The layout of the taverns in Nuoding City was quite different from other places. Each had a street-facing, L-shaped counter where hot water was ready to warm wine at any time.
Soul hunting teams would return from the Soul Hunting Forest, sweaty and exhausted, around noon or dusk. They'd spend four copper spirit coins on a bowl of wine, standing outside the counter to drink and rest. If they spent one more coin, they could get a plate of salted bamboo shoots or fennel beans as snacks.
For ten coins or more, one could even order a meat dish—but most patrons were soul hunters scraping by and couldn't afford such luxuries. Only those wearing long robes, likely nobles, would enter the adjacent rooms to order food and drink, enjoying a slow and leisurely meal.
But the buzz cut in the black scholar's robe was an oddity in the tavern. He was the only long-robed man standing outside drinking. His skin was dark, as though he hadn't bathed in days, with dark circles around his eyes and a sour, foul stench clinging to him.
He stepped up to the front, laid down nine copper spirit coins issued by Spirit Hall, and muttered dejectedly, "Two bowls of cheap wine. A plate of fennel beans."
The barkeep, pinching his nose, took the coins and went to prepare his drink and snack.
Once his order arrived, the buzz cut carefully balanced the two bowls and headed toward the corner. As he passed, several rough-looking hunters caught a whiff of his stench and couldn't help but wrinkle their noses.
A newcomer frowned and muttered, "Who the hell is that? Smells like he hasn't bathed in weeks. Disgusting."
"You don't know? That's the 'Grandmaster'—famous all around Nuoding Academy," one hunter replied.
"Ohhh, that Grandmaster. The one with a farting soul skill," the newcomer said, realization dawning.
"No idea what the headmaster of Nuoding Academy was thinking hiring that guy. Doesn't teach, doesn't work, just freeloads off the academy. All his expenses are covered by Spirit Hall's stipend," another hunter said with disdain.
"And the worst part is, he acts all high and mighty, always looking down on us!" one hunter growled.
"Didn't you guys beat him up?"
"Heh. Would've dirtied our hands. That guy's disgusting, and his soul skill literally stinks."
The newcomer was left speechless.
As mocking laughter spread through the tavern, the buzz cut's heart fumed with rage: You filthy commoners dare gossip about me—me, a direct descendant of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan! My presence as Grandmaster at Nuoding Soul Master Academy is an honor to this place. My disciples must be chosen with utmost care. Do these mutts even deserve my instruction?
He wanted to stand up and beat those soul hunters to a pulp, but in the end, he followed his heart and refrained.
The soul hunters might not want to fight because of his nauseating soul skill—but that didn't mean they couldn't beat him.
All he could do was draw mental curses around each of them in his head, over and over again. Then he slinked into the corner, squatted down, and began eating and drinking in silence.
Thus, a unique scene unfolded in the tavern: a buzz cut man who hadn't bathed in weeks squatted in the corner drinking alone. The stench from his body created a wide berth around him—a personal "no-go" zone—while the other patrons stayed far away, drinking and snacking in peace.
Gradually, the soul hunters' chatter shifted away from the buzz cut man and turned to another "legendary figure" of the continent.
"Hey, you guys heard? The soul master world just had a top-tier birth," one hunter started.
"Oh? Just how 'top-tier' are we talking?" the others leaned in, intrigued.
"Have you ever heard of the Twin Stars of Clear Sky?" one of the Soul Hunters asked. Upon hearing this name, the crew-cut boy sitting in the corner instinctively perked up his ears.
"Of course I've heard of them. They were destined to become legendary Titled Douluo," the Soul Hunter said with envy, then suddenly changed the subject. "But what kind of beastly thing did he do?"
"That just shows how ignorant you are," the Soul Hunter laughed. "Turns out, both of the Clear Sky Twin Stars fell in love with the same woman and even fought each other over her. In the end, the younger brother Tang Hao crippled his older brother and took the woman for himself."
"That story's already old news," another Soul Hunter grumbled. "Heard it so many times, my ears are growing calluses."
"That was just the beginning. There's more," the first Soul Hunter chuckled. "That woman was actually a transformed hundred-thousand-year soul beast. Tang Hao even had a child with her."
