"And besides, you were the first to die in front of me back then.
"You have already repaid with your life, what more could I say?"
Qian Renxue suddenly spoke with a smile, her bright eyes falling on Su Cheng's face.
"No matter what you want me to do, I can do it.
"Teacher, I can die for you, but please don't use lies to manipulate me."
Su Cheng's heart trembled at her words. He exhaled deeply, then met her gaze and nodded before continuing, "Xiaoxue, you are not without family. The Great Worshipper has always cared about you. Even though you gave up the Angel God test, he never forced or blamed you. This proves that he has a completely different attitude from your father."
"Yes."
"And also..." Su Cheng glanced at the person by the window and smiled, "Since you two can be apart for a short time, if you visit your grandfather in this pure state, even if he doesn't say it, he'll surely be pleased in his heart."
"Hey, Su Cheng, I'm still here, you know, and you're saying such things?"
The beautiful woman in black was visibly displeased and looked over.
"Can't I say that?" Su Cheng teased, "With your self-centered nature, I bet the old man hasn't had it easy with you over the years."
"… I don't bother explaining to you."
Su Cheng laughed it off, not minding her words. After a brief hesitation, he continued, "Many things from those days probably have hidden secrets. The Great Worshipper might know a thing or two; you could ask him sometime."
"It doesn't matter."
"What?"
"It doesn't matter what the truth is or what happened back then. Those are grievances of the previous generation. I dislike Bibi Dong, yes, but her dealings with my father are clearly problematic. However, since my grandfather hasn't said anything, the truth must be hard to judge. Even if I knew the whole story, what could I do?"
"…"
Su Cheng opened his mouth, but in the end, he swallowed his words.
Forget it, saying too much at once isn't good. It's better to take it slow.
The reason he said these things today was not out of idle chatter.
Qian Renxue had a very strong sense of possession.
Not just towards a particular person, not just Zhu Zhuqing, but she had harbored genuine murderous intent towards many people, including Ning Rongrong and Feng Qingyu.
Su Cheng analyzed that the reason her possessiveness was so extreme, almost pathological, was mainly due to her overly singular emotional reliance.
She was extremely indifferent to family affection and had no friends at all.
Now, even her ambitions and goals for improving her strength were completely different from before.
Even Zhu Zhuqing had an older sister far away in the Star Luo Empire and a personal drive and dream to improve her strength.
In comparison, how could Qian Renxue's emotions, nurtured under such circumstances, not be extreme?
So, he first reminisced about past times with her, then talked about life ideals, and finally took the opportunity to discuss their thoughts and understanding of emotions and the future.
If he could help Qian Renxue find some solace in her grandfather, or even improve her relationship with Bibi Dong, it might make a significant difference.
Of course, the latter seemed hopeless.
Their relationship had too many complexities that Su Cheng admitted he couldn't resolve.
Naturally, he didn't think his approach was perfect.
But emotions are hard to control.
Twenty years of day-to-day interaction left an indelible mark on Zhu Zhuqing, as well as on his own soul.
However, it seemed that today wasn't the day for an open-hearted conversation. Plans couldn't keep up with changes.
Qian Renxue's earlier words had completely overturned his train of thought.
It seemed that directly confessing might lead to unpredictable consequences. It was best to wait for a suitable moment.
At least it wasn't entirely fruitless today; he understood Qian Renxue's mindset better now. Su Cheng could only comfort himself with this thought.
After some consideration, he casually asked, "If I were to experience something similar again, going through a long, realistic memory, meeting certain people, how should I handle it?"
"What?! You had another dream like that? That's impossible; why haven't I experienced that again!"
Qian Renxue looked up suddenly, her phoenix eyes becoming sharply intense.
Not just her, another pair of equally sharp and cold eyes also fell on Su Cheng at that moment.
"Don't get so agitated, I said 'if'."
"…"
The other two remained silent, simultaneously scrutinizing him with a peculiar gaze.
It seemed they didn't believe his words and were pondering over his question.
After a long pause, Qian Renxue, clad in black, left the window and approached Su Cheng, staring at him. Her deep black eyes, like a bottomless well, seemed to hide a faint murderous intent as she coldly asked, "Who is that person?"
