Let Me See How Far You Can Go

Bibi Dong listened quietly, not a ripple of expression crossing her flawless face.

Her gaze, almost tangible, scrutinized Yue Guan as he knelt and pleaded guilty, as though she could pierce his soul and discern the truth of his words.

The hall was deathly silent, broken only by Yue Guan's slightly hurried breathing echoing within.

Only after a moment did Bibi Dong give a slight nod. Her cool voice rang out again, carrying an unquestionable decisiveness.

"Rise, Elder Yue Guan."

Yue Guan felt as though he had been granted a pardon, yet he still did not dare fully straighten up. He remained bowed, cold sweat already beading at his temples.

"I know that your relationship with Yue Hongsheng is distant."

Bibi Dong's gaze shifted toward Ghost Douluo, Gui Mei, who stood in the shadows on the other side like a phantom.

"Spirit Hall has endured to this day. Its duty to uphold order and eliminate evil is surely something Elder Yue Guan understands well."

Her tone abruptly turned cold, carrying an almost imperceptible killing intent.

"However, Yue Hongsheng is your blood-related cousin. To avoid suspicion, you need not involve yourself in this matter."

At last, Bibi Dong's gaze returned to Yue Guan. Her eyes were calm, yet contained terrifying pressure.

"Elder Gui Mei."

"Your subordinate is here."

Gui Mei's figure drifted forward soundlessly. He dropped to one knee in salute, his voice like a ghostly whisper.

"You are ordered to proceed immediately to Plant Academy in the Heaven Dou Empire. Thoroughly investigate Yue Hongsheng's case, retrieve the academy records, search his residence and courtyard, interrogate all relevant parties... If there is concrete evidence of wrongdoing, no matter who or what is involved, uncover the full truth!"

Bibi Dong's voice was firm and absolute.

"If Lin Xia's account proves true..."

Her gaze shifted to Lin Xia, then returned to Gui Mei. Each word was icy as a blade.

"Execute him on the spot, to uphold Spirit Hall's laws! Escort his corpse and the evidence of his crimes back to Spirit City for public display! Let it serve as a warning to all petty villains!"

"As you command!"

Gui Mei's voice remained utterly flat, but a chilling, bone-piercing killing intent instantly spread through the hall, as if the temperature had dropped several degrees.

His figure flickered, and he vanished from where he stood. Clearly, he had gone to carry out the order at once.

Having dealt with Yue Hongsheng's punishment, Bibi Dong's gaze locked once more onto Yue Guan, who remained bowed and did not dare raise his head.

"Gui Mei will handle this matter. Do you have any objections?"

Yue Guan's body trembled. He lowered his head even further, his voice incomparably respectful and even carrying a trace of gratitude.

"Your Holiness is wise! This subordinate has no objections whatsoever! Elder Gui Mei enforces the law impartially. He will surely uncover the truth and punish the wicked!"

"If Yue Hongsheng truly dared commit such a treasonous act, then he deserves to die! This subordinate... has failed Your Holiness's trust and begs for punishment!"

Bibi Dong slowly lowered her eyelids, as though Yue Guan's stance came as no surprise to her and she had no intention of pursuing the matter of punishment further.

"Enough. Let it end here. You are an elder of Spirit Hall, and I have seen all you have done over the years. There is no need for this."

"That is all for this matter. Also, look after Lin Xia when you have the chance. He has potential worth cultivating. You may leave."

Yue Guan bowed deeply, his posture respectful to the utmost. The cold sweat at his temples faintly glinted beneath the frigid light of Pope Hall.

Yue Guan had followed Bibi Dong for many years. Naturally, he knew what kind of person she was. Bibi Dong was no simple figure.

"This subordinate understands! Thank you for Your Holiness's magnanimity!"

Yue Guan's voice carried a faint, almost imperceptible tremor.

"This subordinate takes his leave."

Maintaining his bowed posture, he retreated step by step. Only upon reaching the threshold of the hall did he straighten, turn, and swiftly depart.

The heavy doors of the hall closed silently behind him, separating the inside from the outside.

Yue Guan stopped outside and let out a long breath. Only then did his taut nerves ease slightly.