"What?! So one of the Clear Sky Twin Stars, Tang Hao, mated with a soul beast and gave birth to a half-beast child?" The crowd was stunned. In this world, the idea of a human coupling with a soul beast was as shocking as saying someone slept with a dog—and not only that, but even had a puppy with it.
While shocking, the vast number of people in the world meant such strange things occasionally happened—like brothers stealing each other's wives. The Wolf Bandits were born of this sort of chaos. But Tang Hao? A man from the prestigious Clear Sky Sect? That shouldn't have happened, right?
"You're already surprised? We're just getting started," the Soul Hunter said, popping a fennel bean into his mouth and chewing casually.
"Oh? There's more?"
"Of course. Later, Tang Hao's whereabouts were discovered by the Clear Sky Sect, and they began to hunt him down."
Then the loudmouth storyteller launched into an animated retelling: Tang Hao, in a rage for his beloved, killed five Titled Douluo from the Clear Sky Sect, along with numerous Soul Douluo and Soul Sages.
By the time he finished, the entire tavern was still deep in shock, stunned by this outrageous tale.
Suddenly, someone broke the silence, uncertainly asking, "Wait, among the Titled Douluo who died... wasn't one of them Tang Tian, the sect master of the Clear Sky Sect? That's Tang Hao's father. Are you telling me Tang Hao killed his own dad over a soul beast and their half-beast child?"
"Exactly why I said Tang Hao is top-tier scum," the Soul Hunter replied.
"Seriously, what a disgrace. The Clear Sky Sect must've burned through eight lifetimes of bad luck to produce someone like him."
The crew-cut boy in the corner had listened to the entire story.
He knew who Tang Hao was. In fact, before his own martial soul awakened, he used to see Tang Hao as a rival, a benchmark to strive toward. But once his martial soul awakened, Tang Hao became someone he could only look up to.
Tang Hao had managed to, without even reaching the Titled Douluo level, slaughter seven Titled Douluo—members of both the Clear Sky Sect and the Spirit Hall.
The boy thought of his own past. No matter how hard he tried, even with a meager innate talent of 0.5, he never gave up. He worked two hundred times harder than the average person and finally became a level 29 Grand Soul Master, yet was never acknowledged by the sect. His father ignored him, and the entire sect humiliated him.
He remembered joining the Spirit Hall and writing a groundbreaking theoretical work. Though he was honored with the title of "Master," it became a joke. (After he left the Spirit Hall and the illusion faded, he noticed that people referred to his title not with respect, but with disdain and sarcasm—like his painstakingly written masterpiece, The Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls, was just some farce.)
He thought of his mutated martial soul and the many chances he missed to merge with the Golden Sacred Dragon.
The Golden Dragon Fruit had been snatched by that bastard. He only had one chance to use his Golden Sacred Dragon fusion skill before it was ruined by that bitch Liu Erlong and that mutt Flender. That technique was his pride.
Dirty tears ran down the unwashed face of the crew-cut boy. Tang Hao had done what he had always dreamed of doing but never dared to. Tang Hao was… was his idol.
At that moment, Tang Hao's towering figure was deeply etched into the boy's heart.
Listening to the others slander Tang Hao, out of respect for his idol—and due to their shared noble lineage from one of the Upper Three Sects—how could lowborn peasants be allowed to speak such blasphemy? The boy stood up and rebuked them:
"Silence! Tang Hao is of the noble Clear Sky bloodline, a being far above the likes of you. You wretches have no right to speak of him."
The Soul Hunters all froze.
"Hahaha! After all that, we're not even allowed to talk about it?"
"He's a disgrace to humanity, morally bankrupt. So what if he's strong? What he did can't be silenced."
"Power means nothing. I despise his character."
'Noble?' He slept with a soul beast and killed his own father for her! I don't see anything noble about that!"
"If even the Clear Sky Sect disowns him and you're still defending him... what are you, his bastard son or something?"
"Hahahaha…"
Instead of silencing them, the crew-cut boy's outburst only made them mock louder and more brazenly.
"Shut up! Tang Hao is of the noble bloodline of the Upper Three Sects! You mud-legged peasants are not fit to judge him. The Upper Three Sects are not to be defiled!" The boy's eyes glinted with a fierce light. In his heart, Tang Hao wasn't just an idol. They shared the same noble lineage, and a person of such elevated blood should not be slandered by baseborn Soul Masters. That noble heritage was one of the few things that still gave him a sense of superiority. To insult Tang Hao was to insult him.
