Bab 294: Chapter 274: The Divine Will of Scorching Sun
Su Cheng walked straight into the Spirit Hall Academy.
The earlier conversation in the Pope's Hall replayed repeatedly in his mind.
It wasn't just about Zhu Zhuqing; Bibi Dong's own words and attitude also left him somewhat unsettled.
Actually, Su Cheng now found it difficult to grasp Bibi Dong's true intentions.
Since their return from the Slaughter City, she had clearly changed.
Of course, this change was normal and understandable.
The hidden dangers of the Rakshasa God's power, which affected her soul and mind, had been completely suppressed. The massive negative emotions accumulated over decades in the depths of her soul were purified, and there were no longer those dark and insane obsessions.
Now, she truly appeared to be a good pope, a good mother, and a good teacher.
She not only handled matters with ease and grace, treating others with warmth and kindness, but she also always considered her biological daughter, Qian Renxue, whom she once regarded as a stain.
Without much ambition and desire, she didn't fight for the great power of the Spirit Hall.
But what was her attitude towards him?
And what kind of attitude should he have towards her? Su Cheng himself couldn't figure it out.
Perhaps it would be good to continue interacting with her in this near "friend" capacity.
The simulated world, after all, was just a seemingly real but ultimately false dream…
"Greetings, Elder Su."
"Elder Su, you're here."
"Elder Su…"
As he walked through the academy, many teachers took the initiative to greet him, while most students watched him from a distance with curious eyes, not daring to approach.
Although Su Cheng was the elder responsible for the academy's affairs, he had actually visited very few times, even less frequently than Qian Renxue. Many students had never even seen him.
However, this was the norm for the elders of the Spirit Hall.
Except for those like Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo, who were directly under the Pope's Hall and often busy with tasks, most elders were reclusive, focusing on enhancing their strength and cultivation.
These people were also generally older and lacked strong desires for power. Otherwise, they could easily go out and become lords of Spirit Temples, enjoying their status instead of staying hidden in Spirit City.
Especially with the first two volumes of the Innate Skill now available, the bottlenecks that had plagued these Titled Douluo for years began to loosen, so naturally, they focused more on their cultivation.
Moreover, the teaching staff at the academy were all at least Soul Saint level, more than capable of instructing the students, rendering Su Cheng's direct involvement unnecessary.
The internal operations had long been standardized, not requiring much of his intervention.
Su Cheng nodded in return to the greetings while walking quickly towards the deeper parts of the academy.
Soon, he followed his senses to the inner area of the academy and saw Zhu Zhuqing standing alone, lost in thought, not far from Shui Bing'er, Feng Qingyu, and others.
She didn't notice Su Cheng's approach at all.
"Elder Su."
"Teacher."
"…"
Su Cheng nodded to a few people and then looked at the black-clad girl who had turned her head to ignore him.
"Zhuqing, are you free? If you have nothing else, come with me."
"…"
Zhu Zhuqing bit her lip lightly, wanting to ignore Su Cheng.
But recalling the conversation with Bibi Dong earlier, she hesitated and eventually walked to Su Cheng's side.
She looked troubled, her eyelids drooping, long lashes hiding her bright black eyes, and she said faintly, "What's the matter?"
Su Cheng glanced at her and then at the people around who were sneaking glances.
After a moment's thought, he decided not to answer immediately, instead saying, "Let's talk outside."
After speaking, he turned and walked out.
After taking a few steps and seeing Zhu Zhuqing hesitate without following, he urged again, "What's the matter?"
"…"
Zhu Zhuqing stared at him silently for a moment, her lips moving as if she wanted to say something.
But in the end, she just sighed, then followed him out of the academy.
After they left, Huo Wu nudged the silver-haired girl beside her and teased, "Qingyu, does she count as your master's wife?"
"Master's wife?" Before Feng Qingyu could respond, Xue Wu exclaimed in a low voice, "Do you mean Elder Su and Zhuqing…"
Meanwhile, Shui Bing'er and Dugu Yan also looked over in surprise.
