The Douluo Continent might seem vast, but in reality, it isn't especially large. Even with the addition of the Sun-Moon Empire, it only accommodates four empires in total.
In other xianxia worlds, four empires would be considered just a starter zone.
Yet, within the territory of the four empires lie numerous special regions—places that defy conventional geographic and environmental logic. That's because powerful entities on the Douluo Continent are capable of altering natural landscapes and environments.
While Huo Yuhao was marking the map across the continent, he discovered many such special regions. With powerful figures dispatched by the empires, most of these areas were successfully explored and flagged.
Of course, Huo Yuhao didn't allow indiscriminate destruction—only markers were placed, and everything else was left untouched.
After all, damaging the natural environment would negatively affect his identity as "Heaven's Mandate."
On the contrary, the more prosperous the Douluo Continent becomes, the greater the benefits Huo Yuhao receives.
Compared to the true forbidden zones, these special regions might contain some rare resources or soul beasts, but for the current Huo Yuhao, they hold little value or benefit.
In most cases, his luck sense didn't even notify him of any relevant opportunities.
For something to truly benefit Huo Yuhao, it must be connected to his bloodline or divine inheritance.
Huo Yuhao could only lament:
"When I was weak, treasures were everywhere. Now that I'm strong, nothing seems valuable. It was when I was weakest that I was happiest."
Still, there were two areas that caught his attention due to a reaction from his luck sense.
These two places had two things in common:
Both were canyons.
Both belonged to Spirit Hall ten thousand years ago.
One of them was the Death Canyon, where Huo Yuhao now stood with Bibi Dong.
The other was the Misty Great Canyon, located in a remote mountain range far from the Star Dou Forest.
As Huo Yuhao discovered the Death Canyon, Bibi Dong didn't conceal anything. Looking at the now changed canyon, she shared its secrets.
"Back then, Death Canyon was one of Spirit Hall's training grounds. It was especially suited for Soul Masters between the Soul Exalted and Soul Sage levels," she explained.
"Many combative soul beasts lived here, providing ample training opportunities. The dense spiritual energy also boosted cultivation. Rare herbs grew here, and the harsh conditions tempered the will."
"Unfortunately, it's no longer suitable for your cultivation."
Bibi Dong fell into nostalgic thought—she herself had once trained here and gained much. Her disciple Hu Liena and her team, Evil Moon and Yan, also trained here, forming what was once called the Golden Generation.
"Not suitable for me? That might not be true," Huo Yuhao replied with a smile, his golden eyes flashing. "There's something here I can use."
In the past ten thousand years, the Death Canyon had rarely seen visitors and developed naturally, giving rise to more soul beasts. But none had reached particularly high levels due to the relatively short span of ten millennia.
What caught Huo Yuhao's attention was something hidden.
Using his Aura Sight, Huo Yuhao quickly uncovered the canyon's secret.
Venturing deeper, he noted the soul beasts here were of exceptional quality—only those with strong bloodlines could survive in such a harsh environment.
To his surprise, he found several Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bears, though none had surpassed 50,000 years in cultivation.
Aside from the Star Dou Forest, this was the first time Huo Yuhao had seen them elsewhere.
Naturally, none escaped. He knocked them out and tossed them into his Divine Kingdom.
He also captured several other high-bloodline beasts to serve as guardians within the Divine Kingdom.
After this sweep, he led Bibi Dong to a stone wall within the canyon. Summoning his Frost Centipede Martial Soul, he began digging into the wall.
Bibi Dong watched calmly. She knew Huo Yuhao never acted without reason. She had known what soul beasts existed here millennia ago—but never suspected any secrets were hidden.
It didn't take long before the Frost Centipede unearthed an object.
It was a soul tool shaped like a gold coin.
Bibi Dong's eyes widened.
Most soul tools available to Soul Masters ten thousand years ago were unearthed from ancient ruins, so it wasn't too surprising to find one here.
What shocked her was the design on the soul tool—it was clearly of Spirit Hall origin!
This meant there was something Spirit Hall-related hidden here, yet as the final Pope, Bibi Dong had known nothing about it.
