Sect Master Tang, you seem to think quite highly of yourself

Seeing how aloof Elder She was, Xu Fan felt even more strongly that this Soul Saint senior had the bearing of a true master, and his mind eased considerably.

Just then, an ill-timed rumble sounded in the room.

Xu Fan lowered his head and rubbed his sunken belly, then looked sheepishly across at him.

"Um... Elder She, I'm hungry."

The room instantly fell deathly silent.

She Long turned to stone.

He looked at Xu Fan, who lay immobile on the bed, then glanced toward the little kitchen outside the door. His mind buzzed.

What was this supposed to mean?

I, She Long, an elder of Spirit Hall's Elder Hall, a dignified Titled Douluo renowned throughout the continent.

It was bad enough that this brat had demoted me to a Soul Saint.

Now I have to roll up my sleeves and cook for him too?!

The dignity of a Titled Douluo roared wildly in his heart.

"Elder She? I think there's still some dried noodles and eggs in the kitchen that my brother bought a couple of days ago..."

Seeing the Soul Saint senior's expression shift back and forth without a word for so long, Xu Fan grew a little apprehensive and offered a quiet reminder.

At the words "my brother," the unquestionable look Qian Renxue had given him before leaving instantly surfaced in She Long's mind.

When the young mistress returned, if she found this brat had grown thin from hunger, being held accountable would be the least of his problems. If he ruined the grand plan, even ten thousand deaths could not absolve him!

At that thought, the stiff muscles in Snake Lance Douluo's face twitched. A moment ago, he would rather have died than yielded, but in the end, he admitted defeat.

Without a word, he rose and, with exceedingly heavy steps, obediently turned toward the kitchen.

After She Long left, Xu Fan immediately felt wisps of spiritual power gathering in his mind.

Before he could understand why, he fell into a deep sleep.

Ten days later, outside Spirit City.

An unremarkable carriage with a blue canopy quietly stopped at the edge of the dense woods at the foot of the mountain.

Qian Renxue stepped out of the carriage.

As the Soul Power within her circulated slightly, the Angel Soul Bone's disguise Soul Skill quietly dispersed.

The gentle, jade-like youthful features of the eldest prince, Xue Qinghe, faded away inch by inch.

In their place appeared a stunning girl of about thirteen or fourteen, dressed in a flowing golden gown.

Qian Renxue's long golden hair fell to her waist, and an innate nobility and coolness suffused her entire being.

Shedding years of disguise in a single moment, she looked at her fair hands and softly exhaled.

"Xiao Xue, you're finally back!"

The Level 98 Super Douluo, Second Worship Golden Crocodile Douluo, had been waiting at the mountain path entrance since before dawn.

The instant he spotted that golden figure, his imposing old face bloomed into a chrysanthemum of smiles. He swept up to her in a few strides, his heart aching more the longer he looked.

"You've grown taller, but you're thinner than when you left! How have those useless fools in the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace been looking after you?"

Qian Renxue had been undercover in the Heaven Dou Empire for five years.

Ever since Porcupinefish Douluo sent word back to the Worship Hall that the young mistress would soon return to the city, Golden Crocodile Douluo, who normally never ventured out of the hall, had been unable to sit still.

His delight was beyond words. Before dawn, he had run alone to the mountain path entrance to wait and welcome her.

The habitual chill in Qian Renxue's eyes melted a little, and she obediently stepped forward to pay her respects.

"Second Grandpa."

Golden Crocodile led her up the steps, fussing over her well-being all the way.

Inside the spacious, brightly lit hall, the worships Azure Luan, Lion, Guang Ling, and Jiang Mo were gathered with their eyes closed, resting their minds.

At the sound from the entrance, the old worships all turned their heads in unison.

Once they recognized Qian Renxue beside Golden Crocodile Douluo, the hall instantly came alive.

"Oh my, Xiao Xue really is back!"

The Worship Hall had only this one cherished daughter, and all the old worships doted on her as their own granddaughter.

Now that she had returned, the chilly atmosphere in the hall was swept away, and they crowded around her with questions.

Just as Qian Renxue was answering them with a smile, the curtain to the inner chamber stirred, and a gray-robed figure slowly emerged.

He appeared ordinary, yet seemed to be one with heaven and earth.

The Level 99 Peerless Douluo, Qian Daoliu.

The smiles on the worships' faces instantly vanished, and they bowed in unison.

"Eldest Brother!"

Qian Renxue formally paid her respects.

"Grandpa."

