Hall of the Pope.
"What did you say?!"
Seated on the papal throne, Bibi Dong suddenly stood up.
Her brilliant golden dress clung perfectly to her figure, accentuating her graceful curves. The dazzling robe was adorned with over a hundred gemstones, rubies, sapphires, and gold, each shimmering with radiant brilliance.
A nine-curved violet-gold crown rested upon her head, and in her hand, she held a scepter embedded with countless jewels. The splendor surrounding her only enhanced her flawless, porcelain-like skin and breathtaking beauty, amplifying the sacred, noble aura she naturally exuded one that compelled reverence from all who beheld her.
No words, noble, coldly elegant, peerlessly beautiful, could truly capture her staggering allure. {t/n- simp}
"Your Holiness..."
Seeing Bibi Dong's fury, Douluo Yueguan hesitated, unsure how to respond. He could only bow deeply.
He had just reported Lu Feng's awakening of a God-level martial soul in Star Luo City. He hadn't expected Bibi Dong to react so strongly.
Taking a deep breath, Bibi Dong suppressed the storm of displeasure rising within her. Tilting her jade-like chin slightly, her crimson lips parted,
"You excel in many ways, but you lack decisiveness. You don't act with enough conviction."
"You know very well that our Spirit Hall is most in need of outstanding control and support-type soul masters. And this Lu Feng… he awakened a God-level martial soul that combines both."
"You also know that I am meticulously nurturing the Spirit Hall's Golden Generation. If Hu Liena's team could have someone like Lu Feng… it would be the most perfect, invincible combination."
"And yet… you didn't fight hard enough. You let go of a once-in-a-lifetime talent."
Her words struck like hammer blows.
Yueguan's aged face flushed with shame. His back bent even lower, unable to muster a response.
After a moment of thought, Bibi Dong continued, "You mentioned he was captivated by a stunning young woman from the Star Luo Zhu family… and because of her, he refused all other conditions?"
Yueguan nodded. "Exactly. The boy is young and hot-blooded. Even Lu Feng couldn't resist the allure of beauty. That's why I judged his weakness to be lust."
Bibi Dong's lips curved slightly. "Lust? If that's the case then there might still be a chance. The Spirit Hall has no shortage of peerless beauties, women whose talent, status, and charm far surpass that Zhu girl."
Her gaze sharpened, regal authority radiating from her flawless face. "Pass down my order. Send Hu Liena as an envoy to approach Lu Feng again. No… I'll write her a personal letter myself."
Hu Liena was currently training outside, quite far away.
But Bibi Dong had made up her mind. She would instruct Hu Liena to convey her willingness to accept Lu Feng as her personal disciple, any condition could be negotiated.
Including offering Hu Liena herself as his woman. {t/n- what about u?}
According to Ju Douluo's report, Lu Feng hasn't officially gotten engaged to Zhu Zhuqing yet, so there's still a shot.
Even if they were engaged, so what? Bibidong figured that if the bait was tempting enough, no guy especially a lustful one could resist cheating.
Hu Liena, with all her charm, was the perfect pick for the job.
Bibidong wanted her to do whatever it took to snag Lu Feng and bring him to her.
But she didn't want to totally burn bridges with the Xingluo Empire not yet, anyway.
After thinking it over, Bibidong looked up with her striking eyes and said, "Yue Guan, tell Qian Renxue about this. See if she's up for giving it a shot."
She knew she couldn't boss her daughter around, but Qian Renxue currently posing as Xue Qinghe was working hard to recruit talent too.
If Lu Feng ended up helping her daughter, that'd be fine by Bibidong.
And if they hit it off… well, who knows?
Her mind started racing.
In the soul master world, age didn't matter much. Once you hit a certain level, your body stopped aging geniuses like them could stay young forever.
Take Bibidong herself, no wrinkles, skin still soft and smooth like a girl's, not a single sign of time on her. Her figure was killer too, full chest, tiny waist, long, curvy legs. Plus, her age gave her that mature, irresistible vibe, and with her empress-like grace, she was drop-dead gorgeous.
Ju Douluo took off to carry out her orders.
Then a white-haired bishop in a red robe stepped into the Wuhun Temple.
He handed over a fat ledger.
It had bills from the Pan-Continental Business Alliance, mostly wages and material costs for fixing up the Papal Palace and branch halls over the past two months.
"Eighteen million gold soul coins? That much?" Bibidong's brow creased as she saw the total.
The bishop nodded. "I double-checked it. No mistakes. It's already discounted thirty percent. The big cost comes from using fancy stuff like deep-sea silver and cold-hearted iron for the main hall's roof."
Bibidong remembered picking those materials herself to make the Wuhun Temple look more dazzling and holy.
"Fine, pay them," she said, waving a hand and signing her name in a flourish.
The bishop hesitated. "Uh… the treasury's down to less than ten million gold soul coins, and we've got soul master subsidies coming up this month…"
Bibidong froze. "Then tell them we'll pay later."
"We already owe them 45.86 million," he added.
"I know, no need to nag. Go."
After the bishop shuffled out of the Papal Palace, Bibidong sank into her chair. She rubbed her smooth forehead with a hand and let out a quiet sigh.
Every major and minor matter of the Spirit Hall fell under her management.
And the most troublesome of them all? Finances.
The Spirit Hall controlled seventy percent of the continent's soul masters, and maintaining them required massive amounts of funds and resources.
On top of that, every soul master registered with the Spirit Hall received a monthly stipend. The higher their rank, the more they received a system designed to support common-born soul masters in their growth.
But these subsidies weren't cheap. This month alone, the cost was roughly three million gold spirit coins.
By agreement, the two great empires were supposed to cover the full amount.
Yet, both empires were stingy, rarely paying in full.
After Qian Xunji's death, the two empires, taking advantage of her being a woman, slashed the funding in half.
And in recent years? They'd come up with every excuse to stop subsidizing common-born soul masters entirely, diverting their wealth toward military expansion and grooming noble-born talents instead.
That meant the enormous cost of supporting common soul masters along with the salaries of the Spirit Hall's own forces now fell entirely on Bibi Dong's shoulders.
And yet, she still had to cultivate, manage the Spirit Hall's operations, and deal with political pressures.
Thankfully, there was one saving grace, the Pan-Continental Merchant Alliance's leader.
The Alliance consistently supplied her with resources at far below market price. Whenever funds ran short, they offered low-interest loans or even let her delay payments indefinitely.
No debt collection. No pressure.
Thinking of the Merchant Alliance's leader, a faint shimmer passed through Bibi Dong's eyes. She murmured softly to herself,
"Mysterious Alliance Master… you truly are a generous man. But why… do you still refuse to meet me?"