He looked back at the towering hall doors, his expression complicated and faintly heavy.

Bibi Dong's instruction to take greater care of Lin Xia now weighed heavily in his mind.

This youth... not only had he somehow escaped Hongsheng's grasp, but he had also stirred up such a great disturbance and drawn the Pope's personal attention...

Yue Guan's eyes flickered several times before finally settling into a barely audible sigh.

So be it. The past could no longer be changed. From now on... he would have to act carefully.

Inside the hall, with Yue Guan's departure, absolute silence descended once more.

The cold radiance cast down from the lofty dome made the figure upon the throne appear even more solitary and aloof.

Bibi Dong sat as still as a divine statue. On her flawless face, the frozen majesty and indifference seemed to develop the faintest crack.

An indescribable exhaustion and... sorrow that ran to her very bones surged silently into her deep violet eyes like an undercurrent beneath the water.

Her gaze seemed to pierce the barriers of time and fall upon the distant past.

That young man whose eyes had always been filled with curiosity, yet also carried an inescapable inferiority complex—Yu Xiaogang.

He had once been the only light in her bleak life, the one who understood her pain and acknowledged her aspirations.

Those days when they had discussed martial soul theory side by side, the silent companionship and comfort within secret chambers...

Everything seemed as though it had happened only yesterday, yet it was as distant as countless centuries away.

Yet in the end, that faint light had still gone out.

His cowardice. His retreat. His choice to leave Pope Hall, to leave... her.

What bit into her heart like a venomous serpent was that he had ultimately thrown himself into another woman's arms—her cousin, Liu Erlong.

The image was painfully vivid: Liu Erlong's bright, flamboyant smile, her figure standing beside Yu Xiaogang...

A mixture of betrayal, bone-deep jealousy, and resentment she could never let go of spread through Bibi Dong's heart in an instant like the thickest poison.

Her fingertips curled slightly against the throne's icy armrest, her nails nearly digging into the hard material.

"Heh..."

A soft, icy chuckle, like ice beads falling upon jade, sounded almost inaudibly in the empty hall.

There was no warmth in that laughter, only boundless desolation and a thread of hatred honed incomparably sharp by the years.

This storm of intense emotion came quickly and faded just as quickly.

After only a few breaths, the sorrow and resentment in Bibi Dong's eyes receded like the tide, freezing once more into an unfathomable cold pool.

She was the Pope of Spirit Hall, one destined to rule the continent, become a god, and stand at the summit.

Love between men and women... had long become baggage that had to be discarded.

She took a deep breath. Upon that peerlessly beautiful face, enough to make heaven and earth pale, there remained once more only the indifference and majesty of one looking down upon all living beings.

Yet one name surfaced clearly in her mind—Lin Xia.

The expression on that youth's face as he had calmly recounted rejecting Yu Xiaogang's offer to take him as a disciple replayed vividly in her mind.

"Those who walk different paths cannot work together..."

The corner of Bibi Dong's lips lifted in an almost imperceptible arc.

It was not a smile, but rather a cold... amusement.

Yu Xiaogang.

You have spent all this time longing to prove your theories, willing to pay any price to cultivate a genius.

Then...

Bibi Dong's gaze seemed to pierce through the walls of the hall and settle upon the youth who had just departed.

What if... this youth who rejected you, who likewise possessed monstrous experiences and bizarre potential, were brought under Spirit Hall's banner? What if I personally provided him with resources and placed him in opposition to Tang San...

In the future, when your prized disciple Tang San and the Lin Xia I have painstakingly cultivated meet and clash upon the battlefield of fate...

Bibi Dong imagined that scene. What expression would Yu Xiaogang have? Shock? Disbelief?

Or would the theories he took such pride in be torn to pieces by the collision with reality?

An unprecedented cold interest, laced with an intense thrill of vengeance, quietly took root in Bibi Dong's heart like poisonous vines.

It had nothing to do with the larger scheme and might even deviate from her grand plans, but at this moment, it was like an irresistibly tempting wager, stirring dangerous ripples across the lake of her long-silent heart.

"Lin Xia..."

"Let Me See How Far You Can Go. And what kind of surprise you can bring Yu Xiaogang?"