Bibi Dong's Stress Response

Qian Renxue's gaze swept past Bibi Dong and settled on the posturing Hu Liena,

and a cold, mocking smile curled her lips.

She had never wanted to bother with this pair of love-brained master and disciple, and could not be bothered to waste even half a sentence on them,

so she turned sideways to skirt the stone path and head down the mountain.

At the sight of that cold smile, a chilling glint flashed through Bibi Dong's eyes, and she immediately raised her right hand!

Terrifying Titled Douluo pressure burst from her palm, instantly locking down the entire stone path.

Panic suddenly seized Qian Renxue.

The presence bearing down on her was so terrifying that she had no room to retreat even half a step.

Qian Daoliu's earlier words, "gain insight into the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul," still echoed in her mind,

and almost the instant the threat of death descended, she instinctively surged forward.

Brilliant golden, sacred light abruptly erupted from Qian Renxue's body!

Her Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul manifested reflexively in the crisis,

and six dazzling wings of light snapped open behind her.

Qian Renxue crossed her arms before her chest, pouring out all the Soul Power in her body as she raised her hands to block!

At the very instant those six golden wings of light fully unfurled,

Bibi Dong's pupils abruptly contracted!

That familiar, nauseating golden sacred light,

that Six-Winged Angel manifestation belonging solely to the Qian Family bloodline!

The suffocation and humiliation of that dark secret chamber,

along with Qian Xunji's revolting face,

overlapped before her eyes with those wings of light.

Bone-deep revulsion surged up,

instantly detonating the Rakshasa evil thoughts within her that she had yet to fully control!

An eerie dark red flashed deep within Bibi Dong's eyes, without a single conscious thought.

She raised her right palm and blasted a strike down at Qian Renxue's head, carrying dark-purple Soul Power that could topple mountains and overturn seas, along with towering baleful Qi!

The surrounding air gave off piercing explosive cracks as the palm strike compressed it.

Qian Renxue's expression changed drastically, and towering waves of terror surged through her heart.

Her cultivation was only Level 42 now, yet Bibi Dong's strike carried the completely unrestrained power of a Titled Douluo.

The savage wind of the palm strike sealed off every inch of space around her,

and there was no possible way she could withstand this blow!

Just as that terrifying dark-purple palm imprint was about to slam into Qian Renxue's crossed arms,

golden light suddenly flashed from behind the stone path!

An aged yet burly figure had appeared before Qian Renxue at some unknown moment.

Golden Crocodile Douluo's broad hand turned upward in a blaze of dazzling golden light, taking the strike head-on without retreating half a step!

Boom!

A deafening, muffled crash exploded outside the palace walls.

Violent aftershocks of Soul Power swept in every direction along the ground.

Countless deep pits and cracks instantly split the hard white marble steps beneath their feet, and shattered stone mingled with surging air as it flew everywhere!

Standing behind Bibi Dong, Hu Liena had no time even to react before the spreading blast flung her away.

She landed heavily on the stone ground several yards away, clutching her chest, her face deathly pale.

At the center, Golden Crocodile Douluo stood firmly before Qian Renxue.

The immense Soul Power of a Level 98 Super Douluo intercepted the frontal impact in its entirety,

his golden sleeves snapping and billowing in the gale.

As the dust filling the air dispersed, Golden Crocodile Douluo slowly lowered his palm.

His aged face darkened completely, his tiger-like eyes fixed on Bibi Dong as he demanded sternly:

"Your Holiness, why did you strike Xiao Xue with such murderous force?"

The demand rang throughout the entire stone path on the mountain's front slope, and even the palace guards patrolling in the distance stopped in horror.

The stern shout made Bibi Dong sway slightly, and the eerie dark red in her eyes rapidly receded.

She abruptly calmed from her uncontrollable fury, a fleeting trace of bewilderment and regret crossing her eyes.

A deathly silence settled over the stone path.

Bibi Dong immediately regained her cold, stern expression. Without offering a single word of explanation, she merely gave a cold snort.

She flicked her sleeves and turned away, departing swiftly with Hu Liena, who had scrambled awkwardly to her feet.

Only when the master and disciple had disappeared entirely around the corner of the palace wall

did the drawn-bow tension on the stone path slowly disperse.

