"That's not why."
Xuan Ming sighed and explained with a serious expression, " Xue'er, you have to understand. I just came from Bibi Dong's place."
"You are her daughter. If I slept with her mother one minute and then came to sleep with her the next... that's just too beastly. It's a huge disrespect to both of you."
After hearing this, Qian Renxue let out a cold laugh.
She looked at Xuan Ming with a hint of mockery and madness in her eyes.
"Respect?"
" Xuan Ming, you're talking to me about respect now?"
Qian Renxue approached step by step until she forced Xuan Ming against the wall.
"You slept with my mother! You slept with the Empress of the Spirit Hall Empire! You slept with my own mother! This in itself is the greatest challenge to ethics and the greatest trampling of so-called respect!"
She placed her hands on either side of Xuan Ming's body, tilted her head back, and her beautiful face was flushed with a sickly blush.
"Now that we've gone this far, do you think... I still care about respect?"
"And..."
Qian Renxue leaned close to Xuan Ming's ear, her warm breath brushing against his neck, her voice soft and alluring, " Xuan Ming, actually... you don't necessarily have to be so respectful."
Xuan Ming: "..."
Looking at the Angel God in front of him, whose eyes were glazed over and who had completely given up, he was really struggling to process what was happening.
No, these two, mother and daughter... how come they're both like this?!
Chapter 490 Why did you sleep with her but not me?
Inside the Angel Temple, the ambiguous atmosphere was like a taut string, teetering on the brink of breaking.
Qian Renxue's kiss, both vengeful and deeply affectionate, was like a raging fire, attempting to ignite Xuan Ming's last shred of reason. Her hands tightly encircled Xuan Ming's neck, her entire body pressed against his without reservation; that reckless determination was enough to make any man instantly surrender.
However, just as that last line of defense was about to collapse, just as Qian Renxue thought she would finally get what she wanted—
An unusually large hand firmly rested on her shoulder.
Without exerting any force, yet like an unshakeable mountain, it firmly fixed the last remaining distance between the two.
"Hmm?"
Qian Renxue suddenly opened her eyes, her golden pupils filled with astonishment and disbelief.
Although Xuan Ming's gaze wavered somewhat, and even a clear flame burned deep within his eyes, he still took a deep breath, turned his head away, and avoided Qian Renxue's alluring red lips.
" Xue'er, no."
"Why?!"
Qian Renxue almost screamed, her eyes instantly turning red.
She Mingdu gone this far, Mingdu had already let go of all her pride and reserve, and she didn't even care about so-called ethics and morality, so why did he still refuse?!
"I've already said, this is inappropriate."
Xuan Ming gently pushed her away a little, looking at her tear-filled eyes, and sighed helplessly, "I can be a bastard, even a beast. But I can't... really be a beast."
"I just left your mother's place, and she immediately attacked you. If she really did something like that, how are the three of us supposed to get along afterward?"
"I don't care!" Qian Renxue cried out, her voice trembling with sobs. "If I don't care, what do you care about? Do you think those so-called worldly views are more important to you than me?"
"It's not a matter of worldly perspectives." Xuan Ming shook his head, his expression becoming unusually serious. "It's that I can't get over this hurdle in my own heart. Xue'er, you are beautiful, you deserve to be treated completely and solemnly, not as a... continuation after venting, or as a side benefit."
"If I were to go along with it now, it would not only be a disrespect to you, but also a desecration of the relationship between us."
Although he's a bit of a jerk in relationships, he has his principles.
This bottom line might seem a bit pretentious to others, but for him, it is the last line of defense to prevent this complicated relationship from completely collapsing.
Qian Renxue stared intently at him, her chest heaving violently.
She wanted to curse him a few more times, bite him a few more times, and even take the Angel Holy Sword and stab him with two holes.
But she also knew that Xuan Ming was just that stubborn.
This guy usually seems carefree and lawless, but on certain strange points, he's as stubborn as a donkey.
If he could easily back down and be easily controlled by his desires, then he wouldn't be the Xuan Ming she both loved and hated.
"Call..."
Qian Renxue let out a long breath, dejectedly loosened her grip, and slumped down on the throne, which had been tilted slightly by the fight, like a deflated balloon.
" Xuan Ming, you've won."