The noble blood of the Upper Three Sects must never be tarnished by these lowly peasants.
The boy shouted, "Luo Sanpao!"
Poof! A grotesque little beast, neither pig nor dog, appeared in a puff of purple-black smoke.
Everyone's face changed instantly.
"Damn it, this is a tavern!"
"Shit, he's going to fart!"
"The drinks are ruined!"
"Quick, give me a mask!"
The boy's eyes shone with madness. "Thunderous flatulence—Heaven-Shattering Luo Sanpao!"
Tang Hao's infamy stretched from the far northern edge of the Heaven Dou Empire to the southernmost point of the Starfall Empire—everyone knew his name.
If one were to categorize him, he was much like Lü Bu: unmatched power, but an equally infamous reputation.
Lü Bu's strength was acknowledged by the world, though his character was not. But Tang Hao was even more disgraceful—at least Lü Bu only killed his adoptive father. Tang Hao murdered his real father.
Both were recognized for their power, but the key difference was this: Lü Bu was strong on his own. Tang Hao… had someone cheating for him behind the scenes.
After the incident at Tian Guling, all forces across the continent turned their eyes toward the Spirit Hall and the Clear Sky Sect.
The Clear Sky Sect was busy preparing the funeral for the late sect master and the elders, while the Spirit Hall side remained eerily silent.
As one of the continental giants, how Spirit Hall would handle this incident was the focus of everyone's attention.
Before long, however, a piece of terrible news came from Spirit Hall:
Pope Qian Xuanji had died from injuries sustained in his battle with Tang Hao.
In the basement of the Pope's Hall,
Qian Xuanji, gravely wounded and unable to recover, was forced to heal in seclusion.
At this moment, the door to the secret chamber opened, and Bibi Dong appeared at the entrance.
Gone was the innocence from her youth—
her once wine-red hair was now beginning to shift toward a deep purple hue.
"You've come, Dong'er," Qian Xuanji said, with no hint of caution.
During his injury and recovery, it had been Bibi Dong who cared for him all this time.
"Yes, teacher. I'm here."
Step by step, Bibi Dong walked toward him.
Suddenly, eight spider legs sprouted from her back. A cold, murderous glint flashed in her beautiful eyes.
"I've come to settle a debt."
"How dare—!"
Qian Xuanji immediately sensed something was wrong. He tried to summon his Holy Sword—
but found his spirit power completely sealed.
"Damn it, it was the medicine…" Qian Xuanji gritted his teeth.
"You guessed right," Bibi Dong sneered. "I laced your medicine with a spirit-sealing agent."
With a sudden movement, Bibi Dong appeared directly in front of Qian Xuanji.
Her eight spider spears shot forward—aiming at him.
Qian Xuanji stared at the incoming spears without resisting,
as if resigned to his fate.
But—
the spears didn't pierce his body.
Instead, they shot through his shoulders and pinned him to the wall behind him.
"Before I kill you," Bibi Dong said coldly,
"there's something I must know."
"No matter whether it's the Upper Three Sects or the two great empires,
when they train their successors, there's always a system—a procedure:
at what age they should meet certain people, follow certain steps."
"But what I don't understand—" she frowned,
"is that ever since you brought me here, you deliberately molded me into a simple, ignorant, naïve girl.
As if you were setting me up…
for that man, Yu Xiaogang, to appear."
"Yes.
A lonely girl, lacking love,
held high above others in Spirit Hall,
with no friends—
meeting someone she could truly talk to…
of course I would quickly grow close to him.
And you, my teacher, were always the one nudging things along behind the scenes."
"You kept me isolated as I grew up—
forbade others in Spirit Hall from forming close bonds with me—
but you ignored an outsider getting close.
It wasn't until I was nearly ready to elope with him that you finally intervened."
"And even then,
you had many ways to sever my emotional ties with him—
yet you chose the cruelest, the worst method of all."
"Teacher—
what was your true goal?" she demanded.
Faced with her barrage of questions, a trace of panic flashed in Qian Xuanji's eyes,
though he quickly masked it under a cold tone.
"Hmph.