Standing behind Golden Crocodile Douluo, Qian Renxue gently exhaled a turbid breath.

The six golden wings of light behind her dissolved into specks of golden radiance and withdrew into her body.

Golden Crocodile Douluo turned around, and the stern majesty on his face instantly melted away.

He looked Qian Renxue over carefully, and only after confirming that the aftershocks had not injured her did his tone soften:

"Come. Second Grandpa will take you down the mountain."

Qian Renxue steadied her slightly disordered breathing and nodded obediently:

"Sorry for the trouble, Second Grandpa."

Golden Crocodile Douluo made no further mention of the conflict, merely walking half a step beside her with his hands clasped behind his back,

protecting her as she set foot on the stone steps leading to the mountain's base.

Heaven Dou City, Heaven Dou Imperial Palace.

Inside the imperial study, wisps of blue smoke drifted from a gilded bronze crane incense burner.

Xue Ye sat upright behind the imperial desk, holding a memorial submitted by the second prince, Xue Heng, and reading it carefully line by line.

The memorial laid out procedures for repairing the northern river embankments that autumn and allocating disaster-relief silver and grain, from the Ministry of Revenue's accounting for silver expenditures to supervision by local officials.

It was clearly organized, closing loopholes for embezzlement by prefectural authorities while leaving ample room to settle displaced people before winter.

After reading it from beginning to end, Xue Ye slowly closed the memorial,

stroking his beard and nodding repeatedly, satisfaction overflowing from his majestic face:

"I have seen Heng'er's progress of late."

Seeing this, the personal attendant standing beside the imperial desk refilled the jade cup with hot tea and seized the opportunity to flatter him:

"Your Majesty is wise indeed. His Highness the second prince has truly spared no effort in assisting with the affairs of the Ministry of Revenue and Ministry of Works these past days.

"From what this old servant has seen, His Highness the second prince is benevolent, intelligent, and decisive, and handles matters with maturity.

"If I may say something I ought not to, compared with the eldest prince, he rather more resembles Your Majesty in your youth."

At this, Xue Ye's hand paused slightly as he lifted the jade cup. He pointed twice at the attendant, scolding with a laugh:

"You old rascal. After serving by my side for so many years, when did you learn to compare my princes with one another?"

The attendant hastily lowered his head and bowed, apologizing even as an ingratiating smile remained on his face:

"This old servant spoke out of turn. Seeing Your Majesty in such high spirits today, my tongue ran ahead of me for a moment. Please punish me, Your Majesty."

Xue Ye waved a hand, not taking offense, and merely held the jade cup as he gently nudged aside the floating tea leaves.

The smile on his face gradually faded, while his long-enthroned eyes grew a shade deeper.

The eldest prince, Xue Qinghe, had been gentle and benevolent since childhood, flawless in his dealings with others, and had always been the eldest son he valued most;

but Xue Qinghe sought stability in all things. Though he possessed the bearing of a ruler who could preserve an inheritance, he was sometimes rather too soft when deciding important matters.

By contrast, the second prince, Xue Heng, who had previously kept his abilities hidden, had recently tackled practical affairs with sweeping vigor, showing a sharp edge of iron-fisted decisiveness.

Having another prince among the imperial offspring capable of shouldering great responsibility, so that they could check and balance one another,

gave him, their imperial father, more room to weigh his options, and was by no means a bad thing for the court.

Xue Ye thus set aside his original intention to appoint Xue Qinghe as crown prince.

Xue Ye took a small sip of hot tea and gently returned the jade cup to the red sandalwood desk.

The imperial study fell quiet for a while, and his gaze swept over the report box on the other side of the desk, which had stood empty for days,

as though he had suddenly remembered something, and he turned to ask the attendant:

"Speaking of which, the eldest prince has been away from the palace for some time now, hasn't he?"

Seeing Xue Ye's expression return to calm, the attendant dared not make any more careless remarks. He hurriedly suppressed his smile and lowered his head respectfully to answer:

"Your Majesty, the eldest prince has not yet returned to the palace."

Xue Ye lightly tapped his fingers against the edge of the imperial desk and instructed calmly:

"Summon him for an audience as soon as he returns."

"Yes, Your Majesty."