Why This Work Uses the Alternate (Non-Canon) Plot Setting
I believe readers who've made it this far can clearly see that in my story, the versions of Qian Xunji and Bibi Dong are based on the alternate plotline. So, the question arises: why use the alternate storyline?
Before answering that, let me ask you a question—which version of Qian Xunji and Bibi Dong is more far-fetched: the alternate plot, or the original story?
In my opinion, it's the original that's more far-fetched.
If we go by the original plot, Bibi Dong is unquestionably a treacherous white-eyed wolf. Many confidential names of enshrined elders, information on their martial souls, details about Sea God Island, angelic soul bones, and other classified intel about the Spirit Hall—none of the upper three sects knew these things, but Yu Xiaogang could recite them fluently. Who leaked the information to him? Of course, it was Bibi Dong.
Bibi Dong disregarded the grace and cultivation of the Spirit Hall that raised her. Just for the sake of love, she wanted to elope with Yu Xiaogang. That's about as white-eyed wolf as it gets.
In this context, Qian Xunji punishing Bibi Dong was justified. For a traitor like her, even a death sentence wouldn't be excessive.
Now, Qian Xunji imprisoning Bibi Dong in a secret chamber doesn't cover up her betrayal.
But does that mean Qian Xunji has no problems at all? Of course not—his biggest flaw was being utterly blind.
Powerful organizations like Spirit Hall strictly regulate who their successors associate with. Bibi Dong and Yu Xiaogang's relationship had a developmental process. Any sensible person would have immediately stepped in if they realized an outsider with ulterior motives was getting close to their successor.
If you've read Dream of the Red Chamber, you'd see how powerful families deliberately assign "mentors" to emotionally educate their heirs—for example, how Jia Baoyu learned emotional intelligence through Xiren and Lin Daiyu, both arranged by Grandmother Jia. They wouldn't just let their heirs be swayed by hormones and fall in love with the first girl who batted her eyelashes.
So, had Bibi Dong been properly raised by Spirit Hall, there's no way simply showing her a glimpse of worldly beauty would make her fall in love with Yu Xiaogang.
The original story is full of holes and extremely far-fetched.
In my view, the alternate plot actually elevates the characters of Qian Xunji and Bibi Dong.
As for how exactly it elevates them—let's skip the details here.
So then, why did I choose to use the alternate plot in this work?
This story is devoted to crafting a pure 24K iron-clad failure of a man: Yu Xiaogang. And referencing the alternate plot helps in portraying him as such!
As I've mentioned, the alternate storyline actually uplifts Qian Xunji and Bibi Dong, but there's one character who becomes painfully awkward in that version—Yu Xiaogang.
How do you show a character is amazing? Besides defining their traits and putting them through moral dilemmas that reveal their personality, the original author's favorite method is contrast.
In Douluo Dalu, you see countless love triangles. These love triangles were not for romance—they were tools the author used to make the main character look better, by placing them beside two lesser characters.
For example:
To highlight Tang Hao's greatness, the author wrote a love triangle: Ah Yin (the woman), Tang Hao, and Tang Xiao. Ah Yin chooses Tang Hao. Tang Xiao fades away in heartbreak. This emphasizes Tang Hao's superiority.
Tang Chen is a shining sun in the "Cosmic Cast" of the story. Qian Daoliu and Bo Saixi revolve around him like moons. Even though Qian Daoliu was nearly as strong, and both men loved Bo Saixi, she only loved Tang Chen. That's contrast at work.
Tang San is even more blatant. Many girls love him but fail to win his heart: Huo Wu ends up with Feng Xiaotian, Hu Liena suffers in silence, and even enemies like Qian Renxue fall for him. All of this elevates Tang San.
This writing method reaches its peak in Douluo Dalu parts 2, 3, and 4:
Wang Dong'er, Wang Qiuer, and Huo Yuhao form a triangle.
Wang Qiuer loves Huo Yuhao in vain, while Dai Huabin fails to win Wang Qiuer's heart.
Bei Bei, Tang Ya, and Zhang Lexuan—same dynamic.
In Douluo 3, to highlight Tang Wulin's superior bloodline, Gu Yuena is the most beautiful woman and only loves Tang Wulin. She's stern to others, gentle only to him. Qian Gu Zhangting loves her but becomes a clown. Again—Tang Wulin's greatness is accentuated.
Back to our topic—Yu Xiaogang.
In the original story, Yu Xiaogang is placed in three separate love triangles: Flender–Liu Erlong–Yu Xiaogang, Qian Xunji–Bibi Dong–Yu Xiaogang, and Bibi Dong–Liu Erlong–Yu Xiaogang. Two brilliant female soul masters inexplicably fall in love with him because of his so-called "genius-level intellect."
But Yu Xiaogang never lives up to the hype. Everyone keeps praising his wisdom—Bibi Dong, Tang San, even Qian Renxue tried to recruit him. There's even the absurd saying: "Whoever gets the Grandmaster gets the world."
And yet, the plot shows nothing of the sort. In fact, Tang San's existence directly contradicts Yu Xiaogang's so-called genius.
At a minimum, a teacher should help their student acquire soul rings and protect them. Yu Xiaogang failed at both. Without Tang San's reincarnated knowledge or his father Tang Hao's protection, they would've died getting their first soul ring.
Second soul ring? Someone else helped.
Third soul ring? Surpassed Yu Xiaogang's theoretical limit.
Fourth? Exposed Yu Xiaogang's ignorance of even basic concepts like soul shock.
Everything Tang San later achieved had nothing to do with Yu Xiaogang.
Don't blame the divine realm for not recognizing Yu Xiaogang. A teacher should elevate the student. Here, the student carried the teacher. Tang San could survive without Yu Xiaogang. Yu Xiaogang without Tang San? Lifelong loser.
So, if Yu Xiaogang can't stand on his own, the two women created to validate his greatness—Liu Erlong and Bibi Dong—turn into jokes.
Liu Erlong: What's wrong with you? You reject Flender and go for Yu Xiaogang?
Bibi Dong: Are you out of your mind? You give up your role as Holy Maiden to run off with a 29-rank fart-soul master?
That's why the original plot is so absurd!
But—
At the end of the day, that's Yu Xiaogang's final shred of dignity. No matter how terrible he is, at least he had two god-tier women fall for him, supposedly due to his "wisdom."
The alternate plot completely destroys even that last bit of dignity.
Other characters win affection through personal traits—beauty, strength, wisdom, charm, wealth, or power. Even if the original plot is dumb, it at least claims Yu Xiaogang won these women with his "wisdom."
But the alternate plot? It tells us that the only reason two top-tier women love Yu Xiaogang is because Qian Xunji secretly orchestrated everything for him.
It wasn't that Yu Xiaogang earned their love—it was that without Qian Xunji, he would be nothing.
So now Yu Xiaogang is reduced to a total clown—with not a single redeeming quality left.
And from that, we can clearly see one thing: even the original author didn't bother trying to redeem Yu Xiaogang. The alternate story saves the characterizations of Bibi Dong and Qian Xunji—not Yu Xiaogang.