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The next day at noon, sunlight filtered through the thin window gauze, dappling Bibi Dong's bedchamber.
"Can they even get out of bed today?"
Outside the bedchamber, Yue Guan and Gui Mei had stood guard all night.
Seeing that Bibi Dong had not yet appeared, a hint of unnaturalness showed on Gui Mei's usually rigid face.
Normally, Bibi Dong would already be handling work in the Council Hall at dawn, but today, it was already noon, and she still hadn't come out!
"I think... it's difficult," Yue Guan said with a serious, earnest expression.
One was young and vigorous, the other like a hungry tiger; if they didn't show some restraint, they might not be able to leave for days!
"When did those two... get together?" Gui Mei asked, puzzled.
He knew about Xuan Ming and Hu Liena; Hu Liena used to complain to him often about Xuan Ming's unromantic mind.
However, ever since coming to Heaven Dou City, he had felt that something was off between Bibi Dong and Xuan Ming.
Before, it was just a guess, but today, it was confirmed.
"I don't know, I also feel it's a bit sudden," Yue Guan said.
"But it's also understandable."
Excellent women are coveted by many men, and excellent men are the same.
Bibi Dong's talent was terrifying; according to Spirit Hall's records, no one had ever reached her level, achieving Spirit Saint at twenty and ascending to the position of Supreme Pontiff with Titled Douluo cultivation in her thirties, then rapidly reaching a level comparable to Golden Crocodile in just a few years.
Aside from Qian Renxue, her biological daughter who inherited her talent, Xuan Ming was the only genius who could be compared to Bibi Dong.
"No, that's not right," Yue Guan's expression changed.
Hu Liena liked Xuan Ming; this was openly known. Bibi Dong's efforts to matchmake Xuan Ming and Hu Liena were also openly known.
But he had seen that Qian Renxue also seemed to have an interest in Xuan Ming, and now Bibi Dong was getting together with Xuan Ming?
"What's wrong?" Gui Mei asked, puzzled.
"It's a bit too exciting," Yue Guan said with a strange expression.
Bibi Dong didn't care about the other young girls outside; she didn't even put them in her eyes. But Qian Renxue and Hu Liena were different.
One was her biological daughter, and the other was closer than a biological daughter!
Wouldn't they eventually clash?
"What's exciting?" Gui Mei asked, puzzled.
"What's going on?"
Yue Guan hesitated, "Don't ask, I'm trying to forget about it."
As soon as he finished speaking, the bedchamber door slowly opened, and Bibi Dong and Xuan Ming emerged one after another.
Bibi Dong's face was rosy, and she was clearly in a very good mood, while Xuan Ming looked a bit weak, clearly overworked!
Yue Guan and Gui Mei exchanged glances and quickly stepped forward to salute.
Bibi Dong nodded slightly, "What happened?"
"Supreme Pontiff, Elder Golden Crocodile summoned the bishops of Spirit Hall half an hour ago for a meeting in the Council Hall," Yue Guan said somewhat nervously.
"You were nowhere to be seen, and Elder Golden Crocodile also chased us out, so we had no choice but to wait for you here."
Bibi Dong's eyes grew cold, "That old geezer truly has no shame."
A meeting? He couldn't force her, so he simply decided to seize power directly!
"Do you need my help?" Xuan Ming asked.
"No, I can handle it. You go rest," Bibi Dong said, then looked at Yue Guan.
"You escort him out."
Yue Guan was slightly stunned but quickly understood and nodded.
Xuan Ming's current situation was special; the waters needed to be further muddied to stabilize the situation, otherwise, some people might act prematurely.
Bibi Dong and Gui Mei quickly headed towards the Council Hall, while Yue Guan led Xuan Ming towards the main gate of Spirit Hall.
Along the way, seeing the silent Xuan Ming, Yue Guan couldn't suppress his gossipy curiosity and quietly asked, "Did you two... go wild all night?"
Xuan Ming came back to his senses, "Go wild about what?"
"You were in there all night and came out so late, what else could you be going wild about?" Yue Guan said strangely.
"Look at your face, you're all drained."
Xuan Ming's face was a bit unnatural, "She was helping me stabilize my evil attributes. What are you thinking?"
Yue Guan was slightly taken aback, "Then why are you so drained?"
"I was helping her guide the condensation of her Spirit core," Xuan Ming said, exasperated.
At the end of this tournament, Ice Dragon King would help Bibi Dong dispose of Golden Crocodile. At that point, there would truly be no reconciliation between Bibi Dong and Qian Daoliu.
But if Bibi Dong could successfully condense a Yin-Yang Complementary Dual Spirit Core, even with the suppression of the Rakshasa God's trial, she wouldn't fear the Hall of Offerings after returning to Spirit City. After all, without Golden Crocodile, Qian Daoliu, for the stability of Spirit Hall, would definitely not fall out with Bibi Dong again.
Last night, Bibi Dong first helped him guide and stabilize his evil attributes to prevent any accidents with that power. Then, he gave the Star Luo Spirit Pearl to Bibi Dong, taught her the method of condensing a Yin-Yang Complementary Dual Spirit Core, and helped her try it out.
