I Laugh at Bibi Dong's Madness, Qian Renxue's Foolishness

In the carriage returning to Nuoding City, Bai Mu was in an exceptionally good mood.

This Soul Hunting trip had been quite rewarding for him.

He had gained a great deal.

Besides directly breaking through to level 11 after absorbing the Spirit Ring, he had also discovered that he could use Spirit Ring Resonance to replace Spirit Skills with Pokemon Moves.

In fact, he had even more gains that he had yet to reveal.

He was already impatient to return to Nuoding City and find a chance to study them properly on his own.

"Xiao Mu, since you've obtained a Spirit Ring, you should go register as a Spirit Master at Spirit Hall first."

Once the carriage entered Nuoding City and came to a stop, the dean said with a cheerful smile,

"Although Spirit Hall's Spirit Master subsidy is only one Gold Soul Coin per month, it's still quite a considerable sum for you right now!"

"Alright, Dean!"

Bai Mu readily agreed.

"Xiao San, you're a Soul Grandmaster now and can receive ten Gold Soul Coins. Go update your information as well."

At that moment, Yu Xiaogang's eyes shifted as he deliberately said this.

"Alright, Teacher."

Tang San nodded and followed Bai Mu, taking the initiative to ask,

"Bai Mu, how much stronger do you think your Zygarde is compared to before?"

"It's decent, I suppose. Its overall combat strength should have improved by about half."

Bai Mu shook his head and smiled helplessly. "If we fought again now, I probably wouldn't be your match, Xiao San."

"Don't sell yourself short. Below the Soul Grandmaster rank, you should already be unmatched."

Although Tang San felt rather pleased with himself, he remembered that his teacher wanted to take Bai Mu as a disciple.

He therefore said humbly,

"Keep working hard at cultivation. If there's anything you don't understand, feel free to ask me or Teacher anytime. We'll definitely help you!"

Tang San was usually rather indifferent toward everyone besides Xiao Wu, but his attitude toward Bai Mu was clearly much warmer than before.

He was unwilling to become a support at someone else's mercy.

But if he could have a teammate who could both fight and provide support, that would be even better!

"That would be wonderful!"

Bai Mu understood without exposing him.

He smoothly shifted the topic toward cultivation. "Recently, I've been trying to optimize my cultivation method, and I have some questions about the meridians that I'd like to ask you..."

Remembering Bai Mu's help during the Spirit Ring hunt, Tang San tried his best not to hold anything back.

As long as it did not involve the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record, he answered Bai Mu's questions as thoroughly as possible.

He was not worried at all that Bai Mu might gain some powerful cultivation technique from it.

After all... the Mysterious Heaven Skill was the most badass!

Nuoding City Spirit Hall.

Tang San led Bai Mu through the place with ease and found an old man sorting through documents.

"Tang San? You broke through again?"

The moment they met, Ma Xiunuo could not help asking in surprise.

"Yes, Grandpa. I just obtained my Second Spirit Ring."

Tang San replied politely.

"Good! Good! What a genius!"

Ma Xiunuo beamed as he tried to recruit him. "Child, are you truly not considering joining Spirit Hall? With your talent..."

"I'm sorry, Grandpa, but I won't consider such things before graduation."

Tang San shook his head slightly.

Ma Xiunuo sighed and turned his gaze toward Bai Mu. "And this is?"

"Hello, Grandpa. My name is Bai Mu, a Work-Study Student from Notting Academy. I just obtained my First Spirit Ring and came to register as a Spirit Master."

Bai Mu greeted him with a smile.

"Oh? Another student from Notting Academy..."

Ma Xiunuo quickly found the relevant records.

When he saw "Innate Soul Power Level 1," his brows furrowed slightly.

But when he continued reading...

"Nine years old?! You rose from level 1 to level 10 in three years?"

He suddenly looked up, his face full of shock. "You're not joking, are you, child?"

One had to know that rising from innate level 1 to level 10 was far more difficult than rising from level 11 to level 20 with full Innate Soul Power!

"That's right."

