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To truly inherit the Angel God's divine position, it required the sacrifice of the High Priest of the Angel God—himself.
If he knowingly sent Qian Renxue to her death by forcing her to ascend as the Angel God and return to the divine realm, wouldn't that be like drawing water with a leaky basket—a complete waste of effort?
Even worse, it could severely weaken the Spirit Hall on the Douluo Continent, and the Angel lineage might become a target for the Angel God's enemies in the divine realm, leading to their complete annihilation.
Thinking about this bleak future, Qian Daoliu couldn't help but break out in cold sweat.
"No, if this is the case, I absolutely cannot let Xue'er ascend to godhood. Then the only hope for our Qian family lies in…"
Qian Daoliu fell silent for a long while before finally looking at Ye Wen with a grave expression and saying dejectedly,
"Lord Sea God, please tell us your plans. I beg you to protect the Angel lineage of my Qian family."
Faced with such a desperate situation, even if Qian Daoliu were to reach level 100 and ascend to godhood, it wouldn't make a difference.
However, Ye Wen inwardly noted that Qian Daoliu's willingness to cooperate would save him a lot of trouble.
Glancing at everyone present—Qian Daoliu, Qian Renxue, and the six other elders—Ye Wen felt his pool of future talent growing even richer.
"The successor to the Angel God's divine position has already been decided. When the time comes, I will ascend to the divine realm with her. You need not worry about the continuation of the Angel God's legacy.
Furthermore, I can guarantee that both your granddaughter and yourself will achieve level 100 and ascend to godhood, gaining eternal life. In the distant future, the Angel divine core may even be returned to you. The same goes for the six elders—so long as you serve me well, I will not mistreat my own people."
Upon hearing this, everyone present couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Thankfully, Ye Wen wasn't the kind of person who would squeeze them dry like a leech.
This was especially true for the six elders. For them, it didn't matter who became the Angel God—as long as someone ascended to that position and safeguarded the Spirit Hall's survival, their families would also be protected.
Moreover, based on Ye Wen's tone, they began to feel hopeful. If Ye Wen could ensure that Qian Daoliu and his granddaughter would ascend to godhood, perhaps there was a chance for them to experience the allure of eternal life as well.
However, Qian Daoliu still had some doubts.
The inheritance of the Angel God's divine position was unlike other divine positions—it had an extremely high specificity for martial souls. The title "Angel" alone completely barred any non-Angel martial soul users from inheriting it.
But among all the members of the Qian family, not a single one possessed full innate soul power. How could there possibly be someone talented enough to inherit the Angel divine position?
With a hint of reluctance, Qian Daoliu asked curiously,
"May I ask, Lord Sea God, who is the chosen successor for the Angel God's divine position?
Only those who possess the Angel martial soul are eligible to inherit it—no exceptions."
Ye Wen glanced at Qian Daoliu with slight exasperation.
Why does this tool for initiating divine trials have so many questions? But since he was in the crucial phase of securing loyalty, Ye Wen couldn't afford to brush him off. So he replied,
"Don't worry about that—I know what I'm doing.
Among my disciples, there is a Title Douluo who possesses an Eight-Winged Angel martial soul. Her name is Qian Qian, and she is only 32 years old. She undoubtedly meets the qualifications to inherit the Angel divine position."
Qian Daoliu's pupils contracted sharply. A 32-year-old Title Douluo? With an Eight-Winged Angel martial soul?
Such talent, such a martial soul—how had he never heard of her before?
Ordinary Six-Winged Angel martial souls initially only had one pair of wings. Only upon breaking through to Soul Sage did they gain two pairs (four wings), and only upon reaching the level of Title Douluo did they fully manifest as a Six-Winged Angel. This showed just how difficult it was to cultivate a Six-Winged Angel martial soul.
Though Qian Qian had been born with deficiencies and couldn't even fully awaken a single pair of wings, thanks to Ye Wen's generous allocation of resources, she had reached four wings before becoming a Soul Sage. From there, her progress skyrocketed, and upon breaking through to Title Douluo, her martial soul directly evolved into an Eight-Winged Angel.
This was an achievement that even the Angel God herself hadn't accomplished.
Since there were no records of the Angel God ever appearing in her full form, Ye Wen had speculated about how many wings a Level 1 God-tier Angel God might possess. Based on Qian Qian's case, it was certainly more than just six wings—it might be eight or even ten.
After all, the number twelve often symbolized perfection, and since the strongest beings in the divine realm were the God Kings, it was unlikely that the Angel God had reached twelve wings yet.
Moreover, the Angel martial soul itself was quite peculiar—it didn't seem like a native product of the Douluo world. Even the City of Slaughter contained remnants of ancient creatures, which only reinforced the idea that the Douluo world was a patchwork creation.
Tracing its origins, much of the blame likely fell on the Dragon God. After all, during his expansion of the Douluo divine realm, the Dragon God hadn't hesitated to wage wars outward, and these remnants might have been spoils of those conquests.
At this moment, Qian Daoliu's gaze grew complex.
He glanced at his granddaughter—her innate Level 20 soul power and suspected reincarnation as the Angel God were impressive feats. But compared to Ye Wen's description of a 32-year-old Title Douluo with an Eight-Winged Angel martial soul, her achievements paled in comparison.
"Do you think this person is qualified to inherit the Angel divine position, High Priest of the Angel God?" Ye Wen asked calmly.
Qian Daoliu nodded bitterly.
Although it wasn't Qian Renxue who would inherit the Angel divine position and continue the glory of the Qian family, Ye Wen's chosen successor would still carry Qian family bloodlines. That was the best possible outcome under the circumstances.
However, Qian Daoliu now felt curious. Ye Wen had mentioned that he would also allow him to ascend to godhood.
But as the High Priest of a god, the final step of initiating the divine position's inheritance required sacrificing everything—including one's life. As someone who had already become the Sea God, Ye Wen should have been well aware of this.
Reflecting on Ye Wen's relatively lenient attitude, Qian Daoliu felt a flicker of forbidden hope.
As Ye Wen was contemplating future developments, he suddenly heard Qian Daoliu ask from beside him,
"Lord Sea God, may I ask—is Bo Saixi still alive?"
(_)
You old geezer! At your age, how can you still be hung up on Bo Saixi!
But to maintain his persona, Ye Wen forced a smile and replied,
"Bo Saixi? Of course she's alive—and she's currently my second wife. Do you have something to say to her?"
Qian Daoliu, who had been feeling slightly better, instantly froze in place. His complexion turned ashen. Beside him, Jin E Douluo, his old comrade, seemed to faintly hear the sound of his eldest brother's heart shattering.
After all, he'd heard no shortage of Qian Daoliu's regrets about those past events.
Jin E Douluo shot Ye Wen a strange look and thought to himself,
"This new boss doesn't seem as easygoing as he appears."
After dealing a blow to Qian Daoliu, whose career mattered more than love, Ye Wen fixed his gaze on Qian Renxue.
"You're still too weak right now. Go and grow stronger as quickly as possible—time waits for no one."
With that, Ye Wen extended his index finger, and a golden hexagonal star pattern appeared on Qian Renxue's pale forehead.
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