Qian Renxue's expression darkened slightly.
Seeing this, Su Cheng chuckled lightly. "Hmm, seems like quite a handful. But even so, if the task isn't reasonable, you can refuse, right? Tell me, what kind of task is it that makes you willingly waste your time?"
This was a test.
He wanted to see how much trust he could gain from Qian Renxue at this moment.
The task of infiltrating the Tian Dou Imperial Family, pretending to be Prince Xue Qinghe and seizing the emperor's throne was indeed a confidential matter of the Spirit Hall. Not all the elders might be fully aware of it.
Su Cheng didn't urge further, silently waiting there for Qian Renxue's response.
After a moment of silence, Qian Renxue spoke. "She wants me to infiltrate the Tian Dou Imperial Family, disguise myself as Prince Xue Qinghe, and seize the emperor's throne."
"... " Su Cheng's expression was inexplicable, as he said lightly, "What a joke. The young miss of the Spirit Hall, can you tell me what mentality led you to accept such a task?"
His tone turned colder, "Do you know the success rate of this matter, and how much time it will take even if successful? Are you confident, arrogant, or do you take everyone in the world for fools? This can't even be considered a task; it's a gamble!"
With that, he casually grabbed a piece of paper and wrote on it, "Let's calculate together. Currently, Emperor Xue Ye is in his prime, with four sons below him. No matter what means you use, if you want to secure the position of Crown Prince, it will take at least ten years or more, during which you will have to deal with attacks from supporters of the other princes.
"After you accomplish this step, you'll find that your father still has another thirty to forty years to live. If you want to eliminate him, it will take another five to ten years, and it will surely leave behind hidden dangers.
"After ascending to the throne, you'll have to govern as emperor, erase the past traces, which will take another five to ten years. At this point, you won't be able to use others, because only you understand the political situation of Tian Dou.
"After barely stabilizing the situation, if you want to centralize power and turn the Tian Dou Empire into your own territory, you'll inevitably face more resistance from internal forces of the empire. You'll find that this so-called empire is actually just a collection of interests of nobles, and this step will require even more time."
Su Cheng extended four fingers. "Forty years, that's the most conservative estimate. And you've already spent half of your life like this."
Qian Renxue looked bewildered.
She was not even ten years old.
"Do you know what your biggest advantage is? If I had your talent for cultivation, I could conquer the world in my dreams. Give me thirty years, and everything would be within my grasp. The methods of governance would be more than sufficient, so why resort to such tricks?"
Listening to Su Cheng's words, even though Qian Renxue now somewhat acknowledged him, she couldn't help but feel unconvinced. After all, anyone hearing such words would think they were exaggerated.
"You can choose not to believe, we'll see in the future," Su Cheng replied.
Seeing her disbelief, Su Cheng didn't pursue the topic further and instead asked, "What's your situation with the Pope?"
Qian Renxue hesitated at the question, her eyes showing a hint of determination.
"Teacher, I'll tell you later, if you don't mind," she replied.
This response surprised Su Cheng. He had expected her to come up with a random excuse, but he didn't expect such an answer. It seemed that Qian Renxue's attitude towards him was indeed somewhat different.
"Alright. But about that ridiculous task of yours, you'd better think it over carefully these days. If you still want to return to the Tian Dou Empire in the end, I'll still teach you, but I'll find another successor," Su Cheng said, ignoring her changing expression as he got up and left the room.
Over the next few days, Su Cheng spent his time in the library, aside from preparing medicine and selecting books for Qian Renxue.
He didn't provide much guidance on soul skills to Qian Renxue at this stage. In Su Cheng's view, practicing soul skills at this stage was completely putting the cart before the horse; focusing on improving cultivation was the priority.
She was different from him. With his innate talent being so poor, no matter how much he cultivated, the increase in his soul power would be limited each day. The bottle was so small that even a little water would fill it up.
Three days passed like this, and Yue Guan came to the library to find Su Cheng, saying that the Pope had summoned him.
In their daily interactions, the relationship between the two had become quite... Complicated.
As he prepared to go to the Pope's palace, Yue Guan took the initiative to remind him, "Mr. Su, be careful with your words when you go there. I sense that the Pope's mood isn't too good."
Su Cheng's heart stirred, feeling some understanding.
Perhaps Qian Renxue wanted to give up the undercover mission.
She might not directly express it as her own decision, but Bibidong could probably guess.
After all, Qian Renxue was fine when she first returned to the Soul Land City, and there hadn't been any significant changes in the situation. The only variable was Su Cheng.
But it didn't matter. At this stage of the situation, whether Bibidong trusted him or not wasn't really important.
From the beginning, her position in Su Cheng's heart was just a springboard; she never intended to get too close to him.
Looking at the plot of Douluo Continent, apart from the main characters like Tang San and his group, the most heartless ones were undoubtedly Bibidong and Hu Liena, this master-disciple pair. They were truly ungrateful wolves.
They enjoyed all the conveniences of being a saintess but were unwilling to bear the corresponding obligations.
Qian Xunji was indeed a beast, but Bibidong was no better, lacking any sense of gratitude or moral values.
Compared to that lunatic, supporting Qian Renxue seemed much more reliable.
As for the mainline task of the third ring, what he wanted to achieve was the trust and recognition of the Soul Hall. Obviously, the Pope's Palace couldn't fully represent the Soul Hall; the Hall of Worship was also one of his choices.
"I got it, thanks for the reminder, Chrysanthemum Douluo."
Before long, Su Cheng arrived at the Pope's Palace's conference hall.
Just like last time, there were no other idle personnel in the huge hall, only Bibidong standing at the forefront.
But this time, the female Pope was different from before, her face covered in frost, exuding a murderous aura.
"Su Cheng, you have some nerve."
Su Cheng wasn't flustered. He walked to a position not too far nor too close to her, wearing a puzzled expression as he asked, "Your Holiness, what's wrong? Why are you so angry?"
"You don't need to play dumb," Bibidong barked coldly. "Did you have a hand in Qian Renxue's situation?"
"Wasn't she the candidate you recommended to me before?" Su Cheng chuckled. "And indeed, I did manage to persuade her to become my successor."
"That's true, but what right do you have to demand that she give up her task in the Tian Dou Empire? Do you realize this matter concerns the millennium plan of our Soul Palace?"
"Haha," Su Cheng laughed upon hearing this. "Your Holiness, don't be absurd. If this task is so important, why assign it to a nine-year-old kid?"
"Daring!"
Seeing his playful demeanor, Bibidong's face flushed slightly, her proud chest heaving subtly, creating an enticing curve.
Obviously, she was having trouble suppressing her anger at this point.
"Are you testing my patience?" Bibidong's voice was icy. "Do you really think I won't kill you?"
"Yes, you won't kill me."
Su Cheng didn't care about her threats in the slightest.
At this point, he had plenty of chips in his hands.