Qian Renxue

The moment he finished speaking, Su Cheng turned and walked away.

Qian Renxue stood there blankly, watching his back recede farther and farther into the distance.

"Are you coming or not?"

Hearing his voice from ahead, she actually let out a quiet sigh of relief and hurried after him.

Spirit City had a designated administrative district, where every elder had a room of their own.

Although Su Cheng had not officially joined Spirit Hall yet, Bibi Dong had arranged one for him in advance to make his research more convenient.

Qian Renxue followed him into the room and looked up, only to find the desk and several chairs beside it piled high with all kinds of books.

Some were volumes she had borrowed from the Library Pavilion before, such as Star Dou Great Forest Soul Beast Compendium, Sunset Forest Soul Beast Compendium, Ten Thousand Year Soul Beast Traits Explained, Analysis of the Source of Beast Martial Soul Strength, and so on.

Several stacks of densely written papers lay beside the desk as well. The sheet in the very center contained only a few lines, the first of which read: "On the Theoretical Feasibility of Absorbing a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring as the Fourth Soul Ring."

"What is this...?" She looked at the manuscript on the desk in surprise, then at Su Cheng, who was casually tidying things up.

"Oh, I've more or less finished researching a method for Cross-Year Absorption with the fourth Soul Ring. The question now is whether the gap can directly reach beyond ten thousand years."

"Gulp..." Qian Renxue looked at Su Cheng's back with reverence.

A Thousand Year Soul Ring and a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring were entirely different things. It was a qualitative leap.

She could hardly believe he would succeed, yet she had no choice but to believe it. After all, Su Cheng had already created far too many miracles.

"The contents aren't fully refined yet. We can talk about it when we have time." As he spoke, Su Cheng poured two cups of tea and placed them on the desk, gesturing for Qian Renxue to sit wherever she liked.

"You still haven't answered me. That day, the Pope said she wanted to recommend someone to become my disciple. Was it you?"

"..." After a moment of silence, Qian Renxue nodded and admitted it. "Yes."

By now, her emotions had calmed down. She no longer dared to underestimate Su Cheng in the slightest. The hesitation in her words was only because she felt she had embarrassed herself too badly today.

Even seated across from Su Cheng, she could not help feeling a little nervous. Her long phoenix eyes darted away slightly.

She had never felt this way before.

"Who was your previous teacher?" Su Cheng asked blandly as he lifted his cup and took a sip of tea.

Qian Renxue had naturally had teachers in the past. Spirit Hall lacked nothing in terms of powerful experts.

Whether it was the Former Pope Qian Xunji, the Seven Great Elders of the Worship Hall, or even the ordinary elders of the Elder Hall, all had offered much guidance to Spirit Hall's little princess.

Yet at this moment, she found herself unable to say it.

Seeing that she remained silent, Su Cheng did not press the matter. He merely laughed casually. "Could it be that your talent is so good that no one dared teach you?"

Then he glanced at her again. "Right, you're the daughter of the Former Pope Qian Xunji, aren't you? What's your name?"

"My name is Qian Renxue."

"Qian Renxue... Come to think of it, we really do have some connection."

"?"

"Bibi Dong didn't tell you? My biological father, Edgeless Sword Su Shan, died at Qian Xunji's hands."

At those words, her entire body trembled slightly, and her pretty face turned pale.

"Don't worry. What happened in the previous generation has nothing to do with either of us. Qian Xunji is dead now as well, so the debts between us are naturally settled. What I really want to ask is whether you're willing to become my disciple? The kind who inherits my legacy."

Qian Renxue found it somewhat unbelievable.

Her pride and arrogance had both been utterly shattered in their earlier battle.

Her own opinions and will had then been crushed beneath Su Cheng's merciless verbal assault.

Now, in her mind, the question was not whether she wanted to take him as her master, but whether she was worthy of doing so.

Not to mention that her father bore a Father-Killing Vendetta against him.

Hearing Su Cheng say this now, she unexpectedly felt flattered beyond measure.

"I don't actually care how talented you are. When I told the Pope before that I required top-tier aptitude, it was only to raise the lower limit a little. I didn't want her bringing me some crooked melons and cracked dates. Even if she gave me an ordinary child, I'm confident I could train him into a Peak Douluo, or even a Limit Douluo."

At that, Su Cheng gave a scornful laugh. "I understand the thinking of people like you perfectly well. I never expected you would truly find me a disciple with extraordinary talent."

As his words fell, Qian Renxue felt even more ashamed.

"Still, it's rather interesting that the Pope was willing to send an inheritor of the Angel Martial Soul like you before me." Su Cheng wore an enigmatic smile as he spoke, as though there were some deeper meaning behind his words.

Then he restrained his expression and adjusted his posture. Sitting upright in the armchair, he leaned forward slightly, his fingers interlaced on the desk.

He looked Qian Renxue straight in the eyes with a serious, earnest expression, though his voice was exceptionally gentle and soft.

"Today, I want to accept you as my disciple. It has nothing to do with your identity, nor your talent. There is only one reason: I can feel your loneliness and understand what you seek. Seeing you is like seeing my former self. If you're willing, then you will be my first disciple—and my only disciple."

Qian Renxue abruptly raised her head and met his gaze, her eyes momentarily unfocused.

"I don't know what you experienced in the past. Logically speaking, you possess exceptional talent and were born the daughter of the Pope, with every advantage in life. But I can sense that your heart has been tightly sealed shut.

"Still, I can tell you about my past, though it isn't very complicated.

"Ever since I could remember, I lived in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. I didn't even know what my biological father looked like.

"For more than a decade, I lived under someone else's roof. My talent was poor, and I endured who knew how many cold looks and mocking laughs. Even if my ambitions reached the heavens and I produced many research results, what use was that? In the end, not a single person could understand me."

Qian Renxue unconsciously clenched her fists.

Bibi Dong's cold, disgusted gaze flashed through her mind, along with Qian Xunji's gentle, encouraging smiles and words—things she would likely never see again in this life.

Most of the ordinary elders had long since sided with Bibi Dong and drawn a clear line between themselves and her.

Her grandfather, Qian Daoliu, remained in the Worship Hall year-round to avoid suspicion. She only had the chance to see him occasionally.

Qian Renxue, who had hardly lost her composure even after losing the battle or facing Su Cheng's verbal ridicule, now had a faint mist rise in her eyes.

No matter how calculating and shrewd she is, she's still just a child in the end. Su Cheng silently thought, Sorry, Father Chen Xin. I have no choice—you'll have to take the blame first.

Most of what he had said earlier was naturally nonsense, meant to create an emotional resonance with Qian Renxue.

In truth, he had lived fairly well in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Chen Xin had never been someone who particularly valued talent; he placed greater importance on what he called the heart of a strong person.

Though there had been plenty of gossip, no one had dared confront him openly. Later on, even Ning Fengzhi became a powerful supporter behind him, and he could ask for whatever resources he wanted.

As for the exclusion he faced before Leaving the Sect, that had been arranged in advance, so it naturally did not affect his state of mind.

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