In the garden.
Bai Wanwan followed Qian Renxue along the flagstone path, gazing at the flowers blooming on either side as she quietly listened to Qian Renxue and responded in a gentle voice.
As they were close in age and both far more mature than their peers, the conversation gradually brought them closer.
As they strolled through the garden, Qian Renxue's mood slowly improved. The initial broken look in her slightly slender, phoenix-shaped eyes faded, replaced by a little more life.
Time slipped by.
After they had made a full circuit of the garden, Bai Wanwan followed Qian Renxue to the main hall of the Worship Hall.
Inside the imposing, solemn hall.
Dressed in golden robes, his hair and beard snow-white, Golden Crocodile held a cup of hot tea as he listened with interest to Azure Luan's account.
Once Azure Luan finished, Golden Crocodile set his teacup on the table beside him, a hint of surprise appearing in his eyes. "Azure Luan, are you saying that the martial soul Guangling's granddaughter awakened is one even you've never seen before?"
"Yes. I've never seen it before. It's an extremely powerful dragon type spirit."
Azure Luan nodded slightly, his tone calm.
As an elder of Spirit Hall, he had seen and learned much, but the world was vast and full of wonders. The occasional appearance of an unfamiliar martial soul was perfectly normal.
"A dragon type spirit?"
"How does it compare to the blue lightning tyrant dragon martial soul?"
Golden Crocodile pressed him curiously.
After all, when it came to dragon type spirits, the most widely known was the blue lightning tyrant dragon martial soul of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, one of the Upper Three Sects.
"It's the difference between half a pound of scrap iron and half a pound of gold."
"In terms of quality, I don't think there's any comparison. The blue lightning tyrant dragon is the scrap iron, while Wanwan's martial soul is the gold."
"As for attributes, Wanwan's martial soul has both water and ice attributes. It grants absolute control over water, while its ice attribute is ultimate ice."
With that, Azure Luan picked up the hot tea beside him and took a small sip. He silently considered his words and found nothing wrong with his description.
In terms of quality, Bai Wanwan's martial soul felt comparable to a god-level spirit like the six-winged angel. The blue lightning tyrant dragon martial soul, meanwhile, was merely a top-tier martial soul.
In terms of attributes, the blue lightning tyrant dragon martial soul only possessed lightning, whereas Bai Wanwan's martial soul had both water and ice. Moreover, it granted absolute control over water, while its ice was ultimate ice.
Thus, whether in quality or control over its attributes, there was simply no comparison between the two.
"Now that you've put it that way, I'm rather interested in this little girl."
As Golden Crocodile spoke, his gaze shifted toward the hall's entrance.
Azure Luan said nothing, but he too looked toward the entrance.
The doors opened from outside, revealing Qian Renxue and Bai Wanwan.
"Young Master."
After greeting Qian Renxue in unison, Golden Crocodile and Azure Luan turned their attention to Bai Wanwan.
Qian Renxue smiled and nodded to them before walking toward the seat straight ahead.
Bai Wanwan bowed to the two men. "Greetings, Second Worship, Third Offering."
Seeing Bai Wanwan bow, Azure Luan was about to speak when Golden Crocodile raised his hand slightly, signaling for him to remain silent.
"Wanwan, Guangling often speaks of you, but I don't believe we've ever met. How did you know I was the Second Worship rather than one of the others?"
Golden Crocodile looked Bai Wanwan up and down.
"Second Worship, I deduced it from the layout of the hall and the arrangement of the seats."
"There are seven seats in the hall, presumably corresponding to the seven elders. The main seat straight ahead belongs to the Grand Elder, with three seats on either side. Since the left takes precedence, the first seat on the left should belong to the Second Worship."
Bai Wanwan remained bowed, but her tone was neither servile nor overbearing.
"Good powers of observation."
Golden Crocodile smiled and lightly tapped the armrest with a fingertip. An invisible pressure descended upon Bai Wanwan.
The pressure was not particularly strong, merely matching Bai Wanwan's soul power level.
Feeling the pressure settle over her, Bai Wanwan gave Azure Luan a puzzled look. When she saw him nod slightly, she seemed to understand something and remained bowed.
When Golden Crocodile saw that Bai Wanwan showed little reaction under the pressure, he tapped the armrest again, gradually increasing its intensity.
Level eleven.
Level twelve.
Level thirteen.
When the pressure reached level fifteen, faint beads of sweat appeared on Bai Wanwan's forehead. Golden Crocodile's eyes gradually brightened, and he regarded her as though she were a fine piece of uncarved jade.
The talent of innate full soul power spoke for itself. It was virtually the pinnacle an ordinary person could reach.
What Golden Crocodile saw now, however, was potential-immense potential in both her martial soul's attributes and her physique.
Golden Crocodile clearly remembered Azure Luan telling him that Bai Wanwan's martial soul possessed both water and ice attributes, with absolute control over water and ultimate ice. Both attributes stood at the very pinnacle from birth.
Her physique was another matter. Bai Wanwan was only six, yet she could withstand pressure far beyond her own soul power level. Through further effort and training, she could improve that physical strength, and there was tremendous room for growth.
The pressure continued to increase little by little.
When it reached level eighteen, a dragon's roar resounded through the hall, and the temperature inside rapidly dropped.
The water dragon king spirit appeared behind Bai Wanwan. Fine ice-blue scales gradually covered her body and arms, lending her an even nobler air.
Golden Crocodile carefully studied the martial soul behind Bai Wanwan, then gently shook his head at Azure Luan, indicating that he had never seen it either.
But there was no question of this martial soul's power.
Golden Crocodile even felt that Azure Luan's earlier description had been entirely accurate.
Compared to the martial soul behind Bai Wanwan, the blue lightning tyrant dragon martial soul truly was scrap iron beside gold.
"A promising future!"
Golden Crocodile praised her, withdrawing the pressure on Bai Wanwan with a wave of his hand and signaling that she could dismiss her martial soul.
Although he had yet to test the limits of what Bai Wanwan could withstand, his strength as a level 98 Peak Douluo allowed him to make a rough estimate. There was no need to continue.
Without releasing her martial soul, Bai Wanwan could withstand level-eighteen pressure.
Now that she had released it, she should be able to withstand another three to five levels. In other words, despite having only level-ten soul power, Bai Wanwan could withstand soul power pressure of at least level twenty.
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