Winning Over Bibi Dong? Failed

Bibi Dong's gaze fell on Su Yang. It was like a sharp blade, filled with scrutiny, appraisal, and inquiry, sweeping over him inch by inch from head to toe as though she wanted to see straight through him.

Su Yang felt a burning sensation on his face. Her gaze carried fluctuations of Soul Power; though she was only staring at him, he could feel an invisible pressure bearing down on him.

He neither stepped back nor looked away. He merely stood where he was, his fists clenching slightly.

"Are you Su Yang?" Bibi Dong finally spoke. Her voice was low and husky, every word seeming to be ground out from her chest, carrying an innate authority. The temperature in the entire office seemed to drop by several degrees.

"Yes, Your Holiness." Su Yang gave the customary salute between soul masters, keeping his voice as steady as possible.

Bibi Dong stared at him for quite a while, a hint of amusement curling her lips.

"Interesting. A child with Innate Full Soul Power, possessing Twin Martial Souls, with a thousand-year first Spirit Ring..." She tilted her head toward Yu Xiaorou by the window.

"Yu Xiaorou, you've taken in quite the extraordinary disciple."

Yu Xiaorou snorted coldly. "Say what you mean. There's no need to beat around the bush."

Bibi Dong ignored her tone and turned her gaze back to Su Yang. She stepped closer, her heels producing dull thuds against the floor.

With the distance suddenly shortened, Su Yang could almost smell the faint, cold fragrance of perfume on her.

"Little one," Bibi Dong said, looking down at him with an unhurried voice, "let me ask you something—would you be willing to cultivate at Spirit Hall?"

Su Yang's heart jolted. Here it comes.

The first time Su Yang had examined this male version of Bibi Dong face-to-face, one thought had popped into his mind—this guy was way too much of an overbearing pope.

That face was sharply defined, his brow bones high and blade-like, his thin lips pressed tight, and his jawline so sharp it looked measured with a ruler. Combined with the dark crimson pope's robes and violet-gold crown, he looked like a walking machine of oppression just standing there.

That aura was no act, either. It came straight from his bones, as if the air throughout the entire hall revolved around him, like a lion looking down upon the world.

No, he shouldn't call him an overbearing CEO. He should call him an overbearing pope.

[ Ding—A potential conquest target has been detected: Bibi Dong (male). Identity: Pope of Spirit Hall. Soul Power: Rank 97 Titled Douluo. Current Favorability: 0. ]

Su Yang's eyelid twitched. Zero. A rare, absolute zero.

As the system's voice faded, he glanced at the detailed panel. Well then, not only was there no favorability at all, but there was also a note beneath it:

This target harbors vigilance and scrutiny toward the host. Raising Favorability will be extremely difficult.

In other words, this was not as simple as starting from zero. From the very beginning, Bibi Dong had been watching him with scrutiny, calculation, and hostility. If he made even a slight misstep, that Favorability might turn negative.

Su Yang pushed those thoughts aside. Getting through the present situation was what mattered most.

"I asked you," Bibi Dong said in a low, magnetic voice, "would you be willing to cultivate at Spirit Hall?"

She spoke lightly, as if asking in passing, but those deep violet eyes remained fixed on Su Yang's face, watching his expression, his gaze, every subtle reaction, as though she wanted to see through every thought in his heart.

Bibi Dong clasped her hands behind her back and paced two steps through the office, her voice calm and unhurried.

"Soul masters with Twin Martial Souls are rarely seen even once in a century across the continent. Leaving one in a tiny Nording Academy would be a waste. Spirit Hall has the finest resources, the finest cultivation methods, and the finest Spirit Ring hunting teams. We can provide the best foundation for your growth."

She turned her head slightly, casting a sidelong glance at Su Yang. "You have no reason to refuse."

She said it with complete confidence, as though it were only natural and beyond dispute.

Su Yang suddenly understood. The man before him had already been ambitious enough, back when he was the Holy Son, to murder his teacher in pursuit of power. He had forcibly taken his own teacher, Qian Xunji, and even fathered Qian Renxue.

Now, he had built Spirit Hall into an impregnable fortress. From top to bottom, its people were all his, and Titled Douluo gathered under his command in droves.

On the current power map of the Douluo Continent, Spirit Hall occupied more than half the territory. The only person preventing him from doing whatever he pleased was Qian Daoliu, who still stood above him.

That was a Rank 99 Peerless Douluo. Simply sitting there was enough to make Bibi Dong feel thorns pressing against his back.

So, he needed to expand his strength and recruit talent.

And what about Su Yang? Twin Martial Souls, Innate Full Soul Power, a thousand-year first Spirit Ring... A talent like that was unique across the entire continent. How could Bibi Dong possibly not be tempted?

Su Yang calculated silently. Agree? What a joke. This old fox looked like a refined and magnanimous ruler, but in truth, he devoured people whole.

When he had read the original story in his previous life, hadn't he already known exactly what sort of person this pope was?

Ambitious, suspicious, quick to turn on others, and willing to exploit even those closest to him.

A gender swap would not make him any better. He might be painting a beautiful picture now, but if Su Yang truly entered Spirit Hall, he might not even know how he died.

If he obediently agreed, he would be delivering his own head into someone else's mouth.

So Su Yang lowered his head, fell silent for a moment, then raised it again with an honest smile.

"Your Holiness, thank you for your kind offer. But I am still young, and I have only just become Teacher Yu's disciple. I have not even properly learned the basics of cultivation yet. I want to remain by my teacher's side and lay a solid foundation first. Once I gain a certain level of strength in the future, it will not be too late to study further at Spirit Hall."

Bibi Dong's brow creased almost imperceptibly.

Yu Xiaorou stood by the window. Her originally icy expression shifted slightly when she heard those words. She turned to look at Su Yang, and a complicated emotion flashed through the eyes behind her gold-rimmed glasses.

"Remain by your teacher's side?" Bibi Dong repeated. Her voice showed no emotion. With her hands still behind her back, she paused in the middle of pacing. "Have you thought this through?"

"I have." Su Yang nodded, his tone sincere. "My teacher treats me very well. I do not wish to let her down."

Bibi Dong fell silent for a moment. That silence was like an invisible hand, squeezing the air in the office tight, crushing it, then releasing it.

Su Yang felt the invisible oppression deepening little by little, as though something dangerous was surging in the darkness, ready to burst from the ground at any moment.

He could feel Bibi Dong's gaze sharpen slightly in an instant.

Su Yang could more or less guess what the pope before him was thinking.

There were two types of people that ambitious men feared most: those who would not obey, and those who belonged to someone else.

Su Yang was both. If Bibi Dong were truly ruthless, silencing him now would be the best choice. A Twin Martial Souls genius who could not be used by Spirit Hall, if left to its enemies, would become a grave future threat.

Su Yang's throat tightened slightly. But he did not retreat even half a step, nor did he look away.