Bibi Dong's Thoughts and Decision

In the Rose Courtyard, Hu Liena's timid reply sent faint ripples through the air.

The curiosity in Lu Jing's eyes immediately settled—aside from the future leader of the Golden Generation, there truly should not have been a second candidate at this moment.

A suitably surprised expression swiftly appeared on his face. Raising his voice slightly, he asked, "Who is your guardian?"

Hu Liena shook her head and answered softly, "My teacher brought me here."

"Your teacher? Who is your teacher?" Wang Dong'er asked, pretending not to understand.

"Your Excellency the Pope!" Hu Liena lifted her head, her childish face filled with pride and gratitude.

"Your Excellency the Pope's disciple?!"

Wang Dong'er covered her lips in timely cooperation, her pink-blue eyes widening. "Oh my... We actually met someone this important?"

The exaggerated exclamation successfully made Hu Liena's ears turn red.

The future demon fox awkwardly twisted the hem of her skirt and explained in a low voice, "I-I'm only a commoner... Teacher took pity on me..."

Before she could finish, a cool, faint fragrance suddenly permeated the courtyard.

A Purple Figure Approached the Steps

Bibi Dong, who had been watching from the shadows, finally stepped out.

A pale purple court gown wrapped around her breathtaking curves. Her hair was piled high in an elegant coiffure, while the strands that fell beside her face made her features seem as exquisitely carved as ice and jade.

Her pale violet eyes swept over Hu Liena's reddened ears, then passed over Lu Jing's deliberately innocent face before finally settling on Wang Dong'er's theatrical shock, which she had yet to rein in.

She had intended to use this chance encounter to obtain some answers she wanted. It would have been one thing if she had gained nothing, but Hu Liena had nearly been tricked into revealing everything. It was truly infuriating, forcing her to emerge from hiding.

"Teacher!" Hu Liena bowed as though granted a reprieve, her tense shoulders suddenly relaxing.

Lu Jing and Wang Dong'er bowed in unison, their movements as smooth as if they had rehearsed them a thousand times. "Greetings, Your Excellency the Pope."

Strictly speaking, given Wang Dong'er's status, Bibi Dong should have been the one bowing to her. But they were currently on Spirit Hall territory.

As the saying went, one had to bow one's head under another's roof.

"No need for formalities."

Bibi Dong raised her fingertips slightly, while the folds of her gown remained perfectly still.

Her gaze pierced Lu Jing like a probe as she asked softly, "When did the Worship Hall take in such a gifted child? I had never heard of it."

Her tone sounded concerned, but it was truly an interrogation.

The jade steps before the hall clearly led to the Worship Hall's private garden, a place outsiders could hardly set foot in.

Lu Jing lowered his head and replied respectfully, "We only returned with the Great Enshrined Elder a few days ago. It is normal that Your Excellency the Pope was unaware."

He deliberately glossed over their encounter in the Star Dou Forest and shifted the topic toward Qian Daoliu's authority. "As for how we came to know one another... without the Great Enshrined Elder's approval, this junior does not dare speak recklessly."

The air abruptly froze.

A cold glint flashed in Bibi Dong's eyes—this child was actually using Qian Daoliu as a shield!

Yet her lips curved into a graceful smile. "Since you are people the Great Enshrined Elder favors, I naturally will not make things difficult for you."

Her tone suddenly shifted, and her violet eyes locked onto the position of Lu Jing's soul bone. "However, since you have entered Spirit Hall, your martial souls must be registered according to protocol. It would not be too much to ask the two of you to display them, would it?"

Martial Soul Confrontation

Wang Dong'er glanced at Lu Jing from the corner of her eye. When she saw him give an almost imperceptible nod, she felt slightly relieved.

Pale blue radiance suddenly blossomed. Enormous butterfly wings unfurled behind her, and the holy glow of the Light Goddess Butterfly made the roses throughout the courtyard lose their color.

One yellow and one purple soul ring hovered beneath her feet, faint lightning patterns flickering across them as they circulated.

