renxue merely assumed her loathing for her had reached its limit.
She forced down the ache in her heart, put on her flawless crown prince's mask once more, and bowed slightly.
"The infiltration plan in the Heaven Dou Empire is progressing steadily. Emperor Xue Ye's health has already..."
"Shut up."
Bibi Dong sharply cut her off.
Her thoughts were twisting and turning, her emotions already on the verge of collapse. How could she possibly take in anything about the Heaven Dou Empire's affairs?
"Do your duty. If there's a next time... even with the rules protecting you, I have plenty of ways to make you wish you were dead."
Leaving behind this threat, all bluster and no confidence, Bibi Dong did not even dare spare Qian Renxue another glance. The Six-Winged Purple Light Wings abruptly unfurled behind her, and she turned into a violent streak of purplish-black light, plunging into the night without looking back.
Deathly silence returned to the secret chamber.
Still bent in her reporting bow, Qian Renxue stood blankly in place.
Chapter 72: A Weight Lifted
Today, for the first time ever, she had escaped that brutal whipping and even gained a five percent increase in Soul Power purity.
Yet for some reason, she felt none of the joy of escaping death. Instead, an overwhelming tide of heartache and desolation swallowed her whole.
They had been so close just now that, through their blood connection, she had clearly felt Bibi Dong's agonized struggle the moment she tapped "Accept," as though ten thousand arrows were piercing her heart.
"Why does she hate me so much?"
Qian Renxue murmured to herself and slowly straightened, a hazy film of tears gathering in her beautiful golden eyes.
She thought back over all the years that had brought her here.
As a child, she had once been like any ordinary child, cultivating desperately and trying desperately to prove herself, all for even a single approving look from her mother.
But every time, only cold looks and whippings awaited her.
Later, she had despaired and given up, volunteering to come to Heaven Dou City and wrapping herself tightly in this cold, false shell of a man.
Over all these years, she had not done a single thing wrong or disobeyed a single instruction from Spirit Hall.
She considered herself a perfect heir and a perfect infiltrator.
"What did I ever do wrong, for you to hate me like this...?"
Qian Renxue pressed a hand to her chest, where waves of dull pain rose.
She could not understand, much less know what appalling crime had once taken place in that secret chamber.
"Forget it."
Qian Renxue tilted her head back, forcibly driving the tears back from her eyes.
She took a deep breath, and an impenetrable layer of frost covered her exquisite face once more.
"Since I can't understand it, I won't think about it anymore. My life, Qian Renxue's life, needs no one's pity. One day, I'll use absolute strength to make you acknowledge my existence."
Meanwhile, in a rarely visited grove several dozen li outside Heaven Dou City.
"Thud." Bibi Dong landed heavily in a clearing, her raging Soul Power blasting the surrounding snow into the air.
She gasped for breath, her chest heaving violently.
Everything that had happened tonight had utterly overturned her understanding.
At this moment, the shock in Bibi Dong's heart had long since completely overwhelmed her original anger.
She actually owns a copy too...
Bibi Dong leaned against a thick tree trunk, an extraordinarily complicated light flickering in her purple eyes.
They could not harm each other.
This ironclad rule meant that, from now on, she could no longer subject Qian Renxue to Spirit Hall's familial discipline or lash her with that leather whip soaked in salt water.
Even my right to discipline my own daughter has been stripped away.
Bibi Dong murmured inwardly.
She tried to stir up her anger, tried to make herself feel that her authority had been offended.
Was she furious?
Indeed, a little. Having anger she could not vent left her intensely agitated.
But...
When she truly quieted herself and examined her heart, she discovered to her utter astonishment that beneath this anger and absurdity lay a trace of relief she did not even dare admit to herself.
Yes, relief.
Because of Qian Xunji's sins, every time she raised the whip against Qian Renxue, it was like subjecting her own soul to death by a thousand cuts.
The blows fell on her daughter's body, but the pain struck her own heart.
This sick cycle of mutual torment had, in truth, long since driven her to the brink of collapse.
Now, an absolutely unyielding rule had forcibly severed her right to wield the whip.
At last, she no longer had to force herself to face that soul-rending pain.
"Heh..."
In the quiet grove, a soft laugh suddenly sounded, impossibly complicated and mingled with self-mockery and helplessness.
Bibi Dong lifted her head to gaze at the cold crescent moon in the night sky, a bitter curve forming at the corner of her mouth.
"Consider yourself lucky, you unfilial daughter. This time, you have that strange Diary protecting you."
She straightened and cast a long look toward the Heaven Dou Imperial City.