Bai Mu nodded, and with a thought, a bright yellow Spirit Ring appeared beneath his feet.

"A Century Spirit Ring!"

Ma Xiunuo's eyes lit up. He took a deep breath to remain calm.

"Child, can you release your Martial Soul for me to see?"

"Come out, Zygarde!"

"Woof~"

Bai Mu raised his hand in a beckoning gesture, and a ball of light drifted down to the ground as Zygarde appeared beside him.

"It's actually an External Martial Soul... Wait!"

Ma Xiunuo was secretly astonished. Then, upon seeing the entry on the records—[Martial Soul: Zygarde (Mutant Flatworm)]—he abruptly looked up again.

"No, the registered information says your Martial Soul is a flatworm. How did it become a dog?"

An idea flashed through his mind, and he asked uncertainly,

"Could it be... that your Martial Soul evolved?"

"Mm-hm."

Bai Mu nodded obediently.

"Child."

Ma Xiunuo stared at Zygarde for a long while, his tone turning solemn.

"Would you be willing to join Spirit Hall?"

"Thank you, Grandpa! But I don't have any plans to join Spirit Hall for now."

Bai Mu wore an innocent smile, then decisively shook his head.

When sparring with Tang San, as long as he did not go for the kill, he was not worried that Tang Hao—the peerless powerhouse and good father who made a boy under six eat porridge every day—would interfere in a fight between juniors just because he injured Tang San.

But Spirit Hall was different.

He was genuinely afraid that Tang Hao might be hiding nearby, have a bad mood, and take the opportunity to casually crush him to death.

Safety first. Following one's heart was best.

"...Is that so?"

Ma Xiunuo could not hide his disappointment, but he quickly recovered his kind smile. "If you change your mind in the future, you can come anytime. Spirit Hall's doors will always be open to you."

With that, he quickly updated their registration information and issued the corresponding subsidies.

"Thank you, Grandpa."

Bai Mu smiled as he accepted the heavy gold coin.

In truth, in his eyes, Spirit Hall was the best organization on the entire Douluo Continent.

It awakened Martial Souls for commoners free of charge, distributed Spirit Master subsidies, and established a relatively fair system for advancement.

In the era after Spirit Hall's destruction, not only were the subsidies gone, but commoners even had to pay to awaken their Martial Souls.

Even so, he had no intention of joining Spirit Hall.

Because...

"Spirit Hall may be good, but Bibi Dong, that madwoman, is a ticking time bomb!"

Bai Mu sighed.

If he joined Spirit Hall, he was truly afraid Bibi Dong might pull some strange stunt.

After all, you could not understand a madman using normal logic!

By comparison, he was more interested in the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Heaven Dou Empire.

The former was the wealthiest sect, and its members were relatively normal-minded.

As long as he could win over Ning Fengzhi or Ning Rongrong, he would effectively have Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo as his backers.

As for the latter, the reason was simple—the Heaven Dou Empire's Royal Family had no Title Douluo who truly belonged to them!

In his eyes, in a world of extraordinary power, without a top-tier powerhouse, even an army of a million was merely fish on the chopping block, destined to be slaughtered at someone else's whim.

And such a place was perfect for maneuvering!

As for that fake Crown Prince, Xue Qinghe...

"Ha ha ha..."

Just thinking about it made Bai Mu laugh out loud.

Tang San asked in confusion, "Why are you laughing, Bai Mu?"

"I laugh at Bibi Dong's madness, Qian Renxue's foolishness."

They were clearly the two most talented women on the Douluo Continent.

One fell in love with the useless Grandmaster, failed to elope with him, turned against her master, and ended up getting screwed over instead.

The other was a peerless genius with Innate Soul Power of level 20, yet wasted her years on some plan to usurp the throne.

How ridiculous!

But when Tang San asked, Bai Mu merely said,

"I thought of something happy."

"What is it?"

"My wife gave birth... Pah!"

Holding the Gold Soul Coin, Bai Mu declared lavishly, "Tomorrow, I'll drink soy milk. I'll drink one bowl and pour out another—because I'm rich and willful!"

Tang San: "???"