She said through gritted teeth, "You always manage to shut me up with these grand principles. Fine, you want to stick to your principles, you want to be a saint, I'll grant your wish!"
Seeing this, Xuan Ming secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He straightened his slightly disheveled collar, coughed lightly, and tried to change the subject. "Um... since everything's alright, let's get down to business."
"The matter on Douluo Star needs to be dealt with as soon as possible."
"You know, one day in the Divine Realm is equivalent to one year in the mortal realm. Although we've only been delayed here for a short while, several days might have already passed down below. If this drags on any longer, who knows what will happen down there? If Bai Chenxiang or Ning Fengzhi mess things up, it'll be a real hassle to clean up the mess."
However, it would have been better if he hadn't mentioned the time. As soon as he did, Qian Renxue's anger, which had just subsided slightly, flared up again.
She sneered, her gaze as sharp as a knife as she looked at Xuan Ming: "You know time is precious? You know a day in the Divine Realm is a year in the mortal realm?"
"Since you're in such a hurry, what were you doing yesterday?"
Qian Renxue pointed towards the direction of the Asura God's Mansion next door, her tone full of sarcasm, "When you were going crazy next door for a whole day and night, didn't you think about how many years would have passed down there? What? Weren't you afraid of messing things up back then? Now that you've come here, and haven't even been here for half a day, you're already talking to me about time?"
Xuan Ming was so embarrassed he wanted to disappear into the ground.
This is indeed a major flaw.
"Well... this matter... it's mainly your mother... cough, mainly Bibi Dong. She really waited for too long, and her emotions got a bit out of control. You know, in that situation, I was also passive..."
"Passive?"
Qian Renxue reacted as if she had heard the biggest joke in the world, her voice instantly rising eight octaves, "Ha! Passive? Xuan Ming, you're a man! A God King at that! You're telling me you're passive?"
She suddenly stood up, took a few steps to Xuan Ming, and poked his chest hard with her finger.
"Don't think I don't know! Not just now, even before, your control over your body was already perfect! If you didn't want to, every muscle and every drop of blood in your body could be completely still!"
"Even if she forces you, even if she rides on top of you, as long as you don't want to, you can remain truly unmoved, even turning yourself into a mindless stone statue!"
"But what about you? The commotion was so loud it shook my Angel Temple to dust! And you're telling me you were passive? You were enjoying it to the fullest!"
Xuan Ming was rendered speechless by the rebuttal.
Indeed, if he truly wanted to refuse, there were a million ways to prevent Bibi Dong from succeeding. But he didn't. Because at that moment, he too was moved, and he too wanted to reciprocate Bibi Dong's deep affection that had been suppressed for many years.
" Xue'er, be reasonable." Xuan Ming helplessly spread his hands, trying to make a last-ditch effort. "If I really turn into a stone statue, is that respectful to Bibi Dong? She's waited so many years, finally reaching this moment. If I really don't react at all, wouldn't that be like stabbing her in the heart?"
"That kind of rejection is harder to bear than killing her. I can't do it."
"Oh, so you have to go along with her out of respect, right?"
Qian Renxue laughed in anger, a dangerous glint in her eyes, "So you were respectful to me just now?!"
"I've waited so many years! I've been so proactive! I've already swallowed my pride! And what did you do? You pushed me away and started talking to me about boundaries, about incompatibility, about respect!"
" Xuan Ming! In your eyes, is rejecting me the only way to show respect? Is hurting me the only way to reach your bottom line?!"
"Isn't my heart made of flesh and blood? Does it not get hurt?!"
"..."
Xuan Ming was utterly speechless.
This conversation is impossible. It's a vicious cycle; no matter how you explain it, it always comes back to the core question, "Why did you sleep with her but not me?"
Chapter 491 Heaven
"Stop! Stop! Stop!"
Xuan Ming quickly raised his hands in surrender, " Xue'er, can we not bring this up again? We can talk about this later, and I'll definitely make it up to you later, okay? Right now, we're talking about serious matters, the future of the Douluo Federation!"
Qian Renxue took a few deep breaths, her chest heaving. She stared intently at Xuan Ming for a long while, then stomped her foot angrily and sat back down.
"Okay, let's get down to business."
"Let's talk about Douluo Star."
