After entering the Pope's palace, Bibi Dong led the two siblings into a spacious conference room.
She sat down on an enormous, ornate high-backed chair at the far end of the room.
With the Pope's scepter in hand, her posture was upright and dignified. She looked down at the brother and sister pair below with an expression of cold majesty.
"So, you want to join the Spirit Hall?"
"Yes, my sister and I have long admired the Spirit Hall. We've been working toward this goal for years," Su Cheng responded, his gaze pure and sincere, like a devout warrior, stirring sympathy in anyone who saw him.
Even though he no longer had the immensely useful "Professional Cleric" talent that gave him a certain aura of divinity, his acting skills remained intact, allowing him to convincingly play the part.
Bibi Dong narrowed her eyes, examining him before shifting her gaze to Su Yue, who stood by indifferently, her expression nonchalant and dismissive.
Then, a wave of powerful spiritual energy enveloped the pair, probing the siblings carefully.
There was no need to speak of Su Cheng—his true strength far surpassed Bibi Dong's at this stage. Even Su Yue, despite her lack of power, possessed an exceptionally high level of life essence, which Bibi Dong could not fully discern.
No matter how hard she tried to perceive it, all she saw was a pair of exceptionally talented young spirit masters standing before her.
"To be honest, your talent is exceptional—so exceptional that it shocked me." After a long pause, Bibi Dong's lips parted slightly as she spoke, her gaze deep and fixed on the pair.
"Your Holiness flatters us. My sister and I have traveled extensively and met many talented spirit masters. We would never dare to consider ourselves geniuses."
"No need to be humble just yet."
Despite his modest words, Bibi Dong remained unmoved.
She continued, her eyes narrowing, "What I'm curious about is this: with talent like yours, why didn't the Spirit Hall master who performed your spirit awakening ceremony discover and recruit you when you were six years old? If you truly admired the Spirit Hall as much as you say, you should have joined back then."
Su Cheng displayed a perfectly timed expression of regret and explained, "Your Holiness, when my sister and I first awakened our spirits, they weren't in the current forms of dragon beasts. Instead, they appeared as two indistinct clouds of black and silver mist. Although we both had innate full soul power, our spirits had no clear characteristics and couldn't even be attached to our bodies. We were initially classified as possessing useless spirits. It was only after attaching spirit rings that they gradually evolved into black and silver dragons."
"A mutated spirit?"
A suspicion crossed Bibi Dong's mind. Similar cases had occurred before.
Her tension eased slightly.
For some reason, seeing this boy named Su Cheng stirred a strange, unexplainable restlessness within her—an unease she hadn't felt in years.
Additionally, the aura of his spirit was far too peculiar.
"I'll send someone to verify this," she said calmly.
Su Cheng nodded, unconcerned.
He had naturally covered any potential loopholes. Several years ago, when creating their background, he had already prepared all the necessary documentation.
Fenghua Town was a remote, insignificant village near the Star Dou Forest, with no powerful figures stationed there. With a bit of hypnotic manipulation, it had been easy to add a few inconspicuous files into the Spirit Hall branch's records.
At that moment, Bibi Dong's gaze fell on Su Yue. "Your spirit ring configuration is unusual. It surpasses the normal limit a spirit master can endure when attaching rings. How did you achieve this? Twin spirits?"
"…"
Seeing Su Yue seemingly in a daze, her eyes half-closed as though she were about to fall asleep, Su Cheng knew she was in one of her "I don't care about the world" moods. He had to step in.
He quickly spoke on her behalf, "My sister's spirit has a unique attribute that makes her physique exceptionally strong, far surpassing other spirit masters of the same level. That's why she can bear higher-level spirit rings. After her first successful attempt, she continued attaching rings beyond the standard age limit."
However, Bibi Dong ignored him and continued to stare coldly at Su Yue. "I'm asking her."
Su Cheng: "…"
Only then did Su Yue slowly lift her eyelids, her tone lazy as she replied, "It's just as he said."
Su Cheng sighed inwardly, helpless at her attitude.
He understood, though. Su Yue had always been like this.
