After the sparring match ended, the group returned to Spirit City.
Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo went back to Spirit Hall, while Xiao Chen toured Spirit City with Hu Liena and the others.
As the four of them strolled and chatted, Yan immediately asked the question he was most curious about. "Xiao Chen, why are all your Spirit Rings white?"
Xiao Chen answered at once. "A Spirit Ring isn't better just because it has a higher limit. The best one is the one that suits you most!"
With no Titled Douluo around, this was definitely the best chance to fool the three of them.
He continued, "I've already figured out a few things about the Spirit Skill Fusion method my senior sister mentioned earlier. Only Spirit Rings that match you can let you use Spirit Skill Fusion successfully."
At that, Xie Yue immediately said, "Xiao Chen, there you go again. Didn't Chrysanthemum Douluo already convince you before?"
"But Teacher supports my idea!" Xiao Chen said, bringing up Bibi Dong. There was no way Hu Liena and the others would go ask Bibi Dong to verify it.
"Xiao Chen, are you sure?" Xie Yue and the others all stopped and looked at him.
"Of course. You can ask Teacher if you don't believe me!" Xiao Chen said.
"Forget it. We're not you. If we dared to bother His Holiness the Pope with something like this, we'd definitely get punished." Yan spoke up.
Xiao Chen smiled. "Then when my Soul Power breaks through Level 30, I'll add a white Spirit Ring to each of my two Martial Souls. You'll see for yourselves then that I wasn't lying."
As soon as Xiao Chen finished speaking, Hu Liena smiled. "Junior brother, I believe you. But how do you tell whether a Spirit Ring suits you?"
"That's easy. As long as a Soul Beast appears near me, I can sense it!" Xiao Chen said.
"Huh?" The three were stunned. They immediately realized this must be another talent Xiao Chen had been uniquely blessed with.
"No wonder His Holiness the Pope supports your idea. No one else could copy it even if they wanted to!" Yan said.
Those who couldn't sense Spirit Rings might know that a white Spirit Ring could win them a grand prize, but with only one chance, who would dare take the risk?
"That's easy too. I can help you sense them!" Xiao Chen said.
"Huh?" The three were stunned again.
"Xiao Chen, you're not joking, are you?" Xie Yue asked.
"I'd never joke about something like this!" Xiao Chen said, thumping his chest as he assured them.
"But I can't do it yet. I'll need to reach Soul King, at least Level 50, before I can help anyone else sense them," Xiao Chen added.
Hearing this, the three weren't disappointed. Instead, they secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
They were willing to believe Xiao Chen and give their Martial Souls the kind of Spirit Rings he had, ones that allowed Spirit Skill Fusion. But if Xiao Chen sensed the wrong ones, they'd be in for a disaster.
Xie Yue smiled. "No rush. We'll talk about it once you reach Level 50!"
"Mm!" Xiao Chen nodded.
Yan, standing nearby, continued, "Xiao Chen, I'm curious. The arrows you fired in quick succession just now were far stronger than what a Level 23 Soul Master should be capable of. Normally, an attack that intense would use up a huge amount of Soul Power, but you looked like you'd barely spent any."
"That's another advantage of white Spirit Rings. The lower a Spirit Ring's limit, the less Soul Power it consumes!" Xiao Chen answered without a second thought.
He wasn't making that up. It was common knowledge in Douluo Continent. It was just that for other people, a lower Spirit Ring limit meant less Soul Power used, but also weaker Spirit Skills.
"Honestly!" Yan sighed. "Comparing myself to you is infuriating. Your talent is just... just too unfair!"
Xie Yue nodded in emphatic agreement. A faint smile lifted Hu Liena's lips, and her voice carried a hint of pride. "Naturally. Just look at whose junior brother Xiao Chen is!"
At that, Yan clutched his chest and put on an exaggeratedly heartbroken expression. He deliberately pulled a long face and wailed, "Ow, my heart hurts! Nana, is Xiao Chen the only one you see now?"
"Yan, are you asking for a beating?" Hu Liena glared at him, then turned to Xie Yue. "Brother, teach that guy Yan a lesson for me!"
"On it!" Xie Yue grinned. With a quick movement, he appeared behind Yan and reached out to lightly slap his back.
Yan had sensed it coming. He shuddered, yelped, and hurriedly ran off with his arms over his head.
As he fled, he shouted, "Xie Yue, I can't believe all those years of brotherhood mean less to you than the junior brother who just showed up!"
Xie Yue followed close behind without hurrying, pressing him at every step and occasionally patting his shoulder or the back of his head. He hit him with no more force than a brotherly tease, not enough to hurt him at all.
Xiao Chen watched the two chasing each other down the street, never expecting Yan to have such a goofy side.
Spirit City was enormous. Hu Liena and the others took Xiao Chen from one end to the other, showing him all the city's landmarks.
They didn't ask Xiao Chen any more questions about cultivation. They were afraid that the more they asked, the harder he'd make them feel outclassed.
At last, they arrived at Spirit City's Great Soul Arena.
"Xiao Chen, Spirit Battles are part of our regular training, too. Want to give one a try?" Xie Yue asked.
"Of course, you can't let the secrets of your Twin Martial Souls and Spirit Skill Fusion get out," Xie Yue added.
Xiao Chen nodded. "Understood!"
Yan grinned. "Even without giving anything away, Xiao Chen's invincible among Soul Masters between Level 20 and Level 30. It's just that the Great Soul Arena's fighting grounds put him at a huge disadvantage."
Hu Liena nodded. "Exactly. The solo and doubles Fighting Soul Arenas are a little small—only six or seven hundred square meters at most. The longest straight-line distance across the stage is only thirty or forty meters. That's a serious disadvantage for an archer!"
"It's fine." Xiao Chen smiled calmly. "Actually, I know a thing or two about close-quarters combat as well."
"Don't be reckless." Hu Liena furrowed her brows slightly. "Your Martial Soul is a bow and arrow, designed for ranged attacks. You have no advantage at all in close combat!"
"Senior sister, a bow really isn't suited to close combat. But an arrow? That's another matter."
Xiao Chen smiled faintly. With a thought, he released his Wooden Arrow Martial Soul.
The arrow was nothing like an ordinary one, small and slender. It was thick and long, solid and hard throughout, with a heavy, razor-sharp point. It was so much larger than normal that it hardly looked like an arrow at all. Instead, it looked more like a Long Spear.
Xiao Chen reached out and gripped the Arrow Spear's shaft, rotating his wrist and sweeping it through the air.
He swung it horizontally, brought it down in a vertical strike, then thrust it straight forward. His movements were crisp and decisive, carrying the sharp flair of a close-combat Soul Master.
"Senior sister, what do you think? I can use an arrow as a spear, and with the Wooden Arrow's two Spirit Skills, I can definitely count as an Agility Attack Battle Soul Master!" Xiao Chen said.
Hu Liena and the others stared in astonishment. They had never imagined a Martial Soul could be used this way.
Normally, a Martial Soul could only grow larger or smaller. Its shape changed only when a Spirit Skill was added.
For Xiao Chen to turn his arrow into a spear all by himself was simply unreasonable.
But after thinking it over, they remembered that Xiao Chen was already full of all sorts of things that defied common sense. One more hardly seemed surprising.
Before you continue