Chapter 59: Qian Renxue—I’m Going to Make Her Pay
"And then... your father... what he did to Bibi Dong..."
As the words hung in the air, a deathly silence fell over the training grounds.
Qian Renxue’s body gave a violent shudder. The water skin in her hand slipped from her grasp and hit the ground with a thud, spilling its clear contents across the floor—yet she remained utterly oblivious.
So... that was it.
No wonder Bibi Dong’s gaze was always filled with such deep-seated resentment whenever she looked at her.
No wonder, from childhood to adulthood, that woman had never once offered her an embrace or a word of concern.
No wonder Bibi Dong would wear that look of near-insanity whenever the word "Mother" was uttered in her presence.
For her very birth was the living proof of a heinous sin—the testament to her father’s brutality, and the source of a lifetime of suffering for Bibi Dong.
Qian Renxue closed her eyes, her fingernails digging deep into her palms.
For a fleeting moment, she almost felt sympathy for Bibi Dong. She almost found herself understanding that twisted, warped hatred.
But then, the very next instant...
Jiang Bai’s face surfaced in her mind...
And in that instant, every shred of sympathy and understanding vanished into thin air.
Qian Renxue snapped her eyes open; within those violet depths, nothing remained but cold, unadulterated killing intent.
As Jiang Bai had once said: to give birth but not to raise—even a severed finger could repay the debt; but to raise without without giving birth—a hundred lifetimes could not suffice to repay it!
Bibi Dong had given her life, yet she had never fulfilled the duties of a mother—not for a single day. Instead, she had projected the entirety of her hatred for her father onto her, tormenting her, exploiting her, and even killing the person she loved most.
She owed Bibi Dong nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
Bibi Dong... sooner or later, the day will come when I slay you with my own hands. I will use your severed head... to offer a sacrifice to the memory of Jiang Bai.
She took several deep breaths, forcing herself to regain her composure. Then, rising to her feet, she addressed Golden Crocodile.
"Thank you, Grandpa Golden Crocodile, for telling me all this. I shall go back and rest now."
Gazing at her face—which had become terrifyingly calm—Golden Crocodile felt a surge of unease in his heart. He gently patted Qian Renxue on the shoulder, wanting to offer some words of comfort, but in the end, he merely let out a sigh.
"Mm. Get some good rest, and try not to dwell on things too much."
Qian Renxue nodded, then turned and departed from the training grounds.
...
Qian Renxue’s Bedchamber.
Qian Renxue changed out of the sweat-drenched battle robes she had worn during training, donning instead a long, plain white gown.
She walked over to her desk and took her seat; yet, rather than immediately attending to her duties, she simply gazed out the window in a silent reverie.
After a long while, she spoke in a soft voice.
"Come in."
A young woman clad in the white uniform of a handmaiden silently pushed open the door and entered, offering a respectful bow: "Young Master."
"Go and investigate someone for me," Qian Renxue’s voice remained calm. "Yu Xiaogang—a middle-aged man who styles himself ’The Grandmaster,’ a theorist."
"As you command, Young Master." The handmaiden acknowledged the order and withdrew, her movements swift and precise.
Qian Renxue leaned back against the chair, closed her eyes, and let Golden Crocodile’s words echo through her mind.
Yu Xiaogang... the outcast of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan; the man Bibi Dong had once loved.
A plan began to slowly take shape within her heart.
Since she could not yet kill Bibi Dong, he would start with the person Bibi Dong cared about most—and, little by little, tear open her deepest wounds.
...
Later that night, the handmaiden delivered a dossier to Qian Renxue’s desk. Qian Renxue opened the dossier and, by the light of the bright Soul-tool lamp, examined it meticulously.
The more she read, the more the corners of her mouth involuntarily curled upward, eventually settling into a cold, sardonic smile.
Qian Renxue closed the dossier, a cold glint flickering in her eyes.
"Someone!"
A maidservant pushed the door open once more. "Young Master."
"Send someone to the Spirit Hall branch in Nuoding City to convey my orders," Qian Renxue’s voice was clear and cold.
"Immediately cut off all Soul Master subsidies for a man named Yu Xiaogang. If he produces an Elder’s Token in an attempt to exert pressure, confiscate the Token as well! Furthermore, under the pretext of theft—specifically, the theft of an Elder’s Token—detain him temporarily."
What right did a piece of trash—someone who hadn’t even reached the rank of Soul Elder—have to possess an Elder’s Token, an artifact typically reserved for Title Douluo alone?
