Bo Saixi Takes Control of Her Own Power
"Putting on a show of mystery." The Deep Sea Demonic Whale King sneered, and his immense Soul Power spread in every direction. "Demon Whale Domain!"
"Bo Saixi, surrender without a fight. For the sake of our many years as neighbors, I'll let you go with dignity!"
With that, he sent the ocean currents surging toward Bo Saixi, trying to bind her.
Bo Saixi made no response to the changes around her.
First, in her current state, her Martial Soul was insubstantial and struggled to take solid form. Though she still had Soul Power, she could not control it at will, leaving her unable to respond to the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King's attack.
Second, she had already heard Lord Ancient God's response.
Just as the currents were about to envelop her, she suddenly felt a mysterious power pour into her body.
As the power entered her, her Martial Soul, which she had lost control of, solidified once more. The Sea God's phantom faded away, leaving a merfolk wreathed in a flowing halo of light.
The merfolk radiated a mysterious presence, and for the first time, Bo Saixi felt a power that belonged wholly to her.
The price of completely shedding the Sea God's shell, however, was that her ninth God-Given Soul Ring began to tremble, showing faint signs of shattering.
Bo Saixi was no longer surprised by this.
The Sea God had even tampered with her Martial Soul, so how could this God-Given Soul Ring be any different?
As the God-Given Soul Ring dispersed, her level instantly fell from a level 99 Limit Douluo to a level 98 Super Douluo.
Despite losing the power of a Limit Douluo, Bo Saixi did not feel discouraged. Instead, she felt utterly at ease.
Lord Sea God, I guarded Sea God Island for you for nearly a hundred years and protected the Sea God Trial for you for nearly a hundred years. None of that was enough to repay your kindness in granting me the God-Given Soul Ring.
But now, I, Bo Saixi, owe you nothing.
Boom!
Having gained her own true power, Bo Saixi unleashed her Soul Power in full, instantly dispersing the currents surging toward her.
The sudden change put the Demon Whale King on immediate alert. Without hesitation, he fired a purple sphere of light.
Water and Lightning Composite Energy Blast, a long-range killing technique mastered by the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King.
Having fallen to level 98, Bo Saixi could still deal with the Demon Whale King's all-out attack, but she would surely be injured. And now that the ocean no longer granted her strength, the shift in their relative strength meant a prolonged fight would put her at a disadvantage.
Just as she was preparing to flee, the voice she regarded as her source of faith rang in her ears. "Don't panic. I'm here."
In a daze, she saw that the purple sphere of light, carrying a hundred-meter wave of spray in its wake, had nearly reached her.
At that moment, the Soul Power particles between heaven and earth first gathered into a hand.
The hand easily caught the purple sphere, then gave it a gentle push. The violent sphere of energy slowly dissipated like a puff of air, without raising the slightest ripple.
The Demon Whale King panicked. Plenty of beings could neutralize his Water and Lightning Composite Energy Blast, but to dispel his attack so effortlessly, without even causing an explosion-
There could be only one reason: this mysterious newcomer was far more powerful than he was.
And he was a Soul Beast infinitely close to godhood. For someone to be stronger than him could only mean that the one before him was a true god, not a demigod like Bo Saixi, who had a god's level but none of a god's abilities.
"I thought that after giving you the power of a Third-Level God, getting away safely should have been easy enough. I forgot there was also a 990,000-year-old Soul Beast here."
As the voice faded, the Soul Power particles between heaven and earth gradually solidified.
A young figure appeared above the ocean, accompanied by a cage woven from countless threads of fate.
Lu Jin did not want the Sea God to know he had been here, so he had taken that into account when he acted.
He looked at the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King and smiled. "I'll give you two choices. First, submit to me, and I'll give you a chance to become a god."
The Deep Sea Demonic Whale King looked at Lu Jin's phantom with deep apprehension. "What's the other choice?"
Lu Jin answered calmly, "The second choice: my first servant just lost a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring. Your Million-Year Soul Ring would be perfect compensation."
"Such shameless boasting!" The Deep Sea Demonic Whale King snorted. "I have already joined forces with the Sea God, and he is a First-Level God. I don't know where a wild god like you came from, but if you submit to the Sea God now, perhaps he'll spare your life!"
"I see. Then I'm sorry." Lu Jin sighed.
The Demon Whale King thought Lu Jin was backing down and offering a gift. "An apology is useless. The only choices the Sea God gives you are submission or..."
Before he could finish, he suddenly felt his throat tighten. As though fate itself had sentenced him to death, his breath vanished without warning, and a red Soul Ring floated up from his corpse.
Lu Jin shook his head. "What I meant was, I didn't know you and the Sea God had entered into such a close partnership. I was wrong to give you hope of surviving."
The Deep Sea Demonic Whale King had joined forces with the Sea God, and he had seen Lu Jin's true appearance. That alone was reason enough for him to die.