I raised you from childhood—
because I wanted to use your body to bear me a superior heir."
"You are my possession.
How could I allow others to get close to you?"
"I just didn't expect that waste Yu Xiaogang to interfere.
Dong'er, you were going to abandon Spirit Hall for a useless man?
Then don't blame me for tearing you apart."
He paused, then added regretfully:
"Damn it… I kept you alive because your body could still produce strong offspring.
But if I'd known this would happen,
I should've killed you the moment Xue'er was born."
"Now that I've fallen into your hands—
I accept it.
Go on then—do it."
Bibi Dong's eyes narrowed.
"You, the Pope of Spirit Hall, with all the power in your grasp…
You want me to believe you didn't know Yu Xiaogang was getting close to me?
You didn't know he was reading through Spirit Hall's archives?
You didn't know he got the title of Theoretical Master—thanks to me persuading you?"
Qian Xuanji said nothing.
Some truths are invisible to those too deeply entangled in them.
But from the outside, the contradictions were clear.
"Answer me!"
Bibi Dong grabbed him. A crimson glow flashed through her eyes.
"You—" Qian Xuanji gasped in shock.
Even with his spirit power sealed—
he was a Level 95 Title Douluo!
Yet this 88-level Spirit Douluo, Bibi Dong,
had managed to forcibly invade his consciousness?
Since when were eight-ringed Spirit Douluo this monstrous?!
I am Qian Xuanji, born of the Angel Clan.
At age fifty, I attained the rank of Title Douluo.
In our era, before the rise of the Twin Stars of the Clear Sky Sect,
I was the youngest Title Douluo of my generation.
You might envy my talent—
but dissatisfaction always plagued my heart.
My accomplishments?
Disgraceful, in fact.
The Angel Clan possesses divine martial spirits granted by the God Ancestor—
a divine martial soul.
Becoming a Title Douluo was a matter of course.
But my talent—
compared to my ancestors—was mediocre at best.
Yes, I became a Title Douluo at 50—
but that was my limit.
The peak of my potential was Level 97, a so-called Super Douluo.
Compared to previous Angel Clan High Priests,
my power was a joke.
When I awakened my martial spirit at six years old,
I saw the disappointment in my father's and uncle's eyes.
My father told me,
"Your weak talent comes from your mother's side—
a deficiency in her primal essence."
My mother died giving birth to me.
The strain of birthing an Angel Spirit child was too much.
Not every woman can bear an angelic soul master.
I never blamed her.
She gave her life for me.
But I swore—
I would never let my children suffer as I did.
Later, I attempted the Angel God's trial.
My father earned a red-tier assessment—
I only received black-tier.
Even the Angel God rejected my talent.
God…
Such a lofty, sacred being.
To the world, I was a powerful pope—
a ruler.
But to the gods—
I was so lowly,
I didn't even deserve to bask in their radiance.
It devastated me.
We of the Angel Clan are fanatical devotees of the Angel God.
To serve Her successor, even give our lives—
that is our greatest honor.
Being forsaken by Her…
was worse than death.
A black-tier trial meant the Angel God no longer watched me.
I had been cast aside.
This plunged me into a pit of loneliness and fear.
For a long time, I knelt in prayer inside the Angel Temple—
begging for a single, gentle glance from the Divine Ancestor.
"If the gods ignore you, why not prove you exist to them?"
The Evil God found me and offered a temptation I could not refuse—Godmaking.
She wanted to cultivate her successor through me.
Even though the final price of this godmaking plan would be my life—so what? From the moment we angels are born, we are prepared to sacrifice ourselves for the birth of a god.
The only difference is that, unlike my father and grandfather who served only the Angel God, I—I could serve any god, even an Evil God.
I accepted the temptation of the Rakshasa God and waited for the chosen successor to appear before me.
Until I met Bibi Dong. From the moment her name entered my vision, I knew—the godmaking plan had begun.
A god would be raised by my hands. Oh, what an honor that is.
The light gradually returned to Qian Xuanji's eyes. He came back to his senses and looked at the dazed Bibi Dong in front of him. He realized—his memories had been read.
Bibi Dong came to her senses.
"So, from the moment I entered your sight, you'd already started arranging my entire life?"
