Outside the Elder Hall, Bibi Dong's gaze lingered for a moment on the gap above the grand hall before she slowly walked in.
At the same time, several other elders emerged from their rooms, including a few worship elders, their faces still bearing traces of fear.
Although their reactions were somewhat delayed, the wave of energy, magnificent and grand like the scorching sun, was too obvious to ignore.
Though they were not the target, the fear that arose from the depths of their souls persisted and could not be easily dispelled.
Noticing Bibi Dong's figure, they saw her gesture for everyone to retreat, hesitating only briefly before returning to their respective rooms.
Since the Pope had arrived and the Grand Elder had not appeared, it seemed there was nothing major to worry about.
However, when their hearts would completely calm down was another matter entirely.
Bibi Dong ignored the elders and walked alone to the third floor, stopping outside Qian Renxue's room.
Strangely enough, despite the powerful aura Qian Renxue had just emitted, which she still struggled to control, burning a huge hole in the ceiling of the Elder Hall, her room and its surroundings were untouched, without even a trace of heat, appearing unusually serene.
Bibi Dong gazed at the tightly closed door with a grave expression.
She had also used her spiritual power to investigate earlier, unlike Qian Daoliu, who found nothing.
Due to the special nature of her soul, her perception lingered a moment longer.
And in that moment, Bibi Dong "saw" an extremely terrifying scene.
White.
Everything in sight was a vast expanse of white.
But it was not a soft, hollow white; it was a blinding, scorching white, like staring into the sun and losing one's sight.
In that dazzling white light, seemingly formed from beams of light, a figure could be vaguely seen.
Bold, domineering, supremely noble.
That extreme, all-repelling power instilled a trace of fear in Bibi Dong's heart.
She was originally very confident.
Especially after her journey through the Hell Road, where she gained clarity, purified the Rakshasa power, significantly strengthened her soul foundation, and transformed her strength, no longer needing to suppress her power at the level of ninety-eight.
The inner demons of the past still lingered, but they were no longer shackles; instead, they had become the fuel for her continuous advancement.
Because of this, she was confident that even when facing Su Cheng, she would not be completely powerless.
Moreover, now that she had begun practicing innate power, ninety-nine was not her limit; she had immense room for growth.
However, the feeling she just experienced cast a shadow over her heart.
Bibi Dong was very aware of how talented Qian Renxue was.
Her innate full soul power and twin martial souls were among the best soul master talents in the world, yet they were still within the "human" realm.
Even the purest representation of martial soul bloodlines, the soul beasts turned human, only had a soul power of ten.
A soul power of twenty was almost inhuman. The exclusivity of such extraordinary bloodlines meant that this level of martial soul could not have twin martial souls.
But with Qian Renxue's soul mutation, she made the impossible possible once again.
In fact, before meeting Su Cheng and learning about martial soul-related knowledge, Bibi Dong always believed that her child, who inherited the Angel Clan's martial soul and her own exceptional talent, was not inferior to her.
After understanding that knowledge, she realized that this child's talent far surpassed hers.
"Snap—"
As her thoughts churned, the door suddenly opened from inside, and Qian Renxue appeared in her sight.
"Pope, what brings you here at this late hour?"
"What did you do just now to cause such a commotion?"
"..." Qian Renxue didn't respond immediately, silently observing the stunningly beautiful Pope before her, who looked about the same age as her.
After a moment of silence, she suddenly smiled and said calmly, "You're scared."
Her tone was steady, but her certainty was clear.
Bibi Dong's eye twitched at her words, speaking softly, "Are you joking?"
Qian Renxue continued unabated, "Rest assured, you can continue being the Pope. I have no interest in these matters and won't compete with you for power."
She then looked up at the sky through the hole in the dome, whispering to herself, "Even gods, so what?"
She had the memory of becoming the Angel God and knew the extent of that power.
But the vast and majestic light from her just now far surpassed the power level she had when she became the Angel God.
Qian Renxue didn't know how powerful the entities Su Cheng mentioned, like first-level gods and god-kings, were.
But she still had immense room for growth.
