After speaking, Bibi Dong pursed her slightly dry red lips, turning her head to look at Su Cheng, as if a faint hint of expectation lingered in her eyes.
However, Su Cheng did not respond to her gaze, instead, he slowly said, "It was just a dream."
"Yes, just a dream..."
Bibi Dong heard the underlying meaning in his words, and her eyes dimmed slightly.
But she quickly regained her usual composure and steadiness, lifting her head. Her delicate, porcelain-like face gleamed with an enchanting luster under the sunlight.
She stretched lazily, then turned and smiled, "After rambling on for a bit, I suddenly feel much better. Come on, didn't you say you wanted to plan my future cultivation and the affairs of the Spirit Hall? Let me hear your insights."
At that moment, her gaze suddenly sharpened, noticing that the large desk in the room had been shattered during their earlier encounter.
"Never mind, I'll have someone send a new one over."
After muttering to herself, she turned and left the room.
It wasn't until the door closed behind her that she sighed softly.
She lifted her head and closed her eyes, but she couldn't stop the tears from welling up and silently sliding down her cheeks.
Perhaps she really shouldn't hope for more.
Maintaining the status quo is already good; she should be content, shouldn't she?
Why continue to force something that could never belong to her?
Qian Renxue has merely left; she hasn't died.
Bibi Dong felt a sense of helplessness.
She could only plot and strive up to this point.
As for whether Su Cheng and Qian Renxue might reconcile in the future, she had no certainty.
But it's impossible to truly do something irreversible.
"Actually, whether we can go further or not isn't that important..."
Bibi Dong smiled, wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and walked out of the hall.
Inside the room, Su Cheng frowned in silence.
Instructing someone to clean up the room and bring in new furniture could have been done with a simple message; there was no need for the Pope to personally take care of it.
Soon, under Bibi Dong's orders, the room was restored to its original state in no time.
Su Cheng walked to the desk, took up paper and pen, and began writing.
Bibi Dong sat quietly beside him, silently boiling water and making tea.
After a short while, Su Cheng had written a rough draft.
He then picked up the teacup, took a few sips, and said, "Take a look."
"Okay."
Bibi Dong responded, leaning over to take the dozen or so pages of the draft and slowly began to read.
The first part was about the layout and planning for the Spirit Empire.
In fact, the two had discussed this matter many times in the past.
Especially in the past year, it had been mentioned frequently.
After all, during the healing process, it was impossible to focus solely on cultivation; they often had opportunities to chat and discuss various topics.
They talked about cultivation, the Spirit Hall, even the history of this continent, and various historical texts.
But at that time, the plans were not as detailed as they were now.
In this section, Su Cheng mainly outlined three plans.
The first was about the incorporation of the surrounding kingdoms and duchies around Spirit City.
This task had already begun, with the surrounding small states having ambiguous relations with the Spirit Hall. However, the Spirit Hall's methods were relatively gentle, leading to slow progress. It was now time to use power to intimidate them and accelerate the process.
If necessary, they could consider using high-end combat forces and have the Elder Hall take action.
In the past, Bibi Dong couldn't fully mobilize these forces, but now these Titled Douluo all owed Su Cheng a favor, making it easy to deploy them.
As for those small nations, none of them had direct forces of Titled Douluo level under their command.
The second part concerned arrangements regarding the Heaven Dou Empire.
Unlike the Star Luo Empire, the ruling class of the Heaven Dou Empire was not particularly strong.
However, the empire was filled with sects, with a significant number of high-level soul masters, many of whom had some degree of patriotism.
So if the Heaven Dou Empire were to face disaster, many soul masters would likely choose to defend it voluntarily. Even soul masters under the Spirit Hall might have conflicting loyalties.
Fortunately, after Su Cheng's various efforts over the past year, the stance of several major academies had already shown significant signs of wavering.
Of course, even if these scattered forces were to take action, they relied on the formidable strength of the soul masters for guerrilla harassment.
But in actual battlefield situations, their impact would be minimal, merely serving as a nuisance.
Su Cheng's plan, however, wasn't just about incorporating them for such simple actions.
"You want them to join the Heaven Dou Empire, infiltrate high-level forces, and then lead their subordinates to defect in the middle of a battle? Have you lost your mind? This is far too optimistic, don't you think?"