Now that Bibi Dong had uncovered his plan, Qian Xuanji no longer hid anything. He said frankly,
"That's right.
I took you as my disciple. Even though you possessed two of the most evil martial spirits, I still taught you all the virtues and morals. Until Yu Xiaogang appeared, do you know why?"
Bibi Dong shook her head.
"Rakshasa is a god of malice, unlike the Angel God. What she demands from her heir—is a depth of malice," Qian Xuanji said.
"Then why didn't you raise me to be cruel from the beginning?" Bibi Dong asked.
"If I had just taught you to be evil from the start, there's no guarantee you would have reached the pinnacle of evil," Qian Xuanji explained.
"Arrogance at its extreme turns into inferiority. Absolute kindness turns into evil. A person's nature fluctuates around the neutral line. Those who dwell in the middle barely change. But when evil people suffer great misfortune, they may turn good. Conversely, the extremely kind—once faced with tragedy—may descend into darkness. This reversal is more terrible than pure evil."
Bibi Dong asked angrily, "Then why Yu Xiaogang?"
"Hahahahaha…" Qian Xuanji laughed. "Because he was perfect for it. A piece of trash stuck at rank 29, completely no threat to me. He got close to you not out of love, but to use you for his own agenda. A man with no self-awareness daring to think he could elope with the Holy Maiden of the Spirit Hall—he's selfish and opportunistic. And that's exactly the kind of man I needed."
"Think about it. From a young age, I locked you in a high tower. Everyone in the Spirit Hall respected you, but feared your status. You had no friends—until one day, someone with ulterior motives approached you. Then, you found what you thought was your first true friend."
Bibi Dong fell silent. Qian Xuanji continued:
"I used the ability of the Angel God's skull soul bone to influence you and him, then allowed your relationship to develop. I knew exactly what he was thinking. He never once truly loved you—only used you. And you, naive and inexperienced, fell deeply into the illusion of love I created, unable to see the truth of the man before you."
Qian Xuanji sneered coldly.
"Of course, I wasn't doing charity—giving the Spirit Hall's prodigy away to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan for free. Once you confirmed your relationship with that piece of trash, my attitude toward you changed. You witnessed your most respected master tear apart your bond with Yu Xiaogang and commit acts so cruel they weren't even fit for beasts. You also saw the one you loved—Xiaogang—swear eternal love to you one moment, and the next, go after another woman.
You saw the two most important people in your life betray you at the same time. That gave birth to your malice. And that malice was far richer than anything I could've cultivated through direct indoctrination in evil."
"I just didn't expect that your hatred for me far outweighed the pain Xiaogang caused you. No—perhaps it's just that you refuse to accept even he betrayed you. The one you're clinging to… is the version of him I created in your illusion. Just like a drowning person clutches at a straw."
At this point, Qian Xuanji became feverish with excitement.
"Dong'er, you truly didn't disappoint me. Your extraordinary body gave birth to an outstanding heir—Qian Renxue—chosen by the Angel God. And the malice born from within you satisfies the demands of the Rakshasa God. Now, the gate to godhood is open. Pierce your spider spear through my heart. Devour my soul. Let the evil of patricide be the starting point of your ascent to godhood."
Bibi Dong took two steps back, looking at Qian Xuanji with a complicated expression.
"So, everything you did—was just to create a god?"
She shook her head and questioned,
"Now that I know everything… how can you be so sure I'll even want to inherit this godhood?"
Qian Xuanji sighed,
"Not knowing the truth would've been better for you. At least then, you could still hold onto your illusions about Yu Xiaogang. I didn't want you to know all this—because his existence helped restrain your madness.
Knowing the truth will only make you more insane… and uncontrollable."
"All these years, I knew you were silently enduring, waiting for the chance to take revenge on me. Now, you've got your chance—but you had to dig deeper, searching for the truth."
"You chased after the truth—and now it's in front of you."
"It was I who used the circumstances to give him the opportunity to pursue and exploit you."
"It was I who used illusions to mask his plagiarism and made him seem like a great soul master."
"It was I who used illusions to conceal his selfishness, so all you saw was the false love he appeared to give you."
"Hahahahaha…" Qian Xuanji laughed wildly. He turned the tables and asked:
"So, are you satisfied now? This is the man you loved for so long—Yu Xiaogang.
