Seeing Bibi Dong Again / Martial Soul Awakening

If your Clear Sky Sect had been keeping a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, no one could have said anything if you hunted it for its Soul Ring later.

But there was no denying that falling in love with a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast who had taken human form and fathering a human-beast hybrid was beyond the pale.

What was more, Tang Hao had been wandering around with the pregnant Blue Silver Emperor. Plenty of people had seen them with their own eyes, and Tang Hao himself had admitted she was his wife.

If Spirit Hall now disregarded its own interests and its relationship with the Clear Sky Sect, then the Clear Sky Sect could no longer play the victim.

According to the original story, the final outcome was that Spirit Hall lost a pope, the Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor sacrificed herself, the Clear Sky Sect went into seclusion and its subordinate sects suffered heavy losses, while Tang Hao of the Clear Sky Sect obtained a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and a Soul Bone.

Looking closely, all the benefits went to the Clear Sky Sect, while everyone else took the losses.

Going into seclusion was hardly a punishment. They announced that they were closing their gates, then immediately sent Tang Yuehua out to gather intelligence.

As the matter snowballed, with Qian Xunji fanning the flames, things began to change.

The Clear Sky Sect severed ties with Tang Hao and planned to go into seclusion.

After all, quite a few powerful figures had gathered outside the Clear Sky Sect. The sect was like a barrel of oil, ready to explode at the slightest spark, and the atmosphere was extremely tense.

Unable to find Tang Hao, who was hiding here and there, everyone could only come after the Clear Sky Sect, which had nowhere to run.

Quite a few people from the Clear Sky Sect had already been injured. The hall was also full of powerful figures from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Spirit Hall, and other factions. The sect master's pressure was easy to imagine. They called it going into seclusion, but in reality, they were just hiding from trouble.

But these people weren't exactly saints. Had they traveled all this way just to watch you go into seclusion?

Everyone knew that Tang Xiao was close to Tang Hao, and the sect master was Tang Hao's father, too.

They were pressuring the Clear Sky Sect, hoping to force Tang Hao to show himself.

A human-beast hybrid was considered a disgrace against human decency in this human world.

The Clear Sky Sect had no way to defend itself, and could only distance itself from Tang Hao.

No matter how angry the sect master was, he could only swallow it. If he really died of anger as he had in the original story, people would only think that his unfilial son, Tang Hao, had angered him to death.

Qian Xunji saw things clearly. The heart of this conflict was still the Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor. Once the Blue Silver Emperor died, these powerful figures would naturally disperse.

They gathered for profit and dispersed when the profit was gone.

Even if there really were righteous people who wanted to cause trouble over Tang Hao's affair with a Soul Beast and the human-beast hybrid, Tang Hao and the Clear Sky Sect had the strength to hold them off.

But for now, as long as the Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor was still alive, the Clear Sky Sect would have no peace.

In the original story, Spirit Hall had let the Clear Sky Sect off because of the old friendship between Qian Daoliu and Tang Chen. They had concealed the truth and let the Clear Sky Sect go into seclusion.

But now, with so many people from all kinds of factions gathered here, who would show the Clear Sky Sect any respect?

Thinking about it, Qian Xunji had to praise this world's good habit of avoiding political marriages.

Since Martial Souls were passed down through bloodlines in this world, every family was cautious about protecting their Martial Souls from being passed on to outsiders. They absolutely refused to marry into other factions.

Once they married into another faction, the other side would gain their Martial Soul, and with a little cultivation, a new family could be established.

That was unacceptable to any family.

Another point was that powerful Martial Souls were more likely to be inherited.

Twin Martial Souls were too rare. It was far more likely for a child to inherit the stronger of their parents' Martial Souls. The same held true when two families married into each other: the weaker Martial Soul would be gradually swallowed up.

If Dugu Yan and Yu Tianheng got together, there was a good chance the Jade Phosphorous Serpent wouldn't be passed down, and the Jade Phosphorous Serpent Martial Soul might disappear for good.

Because of the bitter lessons learned throughout history, apart from special Martial Souls like those of the Dai Family and Zhu Family, no other families on the Douluo Continent would ever marry into one another. Most powerful Martial Soul Soul Masters married Soul Masters whose Martial Souls were weaker than their own.

That was also why Qian Xunji had been so angry back then. Bibi Dong had grown up in Spirit Hall, so she should have known the rule that equally powerful factions did not marry into one another. Yet she had insisted on getting together with Yu Xiaogang, that good-for-nothing, and had even married out instead of bringing him into her family.

How brazen! Was this what they meant by being spoiled rotten and having no fear of consequences?

If no one intervened, then given Bibi Dong's status and her infatuation with love, Spirit Hall might well become her dowry, for Yu Xiaogang to take whatever he wanted.