Without her noticing, much of the killing intent and hostility in her eyes had faded, replaced by a complicated, gentle light that even she had not detected.
"Whoosh." The Six-Winged Purple Light Wings unfurled again.
Bibi Dong became a purple shooting star, speeding toward Spirit City against the bitter winds of the late night.
Only this time, her departing silhouette no longer seemed quite as heavy as when she had arrived.
Several days later, at Hanmo Publishing House in Suotuo City.
Sunlight spilled through a carved wooden window onto a long rosewood desk. Boss Qian held a thick stack of manuscript pages, his slightly cloudy old eyes now as red as a rabbit's.
"Boohoo... Ling'er, how could my Ling'er just die like that? That boy Li Xiaoyao actually ends up holding his child and growing old all alone... It's too tragic, truly too tragic!"
Nearly fifty years old, Boss Qian had abandoned all concern for appearances, wiping tears and snot with his expensive silk cuffs while beating his chest and stamping his feet.
This novel, "Chinese Paladin," had been selling like mad in Suotuo City. Countless dignitaries and Soul Masters crowded the publishing house's entrance every day demanding updates, and he was one of its most fanatical admirers himself.
Now that the ending had finally arrived, he had never expected this earth-shattering blade, studded with glass shards, to stab him clean through the heart.
"Mr. Xiong, I bow to your extraordinary talent. Truly, I do." Boss Qian raised his head, his eyes red and his face full of love and hate for the author.
With trembling hands, he took a heavy brocade pouch from beneath the counter and respectfully pushed it toward Xiong Shaoqing. "Here are your dividends of one thousand Gold Soul Coins. Please accept them, sir. Once this story comes out, our publishing house is bound to drown in tears."
Clad in black, Xiong Shaoqing stood tall and elegant before the counter, his face cold as ice and his deep eyes entirely unruffled.
He casually hooked the brocade pouch with his large, well-defined hand, his voice cool and utterly devoid of warmth. "The joys and sorrows, partings and reunions of this world are but dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows. Boss Qian, you're too attached to appearances."
With that, he aloofly turned and walked out of the publishing house with steady steps.
Yet the moment he stepped out through its doors, the goofy old pervert's soul inside him burst into wild laughter.
Hahahaha! Old Qian is already fifty, and he's still here bawling his eyes out.
You can't even handle this?
Next time I'm in a good mood, I'll write "Jade Dynasty" or "Goodbye My Princess" and make you cry until you pass out.
One thousand Gold Soul Coins in hand, plus what I earned at the Great Soul Arena before.
I'm a God King rolling in riches now.
Back at the inn, Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing had already been waiting for quite some time.
"Come on. I'll take you somewhere to burn through some money and enjoy yourselves." Xiong Shaoqing tossed the Gold Soul Coins in his hand. His expression remained as wooden and unapproachable as ever, but his tone was thoroughly lavish.
At his words, both girls' eyes lit up, and they followed at his sides, cheering and skipping with delight.
Xiong Shaoqing led them straight to Suotuo City's most exclusive and luxurious women's clothing boutique, the Exquisite Pavilion.
Normally, only noble young ladies could afford to shop here. Everything inside was finery sewn from the finest silk and rare Soul Beast pelts.
Chapter 73: What Kind of Heavenly Perk Is This?
As soon as they entered, Xiao Wu plunged among the clothes like a cheerful rabbit, picking up a pink, lace-trimmed miniskirt and holding it against herself.
Beside her, Zhu Zhuqing's gaze settled on a fitted black qipao with subtle patterns and an exceptionally high slit, a trace of interest flashing through her cool eyes.
"Big brother, help us take a look! Which one looks good?" Holding the clothes, Xiao Wu twirled before Xiong Shaoqing.
Xiong Shaoqing sat with legs planted wide on a chaise longue in the lounge area, propping his chin on one hand, his eyelids slightly lowered-the very image of a God King who had seen through the mortal world and freed himself of desire.
He gave them an indifferent glance, his tone utterly unruffled. "Clothes are merely things to ward off the cold and cover the body. Choose whatever you like. Anything that catches your eye, you may buy."
On the surface, he was as steady as an old dog. In reality, Xiong Shaoqing was already pounding the wall madly inside.
Holy shit, this girl Xiao Wu has one hell of an eye.
That pink miniskirt with those long legs of hers-who could withstand that?
And that black qipao Zhu Zhuqing has her eye on...
Hiss, that waist, that slit. Put that on the little kitty, and it would be an absolute killing blow.
Keep it together. I have to keep it together. I can't let my ice-cold God King persona slip.
Before you continue