"No!!"
Qian Daoliu's bloodshot eyes bulged as he let out a heart-rending roar.
Spirit power surged violently from his body—he wanted to throw himself forward, even if it meant smashing into Divinity itself, just to shield his Granddaughter.
It wasn't just him.
Gold Crocodile Douluo, Lion Douluo—all the worshipers of the Hall of Worship—
abandoned rationality entirely.
Their bodies moved before their minds.
They rushed forward as if their soul instinct had taken over.
But—
Lin Feng simply looked at them.
Just an indifferent, casual glance.
Boom—
An invisible, unstoppable force instantly descended.
The space in Feng Ran Pavilion solidified like amber.
Qian Daoliu's forward-lunging stance froze in mid-motion, his face twisted with despair.
Gold Crocodile Douluo's outstretched fingertips stopped just inches away from Qian Renxue—yet it felt like an entire universe lay in between.
All of them were locked in place by that unfathomable power.
Not a finger could twitch.
Not a breath could change fate.
They could only watch helplessly, terror and despair filling their eyes,
as the golden Divine Soul orb drifted closer and closer to Qian Renxue.
"Angel God?! I won't allow it!!"
A shrill, frantic scream exploded through the room.
Bibi Dong.
The instant she understood the orb's target—the last shred of sanity inside her snapped.
Rules?
The senior's wrath?
The consequences?
All discarded.
She had only one thought left.
Destroy it.
Destroy that thing—
that dared lay a finger on her child.
Crimson and emerald light flared behind her as six spider lances burst out, gleaming with killing cold.
They shot toward the golden orb like demonic spears that tore through space itself!
The logic behind her attack was brutally simple:
As long as the Angel God's soul no longer existed—
Qian Renxue would never have to become the vessel.
But—
How could Lin Feng allow her even the slightest success?
The six spider lances, capable of piercing a Titled Douluo like paper—
dissolved.
Just an inch before reaching the orb, they vanished silently, as if erased from reality.
No explosion.
No sound.
Simply gone.
But Bibi Dong had gone mad.
She didn't care.
She launched attack after attack—
Spider lances!
Spider webs!
The devastating, defense-ignoring Eternal Creation!
Every technique she possessed was hurled in desperation.
Yet—
All of them vanished before ever making contact.
A bottomless abyss swallowed every effort.
Her attacks were like tossing stones into the ocean—
no ripple, no trace.
On the ground, Qian Renxue stared blankly.
She stared at her mother—
this woman who had never shown her tenderness,
never spared her a glance for twenty years—
now fighting Divinity itself for her.
She saw her mother's pale face, drained from overspending spirit power.
She saw panic—real, raw panic—in those amethyst eyes.
Her own golden eyes grew wet.
Tears blurred her vision.
And then—
Something in her heart broke loose.
Her lips trembled, opening unconsciously.
A word she thought she would never utter again—
spilled out softly.
"...Mom…"
The single word—fragile but filled with 20 years of longing—
fell into Bibi Dong's ears like a divine thunderclap.
Her attacks stopped instantly.
Her body shook violently.
Slowly, painfully—
Bibi Dong turned her head.
Her purple eyes, wild and frenzied, locked onto Qian Renxue.
Then—
A deeper, almost suicidal determination replaced the frantic madness.
"No.
No, absolutely not!!"
She turned sharply—
not to flee, not to attack—
but to shield.
She lunged forward.
Before Qian Renxue could react,
Bibi Dong wrapped her in a fierce, trembling embrace—
using her newly reborn body to shield her daughter entirely.
She offered her back to the Divine Soul orb.
Her arms tightened, trembling as if her soul were collapsing.
She raised her head toward Lin Feng behind the counter—
Her tone was no longer cold.
It was pure pleading.
Desperate, heartbreaking pleading.
"Senior…"
"Please… please don't do this…"
Her voice trembled violently.
"I—I don't want her to die…"
"I don't want to lose Xue'er…"
In that moment—
Bibi Dong was no longer the Supreme Pontiff.
She was just a mother—
terrified of losing the child she had abandoned.
"Mom…"
Qian Renxue trembled in her arms.
She felt the warmth she had longed for her entire life.
She felt that tight, desperate grip—
as if her mother wanted to meld them into one.
She heard the trembling fear hidden beneath the pleading.
Her eyes softened.
Mother's embrace…
was it really this warm?
But then—
A horrifying realization struck her.
Her mother was trying to trade her own body for Qian Renxue's!
"NO! Mom, NO!"
Qian Renxue began thrashing wildly.
Her entire life, she had longed for her mother's love.
And the first time she received it—
she had to push her mother away.
"T-tone! Quickly let go! Let go!!"
But Bibi Dong's arms tightened like iron.
"Don't move!!"
Her hoarse command exploded beside Qian Renxue's ear.
Then—
Bibi Dong lowered her head.
Her lips brushed her daughter's ear.
Her voice trembled—
so softly that wind almost carried it away.
"...I'm sorry."
Boom—
That apology shattered Qian Renxue's last defenses.
Her hands stopped resisting.
Instead, she clawed forward and clung tightly to Bibi Dong's robes—
as if trying to bury herself inside her mother's arms.
Her face pressed deep into Bibi Dong's shoulder.
"...nn…!"
A small, strangled sound escaped her.
Then—
"WAAAAHH—!!!"
A broken, soul-tearing cry burst out.
It was not pain.
It was twenty years of grievance.
Twenty years of loneliness.
Twenty years of silently licking her wounds.
Twenty years of longing—
finally answered at the end of her life.
Her wail echoed through Feng Ran Pavilion,
raw and primal and agonizing.
She cried like a child.
A child who had wandered the world for twenty years—
finally found home—
only to see that home moments from burning down.
Behind the counter.
Lin Feng watched the "annual family drama" unfold,
expression unchanged.
Host, Oscar owes you a golden statue for directing this.
Lin Feng twitched slightly.
"Shut up. Don't ruin my scene."
Hu Liena bit her lips until they turned white.
Finally, she couldn't hold back.
"Master… how about—"
One glance from Lin Feng silenced her instantly.
She paled and stepped back in fear.
The entire shop watched the golden orb draw nearer—
as if the whole World hinged on its movement.
Lin Feng's expression never changed.
Even the orb's speed never slowed.
Cold.
Indifferent.
Like fate itself.
"No… don't… MOM!!"
Qian Renxue screamed, helpless.
The orb drifted closer.
Three inches.
Two inches.
One inch.
Finally—
The golden orb touched Bibi Dong's back.