Bibi Dong Was a Foodie Too

After leaving the Worship Hall, Xia Tianling thought for a moment, then turned and headed for Bibi Dong's chambers behind the Papal Palace.

The Pope was not a god and could not work nonstop all three hundred and sixty-five days of the year. Like ordinary soul masters, unless something major happened, after finishing her work in the morning, the afternoon was Bibi Dong's personal time to rest.

Interestingly enough, no matter how powerful a soul master was on the Douluo Continent, even a Level 99 Peerless Douluo still needed to eat.

Xia Tianling seized this opportunity to "inadvertently" display his cooking skills and was "coincidentally" noticed by Bibi Dong. Thanks to his "filial devotion," Bibi Dong naturally ended up eating a meal he had made.

The wonderful flavors instantly conquered her taste buds, and Xia Tianling took the opportunity to suggest making her two meals a week.

As for why Xia Tianling could cook? All he had to do was make a wish.

The Destiny System was forever the GOAT!

One wish directly bestowed upon him the culinary skills of a Hall-level Culinary Master. He had mastered every one of the eight great cuisines from his previous life, and even foreign dishes were no challenge. He far surpassed culinary masters like Goudan and Wang Kuanyou.

Who could resist the delicacies of the great Celestial Empire? Not even a Super Douluo or a beautiful Pope!

By repeatedly cooking for her and eating with her, Xia Tianling steadily narrowed the distance between himself and Bibi Dong, wearing away the barrier between them.

Because of the things Qian Xunji had done, women like Bibi Dong would feel intense regret and fall into cycles of rumination.

She would think that things would have been better if she had not trusted him so much, believing herself to be foolish. At the same time, because the crime had been committed by someone she knew, she would be less likely to seek help from her family and find it even harder to trust relationships and those close to her.

Since she had to bear this secret alone, the pressure on her would become immense. She would no longer be able to trust the world or anyone in it.

Yet one thing made Bibi Dong even more terrifying than women from Xia Tianling's previous life who had families—Bibi Dong had no family. The person closest to her had been her former teacher, Qian Xunji, the very culprit who had brought her such misery!

And afterward, the man she had once loved most—Yu Xiaogang—had abandoned her outright, causing a second trauma.

It was hard to imagine how desperate Bibi Dong must have been at the time.

She had once longed for light, only to be burned by that very "light."

Thus, that despair gradually turned into hatred—hatred for everything in this world.

Hatred had nearly become the only thing keeping her alive.

She hated Qian Xunji, hated Qian Renxue, hated Qian Daoliu, hated Yu Xiaogang, hated Spirit Hall, and even hated the entire Douluo Continent.

That was why she naturally went on to commit the near world-ending, anti-human acts described in the Original Work.

Because she trusted almost no one anymore, she wanted to destroy the Qian family, destroy Spirit Hall, and even drag the whole world down with her.

At the same time, having lost her sense of security, she pursued immense power to an extreme and ultimately became the inheritor of the Rakshasa God.

To turn around her extreme antisocial mindset, Xia Tianling had no particularly good method. He could only persist with this drip-by-drip approach.

Companionship, comfort, and the support of Mind Interference gradually guided Bibi Dong, who was heading toward extremity, pulling her back from thoughts of destroying the world and onto the right path.

Faced with Bibi Dong, whose psychological defenses were as solid as a rock, Xia Tianling had no choice but to make another wish and acquire master-level psychological expertise. He did so to better counsel her and try to help her escape this predicament.

When reading the Original Work in his previous life, he had deeply sympathized with Bibi Dong, this pitiful woman, and hated the misfortunes that had befallen her.

Now that he had the ability, he naturally had to try to reverse these tragedies.

It was not for any other reason, merely to resolve the regrets he had once carried.

None of this had been her fault, and she should not have had to endure such suffering.

Xia Tianling carefully prepared a table full of dishes. He did not call for attendants; every time, he personally carried the food to the table.

"Teacher, it's time to eat," he called softly.

"I'm coming, I'm coming."

A graceful figure swiftly appeared in the chair beside the dining table and expertly picked up her chopsticks.

As a qualified foodie, she had already become proficient at using this utensil.

"Spicy Earth Dragon Tendon and Garlic Greens today!"

"Of course. I know these are your favorites."

After nearly a year of getting along, Xia Tianling's methods had produced noticeable results. At the very least, in front of him, Bibi Dong could occasionally take off the mask she wore.

It would be a stretch to say she had fully recovered, but she was at least approaching the level of a normal person.

She could talk, laugh, and even light up over a dish she loved. Sometimes, she would even feel embarrassed after eating a little too much. This was already tremendous progress!

Watching Bibi Dong transform into a foodie, Xia Tianling could not help but laugh. Who would have thought that the icy, domineering Pope of Spirit Hall had such an expression in private?

"Whew, Tianling, your cooking is getting better and better. Whichever girl marries you in the future will be truly blessed." Having eaten and drunk her fill, Bibi Dong sat in her chair and teased Xia Tianling, who had not yet finished eating. "Why not make do with your Senior Sister?"

The Senior Sister Bibi Dong spoke of was naturally the little fox, Hu Liena. Since she was five years older than Xia Tianling, she was currently not cultivating in Spirit City.

After swallowing a mouthful of rice, Xia Tianling rolled his eyes.

"Teacher, don't go pairing people up at random. I haven't even met Senior Sister yet. Besides, I'm only six. Isn't it too early to talk about this?"

Bibi Dong propped up her chin and giggled as she watched her helpless young disciple.

She had taken in this disciple more than half a year ago on a whim. Originally, she had only intended to add another bargaining chip for the future while also giving that old fellow Qian Daoliu a headache.

Yet after spending some time together, she had genuinely come to like this disciple.

Not in the romantic sense, but simply as a teacher cared for her student.

He cultivated diligently, was clever, knew how to please her, and could cook delicious food. Where else could she find such a wonderful disciple? Compared to him, her eldest disciple Hu Liena was practically a blockhead.

It was not that Hu Liena was bad. She was simply too obedient, completely lacking any opinions of her own.

Listen to that—being obedient had somehow become a fault. A moment of silence for the little fox.

"Come to think of it, time really has flown by. A year has passed in the blink of an eye." Bibi Dong leisurely sipped the wine in her cup. "You really have brought me so many surprises. At such a young age, you're already about to break through to the Soul Elder realm. Even when she was your age, she was far inferior to you."

The person Bibi Dong referred to was naturally Qian Renxue. She also knew that Xia Tianling and Qian Renxue were quite close, so she had not concealed the mother-daughter relationship between them.

During this period, Xia Tianling had spent nearly all his time cultivating and had now reached Level 27.

With the dual support of the Golden Core and the Dao Scripture, along with Bibi Dong's endless supply of resources, his cultivation rose at a rocket-like pace.

If he had not allocated half his time to strengthening his body and gaining practical combat experience, he would likely have become a Soul Elder long ago.

Speaking of combat experience, Xia Tianling had long since run out of opponents among those his age. With his current Soul Power and physical strength comparable to a Soul Ancestor's, even an average Soul Elder would be beaten senseless by him.

Although he was only a real man for three minutes when going all out, his raw strength was simply too terrifying. Three minutes was enough to settle most battles.