"What's behind this wall?" she asked.
"Probably a secret Spirit Hall base. Looks abandoned. What, you didn't know?" Huo Yuhao responded with a smirk.
Bibi Dong's expression turned dark.
"I thought I understood everything about Spirit Hall once I became Pope. But that old bastard was still hiding things from me!"
Huo Yuhao rolled his eyes.
You were just a placeholder Pope between Qian Renxue's reign—really thought you were in charge?
The Qian family ran Spirit Hall for ages. Their secrets go far deeper than anything you've seen.
Death Canyon served both as a training ground and a natural fortress.
Ignoring Bibi Dong's foul mood, Huo Yuhao studied the soul tool.
Besides the coin-shaped soul tool, the rest of the relics were mere antiques. They had value as collectibles, but were meaningless to Huo Yuhao.
If the cliff eventually collapsed, exposing the ruins, some lucky Soul Master might profit greatly.
The coin-shaped tool turned out to be a storage-type soul tool. After injecting soul power into it, a special bag dropped out.
It was rather large and appeared to be woven from fine green vines—still glowing with vital energy even after ten thousand years. The radiance flowing from it suggested it was incredibly valuable.
It had a drawstring closure with two straps hanging on the sides.
"This is... a bag made from Life Evergreen Vine ?! Who was extravagant enough to make this?!" Bibi Dong gasped.
The Life Evergreen Vine was a rare ancient plant found only in the most life-rich environments. It grew one inch per hundred years, and each inch could extend a person's life by another hundred years. Its value was immeasurable.
In the past, many powerful cultivators ventured into life-dense zones seeking it, but few succeeded. Some legends even spoke of Limit Douluo who extended their lifespans to over a thousand years by consuming the vine.
Bibi Dong had only ever seen one inch of the vine in Spirit Hall's vaults—and even then, she wasn't qualified to use it.
Yet here, a whole bag made from it lay before her, deepening her resentment.
"If I had this vine back then, I'd have reached godhood faster. Tang San wouldn't have stood a chance!"
Huo Yuhao, however, remained calm.
While valuable, the Lake of Life in the Star Dou Forest's core contained more Life Evergreen Vine, used to help soul beasts survive tribulation.
Besides, the Ancient Golden Tree held even greater worth.
What truly mattered to Huo Yuhao was what lay inside the bag. The vine's role was to preserve the living being within.
He already knew what it was.
Opening the long-sealed bag, he revealed a small gorilla-like creature—notably, without any soul power fluctuations.
Its true identity?
"Royal Behemoth Clan – Golden Behemoth!"
Huo Yuhao grinned:
"Thanks for the gift, Mother Nature!"
"Behemoth? The legendary Behemoth? But there's no soul power fluctuation from it. It doesn't seem to be a soul beast," Bibi Dong voiced her doubts.
She had heard of the Behemoth, of course. The ancient knowledge passed down through the Spirit Hall included references to it.
However, most of the records concerned soul beasts with Behemoth bloodlines. There were no accounts of pure-blooded Behemoths—only vague mentions of them as powerful beings from ancient times.
Like the Ten-Headed Flame Serpent and the Frost Centipede, the Behemoth was an ancient variant species thought to exist only in legends. On the Douluo Continent, they were called "Primordial Bloodlines."
These primordial creatures were unaffected by the continent's changes. After their death, they did not produce spirit rings.
This fact further confirmed that the soul beast, soul ring, and soul master systems were mutations that emerged during a specific era. The original beings of the Douluo Continent did not rely on soul power.
Huo Yuhao didn't bother to explain to Bibi Dong. He simply said, "This Behemoth was probably discovered by Spirit Hall back then, but they never got the chance to study it—or maybe they had other plans. For some reason, this secret base was either abandoned or forgotten, and this Golden Behemoth was left here."
In truth, Huo Yuhao suspected even Qian Daoliu hadn't known about this place.
Otherwise, the Life Evergreen Vines and the Golden Behemoth wouldn't have remained untouched even after the fall of Spirit Hall.
