[Little Fox Who Likes Teacher the Most: Sorry, Teacher, I... my tongue slipped (pouting pitifully)]
[Heaven Dou's Richest Little Rich Girl: Pfft... Hahaha!]
[Loves Eating Carrots: I'm dying of laughter, guys.]
[The Single Married Woman Who Runs the Academy: Bibi Dong, I have a suggestion for you. I seriously suspect your disciple, Hu Liena, is a traitor! (wicked grin)]
[Little Fox Who Likes Teacher the Most: Huh? I'm not, I didn't! Teacher, she's slandering me, she's defaming me, she's totally defaming me!]
Hu Liena's face flushed red with anxiety, and she started stuttering, terrified that her teacher would actually believe those words.
[The Yandere Maniac Beauty of the Spirit Hall: Nana, it's fine. Don't listen to their nonsense. Teacher believes you.]
[Little Fox Who Likes Teacher the Most: Hehe, Teacher, I knew you were the best! By the way, for tonight's stir-fried pork with bamboo shoots, do you need me to bring the meat?]
[The Yandere Maniac Beauty of the Spirit Hall: Just come yourself.]
[The Yandere Maniac Beauty of the Spirit Hall: Also, Li Yuan, I admit you might know many secrets, but don't talk nonsense. How could I possibly be the number one person to destroy Spirit Hall?]
Supreme Pontiff Palace.
Bibi Dong's eyes widened. How could she be the number one mastermind?
Despite her words about wanting to destroy Spirit Hall...
...over all these years, which of her decisions hadn't been for the sake of Spirit Hall?
Her goal was to establish the Spirit Empire and then eliminate the influence of Spirit Hall, not to destroy Spirit Hall itself.
Everyone in the group shared the same confusion as Bibi Dong.
[Big Cat in the Dark Night: Group Owner, I want to ask a question. If Bibi Dong wants to destroy Spirit Hall, why would she make Spirit Hall stronger?]
[The Yandere Maniac Beauty of the Spirit Hall: Exactly. If I wanted to destroy Spirit Hall, wouldn't that be redundant?]
[Li Yuan: The reason is simple. You are the Supreme Pontiff, the highest decision-maker of Spirit Hall. Every decision you make directly affects the future of Spirit Hall, and for Yu Xiaogang's sake, you made too many foolish decisions at critical moments.]
[Li Yuan: During the Spirit Master Competition, you knew Tang San couldn't be won over and could only be killed. But because of your past relationship with Yu Xiaogang, you showed him mercy. And the result? After Tang San became a god, he didn't just kill you; he even stripped your daughter Qian Renxue of her God Position!]
[Li Yuan: As for Qian Renxue and Hu Liena... they were mostly inheriting and executing your wrong path. Then... each according to their own "love-brain" attributes, they added to it, digging the hole deeper and deeper.]
[Li Yuan: To summarize: Bibi Dong digs the hole, Qian Renxue and Hu Liena fill it in. The three of them worked together and finally buried the great edifice of Spirit Hall. Perfect! (clapping)]
Supreme Pontiff Palace.
Bibi Dong looked at Li Yuan's mocking summary; her face turned pale, looking extremely grim.
She had caused her own death and also caused her daughter to lose her God Position?
Who exactly was Tang San?
Did he really have such great power?
Although Bibi Dong didn't want to admit it, what Li Yuan said seemed... to make some sense?
If it were her past self facing Yu Xiaogang, she might have truly softened for a moment.
No!
Impossible!
"I, Bibi Dong, am a person of great talent and vision, how could I..." Her heart struggled violently as emotion and reality collided fiercely.
Crown Princes Mansion.
Qian Renxue looked at the screen, her pearly teeth biting her lower lip tightly, her emotions complex to the extreme.
She had always thought she was the most clear-headed, the most rational, and the one carrying the heaviest burden.
But now it seemed... in Li Yuan's eyes...
...she was nothing more than a "bimbo beauty" following behind her mother to "fill in the dirt"?
Saintess Hall.
Hu Liena was even more struck as if by lightning, muttering to herself, "I... am I also one of the accomplices? I was actually pushing Spirit Hall into the fire pit?"
Li Yuan looked at the strange silence in the group and nodded with satisfaction.
Very good, it seems this group of "love-brains" and "bimbo beauties" have finally started to reflect.
"Alright, that's all for now. I really have to go offline. Everyone, see you later!"
After saying that, Li Yuan decisively clicked "Offline," and his avatar instantly turned gray.