A token symbolizing one of Spirit Hall’s highest authorities had actually fallen into the hands of a mere Great Soul Master.
She didn’t need to use her brain; she could figure it out with her toes: what other explanation could there possibly be, other than a private, illicit bestowal from Bibi Dong?
She paused, then added, "Remember: maintain a polite demeanor. After all, he was once a member of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. However, should he resist... you may employ force as appropriate."
"Yes, Young Master," the maidservant bowed in acknowledgment, preparing to withdraw and carry out the orders.
"Wait," Qian Renxue called out, stopping her. "Fetch me a copy of The Spirit Hall’s Ten Core Competencies. I want to see for myself just what kind of monstrosity this thing is."
"Yes, Young Master." The maidservant withdrew.
Silence returned to the bedchamber.
Qian Renxue picked up another dossier lying on the table.
This one had arrived just today—a report detailing the activities of rogue Soul Masters across the continent.
She opened the dossier, her brows gradually knitting together in a frown.
Village XX attacked; suspected rogue Soul Masters abducting children... Village XX massacred...
Incident after incident—each one more shocking and gruesome than the last.
"That Bibi Dong..." Qian Renxue’s hands unconsciously clenched the papers until her knuckles turned white. "What exactly is she doing?!"
As the Pope of Spirit Hall, maintaining order across the continent and eradicating rogue Soul Masters were her fundamental duties. Yet in recent years, the activities of fallen Soul Masters have not only failed to diminish but have instead shown a trend of escalating intensity.
Qian Renxue even suspected that Bibi Dong was secretly condoning—or perhaps even... exploiting—these fallen Soul Masters.
For the sake of power? For revenge? Or for some even more deranged objective?
Qian Renxue did not know. But she knew that this state of affairs could not be allowed to continue.
Just then, a handmaiden delivered the book titled The Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls.
Qian Renxue accepted the volume; its cover featured crude printing, the paper was coarse, and the binding was shoddy.
She casually flipped it open, her gaze sweeping over the so-called "theories" contained within.
In less than a moment, Qian Renxue’s expression turned utterly foul, as if she had just ingested something vile.
Absurd.
That was her sole verdict.
Of Yu Xiaogang’s ten core competencies, fully half consisted merely of collating established common knowledge from the history of the Soul Master world and slapping his own name onto it.
The other half was nothing more than a patchwork of fantasies—riddled with loopholes and rife with internal contradictions.
What was even more laughable was that this hodgepodge of errors and omissions was actually revered by some as gospel—and even used to instruct students?
Qian Renxue was so incensed she nearly tore the book to shreds.
She suddenly recalled something Jiang Bai had once said: that the academic climate of the continent was in dire need of rectification, and that certain "masters" who led the youth astray must no longer be permitted to continue their charlatanry.
At the time, she had merely dismissed it as a jest. But now...
Qian Renxue set the book aside; a glint of resolve flashed within her violet eyes.
Rectifying the academic climate... perhaps... perhaps it truly was time for a thorough overhaul.
She walked over to her desk, spread out a sheet of pristine white paper, picked up a quill pen, and dipped it into the inkwell.
The pen tip glided smoothly across the paper, leaving behind a trail of clear, forceful characters.
Refutation and Correction of Several Issues Regarding the Theory of the Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls
She was going to write an article.
An academic treatise that would, across multiple dimensions—from theoretical foundations and empirical data to logical deduction—utterly dismantle Yu Xiaogang’s theory.
Then, through the channels of the Spirit Hall, she would publish it openly, ensuring that every Spirit Master across the entire continent could clearly see—for what he truly was—the so-called "Grandmaster."
This was not merely an act of vengeance.
It was, above all else, for the sake of... that very phrase Jiang Bai had once spoken:
Knowledge should not be monopolized; truth should not be distorted.
Qian Renxue did not know how much her writing might actually change. Yet she knew, with absolute certainty, that she had to do something.
For the sake of those students whose potential might be stunted by flawed theories.
And also for the sake of... that young man who had once sat with her, discussing the intricacies of Spirit Souls and Spirit Beasts, and dreaming of the future together.
The faint scratching sound of a pen gliding across paper lingered for a long time within the silent bedchamber.
Outside the window, the night deepened.
The lights of Spirit City glowed like stars, illuminating the continent’s most powerful sanctuary for Spirit Masters.