During the battle between the Rakshasa God's power and the Sea God's imprint, Bibi Dong's mental sea expanded by a full quarter.
Watching this unfold, Ye Tian couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.
"So, does this mean Bibi Dong has completed the first Sea God's trial?"
A smile appeared on Ye Tian's face.
Under normal circumstances, only after passing the first trial could the Sea God's imprint take root in someone's mind.
However, because it had been forced into a defensive battle against the Rakshasa's power, the imprint had no choice but to establish itself in Bibi Dong's mental sea.
It even completed the process of transforming her mental sea, making it equal to the Rakshasa God's inheritance.
As the battle within Bibi Dong's mental sea gradually settled, Ye Tian reached out and gently pulled aside her thin purple nightgown.
He found that her skin had returned to its normal color.
At least, from the naked eye, the black veins were no longer visible.
Ye Tian understood that the power of the Rakshasa God hadn't disappeared from Bibi Dong's body.
But clearly, it no longer had the upper hand.
Now, with her own formidable strength, Bibi Dong could suppress it on her own.
This realization allowed Ye Tian to breathe a sigh of relief.
At least in the short term, he no longer needed to worry about the Rakshasa God posing a threat to her.
Just then, Bibi Dong slowly regained consciousness and opened her eyes.
The first thing she saw was Ye Tian staring at her.
Feeling slightly flustered, she tried to sit up.
As soon as she pressed her hands against the table and exerted force, a wave of sharp pain surged through her entire body.
Bibi Dong was stunned.
Her heartbeat quickened.
She lifted her beautiful eyes to look at Ye Tian and softly exhaled.
"You didn't…?"
"I wouldn't take advantage of someone in a vulnerable state."
Ye Tian looked at her sincerely and spread his hands.
He had noticed her pained expression and understood that the battle between the two divine inheritances had affected her.
Ye Tian reminded her, "Check your condition first and see if your strength has been affected."
Hearing this, Bibi Dong nodded skeptically.
She closed her eyes and examined her dantian and mental sea.
The next moment, she was utterly shocked.
Her originally solidified soul power had undergone another transformation.
It had turned into semi-golden particles.
Each particle was a small vortex.
The energy contained within them was twice as potent as before!
This meant that just by sleeping, her soul power had doubled!
And that wasn't even the most astonishing part.
What was truly valuable was that her mental sea had expanded by a quarter!
This was what shocked Bibi Dong the most.
As the Pope, she was well aware of the cultivation progress of past powerhouses in the Spirit Hall.
She knew that the mental sea was the most difficult aspect to cultivate.
She had been a Super Douluo for decades.
During this time, she had trained diligently.
Yet the expansion of her mental sea had been painfully slow.
All her efforts combined hadn't resulted in as much growth as she had just experienced in a single day.
She stared at Ye Tian in disbelief.
"My current strength… I might only be one step away from breaking into the Limit Douluo realm."
As a twin martial soul holder, Bibi Dong's mental sea was already broader than that of an average Super Douluo.
Additionally, after completing the sixth Rakshasa God trial, her mental sea had expanded once more.
And now, after this latest transformation...
If it was purely a contest of mental sea strength, she was confident that even Qian Daoliu wouldn't be her match!
And all of this had happened within just one day—because of Ye Tian.
Bibi Dong couldn't help but ask, "Ye Tian, are you some kind of top-tier 'Furnace'?"
"Could it be that we engaged in dual cultivation yesterday…?"
As the Pope, Bibi Dong had encountered many esoteric cultivation techniques.
One of them involved finding individuals with unique physiques for dual cultivation.
According to ancient texts, this method allowed for rapid advancement.
Ye Tian: "…"
His face stiffened slightly.
He sighed helplessly and explained, "Did you not examine your mental sea carefully?"
Upon Ye Tian's reminder, Bibi Dong took a second, more thorough look.
Earlier, she had been too thrilled by her sudden power surge to check in detail.
Now, as she examined her mental sea again, she finally noticed something unusual.
Her mental sea had been split into two halves.
One half was a deep, radiant gold.
The other half was enshrouded in an ominous, swirling black.
At their boundary, the golden and black energies were constantly clashing.
Their battle ground the energy into fine particles.
However, this fragmented energy was actually easier for her meridians to absorb.
In short, the battle between these two forces was making her stronger.
Moreover, with the presence of the golden energy, she could now suppress the negative influence of the Rakshasa God.
"I merely placed the Sea God's imprint into your mental sea while you were asleep."
"As for being a 'Furnace'… that's pure nonsense."
Ye Tian spoke with a slight headache.
"So that's how it is." Bibi Dong nodded thoughtfully.
"Then… does that mean I now have the qualifications to inherit the Sea God's position?"
"No."
Ye Tian shook his head.
"The imprint I gave you came from my body."
"It wasn't granted to you by the Sea God himself."
"If you go to Sea God Island and try to inherit the Sea God's position…"
"You'd probably lose the imprint before even reaching the island—Sea God wouldn't tolerate someone taking a shortcut like this."
Even though the Sea God had entrusted Ye Tian with the imprint, that didn't mean he would accept an outsider inheriting his divine position.
Especially someone like Bibi Dong, who already carried another divine inheritance.
No god would approve of such an 'impure' successor.
Hearing Ye Tian's explanation, Bibi Dong gave a bitter smile.
"I knew I was being too hopeful."