He left behind a group of "bimbo beauties" with different thoughts and the onlookers, all questioning their lives.
Afterward, Li Yuan thought to himself, "System, claim the god-bestowed spirit bone."
Since the adaptive god-bestowed spirit bone is guaranteed to be a Spirit Bone he doesn't already have, he didn't have much hope that a skull or torso bone would appear on the first try.
After all, the limbs account for more than half the probability, while the skull and torso are only a small part. Anyone with half a brain could figure out which probability was higher.
Immediately after, a Left Arm Bone with golden streamlined patterns appeared in his palm.
"As expected."
Li Yuan shook his head, pressed the Left Arm Bone against his hand, and began absorbing it on the spot.
As for the Soul Bone Skill, he chose an Amplification-type Spirit Ability without the slightest hesitation.
After all, the premise of "one force breaks all laws" is that one's attributes must be high enough.
As long as the stats are strong enough, even a basic attack can deal 10,000 points of critical damage.
As the saying goes, high damage on the left claw, right claw high damage—that's what it means!
...Meanwhile.
While Qian Renxue was still questioning her life...
...a raspy voice came from the entrance of the Crown Princes Mansion.
"Young Lord! The letter the Supreme Pontiff asked me to deliver to you has arrived."
It was Ghost Douluo, Gui Mei.
Qian Renxue calmed her emotions and reverted to the gentle and refined appearance of Xue Qinghe.
She walked to the door, impatiently took the letter Gui Mei handed over, and made a gesture as if to tear it up.
"Didn't I tell her? Things here in Heaven Dou can't be rushed. Why is she nagging?"
Obviously, she thought Bibi Dong's letter this time was again urging her to speed up the mission.
Seeing this, Gui Mei quickly reminded her in a low voice, "Young Lord, this time is different..."
"Hmm?"
Qian Renxue's movements paused, and she looked at Gui Mei suspiciously.
Gui Mei was Bibi Dong's confidant and had always been obedient. For him to say "different," could there really be some change in the letter?
Suppressing her impatience, she opened the envelope, took out the letter, and looked down to read.
The handwriting on the paper was indeed Bibi Dong's, carrying her usual sharp edge.
But strangely, between the lines, there was less of the past coldness and command, and instead, much more warmth.
The content of the letter wasn't long, the general idea being:
Everything in the past was her failure as a mother, and she owed Qian Renxue a lot. Now, she hoped Qian Renxue could let go of past grievances. If she was willing, she could return to Spirit Hall at any time, and as her mother, she would do her best to... make amends.
At the end of the letter, she even used the name "Xue'er" for the first time.
Though it was only a few hundred words long, Qian Renxue read it for a long time.
A few minutes later, she slowly raised her head.
Her eyes were already red, her nose felt sour and unbearable, and tears welled up, finally rolling down uncontrollably in large drops, wetting the letter.
She was both angry and aggrieved. "On what basis do I come to Heaven Dou just because you tell me to, and go back just because you tell me to? On what basis? On what basis?"
"On what basis did you tell me to get lost so many times when I tried to please you growing up? And now you call me Xue'er?"
"Bibi Dong, I, Qian Renxue, am not a dog you can call and dismiss at will!"
Years of heartache surged to her heart at this moment.
She could no longer hold it together; her shoulders trembled slightly as she let the tears flow freely.
Gui Mei, watching from the side, also felt quite a bit of pity.
Regardless of their positions, Qian Renxue was ultimately the only daughter of the former Supreme Pontiff Qian Xunji, whom he had served for many years, and the child he had watched grow up.
Seeing her current state, Gui Mei sighed inwardly.
"Young Lord, His Holiness the Pope said that she really hopes you'll return. All these years were her fault, and she has always had you, her daughter, in her heart. It was just because of some unknown reasons..."
Naturally, Bibi Dong wouldn't have said these words.
But... who said he couldn't speak on Bibi Dong's behalf?
Gui Mei could feel that Bibi Dong's attitude toward Qian Renxue had indeed changed.
To facilitate even the slightest possibility of reconciliation between this mother and daughter...
...he was willing to take the risk and act as a "mediator" by faking the Pope's orders.
Consider it repaying the favor of Qian Xunji bestowing a Spirit Bone back then.
Qian Renxue wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, turned around with her back to Gui Mei, and said with a trembling voice, "Tell... Mom... Bibi Dong!"
"I'm not going back. After all these years, now that the mission has reached this point, even if I die, I will see it through to the end."
"And... give my regards to Grandfather. Tell him his granddaughter is doing well."