If that beast lived to notify the Sea God, Lu Jin would be in serious trouble.
"Bo Saixi, this Soul Ring is for you. Consider it my gift to mark our first meeting." Lu Jin turned around. Though he had prepared himself, he was still struck by her beauty when he saw her true appearance.
Her many years as Sea God Island's high priestess had given her an innate air of nobility, while the vulnerability left by the Sea God stripping away her power added a touch of earthly warmth.
What puzzled Lu Jin, though, was why her cheeks were so red, and what she was doing twisting those long, slender legs around.
"Are you hurt?" Lu Jin asked. "Is it serious?"
"No... To behold Lord Ancient God's esteemed face, Bo Saixi feels only fortunate and excited."
"Is that so?" Lu Jin was skeptical. Why did Sea God Island's high priestess seem so different from the dignified and elegant demigod he remembered?
"Go absorb the Soul Ring. My phantom can't last very long, and if it disappears, that Sea God might not let you absorb the Soul Ring in peace."
"Y-yes!" Bo Saixi did not know why, but although this was not how she normally behaved, her whole body grew hot at the sight of Lord Ancient God.
I want to whimper...
It was only natural that she did not know. After all, even Lu Jin himself did not know that Whisper made those it affected infatuated with him.
Bo Saixi had been under Whisper's influence for so long that it would have been strange if she could still remain reserved and dignified.
Bo Saixi hurried to the Deep Sea Demonic Whale King's corpse, closed her eyes, and began absorbing the Soul Ring.
By the time she finished absorbing it and returned to level 99 as a Limit Douluo, she opened her eyes to find herself on land, with no sign of Lu Jin anywhere around her.
She gave her cheeks a sharp pat. "Bo Saixi, oh, Bo Saixi, you're the high priestess. How can you act like a little girl..."
As she spoke, her gaze grew a little dreamy again. "But... Lord Ancient God is different..."
On a street in Spirit City.
Ah Yin held Lu Jin's hand as Bibi Dong led them on a tour of Spirit City.
Lu Jin's consciousness returned, and he murmured, "There shouldn't be any more trouble now, right? I solved her Martial Soul problem and helped her return to the Limit Douluo realm."
"Once she's on land, the Sea God has fewer eyes watching. With her strength, even without the ocean's blessing, she should be able to walk sideways across the continent."
Bibi Dong held a bowl of meatballs, her mouth stuffed with food as she asked indistinctly, "What are you saying, Senior?"
Looking at her bulging cheeks, Lu Jin was amazed all over again, even though he already knew this woman's mouth was like an abyss.
Such extraordinary natural talent!
Gulp. Bibi Dong swallowed her mouthful of meatballs and held out her little bowl. "You keep staring, Senior. Do you want some too?"
Who would have thought Bibi Dong was such a little foodie before the secret chamber... Lu Jin shook his head. "You go ahead. I'll just watch."
"Okay, but when you go back, you're not allowed to tell Teacher I ate without sharing!" Bibi Dong looked at Lu Jin earnestly. "And you're not allowed to tell the Great Enshrined either!"
"Don't worry, I'm not that bored." Lu Jin nodded. "Where did Ah Yin go?"
"Sister Ah Yin went to buy fabric. She said she wanted to make a few sets of clothes for you, Senior."
"Mm, I see her."
Lu Jin raised a hand, intending to take the large bundle from Ah Yin, but he startled Bibi Dong into hastily shielding her little bowl. "You said you weren't eating! If you want some, I'll buy you some, but you can't eat mine!"
Lu Jin took the bundle from Ah Yin and gave Bibi Dong an odd look. "You really do guard your food."
Bibi Dong blushed and puffed out her cheeks, unable to meet Lu Jin's eyes.
This is so embarrassing!
After they finished shopping, Lu Jin and the others returned to Spirit Hall. Even when they reached Lu Jin's residence, Bibi Dong showed no sign of leaving.
"Your Highness, Saintess, I'm here. There's no need to see me any farther."
"I'm going to live here from now on, Senior. If you need anything, just tell me!"
"You're living here too?"
"That's right. Don't worry, Senior, there are lots of empty rooms here. Dong'er won't disturb you!"
"All right, then..." It was someone else's territory, after all; she could sleep wherever she liked.
Meanwhile, in the Worship Hall.
Qian Xunji listened to Yue Guan's report. "Your Holiness, the Saintess has already moved into that senior's residence."
Qian Xunji and Qian Daoliu exchanged a glance and both breathed a sigh of relief. "Did that senior say anything else?"
"No."
"It seems Senior isn't entirely blind to Dong'er after all. As long as there's a chance, that's good!"
Bibi Dong still had no idea that her task in moving in was to seduce him. She lay sprawled on her bed, murmuring, "Yu Xiaogang, I'll beat you to death, you good-for-nothing, you trash... Senior... don't... don't eat my meatballs..."