"Come to think of it, I've reached Soul Ancestor now. My Soul Ring Configuration is unprecedented, too: yellow, purple, black, black. I should be ahead of the Young Master now, right?"
At those words, Qian Renxue, who always strove to be the best, immediately perked up. Five Soul Rings appeared beneath her feet—yellow, yellow, black, black, black. She had already reached Soul King.
"Alas, it seems my talent still can't compare to the Young Master's..."
Seeing Feng Xinglie admit defeat, Qian Renxue lifted her chin and said smugly:
"Of course! I'm the Angel God Heir, after all! But I have you to thank, too. You helped recruit so many talented people to share the Imperial Family's workload, giving me more time to cultivate. And learning the proper use of Whale Rubber helped me a lot. It's just a pity that I'd already absorbed my first two Soul Rings. Otherwise, my configuration definitely wouldn't be any worse than yours!"
"Haha, then the Young Master had better not slack off. You never know, I might surpass you one day."
"Hmph, as if. I told you I'd look after you. How could I let your cultivation surpass mine? But with such an impressive Soul Ring Configuration, your Soul Skills must be powerful, right?"
"Well... haha... they're all right, they're all right..."
Feng Xinglie gave an awkward laugh. His Soul Skills really were powerful—or, rather, a little too powerful. But how to put it...
Second Soul Skill: Falling Leaf Crazy Foot. It granted him astonishing speed, too fast for the naked eye to follow, and made his legs and feet grow enormous, just like his first Soul Skill. Though the strength it gave him was terrifying, his oversized feet actually held his speed back.
Third Soul Skill: Mirror Still Water. It made him immune to all mental interference and allowed him to spread out his mental power to investigate everything within a thousand meters of himself. He could even see the wingbeat frequency of an insect flying a hundred meters behind him with perfect clarity. The problem was that this Soul Skill consumed a horrifying amount of mental power. Just three seconds of use gave Feng Xinglie a headache that lasted a week. If Bibi Dong hadn't given him one of the Soul Bone prizes from the original Soul Master Tournament—the Spirit Condensation Wisdom Skull—to absorb, he would probably have had to abandon the skill. Fortunately, with the help of that Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone, he had increased its duration to a full minute and even gained the ability to see through certain weaknesses in his opponents.
His fourth Soul Skill, however, hadn't been so fortunate.
Fourth Soul Skill: Heart Pump Overpressure. It increased his heart rate and sped up his blood circulation, granting him an all-around boost. But when he activated it, his heart beat just once before his entire body swelled several times over, and nearly all his capillaries burst. The boost was so immense that even the single step he took to steady himself when he nearly fell left cracks in the ground within ten meters of him.
In short, all of Feng Xinglie's Soul Skills possessed power far beyond that of Soul Skills at the same level. But their enormous side effects meant that, even now, he still relied on pure physical combat as the core of his fighting style.
As the two chatted, the mood grew warmer and warmer. Seeing that he had already cheered Qian Renxue up, Feng Xinglie took a box from his storage Soul Tool and handed it to her.
"Since the Young Master is so ambitious, please accept this eighty-thousand-year-old Whale Rubber. His Holiness the Pope carefully selected it and instructed me to deliver it to you personally."
At those words, the mood instantly plunged to freezing point. Ever since infiltrating the Heaven Dou Empire, Qian Renxue's attitude toward Bibi Dong had plummeted. After all, the idea of starting out as a maid and taking another man's place made her physically sick.
"I told you not to mention that woman in front of me. I don't want anything of hers, either."
"I... I spoke out of turn. I only wanted to help the Young Master's cultivation, too. You may be a prince now, but to maintain your image, you can't exactly buy up Whale Rubber in large quantities. The Pope... That lady was only worried about you, wasn't she? Just think of it as helping me secure a place at your side in the future. Please accept it."
Hearing Feng Xinglie say that, Qian Renxue bit her lip and hesitated for a long time. In the end, she reluctantly accepted the box.
"Nice! She finally accepted it! Before, just mentioning Bibi Dong in front of her nearly got me cut down with a sword. Looks like being undercover in Heaven Dou City has put her through a lot..."
Reflecting on how years of effort had finally eased the relationship between this mother and daughter, even if only by a tiny bit, Feng Xinglie felt a glimmer of hope. It took a great deal more effort to coax Qian Renxue back into smiling, but at last he managed it. He watched as Qian Renxue, disguised as Xue Qinghe, reluctantly returned to the imperial city. Then, finally able to relax, he headed back to Spirit Hall with a large pile of gifts for greasing palms.
But their leisure had been all too brief. Thanks to the coachman's efforts day and night, they soon reached the gates of Spirit City. Feng Xinglie rubbed his cheeks, put on his usual professional smile again, and arranged for the gifts he'd brought back to be distributed. Then he went to the Pope's Palace to report the results of his trip to Bibi Dong.
"Mm, not bad. The Martial Soul Chamber of Commerce increased its revenue this month, and thanks to the Martial Soul Newspaper's publicity, ordinary people across the Douluo Continent have also developed a much better attitude toward Spirit Hall. You truly are my most capable Holy Son."
Seated atop her throne, Bibi Dong was very pleased with the report Feng Xinglie had brought back and praised him without reservation.
"Thank you for your approval, Your Holiness. It was all thanks to the Young Master's help, really. The Young Master has not only secured a foothold in the Heaven Dou Empire but also won a great deal of support. The progress of the mission to seize the throne is very promising! Now she's even representing the Heaven Dou Imperial Family in a partnership with the Martial Soul Chamber of Commerce. Nearly half our revenue this month came from Heaven Dou..."
Clang!
The heavy clang of metal rang out. The scepter in Bibi Dong's hand had smashed the floor, leaving it cracked all around.
"I told you not to mention her in front of me."
Bibi Dong was nothing like Qian Renxue. Her hatred ran far deeper. The first time he had praised Qian Renxue in front of her, he had not only been beaten black and blue on the spot but also stripped of his position as Holy Son. But by then, Feng Xinglie had already built a power base spanning the economy, intelligence, and publicity, with Qian Daoliu backing him. Even though Bibi Dong had completely taken control of Spirit Hall, she hadn't dared to kill him outright. Later, she had even found a way to restore his Holy Son title.
However...
Watching the black aura flicker through Bibi Dong's eyes, others might have thought it was merely Soul Power surging with her anger, but Feng Xinglie knew exactly what it was.
Has the Rakshasa God's mental influence grown stronger again...?
Though the Rakshasa God, like the Angel God and Sea God, was a First-Level God, she was made up of countless resentments, anger, and other negative emotions. Inheriting her power naturally granted great strength, but one's mind would inevitably be twisted as well.
I'd better think of a way to deal with the Rakshasa God soon.
Feng Xinglie lowered his head, acknowledged his fault, and bowed, all the while planning how to deal with that evil deity.
"Xinglie, don't keep testing my limits and ruining your future. I really do think highly of you."
Seeing Feng Xinglie lower his head and fall silent, Bibi Dong's tone softened. She knew that force wouldn't work on this tenacious piece of chewing gum. He was perfectly reasonable about everything else, but when it came to Qian Renxue, no matter how much she threatened, bribed, beat, or suspended him, sooner or later he would praise that hateful girl to her face again. Yet it wasn't convenient to kill him now, and Feng Xinglie had indeed helped her a great deal. She couldn't quite bring herself to get rid of him. She could only try a different approach and see if a gentler touch would work.
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