Bibi Dong frowned, her tone filled with skepticism.
Given their relationship, she had no reservations in pointing out the flaws in Su Cheng's plan.
"The Heaven Dou royal family isn't foolish. How could they possibly allow these outsiders to hold important positions? Moreover, the military is fiercely loyal to the royal family. High-level soul masters from the sects and academies would find it hard to penetrate, and even if they did, they would be easily exposed. What you've written is simply impossible to succeed!"
"You're right. Such underhanded tactics have limited impact in national warfare. Large-scale wars ultimately rely on armies and lives."
Su Cheng, fully aware of these issues, calmly explained, "But casualties must be minimized. You must understand that if we do unify the continent, the Spirit Hall will need talents from various fields to govern the country. Soul masters aren't omnipotent."
"I know that, but you still haven't explained how to turn the military and the empire's high officials against each other."
"We have a trump card: the first volume of Innate Skill. It can enhance the qualifications of soul masters and even help ordinary people gain soul master talent."
Su Cheng lightly tapped the table in front of him with his finger.
"Among the three major powers—Heaven Dou, Star Luo, and Spirit Hall—Heaven Dou is the weakest. They desperately need high-end talent. Even if they suspect there might be an issue, especially after what happened with Qian Renxue, they'll be extremely cautious.
"But so what? They'll still have to use these people. At most, they just won't delegate too much power. But with the first volume of Innate Skill as bait, there will be plenty who will defect when the time comes."
In this extraordinary world, for ordinary people and soul masters with inferior qualifications, there was almost no one who could resist the lure of Innate Skill.
"Have you made up your mind?" Hearing this, Bibi Dong's expression became serious. "This will have significant repercussions."
"Indeed, but with our strength and influence, we should be able to deal with any consequences. The first volume of Innate Skill changes the dynamics of the continent; the third volume might attract higher powers' attention. It's not easy to fully master Innate Skill, so it's the right time to start laying out our plans."
This was something Su Cheng had been considering for a long time.
The cultivation technique capable of altering the natural aptitude of ordinary people was undoubtedly unprecedented in its influence.
However, despite various obstacles, the subsequent developments were still within controllable limits.
Moreover, as long as it didn't involve the appearance of innate power that could potentially alter the balance of the Divine Realm, it was unlikely that the powers over there would react too strongly.
As Su Cheng had just mentioned, for ordinary people, cultivating innate power from entry-level to mastery took far too long; the first volume should be released as early as possible.
Although the second stage of the True Eternal Body would eventually be phased out, the Origin Force was by no means useless.
After breaking the ring, this portion of energy, once absorbed into his body, would significantly enhance him.
Furthermore, Su Cheng had considered another issue.
Since when others fully master the innate technique and cultivate innate power, they could reciprocate by nourishing Su Cheng's Origin Force.
This also meant that such a situation might benefit the world somehow; otherwise, he wouldn't have been rewarded without reason.
Now that he was aligned with this enigmatic "World Will," it was natural for him to support his ally within his capabilities.
Besides, consolidating resources, even if not greatly beneficial to him, would be quite helpful to others.
There were still many people standing behind him.
Those who trusted him, such as the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, several elemental academies, and many elders and grand worshippers within the Spirit Hall.
He had to find a way to secure more benefits for these people.
Human relationships are always closer or more distant.
Seeing Su Cheng's firm attitude, Bibi Dong no longer voiced any objections and nodded, "It's good that you know what you're doing."
Then she pointed behind her, "Are you planning to go to the Star Luo Empire yourself?"
"Yes, in a few days, I'll take Zhuqing and go there personally. In the Spirit Hall, besides the two of us, only the Grand Worshipper can protect her. But it's best not to trouble the old man with this. If you go, it would draw too much attention, so it's better for me to go."
"Just relying on the Zhu family, whether in terms of influence or strength, probably isn't enough, right?"
"A single Zhu family isn't enough, but two possessors of the Hell White Tiger Martial Spirit should suffice." Su Cheng chuckled.
"Two Nether White Tigers?!"
"That's right, you must have guessed it. Zhuqing's god-level martial spirit is my handiwork. As for her elder sister, Zhu Zhuyun, I think she's also been making some moves over the past few years."
"So that's how it is..." Bibi Dong pouted, "You're really ruthless. What will happen to the crown prince of the Star Luo Empire?"