The other figure in white didn't move but furrowed her brows slightly, her tone uncertain, "Zhu Zhuqing?"
"Very likely. I felt something was off about her."
"Or that little girl from the Godwind Academy? Why did you take her as a disciple for no reason?"
"No, it might not be someone from Spirit Hall…"
"Speaking of which, don't you find that hundred-thousand-year spirit beast in Spirit Hall very suspicious?"
"Yes, her mentality is very strange, as if she has something to rely on. Her existence is very peculiar, and she doesn't even care about her husband and son…"
"Wait, stop for a moment!"
Seeing the two of them getting caught up in their discussion and becoming increasingly agitated, Su Cheng quickly interrupted.
If this continued, not only would it not lay the groundwork for the future, but things might go awry now.
"Why are you both so sensitive? I said it was hypothetical."
"Sensitive?" Qian Renxue extended a slender finger and lightly tapped his chest, her face frosty, her pitch-black eyes extremely cold.
"Su Cheng, do you take us for fools? Would you ask such a question for no reason?"
"Alright, there is something. I dreamt that I was born on a place called Sea God Island, lived there for decades, and eventually destroyed the Sea God's inheritance." Su Cheng said solemnly.
"Do you remember a year ago when I left Spirit Hall to advance to Soul Emperor? At that time, I sent you a letter saying I would train outside for six months. Actually, I was found by the High Priestess of Sea God Island.
"That person's cultivation is also at level ninety-nine, a peerless Douluo, no less powerful than the Great Worshipper. At that time, I had just advanced to Soul Emperor, and unless I used methods that would damage my foundation, I couldn't match her in strength, so I went to Sea God Island with her."
Given Qian Renxue's current attitude, Zhu Zhuqing was too weak. If any accident occurred, it would be troublesome.
So, the matter of Sea God Island was something he originally planned to use as a tool for this exchange.
"Sea God Island?"
Qian Renxue was taken aback upon hearing this.
Apparently, she hadn't heard of this place before.
However…
"Sea God?"
"Yes, a powerful deity on par with the Angel God and the Rakshasa God. By the way, there should be relevant records of Sea God Island in Spirit Hall. When the previous Pope, your father, was alive, he sent people to attack it, but they failed and suffered heavy losses."
"So, you advanced to Soul Saint there and managed to escape the control of that peerless Douluo?"
"Mm, it was a blessing in disguise. I improved my soul power a lot there, otherwise, it would have taken at least another year to achieve Soul Saint cultivation."
"I see…"
Only then did Qian Renxue let go of her doubts.
Su Cheng's words didn't seem like a lie, as such things were easy to verify.
Sea God Island, another peerless Douluo, the Sea God's inheritance—these didn't sound fabricated, especially since Spirit Hall could find related records.
Although knowing that Su Cheng also had long-lasting dream memories made her uncomfortable, it was evident that the High Priest of Sea God Island had come to the mainland to trouble him, indicating their relationship wasn't good.
Moreover, Su Cheng destroyed the inheritance of their deity in the dream; calling it a deep hatred was an understatement.
Suddenly, Qian Renxue's eyes narrowed, her expression turning cold.
"Didn't you say you would never lie to me again?"
"I didn't lie to you, I just told you everything."
"Hmph, it better be so."
"…"
After a brief silence, she looked into Su Cheng's eyes and asked, "By the way, how strong are you now?"
"Invincible among mortals."
"Be specific."
Su Cheng hesitated for a moment but decided to be honest.
On such matters, he didn't want to hide anything from Qian Renxue anymore.
"I can temporarily attain power comparable to a second-tier deity, easily crushing peerless Douluo. However, that state can only be maintained for a short time. Normally, I might not be able to defeat the Great Worshipper in Spirit Hall or the High Priest on Sea God Island."
After hearing his explanation, Qian Renxue didn't speak, just pursed her lips, seemingly deep in thought.
Not long after their conversation, Qian Renxue decided to continue her seclusion.
Moreover, with Qian Daoliu's accompaniment, she went directly to the depths of the Douluo Palace, training beneath the Angel God statue.