Spirit City, Pope Palace.
Bibi Dong was reporting her success to Qian Xunji.
"Teacher, I've completed the task you gave me!"
Qian Xunji looked at Bibi Dong, who stood not far away, and frowned. "The task I gave you?"
He couldn't remember assigning Bibi Dong any task at all.
But there was one thing that had left him deeply displeased.
The Shadow Guard he had assigned to Bibi Dong had sent him a message:
'Today, Bibi Dong got very close to a Soul Master named Ling Feng. The two of them stuck together cultivating for almost the entire day.'
"Teacher, you forgot. You told me to get close to that Ling Feng and investigate the secret behind his ten-thousand-year third Soul Ring!"
"Now I've figured it out. That Ling Feng really is extraordinary!"
Qian Xunji suddenly remembered what Bibi Dong meant. So it was about his own order for her to get close to Ling Feng.
So Dong'er cultivated with that Ling Feng because I told her to? Qian Xunji breathed a sigh of relief.
But Bibi Dong's praise of Ling Feng piqued his interest.
His disciple had Innate Full Soul Power and Twin Martial Souls. She was peerlessly gifted;
on top of that, she was beautiful, and with him backing her, anyone who caught her eye had to be special.
"Oh? Tell me what makes him so extraordinary," Qian Xunji asked.
Recalling what Ling Feng had told her, Bibi Dong relayed several of his most important theories to Qian Xunji.
"Teacher, Ling Feng's theories could help our Spirit Hall enormously."
"And if his theories are correct, I can cultivate my Twin Martial Souls without worrying anymore!" Bibi Dong said.
Qian Xunji said nothing, slowly digesting the theories Bibi Dong had told him.
Drawing on his own experience, he tested each of Ling Feng's theories against what he knew.
After a long while, he sighed. "Our Spirit Hall is truly fortunate to have an expert like this!"
"Dong'er, you've done a great service this time!"
"If his theories are confirmed, the next generation of our Spirit Hall will be filled with geniuses!"
"That Ling Feng will be a great benefactor to our Spirit Hall, too. Go ask him what reward he wants!"
As Pope, Qian Xunji knew well how important it was to reward merit and punish wrongdoing.
Bibi Dong said, "Teacher, I already asked him!"
"He wants a few pieces of ten-thousand-year Whale Glue and a Storage Soul Tool."
Qian Xunji nodded. Those rewards were barely a drop in the ocean for Spirit Hall.
"Good. Go to the storeroom, collect a Storage Soul Tool, and give it to him yourself."
"As for the Whale Glue, I'll have someone buy some. I'll give it to you after its medicinal properties have been verified!"
Bibi Dong nodded with satisfaction, then asked, "Teacher, I've done my share of work too. What's my reward?"
She hadn't forgotten why she'd come here: first, to tell Qian Xunji what she'd learned, and second, to claim a reward for herself.
She wanted to see if there was a chance she could get a Soul Bone.
"Of course you'll be rewarded!"
"I'll find a way to negotiate with the Clear Sky Sect. I'll also keep an eye out for a Soul Bone that suits you."
Qian Xunji was in his forties. How could he not know what Bibi Dong wanted?
Besides, she was his disciple. It was only natural for him to pave the way for her cultivation.
"Thank you, Teacher! You should get back to work. This disciple will take her leave!"
"Mm, go on." Qian Xunji waved a hand and watched Bibi Dong leave.
Outside the Spirit City Library, Yu Xiaogang had been pacing by the entrance for a long time.
"It's been so long. Why hasn't Bibi Dong shown up yet?"
Yu Xiaogang had spent several days preparing to strike up a conversation with Bibi Dong, but he hadn't seen her in days.
"It doesn't make sense. According to those Soul Masters, Bibi Dong comes to the library every few days."
"Could it be because of that guy?"
Yu Xiaogang thought of Ling Feng. That day, Bibi Dong had talked with Ling Feng for ages, then left the library with him.
Could Ling Feng also be trying to use Bibi Dong to curry favor with Spirit Hall? That Ling Feng really is despicable and shameless!
Yu Xiaogang judged Ling Feng by his own standards, projecting his own motives onto him.
"No, I can't let Ling Feng get away with this. I'll tell Bibi Dong his true intentions and expose his hypocritical face!"
Ling Feng was his sworn enemy. In his heart, that hatred came second only to the hatred he felt for the clan elders who had thrown him out.
If Ling Feng won Bibi Dong's favor, it would be worse than being killed.
With that thought, Yu Xiaogang hurried toward Spirit Academy.
Ling Feng's accomplishments were no secret either. A ten-thousand-year third Soul Ring and his enrollment at Spirit Academy had made him famous in Spirit City.
Although Spirit City was large, Spirit Academy was not far from its central district.
Before long, Yu Xiaogang reached Spirit Academy and hid in a corner to lie in wait.
Yu Xiaogang had no idea that the Ling Feng and Bibi Dong he couldn't stop thinking about were at that very moment cultivating in a Cultivation Room on Spirit Mountain.
In Bibi Dong's Cultivation Room, Ling Feng and Bibi Dong sat facing each other in training clothes, cultivating their Soul Power.
After joining Spirit Academy, Ling Feng had replaced his Soul Power Meditation Method with the one used by Spirit Hall.
Although Spirit Hall's Meditation Method didn't involve meridians or the circulation of Soul Power, it was still much better than the common methods available outside.
A while later, Ling Feng came out of his cultivation state.
"One day, I'll create a cultivation method of my own!"
Hmm? No, that's not right. I can start creating a cultivation method now! Ling Feng thought.
He suddenly remembered that Rakshasa Bibi Dong still lived inside his body.
As a former Rakshasa God who had once possessed a divine position, surely she could help him create a cultivation method without much trouble?
At her level, the vast stores of Soul Power in her body had opened all her meridians. Her entire network of meridians was clear, and she had a body born for the Dao.
As long as he told her his theories on meridians, she ought to be able to create some simple techniques for him to cultivate.
Ling Feng planned to ask Rakshasa Bibi Dong for help that night, after he returned to the dormitory at Spirit Academy.
Just then, Ling Feng saw Bibi Dong sitting opposite him. Her eyelids trembled slightly before she slowly opened her eyes.
The young Bibi Dong's gaze was clear. She hadn't yet been tainted by the power of corruption, and there was a hint of delight in her eyes.
"How was it, Ling Feng? Did cultivating with me make you progress faster than before?" Bibi Dong asked.
Ling Feng nodded and answered honestly, "Quite a bit faster!"
He'd found that cultivating in the presence of Bibi Dong's Soul Power really did speed up his progress.
But this method of cultivation seemed to have a side effect.
His Martial Soul was a Demon Spider, while Bibi Dong's Martial Soul was the Death Spider Emperor.
If they were both Soul Beasts, Ling Feng, a mere Demon Spider, would probably have already submitted to Bibi Dong's Death Spider Emperor.
Under the influence of the Death Spider Emperor's aura, Ling Feng found that, like a Soul Beast, he was growing fonder and fonder of Bibi Dong.
"Then doesn't that mean your theory has been proven?" Bibi Dong said happily.