Chapter 18: I Advise Thee to Be Kind

The distance between the two was less than half a meter at this moment.

In the ears of Bibi Dong, Su Cheng's heavy panting was unmistakable, along with his scorching breath permeating the surrounding air.

His scent wasn't unpleasant, carrying a hint of herbal freshness.

A faint blush spread across Bibi Dong's face as she subtly shifted away without a word.

Sighing, she said, "Su Cheng, why must you insist on opposing me?"

After the recent outburst, much of her anger had dissipated by now.

Su Cheng turned slightly to look at Bibi Dong standing beside him. "As the heir to the Pope's throne, it's natural for me to plan her future direction."

"She's also from the Martial Spirit Hall!"

"You can demand that she undertake this task forcibly. This matter has nothing to do with me; it's your prerogative," Su Cheng said indifferently.

Bibi Dong seethed. "You!" Her anger flared up again.

Perhaps it was because of Qian Renxue's identity, or perhaps because of Su Cheng's own uniqueness.

Today, she seemed particularly prone to being provoked.

"Do you feel emboldened because Qian Renxue is backing you up?" Bibi Dong's voice was icy.

"I never rely on others."

"Ridiculous! Why didn't you dare say that when you first came to the Martial Spirit Hall?"

"Then perhaps Your Holiness could appoint someone else to be Qian Renxue's mentor and see if it works. If she agrees, I won't object either."

Bibi Dong fell silent for a moment. "Su Cheng, I don't understand. What has Qian Renxue given you in return?"

Su Cheng couldn't help but smile at that.

"What have you given me, Your Holiness? Since I arrived at the Martial Spirit Hall, all your promises have been nothing but empty words."

Just look at the fates of Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo; Bibi Dong was a typical example of someone lacking foresight.

Even the Hu Liena trio, who hadn't achieved anything significant, were promised three soul bones each. After all the dirty work they did, what did they end up with?

"Ah, the joys of politics and power struggles," Su Cheng mused inwardly, his gaze meeting Bibi Dong's with a hint of amusement.

Even when Tang San was being petty, he'd still share his benefits with others, down to the last drop of soup.

But when it came to dealing with Bibi Dong, she was tighter than a duck's backside.

Su Cheng couldn't help but scoff. "Indeed, I only made two requests back then. So what? Do you think I should just sell myself to you based on that?"

Bibi Dong was momentarily stunned by his words, unsure how to respond.

"But I didn't expect anything else from you in the first place," Su Cheng continued. "I already mentioned my two requests before. Now that the library is open to me and I have been acknowledged as a successor, joining the Martial Spirit Hall suits me just fine."

"Joining the Martial Spirit Hall means considering the Hall's interests."

"Forget about the Hall's interests or lack thereof; I'm an adult, and I'm only concerned about my own interests," Su Cheng replied impatiently. "Besides, plotting to usurp a country's throne by having a nine-year-old child pose as a prince—does that really represent the grandeur of your Martial Spirit Hall?"

Bibi Dong furrowed her brows.

Su Cheng met her gaze fearlessly.

"Your Holiness, I can see that Qian Renxue's feelings towards you are quite complex, but your feelings towards her are nothing but disgust. Although I'm not sure of the reasons behind it, I know for sure that whoever has offended you is definitely not Qian Renxue herself. I advise you to be kind."

Okay. His purpose in saying this was definitely not to reconcile the two.

As soon as the words fell, the atmosphere froze instantly.

In fact, coming from him, such words would only exacerbate their relationship.

The conflict between mother and daughter wasn't just your run-of-the-mill disagreement; it was more than ten years of resentment harbored by Bibi Dong, encompassing her hatred for Qian Xunji, regret for Yu Xiaogang's loss, and the habitual use of Qian Renxue as an emotional punching bag over the years.

Moreover, Su Cheng's words were clearly spoken from Qian Renxue's perspective, completely disregarding her feelings and the hidden complexities involved.

With her extremely self-centered and paranoid personality, she would only become more extreme.

"..."

Su Cheng sensed the murderous intent in the air.

Just as he finished speaking, a chilling and bone-piercing wave of murderous intent surged towards him.

He knew, this time, Bibi Dong truly harbored murderous intent.

Inside the Doulou Hall.

Qian Renxue's face was a mix of emotions—moved, sad, puzzled, aggrieved, and more.

Qian Daoliu, however, looked solemn.

Being privy to the past events, he understood that Su Cheng's words were nothing short of suicidal, and he was prepared to strike at any moment.

But in reality, he was overthinking it.

Su Cheng understood the art of pushing boundaries, so he merely teased a bit and quickly changed the subject, saying, "Anyway, I think this task is unreasonable. Whatever you say won't change my mind, so let's talk about something else."

"What do you want to talk about?" Bibi Dong asked coldly.

"I mean, Your Holiness, do you really have to keep harping on Qian Renxue all the time? Wasn't the invitation to join your Martial Spirit Hall about something else?" With that, he took out a manuscript edited into a book format from his soul device and handed it over.

Bibi Dong furrowed her brows as she took it.

At first, she casually glanced at it, but then quickly flipped through it, her eyes widening—

"Being able to absorb ten-thousand-year soul rings as the fourth soul ring?!"

"Yes," Su Cheng replied calmly.

She looked at Su Cheng with a complex expression.

Unable to help but sigh inwardly, "Why can't someone like him stand by my side..."

Su Cheng cleared his throat, interrupting her thoughts. "Your Holiness, I must remind you of one thing. This knowledge doesn't belong solely to the Martial Spirit Hall; it needs to be publicly available throughout the continent."

"How can that be possible?!" Bibi Dong raised her eyebrows, unwilling to agree to this.

She was ambitious.

If everyone had access to this life-changing method, where would the advantage of the Martial Spirit Hall lie?

"If you still want me to further develop methods for absorbing soul rings beyond the year limit, it's best to agree to my demands," Su Cheng said, his tone carrying a hint of threat.

"Are you really so concerned about your reputation?" Hearing Su Cheng's threat, Bibi Dong couldn't help but grit her teeth internally.

"For the sake of reputation? Of course not," Su Cheng said casually. "Only mediocre people are trapped by fame and fortune. My ambition is to be a good person and contribute more to the world."

Bibi Dong's face showed disdain at his words, finding them too hypocritical.

Su Cheng glanced at her and smiled.

"Here's the deal, when publishing this research, we can change the name and release it as a separate edition. And there's no need to mention my name; it can be issued under the name of the Martial Spirit Hall. Let's consider it my contribution to the Hall."

He really didn't care about fame and reputation. Initially, he wanted to gain attention from the Martial Spirit Hall by publishing his work. However, he had originally planned to offer the subsequent methods exclusively to the Hall to boost his own status.

But now, he had changed his mind.

He found that the three-pronged approach he used on Qian Renxue had been much more effective than he had imagined, essentially allowing him to establish a foothold ahead of schedule.

Therefore, there was no need to stick to the previous plan. If the generation of new members of the Martial Spirit Hall and the young generation of other forces were too far apart in strength, wouldn't that be equivalent to nurturing adversaries?

Furthermore, Su Cheng needed more data to refine his theory. Relying solely on the Martial Spirit Hall's resources was clearly not enough.