Drawing the Net

"I know the gist of it; their relationship seems to have always been good."

Bibi Dong would certainly not admit that she knew everything perfectly well, lest she needlessly arouse suspicion.

She circulated her Soul Power to heal her injuries while adjusting her soul state.

In just a few breaths, her soul essence had been severely damaged, to the point that it was enough to shake her foundation.

The Water Soul Core, is utterly desolate.

The Lotus Pond that was once bottomless can now be seen at a glance, with its uneven layers of silt at the bottom.

There are very few lotus flowers left at the top.

The remaining withered branches and fallen leaves also bore the marks of the fire's devastation, none of them intact.

However, she clearly didn't intend to show this side of herself in front of Qian Renxue.

That's meaningless.

Bibi Dong simply gazed at the other person with dim eyes, her pale lips parting slightly, "At least I know that she understands Su Cheng better than you do."

"..."

Qian Renxue's expression shifted slightly, and she moved her lips as if she wanted to say something.

But he forced himself to remain patient and waited for her to continue.

"Qian Renxue, you think yourself exceptionally talented and have always been arrogant. But in reality, everything you have achieved so far has been obtained without the help of Su Cheng."

"If he were to spend the same amount of effort on you on someone else, how much worse would his achievements be?"

"Besides, no one else would be as willful as you."

"You think you can help him, but you can't do anything at all. You're just making things worse and are completely useless!"

"What did you say?!" Upon hearing this, Qian Renxue flew into a rage.

The longsword in his hand instantly materialized, its blade burning with silver-gray flames, pointing directly at Bibi Dong.

Bibi Dong remained motionless, merely watching her with a cold smile and saying nothing.

"What's between me and Su Cheng is none of your business!"

Qian Renxue gritted her teeth, but it was impossible for her to actually make a move.

The other party was severely injured, and it was only because he was trying to save Su Cheng that he ended up in such a sorry state.

Her sudden drawing of the sword was also an impulsive act driven by anger and frustration.

"Bibi Dong, what happened today has nothing to do with my strength or weakness; it was Su Cheng's promise to me!"

Actually, Bibi Dong's words just now were a bit too one-sided.

Qian Renxue's current level of achievement is beyond the reach of ordinary people, even with Su Cheng's painstaking guidance.

Putting everything else aside, the special talent of twin souls is something that not everyone can possess.

This requires an exceptionally strong innate spiritual foundation.

If it were anyone else, even if their soul were to split under certain circumstances, the final result would only be the annihilation of both souls, and they would inevitably die.

"It has nothing to do with strength? That's an easy way to put it." Bibi Dong chuckled softly to herself. "If Zhu Zhuqing were far stronger than you, would you still dare to draw your sword against her so easily?"

"Dare not? What a joke!" Qian Renxue laughed in extreme anger.

"Listen to me carefully, there's nothing in the world I wouldn't dare to do!"

"What does Zhu Zhuqing's strength have to do with me?"

"Isn't she your apprentice? Then you might as well tell her that Su Cheng took a sword for her today, so I'll let her go."

"But sooner or later, I will kill her!"

Upon hearing this, a strange glint flashed in Bibi Dong's eyes. Then, her voice softened, and she said calmly, "If you ask me, since things have already developed to this point, you might as well just accept it. Anyway, you all achieved what you have today because of Su Cheng. Look at that little girl Zhu Zhuqing, she's very sensible. She's known about your existence for a long time, and she's never complained about anything."

It would have been better Bibi Dong hadn't said that.

Hearing her comparison, Qian Renxue's anger only intensified.

Especially for those with more extreme negative personalities, their phoenix eyes seemed to faintly ignite a flickering flame.

"Her? She doesn't deserve it!"

The golden-armored figure, who had remained silent throughout, also had a cold glint in his eyes.

In this respect, the two ideologies have never had any disagreement.

"You have no idea what Su Cheng and I have been through together. You would never understand how lofty and far-reaching his ambitions are. What are the Star Luo Empire to us? What is the Spirit Hall to us?"

"That sounds quite remarkable."

Bibi Dong first offered a perfunctory compliment without any sincerity.

Then he added with a soft sarcasm, "But I'm curious, since you say you're plotting something big, and keep calling out 'we,' does Su Cheng really need you? In this respect, you and Zhu Zhuqing were both taught and trained by him, so what's the essential difference? Or do you think the difference is that you can cripple him with one sword, while Zhu Zhuqing is not strong enough to do so?"

"..."

Qian Renxue's fingers, holding the sword, trembled slightly.

The flames on the sword's edge flickered uncertainly.

In the end, we've come full circle back to this very issue.

Who is Qian Renxue?

She was so open-minded that she could face life and death head-on, and so self-confident that she bordered on arrogance.

Therefore, regardless of whether Bibi Dong's statement contained any exaggeration, she could not refute it, nor did she bother to refute it.

This matter is actually a knot in her heart that she has always found difficult to talk about.

