The Domineering Pope Bibi Dong!

"This... this is..."

Her voice was terribly hoarse, as though she could not catch her breath.

"Lovesick Heartbreak Red... the legendary king of immortal-grade herbs... can actually appear as a Martial Soul?"

She suddenly turned to stare at Su Yang, her eyes filled with incredulous shock. "You... you actually have Twin Martial Souls?!"

Su Yang nodded, wearing an innocent smile. "Yes, Teacher. I originally wanted to keep it hidden, but since it's you, Teacher, I have nothing to hide."

He said it lightly, as casually as if he were handing over a piece of candy.

But Yu Xiaorou knew only too well what it meant.

Twin Martial Souls were one in ten thousand. In all the recorded history of the continent, fewer than a handful of Soul Masters had possessed Twin Martial Souls.

Every one of them had been an extraordinary genius capable of stirring the winds and clouds. This was a supreme talent coveted by countless factions, a treasure so valuable that even Titled Douluo would be tempted to seize it.

If the news got out, Su Yang would immediately become the focus of the entire continent—the very eye of the storm.

Spirit Hall would do everything in its power to recruit him. The major sects would pay any price to win him over, while those too ignorant to recognize his value would try to snuff him out before he could grow.

Yet he had told her without hesitation, a teacher he had known for less than an hour.

Without reservation, open and honest. Like a fledgling bird exposing its softest belly to her.

Yu Xiaorou's eyes grew moist. She removed her glasses, lowered her head, and gently wiped the corners of her eyes with the back of her hand. Her voice was slightly muffled. "You child... aren't you afraid I might have bad intentions?"

"Afraid of what?" Su Yang said with a grin. "You're the master, after all. Besides, Su Yang has never been wrong about judging people."

He spoke with sincere openness, without the slightest trace of flattery.

Yu Xiaorou's tears ultimately did not fall. She raised her head and smiled with reddened eyes. That smile seemed to crumble the light of spring, so gentle it was intoxicating.

[Ding—Yu Xiaorou's Favorability +1, Current Favorability: 81]

Su Yang secretly raised an eyebrow.

Only one point? Raising favorability after eighty was way too hard. Before, just saying a few words could earn him ten or twenty points. Now, even revealing a colossal secret like his Twin Martial Souls had only gained him one point.

It seemed that if he wanted to keep raising her favorability from now on, sweet talk alone would not be enough.

Still, he was not in a hurry. He had been planning for the long term anyway. In games, you relied on your mouth in the early stages and your strength in the later ones.

Yu Xiaorou put her glasses back on, took a deep breath, and steadied her emotions. She walked to the desk, spread out a sheet of white paper, picked up a pen, and began writing and sketching with crisp, efficient movements.

"Alright. Since you have two Martial Souls, I need to adjust my approach."

She spoke as she wrote, her tone returning to a researcher's characteristic calm and focus. "The Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, as your first Martial Soul, is suited for direct combat and balances offense and defense. It should be cultivated first. Spend the first year laying a solid foundation. Once your Soul Power reaches its bottleneck, I'll help you find a way to obtain a Soul Ring."

She paused, her pen tip stopping over the paper. Then she looked up at Su Yang. "As for the Lovesick Heartbreak Red..."

"The quality of this Martial Soul is extremely high. It may even surpass the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum by an entire tier. Judging from the aura it gave off when you released it just now, it should possess certain special effects. It isn't merely an ordinary power-type Martial Soul. Once a Martial Soul of this level is exposed, it will inevitably attract countless covetous eyes."

"So," she said solemnly, "I suggest that in the early stages, you focus most of your efforts on the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum. Treat the Lovesick Heartbreak Red as your trump card and do not use it casually unless it is a critical moment. This way, you can develop steadily through your first Martial Soul while also unleashing power beyond everyone's expectations in times of danger."

Su Yang's eyes lit up.

This approach was indeed professional. It matched exactly what he had in mind—lie low in the early stage, then show off once he was fully developed. Quietly stockpile resources, then wipe out the opposition in one wave at the critical moment. Wasn't that far more exciting than revealing his ace outright?

"Teacher, you're absolutely right!" Su Yang gave her a thumbs-up, his face full of admiration. "That's exactly what I was thinking—develop quietly, then finish them all in one wave at the critical moment!"

Yu Xiaorou's lips curled slightly at his animated tone, but she immediately became serious again. "However, Su Yang, you must remember one thing. Twin Martial Souls are a talent, but they are also a responsibility."

She set down her pen and looked at him earnestly. "Two Martial Souls mean double the difficulty in cultivation, double the resources required, and more complicated Soul Ring configurations. If the two Soul Power systems are not properly coordinated, your cultivation could stagnate at best. At worst, you could suffer deviation and a violent Soul Power backlash."

"It's not as if Soul Masters with Twin Martial Souls have never appeared on the continent, but those who truly made it to the end are few enough to count on one hand." Her gaze deepened. "Do not become careless simply because you are exceptionally gifted."

Su Yang nodded, the playful smile fading from his face. He could hear the weight in Yu Xiaorou's words. This was not empty alarmism. In the original story, Bibi Dong had suffered immensely in order to control her Twin Martial Souls.

"Don't worry, Teacher. I'll proceed with caution."

Seeing Su Yang's serious expression, a trace of relief flashed through Yu Xiaorou's eyes. She lowered her gaze and rubbed the pen shaft with her fingertips, as though she were thinking about something—and hesitating over it.

After quite a while, she finally let out a soft breath, as though making up her mind.

"Su Yang, there's something... I need to tell you."

Su Yang looked up. "Go ahead, Teacher."

Yu Xiaorou was silent for a moment before speaking. "To safely solve the cultivation problems of your Twin Martial Souls, I need to ask someone for help."

"Who?"

"The current Pope of Spirit Hall—Bibi Dong."

Su Yang's pupils suddenly contracted. Before he could react, Yu Xiaorou had already looked away and continued in a complicated tone:

"The complete cultivation method for Twin Martial Souls, as well as the optimal cultivation path for the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum—only the library of Spirit Hall has the most comprehensive records on the entire continent. And the only one who can access those materials is Bibi Dong."

Her voice was calm to the point of coldness, as though she were describing something that had nothing to do with her. "When I was young... that woman pursued me."

Su Yang was left utterly bewildered in the wind.

A wo... woman? Bibi Dong was a woman?

He felt as though there might be something wrong with his ears and could not help pinching himself. It hurt. This was not a dream.

"She said she could provide me with the best conditions and have me become Spirit Hall's chief researcher. But I refused." Yu Xiaorou's expression carried a trace of mockery.

"That woman was too domineering, too self-centered. She thought all my theories were empty talk on paper, wild fantasies. She believed only her own ideas could produce anything truly valuable."

She clenched her fists, her knuckles turning slightly white. "She never understood me."

"And," her voice suddenly lowered, carrying a hint of disdain, "she wasn't clean herself. It was said that she had an ambiguous, tangled relationship with the former female Pope, Qian Xunji, and even..."

Yu Xiaorou paused.

"She even had a child."

"In a fit of anger, I left Spirit Hall and came to Nording Academy."