She was only a Soul Saint now, and the technique Su Cheng had tailored for her, Cangming Transformation, was just beginning.
As for Bibi Dong before her, she was insignificant.
Even her past grudges had gradually faded with her growing power.
The opponent was merely the Pope of the Martial Soul Hall, a peak figure in mundane power. At best, a powerful Pope with twin martial souls and near-ultimate Douluo strength, nothing more.
She and Bibi Dong were no longer on the same path.
Bibi Dong looked thoughtfully at Qian Renxue, realizing her current mindset.
A thought struck her, and she suddenly realized this might not be a bad thing, even an opportunity.
"Are you planning to find Su Cheng?"
"Find him?" Qian Renxue was momentarily stunned.
She had no such intention.
Su Cheng's visit to various forces wouldn't take long, a few months at most, half a year at the longest.
She just wanted to improve her strength during this time, not to be much weaker than him.
She wasn't eager to find him, nor was it necessary.
"Not planning to go? Then focus on your cultivation." Bibi Dong secretly breathed a sigh of relief; she wasn't ready for many things.
"To be honest, Su Cheng might be stronger than you think. Unless you can maintain that state and control its power, you're still far from him."
"..." Qian Renxue frowned slightly, feeling uncomfortable.
Not because Bibi Dong doubted her strength, but because she was curious how Bibi Dong knew so much about Su Cheng.
"How do you know?"
"I went to the Slaughter City with him, remember?" Bibi Dong replied calmly. "Don't forget to find someone to fix the Elder Hall you destroyed."
She then turned and walked downstairs.
Before leaving, she suddenly sensed something and glanced at the graceful figure in the shadowy corner of the first floor, a slight smile curling her lips.
She then left the Elder Hall.
"Such arrogance..."
Bibi Dong chuckled softly.
Qian Renxue had already found her path, so he couldn't afford to fall behind.
The extra twenty years of cultivation time were not just for show; his talent wasn't inferior either.
"Su Cheng, you must bring all your teammates to Spirit Hall," Bibi Dong thought with delight.
"Make a scene, the bigger, the better..."
Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Clan.
Su Cheng suddenly opened his eyes from cultivation, releasing a powerful wave of energy that he quickly restrained.
The Eternal Sword appeared uncontrollably in his hand, surrounded by seven soul rings.
Then, a large amount of mysterious energy appeared out of nowhere and flowed into his extremely special seventh soul ring.
Simultaneously, his cultivation level surged, almost reaching level seventy-five.
This was accompanied by even more intense energy fluctuations.
Only through his strenuous control did he prevent a larger disturbance.
Normally, with his mastery over his power, such situations rarely occurred.
Tonight was different because the energy influx was too massive.
The pale pink soul ring became even more transparent.
With the addition of the newfound primordial energy, the second stage of his Eternal True Form, which he could previously only maintain briefly, could now last at least ten breaths.
If he went all out, he could even unleash two strikes.
Although this only added one extra strike compared to before, the nature of this improvement was a qualitative leap.
Previously, one full-powered strike would exhaust his strength, and if he didn't strike, he could only maintain the form for a few breaths.
Back then, the second stage of the Eternal True Form was more like a trump card for Su Cheng, a last resort to be used cautiously. If he struck, it had to be a sure kill.
But being able to strike twice was a different story.
He could strike once and then exit this special state, retaining most of his strength to deal with other situations.
"What is this..."
Su Cheng gently clenched his fist, feeling the surging power within.
A thought crossed his mind, and he roughly guessed the reason.
"Is it Xiaoxue, Ah Yin, or Bibi Dong?"
Apart from these three, only Zhu Zhuqing possessed the innate power cultivation method.
But Zhu Zhuqing had been with him all the time, and he was well aware of her progress.
"It should be Xiaoxue."
After a brief consideration, Su Cheng guessed that Qian Renxue's cultivation had made new progress.
The amount of primordial energy influx was too much, far exceeding the slight improvement when Qian Renxue first grasped the use of innate power.
