Goodnight Kiss

Qian Xunji watched her confused expression, opened his mouth as if to say something, then found it a little difficult to voice.

After hesitating for a moment, he raised his hand and tapped his own cheek with a finger.

Yet Bibi Dong merely blinked her big eyes, followed his finger to look at his cheek, then tilted her head.

"Is there... something dirty on Teacher's face? I don't see anything."

She even leaned closer for a careful look, then shook her head seriously. "There's nothing dirty. It's very clean."

Qian Xunji: "..."

His expectations had fallen flat, and he felt as though dark lines were sliding down his forehead.

Was this disciple doing it on purpose, or was she really this innocent?

He coughed twice and swiftly regained the Pope's composure. "Ahem... it's nothing. Perhaps I was mistaken."

"Go back and rest. Goodnight."

"Oh, goodnight, Teacher."

After speaking, Bibi Dong rose onto her tiptoes and swiftly planted a little "mwah" kiss on the cheek Qian Xunji had just pointed to.

The soft touch vanished the instant it landed.

"Goodnight!"

This time, she waved before skipping back to the Saintess Hall.

Qian Xunji stood frozen in place, feeling the lingering kiss on his cheek.

A few seconds later, the upward curve of his lips was harder to suppress than an AK47.

"This disciple... is truly kawaii."

"Not only that, tonight's moonlight is especially beautiful as well."

Then, in an exceptionally good mood, he turned and headed for his own chambers.

Upon returning to his chambers, Qian Xunji immediately spotted a familiar metal case on the floor.

That afternoon, he had instructed Elder Jiang Mo to retrieve the various rare metals and supplementary materials needed to make a second Soul-Guided Communicator.

He did not feel the slightest bit tired. Instead, the goodnight kiss had left him invigorated.

Qian Xunji walked to his desk, spread out the intricate design blueprints, and took out the Angel Carving Knife.

Having gone through repeated failures before finally succeeding the first time, his second attempt felt entirely different.

Every detail was as clear as if it had been branded into his mind.

His cuts were precise and steady, his Soul Power output smooth and even. Every formation he traced, every energy circuit he connected, flowed as if he had practiced them countless times before.

Three hours later...

When the final core node of the Composite Resonance Array lit up and steadily emitted synchronized Soul Power fluctuations, the second "Soul-Guided Communicator" was complete.

Its size and appearance were almost identical to the first one.

Qian Xunji placed it beside the Prototype One he had made earlier.

"It's done."

Qian Xunji let out a long breath, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.

"This time, both the efficiency and the stability of the finished product have improved tremendously compared to the first attempt."

"Sure enough, practice is the best teacher."

Afterward, Qian Xunji set the two Soul-Guided Communicators side by side on the table.

Spiritual Power gathered at his fingertips as he imprinted a unique mental mark belonging solely to him onto the core formation of each communicator.

It was like assigning the two machines unique "identity codes" and "pairing keys," establishing the most basic direct connection between them.

After completing this step, he picked up one of them and slowly infused Soul Power into it.

As Soul Power flowed in, the communicator lit up, and the resonance array at its core began operating steadily at an extremely low frequency.

Qian Xunji held his breath and focused, concentrating his Spiritual Power on the communicator as he attempted to use it as a signal amplifier and converter.

"Hello?"

Almost at the same moment, the secondary unit on the table lit up in sync and clearly transmitted his own voice.

"It worked!"

Excitement flashed in Qian Xunji's eyes.

The most basic point-to-point voice communication function had been achieved.

He stopped infusing Soul Power, and the lights of both communicators went out.

After the excitement faded, he sat back down on the bed. Rather than immediately beginning meditation, he stroked his chin and analyzed the current situation.

"For now, communication has been established, but the effective range is unknown. It needs to be tested."

"Moreover, this mode of pre-imprinting mental marks and directly connecting point to point is essentially just an enhanced bamboo tube telephone, or a Soul Power version of a radio walkie-talkie."

"If I want tens of thousands of such devices to communicate freely with one another from anywhere, or even form a communications network covering the entire continent..."

"Then I'll need to establish massive Soul Power relay towers, or even... launch Soul-Guided satellites capable of covering the continent."

The thought made even him suck in a sharp breath.

With Douluo Continent's Soul-Guided Technology and material craftsmanship currently starting from zero, it was simply a fantasy.

Let alone satellites, even establishing a citywide network of Soul Power base stations would require enormous resources, incredibly complex Soul-Guided formations, energy supplies, maintenance... every aspect was a massive challenge.

"There's still a long way to go..."

Qian Xunji sighed, but there was no discouragement in his eyes.

One had to eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time.

At the very least, he had successfully taken the first step.

He calmed his mind and entered a meditative state.

The next morning, Qian Xunji sat upon the Pope's throne, idly playing with the two communicators in his hands.

Footsteps approached from afar.

Qian Xunji looked up and saw Bibi Dong walking toward him with graceful steps.

Today, she wore a neat black short dress with a cinched waist, accentuating her tall, straight figure.

Her legs were clad in thin black stockings and paired with black high heels, making her look mature and alluring.

Behind her followed Bibi Xi, his face full of amazement and curiosity.

It was his first time entering such a grand and solemn main hall of the Spirit Hall, and his eyes could barely take it all in.

"Teacher, you summoned me."

"Mm... yes."

Qian Xunji secretly swallowed, pulling his gaze away from her beautiful legs in black stockings.

Bibi Dong noticed the expression he had tried to hide and secretly felt delighted. Her careful grooming after getting up had not gone to waste.

"Teacher, what is it?"

"Oh, there's something I need your help testing."

With that, Qian Xunji handed one of the communicators to her.

"This is the other Soul-Guided Communicator. I finished making it last night."

"Today, we'll find a place to test its effective communication range and stability."

"Alright, Teacher." Bibi Dong accepted the communicator and curiously examined it.

At that moment, Qian Xunji's gaze shifted toward Bibi Xi behind her, who was still curiously looking over the hall's decorations.

"Xiao Xi, did you get used to staying at the Spirit Hall yesterday?"

Bibi Xi came back to himself and hurriedly bowed. "I did, I'm very used to it!"

"Your Holiness the Pope, I've never lived in such a spacious and bright house in my life. And... the maidservants inside are all especially kind. They speak gently, and they're all very beautiful too."

Bibi Dong covered her forehead as she listened, quietly reaching out to tug on her younger brother's sleeve.

Silly little brother, could he say such blunt truths in front of the Pope?

Receiving his sister's warning, Bibi Xi quickly shut his mouth and awkwardly scratched his head.

Qian Xunji took in the siblings' little exchange and found the youth's simple honesty rather endearing.

Not only did he take no offense, he found Bibi Xi's unfeigned reaction quite amusing.

Following up on his words, he nodded solemnly. "Mm, Xiao Xi, you observed very carefully."

"The maidservants in the hall have indeed all been carefully selected and possess dignified appearances."

"If there's one you particularly hit it off with, perhaps I can introduce you to her?"