Let alone anything else—just the Life Evergreen Vines alone could have helped Spirit Hall cultivate numerous powerful individuals.
Given that they knew Qian Renxue could ascend to godhood, using these vines would have accelerated her progress significantly.
After all, pure life force could often be converted into personal strength more efficiently than heaven-and-earth energy.
Therefore, Huo Yuhao concluded that this place had most likely been forgotten due to some unknown reason.
But he wasn't here to play archaeologist.
The moment he saw the Golden Behemoth, Huo Yuhao knew he had found the vessel for his Upper Corpse Clone.
Ignoring Bibi Dong's resentful gaze, he raised his hand and smack smack—delivered two loud slaps, waking the sleeping Golden Behemoth. The beast looked utterly confused.
Huo Yuhao had awakened it just to tell it:
"Oi, I've taken a liking to your body and bloodline. From now on, everything about you belongs to me."
The Golden Behemoth couldn't understand what he was saying, but the stinging pain on its face quickly infuriated it. Roaring in rage, it raised its claws to attack.
But Huo Yuhao effortlessly subdued it with a counterstrike and immediately began the refining process.
The Hao Emperor Banner floated up, shrouding the area from heavenly senses and forming a protective barrier around Huo Yuhao.
Bibi Dong helplessly stepped back, watching the whole process. She knew full well—she was just a plaything to Huo Yuhao. Even with god-level strength and potential to become a First-Class God, he never bothered to explain anything to her.
Huo Yuhao sat cross-legged on the ground, placing one hand on the Golden Behemoth's forehead. The beast, bound by force, sat before him.
Although it had no idea what was happening, it instinctively sensed the threat to its life. Terror and rage welled up in it, causing it to struggle and howl internally—but the absolute power gap sealed its fate.
From Huo Yuhao's upper dantian, a pitch-black power oozed out—like sludge, nauseating to behold.
Bibi Dong frowned slightly upon seeing it. That sludge seemed even more sinister than her own power.
Then came a moment that shook her—she realized the sludge was alive!
As it writhed, the black muck slowly formed into a humanoid shape—identical in appearance to Huo Yuhao.
Her pupils contracted violently at this revelation.
Under her gaze, the black sludge crawled along Huo Yuhao's arm and entered the Golden Behemoth's upper dantian.
Immediately, Huo Yuhao unleashed divine power to begin refining the beast, even throwing the Life Evergreen Vines into the process.
Golden flames erupted, enveloping the entire Behemoth. With its mouth sealed, it couldn't scream—only its twisted, agonized expression showed its suffering.
Watching this, Bibi Dong came to a realization. Perhaps the reason she had lost in the past… was because she wasn't as evil—or as ruthless—as Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao, however, said calmly, "Don't worry. All life has spirit, and Heaven cherishes life. I won't erase your true spirit. Whether anything of you remains… depends on your own will."
What he didn't say was: regardless of what remained, the Golden Behemoth would have no memory left. He'd be wiped clean—a total reboot.
Eventually, Huo Yuhao withdrew his hand. Now he just had to wait for the transformation.
Or rather—for the birth of his Upper Corpse Clone.
Time passed—seven days and nights.
The golden flames solidified, then transformed into a large golden egg. Before long, the egg began to shake.
"The egg's about to hatch~," Huo Yuhao murmured.
A second later, cracks formed across the shell, spreading until it shattered.
The golden fragments turned into glowing particles, converging into a golden humanoid figure.
When the glow faded, standing before Huo Yuhao and Bibi Dong was—a six-year-old boy. Slightly chubby, like a miniature Michelin mascot.
The boy had golden hair and eyes, his expression noble. Though his features were still childlike, one could already tell he'd grow into a stunning figure.
To Bibi Dong, the boy looked like a mini-Huo Yuhao.
His golden eyes spun curiously as he inspected the two before him—completely unbothered by the fact that his little elephant trunk was still dangling in the open.
"What should I call you?" Huo Yuhao squatted and asked with a grin.
