Bibi Dong: He Had Been Provoking Me All Along

Time flew by like an arrow.

Six years passed quietly.

After that unpleasant conflict with Yan and Xie Yue, Jiang Bai could no longer stand the suffocating atmosphere in the dormitory.

He quickly submitted a request to the dorm supervisor to change rooms and moved into another dormitory.

His situation in class also became rather delicate.

Most of his classmates kept their distance from him out of respect.

They maintained basic courtesy on the surface, but group activities, after-class discussions, and even some non-mandatory collective assignments all tacitly excluded him.

The teachers seemed to understand this as well. They never forcibly assigned Jiang Bai to any team and turned a blind eye to his acting alone.

Jiang Bai did not care in the slightest. In fact, he was happy to have the peace and quiet.

He had never liked meaningless socializing, much less hypocritical pleasantries.

Being alone allowed him to focus on his cultivation plans.

As for the secret of his mutated Martial Soul, he guarded it carefully for six years and never revealed it in public.

In everyone else's eyes, he was still merely a Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda support-type Soul Master with decent talent, diligent cultivation, and an aloof personality.

He had never publicly demonstrated the age of his Spirit Rings or the specific effects of his soul skills.

As a result, almost no one knew his true capabilities.

Bibi Dong regarded Jiang Bai as a potentially useful chess piece.

A Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda Soul Master who had ended up outside the sect and been raised by Spirit Hall might prove useful in dealing with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect in the future.

Thus, she secretly ordered that some of Jiang Bai's information be obscured rather than widely spread.

She had originally intended to temporarily suppress her resentment over Jiang Bai "influencing Qian Renxue and disrupting the plan," saving him for later use.

However, as time passed, Bibi Dong found Jiang Bai's existence increasingly unbearable.

The reason was simple—Jiang Bai and Qian Renxue had grown far too close!

In Bibi Dong's eyes, this was nothing less than naked provocation and humiliation!

Over the past six years, her informants had reported more than once that aside from classes and cultivation, Jiang Bai spent nearly all his free time being "lovey-dovey" with Qian Renxue.

They strolled by the lake, practiced swordsmanship on the back mountain, ate together in the cafeteria, and occasionally wandered around Spirit City together...

The two were inseparable, their relationship far closer than that of ordinary senior and junior students. They even shared a tacit understanding and trust that transcended their ages.

It was like a venom-coated thorn driven deep into Bibi Dong's heart, sending waves of dull pain and uncontrollable jealousy through her from time to time.

Why?!

She, Bibi Dong, and Yu Xiaogang had truly loved each other, yet they had been separated by Qian Xunji's vile actions and forced to suffer humiliation and torment!

Why could that little bitch and some wild brat who had appeared from nowhere be together so easily and happily?!

Enjoying the pure companionship and trust she had never possessed?

Every time she learned that they were together again, especially when she imagined the smile Qian Renxue might show Jiang Bai—a smile she had never given her—the resentment in Bibi Dong's heart deepened.

In her eyes, Jiang Bai was no longer merely a useful chess piece. He had become a symbol that constantly stabbed at her nerves and reminded her of her failures and pain!

Her killing intent toward Jiang Bai quietly grew amid her daily jealousy, only temporarily suppressed by his "value as a chess piece" and the possibility of Qian Daoliu's interference.

Jiang Bai knew nothing of this.

He was not deliberately staying close to Qian Renxue to provoke anyone. It was simply that in this complicated environment, she was one of the few people around whom he could feel natural, without pretense, and even trust each other.

Qian Renxue also seemed to cherish their relationship, regarding him as someone important and someone she could confide in.

Amid their respective loneliness and pressure, they found a strange kind of comfort and support in each other.

Over these six years, Jiang Bai's growth had been nothing short of astonishing.

Now twelve years old, his Soul Power had already reached level thirty-seven, the realm of a Soul Elder!

Such speed was shocking even across the entire continent, enough to rival the most exceptional geniuses.

He had obtained his second and third Spirit Rings with Qian Renxue's help.

His second Spirit Ring came from an Earth Dragon with more than nine hundred years of cultivation.

His third Spirit Ring came from a Wind Dragon with nearly two thousand years of cultivation.

Both soul beasts were dragon-type soul beasts of high quality. Without the information Qian Renxue had provided, he truly would not have found them easily.

He had chosen dragon-type soul beasts because their Spirit Rings were generally of higher quality and provided better nourishment for the body and Martial Soul.

Considering the attention it might draw, he had not pursued the absolute limit for his Spirit Ring ages, keeping them within a relatively "reasonable" range.

In any case, Jiang Bai knew that the ages of his Spirit Rings could increase through the cultivation of the soul beasts within the pagoda, so there was no need to rush.

Now, all three levels of his Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda were already "fully occupied."

After cultivating inside the pagoda for six years, the Fire Dragon on the first level had raised its Spirit Ring age to one thousand years.

The Earth Dragon on the second level and the Wind Dragon on the third level were also steadily growing within the pagoda's unique nurturing environment.

He had become highly proficient in using the abilities of all three soul beasts. The combined enhancement when they possessed him was extremely impressive, and his combat strength had long surpassed that of some assault-type battle Soul Elders of the same level.

Qian Renxue had likewise not wasted her talent over the past six years.

After completely abandoning the undercover plan and establishing inheritance of the Angel God Position as her highest goal, she devoted most of her energy to cultivation.

Fifteen-year-old Qian Renxue was now already a six-ring Soul Emperor!

This achievement was enough to shake the entire Soul Master world.

Though the gap between them seemed enormous, it had not caused their relationship to grow distant. Instead, they became even closer.

Qian Renxue had never looked down on Jiang Bai because of their difference in strength. On the contrary, she often exchanged cultivation insights with him and discussed the mysteries of Martial Souls.

Jiang Bai could also always offer her unexpected perspectives and a relaxed atmosphere, allowing her brief moments to breathe beneath the heavy burden of her mission and cultivation pressure.

Yet this deepening bond was particularly hard for two people to bear.

One was Qian Daoliu.

Watching his granddaughter grow increasingly close to Jiang Bai, his feelings were complicated.

He acknowledged that Jiang Bai was an outstanding child. His character, talent, and positive influence on Xue'er were all things Qian Daoliu had seen clearly.

But... Xue'er was meant to inherit the Angel God Position!

Her future was destined to soar above the nine heavens and become an immortal deity.

And Jiang Bai, no matter how outstanding he was, was ultimately only a support-type Soul Master with limited potential.

How could he accompany Xue'er to the very end?

Would this overly intimate affection, invested in far too early, become a shackle on Xue'er's path to godhood in the future?

Whenever he thought of this, Qian Daoliu became deeply worried, yet he did not know how to interfere. After all, Xue'er was rarely this happy.

The other was naturally Bibi Dong.

Whenever her informants reported that the two were together being lovey-dovey again, it was like scattering another handful of salt onto the poisoned thorn in her heart.

The resentment in her heart grew wildly like poisonous weeds.

Why?!

Why could that little bitch possess such pure affection?

Why did she and Yu Xiaogang have to endure eternal separation and pain?!

Jiang Bai's existence was like a mirror, constantly reflecting the incompleteness and ugliness of her own life.

Her killing intent toward Jiang Bai was almost beyond the rational restraint of his "value as a chess piece."