Su Cheng is her teacher, and it can be said that most of her strength comes from Su Cheng's teaching. She is the one who is being led by him.

Even the cultivation technique she's currently practicing was tailor-made for her by Su Cheng.

But the problem is that Qian Renxue never wanted things to be this way.

They don't want this situation to continue indefinitely.

So, some time ago, while Su Cheng was away from Spirit City, she took it upon herself to absorb that 100,000-Year Trunk Bone, and then entered the Douluo Hall for secluded cultivation. Her desire to surpass Su Cheng in strength was not to compete with him, but simply to prove herself.

She didn't want to exist as an appendage.

Bibi Dong, who had been observing silently all along, was naturally aware of this.

Moreover, she was very clear about Qian Renxue's personality weaknesses.

This person is too arrogant.

Arrogant and proud, with an extreme personality.

It's always been like this, from childhood to adulthood.

Otherwise, she wouldn't have agreed to Infiltration the Heaven Dou Imperial Family and carry out the mission of usurping the throne when she was young.

When Su Cheng appeared and her soul mutated, Qian Renxue's extreme tendencies not only did not improve, but became even more intense.

People with extreme temperaments are easily swayed by their emotions and guided by others' words.

This has nothing to do with intelligence, but only with the level of her bottom line.

Therefore, in the conversation just now, Bibi Dong seemed to be advising her, but in fact she was constantly teasing and provoking her, placing her on the same level as Zhu Zhuqing.

How could Qian Renxue possibly agree with such a statement?

But the problem is, there are still two stumbling blocks in front of her that she is powerless to overcome.

Su Cheng was unfaithful, and she herself lacked confidence.

Of course, this situation is not entirely unsolvable.

If Su Cheng could spend more time at this moment, even if he couldn't resolve his inner conflict, he could at least alleviate the problem.

Unfortunately, Su Cheng was preoccupied with his own problems at the moment, which gave Bibi Dong room to maneuver.

So whether it was her initial provocation of the other party, her subsequent persuasion, or finally forcing Qian Renxue to accept Zhu Zhuqing's existence.

No matter how calm the words are, or how well the facts and reasoning are presented, they are essentially adding fuel to the fire.

When she steered the conversation, directing it towards discussing strength rather than the order or priority of feelings, the outcome was already predetermined.

Bibi Dong knew what was going on.

Now that things have come to this, Qian Renxue seems to have many choices, but in reality, she has no other choice.

"... You don't need to say anything more."

After a long silence, the two people standing opposite Bibi Dong exchanged a glance, their eyes flashing with determination.

Wearing silver-gray Battle Armor, Qian Renxue sheathed her longsword and said calmly, "I cannot accept that guy's existence."

Bibi Dong raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, "Then what do you want to do? Go kill her now?"

"I will kill her, but not now. I need to go out and train for a while. I'll go and talk to Grandpa later. From now on, you can discuss matters concerning the Spirit Hall with Su Cheng and Grandpa."

"Why don't you wait until Su Cheng wakes up before talking to him in person? He almost lost his life because of your impulsiveness."

"..."

Qian Renxue gazed at the flames that had turned blue for a final moment.

Her slightly reddened eyes flashed with reluctance, hesitation, and deep sorrow.

But she didn't say anything.

Then, the two figures left the place one after the other.

After a long while, a voice came from afar, "No need, it's good that he's alright."

Su Cheng was unaware of what was happening in the outside world at that moment.

Of course, even if he knew, he would only talk to Qian Renxue and would never blame Bibi Dong.

Although her words were a bit too harsh, they were indeed from Su Cheng's perspective, defending his actions.

Not only that, but he also very loyally did not reveal the fact that he and Zhu Zhuqing had a close relationship long ago.

In fact, at this time, Su Cheng was still trying to stabilize the terrible condition in his body that was gradually improving.

With his first five Soul Ring shattered, his Innate Power experienced an explosive increase, finally overpowering the Sun Power.

In this situation, his powerful life force was finally able to come into play, and he began to rapidly repair the severely damaged organs, bones, and flesh within his body.

In particular, those meridians that were burned and carbonized are also rapidly Reshaping.

However, seemingly due to the continuous burning of the Sun Fire, his physical body underwent some changes during the recovery process.

A large amount of Innate Power gradually seeped into his bones and flesh as the Sun Fire burned, creating a subtle connection that he could not yet comprehend.

The newly formed meridians were much stronger than before, and they shimmered with a pale golden, glassy luster.

However, Su Cheng dared not let his guard down in the slightest.

Having been locked in a stalemate with the Sun Power for so long, he had long since become aware of some of the characteristics of this powerful energy and the flames it generated.

Besides its extremely high and domineering temperature that can even scorch the soul, another characteristic is that it becomes stronger when it encounters a stronger opponent, and can use energy of the same level as fuel to intensify its own combustion.

Although these terrifying, blazing white flames are currently being suppressed by the sudden surge of Innate Power, it will probably not be long before the intensity of the Sun Fire increases as well.