"Greetings, my original self. You may address me as… Golden Immortal!" the boy—no, Golden Immortal—said proudly, hands on his hips.
Huo Yuhao couldn't help but laugh.
Such a small body, yet such arrogant words—and he even named himself Immortal!
There was no unfamiliarity between them. After all, Golden Immortal was Huo Yuhao's Upper Corpse Clone, and the bond between them ran deep.
"So, tell me—what kind of powers did you inherit?" Huo Yuhao asked.
The Upper Corpse Clone was different from the Lower Corpse Clone—it started from zero, formed by fusing the Golden Behemoth and the Life Evergreen Vines. Huo Yuhao couldn't predict what powers this clone would have.
But one thing was certain—the potential was off the charts.
From birth, the clone possessed a heaven-tier innate spirit body, drawing in world energy naturally like a vortex.
The Upper Corpse Avatar: Jin Daxian.
Physical age: Six years old.
Innate power: Born with innate level-30 soul power, a result of the divine power remnants of Huo Yuhao, along with residual energy from the Golden Behemoth and the Evergreen Vine of Life.
Martial Souls: Twin martial souls — Golden Behemoth and Life Evergreen Vine.
Both martial souls are essentially divine beast-level.
The Golden Behemoth martial soul inherited all abilities of the original beast, along with the full bloodline legacy, granting Jin Daxian the purest Golden Behemoth bloodline.
Huo Yuhao was already considering drawing blood from Jin Daxian to enhance his own Behemoth bloodline.
The Life Evergreen Vine martial soul has exceptionally strong life force, making it more suitable for auxiliary and control roles, while also greatly extending the user's lifespan.
Neither martial soul has awakened an innate domain.
However, the Golden Behemoth martial soul possesses a unique ability: to nullify all domains and be immune to their effects.
Meanwhile, the Life Evergreen Vine martial soul provides tremendous vitality and endurance.
These two martial souls also grant Jin Daxian four ultimate attributes:
Ultimate Gold
Ultimate Strength
Ultimate Wood
Ultimate Life
In addition, Jin Daxian has a unique feature: a "Companion Soul Spirit" — a residual soul of the original Golden Behemoth, now reborn as a naive, affectionate spirit that instantly bonded with Jin Daxian.
Note: this "Companion Soul Spirit" differs from the canonical "Soul Spirits" in the original series. It's more like the mythical concept of a legendary artifact that is bound to its owner, except in beast spirit form.
This Golden Behemoth soul spirit can materialize for combat, with strength equivalent to the main body.
It also has a special ability: restraint over dragon-type creatures. This power can be shared with Jin Daxian, allowing his attacks to deal massive damage to dragons.
It's worth noting: the Behemoths were once a race even the dragons feared. In ancient times, the Dragon God ordered the Dragon Kings to annihilate the Behemoth race.
With proper cultivation, Jin Daxian is destined to become a god.
As for Jin Daxian's preferences — like the Upper Corpse, he loves ornate accessories. More precisely, he adores anything that enhances his appearance — be it tangible items, identity, or social status.
Perhaps due to the Behemoth bloodline, Jin Daxian also has a passion for combat.
When those two preferences combine, he seeks "glorious and elegant battles."
But under Huo Yuhao, there's no such thing. After dressing him in grass, he tossed Jin Daxian into the divine realm to cultivate and grow stronger.
As for spirit rings, of course, Jin Daxian was granted god-bestowed rings by Huo Yuhao.
"With the Upper and Lower Corpses separated, my body feels lighter. Only the Middle Corpse remains," Huo Yuhao mused.
"The Middle Corpse craves fine cuisine... Maybe I'll use Xuan Zi's gluttonous bloodline as the foundation. But choosing the right body will take careful thought."
"Should I forge a body using a powerful soul beast? Possess a strong host? Or use an exceptionally talented mother to give birth to the body?"
Huo Yuhao considered these options but wasn't too troubled — regardless of how the Middle Corpse's avatar is created, he could shape it into a god, even starting from an ordinary person. Just a lower starting point, that's all.
But given a choice, who would choose weakness over power?
