Inside the Hall of Offerings, the five Grand Worshippers, led by Qian Daoliu, were prostrated on the ground. At the moment Qian Daoliu received the divine oracle, disbelief was written all over his face.
"When did I have a granddaughter?" he thought to himself.
Even as the divine radiance filled the Angelic Space and Qian Renxue slowly emerged from that holy light, Qian Daoliu still looked utterly stunned.
Returning to the familiar halls of the Spirit Temple, seeing the five familiar elders before her, twenty thousand years of memories surged through Qian Renxue's mind, overlapping with the present. Emotion swelled in her chest, and tears rolled down her cheeks. She finally stepped up to Qian Daoliu, hugged him tightly, and said only one word: "Grandfather."
Though Qian Daoliu was filled with doubt, the Angel God had declared her his granddaughter, and he could indeed sense a faint resonance of shared bloodline from her. That sense of grievance and longing emanating from her touched his heart, and he held this blood-related descendant tightly in return.
A long moment passed before the two finally separated.
"I know you must have many questions, Grandfather. Please allow me to explain everything," Qian Renxue said, wiping away her tears.
Moments later—
"Xue'er, you say you're the daughter of Jier and Bibi Dong? That you eventually became the Angel God, and Bibi Dong became the Rakshasa God—but in the end, you still lost? Bibi Dong was slain by Tang San's Asura Divine Sword, your godhood shattered and you fell from your divine position, and the Spirit Hall was destroyed?" Qian Daoliu asked in shock.
Qian Renxue didn't say anything else. She simply nodded.
Inside the Hall of Offerings, the five Grand Worshippers took a long time to process the weight of this information.
The long-time Rank 98 Golden Crocodile Douluo snorted, "Hmph, Big Brother, if that's the case, let's just wipe out the Clear Sky Clan—root and branch. As long as we kill Tang Hao, there won't be any Tang San left to worry about, right?"
The Lion Douluo added, "Don't forget that 100,000-year-old Blue Silver Empress. Kill her too—take her spirit ring and soul bone. That way, we'll crush the threat of the Spirit Hall's enemies while it's still in the cradle."
Qian Daoliu hesitated. "That…"
The Azure Phoenix Worshipper said, "Big Brother, are you still worried about Tang Chen? Don't forget, when he ascended our Spirit Hall all those years ago, he was chosen by a mysterious god to become a Divine Trial Worshipper—forever barred from true godhood. What's there to be afraid of?"
The Radiant Plume Worshipper chimed in, "Exactly, Big Brother. I've been itching to use my Radiant Plume Divine Bow against the Clear Sky Clan for a long time."
"No." Qian Renxue shook her head. "The Clear Sky Clan is backed by the Asura God. That shameless Asura God has secretly supported them since Tang Chen's time. If we act now, I'm afraid the Asura God won't sit still."
Qian Daoliu frowned. "But... can gods even interfere with the mortal realm at will?" He, having regular contact with the Angel God, knew some of the rules of the Divine Realm: gods are not supposed to interfere easily in the lower realm.
Qian Renxue scoffed. "The Asura God is one of the six Divine Kings of the Divine Realm. He holds authority over its central order. He's the one who writes the rules—so to him, rules are used when convenient and discarded when not. He's interfered in the mortal realm plenty of times. For example, the skill Grand Vast Heaven Hammer—that's a divine technique the Asura God personally tailored for the Clear Sky Hammer and passed on to Tang Chen."
"What? Grand Vast Heaven Hammer wasn't something Tang Chen figured out himself?" Qian Daoliu's face twitched.
Qian Renxue replied, "Yes, it was said to be self-realized, which is why no one objected. But how do you think he 'realized' it?"
"Wait—Xue'er, you're saying the Grand Vast Heaven Hammer is a divine technique?"
"Grandfather, you lost to Tang Chen by just one move because of it. Later, my father—Rank 95 Angel Douluo—was seriously injured by Tang Hao, who had just attained his Title Douluo rank, with that very same hammer technique. Then Tang Hao, at Rank 97, fought Golden Crocodile Grandpa—who was Rank 98—and held his ground. And Tang San... he was able to unleash the Grand Vast Heaven Hammer by detonating his spirit rings, and fought me, a god, with a mortal's body. Even though I held back, doesn't that show how terrifying the technique is?" Qian Renxue explained.
Qian Daoliu and Golden Crocodile Douluo exchanged looks.
A long silence fell before the Radiant Plume Douluo muttered, "Big Brother... you got played."
Qian Daoliu froze for a moment, then snapped out of it. "Tang Chen! You dared to scheme against me!"
"What happened?" the Lion Douluo asked, confused.
Azure Phoenix Douluo explained, "Third Brother, remember when Tang Chen was about to search for a path to godhood, and he proposed one final duel with our Big Brother? They agreed not to use any soul skills—just pure strength. They fought for three days and three nights, and Tang Chen narrowly beat Big Brother by half a move. After that, they made a pact: no Spirit Hall Pope after Qian Daoliu would step foot into the Clear Sky Clan's ancestral grounds."
Qian Daoliu laughed bitterly in anger. "You wouldn't use divine skills, but you did—and I didn't know! Tang Chen, you're something else. Fine then! From this moment on, I declare that our agreement is null and void!"
However, even though the words were said, the Worshippers all understood—they couldn't just rush into war with the Clear Sky Clan. Not with the Asura God backing them. And so, they returned to the original dilemma.
"If the Clear Sky Clan has the Asura God behind them, then what do we do?" the Lion Douluo asked bitterly. "Just sit here and wait to be destroyed?"
Qian Renxue smiled confidently. "Don't be afraid, Grandpa Worshippers. In the past, Spirit Hall didn't even know who our true enemies were. Now we do. The Angel God was plotted against and fell at the hands of that shameless Sea God. The Asura God? He's just as low. But the era is different now. We have the Angel God Ancestor behind us—and a god king whose power rivals the Five Divine Kings of the Divine Realm. His hatred for Tang San is no less than ours. This time... we're not without hope."
Then, Qian Renxue shared the current state of the Divine Realm with the Worshippers, finally putting their hearts at ease.
"Grandpas, I've shared all this because I trust you. These things must stay between us. Do not let word of this spread," Qian Renxue warned repeatedly.
The Worshippers weren't fools—they all swore to keep the secret.
Qian Daoliu then asked, "And what about Jier? After all, he's your father. Should I tell him?"
"No. Absolutely not." Qian Renxue immediately stopped him. "Tell him nothing about me. There are some things I want to test myself. I want to see... what kind of father and mother this era has given me."
Qian Daoliu nodded. "Alright then."
(End of Chapter)
Let me know if you'd like to continue with Chapter 18!