The state gain from the Ring Shattering is unsustainable, and he doesn't have much time left.

So...

Su Cheng steadied himself, and the next moment, one of the two remaining Soul Ring on his Martial Soul, the scarlet Sixth Soul Ring, shattered and disappeared!

"Boom--"

It was as if a thunderclap reverberated deep within my soul.

A surge of violent Bloodline Power, along with a torrent of Soul Power, flooded his entire body.

Not only that, it also possesses the Soul Power!

A soul energy as abundant and pure as moonlight flowed into his soul.

At that moment, he even felt like a rapidly inflating balloon, as if he might burst at any moment.

Fortunately, it was just a fleeting illusion.

Although his Sixth Soul Ring was very strong, and with the help of the power of law shattering, it even unleashed energy fluctuations comparable to those of God-level, it was still within the range that Su Cheng could completely withstand.

The three energies that suddenly increased rapidly merged and, under the influence of the Longevity True Body, instantly transformed into a massive amount of perfect Innate Power that swept through the body.

The newly formed meridians had an exaggeratedly high conductivity of energy, and in a short time, they completely suppressed the remaining Sun Fire.

The color of the flames changed from the initial incandescent white to bluish-white, then to a deep blue, then a brilliant gold, and finally stabilized at a golden-red, clinging to the meridians and bones throughout the body.

Feeling the changes within his body, Su Cheng felt both joy and worry.

To his delight, he discovered that after this intense high-level energy battle with his own body as the battlefield, a portion of his perfect Innate Power had transformed into the ideal permanent state.

To be precise, a very small portion of the energy is integrated into the physical body, completely fused with it, and then regenerated within the flesh and blood, endlessly.

Perhaps this power can no longer be called Innate Power; its nature has changed somewhat.

However, Su Cheng cannot yet discern the specific changes or the underlying principles.

But what worried him was that it was only at this point that he discovered the third hidden characteristic of the Sun Fire —its ability to resonate with the sun.

That's right, it's that real, enormous fireball in the sky, a terrifying fireball whose interior is constantly undergoing nuclear fusion reactions.

Although this resonance is not strong, its existence means that energy at the same level is simply unable to completely extinguish the remaining embers within the body.

Unless he can find a place unaffected by the sun's energy, well, like some other planet where the sun doesn't shine...

"Xiao Xue is too outrageous. How did she suddenly comprehend this level of energy? Is it just a coincidence?"

Su Cheng clicked his tongue in amazement.

After much deliberation, he decided to leave the remaining Core Flame alone for the time being.

If his Seventh Soul Ring were to shatter, this extremely special Soul Ring would definitely elevate his strength to the level of First-Level God in a short period of time, and might even allow him to touch the threshold of the God King realm.

But Su Cheng wouldn't dare do such a thing.

Although the Sun Fire is still burning, it is only a few embers, and the temperature is not very high.

He only needs to continuously expend a small amount of Innate Power to suppress it. Although it is somewhat troublesome and will further limit his strength, it can no longer pose a great threat to him. He just needs to endure the constant burning pain.

However, if his Seventh Soul Ring were to shatter, his body might not be able to withstand it.

Even if that burst of power is only momentary, it could very well burst him apart.

Moreover, if by then he still cannot completely extinguish these flames, he will truly have no more trump cards left.

Moreover, he is currently extremely exhausted.

It's not physical or spiritual fatigue, but rather mental fatigue.

The prolonged and uninterrupted extreme pain had taken a toll on his mental and physical health to an alarming degree.

In this state, attempting to manipulate excessively powerful energy is almost tantamount to suicide.

"After all this commotion, I don't know how much of my strength I've lost. I'm really in a sorry state..."

Su Cheng smiled bitterly to himself.

With the disappearance of his first six Soul Rings, his Martial Soul and domain will inevitably undergo significant changes.

Even though he gained a small amount of permanent Innate Power integrated into his body, he didn't feel particularly happy.

If given a choice, he would prefer to rely on himself to gradually transform himself and find a path that truly suits him, rather than receiving this meager "post-war compensation" due to an accident or chance encounter.

Moreover, these powers are needed to suppress the remaining fire within the body, so they won't be of much use in the future and can only be used as research material.

Not to mention, he has also permanently lost five Five Elements Soul Rings that resonated and complemented each other, as well as his Sixth Soul Ring imbued with the Bright Moon Sword Intent. It is conceivable that from this day forward, the strength of his Martial Soul and Domain will drastically decrease.

Outside, after the Sixth Soul Ring shattered and the Innate Power erupted, the Sun Power within Su Cheng's body was completely suppressed, and the huge, continuously burning pillar of fire finally dissipated.

The next moment, his body, which was falling forward, landed in a soft embrace.

"Do you think I brought this on myself...?"

He murmured something under his breath, then could no longer suppress his mental exhaustion and fell into a deep sleep in Bibi Dong's arms.