With all the opportunities in Death Valley exhausted, the next target was another valley: the Maze Valley.
Maze Valley is even more dangerous than Death Valley and is better suited for soul masters at the seven-ring level or higher.
The danger lies in both its vast size and its dense population of brutal soul beasts — plus the ever-present, poisonous fog.
Similar to their approach in Death Valley, Huo Yuhao and Bibi Dong shared some nostalgia before beginning their harvest of high-quality soul beasts in Maze Valley.
However, unlike Death Valley, Maze Valley has no remnants of the Spirit Hall, as any secret base would have long been destroyed by the ferocious beasts within.
Why? Because Maze Valley houses 100,000-year soul beasts.
In fact, it hides not just soul beasts, but a savage beast of fearsome lineage, which triggered a shift in Huo Yuhao's destiny.
This beast turned out to be a phoenix-bloodline feral beast!
A Dark Phoenix, 400,000 years old, possessing the Ultimate Darkness attribute.
Its combat power even surpassed the Bear King, but it still couldn't escape being suppressed by Huo Yuhao.
If you're not a god, you're still an ant in his eyes.
The proud Dark Phoenix refused to submit even when Huo Yuhao had her by the throat, so he moved straight to beast material processing.
First, he forced her into human form and extracted her primal yin.
Then he extracted her phoenix bloodline, forming a Dark Phoenix inheritance.
Her body, now devoid of nutrients and bloodline, crumbled into dust.
Only her tail feathers remained, suitable for crafting.
Beyond the phoenix itself, her habitat — a parasitic parasol tree — was transplanted into the divine realm. The tree, bound to the phoenix, had grown for over a million years, and was nearly as precious as the Golden Ancient Tree.
Finally, the Dark Phoenix's soul was sealed inside the Hao Emperor Banner, making her Huo Yuhao's slave.
Given her potential, she was granted the same "treatment package" that Bibi Dong and Zi Ji once received.
After some mental probing and manipulation, Huo Yuhao pieced together her history:
The Dark Phoenix had hidden in Maze Valley for countless years — far longer than 400,000.
This longevity was due to her phoenix rebirth ability. Every time she failed to ascend, she was reborn and restarted her cultivation.
She did this repeatedly but never left Maze Valley, as her bloodline heritage warned her of danger beyond — a threat not to be faced before becoming a god.
That danger, of course, was the dragon race — the very ones who led to the fall of the phoenix clan.
Her soul was locked in the Rakshasa Hall for training.
As for the Dark Phoenix's bloodline inheritance, Huo Yuhao took it to Feng Ling, whose soul was nearly purged of foreign influences.
This phoenix inheritance would help Feng Ling break through to Ultimate Douluo, potentially surpassing even Ye Xishui.
A suitable mother — there she was.
And not just for the Middle Corpse. Xuelian was waiting to be born too. The more mothers, the better.
After securing two new resource points, Huo Yuhao led Bibi Dong toward a third area.
To their surprise, it was—the Inheritance Site of the Angel God!
When Bibi Dong realized where Huo Yuhao was taking her, she looked at him in shock.
"How do you even know about this place?"
Huo Yuhao rolled his eyes.
"Seriously? I've got eyes, you know. Of course I saw it~"
In truth, there were few places on the Douluo Continent that could escape the perception of Huo Yuhao's immense fate-sensing abilities—excluding the Star Dou Forest's core, certain buried ruins, and isolated small dimensions.
Moreover, the inheritance site of the Angel God was not completely untraceable.
It wasn't far from the ruins of Spirit Hall City.
Even though ten thousand years had passed and most signs of Spirit Hall had been erased, finding its ruins wasn't particularly difficult.
Especially since there were references to it in the Inner Library of the Sea God Pavilion.
Spirit Hall City, where Spirit Hall once stood, was located at the border between the old Heaven Dou Empire and Star Luo Empire, a fair distance from the Star Dou Forest, on a flat plain.
When Huo Yuhao arrived, he found that Spirit Hall City had long been razed to the ground, and several towns had since sprung up on the plain.