A rank-29 nobody. His cultivation was only raised at the cost of decades of Yu Yuanzhen's own practice. His so-called theories were completely plagiarized from Spirit Hall's archives. Even your obsession with him wasn't because of any merit he had.
It was because of me.
Without me, that piece of trash wouldn't even be qualified to approach you—let alone make you fall in love with him."
"You've hated me for so many years. You carefully prepared this revenge. But what you didn't expect... is that your revenge... is exactly what I needed most."
"So what will you do?"
"Come now, the godhood that mortals can only dream of is already open to you." Qian Xuanji sat upon the throne in the secret chamber, spreading his arms with fervent enthusiasm. "Kill me. Stain yourself with your master's blood. Devour my soul. Inherit everything I have. And usher in the era of the Twin Gods of Spirit Hall."
Bibi Dong scoffed at herself. "Godhood... Is it really that important to you? You planned out my entire life. But how do you know this is what I wanted?"
"No one can resist the temptation of godhood. Even if it's an evil god, it means eternal life, immense power, and dominion over destiny itself. I was never destined to become a god. But I can help you become one," Qian Xuanji said. "I believe... you won't be able to resist it either, can you?"
"In the end, it's all for your so-called 'God-making Plan.'"
"You're not wrong. But my plan is to help you ascend to godhood. As for Yu Xiaogang's plan, he's done nothing but exploit you to the fullest. I can even imagine that once you reach the rank of Titled Douluo, Yu Xiaogang would delay his cultivation for decades just to use you to break through his own rank-29 bottleneck," Qian Xuanji said with a cold sneer.
"You…" Bibi Dong suddenly spoke with pity in her voice, "You're truly pitiful."
Qian Xuanji was stunned. Ever since the truth was exposed, he had been trying to manipulate Bibi Dong into killing him. But he never expected that after knowing everything, her reaction would be... pity.
Bibi Dong looked up at the illusory sky above the chamber and said, "The Divine Realm discarded its godhood. You went mad for it, gave everything, and ultimately offered your own life for it. But to those lofty gods above, that godhood you so desperately sought was nothing more than bait."
"You think we are stepping into the glorious era of Spirit Hall's Twin Gods, but what you fail to see... is the trap behind the bait — one that will bring eternal ruin to Spirit Hall."
Qian Xuanji stared at her, confused, pondering her words. At last, he asked, "Who are you?"
Bibi Dong smiled. "So you've finally noticed."
"The one inside the game cannot see as clearly as the one outside. If it were Dong'er, she never would have seen through this. Only someone standing outside the board could be so clear-headed," Qian Xuanji muttered, scrutinizing her closely.
In his eyes, the eight spider legs behind Bibi Dong's back had changed — they transformed into dazzling angelic wings. One pair was as pure and noble as those of a six-winged seraph, but the remaining three pairs radiated the aura of corruption and fallenness.
Her figure blurred before his eyes, and finally, a face appeared — one familiar yet unfamiliar to Qian Xuanji.
"You…" Qian Xuanji pointed at the pale-haired woman before him in shock, at a loss for words.
How could she resemble his daughter so much? And her angelic martial spirit... how could it be?
"I am Qian Renxue," she said calmly. "If she had heard what you just revealed, she truly would have broken down. But I'm not her — I'm your daughter."
"Nonsense! My Xue'er is nowhere near your age!"
"Then, Father, what if I told you... the memory of her giving birth to Qian Renxue... was also an illusion?" Qian Renxue said. "The truth is, in this reality, the Xue'er you remember never existed."
"You're saying... illusion?"
"Yes. Father, I returned to this era long ago. I witnessed the moment you accepted her as your disciple. From that moment on, I saw you implant the power of the Angel God's skull soul bone into her spiritual sea."
"And from that moment on, I laid my trap as well. I used the same illusion technique of the Angel God's skull soul bone on you. I wanted to see what you were really up to."
"Your plan continued... until Yu Xiaogang appeared. I shattered the illusion you cast on her. Yet even within the illusions surrounding both Yu Xiaogang and you, he still carried out his vile manipulations of her, and you continued your God-making Plan."