And that was exactly what happened. Yu Xiaogang wanted to look at Spirit Hall's records, so Bibi Dong personally took him there and even gave him her Saintess Token to make it easier for him to come and go. When Qian Xunji found out, he was stunned. As a saintess, Bibi Dong should have known better than anyone how much authority the Saintess Token carried. Its bearer could enter and leave the Pope Palace, browse countless confidential records in the Library Pavilion, and give orders to Spirit Hall's elders and bishops. She was practically second only to the pope.

Unqualified!

In Qian Xunji's eyes, a saintess like her had already failed spectacularly in her duties.

With her extraordinary talent and strength far beyond her peers, as well as the pope Qian Xunji taking her in as a cherished disciple, Bibi Dong had practically no worthy rivals or friends to compete with. She hadn't experienced even a sliver of the pressure a successor to a major power ought to face.

She had been protected far too well, becoming a naive romantic who took her pampered status for granted.

Bibi Dong simply wasn't suited to be a saintess anymore.

Chapter 5: Seeing Bibi Dong Again

In the blink of an eye, the day of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Tournament arrived.

The teams from the various academies made it through round after round of selections and arrived in Spirit City. As pope, Qian Xunji naturally had to preside over the tournament.

With Xiang Yu and Arthur's buffs working in sync, Qian Xunji felt strange, especially with the changes to his body. His formerly yellowish-blond hair had become dazzlingly radiant, and the hair he hadn't trimmed in nine years had grown down to his ankles. His skin was as white as jade, and his aura was holy. From a distance, he no longer looked mortal, but like a living angel.

That was why, after seeing Qian Xunji, the people of Spirit Hall became especially devout and firmly believed in the existence of the Angel God.

The pope's crown and scepter added a touch of nobility to Qian Xunji's already sacred and refined appearance. As he stood on the high platform and looked down at the crowd, he seemed noble and dazzling.

Amid the bustling crowd, Qian Xunji unexpectedly spotted a familiar figure. Familiar, yet somehow a stranger.

It was Bibi Dong, the former saintess of Spirit Hall. She had been away from Spirit Hall for nine years, and her face was still beautiful, but the youthful innocence she once had was gone. Her once clear, bright eyes were now full of hardship. Her plain, simple clothes were typical of a wandering Soul Master, and she didn't stand out in the crowd.

Qian Xunji paid her no mind. With a gentle, holy smile on his face, he continued with the proceedings and began the Advanced Soul Master Tournament, occasionally glancing at the prestige points on his System Panel when he grew bored.

There was no denying that Qian Xunji looked especially good now. Plenty of people would probably believe it if someone said he was the Angel God's reincarnation, and earning prestige points was going especially smoothly.

Watching his prestige climb, Qian Xunji grinned as he thought that people really were all suckers for a pretty face!

No one caused a stir before the Advanced Soul Master Tournament ended, which left Qian Xunji a little disappointed.

But that was because the top fighters of the various factions were busy attacking the Clear Sky Sect and hunting down Tang Hao and the Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor. A small Advanced Soul Master Tournament naturally seemed insignificant.

As expected, Spirit Hall retained its championship title. Qian Xunji presented a Soul Bone to the Martial Soul Academy team as a reward and praised them generously.

The little contest between the various factions ended perfectly.

After the Soul Master Tournament, Qian Xunji heard news of Bibi Dong again.

More precisely, Bibi Dong had asked to see him, hoping to return to Spirit Hall. She had once been Spirit Hall's saintess, so the people below recognized her. Unsure how Qian Xunji would react, they reported the matter to him.

"What does she want?" Qian Xunji had just done a ten-pull and gotten ten Gold Soul Coins, so he was in a bad mood. His luck had been terrible.

The steward who had reported to him said, "She says she wants to rejoin Spirit Hall."

"Oh! Then follow the usual procedure!" Qian Xunji said sagely.

Spirit Hall naturally had its own standards for Soul Masters who wanted to join voluntarily. First, they couldn't belong to another Soul Master family or sect. Anyone found to have such ties would be treated as a spy. Second, their past records had to be checked for crimes like murder and arson. Third, they had to meet the required standards of strength.

As a former saintess of Spirit Hall who had also been romantically involved with Yu Xiaogang, Bibi Dong's situation implicated the first rule. Although the two had since separated, she would still have to undergo a lengthy probation.

Those three rules might seem simple, even like the bare minimum of decency, but plenty of people couldn't meet them.

The gap between Soul Masters and commoners was simply too great. When Soul Masters killed people, neither the kingdom nor the empire would do anything. If the Soul Master was powerful, the kingdom might even grant them a noble title to win them over, allowing them to kill legally under the cover of nobility.

Zhao Wuji in the original story was a case in point. After he killed someone, the Heaven Dou Empire did nothing. Only Spirit Hall issued a wanted notice, and even that accomplished little. He still swaggered around in all sorts of public places. How ironic.