Now that Xie Yue and others had left the Spirit Hall Academy to train in the Slaughter City, the previous contestants of the Soul Master Tournament, though strong, were relatively older and not top-tier in terms of talent.
As a result, Shui Bing'er, Feng Xiaotian, and Feng Qingyu became the most talented individuals in the academy.
With their close relationship with other students from the Elemental Academies and Dugu Yan, who also received special care from Su Cheng, they naturally formed a small circle.
"Huo Wu, don't talk nonsense. If Qian Renxue hears it, you'll be in trouble."
Dugu Yan frowned and quickly reminded her.
She didn't know the situation between Su Cheng and Zhu Zhuqing, but she was aware of his clear relationship with Qian Renxue.
Unlike these newcomers who didn't know the depths, she was very aware of that person's reverse scale and how reckless her actions could be.
"I'm not talking nonsense."
Huo Wu, bold by nature, didn't want to be misunderstood and quickly explained.
"We saw it with our own eyes at the Godwind Academy; they were clearly very close."
Xue Wu and Shui Bing'er exchanged a glance upon hearing this, instantly seeing the curiosity in each other's eyes.
They weren't normally very inquisitive.
But this matter involved Su Cheng, Zhu Zhuqing, and Qian Renxue, three young prodigies and prominent figures in the Spirit Hall, making it quite significant.
Just thinking about it felt thrilling.
"What do you mean?"
Xue Wu quickly asked.
As the first academy Su Cheng visited, he spent quite a bit of time at Godwind Academy, doing numerous things there. However, when he later went to Skyfire Academy and Heavenwater Academy, due to the endorsement of Godwind Academy and the accompaniment of people like Huo Wushuang, he didn't have to exert as much effort.
Negotiations and discussions in those two academies were handled within the academic committee, engaging in talks with the high-ranking officials of the academies.
Most of his remaining time was spent traveling and sightseeing with Zhu Zhuqing, and he didn't spend much time interacting with the young soul masters.
Though everyone returned to Spirit City together, Zhu Zhuqing, due to her aloof nature, rarely showed affection towards Su Cheng in front of others.
Su Cheng was busy explaining the details of Spirit City to them, which led to Shui Bing'er and the others who joined later not being aware of the ambiguous relationship between Zhu Zhuqing and Su Cheng.
After Xue Wu raised her question, Dugu Yan didn't stop her. Apart from not wanting to embarrass her classmates, she was also very curious herself.
"Huo Wu, let's not talk about this anymore," Feng Qingyu said uneasily, not wanting to continue the topic.
"What are you afraid of? I don't think your teacher wants to avoid it."
"Hey, it's not about the teacher, it's about that Xue Sister."
"Then it doesn't matter even more, what we are talking about has nothing to do with her." Huo Wu waved her hand indifferently. "Besides, we have now joined Spirit Hall Academy, becoming members of Spirit Hall. Can't we just chat casually?"
She didn't have a good impression of Qian Renxue.
The day they arrived at Spirit City, Qian Renxue's lofty attitude deeply affected her.
It wasn't disdain or hostility, but complete disregard.
It was as if they were mere weeds on the roadside, not worth a second glance.
At Skyfire Academy, Huo Wu was always the pride of her peers, always accompanied by Feng Xiaotian who adored her.
Encountering such treatment, how could she feel comfortable?
But as newcomers, they dared not show any dissatisfaction at that time.
As time passed, they got used to life here and realized that apart from being stronger, Spirit Hall was essentially no different from other powers.
There were no excessive rules, things were fair, and the teachers treated them, the new students, equally, making them less apprehensive.
Feng Xiaotian and Huo Wushuang exchanged bitter smiles but had no way to deal with Huo Wu.
Given that everyone was curious about this matter, soon the conversation turned to discussing it.
On Pope Hill, there were three buildings overlooking Spirit City.
The Elder Hall was located deep within the Pope Hall, hard to see from below.
At the hilltop stood another palace, only a third the size of the Pope Hall, white and jade-like in appearance, not striking but with a strong presence.