"In the illusion, your plan reached the point where she eloped with Yu Xiaogang. You intervened, imprisoned her in this chamber, and I took your form to test Yu Xiaogang — I made him choose between the Golden Dragonfruit and her. As I expected, he chose the path most beneficial to himself and abandoned my mother." At this, Qian Renxue smiled.
"You're saying... everything was an illusion. Even Xue'er's birth?"
Qian Xuanji frowned. "Then you can't be my daughter. I only ever had Bibi Dong, and I took her in when she was just six—how could you…"
"My name is Qian Renxue. I am your daughter — but not the daughter of this timeline."
"This timeline?"
"I came back from the future — to this era, to stop your madness," Qian Renxue declared.
"Qian... Qian Renxue... If you really are my daughter, then you wretched girl! You've ruined everything! Do you even know what Spirit Hall has lost because of you? We've lost the Twin Gods!"
"The Twin Gods of Spirit Hall?" Qian Renxue laughed bitterly. "Even if your plan had succeeded, what difference would it make? In my timeline, you succeeded. Every step of your plan was realized. Spirit Hall achieved the Twin Gods. But in the end... Spirit Hall still fell."
She sighed. "Your plan was just one piece in someone else's grand scheme. In the end, Mother and I were both reduced to stepping stones for someone else's ascension."
"Someone else?"
Qian Renxue began recounting a bizarre tale from her past life.
At first, Qian Xuanji didn't believe it. But the more he listened, the angrier he became.
"You're telling me... that Tang Hao's beastly son destroyed Spirit Hall and ended the Twin Gods?" Qian Xuanji could barely accept it. Anyone who had spent their whole life building something only to see it collapse — and worse, caused by the very disciples and daughter they raised — would be devastated.
"Yes," Qian Renxue said. "From what I've learned, the Asura God and the Rakshasa God were actually a duo. They traveled across realms with a set script: the Rakshasa would spread evil, and the Asura would judge it — gaining the people's faith and divine power in the process."
"The Asura instructed the Rakshasa to find a successor on our Douluo Continent, join Spirit Hall, and become the next Rakshasa God. As the Rakshasa acted evilly, even the angel representing light and judgment would fall. This would unleash a continent-wide catastrophe — only for the chosen one of the Asura to appear, saving the world with divine brilliance."
She laughed at herself, "So from the very beginning, your plan was nothing more than a cog in theirs. The true god they wanted wasn't me, or her — it was Tang San."
She looked at Qian Xuanji with a mix of sorrow and pity. "Now that you know the truth, Father — what do you think?"
"I'll do whatever it takes to eliminate that beast," Qian Xuanji could no longer sit still.
"Father, have you not understood anything from the Battle of Amagu Ridge?" Qian Renxue said. "What Tang Hao displayed wasn't his true strength—it was a setup orchestrated by the God of Shura behind the scenes."
"To make a move on Tang San right under the God of Shura's nose is tantamount to declaring war on the God of Shura himself."
Upon hearing that, Qian Xuanji suddenly let out a bitter laugh. Sitting on the Pope's throne, he smiled wryly.
"Heh… I see now. I wondered how someone like Tang Hao, with only eight spirit rings, could have possibly done all that."
"I, Qian Xuanji, have dedicated my entire life to creating gods. I've sacrificed everything to bring divine glory back to the Spirit Hall—so much so that I was even willing to offer my own life. Yet, the god I created, in the end, became nothing more than a stepping stone for that beast's ascension. The gods truly favor that family…"
Qian Renxue gazed at her father—this ordeal had clearly shaken him deeply.
To a fanatic who revered gods, the notion that a god could stand against the Spirit Hall was utterly shattering. Just moments ago, he had faced death with composure, but now he seemed completely broken and powerless.
She said nothing. Instead, she unleashed her divine power—an aura of both sanctity and corruption enveloped Qian Xuanji.
Bathed in divine energy, Qian Xuanji slowly raised his head and looked at Qian Renxue. "Xue'er, you…"
Nine scarlet spirit rings descended in sequence, each encircled by golden light that radiated divine aura.
The despair vanished from Qian Xuanji's face, replaced by fervent excitement. After all, this was the closest he had ever come to godhood—and the god standing before him was his own daughter.
His gaze grew increasingly fanatical, and Qian Renxue could see how strange her father's eyes had become. Yet she couldn't bring herself to blame him.