Most of the Evil Soul Masters sent to Slaughter City were there because of Spirit Hall's wanted notices, too.

From a certain point of view, Spirit Hall could be considered the bright side of the entire Douluo Continent. It did charity by helping commoners awaken their Martial Souls and giving Soul Masters subsidies; it maintained peace by stopping the powerful Star Luo Empire from invading the Heaven Dou Empire; it caught criminals by issuing warrants for murderers and Evil Soul Masters; and it promoted sustainable development by establishing the Soul Hunting Forest, where Soul Masters could obtain Soul Rings more safely while preventing Soul Beasts from attacking humans...

These things benefited every commoner and Soul Master, which was precisely why Spirit Hall's reputation was so good.

Take a simple example: if a Soul Master killed a commoner and the victim's family wanted revenge but couldn't win, would they go to the city lord? The city lord wouldn't care. The family would go to Spirit Hall to file a complaint. If they were lucky and the killer wasn't a noble, Spirit Hall might even issue a wanted notice to help avenge them.

That was why the two empires were so wary of Spirit Hall. Spirit Hall was already showing signs of replacing a nation.

But if the nobles were expected to do the same thing themselves? Sorry, how could nobles betray their own class? How could they help commoners? That would be far too beneath them.

When Bibi Dong heard that Qian Xunji had no intention of meeting her, she felt disappointed, but also relieved.

After being battered by the world, Bibi Dong had returned to Spirit City, where she had lived for eighteen years, and suddenly felt at ease. It was like a fallen leaf returning to its roots, or a wanderer with nowhere to settle finally finding a place to rest, a place of her own... a home!

During the years she had spent with Yu Xiaogang, Bibi Dong had been constantly adrift, with nowhere to call home. People might have called it traveling, but as a former saintess of Spirit Hall who had once lived in luxury, Bibi Dong had never been comfortable with it. She had felt far too insecure.

She had to pay the money she earned from missions back to Spirit Hall. Her boyfriend had a beautiful, fiery female teammate who acted ambiguous around him, and the two of them could even use a Martial Soul Fusion Skill. She had never met her boyfriend's family, either.

The double torment, material and emotional, had made Bibi Dong a little neurotic.

Only after returning to Spirit City did her heart finally find some comfort.

She wanted to stay in Spirit City and return to Spirit Hall.

When she saw her teacher on the high platform, more holy and beautiful than she had been nine years ago, Bibi Dong suddenly felt ashamed of herself. Nine years of wind and rain had stripped away the elegance and pride she once possessed as Spirit Hall's saintess. She remembered her loathed Martial Soul Possession, and how even her beloved Yu Xiaogang had looked at her with fear and avoided her after seeing it.

Teacher, I was wrong!

Chapter 6: Martial Soul Awakening

Qian Xunji used the system to draw rewards every day, and his prestige points ran out quickly.

He got a number of Gold Soul Coins, 540 Double Experience Cards, and six Hero Character Cards.

The heroes included Cai Wenji in her Starlight Muse skin, Yao in her Encountering the Divine Deer skin, Li Bai in his Phoenix Seeking skin, Baili Shouyue in his Vermilion Bird Zhi skin, Xiao Qiao in her Swan Dream skin, and...

Qian Xunji looked at the last special Hero Character Card with a complicated expression. Her skin was fair as snow, her nose straight, her eyes slender, her peerlessly beautiful face carrying a hint of imposing dignity, and her golden eyes calm as water. Six-Winged Angel—Qian Renxue.

Qian Renxue still had the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul. Cai Wenji had an exquisite, luxurious Hujia Qin, Yao had the Seven-Colored Divine Deer, Li Bai had the Dragon Abyss Sword, Baili Shouyue had a Vermilion Bird Sniper Rifle, and Xiao Qiao had the Light and Dark Swan.

Every Martial Soul was of excellent quality, but Yao's Seven-Colored Divine Deer was the most special. Whenever she was controlled, she transformed into a spirit deer and became immune to all attacks. She was also close to nature and represented auspiciousness. Soul Beasts wouldn't attack Yao of their own accord. She was somewhat similar to the Auspicious Beast, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion, and could be considered a juvenile version of an Auspicious Beast.

Qian Xunji sent Li Bai to the territory of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Once they detected his Martial Soul, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect would surely take him in, since he possessed the top-tier Dragon Abyss Sword Martial Soul.

Xiao Qiao and Daji had barely managed to form a team. Xiao Qiao, who possessed the Swan Fan, was the emperor's illegitimate daughter and had been adopted by a noble.

He sent Baili Shouyue to the Star Luo Empire.

Cai Wenji's short stature gave Qian Xunji a headache. Considering the Star Luo Empire's law-of-the-jungle customs, in the end, he decided to place Cai Wenji and Yao together in Heaven Dou City.

And that was how he assigned the characters this time.