Qian Renxue lowered her gaze, concealing the sharp gleam in her purple eyes.
'A sword style from wuxia world, a mysterious origin .Ren Xuan This person might truly be a reincarnator.'
Qian Daoliu's voice grew faintly bitter as he recalled,
"While I had lost to Tang Chen in our duel, I still held a faint hope that Bo Saixi might one day give me a chance. But the condition she placed upon us…"
He shook his head bitterly, "...clearly showed where her heart truly leaned."
His eyes grew distant, remembering.
"She said she would only accept the one who reached Godhood first."
His shoulders slumped slightly, and the years of weariness seemed to weigh down on him.
"That was her way of rejecting me. As High Priest of the Angel God, I knew my path was sealed. Priests cannot cross the threshold after 99."
He paused, his gaze clouding with unspoken memories, before continuing in a low, almost resentful tone,
"Tang Chen, that hot-blooded idiot, took her words literally. He roared that he would return only after attaining godhood, and without hesitation, he left. Foolish… and yet, that kind of foolishness was what she admired most."
For a brief moment, the great High Priest of Spirit Hall looked less like an unshakable pillar of power and more like a weary old man reminiscing about a wound that never healed.
His eyes, however, softened when they fell on his granddaughter.
Inside his heart, he thought: 'We priests… we are merely guides, stepping stones for the chosen inheritors. Our destiny is to sacrifice ourselves, to become the pedestal upon which the successor ascends to divinity. It is an honor—but also a chain.'
'Renxue… you will succeed where I failed. You will accept the Nine Angel Trials. You will not remain a priest, chained to duty. You will ascend as the Angel Goddess herself.'
He reached out, brushing her golden hair gently, the same way he had done since she was a child.
In the original storyline, he had sacrificed himself so that Qian Renxue could become Angel Goddess. However what he had left was a broken girl who had lost the most loved relative in her life.
Qian Daoliu then continued speaking aloud, his tone regaining its grandeur.
"After that day, the world began to call us the three pillars of the continent. My legend reigned supreme in the skies, Bo Saixi ruled the seas, and Tang Chen stood as the eternal symbol of strength upon the land."
Outwardly, Qian Renxue kept her posture straight, her purple eyes appearing calm and attentive. She nodded slightly at the right moments, as though absorbing every word.
But inside, her thoughts were sharp and cold:
'So,because of this reason Ren Xuan the Ultimate Douluo is still unknown. Ninety-nine percent, he's a reincarnator..., silent for decades. There is a chance he can be alive, hiding somewhere, licking his wounds.'
She shut out the rest of her grandfather's tale. She had no interest in his failed love story or the so-called "three pillars." Such romantic notions were nothing but distractions. What mattered was power and knowledge of anomalies like Ren Xuan.
When Qian Daoliu finally fell quiet, Qian Renxue rose gracefully. She bowed slightly, her tone soft and respectful, masking her cold calculations.
"Grandfather, I am feeling tired from this long journey. May I return to my chambers to rest?"
Qian Daoliu studied her for a brief moment. To him, she still looked like that obedient granddaughter who had always followed his guidance. He smiled, waving his hand.
"Go, Renxue. Rest well. We will speak again tomorrow."
As she walked out of the grand hall, her figure vanishing into the dimly lit corridor, Qian Renxue's eyes gleamed faintly in the shadows.
Her lips curved into a faint, cold smile.
---
As Qian Renxue walked down the corridor, her thoughts spun like threads.
' Ren Xuan… if he still lives, where would he hide? Would he burrow into a remote cave? Seclude himself in some forgotten ruin? Or perhaps—blend into the chaos of the world until another chance rises?'
Her musings were interrupted. Two tall shadows suddenly loomed before her.
Ci Xue and She Long immediately dropped to their knees, their faces filled with unease and frustration. Their loyalty had never wavered, yet their expressions told of wounded pride.
Ci Xue was the first to speak, his voice carrying grievance.
"Young Master… tell us, was there some mistake we committed? Why did you not take us with you during these past months?"
She Long followed, his tone heavier, laced with discontent.
"The Great Worshipper had us investigated, weighed, and fined a few million gold coins. But our past was clean! We have stood by you without fail. Why abandon us?"
Qian Renxue stopped. Her golden hair caught the faint torchlight as her purple eyes swept over them, unreadable. She knew well what had transpired, but she preferred to hear it from their mouths. It was always useful to test how her subordinates thought.
She asked lightly, almost playfully,
"So, how did the others receive their punishment? What do you think of it?"
The two men exchanged a glance before She Long carefully spoke, his tone cautious, like one walking across a frozen lake.
"The Titled Douluo and Soul Douluo were given harsh punishments—lands confiscated, fines of immense amounts. Their families with lesser crimes were spared execution but placed under heavy watch or jailed. But…"