"A thousand-year second ring?" Bibi Dong's pupils contracted slightly, and her expression changed. She clearly had not expected this.

Ever since obtaining the Rakshasa God's inheritance, she had learned that soul ring configurations could be improved in this world. But the problem was that it required divine power—even Qian Daoliu was no exception.

Just as Bibi Dong stood stunned, black flames rose soundlessly.

The World-Annihilating Black Lotus took shape above Lu Jing's head. Its black jade lotus pedestal devoured the surrounding light, and its utterly dark aura made Hu Liena instinctively take half a step back.

When that strange purple ring appeared, Bibi Dong's fingers abruptly clenched the edge of her sleeve—

A thousand-year soul ring?! And it was his first soul ring!

Her pupils shrank sharply.

How could a six-year-old child possibly bear a thousand-year soul ring? Even more terrifying was the black lotus itself—the surging darkness made the Rakshasa divine power within her tremble faintly, as though it were afraid!

How was that possible? This was the Rakshasa God, capable of contending with the Angel God!

At that thought, Bibi Dong let out a soft breath. Biting her lip lightly, she murmured in a voice like wind brushing over ice, "What an overbearing martial soul."

She forcibly suppressed the turmoil in her heart. When she turned toward Wang Dong'er, the Light Goddess Butterfly's radiance seemed three parts dimmer—not because it had weakened, but because the black lotus's absolute darkness had robbed it of brilliance.

"Your Excellency the Pope?" Lu Jing reminded her softly as the black lotus quietly withdrew.

Bibi Dong gave him a deep look. "From today onward, you may move freely through the outer gardens of the Pope's Palace."

She then said to Hu Liena, "Since you have become acquainted, take your new friends around. Remember, do not overstep your bounds."

As the purple figure departed, the pressure in the courtyard vanished at once.

Hu Liena let out a long breath, yet failed to notice the turbulent storm surging in her teacher's eyes at the instant she turned away.

Within the Rose Courtyard, Hu Liena watched Bibi Dong's purple figure recede and timidly let out a breath of relief.

She turned to Lu Jing and Wang Dong'er, a sweet smile returning to her fair little face. "Teacher is gone. Shall we continue looking around?"

Wang Dong'er's pink-blue eyes glanced toward the purple figure disappearing beyond the arched gate, her fingers unconsciously tightening around the corner of her skirt.

She clearly remembered Bibi Dong's fate, so she tested the waters in a low voice. "This Pope... She appeared so suddenly, then left in such a hurry..."

"The history books ten thousand years later say that she was extremely calculating."

Lu Jing's response was nearly inaudible in the wind. His gaze swept over Hu Liena's innocent, lively golden short hair before he changed the subject. "But the weather is lovely today. There's no harm in looking around a little longer."

After circling half the outer perimeter of the training grounds, the three soon lost interest.

When the noon bells rang across Spirit City, Lu Jing was the first to stop. "It's time to go back."

Hu Liena nodded obediently. After watching the two head toward the Worship Hall, she hugged her books and skipped toward a side hall of the Pope's Palace.

Inside the Rakshasa Chamber of the Pope's Palace.

The secret chamber had no windows. Only purple phosphor stones embedded in the walls gave off a ghostly glow, casting Bibi Dong, who stood in the center, in an eerie light.

Her pale purple court gown billowed amidst the churning black mist, while the formation beneath her feet released a thick, filthy aura that seemed almost tangible.

"This martial soul... It can even suppress the Rakshasa divine power..." Her fingertips brushed over the lingering image in the crystal orb. The darkness rolling through the petals seemed capable of devouring even the projection's light.

Qian Daoliu had brought this child back but kept it secret. He clearly intended to keep this variable under his own control!

"Crash—"

The formation suddenly boiled! The black mist condensed into a ferocious spider shadow that pounced into the void.

The final trace of hesitation in Bibi Dong's eyes was completely annihilated, transforming into poison-like obsession. Her low murmur echoed through the chamber. "If such an anomaly cannot be held in my palm..."

Killing intent froze in her violet eyes like the depths of a cold pond.

"Then it can only be... completely erased!"