The underground chamber beneath the Pope Palace.
The purple-black light enveloping Bibi Dong stopped churning. The pure divine energy thinned into wisps and strands, flowing along her meridians and fully merging into her flesh.
The preliminary deep fusion for the eighth trial of the Rakshasa God Trial had officially ended.
She snapped her eyes open.
With one hand, she pushed open the heavy steel door. Air from the corridor rushed into the chamber.
Bibi Dong stopped in her tracks, her gaze suddenly turning cold.
Her senses were razor-sharp. She caught a trace of a unique fluctuation still lingering in the air—the remnant of the sacred Soul Power exclusive to the Six-Winged Angel.
Outside the passage, Angela had slammed to her knees on the stone tiles. The lining of her red robes was drenched in cold sweat, and her back was rigid with tension.
"Your Holiness." Angela pressed her head hard against the ground, her voice trembling violently. "Half an hour ago, Pei Yuan forced his way into the Library Pavilion with an order from the Great Worship."
Killing intent surged to its peak in a tenth of a second.
A column of purple-black Soul Power exploded, tearing open the passage from the underground chamber.
The next instant, Bibi Dong appeared out of thin air on the third floor of the Library Pavilion.
The scene before her was utterly ruined.
The nailed-up wooden doors had been smashed apart and flung away. Their hinges were broken, and the massive wooden bookshelves, each weighing a thousand jin, had all toppled over. Thick ancient books and splintered boards covered the floor.
Bibi Dong's gaze passed over the wreckage and locked onto a shadowed corner at the far end.
Su Chen was huddled there.
Not a trace of color remained in his face. He clutched his knees tightly with both hands, his back pressed against the mottled wall. His shoulders were trembling rapidly, and his whole body was locked in a state of absolute terror and defensiveness.
The Worship Hall had reached its hands into her forbidden grounds, smashed up her territory, and laid hands on the person she had vowed to protect.
Purple-black Soul Power, violent beyond measure, swept out from beneath Bibi Dong's feet. It was the deathly aura of a Peak Douluo at level ninety-nine.
She spun around, her eyes fixed on the direction of the Worship Hall. Her heel dug in as she prepared to head straight for the Elder Hall and kill.
At that moment, a piercing mechanical voice exploded in her mind.
[Ding! Emergency Soothing Mission issued!] [Directive: Soothe the Lord of Creation's fright with physical contact. Maintain contact for ten minutes.] [Reward: Slight increase in Soul Power.] [Failure Penalty: Soul-Devouring Pain will stack and double.]
A blood-red countdown forcibly filled her Sea of Divine Consciousness, flashing wildly.
Bibi Dong's military boot, already half a step forward, came to an abrupt halt. She pressed her lips together and took a sharp breath, forcing the raging killing intent that had already begun to spill out back into her bones and blood.
Outside the door.
Angela and a squad of Temple Knights had just finished forming ranks. Every one of them had clearly felt that world-shattering pressure suddenly rise, then vanish just as abruptly.
They peered through the shattered doorframe from the corners of their eyes.
The Pope hadn't gone to settle the score with the Worship Hall. She had even driven away every trace of killing intent around her, directing all her attention, without reservation, toward the servant sitting in the ruins.
The sixteen guards' understanding of the world took a direct hit. They could see just how much this "century-long undertaking" meant to the Pope. It mattered more to her than the Worship Hall's direct provocation.
Bibi Dong softened her steps.
Her military boots crunched over wood chips as she avoided every obstacle that might make a loud noise, approaching Su Chen one step at a time.
Su Chen played his part perfectly, slipping into a state of post-traumatic stress. His shoulders shook violently, and restrained, terrified, ragged breaths escaped from deep in his throat.
Seeing him so utterly vulnerable, Bibi Dong's heart clenched without warning. This time, it wasn't the system's countdown forcing her hand, nor fear of failing a mission. It was a genuine impulse, born deep in her bones, to protect the person before her.