The consumption of condensing a Spirit core was enormous, and he was assisting in guiding the spirit power, so of course, he was exhausted.
"Spirit core? What is that?" Yue Guan asked, puzzled.
Xuan Ming stopped, "Release your mental force; I'll give you something."
Saying that, Xuan Ming directly transmitted the method of condensing a Spirit core from his mind into Yue Guan's mind using mental force.
Yue Guan was slightly stunned, "Condensing and compressing spirit power and mental force? There's such a thing?"
"With your cultivation, condensing a Spirit core shouldn't be difficult," Xuan Ming said.
"With this, your strength should be able to advance another step. If Gui Mei also condenses a Spirit core, the power of your two Spirit Fusion Skills should increase again."
"Where did you learn this?" Yue Guan asked, puzzled.
"Don't ask about that. Don't spread it around, just teach Gui Mei, and that's it," Xuan Ming said.
"As for others, you decide."
Yue Guan raised an eyebrow slightly, "You're just giving me something like this?"
"Didn't you also give me a bunch of stuff before?" Xuan Ming said.
Information on Immortal Herbs, many medicinal recipes, all sorts of miscellaneous things. Whenever Yue Guan brought Hu Liena to Heaven Dou City before, he would always bring him something, but not directly to him, but to Hu Liena, because he expressed interest in these things. Then, Yue Guan would teach Hu Liena to use these things to start conversations with him.
However, he and Hu Liena only saw each other once every year or so, so there was no need to force topics with these things. Yue Guan was just worrying unnecessarily.
...
Leaving Spirit Hall through the main entrance, under the watchful eyes of countless people, both overt and covert, Xuan Ming then headed towards the Crown Prince's Residence.
The issues with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School were almost resolved; the Seven Great Families had already decided to act, so there was no need for further talk. Now, only the Heaven Dou Imperial Family remained.
He still had to say something, lest Qian Renxue make a fuss.
Before long, Xuan Ming arrived at the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace. The guards at the gate, seeing it was Xuan Ming, dared not obstruct him and respectfully saluted, inviting him in.
Having not used the main entrance for a long time, Xuan Ming was a little unaccustomed to it for a moment.
He still walked through the front courtyard, and the path beyond was empty.
Xuan Ming stepped into the inner courtyard. Qian Renxue was standing under a blooming peach tree. A gentle breeze swept through, and pink petals fluttered down, making her figure appear even more elegant and ethereal.
Hearing footsteps, Qian Renxue slowly turned around, a hint of resentment in her eyes, "Is the Supreme Pontiff's quilt still warm?"
Xuan Ming was slightly stunned and subconsciously said, "I don't have a habit of using a quilt."
After soaking in the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well for so many years, his body had long since surpassed ordinary limits; even sleeping in ice water would not be a problem.
"You..." Qian Renxue was choked. "Was I talking about a quilt?"
Xuan Ming then realized the jealousy in Qian Renxue's words, but he had no intention of elaborating on the topic. "I want to talk to you about the Royal Fighting Team."
Qian Renxue gritted her teeth, glared at Xuan Ming, and walked to the pavilion to sit down, "Speak."
Looking at Qian Renxue's resentful expression, Xuan Ming again chose to ignore it. "Last night, Rongrong told me that her father plans to have her join the Royal Fighting Team to participate in this Soul Master Competition."
"I also plan to include Zhu Zhuqing."
Qian Renxue took a deep breath, "Why not add another one?"
"I originally intended to include Xiao Wu as well, but she refused," Xuan Ming said.
Ning Rongrong needed to consider the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. After discussion, Ning Fengzhi decided to arrange for her to join the Royal Fighting Team and compete with him. As for Zhu Zhuqing, he had caused such a stir at Shrek, Yu Xiaogang had been dealt with by him, and there was Dai Mubai's issue, so he couldn't let her stay there anymore.
Moreover, he intended to have Bibi Dong take Zhu Zhuqing into the Supreme Pontiff Palace, which was also the safest option. To make this matter less abrupt, or rather, seem reasonable, Zhu Zhuqing naturally had to show some performance. Otherwise, the Supreme Pontiff couldn't just inexplicably take a liking to a young girl, let alone one who was the daughter of the Star Luo Zhu Family.
In the All-Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, as long as Zhu Zhuqing fully demonstrated her talent and strength in this competition, Bibi Dong could legitimately take her into the Supreme Pontiff Palace, and Star Luo wouldn't dare to say anything.
He originally intended to have Xiao Wu join them as well, but that girl considered that if they all left, Shrek would be somewhat awkward.
Flender and the others were aware of Ning Rongrong's situation, and coupled with Ning Fengzhi having just rescued Yu Xiaogang, they naturally wouldn't say anything. As for Zhu Zhuqing's situation, they were even less able to comment.
But Xiao Wu had no compelling reason to leave, and Liu Erlong was very good to Xiao Wu. This competition was more of a casual event for Xiao Wu, and the outcome was not that important to her. Even for Liu Erlong's sake, Xiao Wu felt it would be improper to leave.