Qian Daoliu listened with a puzzled expression. "And then?"
"And then?" Qian Renxue's voice shot up.
"I went to find him first thing in the morning and cultivated all morning. When he came back, he didn't even ask how my cultivation had gone or when I'd arrived!"
"My stomach was practically flat with hunger, and he didn't care about me at all!"
"I asked him if he could take me to see Mom again, and then he... What did he even mean by that?"
By the time she finished, Qian Renxue felt more than ever that she had suffered a grievous injustice.
"If he couldn't take me to see Mom, I wouldn't even give him the time of day!"
Qian Daoliu fell silent for a moment, then asked slowly, "So, you think he bullied you?"
Qian Renxue's eyes widened. "How was that not bullying?"
Qian Daoliu sighed and shook his head. "It seems you really have been spoiled. If he doesn't dote on you, that means he's bullying you?"
"He was bullying me!" Qian Renxue said, sticking out her neck.
Qian Daoliu stood and straightened his robes. "All right, then I'll go find him now. You won't need him as your teacher anymore. I'll have him leave Spirit City."
With that, he strode toward the hall's exit.
When Qian Renxue saw that her grandfather was serious, she panicked and hurriedly grabbed his sleeve. "Hey! Wait!"
Qian Daoliu stopped and looked back at her. "What is it?"
Qian Renxue averted her eyes and said in a small voice, feeling somewhat guilty, "I... I just wanted you to teach him a lesson, not drive him away."
Qian Daoliu asked, "Teach him a lesson? Why? Just because he didn't dote on you?"
"If it were someone else, a few words from me might really frighten them into obeying your every whim from then on."
"But An Yi is different. Teach him a lesson? Believe it or not, the moment I show any intention of doing that, he'll turn around and leave."
Qian Renxue was unconvinced. "But don't the people in Spirit Hall all listen to you?"
"He's not a member of Spirit Hall," Qian Daoliu corrected her. "He's only a teacher I invited here for you, and he's just eighteen. An eighteen-year-old Soul Saint-across the entire continent, you won't find another genius who can stand beside him."
"You're a proud and lofty favored daughter of heaven, and he's just the same."
Qian Renxue lowered her head and twisted her fingers together. "But he treats me so badly..."
"Then wouldn't it be better if I sent him away now?"
Qian Renxue quickly tightened her grip on Qian Daoliu's sleeve. "No! If he leaves, no one will be able to take me to see Mom."
Qian Daoliu looked at her, his helplessness deepening. "So you're the one asking him for a favor, yet here you are complaining that he doesn't dote on you?"
Qian Renxue felt even guiltier, but she refused to back down. "But Dad would never treat me like that..."
Qian Daoliu patted the back of his granddaughter's hand and said earnestly, "Your father dotes on you because you're his daughter."
"Grandpa dotes on you because you're my granddaughter."
"The people in Spirit Hall dote on you because you're the Pope's daughter."
"You want him to dote on you, so tell me, why should he?"
Qian Renxue was at a loss for words.
She lowered her head, her fingers unconsciously twisting together. She wanted to argue, but found she couldn't come up with a reason.
Seeing this, Qian Daoliu softened his tone. "Xue'er, ever since you were little, the people around you have mostly given you whatever you wanted. But in this world, not everyone should have to revolve around you."
"An Yi is willing to teach you because he promised Grandpa. Taking you to see your mother was his own choice too."
"You don't have to like how he does things, but you can't take what he does for you for granted."
Qian Renxue pressed her lips together, still somewhat unwilling to accept it.
Qian Daoliu looked at her and asked, "Now, do you still think he should be taught a lesson?"
Qian Renxue was silent for a long time before she finally spoke in a small voice. "But... I already said I didn't want him as my teacher. What do I do now?"
Qian Daoliu looked at his granddaughter, his face full of helplessness.
"That's your own business. You're not so little anymore, so don't ask Grandpa about everything. Do whatever you think you should."
Qian Renxue opened her mouth, but in the end, she said nothing.
She lowered her head, and An Yi's hateful face appeared in her mind. The more she thought about it, the more aggrieved she felt.