"Father," she said calmly, "I once ascended to the divine realm and saw sights you never did. The divine world is no longer ruled solely by the God of Shura. I will not be content with the throne of a mere first-rank god. In this lifetime, whether I or Tang San prevail is still undecided."
"I will let you witness the moment when the radiance of the Angel God illuminates all of the Douluo Continent."
"Hahaha! Good! Excellent!" Qian Xuanji laughed wildly. "Xue'er, let the light of the Angel God shine across all of Douluo! Tell me—what do you need from your father?"
"I need your death to announce it to the world."
Qian Xuanji froze, then nodded. "Very well. Let it be so."
But Qian Renxue shook her head. "Not in the literal sense. I want you to temporarily retreat to the Angel Temple. Spirit Hall will publicly declare your death, marking the transition from your era to mine. Only then can our plans proceed smoothly."
Outside the Angel Temple, Qian Xuanji looked up at the statue of the Angel God. A sense of release washed over him. Once he entered the temple, Qian Xuanji would be, for all practical purposes, dead to the world of Douluo. And strangely, that brought him peace.
With that, he turned and walked toward the temple.
"Teacher…" came a soft voice from behind him—Bibi Dong.
Qian Xuanji turned around and saw her standing there. She looked nothing like the woman who had once entered the Slaughter City and emerged the Rakshasa. No, the Bibi Dong before him seemed untouched, pure and radiant—as though he had never defiled her.
Her hair was still that rich wine red. Without needing confirmation, Qian Xuanji knew—this wasn't the imposter daughter pretending to be her.
"Dong'er…"
Bibi Dong looked at him with a complicated expression.
"You know everything now, don't you?" he asked.
She nodded.
"Do you hate me?"
"I don't know how to feel about you," she replied after a moment of thought. "But… that kind of hatred only comes when something has happened directly to oneself. I've never personally experienced it."
"Then… is your heart still with Yu Xiaogang?"
"How could I claim to love when I've experienced nothing? Besides, I saw his revolting side." She recalled the moment her teacher dragged her before Yu Xiaogang and asked him to choose—between her and a golden spirit fruit. She never understood why. Why did her teacher force a stranger to make such a decision?
But one thing was clear—Yu Xiaogang was utterly disgusting. Without Qian Xuanji's manipulation, how could she ever have fallen for someone like him?
"Yes, nothing really happened, and yet… we had a daughter together." Qian Xuanji looked up at the statue of the Angel God. "Dong'er, you truly raised a remarkable daughter."
Bibi Dong said nothing.
"My obsession with godhood blinded me. I turned to the evil gods. And in the end, it was the Angel God who saved me from that obsession. Dong'er, I owe you an apology. I never considered your feelings when I imposed my obsession upon you."
"I am no longer your teacher. The future of Spirit Hall now rests in your hands. Apart from that responsibility, you are free."
Without another word, Qian Xuanji turned and stepped into the Angel Temple, never looking back.
"Teacher…" Bibi Dong whispered, reaching out as if to say something—but in the end, she stayed silent, watching his figure disappear into divine light.
Outside the temple, Qian Renxue and Qian Daoliu observed the farewell.
"It's clear Father cares deeply for Mother," Qian Renxue said. "And she… she didn't respond with the hatred I expected after learning the truth."
"Xue'er," Qian Daoliu said quietly, "your father was right about one thing. Extremes often give way to their opposites. Behind extreme confidence lies deep insecurity. Behind evil, there can be kindness—and behind kindness, evil. Everything in this world has its reversal."
"Your mother hated your father all her life. But have you ever wondered why?"
"She was six when she was abandoned. It was Spirit Hall that gave her a home. To her, your father was like a father figure. And then… that happened. The more she hated him, the more it meant he once held great weight in her heart."
Qian Renxue recalled her past life—at the moment of her death, two people still lingered in her thoughts:
One was the father she hated to the extreme.
The other was Yu Xiaogang, who haunted her even at the end.
Did she truly love Yu Xiaogang?
No—what she loved was nothing more than the unforgettable image her father had left in her heart.
Even her father knew that Bibi Dong was never meant to know the truth. People need something—anything—to hold on to if they are to keep living. Without the illusion of Yu Xiaogang, all that remained for her… was madness.