As soon as Su Cheng finished speaking, he turned and walked away.
Qian Renxue stood there dumbfounded, watching his figure recede into the distance.
"Aren't you coming?" she heard a voice ahead, and to her relief, she quickly followed suit.
...
Within the Martial Soul City, there was a dedicated office area where each elder had their own room.
Although Su Cheng hadn't formally joined the Martial Soul Hall yet, Bibi Dong had already arranged one for him for his research convenience.
Qian Renxue followed him into the room and looked around, noticing that the table and several chairs nearby were filled with various books.
Among them were several she had borrowed from the library before, like "Star Dou Great Forest Soul Beast Guide," "Sunset Forest Soul Beast Guide," "Interpretation of Millennium Soul Beast Characteristics," "Analysis of Beast Martial Soul Power Sources," and so on.
There were also several stacks of papers filled with text next to the table, with the most central one containing only a few lines, prominently featuring the sentence "Feasibility of Absorbing Millennium Soul Rings with the Fourth Soul Ring."
"What's this...?" she asked in amazement, glancing at the documents on the table before looking back at Su Cheng, who was casually tidying up.
"Oh, I've almost finished researching the method of absorbing soul rings with the fourth soul ring across the year limit. Now the question is whether this span can directly reach beyond a millennium."
"Gulp..." Qian Renxue looked at Su Cheng's back with awe.
A ten-thousand-year soul ring and a millennium soul ring were completely different things; it was a qualitative leap.
She couldn't believe he could succeed, yet she couldn't help but believe it, considering Su Cheng had already created too many miracles so far.
"The contents inside are not fully refined yet. Let's talk about it later when we have time." Su Cheng said as he poured two cups of tea and placed them on the table, indicating for Qian Renxue to sit wherever she liked.
"You still haven't answered earlier. Was it you whom the Pope mentioned as the one she wanted to recommend as my disciple?"
"..." After a moment of silence, Qian Renxue nodded and admitted, "Yes."
At this point, her emotions had calmed down, and she dared not to look down on Su Cheng anymore. The slight hesitation in her words was because she felt she had embarrassed herself too much today.
Sitting across from Su Cheng, she couldn't help but feel a little nervous, with a slight avoidance in her long, phoenix-like eyes.
This kind of emotion was never something that would appear on her before.
"Who was your previous teacher?" Su Cheng picked up his cup and took a sip of tea, asking casually.
Qian Renxue naturally had a teacher in the past, as the Martial Soul Hall was never short of resources for strong mentors.
Whether it was the former Pope Qian Xunjie or the seven offerings of the Shrine, including the ordinary elders of the Elder Hall, they had all given guidance to the little princess of the Martial Soul Hall.
But at this moment, she found it difficult to speak.
Seeing her silent, Su Cheng didn't continue to press, just chuckled and said casually, "Could it be that your talent is too good, and no one dares to teach you?"
Then he glanced at her and continued, "By the way, you're the daughter of the former Pope Qian Xunjie, right? What's your name?"
"I'm Qian Renxue."
"Qian Renxue... Speaking of which, we really have some fate."
"? "
"Didn't Bibi Dong tell you? My biological father, Wu Feng Sword Su Shan, was killed by Qian Xunjie."
Upon hearing this, she trembled slightly, her delicate face paling.
"Don't worry, the past has nothing to do with you and me. Now that Qian Xunjie is also dead, the grievances are naturally settled. In fact, what I want to ask is, are you willing to be my disciple? As in, the inheritor kind."
Well, anyway, with a little help from the emulator, and a wave of hair gel hands, let's boost things up...
Qian Renxue was somewhat incredulous.
Her pride, her arrogance, were all shattered in the previous battle.
And her independence, her will, were crushed by Su Cheng's merciless words afterwards.
Now, in her perception, whether to accept a master was not a matter of her own willingness, but rather whether she was worthy of it.
Not to mention the enmity.
Upon hearing Su Cheng's words again, Qian Renxue couldn't help but feel a sense of being pleasantly surprised.
"I don't really care about your talent. What I said to the Pope before about needing top-notch qualifications was just to raise the bar a bit, so I don't end up with some oddballs. Even if you give me a child with ordinary talent, I'm confident I can train them into a peak Douluo or even a Limit Douluo."
Su Cheng chuckled, "I understand the mindset of people like you very well, and I never expected to be given an exceptionally talented disciple."
With that said, Su Cheng's tone became more serious as he continued, "However, the Pope actually dared to send you, the inheritor of the Angel Martial Soul, to me, which is quite interesting."
He said this with a playful smile, seemingly implying something.
Then, he adjusted his posture, sitting upright in the chair, his fingers interlaced on the table.
With a serious and earnest expression, he looked directly at Qian Renxue and spoke in a gentle and soothing tone.
"Today, I want to take you as my disciple. It has nothing to do with your identity or your talent. There is only one reason: I can sense your loneliness and understand your pursuit. Seeing you is like seeing myself in the past. If you're willing, you will be my first disciple, and the only one."
Qian Renxue suddenly looked up, locking eyes with him, momentarily lost in thought.
"I'm not sure what happened to you in the past. Logically, with your exceptional talent and being the daughter of the Pope, you should have had a privileged upbringing. But I can feel that your heart is tightly closed."
"But I can tell you about my past, even though it's not that complicated."
"From as far back as I can remember, I lived in the Seven Treasure Glass Sect, knowing nothing about what my biological father looked like."
"For more than ten years, I've been living under the care of others, with poor talent, and endured countless cold eyes and ridicule. Even if I excelled and made many achievements, what's the use? In the end, no one could understand me."
Qian Renxue unconsciously clenched her fists.
Flashes of Bibi Dong's cold and disdainful gaze, as well as Qian Xunjie's gentle and encouraging smiles that she would rarely see in this lifetime, crossed her mind.
Most of the ordinary elders had long since sided with Bibi Dong, clearly delineating their boundaries with her.
Grandpa Qiandao Liu often stayed in the Sacrificial Hall to avoid suspicion, so he only had occasional opportunities to meet.
Previously, whether it was losing a battle or facing Su Cheng's sarcastic remarks, Qian Renxue, who had never lost her composure, now had a hint of mist in her eyes.
"No matter how scheming and calculating she is, in the end, she's still just a child," Su Cheng thought to himself, feeling guilty. "Sorry, Dad, I have to blame you for this."
His previous words were mostly nonsense, intended to resonate emotionally with Qian Renxue.
In fact, he had a fairly good time in the Seven Treasure Glass Sect. Chen Xin was not the type to particularly value talent; he valued what he called the heart of a strong person.
Although there were many rumors and gossip, no one dared to confront him directly. Moreover, with Ning Fengzhi as his background support, he had access to various resources.
As for the period of ostracism before leaving the sect, it was planned in advance and naturally did not affect his mindset.