It wasn't that she was shy or arrogant—she simply didn't care.
She had no interest in boring people or events and wouldn't force herself to act interested, nor would she bother pleasing anyone.
Apparently, Bibi Dong had made her "can't be bothered to talk to" list.
The fact that she'd even said this much was already giving Bibi Dong more respect than most.
Bibi Dong frowned and then used her spirit power to examine Su Yue's physical condition.
It was indeed as Su Cheng said—her body was absurdly strong, comparable to a peak-level Spirit Emperor.
This girl's talent was truly astonishing.
Her spirit, foundation, cultivation, and physical body were all unparalleled. Even Qian Renxue couldn't compare to her at the same age.
Had this been in the past, Bibi Dong would have shown great favor toward such a talent.
But now, she was more interested in the boy.
Bibi Dong's gaze shifted back to Su Cheng. "Do you realize that your spirit is innately evil? It doesn't belong in a place as pure and holy as the Spirit Hall."
Su Cheng was speechless.
Evil by nature? Who could out-evil you?
With your twin spider spirits, you're practically the epitome of an evil spirit master. Had you not joined the Spirit Hall early, who knows how many people you would've devoured by now.
Of course, he couldn't say that out loud.
With a solemn expression, he said, "Your Holiness, I know my spirit's attribute is dark and evil. In fact, because of this, I suffered much ridicule and abuse as a child.
"I was deeply tormented by it, to the point of wanting to destroy others and even myself, dragging everyone down with me. Many times, I've struggled to suppress the darkness within, resisting the overwhelming urge to devour and destroy…"
Su Yue couldn't help but glance at Su Cheng beside her.
Seeing his deep expression and the mix of pain and determination in his eyes, she felt a shiver down her spine, her skin crawling.
This guy is utterly shameless!
How could he spout such outrageous lies with such a straight face, acting like he was pouring out his soul?
No, she had to be more careful around him in the future. Who knows when she might get deceived!
Perhaps some distance from this scoundrel wouldn't be a bad thing…
Su Cheng, unaware of Su Yue's inner turmoil, continued with a serious expression, "That's why I want to join the Spirit Hall, the sacred land of spirit masters, to find change and redemption. Your Holiness, do those born in darkness have no right to pursue the light and hope?"
Bibi Dong: "…"
Su Yue: "…"
Upon hearing Su Cheng's monologue, the two beautiful women of varying ages in the room gazed at him with differing reactions. Though both shared a sense of scrutiny in their eyes, their thoughts could not have been more opposite.
Unlike Su Yue, whose gaze was filled with anger and contempt, Bibi Dong felt her heart tremble slightly.
She, too, had once been like this.
Although their experiences differed, the source of it all was the same—a transcendently extraordinary martial soul talent.
And the eventual result was the same: a descent into darkness, leading to a strong impulse to destroy both the world and oneself.
The only difference was that she no longer drowned in her memories of the past.
She had started to gradually pull herself out of the mire of pain, breaking free from the nightmares of old.
But this child—he still awaited salvation.
Could she save him? Was she even qualified to be his guide?
"..." Bibi Dong silently observed Su Cheng, her eyes shadowed with a faint haze, her thoughts unclear.
At the same time, Su Cheng was discreetly observing Bibi Dong, seated in her chair.
She was different.
Not just different from the real Bibi Dong, but different from what her current state should have been.
By logic, having received the inheritance of the Rakshasa God, begun the Rakshasa God trials, and advanced to the later stages, her strength should have been significantly suppressed. This was supposed to be the most painful phase for her.
At this point, Bibi Dong should neither be as completely unhinged and unrestricted as she would become after completing all the god trials, nor as rational and composed as she was when she first started the trials, when logic and sanity still prevailed.
At this stage, her rationality and madness should be fiercely clashing, with the conflict reaching an extreme.
She should have been walking a tightrope, seemingly rational in her actions but on the verge of collapse.
However, Su Cheng could clearly feel that Bibi Dong was very rational now.
Although her condition wasn't at its best and she was still bearing the pressure of the Rakshasa God's power, it was far from being considered bad.