"I don't know; it depends on Zhu Zhuyun's methods."
"The Zhu family's eldest daughter, she must have quite an ambition, right?"
"Whether her ambition is big or small doesn't matter. There are so many possessors of the Clear Sky Hammer Martial Spirit in the Clear Sky Sect, but has there been a second Tang Chen? You should understand, even among the Nether White Tigers, there are differences."
Hearing this, Bibi Dong rolled her eyes lightly, "I knew it, you wouldn't be so kind."
"Don't slander me. This is a fair and honest voluntary transaction, with no deception involved."
"Wait, if I remember correctly, the eldest daughter of the Zhu family is quite a beauty..."
At this, she suspiciously eyed the man beside her, known for his flirtatious ways.
When she was gathering information on Zhu Zhuqing, she also learned quite a bit about the Zhu family.
Even the intelligence regarding Dai Mubai's sudden disappearance was clear to her.
"What's with that look? I warn you, don't speak too harshly. There's nothing like that between us."
Su Cheng's expression was displeased, feeling that she was underestimating him.
"It better be that way." Bibi Dong muttered as she turned a page.
Here, it was written about the upper three sects.
"…The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan has been infiltrated almost completely. Their second-in-command, Yu Luomian, with Soul Douluo-level cultivation, has agreed to join the Spirit Hall. However, he has two conditions: first, to help him advance to Title Douluo; second, to ensure that their clan doesn't suffer excessive casualties."
Reading the text, Bibi Dong discussed her infiltration results of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect.
Su Cheng nodded, "No problem, agree to his terms. But the clan leader cannot be spared."
"Naturally, Yu Luomian understands this as well. He's a smart man who knows when to advance and when to retreat."
"Good, that's settled then."
Within the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, only their clan leader, Yu Yuanzhen, was somewhat impressive.
Able to mediate the longstanding internal conflicts within the clan, his strength and methods were commendable, far superior to others.
But unfortunately, he was also a staunch anti-Spirit Hall member.
Keeping him around wouldn't pose too much of a threat, but it would be a huge inconvenience—an unnecessary one.
"By the way, isn't it about time you go to the Slaughter City to pick up those people?" Su Cheng asked casually.
He wasn't worried about the safety of those students.
They had an agreement with the Slaughter King, and that guy was very wary of both Su Cheng's and Bibi Dong's strength.
As the nominal ruler of the Slaughter City, the Slaughter King could influence the match orders in the killing fields to some extent, ensuring the safety of the group.
Of course, Xie Yue and the others were unaware of this, as knowing would affect the training's effectiveness.
"It's rare that you still remember them." Bibi Dong responded.
"Of course, I remember." Su Cheng suddenly thought of something and reminded, "By the way, if you encounter Yu Xiaogang and Tang Hao again when you go, don't touch them."
"I understand." Bibi Dong frowned, "Are they that important?"
"Tang San is proud by nature, and only those two can influence him to some extent. If we want to train Tang San, we'll need their help."
"..." Bibi Dong silently flipped to the next page.
After seeing the contents, she raised an elegant eyebrow, "So, this so-called 'Traitor Wanted Notice' you issued is also to sharpen Tang San?"
"That's right. The pressure and motivation he's giving himself are too little. I need to put some pressure on him."
"Tsk tsk." Bibi Dong clicked her tongue and sighed, "When he sees the charges you've listed against him, he might just die of anger..."
However, when she saw the last charge, her expression became strange.
"All the other charges are one thing, but this one: 'Collaborating with aliens and having illicit relations with a transformed 100,000-year soul beast'—how did you have the nerve to write that?"
"..."
"And what about that married woman, how do you explain that?"
"..."
"Well? Aren't you going to say something?"
"You've already condemned me; what more is there to say?" Su Cheng frowned, clearly annoyed.
"If Tang San had the strength and resources, he could just as easily fabricate charges against me. Look ahead, aren't all those accusations nonsense too? Such things don't matter. Do these charges make him submit willingly? I'm just trying to provoke him."
"Shameless!"
"..."
Seeing he didn't argue back, Bibi Dong continued to taunt, "Are you planning to adopt Tang San as your son?"
Su Cheng clenched his fists, grinning without humor as he looked askance at her, "Stop talking nonsense, or are you looking for a fight?"