"Calculating the time, the Divine Examination should have started by now," Su Cheng thought to himself.
Qian Renxue's progress in the Divine Examination would undoubtedly be much faster than in the original story.
Although he wasn't clear on the specific challenges of the first eight trials, he knew the general direction of the Divine Examination.
It mainly involved improving the qualities of the soul, body, and martial soul to quasi-divine level, and enhancing affinity with the divine position to achieve perfect integration with the divine position, condensing the divine soul, reshaping the divine body, and transforming divine power.
Su Cheng had always nurtured Qian Renxue based on this path, aiming to ensure she gained the maximum benefits from the Divine Examination.
With this in mind, he narrowed his eyes slightly.
The first eight trials were indeed like this, but what about the ninth trial?
Su Cheng didn't want to indulge in conspiracy theories; excessive speculation would cloud his judgment. But for the sake of future planning, he needed to clarify if there were any hidden secrets.
The ninth trial of the angel in the original timeline was really suspicious.
Angelic divinity wasn't associated with sinister intentions; it was supposed to be noble and righteous.
By all accounts, refining the soul to undergo transformation should strengthen one's will, using the temptations of the seven emotions and six desires as a whetstone.
But in Qian Renxue's ninth trial, the appearance of Bibi Dong and Tang San, who shouldn't have been present, was quite perplexing.
Could the angelic divinity's inheritance be achieved through harnessing hatred and desire? That seemed absurd.
Moreover, later on, when Tang San underwent the Sea God's Divine Examination, he somehow gained insight into the content of the angelic divine examination, which was unreasonable.
Furthermore, the punishment for failure in the angel's ninth trial was death. The Qian Family, descendants of the Angelic Divine, might not open doors for future generations, but to subject them to such extreme consequences seemed unbelievable to Su Cheng.
The Divine Examination was a complex matter; it could be challenging or straightforward. In addition to meeting the inheritor's requirements, the attitude of the original divine occupant played a significant role.
However, Su Cheng would have to wait until Qian Renxue completed the inheritance to understand the situation in detail.
He glanced towards the direction of the Pope's Hall once again.
"Bibi Dong, what about you? Are you ready to participate in the ninth trial? Will you swallow the top-tier beast martial souls of the Golden Crocodile, Blue Phoenix, and Lion offered as sacrifices?"
...
In the Pope's exclusive chamber within the Martial Soul City's Pope Hall, Bibi Dong, who was meditating in a cross-legged position, slowly opened her eyes, revealing a crimson gleam of blood.
Her once noble and stunning visage now appeared twisted with a terrifying sense of distortion, with streaks of blood crisscrossing her face.
Behind her, an indistinct black shadow hovered.
Taking a deep breath, Bibi Dong's black-purple light surged, and the changes on her body gradually disappeared, restoring her original appearance, albeit with a slightly pale complexion.
Unlike Su Cheng, she could clearly sense the Angelic Divine Examination unfolding in the Douluo Hall at this moment.
With a gaze filled with hatred, she muttered, "Qian Dao Liu, your son ruined me, so I will destroy everything related to your Angelic clan."
She reached out her right hand, and a book floated into her grasp, opening it to a specific page.
The pages of the book were slightly wrinkled, with even the edges of the cover showing signs of wear and tear, indicating that it had been in existence for a long time and had often been held and perused by someone.
"...The tool martial soul tends to lean towards the nature of a tool. In the hands of a soul master, it is easier to excel in aspects such as attack, defense, and control compared to beast martial souls, which tend to have a more balanced set of abilities.
"Especially in terms of soul fusion, beast martial souls have a unique advantage, being able to enhance various qualities of a soul master. In other words, beast martial souls actually provide a certain degree of enhancement to a person's mental willpower, a feat that tool martial souls find difficult to achieve.
"Furthermore, if the strength of the martial soul can be greatly enhanced, the effect of enhancing a soul master's willpower through a beast martial soul surpasses imagination. I have personally experienced this..."
This was a theory published by Yu Xiaogang several years ago, and Bibi Dong would often revisit it whenever she had spare time. She practically had this page memorized.
"Enhancing the strength of the martial soul..."
As someone who possessed the Martial Soul of the Man-Faced Demon Spider, she certainly knew how to enhance the strength of her martial soul.
The feast of Qian Xunji's flesh and blood back then had given her quite a pleasant surprise.
Bibi Dong's eyes flashed with a hint of strangeness. "Xiao Gang, perhaps this is fate. At this stage, you can still help me in some significant way, even from beyond."
Initially, she had some hesitation about whether to consume the individuals offered in the Sacrificial Hall.
As long as she continued to practice steadily for over a decade, she would undoubtedly be able to successfully complete the Rakshasa God Examination, making her invincible.
But now that she saw Qian Renxue had also initiated the Divine Examination, she couldn't sit still.
Bibi Dong was not crazy, just desperate. Over the years, she naturally noticed the change in Qian Renxue's attitude. She had long suspected that the other party had learned the truth about Qian Xunji's death.
Between them, perhaps it wasn't necessary for one of them to die to settle the score, but she wouldn't allow herself to owe her life to Qian Renxue's mercy.
What she wanted was to decide for herself whether to completely destroy the Angelic clan.
"Who should I start with..."
Running her tongue lightly over her lips, Bibi Dong's face revealed a hint of sinister and crazed smile.
Naturally, the three major offerings would not be her opponents, but with her current strength suppressed by the Divine Examination, it would be difficult to kill them all at once, only one by one.
Moreover, if they really fought, it wouldn't be a small matter. Although Qian Dao Liu was currently accompanying Qian Renxue for the Divine Examination, it didn't mean he couldn't break free.
She needed to plan carefully.
In addition, there was someone she had been disliking for a long time.
With that in mind, Bibi Dong left the secret chamber and entered the Pope's Hall, summoning Yueguan.
"Your Majesty."
"Yueguan, have you been getting close to Su Cheng recently?" Bibi Dong casually asked.
"Yes, I promised Mr. Su to assist him in his cultivation over the past few years."
"Assist him in his cultivation?" Bibi Dong furrowed her delicate brows, "Do you have nothing else to do?"
"Your Majesty, my cultivation breakthroughs in recent years are all thanks to Mr. Su gifting me a divine herb called the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum."
Despite Yueguan's calm expression, his heart was pounding fiercely.
Su Cheng had just visited him and said that if the Pope inquired, he could inform her about the existence of the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum.
As a result, he turned around and saw Bibi Dong actually asking about it, instantly feeling that there was too much he couldn't see through.
It seemed that something big was about to happen in the Martial Soul Temple.
"The Mysterious Sky Chrysanthemum?!" Bibi Dong's face showed astonishment, "Isn't that yours..."
"Exactly, it's a divine herb that's identical to my Martial Soul." Su Cheng remained calm.
Bibi Dong fell silent for a while upon hearing this, then waved her hand to indicate that the other person could leave.
After they left, her face instantly darkened, and tumultuous emotions surged in her heart.
How long ago had Su Cheng made arrangements for this moment?
She had been curious why Yueguan, who had been progressing slowly in his cultivation before, had made such rapid advancements in recent years.
When she had asked about it before, the other party had been evasive and hadn't provided a clear answer.
Now she understood the reason.
"Su Cheng..."
A hint of killing intent flashed in Bibi Dong's eyes, then disappeared without a trace.
Su Cheng was nothing more than a mere Soul King, insignificant in the grand scheme of things.
Now that Yueguan, who had the potential to become a god, was making great strides, there was no need to stir up trouble over this matter.
In contrast, Qian Renxue, who was on the verge of godhood, was the real threat.