"But still, having it is better than nothing."
"At the very least, with the Sea God's imprint, I can now be absolutely certain of breaking through to the Limit Douluo realm."
Bibi Dong pulled her nightgown closed and walked to the study door.
She glanced at the dark night outside.
Then, turning back, she smiled faintly at Ye Tian.
"Would you like to return to my bedroom and finish what we left unfinished?"
Ye Tian stroked his chin, contemplating.
"I think we need to have a deep discussion about what comes next."
...
The next morning.
In front of the heavily guarded Elder Hall, a spirited young man arrived.
That young man was naturally Ye Tian.
Although he hadn't slept the entire night, the soothing embrace of love always left one feeling invigorated.
Seeing the knights clad in silver-white armor standing solemnly at the Elder Hall's entrance, Ye Tian didn't waste words. He simply took out the token Bibi Dong had given him.
"I'd like to trouble you to inform Grand Worship Qian Daoliu that Ye Tian has something important to discuss."
Since he had decided to take action against the Elder Hall, Qian Daoliu was someone who had to be removed from the equation.
Otherwise, the likelihood of success would be significantly reduced.
It had to be said—the token was extremely effective.
Although the Elders of the Elder Hall held little respect for Bibi Dong, the knights under them did not dare to show any disrespect to the Pope.
Upon seeing the token, the knights quickly bowed to Ye Tian.
"Please wait a moment, my lord. I will report this immediately."
"Hmph, no need to report. Bring him in!"
A voice, filled with an innate authority, echoed from the depths of the Elder Hall.
"Yes, Grand Worship." The leading knight bowed in the direction of the hall and then gestured toward Ye Tian. "Please enter, my lord."
Hearing Qian Daoliu's words, Ye Tian was somewhat surprised.
He hadn't expected that Qian Daoliu could sense him outside the Elder Hall.
He wasn't sure whether this was just Qian Daoliu's routine habit of scanning the Elder Hall with his spiritual power or if he had been specifically monitoring him.
If it was the latter, then things could become troublesome.
After all, he had been inside Bibi Dong's chambers for an entire day and night.
Anyone who knew that fact would undoubtedly have some… interesting thoughts.
That thought quickly passed through his mind.
But considering that as the Pope, Bibi Dong's residence surely had treasures that could isolate outside detection, Ye Tian felt reassured.
With a composed stride, he followed behind the silver-armored knight.
After passing through several courtyards, Ye Tian was finally led to an ancient and desolate-looking hall.
The silver-armored knight glanced at the hall with a hint of fear before turning to Ye Tian and respectfully bowing.
"My lord, the Grand Worship is inside. Please proceed."
"Alright." Ye Tian nodded lightly.
As he stepped forward, he carefully examined the ancient hall before him.
Compared to the Pope's Palace, which was elegant and luxurious, the Elder Hall looked more like an aging, dilapidated old man—everything about it was broken.
The supporting pillars of the hall were full of erosion marks, looking as if they could collapse at any moment.
The stone tiles beneath his feet were cracked and worn.
As Ye Tian entered the silent hall, he was suddenly met with a bright glow.
The two sides of the hall were lined with numerous white candles.
Directly ahead, a golden statue stood tall.
It was a breathtakingly beautiful twelve-winged angel, holding a shield in the left hand and a holy sword in the right, its gaze fixed upon the sky, radiating an imposing presence.
At that moment, Qian Daoliu, who appeared to be middle-aged, was holding three incense sticks and offering prayers to the Angel God.
"Speak directly if you have something to say," Qian Daoliu said without turning his head, continuing his prayer ritual and inserting the incense into the burner before him.
Ye Tian, who had been momentarily captivated by the divine beauty of the twelve-winged angel statue, slowly withdrew his gaze.
Even though Qian Daoliu hadn't turned around, Ye Tian still respectfully bowed before speaking.
"It's nothing major, really. I simply wish to propose a trade with you, Grand Worship."
Originally, Ye Tian had planned to keep this brief.
But upon seeing the twelve-winged golden angel statue, he changed his mind.
The Angel Clan had passed down their legacy for millennia—they must have some exceptional treasures.
It wouldn't be unreasonable to trade something with them using his Sea Jiao Pearl.
However—
Upon hearing Ye Tian's words, Qian Daoliu let out a faint chuckle.
"You're not about to tell me to stay out of the Pope's Palace affairs, are you?"
Ye Tian quickly waved his hands and patted his chest in reassurance. "This has nothing to do with the Pope's Palace. It's purely a private trade."
"Oh?"
This piqued Qian Daoliu's curiosity—he had thought Ye Tian had come on Bibi Dong's behalf.
"Then, let's hear it."
Qian Daoliu turned around and walked toward a rattan chair nearby, sitting down with an amused smile.
Hearing the curiosity in Qian Daoliu's voice, Ye Tian chuckled and said,
"I hope you can remain just as calm in a moment."
As he spoke, he retrieved a glowing Sea Jiao Pearl from his storage space and tossed it toward Qian Daoliu.
At first glance, Qian Daoliu merely smiled playfully at the pearl.
But the moment he caught it—his expression changed drastically!
With a sudden movement, he leaped from his chair.
In the next instant, he appeared right in front of Ye Tian.
Holding up the Sea Jiao Pearl, he questioned in a stern tone, "Where did you get this?"
(End of Chapter)