The Inept Qian Renxue
For the sake of that irresistible temptation, Qian Guxing, Bibi Dong put off a day's administrative duties and accompanied him to the Spirit Hall's library, specifically to select Soul Beasts and plan out his future Soul Rings.
Qian Guxing actually had no need for any of it. The Ancient Tree of Nature could condense Soul Rings on its own.
Still, that was far too shocking. It was better to put on an act and reveal it after he went to the Star Dou Great Forest.
As they wandered among the many books, Bibi Dong spoke.
"Have you decided which Martial Soul to cultivate first?"
"I have, Teacher," Qian Guxing answered seriously. "I plan to cultivate the Ancient Tree of Nature Martial Soul first. My intuition tells me that the True Essence Dao Body has greater potential, so cultivating it later will give me a greater advantage."
Bibi Dong was somewhat surprised.
His Body Martial Soul actually had greater potential than the Ancient Tree of Nature.
That was truly beyond her expectations.
But when she recalled the phantom that had split apart the heavenly lightning tribulation when Qian Guxing awakened his Martial Souls that day, it seemed only natural.
Indeed, how could a Martial Soul that caused such an extraordinary phenomenon be ordinary?
"Very well. We'll go with your choice."
Bibi Dong nodded and continued:
"Your Ancient Tree of Nature is a divine-level Martial Soul. It contains pure natural energy and is an exceptionally rare all-round Martial Soul. It can follow the support path, the power attack path, or the control path.
"What are your thoughts on planning your own Soul Rings?"
Qian Guxing thought for a while before giving his answer. "I want to follow the control path. My First Martial Soul, the True Essence Dao Body, is naturally suited to close-range power attacks.
"If the Ancient Tree of Nature follows the control path, it can work in tandem with the True Essence Dao Body, controlling enemies while I fight them at close range and bring my advantages into full play."
Qian Guxing could actually have chosen support instead, with one Martial Soul for power attacks and the other for support.
But he also had the Hashirama Senju Physique.
With powerful Wood Release as his foundation, following the support path would be a terrible waste of his talent.
So the control path was the most suitable for Qian Guxing.
Just thinking about facing enemies in the future, raising a hand to unleash Deep Forest Emergence and control every enemy indiscriminately, while his own body circulated the Dragon Elephant Prajna Art, held a Zanpakutō, and used the Six Powers to close in.
After that whole sequence, even a Titled Douluo would have to kneel.
Bibi Dong was fairly satisfied with Qian Guxing's answer. In her own plans, if he cultivated the Ancient Tree of Nature Martial Soul first, his choices would likewise have been between support and control.
The support path's advantage was balance, leaving him without any weak points.
The control path's advantage was combat strength, bringing his own advantages into full play.
Neither choice was better or worse than the other.
Since he wanted to follow the control path, Bibi Dong had the library steward bring out several hefty illustrated guides to plant Soul Beasts and began planning Qian Guxing's first and Second Soul Rings.
In Bibi Dong's view, Qian Guxing's talent was outstanding enough that becoming a Titled Douluo was inevitable, and he also had Spirit Hall backing him.
There was no need to give his first and Second Soul Rings combat skills for the sake of early fighting strength.
After all, the first and Second Soul Rings were low in age, and combat Soul Skills from them would be completely useless later on.
But augmentation Soul Skills could still have a considerable effect even after he reached the Titled Douluo realm.
Thus, Bibi Dong chose Soul Beasts that increased toughness or augmented natural energy.
As they looked through the books, Qian Guxing unexpectedly came across one.
"Ten Great Martial Soul Theories."
Qian Guxing's eyelid twitched as he looked at the book in his hand. He had read the original novel and knew this was a sore spot that could not even be mentioned before Bibi Dong.
Just as Qian Guxing was about to sneak the book back onto the shelf,
Bibi Dong saw the title first. Her beautiful eyes dimmed slightly as she recalled many things from the past, and in the end, she let out a sigh.
It was all in the past. No matter how much anyone argued over who was right or wrong, nothing could be changed.
Bibi Dong reached out and took the Ten Great Martial Soul Theories from Qian Guxing's hand, then said to the steward:
"Don't let a book like this, a sham filled with plagiarism from beginning to end, appear in the library again. We don't want it misleading future generations of new Soul Masters."
Qian Guxing was quite surprised by this.
What was going on?
Had Bibi Dong completely changed overnight?
In the original novel, Bibi Dong had still been unable to forget Yu Xiaogang even before she died.
People's hearts were fickle.
What Qian Guxing didn't know was that, under the influence of his natural presence, Bibi Dong's state of mind had grown peaceful. Looking back on the past, she had come to terms with many things.
More importantly, Rakshasa had glimpsed the presence of the Five Great God Kings on Qian Guxing, become utterly terrified, and withdrawn the Rakshasa evil thoughts.
The current Bibi Dong was mature and composed, having weathered countless experiences and developed a sense of right and wrong about many things. She was no longer the brainless young girl Yu Xiaogang had fooled back then.
Thus, Bibi Dong could easily let go of that part of her past with Yu Xiaogang.
Of course, there was another very important reason.
It was Qian Guxing's outrageously high charm of 120 points.
Charm maxed out at 100 points.
He had a full 120!
He could be called a succubus walking among mortals.
With Qian Guxing there for comparison, Bibi Dong didn't care about Yu Xiaogang at all.
After spending the whole day with Bibi Dong, their relationship warmed quickly. Qian Guxing went from being reserved at first to occasionally acting coquettishly by the end.
Bibi Dong indulged him as always.
If their genders were reversed, it would have been the very picture of a domineering CEO and his delicate little wife.
Qian Guxing didn't want to be like this either. As a man, he wanted to be tougher, but he couldn't help it. Living off a woman had no dignity, but it was truly irresistible.
Especially when she was an older beauty like Bibi Dong, who had all the bearing of a queen.
That made her even harder to refuse, all right?
But for some reason, while chatting happily with Bibi Dong, Qian Guxing kept feeling a dark, sinister gaze watching him from behind.
At that moment, Qian Renxue, who had concealed her presence and used the Angel Inheritance Soul Bone to change her appearance, was hiding not far away, grinding her back teeth so hard they were almost breaking.
What was the difference between watching helplessly as the person she loved laughed in someone else's arms and being NTR'd?
Of course Qian Renxue knew that, given the age difference between Qian Guxing and Bibi Dong, nothing could possibly happen between them.
But she was still extremely upset about it.
Her Xiao Xing should have belonged to her alone.
Overwhelmed by possessiveness, Qian Renxue didn't know that Bibi Dong had seen through her disguise.
The Angel Inheritance Soul Bone was extremely old, and judging by the transformation alone, even Bibi Dong couldn't tell whether it was genuine. But emotions couldn't deceive anyone. Qian Renxue's feelings were so obvious that Bibi Dong saw through her at a glance.
Having noticed this, Bibi Dong didn't rein herself in. Instead, she grew even bolder about being close to Qian Guxing.
For some reason, Bibi Dong always found this especially thrilling, as though it gave her a different kind of pleasure.
Without realizing it, Qian Guxing had joined the mother and daughter in playing out a grand NTR drama.
Bibi Dong had become the blond bastard.
Qian Guxing was the wife who resisted only to welcome the advances.
Qian Renxue was the inept husband who could only hide in a dark corner and watch.