As for Ah Yin, the possibility was extremely low. Although she was well-suited for innate power cultivation, her foundation was stable, and she likely followed a steady, step-by-step approach. Even if she succeeded, it wouldn't bring such a huge surprise.
Bibi Dong was a possibility due to her unique circumstances and deep foundation. But just entering the initial stage wouldn't bring Su Cheng such benefits.
Qian Renxue probably couldn't imagine that her progress could bring such a significant improvement to Su Cheng.
The stronger she became, the stronger Su Cheng would be.
Because her path was, in fact, a validation of Su Cheng's path.
Of course, when Su Cheng initially taught Qian Renxue those methods, he wasn't seeking these benefits. He didn't know then that spreading these methods would bring such advantages. He simply wanted her to escape the shackles of becoming a god.
"How did she manage this? Is her talent truly that terrifying?"
Su Cheng's expression showed some astonishment.
It had only been a little over a month since she grasped innate power.
How long did it take him to reach this point?
Even with methods to learn and verify, unlike him who explored from scratch, it was still astonishing.
The methods Su Cheng gave to Qian Renxue could only be used for study and comprehension. To go further, she had to continually adjust them according to her own circumstances.
Moreover, her improvement was not minor but reached an unimaginable level of power, producing such a vast amount of primordial energy.
Besides the surprise, Su Cheng felt a bit of a headache.
He hoped Qian Renxue would grow stronger, even surpassing him, as she was someone he could fully trust and rely on.
But he still had other issues to deal with.
He originally planned to explain Zhu Zhuqing's situation upon his return, but now he wasn't sure if complications would arise.
The next day, Su Cheng called Zhu Zhuqing. Just as they were about to go to the sect's council hall to find Ning Fengzhi, Ning Rongrong intercepted them midway.
"Brother, don't go there yet. Xue Beng is here again."
"Again?"
Su Cheng felt a bit speechless.
Xue Beng's intentions were clear: he didn't get a definitive answer from Ning Fengzhi yesterday and returned to persuade him again.
However, playing the emotional card wouldn't work.
Even if Xue Beng had a nominal master-disciple relationship with Ning Fengzhi like before, frequent probing wouldn't change anything.
Unless Emperor Xue Ye himself came and offered some terms, there might be a chance.
But that seemed highly unlikely.
After thinking it over, Su Cheng didn't insist. Instead, he said, "Then let's take this opportunity to check your progress in the cultivation method."
Ning Rongrong's eyes lit up, and she nodded eagerly.
She led them to the training ground in the back mountain of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Clan.
The sect had numerous disciples and ample training grounds. As a wealthy and influential clan, their facilities were vast, and Ning Rongrong had her own private training area, both indoor and outdoor.
Entering the room, with Su Cheng's nod, Ning Rongrong slowly raised her right hand, and a dazzling nine-colored light began to gather in her palm.
The Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda appeared in her hand, with two yellow and two purple soul rings emerging simultaneously, making the room even brighter.
Su Cheng carefully examined this world's strongest auxiliary spirit, while Ning Rongrong watched him nervously.
"It's indeed different..." After a long observation, Su Cheng exhaled lightly and spoke softly.
"What's different?" Ning Rongrong was puzzled.
"When your spirit first evolved, there were traces of the immortal herb Beautiful Silk Tulip on this Nine Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda. But now those traces have completely disappeared," Su Cheng said, arms crossed, chin resting on his arm in contemplation.
"It seems that instead of you absorbing the herb's power, it merged into your spirit, with only residual parts entering your body. It's quite mysterious."
Ning Rongrong felt uneasy and asked, "Will it have any impact?"
For spirit masters, their spirits were their lifeline, and knowing little about their essence, it was normal to feel anxious hearing such words.
"No impact, it's a good thing." Su Cheng smiled reassuringly and then scrutinized the delicate girl before him.
Only when her cheeks slightly reddened did he speak seriously, "Continue your soul power cultivation as per the first volume of the innate method. As for the second volume, focus on enhancing your physical attributes. Don't rush the soul cultivation part."
This plan was the most efficient for Ning Rongrong.