Becoming Bibi Dong's Disciple

Bibi Dong's expression changed at once when she heard those words. A flood of memories flashed through her mind.

Back then, she had truly believed the saying, "There are no useless Martial Souls, only useless Soul Masters."

But the person who had said it hadn't even broken through Level 30 to this day. What bitter irony.

So Bibi Dong had long since seen through it: the quality of one's Martial Soul, the strength of one's Spirit Rings, one's talent, and one's foundation could all determine the limits of a Soul Master's future.

She stared at Xiao Chen for a long while before asking, "Where did you hear that?"

"I came up with it myself!" Xiao Chen replied without batting an eye.

Bibi Dong scrutinized Xiao Chen, trying to read something on his face, but he remained calm from beginning to end.

After a moment, she thought to herself, That's true. If that guy had met Xiao Chen first, how could he have let Xiao Chen add White Spirit Rings to his Martial Souls? And there's no way he would have let Xiao Chen join Spirit Hall!

Bibi Dong realized that the saying was especially fitting when applied to Xiao Chen.

After all, both of Xiao Chen's Martial Souls were of poor quality, yet he was far stronger than Soul Masters of the same level. He certainly had the right to say those words.

Even so, Bibi Dong still didn't want Xiao Chen to keep adding White Spirit Rings, so she continued, "You've developed your Soul Skills very well, but have you considered that your path would be much smoother if you started from a higher point?"

Xiao Chen nodded. "That's true!"

"But the Spirit Rings I've chosen weren't selected at random. When I entered Star Dou Forest this time, I encountered some Hundred-Year Soul Beasts, but I could tell their Spirit Rings weren't compatible with me. If I'd forcibly added one, it might even have weakened me!"

Xiao Chen had prepared his explanation long ago.

Bibi Dong fell into thought again. After a moment, she slowly asked, "Do you mean that when you go to obtain a Spirit Ring, you can sense which one is best suited to you?"

"Exactly!" Xiao Chen wasn't really lying. The system could indeed sense the Spirit Ring best suited to him.

Hearing Xiao Chen confirm it, Bibi Dong immediately thought of a possibility.

Is this the Pure Heart that makes him so exceptionally gifted? He can even sense the Spirit Ring best suited to him! Bibi Dong thought. She didn't doubt for a moment that Xiao Chen might be lying to her.

To convince Bibi Dong, Xiao Chen decided it was necessary to let her in on another secret.

"Your Holiness, the Soul Skill granted by my Wooden Bow's Second Soul Ring is Spiritual Shock. But besides Spiritual Shock, my eyes also underwent a transformation, granting me passive abilities such as Vision Expansion, Dynamic Capture, enhanced vision in darkness, and danger detection!"

"These are the benefits of a Spirit Ring that's perfectly compatible with me. If I'd forcibly added a Hundred-Year or Thousand-Year Spirit Ring, I might have gained a slightly stronger Soul Skill, but I would have lost these even more precious passive enhancements!" Xiao Chen said earnestly.

Bibi Dong hadn't expected Xiao Chen's Spirit Rings to grant him passive abilities.

At the same time, she realized how unusual his Soul Skills were.

Normally, the Spirit Rings added to an Attack System Tool Martial Soul mostly enhanced its attacks. Even when they deviated from that pattern, it was rare for them to grant Soul Skills that dealt mental attacks or increased speed.

Now that Xiao Chen had explained it, it made sense.

"Besides, only Spirit Rings that are perfectly compatible with me can let me make better use of Martial Soul Fusion Skills and Spirit Skill Fusion!" Xiao Chen continued.

This time, Bibi Dong was finally convinced.

Still, she made one demand of Xiao Chen. "Promise me that if you sense a higher-limit Soul Beast that's compatible with you, you'll prioritize choosing the Spirit Ring with the higher limit!"

"Of course!" Xiao Chen agreed readily. Whether a Spirit Ring was compatible or not was up to him to say, anyway.

Bibi Dong believed Xiao Chen had a Pure Heart, so she naturally assumed he wouldn't lie to her. Little did she know that Xiao Chen was far more calculating than she was.

"Besides all that, do your Martial Souls or Soul Skills have any other special effects?" Bibi Dong asked curiously.

Xiao Chen thought for a moment, then answered frankly, "I can also use Spirit Ring Sharing and Soul Skill Sharing!"

Bibi Dong looked puzzled. She didn't understand what he meant.

Xiao Chen immediately explained, "Simply put, I can share a Spirit Ring from one Martial Soul with my second Martial Soul, allowing me to stack two identical Soul Skills!"

"That's possible?" Bibi Dong was astonished once again. "Can you demonstrate it?"

"Of course!" Xiao Chen said, releasing his Martial Souls. He then demonstrated with the Brute Force Soul Skill.

Brute Force was a Soul Skill from a Spirit Ring Xiao Chen had obtained before he got the system, so sharing that Spirit Ring was relatively easy for him.

As Xiao Chen used Spirit Ring Sharing, Bibi Dong kept her mental power fixed on the Soul Power emanating from his Martial Souls.

The instant the First Soul Ring on the Wooden Bow Martial Soul was shared with the Wooden Arrow, Bibi Dong could clearly sense that it was indeed the same Spirit Ring being transferred.

The stacked Brute Force Soul Skills weren't as simple as one plus one, either. Instead, they relied on the resonance of Soul Power from the same source, layering and blending together, amplifying each other, and unleashing power far beyond what was reasonable.

"Have you told Chrysanthemum Douluo about Spirit Ring Sharing?" Bibi Dong asked.

"No!" Xiao Chen shook his head. "I've only told you, Your Holiness!"

Bibi Dong nodded in satisfaction, then smiled. "Are you still going to call me Your Holiness?"

Xiao Chen immediately performed the disciple's bow. "Your disciple, Xiao Chen, pays his respects to Master!"

"Good!" Bibi Dong was genuinely happy. Ever since becoming Pope, she hadn't smiled like this in a long time.

She helped Xiao Chen to his feet, then took out a Soul Bone. "This is your Master's gift to you."

"Absorb it now. I'll protect you," she added.

Xiao Chen hurriedly refused. "Master, this Soul Bone isn't compatible with me!"

Bibi Dong froze, then asked, "Can you sense a Soul Bone's compatibility as well as a Spirit Ring's?"

"Mm!" Xiao Chen nodded.

"All right." Bibi Dong put the Soul Bone away. For a moment, she had no idea what to give Xiao Chen as a welcoming gift.

At last, she took out a bracelet. "This is a Storage Soul Guide. It has a space of ten cubic meters inside and can store anything except living things!"

"Thank you, Master!" This time, Xiao Chen didn't refuse.

Although Xiao Chen had the System Space, this item would give him perfect cover whenever he took something out of the System Space in the future.

"By the way, Xiao Chen, from now on, when you add Spirit Rings to your Martial Souls, you may only add them to your First Martial Soul. Wait until your Soul Power Level reaches Level 90 before adding Spirit Rings to your Second Martial Soul," Bibi Dong said.

In her view, although Xiao Chen could sense the Spirit Rings best suited to him, his Soul Power Level was too low for him to sense high-limit Spirit Rings.

She believed that as Xiao Chen's Soul Power continued to grow, his capacity for Spirit Ring Limits would increase as well. That would widen the range of Spirit Ring Limits compatible with him.

Deep down, she still wanted Xiao Chen to obtain Spirit Rings that were both compatible with him and had higher limits.