Had it been anyone else, Bibi Dong would have dealt with them with a pulse of soul power, but Gui Yuan's approach worked on her.
Over the past month, Gui Yuan had helped her far too much.
As his teacher, she felt she had barely taught him anything.
Gui Yuan was so intelligent that she had instead benefited a great deal from him.
She truly could not bring herself to refuse.
"Ah... all right."
Bibi Dong stood up with her back to Gui Yuan.
"Just this once."
The instant her words fell, she had already vanished from the Pope's Palace.
Gui Yuan raised his head, the pitiful expression on his face disappearing instantly.
He let out a gentle breath. His act of playing pitiful had not been wasted.
He actually had little desire to get involved in the grudges between Bibi Dong, Qian Renxue, and even the Qian Family.
Even if he gained the ability in the future, he still did not want to interfere.
What he wanted most was for relations between the Pope's Palace and the Worship Hall to ease somewhat.
Then the two halls could lead Spirit Hall toward greater strength together.
Only when Spirit Hall was stable internally would Yue Guan and Gui Mei no longer find themselves in an awkward position within it, allowing more resources to be directed toward them later.
As Pope, Bibi Dong had some authority over the allocation of Spirit Hall's Soul Bones, but more of that authority remained in Qian Daoliu's hands.
If relations between the two halls were poor, he would inevitably be affected as Bibi Dong's disciple.
Although he had the token Qian Daoliu had given him, he did not particularly like playing both sides.
Now, he hoped that "Bibi Dong voluntarily offering the soul core theory" could ease relations between the two halls somewhat.
Even a little would do.
Inside the Worship Hall.
The instant Bibi Dong appeared in the center of the main hall, the worshippers all sensed that presence they loathed so deeply.
Qian Daoliu was the first to appear in the hall. Golden Crocodile and the others were a beat slower, emerging from the side halls one after another.
Golden Crocodile had a burly build and a stern face.
The moment he saw Bibi Dong, his expression darkened, and even the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes twisted together.
"Bibi Dong, what are you doing in our Worship Hall for no reason?!" His voice boomed through the hall like muffled thunder. "You aren't welcome here!"
Although the other worshippers did not speak, their expressions were equally hostile.
Qian Daoliu raised a hand and pressed it down toward Golden Crocodile. Golden Crocodile opened his mouth, but ultimately closed it.
From beginning to end, Bibi Dong never spared Golden Crocodile another glance.
Her gaze was as cold as a frozen lake, utterly different from the helplessness and gentleness she showed Gui Yuan.
"If my disciple hadn't asked me to come, I would never have set a single foot inside this Worship Hall for the rest of my life."
Golden Crocodile and the others all frowned at her words.
Bibi Dong's disciple? Then it could only be Gui Yuan.
Hu Liena had no real ties with the Worship Hall.
Qian Daoliu, however, was somewhat curious. "What did Xiao Yuan ask you to come here for?" he asked mildly.
Bibi Dong gave a cold snort and took out a sheet of paper.
With a flick of her wrist, the paper flew straight toward Qian Daoliu, wrapped in soul power.
The paper hovered before Qian Daoliu for a moment, then slowly drifted down.
"Take it. He asked me to bring this to you. It will help improve your strength."
"I've already tried it. After condensing a soul core, my soul power circulates several times faster than before."
"A soul core?"
Golden Crocodile and the others exchanged glances, each seeing confusion in the others' eyes.
What was that?
Qian Daoliu reached out to catch the paper and was about to ask, but Bibi Dong had no intention of staying.
She turned, and with a flash of her figure, she had already vanished from the Worship Hall's entrance.
The hall fell silent for a few seconds.
Azure Luan frowned. "She just left like that? Without even explaining it properly?"
Qian Daoliu did not answer, lowering his head to look at the paper in his hand.
It was densely covered in writing.
The handwriting was neat, and every step was written with perfect clarity.
It covered everything from guiding soul power to gather in the dantian, to compressing the cyclone and gradually condensing it, and finally shaping it into a crystal core.
Even precautions and measures to take after failure were noted.
"This... is rather interesting," Qian Daoliu said softly.
Golden Crocodile stepped closer and leaned over to take a look. "Condensing soul power into a solid crystal? That sounds like a flight of fancy."
"Would that woman Bibi Dong be kind enough to bring us something like this?"
Lion nodded as well. "She should be wishing we were all dead."
Qian Daoliu did not rush to a conclusion. He read the sheet from beginning to end.
After finishing, he remained silent for a long time.
"Don't rush to judge it yet."
He handed the paper to Golden Crocodile. "Read it carefully before you speak."
Golden Crocodile took the paper and began reading from the top with a frown.
The more he read, the deeper his frown grew.
"Compress soul power... form a vortex in the dantian... gradually solidify it into a crystal..."
He murmured, his tone shifting from doubt to thoughtfulness.
"The logic here... does seem to hold together."
Azure Luan leaned closer as well, his gaze sharpening slightly after reading a few lines.
"After the soul core is condensed, both soul power circulation and recovery speed can improve?"
"If that's true, the improvement for a Titled Douluo would be tremendous."
The worshippers passed it around, and the atmosphere in the hall gradually shifted from its initial resistance to curiosity and scrutiny.
Qian Daoliu tucked the paper back into his sleeve and said, "Since Bibi Dong mentioned Gui Yuan, this soul core theory was most likely developed by that boy."
"Otherwise, given Bibi Dong's temperament, do you think she would readily make a trip to the Worship Hall?"
Golden Crocodile fell silent for a moment before slowly nodding. "Mm... that boy doesn't know about the grudges between us and Bibi Dong."
"Yet Bibi Dong was actually willing to come, and she just said she had already succeeded."
He looked up at Qian Daoliu. "Perhaps... we could give it a try?"
Azure Luan said, "If it really works, the improvement to our Spirit Hall's overall strength would be immeasurable."
For once, Lion did not argue either. "There's no harm in trying. With our cultivation, even failure wouldn't damage our foundations."
Qian Daoliu swept his gaze over everyone and finally nodded.
"Then I'll go first."
"If I succeed, the rest of you can follow."
Of everyone present, Qian Daoliu was the strongest, so his condensation speed should be a little faster as well.
Most importantly, with his strength, Qian Daoliu was confident he would not be injured.
The worshippers had no objections.
Qian Daoliu walked to the center of the main hall and sat cross-legged.
He closed his eyes, and faint golden light began flowing around him.
Following the steps recorded on the paper, he began guiding his soul power toward his dantian. Golden soul power slowly gathered within him, forming thin streams.
Then they gradually converged into a vortex, compressing, rotating, and compressing again.
On the first day, a soul power cyclone condensed within his body.
On the second day, the cyclone began transforming into a solid.
On the evening of the third day.
The presence surrounding Qian Daoliu suddenly condensed.
A vast golden radiance erupted from his dantian, instantly illuminating the entire Worship Hall.
The light had a sacred, gentle quality, dazzling as the blazing sun yet without its scorching heat.
Then the light receded, sinking entirely into his body.
Qian Daoliu slowly opened his eyes and smiled. "It worked."
He could feel a golden crystal slowly rotating in his lower dantian.