This was the Douluo Hall.
Since the establishment of Spirit Hall, wherever the Pope Hall was built, Douluo Hall would accompany it, and its position would always be higher than the Pope Hall.
In the center of Douluo Hall stood a ten-meter-tall golden statue, with three pairs of wings spread out behind it, holding a giant golden sword pointing to the sky.
Around the golden sword, a faint golden flame seemed to burn and spiral.
Inside the Elder Hall, there was a similar statue, but the feelings they evoked were completely different.
The angel statue in Douluo Hall seemed like a sleeping supreme warrior, lifelike.
Hundreds of golden plaques of titled Douluos lay peacefully under its aura.
Every grand ceremony, the Pope of Spirit Hall would personally worship at the gate of Douluo Hall.
It is said that this is the tomb of the titled Douluos, and except for the Pope, no one has the right to enter Douluo Hall before their death.
But legends are just legends, for there were two living people inside Douluo Hall at this moment.
One of them wasn't even a titled Douluo.
Qian Renxue sat quietly in front of the giant angel statue in Douluo Hall, her long golden hair cascading down to the ground.
Even though she was in the middle of training, her posture was not upright.
Her straight back leaned against the statue's pedestal, looking relaxed and at ease.
Her right leg was stretched out, long and flawless, while her left leg was bent, casually supporting her left arm.
In her right hand, she held a golden long sword resting on the ground, with golden and silver flames swirling around it.
However, the burning flames neither emitted heat nor caused any damage to the ground, appearing as mere illusions.
In her left hand was a cluster of white light, flowing like water, with hints of other colors faintly visible within it.
Behind her, six enormous wings spread out, intertwined with golden, silver-gray, and pure white hues.
Qian Renxue was not in a typical martial soul possession state but had directly used her martial soul true body.
The martial soul true body was not uncommon, but the duration was frightening.
Normally, even with her soul power accumulation and profound foundation, maintaining the martial soul true body would consume a massive amount of soul power.
Even without using any soul skills, just maintaining this state would deplete her soul power within three days.
However, she had been in this state for over a week, appearing relaxed and without any signs of exhaustion.
Her peerlessly beautiful face was expressionless, her long, narrow phoenix eyes half-open, gazing at the sky without focus.
Her indifferent gaze seemed to pierce through the dome, looking beyond the clear sky.
Her pupils were of different colors, one black and one golden, looking both sacred and sinister.
But deep within her eyes, the same scene seemed to be reflected.
It was the image of the sun.
The enormous burning sphere hanging high in the sky, so supreme and powerful, it seemed invincible.
Its light shone upon the heavens, illuminating everything below. Everything lived because of it, and everything feared its death.
When the heavens were bright, grass and trees thrived and everything shone.
When it was fierce, it pierced the clouds and melted gold, unstoppable.
Its immense power allowed it to be grand and impartial.
There was no better reference than the blazing sun in the sky for her path.
Where light goes, darkness cannot hide.
"With my heart, I substitute Heaven's heart. With Heaven's way, I determine the human way..."
The technique of Cangming Transformation flowed in Qian Renxue's mind.
Compared to the original version Su Cheng taught her, the path of the technique had significantly changed.
Qian Renxue's situation was unique; Su Cheng could only provide theoretical support.
Reaching this stage, the final step of integration depended on her.
In her left hand, the colored light within the white stream was slowly dissipating at an imperceptible speed.
In its place was a radiant white light, as dazzling as the midday sun.
Achieving this stage, the condensed divine power of the first-level deity Angel God helped her immensely.
The light in her hand was essentially the product of the fusion of the melted Angel God torso bone with her own energy.
The Angel God's power inherently contained a small amount of solar energy.
With her divine memory, Qian Renxue was well aware of this.
There was even an angel skill named Sunfire.
However, compared to the true solar energy, the Angel God's power was far inferior.
Qian Renxue chose to retreat to Douluo Hall for cultivation because the inheritance space of the Angel God hidden there could provide her with considerable benefits.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone