I Advise You to Be Kind

The two of them were less than half a meter apart.

Bibi Dong could clearly hear Su Cheng's heavy breathing, and the scorching heat radiating from him filled the surrounding air.

He did not smell unpleasant. There was even a faint herbal fragrance about him.

A trace of blush flashed across Bibi Dong's face. Without drawing attention to it, she shifted aside and walked to the side.

She sighed. "Su Cheng, why must you insist on opposing me?"

After venting just now, much of the anger in her heart had already faded.

Su Cheng turned his head slightly to look at Bibi Dong, who stood nearby. "Your Majesty the Pope, since she is my successor, it is only natural that I decide her future path."

"She is also a member of Spirit Hall!"

"You may force her to carry out this mission. That has nothing to do with me. It is your right," Su Cheng said blandly.

"You!" Bibi Dong felt her anger rising again.

Perhaps it was because of Qian Renxue's identity, or perhaps because of Su Cheng's peculiar nature.

Today, she seemed especially easy to provoke.

"Do you think you can act without restraint just because Qian Renxue is backing you?" Bibi Dong's voice was icy.

"I have never relied on anyone."

"What a joke. Why didn't you dare say that on the day you first arrived at Spirit Hall?"

"Then Your Majesty the Pope may as well find someone else to be Qian Renxue's teacher and see whether they can manage it. If she agrees, I will have no objections."

"..." Bibi Dong fell silent for a moment. "Su Cheng, I do not understand. What benefit has Qian Renxue given you, exactly?"

That nearly made Su Cheng laugh.

"Your Majesty the Pope, then what benefits have you given me? Since the day I arrived at Spirit Hall, everything you said has been nothing but empty promises."

Just look at what happened to Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo. Bibi Dong was the typical sort with no sense of the bigger picture.

Even Hu Liena's trio, who had yet to accomplish anything, had been promised three Soul Bones as rewards. Chrysanthemum Douluo and the others had done so much dirty, exhausting work—what had they received in the end?

Over with the protagonist's group, no matter how petty Tang San was, after swallowing up all the benefits, flesh and bone alike, he could at least leave others a sip of broth.

But with Bibi Dong, she would not part with a single hair.

Su Cheng gave a soft scoff. "Indeed, I only made two requests back then. So what? Do you think that alone means I should sell my life for you?"

Bibi Dong froze slightly at those words, unable to think of a retort for a moment.

"But I never wanted any other benefits from you to begin with," Su Cheng continued. "I already stated my two requests before. The Library Pavilion is now open to me, I am very satisfied with my successor, and I am willing to join Spirit Hall."

"If you join Spirit Hall, you must consider Spirit Hall's interests."

"Stop going on about Spirit Hall's interests. I am an adult, and I care about my own interests." Su Cheng's tone grew impatient. "Besides, sending a nine-year-old child to impersonate an Imperial Crown Prince and plot to usurp an empire—is that the scope of your Spirit Hall?"

Bibi Dong's dark brows knitted tightly.

Su Cheng met her gaze without the slightest fear.

"Your Majesty the Pope, I can see that Qian Renxue's feelings toward you are complicated, but all you feel for her is disgust. Though I do not know the reason behind this, I know that the person who offended you was definitely not Qian Renxue herself. I advise you to be kind."

The moment those words fell, the atmosphere froze.

His purpose in saying that was by no means to reconcile the two of them.

In fact, coming from his mouth, such words would only add fuel to the fire between them.

The conflict between mother and daughter was not an ordinary one. It was a knot in Bibi Dong's heart that had festered for more than a decade, containing her hatred for Qian Xunji, her regrets over Yu Xiaogang, and her long-standing habit of using Qian Renxue as an outlet for her emotions.

Moreover, Su Cheng had clearly spoken from Qian Renxue's perspective. Not once had he considered Bibi Dong's feelings or the hidden circumstances behind it.

With her extremely self-centered and paranoid personality, she would only become more extreme.

"..."

Su Cheng sensed Killing Intent.

The instant he finished speaking, an icy, bone-piercing Killing Intent surged toward him like a tide.

He knew Bibi Dong had truly developed the intent to kill this time.

Inside the Worship Hall.

Qian Renxue's face was filled with conflict. Gratitude, sadness, confusion, grievance, and countless other emotions intertwined within her.

Qian Daoliu, however, looked grave.

He knew the truth of what had happened back then, so he understood that Su Cheng saying such things now was practically courting death. He had already prepared himself to intervene at any moment.

But in truth, he had worried too much.

Su Cheng understood the principle of knowing when to stop. He had only stirred things up slightly before immediately changing the subject. "In any case, I think this mission is unreasonable. No matter what you say, you will not convince me. Why don't we discuss something else?"

"What do you want to discuss?" Bibi Dong said coldly.

"Your Majesty the Pope, do you really need to keep fixating on Qian Renxue? When you invited me to join Spirit Hall, was it not because of these things?"

As he spoke, he took a bound manuscript from his Soul Tool and handed it over.

Bibi Dong accepted it with a frown.

At first, she glanced through it casually. Then she rapidly flipped toward the back, her eyes slowly widening—

"One can absorb a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring as the fourth Soul Ring?!"

"Yes."

She gave Su Cheng a complicated look.

She could not help sighing inwardly. Why can't someone like this stand by my side...

Su Cheng gave a light cough, interrupting her thoughts. "Your Majesty the Pope, I need to remind you of something. This knowledge does not belong solely to Spirit Hall. It must be publicly released across the entire continent."

"How can that be?!" Bibi Dong's brows rose as she refused to agree.

She was an ambitious woman.

If everyone obtained such a heaven-defying method to change their fate, where would Spirit Hall's advantage remain?

"If you still hope that I will further develop methods for Cross-Year Absorption of Soul Rings, you would be best advised to agree to my request."

"Do you care that much about your reputation?" Hearing Su Cheng's threat, Bibi Dong could not help gritting her teeth inwardly.

"For fame? Of course not." Su Cheng said calmly, "Only mediocre people are trapped by fame and profit. My ambition is to be a good person and contribute more to the world."

Bibi Dong looked at him with disdain, finding his words far too hypocritical.

Su Cheng glanced at her and smiled.

"How about this? When these research results are released, we can give them a different name and not publish them as part of the original series. There will be no need to put my name on them either. It would be fine to release them under Spirit Hall's name. Consider it my contribution to Spirit Hall."

He truly did not care about something like fame. At the beginning, he had published books and made a name for himself only to use it as a stepping stone to draw Spirit Hall's attention.

Originally, he had indeed intended to provide the subsequent methods exclusively to Spirit Hall, making it easier to raise his own status.

But now, he had changed his mind.

He had discovered that the three moves he had used on Qian Renxue had worked far better than expected, allowing him to gain a firm foothold ahead of schedule.

There was no longer any need to maintain his original plan. If he widened the gap in strength between Spirit Hall's new generation and the younger generations of other factions too much, would that not amount to aiding the enemy?

Moreover, Su Cheng needed more data to refine his theories. Spirit Hall's small number of people was clearly not enough.