Qian Daoliu's gaze settled on the granddaughter he had not seen in five years. The faintest trace of affection flickered deep in his eyes, but his expression remained stern.

"Xiao Xue, your undercover mission in Heaven Dou is at a critical juncture. Why have you suddenly returned?"

Qian Renxue had prepared her answer long ago and replied calmly.

"Grandpa, I've run into some unexpected problems involving several ancient secrets and diagrams.

The Heaven Dou Imperial Family's records are incomplete, so I couldn't verify their authenticity.

I had no choice but to return in person and consult the old accounts in the library."

Qian Daoliu's expression softened slightly. Rather than probe exactly which old accounts she meant, he changed the subject to what mattered most to him.

"As long as you know what you're doing with the mission.

But how has your cultivation progressed these past few years? What level is your Soul Power now?"

At those words, Qian Renxue's previously straight back hunched almost imperceptibly.

When she awakened her Martial Soul at six, she had possessed Innate Full Soul Power at level twenty, an unparalleled aptitude that dazzled past and present.

But ever since entering the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace, she had to assist with state affairs, win over court officials, and maintain her disguise at all times.

Pitifully little time remained for her own cultivation.

Under Qian Daoliu's scrutinizing gaze, she lowered her eyes slightly and answered quietly.

"Now... level forty-two."

The hall fell silent for a moment.

Qian Daoliu's brows slowly furrowed.

In eight whole years, with a god-level Martial Soul, she had advanced only twenty-two levels. Such progress was truly unacceptable.

Seeing Qian Daoliu's expression darken, Golden Crocodile Douluo hurriedly gave a dry cough and stepped in to smooth things over.

"Well... Eldest Brother, Xiao Xue is only fourteen!

Dealing with those old foxes in the Heaven Dou Imperial Family while maintaining her Soul Bone disguise is already hard enough!"

The other worships chimed in to help.

"That's right, Eldest Brother. Xiao Xue has finally managed to come home. Don't frighten the child with that stern face."

Hearing the worships' protective words, Qian Daoliu could not lose his temper and could only shake his head helplessly.

"Very well. Once you've finished consulting the records, rest in the hall for another couple of days. Do not neglect your cultivation."

"Yes. Thank you, Grandpa!"

Qian Renxue inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, but immediately afterward, a trace of resolve flashed in her eyes.

Meanwhile, on the front mountain, in the Pope's Hall.

It was utterly unlike the warmth on the rear mountain.

Inside the vast, shadowy hall, the atmosphere was so oppressive that water could have been wrung from it.

On the papal throne.

Dressed in splendid golden robes, Bibi Dong propped her chin on one hand and looked down coldly.

In a guest seat below the steps, Tang Xiao sat rigidly upright, his square face so dark it looked ready to drip water.

Only he knew how much humiliation he had swallowed over the past twenty-odd days.

He had intended to draw on the Upper Three Sects' generations of friendship and bring the other two sect masters along to exert pressure together.

Who could have expected Ning Fengzhi to receive him with such enthusiasm, calling him Brother Tang at every turn?

Yet whenever the conversation reached the matter of joining forces to demand Tang Hao's release, he began looking left and talking right, claiming either to be bogged down in mundane affairs or that they needed to consider things at length. In the end, he never agreed.

Tang Xiao hurried to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan without stopping, only to meet with an equally disheartening result.

The disciples merely said that Clan Master Yu Yuanzhen had entered seclusion, and any important matters would have to wait until he emerged.

His sect's elders refused to descend the mountain, and his two great allies stood by with their hands tucked in their sleeves.

But Tang Hao was his own younger brother. He could not abandon him.

With nowhere left to turn, Tang Xiao could only come alone to Spirit City and request an audience with Bibi Dong.

A deathly silence lingered in the hall for a long time.

Tang Xiao drew a deep breath and spoke in a low voice.

"Your Holiness, my younger brother Tang Hao was indeed the first to act rashly back then.

But over these years, our Clear Sky Sect has sealed its mountain and withdrawn from the world, leaving the disputes of the Soul Master World behind.

Today, I have come in person only to ask Spirit Hall to show mercy and spare Tang Hao's life.

As long as Your Holiness is willing to release him, I, Tang Xiao, am willing to pay a corresponding price.

May I ask what Your Holiness thinks?"

High on the dais, Bibi Dong quietly listened to him finish without shifting her seated posture in the slightest.

She looked down at Tang Xiao, who had come alone,

and the corners of her cold lips slowly curved into a mocking smile.

Her cool voice echoed eerily through the empty hall.

"Sect Master Tang, you seem to think quite highly of yourself."