But when she thought that no one would ever take her to see Mom again, she began to panic.
Damn it! Why couldn't that guy treat her a little better?
Toward evening.
An Yi sat cross-legged on the grass in the courtyard, basking in the last rays of the setting sun.
As the sun sank behind the western hills, the light and heat around him gradually faded.
A moment later, he opened his eyes, his expression somewhat grim.
"What the hell? Level seventy!"
His Soul Power had dropped another level!
Had he picked up something unclean? Or was some old thing's remnant soul hiding in his body, secretly sucking away his Soul Power when he wasn't paying attention?
At the thought, he instinctively checked his body.
He found nothing unusual.
"..."
An Yi fell silent for a moment, then sighed.
Before their evolution, his Sun and Moon Martial Souls had essentially been special tool Martial Souls.
Over the years, although his body had been tempered in the Sea God's Light for more than a decade and was far stronger than an ordinary person's, it ultimately lacked the foundation of those top beast Soul Masters.
But ever since his Martial Souls had evolved into the Purple Brilliant Heaven Destroying Dragon and the Great Yin Heaven-Devouring Dragon, he could clearly feel his physical body undergoing a transformation.
His blood and Qi had grown more abundant, and his bones had become tougher.
He was gradually changing from a tool Soul Master into a beast Soul Master.
His stronger body could contain more overbearing power, which was a good thing.
After all, who wouldn't want a stronger body?
But!
His Soul Power was dropping far too quickly! At this rate, was it really going to fall below level seventy and knock him back down to Soul Emperor?
Damn it! I've got the Kong Deming template, not the Xiao Yan template!
While An Yi was brooding, a rustling came from the entrance to the courtyard.
Qian Renxue was hiding outside the gate, peeking in.
When she saw An Yi turn his head, she immediately drew back her neck, then slowly poked her head out again.
An Yi glanced at her without saying a word. He got up, walked into the pavilion, and sat down beside the stone table.
With a slight thought, a stream of scorching Soul Power flowed from his fingertips and entered the kettle on the table.
In just a few breaths, the cold water in the kettle began to boil furiously.
An Yi unhurriedly picked up the kettle and brewed himself a fresh pot of tea.
At the courtyard gate, Qian Renxue stood hesitating for quite a while. She looked down at the food box in her hands, then at the figure in the pavilion. In the end, she gritted her teeth and walked in.
"Teacher?"
An Yi turned a deaf ear, picked up his teacup, and drank by himself.
Qian Renxue puffed out her cheeks, set the food box on the table, and walked around behind An Yi.
She pulled over a nearby chair, climbed onto it, and reached out with both little hands to gently pound An Yi's back.
"Teacher, I was wrong."
An Yi put down his teacup without looking back. "Wrong? What did you do wrong?"
Qian Renxue felt somewhat guilty. "I... I shouldn't have been so willful, and I shouldn't have given you the cold shoulder."
"What else?"
Qian Renxue stopped pounding his back and stared blankly. "There's more?"
An Yi looked back at her. "That's it?"
Meeting An Yi's calm gaze, Qian Renxue felt even guiltier. "What else is there?"
An Yi wore the ghost of a smile. "You think that's it?"
Qian Renxue bit her lip, her mind racing, and stammered, "Also, I... I like to slack off?"
An Yi said nothing.
Qian Renxue's heart raced, and she tentatively added, "I... I put mud in your teapot?"
"Pfft-"
An Yi sprayed out a mouthful of hot tea.
He spun around and glared at Qian Renxue. "You put mud in my teapot?!"
Qian Renxue froze and shrank back in fright. "O-only once!"
An Yi's gaze turned somewhat dangerous. "Once?"
Qian Renxue panicked and hurriedly waved her hands. "All right, three times."
An Yi was speechless.
This girl looked so delicate and dainty, so how had she been pulling dirty tricks behind his back?
"What else?"
Qian Renxue hurriedly held up three fingers and promised, "That's all! Really! And I did it all a while ago!"
"I've been very well-behaved lately!"
"Teacher, I really know I was wrong! I definitely won't dare do anything like that again! I promise!"