Due to its favorable geographic location, serving as a hub between the Heaven Soul Empire and Star Luo Empire, and offering roads to the Sun-Moon Empire and Dou Ling Empire, the area had become somewhat prosperous.
No major cities were built likely due to territorial disputes—occasional skirmishes kept either side from establishing dominance, leading to control being split among small towns.
However, the Angel God's inheritance wasn't located in Spirit Hall City or on the plain.
Instead, it lay within a nearby mountain range—on the tallest and most majestic peak.
This mountain had once belonged to Spirit Hall—the Elder Hall and Worship Hall had been located on different parts of it.
Though now abandoned, remnants remained due to the mountain's isolation and infrequent activity.
However, the buildings had long been left to ruin—overgrown, forest-covered, with only fragments bearing Spirit Hall insignias still intact.
It was clear the site had been looted and severely damaged.
Seeing the ruins, Bibi Dong fell silent, emotions churning. It was hard to tell if she was mourning the past or grieving Spirit Hall's destruction.
She had wanted to destroy the Qian Family's Spirit Hall, not her own Spirit Empire.
But alas, all was lost in the end.
Bibi Dong: Damn you, Tang San!
But losers could only lament. Huo Yuhao had already begun exploring and soon made a new discovery.
"Hmm? Someone's living on this mountain? And it looks like there are quite a few of them."
Peering toward the summit, Huo Yuhao noticed signs of life.
Who would be hiding here?
When Huo Yuhao brought Bibi Dong to the top, realization struck him.
"This is the Xie Clan of the Dou Ling Empire! So it's them."
When Ling Dou City fell, the Xie Clan vanished mysteriously with all their assets, seemingly having fled early. Their whereabouts had been unknown—only that they fled toward the Heaven Soul Empire.
Who would've guessed—they'd hidden here.
Given time, the Xie Clan could have become a reclusive hidden family, preserving their legacy.
They'd escaped natural disasters, human conflict, and ten thousand years of turmoil—yet in the end, they couldn't escape Huo Yuhao.
Why? Because they had hidden in a place he was bound to find.
Moments later, the Xie Clan knelt before him.
There was no need to elaborate on the battle—it was so one-sided it didn't even qualify as a minor quest for Huo Yuhao.
At the front knelt the Xie Clan Patriarch, Xie Jun.
Beside him stood two hidden clan elders—both Title Douluo, one of whom was even an Ultimate Douluo.
This Ultimate Douluo had a Flame Lord martial soul. Under interrogation, it was revealed that this very elder had used his Flame Lord's earth-attribute ability to help the clan escape Ling Dou City.
Huo Yuhao couldn't help but admire his cunning—escaping under his nose had taken real skill.
Behind Xie Jun and the elders stood the young clan leader, Xie Jun's son, Xie Tian, the strongest of his generation, wielding the inherited martial soul Moon Blade.
At his side were two companions, also from the clan—his cousin and cousin-sister. The three had once competed together in the Soul Master Tournament:
Xie Mei'er: Martial Soul – Enchanted Fox
Xie Yan: Martial Soul – Flame Lord
Upon seeing their martial souls and recognizing their family name, Bibi Dong instantly understood who the Xie Clan truly was.
Unsurprisingly, they were the descendants of Xie Yue and Yan.
As for the Enchanted Fox martial soul—given that Xie Yue and Hu Liena were siblings, it made sense that descendants might awaken a similar soul to Hu Liena's.
Bibi Dong knew what had happened to Hu Liena. Huo Yuhao had told her some details while trying to break her mental defenses, including the fate of the Spirit Empire.
Records of Xie Yue and Yan were vague, but Hu Liena's end was clearly documented—she had remained unmarried due to her unrequited love for Tang San, which hindered her cultivation. She never reached Title Douluo and died alone in the mountains.
The Enchanted Fox martial soul wasn't famous—it was a spiritual-type soul, difficult to cultivate.
Moreover, the Dou Ling Empire had a stronger fox-type spiritual martial soul—the Three-Eyed Demon Fox, inherited by Tu Xijun's clan—so the Enchanted Fox didn't stand out.