Although Qian Renxue was emotional, she remained very clear-headed when it came to serious matters.
"As everyone knows, four deities currently wield the greatest influence on Douluo Star."
She held up a few slender fingers and listed them one by one, "First, naturally, is you, the ' Death God ' who brought down divine punishment and destroyed millions of troops from two great empires overnight. Your reputation is built on blood; no one dares to disbelieve you, and no one dares to defy you."
"The second one is me, the Angel God. The Spirit Hall's foundation lies in the faith in Angel; this tradition, passed down for thousands of years, is deeply ingrained in people's hearts."
"The third one is my... mother, Bibi Dong, the Asura God. Although she has become a god now, her image in the mortal realm is more that of that iron-blooded empress."
"The fourth is Bo Saixi, the Sea God."
At this point, Qian Renxue frowned slightly, "My mother didn't care about faith, but what about the Sea God?"
"Although Bo Saixi is low-key, Sea God Island's position in the hearts of ocean Soul Master is unshakeable. Besides, you want me to lead the Douluo Federation, how are we going to resolve the issue of faith?"
"Could it be that in the future Federation, people on land will believe in Angel God, and people by the sea will believe in Sea God?"
"Isn't this a sign of division? Isn't this a potential threat to future wars?"
Qian Renxue's voice grew increasingly stern, "You once taught me that differing beliefs inevitably lead to war! This is an inherent part of human nature! If two equally powerful and independent belief systems exist within the Federation, even with us currently suppressing them, in a few hundred or a thousand years, those below will surely fight tooth and nail for legitimacy!"
"At that time, the so-called Douluo Federation will become a breeding ground for civil war!"
Xuan Ming listened and remained silent for a moment.
Qian Renxue's words make a lot of sense. Religious wars are often more brutal and protracted than wars over interests. If the issue of unifying beliefs cannot be resolved, the Douluo Federation will indeed find it difficult to maintain its existence for long.
"This problem is actually very easy to solve."
"How do you plan to resolve this? Are you going to kill Bo Saixi?" Qian Renxue raised an eyebrow. "While I wouldn't mind, are you willing to do it?"
Xuan Ming was speechless and didn't reply. "It's simple, just hang me at the highest point, isn't that enough?"
"You?" Qian Renxue was taken aback.
"That's right." Xuan Ming nodded. "Whether it's the Sea God or the Angel God, in the end, they're all my underlings. I am the Supreme God King, the Lord of the Divine Realm, and the leader of all deities."
"As long as everyone on Earth realizes this— Angel God are my messengers, and Sea God are my subordinates. They merely represent different facets of the Supreme God's will."
"Since everyone believes in the same source, does it really matter which branch you believe in?"
"Just like a country, there are generals in charge of the army and admirals in charge of the navy. The common people admire the generals, and the fishermen admire the admirals; this is not contradictory. Because everyone knows that both generals are loyal to the same emperor."
"Once I establish the absolute position of the Supreme God, that is, myself, and demote the Angel God and Sea God to subordinate gods or guardian gods, the conflict of faith will naturally be resolved."
Qian Renxue nodded thoughtfully, but then raised a question, "But if we keep two factions, won't there still be competition between them?"
Competition is good.
Xuan Ming said meaningfully, "If there were truly no more struggles, and everyone only had the same voice and the same thoughts, it would become a stagnant pool. What vitality would such a human society have?"
"Maintaining appropriate healthy competition within a unified framework is more conducive to the progress of civilization."
" The Angel God Church and the Sea God Church can supervise each other and compete to see who contributes more to the Federation and who is better able to comprehend the will of the Supreme God. As long as this competition is kept within certain limits, it is not only harmless but also a good remedy."
What we need to do is not eliminate differences, but manage them.
Xuan Ming walked up to Qian Renxue and took her hand.
"So, Xue'er, your task is very important."
"You not only need to manage your Angel God Church well, but also learn how to coexist with the Sea God God's faction, and even use their power to strengthen the Federation."
"This is the demeanor a true God King should possess."
Looking at Qian Renxue so close to Xuan Ming, and feeling the awe-inspiring confidence and domineering aura emanating from him, Qian Renxue's lingering emotions finally dissipated completely.
She had to admit that this man was really charming when he was seriously discussing business.