She stopped in front of Su Chen.
She didn't look down at him from on high. Bibi Dong bent her knees and crouched amid the dust.
Slowly, she reached out her right hand.
It still trembled faintly from the effort of suppressing her killing intent. After hovering in the air for a full three seconds, her fingers descended, clumsy and unpracticed. She used no unnecessary force, merely laying her hand gently on top of Su Chen's head.
Outside the door, Angela, peeking through the crack, felt her knees give way.
She collapsed to the ground and clapped both hands over her mouth. The Pope, who had risen to the top of Spirit Hall over a mountain of corpses, decisive and ruthless enough to leave no bodies intact, was performing an act of comfort so gentle it was almost unimaginable.
Angela felt something snap inside her head.
Physical contact established.
[Countdown begins: 09:59]
Beneath Bibi Dong's stiff palm, Su Chen slowly raised his head.
His pale face was full of terror, and a clear flush rimmed his eyes. He looked at Bibi Dong, his voice timid and trembling with uncertainty. "Your Holiness... last night, your subordinate had a dream."
Bibi Dong's fingers stiffened in his hair, but she didn't pull away. She instinctively softened her voice and asked quietly, "What did you dream about?"
Su Chen lowered his eyes, his long lashes casting shadows across his cheekbones.
"I dreamed that Your Holiness... was making porridge for me." His voice grew quieter and quieter, tinged with self-mockery. "It didn't burn. It was delicious. I've been scraping by for sixteen years... and no one has ever treated me like that."
No one had ever treated him like that.
Those thirteen words held no aggression, yet they struck straight through Bibi Dong's deepest psychological defenses.
The years gone by flashed through her mind like scenes from a film.
In the secret chamber, the look Qian Xunji gave her had held nothing but calculation, nothing but cold plans for carrying on the Angel lineage. In the rainstorm, after Yu Xiaogang learned the truth, he had fled like a coward, leaving her with nothing but his resolute, departing silhouette.
No one had ever truly protected her. No one had ever cherished her with tenderness.
Two people, both struggling through a lightless mire, both abandoned by the world, found themselves bound by a resonance that thundered like a drumbeat. Bibi Dong's cold, fierce mask, worn for forty years, shattered completely.
The five fingers resting on Su Chen's head tightened unconsciously, following her truest instinct. Her fingertips brushed his hair, revealing a genuine tenderness she had never shown before.
In Su Chen's mind, the Light Screen of the Eye of Omniscience instantly flooded with data.
[Bibi Dong's current emotions: Resonance 100% / Heartache off the charts] [Affection surging: 23→28→31!] [Dependency indicator has crossed the critical threshold for the first time: 52%!]
The ten-minute countdown reached zero in the dead silence.
[Ding! Soothing Mission complete. Reward issued.]
But Bibi Dong didn't immediately withdraw her hand. She paused for several more seconds before slowly pulling back her arm and standing up.
She looked down at Su Chen.
"The porridge won't burn next time."
Her voice was hoarse, marked by awkwardness and an unmistakable stiffness. After leaving him with that promise, Bibi Dong turned away. Purple-black Soul Power lifted her into the air, and she disappeared beyond the broken doorframe.
Outside, Angela and the sixteen Temple Knights stood frozen, their minds blank. That casual exchange, like something between an ordinary married couple, had shattered their entire worldview. They quickly retreated and blocked their hearing, not daring to linger for another second.
The sound of footsteps faded into the distance.
Only the wind remained in the Library Pavilion. Su Chen released his knees, leaned back, and rested against the ruined wall. The timidity, blush, and terror vanished from his face in an instant. His eyes held nothing but absolute depth and clarity.
He was just about to review the emotional tug-of-war that had played out that night when the Eye of Omniscience in his mind suddenly erupted in a blinding golden light.
[Ding—Highest-level destiny alert!] [Binder 002 is on the verge of awakening.] [Location locked: Heaven Dou Empire Imperial Capital.]
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