Few in the Xie Clan even awakened the Enchanted Fox, so it never became their signature martial soul.
Looking at the three young ones kneeling before her, Bibi Dong was struck with grief.
"Liena…"
In that moment, she hallucinated. It was as if she were seeing Hu Liena and her companions again—forced to kneel, suffering humiliation.
It tore at Bibi Dong's heart.
But to her relief, Huo Yuhao didn't intend to slaughter the Xie Clan. Instead, he planned to take them under his wing.
After all, their martial souls were excellent.
Especially the Flame Lord, which had the potential to reach the Ultimate level.
At that moment, Huo Yuhao was distracted by another discovery.
He had found members of the Qian Clan—right among the Xie Clan!
Even more astonishing—someone had awakened the Six-Winged Angel martial soul!
Huo Yuhao sat before Xie Jun, smiling.
"Clan Head Xie, why don't you explain?"
Xie Jun hesitated, then decided to reveal the family's secret.
As it turned out, the Qian Clan had never gone extinct—they had been hiding within the Xie Clan for the past ten thousand years.
They disguised themselves as Xie Clan members. In fact, most of the Xie Clan didn't even know they were there. Only the Qian members themselves and the successive heads of the Xie Clan knew the truth.
The Xie Clan's historical records over the past ten thousand years are fairly complete—especially those concerning the Spirit Hall and the Qian Clan. Their documentation is even more detailed and comprehensive than that of Shrek Academy.
Moreover, the records aren't sugarcoated, but rather more objective.
As the clan leader, Xie Jun naturally knew all of this.
Through his recounting, Huo Yuhao and Bibi Dong learned about the Qian Clan's story after the divine war ten thousand years ago.
Ten thousand years ago, the Spirit Empire collapsed, and the Spirit Hall was also destroyed.
However, the various factions didn't completely purge the Spirit Hall.
What got wiped out was mainly the middle and lower tiers of the organization.
The true high-ranking members, relying on their strength and family backing, still remained at the top of the continent's power hierarchy.
It was merely a change of rulers.
This is the legacy of aristocratic families.
Many elders and enshrined powerhouses changed affiliations and joined the two major empires. At worst, they became hidden clans.
Even the Qian Clan fragmented into smaller branches and managed to survive.
And the one who made that decision? None other than Qian Renxue, whose godhood had been shattered.
Qian Renxue disbanded the Qian Clan, allowing many of its branches to integrate into different factions. These factions welcomed the Qian bloodline and their Spirit inheritance.
Only a few diehards still clung to the dream of reviving the Spirit Hall and continued to resist in secret—ultimately becoming targets of factional purges. Even Qian Renxue couldn't save them.
But what no one knew was that Qian Renxue secretly kept a core group of pure-blooded descendants hidden away.
Accompanying her in this retreat were Xie Yue and Yan.
During the Spirit Hall era, the major powers knew that the Qian Clan firmly controlled the Hall, but they were largely unaware of the clan's full inheritance.
Most of the Qian Clan members who appeared publicly were from the Pope's line, possessing the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul.
However, far more Qian Clan members lived their entire lives quietly within the Spirit Hall.
These were mainly branch members whose martial souls were not angel-type, but various holy or light-attribute martial souls.
Today, nearly all of the holy and light-type martial soul inheritances on the continent can be traced back to Qian Clan branches.
Only those born with an angel-type martial soul were considered of pure blood and worthy of elite training. It was this group that Qian Renxue took with her.
They were few, but their bloodline was invaluable.
While it was possible for new angel-type users to emerge from the branches, Qian Renxue had no way to manage it all by then.
She took the remaining Qian core family, along with Xie Yue and Yan, into seclusion.
Many tried to win over Qian Renxue or exploit her martial soul, but she vanished before anyone could catch her.
Her escape was successful thanks to two main reasons:
Tang San's mercy. After he spared Qian Renxue, the other factions couldn't just kill her without violating a god's will.