At the very least, her foundational strength was enough to resist this spiritual erosion.
"She must be one of them."
Su Cheng let out a quiet sigh of relief. He had finally guessed one candidate correctly.
While it was hard to judge Qian Renxue's situation for now, it seemed almost certain that Bibi Dong was one of the Fate-bound Children in this simulation.
If she hadn't received special protection, Su Cheng couldn't think of any reason that could explain why she had been able to stabilize her mental state.
Su Cheng had experienced the horrifying erosion of the Rakshasa God's power firsthand, and with Bibi Dong's experiences and nature, it would have been almost impossible for her to resist it on her own.
After a long silence, Bibi Dong's gaze refocused as she sat on the high-backed chair.
She first glanced at Su Yue, then said, "Go wait outside the Pope's Hall."
She then looked at Su Cheng and added, "You stay."
Su Yue frowned but didn't move.
"… What are you still doing here?"
Seeing the cold expression in Bibi Dong's eyes, Su Cheng hurriedly said, "Your Holiness, please wait a moment. I'll escort my sister out first."
Not wanting to let the situation escalate, Su Cheng didn't wait for their reactions. He quickly grabbed Su Yue by the arm and half-dragged her out of the meeting hall.
As they walked down the vast corridors of the Pope's Hall, Su Yue frowned deeply and forcefully shook off Su Cheng's hand. "Are you an idiot?"
Su Cheng's expression shifted slightly, and he quickly isolated all external perception with his true power before softly asking, "What's wrong?"
"Don't tell me you didn't notice that something's seriously wrong with this Pope!"
"Even if something's wrong with her, what good does it do for you to stay? If I can't handle her, you, whose strength is weaker than mine, won't be able to help either."
"That's not what I'm worried about!" Su Yue suddenly stopped and glared at Su Cheng. "You don't even understand what's wrong with her! There's divine power on this Pope. She's a chosen one of the gods! We can't stay in Spirit City any longer!"
"I actually do understand," Su Cheng said seriously, shaking his head. "That kind of power is on a higher level, fundamentally different from soul power. Other than the divine power you've mentioned, it couldn't be anything else."
Su Yue's eyes widened slightly, and a flicker of anger flashed in her gaze.
Did Su Cheng not understand how great a threat the Divine Realm posed to their race, to her? If the gods noticed what they were doing, did he not realize the consequences?
What was he thinking with these actions and decisions? Where did he place their dragon race? Where did he place her, the Silver Dragon King?
"Su Yue, running away forever isn't a solution," Su Cheng said gravely. "Don't you think this is an opportunity?"
"What opportunity?" Su Yue's face remained frosty.
"To slay a god!"
"She's just a god candidate, not a true god! Killing her would only make the Divine Realm more vigilant. That Crown Prince in Heaven Dou City only has potential. This one from Spirit Hall is someone who's truly been chosen by the gods!"
"Who said I was going to kill her?" Su Cheng smiled. "If we're going to slay a god, it has to be a true god."
"… You mean…"
"If we're going to kill anyone, it'll be the real Rakshasa God."
"…"
Su Yue's eyes widened in disbelief as her voice trembled, "Do you know what you're saying? The Rakshasa God is a first-tier deity! Even in my prime, before I lost my original strength, burning my very essence wouldn't make me a match for any first-tier god!"
"Leave it to me."
Su Cheng patted her shoulder, his voice steady, not shaken by her words.
Although he was shorter than her by half a head, as they locked eyes, it felt like they had returned to being the siblings they once were.
Back then, it was Su Cheng who led her out of the Star Dou Forest, where she had lived for so long.
After a moment, Su Yue turned her face slightly, avoiding his gaze.
"If you die, don't expect me to collect your corpse."
"Haha, of course. Just build me a grave with some clothes in it, and offer me sacrifices during festivals to show some respect."
"…"
Su Yue pursed her lips, feeling a mix of emotions.
It wasn't that simple. Even if they managed to kill the Rakshasa God, the repercussions would be hard to predict.
Yet, for a moment, she didn't know what else to say, nor what to ask.