Planning and Residence

Watching Wu Ling being led away by Gui Mei, Bibi Dong admitted that he had piqued her interest.

Bibi Dong's original plan had been to use Wu Ling as bait to lure out and eliminate the opposition. She had not cared about Wu Ling's life in the slightest. After all, her goal was to bring down Spirit Hall, so how could she possibly cultivate another powerful figure for it?

As for taking Wu Ling as her disciple, that had not been part of her plan either. She had just killed her own teacher and avenged herself, so she had no desire to teach a disciple at the moment.

But Wu Ling's uniqueness changed Bibi Dong's mind. Both the era called the "Age of Gods" and Wu Ling's own potential had shocked her. If she could make Wu Ling stand by her side rather than Spirit Hall's, then what was wrong with taking him as her disciple? When the time came to destroy Spirit Hall, she might even gain a reliable helper.

"Nothing can happen to him!"

Wu Ling, who had already left Pope Palace, knew nothing of Bibi Dong's intentions. But even if he had known, he would not have cared. As long as he could make Bibi Dong acknowledge him as her disciple, he would have completed the first step of his plan.

The second step was simple as well: cultivate. Cultivate with everything he had while avoiding assassinations. His current strength was simply too weak. No matter how perfect a plan was, it was useless without the strength to carry it out.

"After absorbing the five-hundred-year Taillow, my Soul Power has reached the peak of level thirteen. I only need to cultivate for a few days to reach level fourteen. At this rate, I should reach level twenty in about one or two years.

"As for the second Heroic Spirit Summoning, there's no rush right now. I'll cultivate over the next few years and use that time to find my own shortcomings before making a decision."

While Wu Ling was making plans, Gui Mei, walking ahead of him, remained silent.

As Bibi Dong's right-hand man, he knew about her original plan to lure the snake from its hole. But Bibi Dong's instructions just now had not been part of that plan. Wu Ling had gone from being bait to someone who needed protection, and even his residence had been moved from somewhere distant to somewhere near Bibi Dong's own quarters.

Faced with Bibi Dong's change, Gui Mei wisely did not ask Wu Ling what he had discussed with her. His only task now was to protect Wu Ling while teaching him and helping him grow as quickly as possible.

After bringing Wu Ling to his new home, Gui Mei said, "Get familiar with the surroundings today. Servants will come later to attend to your daily needs. I can't say much more, but just remember not to wander outside. Starting tomorrow, I'll come teach you knowledge and cultivation."

"Okay, sir."

Gui Mei waved a hand at Wu Ling.

"You are now His Holiness the Pope's disciple. I'm much older than you, so you can call me Grandpa Ghost."

"Okay, Grandpa Ghost."

Gui Mei nodded in satisfaction, then took four books from his Storage Ring.

The four books were Martial Soul Compendium, Spirit Beast Compendium, Martial Souls and Categories, and 100,000 Cultivation Precautions.

The moment Wu Ling saw the titles, he eagerly accepted them and immediately began flipping through them.

Seeing how much Wu Ling loved learning, Gui Mei felt greatly gratified.

"These four books are essential for everyone within Spirit Hall. They are updated every three years, though there are still two years until the next update. Just read these for now."

"Okay, thank you, Grandpa Ghost."

"Mm. Tomorrow, I'll bring your Grandpa Yue over for you to meet. By then, your theoretical studies and cultivation will be left to us."

Wu Ling did not need to guess who this Grandpa Yue was. He had to be Chrysanthemum Douluo, who had worked with Gui Mei for over sixty years. Wu Ling was quite happy to be able to meet Chrysanthemum Douluo. Of course, he was not interested in the man himself, but in his knowledge.

In the world of Douluo, Wu Ling knew the locations of many immortal herbs, such as the must-grab backyard of every transmigrator—the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well.

But not recognizing those spiritual herbs was a serious weakness. In the original story, Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan was the only person besides Tang San who could recognize those immortal herbs at a glance, so Wu Ling greatly coveted that knowledge.

Now that Wu Ling knew he would have a chance to meet Yue Guan, and might even have Chrysanthemum Guan teach him everything he knew, he was extremely excited.

But after the initial excitement faded, Wu Ling suddenly realized something.

"...Grandpa Ghost, there's something I don't know whether I should say."

"It's fine. Just say it."

"Well, wasn't I supposed to be His Holiness the Pope's disciple? Why will the two grandpas be teaching me instead?"

After speaking, Wu Ling noticed the problem with his words and quickly explained, "Grandpa Ghost, I don't mean that I dislike you two. I'm just a little confused. Since His Holiness the Pope won't be teaching me, why did she take me as her disciple?"

In truth, Wu Ling did not care at all whether Bibi Dong taught him. As long as he had a safe environment and enough medicine for his injuries, he was satisfied. He had only asked because, as a child, having somewhat stronger curiosity suited his persona.

Ghost Douluo merely rubbed Wu Ling's hair and said nothing more. Since he did not know what Bibi Dong and Wu Ling had discussed, he would not make baseless guesses.

After Gui Mei left, Wu Ling wandered around his new residence by himself.

Wu Ling felt that his new home was somewhat similar to the courtyard houses of Blue Star, though the details were less refined. There were no side rooms or smaller annexes, only a front house and a main house, plus a kitchen and toilet at most.

Between the two buildings was a pond, where several little fish happily splashed about.

Just as Wu Ling finished making a round of the place, fifteen servants arrived and lined up outside the courtyard.

They truly deserved to be people trained by a powerful faction. The servants were highly disciplined and did not look down on Wu Ling because of his youth. After seeing the person he would serve in the future, the lead servant stepped forward.

"Reporting to Young Master, steward Bai Shan has brought three cooks, three cleaners, four guards, and four maidservants to serve Young Master. Please give your instructions."

Having never been treated like this in either of his lives, Wu Ling was somewhat at a loss. Gui Mei, who had followed behind him, gave the instructions for him.

"Just work within the duties you were assigned."

"Yes, sir!"

After giving the servants their orders, Gui Mei walked over to Wu Ling. Behind him stood a man with skin as delicate as a baby's and features as alluring as a woman's.

Honestly, if Wu Ling had not known beforehand, he might have mistaken that man for a woman even with the Adam's apple at his throat.

"Grandpa Ghost, why are you here? And this must be Grandpa Yue, right? Hello, Grandpa Yue."

"Ah, what a sweet-talking little fellow."

Yue Guan gave a charming smile, while Wu Ling felt his heart tremble violently.

"We originally planned to come tomorrow, but your Grandpa Yue couldn't wait, so we came early this afternoon. We didn't disturb you, did we?"

"Of course not. I'm happy that Grandpa Ghost and Grandpa Yue came to see me. Come inside quickly. I'll make tea for you both."