Back then, people had witnessed true gods. While today's soul masters might dare to question gods, no one dared defy them ten thousand years ago—not even a casual promise.
The chaos of the Spirit Empire's fall. The major powers were busy dividing the spoils, including absorbing abandoned Qian Clan members, and simply forgot about Qian Renxue.
By the time they remembered her, she was long gone.
Qian Renxue truly lived up to being Bibi Dong's daughter. When not love-struck, she was quite capable.
Had she escaped any later, it would've been much harder.
Because Xie Yue and Yan also went into hiding, Shrek Academy has scant records about them. Only Hu Liena remained under surveillance until her death.
As a side note, in her later years, Hu Liena expressed her feelings for Tang San through painting. Her works are now stored at Shrek Academy and are extremely valuable.
Later, Xie Yue and Yan emerged again on the Douluo Continent, but by then decades had passed.
The Spirit Empire's controversies had faded.
Using their strength, Xie Yue and Yan established a sect in the Heaven Dou Empire called the Blazing Blade Sect.
They chose the Heaven Dou Empire because Hu Liena had retired there. They cared deeply for her.
Both men passed down their bloodlines and martial souls, marrying women from the Qian Clan.
Their descendants intermarried, forming a close-knit clan that evolved into what is now the Xie Clan.
The Blazing Blade Sect became a front, while the true Qian legacy hid within the Xie Clan.
Though some traces were occasionally exposed, no one uncovered the truth: the Qian Clan was hidden within the Xie Clan all along.
Even Qian Renxue's later years are recorded within the Xie Clan.
She never surpassed Rank 89 in spirit power, but due to her former godhood, lived over 300 years. She never married or bore children.
However, before her death, she used a special technique to pass her martial soul essence into a Qian descendant—reviving the Pope's line of the Six-Winged Angel martial soul.
This pure Pope-line martial soul was stronger than any other Six-Winged Angel martial soul on the continent.
Qian Renxue's body was buried at the Angel God's inheritance site.
That place was later abandoned, then covertly transformed by the Xie Clan into a backup stronghold.
When the Heaven Dou Empire later fractured, the Xie Clan chose the wrong side and fled to Lingdou City, joining the Douling Empire and distancing themselves from their stronghold.
Fortunately, their legacy survived, and the backup site remained maintained in secret.
After the fall of Lingdou City, the Xie Clan decided to activate that backup site and successfully escaped and relocated.
Just as they were beginning to scout the outside world again, Huo Yuhao appeared and "robbed" them.
After learning all this, Bibi Dong's emotions were the most complex—a mix of joy, sorrow, and guilt.
Huo Yuhao, however, ignored her emotional state and examined the Qian descendants.
There weren't many, but each one bore the Angel Martial Soul and was powerful. Among them was a Titled Douluo.
One blond girl, in particular, had a Six-Winged Angel martial soul of even higher quality than Ye Guyi's—clearly from the Pope's bloodline.
Huo Yuhao recognized her as the hidden seven-ring Soul Sage from the Sun-Moon Empire's tournament team—who never revealed herself back then.
Now, she had eight rings.
And she was only in her twenties.
Without any "cheats," almost no one could match her.
Her name was Qian Shishi.
Despite their current predicament, Qian Shishi remained calm, as though she had already accepted her fate.
"You're not afraid?" Huo Yuhao asked.
"Afraid? At worst, I die. If I lose my ancestors' dignity out of fear, that would be the true disgrace," Qian Shishi replied firmly.
Huo Yuhao gave a wicked grin. "Some things are more humiliating than death, you know~"
These Qian descendants did have some pride.
Time for them to taste Brother Hao's ultimate humiliation attack!
But before that, he had to take care of the Angel God inheritance.
"You, come with me," Huo Yuhao said to Qian Shishi, heading toward the old Angel God temple—now repurposed into a residence.
Qian Shishi hesitated, then summoned her courage and followed.
The rest of the Qian Clan gave her encouraging looks, as if saying—
"Keep your spirit up! Don't lose face! Good job!"
Qian Shishi: I'm ready to fight!