Surprise

"How good could it possibly be? Could it surpass mine? The cultivation of Twin Martial Souls cannot be solved by empty theorizing. Without guidance from someone who has experienced it firsthand, even the best plan is nothing but a castle in the air, a mere joke."

Bibi Dong's words were like cold, sharp blades, striking precisely at Qian Renxue's greatest concern.

Qian Renxue clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms once more. She knew Bibi Dong was speaking the truth, and that was exactly why she was standing here.

"Your Holiness is absolutely right." Qian Renxue forced herself to remain calm and humble.

"That is precisely why I came here so presumptuously, to ask whether Your Holiness might offer some guidance for the future of Spirit Hall. Even if it is only a few precautions for the early stages of cultivation, or the critical thresholds after rank seventy."

"Guidance?"

Bibi Dong seemed to have heard something utterly ridiculous. She slowly rose to her feet and descended the high steps one at a time, the hem of her papal robes dragging across the floor with a soft rustle.

She stopped before Qian Renxue. They stood so close that Qian Renxue could even feel the cold, powerful aura emanating from her.

"Qian Renxue." Bibi Dong addressed her by name, ice seeming to gather within her violet eyes.

"What makes you think I would so easily give you the experience I gained through life and death, paid for with endless pain and suffering? So you can nurture someone who may one day be used against me?"

Bibi Dong's voice was not loud, but every word was like an ice spike stabbing deep into Qian Renxue's heart.

"Or do you think that your status as the Young Mistress, or that man's bloodline..."