A cold glint flashed in Chen Xin's eyes, and the air around him was instantly sliced to pieces.
"How dare you! You dare lay a hand on my granddaughter!"
Even when facing Spirit Hall, this Sword Douluo, hailed as the strongest attacker under heaven, had never shown the slightest fear.
"Fengzhi, there's no need to worry. Since that Holy Son intends to take Rongrong as a guest, she should be safe for now.
"I'll go to the Pope Palace right now. Even if Bibi Dong herself is there, I'll bring Rongrong back!"
Ning Fengzhi pondered for a moment, then nodded. "Be careful, Uncle Sword. If things go badly, don't force a fight. The banquet is tomorrow. In front of all the heroes of the world, I'll demand justice from Bibi Dong myself!"
"I want to see whether Spirit Hall truly means to make an enemy of the whole world, bullying a little girl like this!"
Chen Xin gave a slight nod. His figure blurred, transforming into a streak of light that shot through the window and straight toward the Pope Palace.
Deep inside the Pope Palace, in a quiet and elegant side hall.
Unlike the magnificent, extravagantly luxurious halls outside, this place was surprisingly simple and refined.
There were no elaborate carvings on the walls, only a few ink paintings of mountains and rivers with profound artistic conception. The floor was paved with smooth blue stone, and a burner in the corner sent up wisps of delicate sandalwood incense.
There were no mountains of gold and silver utensils, nor crowds of maids waiting on anyone.
This was Lin Qiu's residence.
Ning Rongrong was sitting on a hard wooden chair, clutching her skirt as her big eyes darted all around.
At first, she had been terrified when she was captured. But now that she'd realized she hadn't been mistreated at all—not even a single hair on her head was out of place—her heart, which had been hanging in suspense, gradually settled back down.
Then came the curiosity unique to a girl her age, along with the return of her "Little Demoness" personality.
"Hey, you live in a place like this?"
Ning Rongrong looked around and pursed her lips. "It's not even as fancy as a room in my house. I guess Spirit Hall isn't as rich as people say."
She looked at the young man sitting cross-legged on the bed, her mind full of a hundred thousand questions.
He looked about the same age as her. How could he be so powerful?
Those four Soul Ancestor guards had been handpicked by her father, yet they hadn't even touched the hem of his clothes before they were on their knees.
And he was... really quite handsome. Much easier on the eyes than those greasy, powdered-up fellows in the sect.
Lin Qiu paid no attention to her chatter.
His eyes were slightly closed, his mind already sunk deep within his body.
In this world, cultivating Soul Power was dull and inefficient. But he cultivated the Covering Sky Method, trained his Sea of Bitterness, and refined the small universe within himself.
"Be quiet."
Lin Qiu uttered two words in a calm voice. He hadn't spoken loudly, yet his tone carried an unquestionable authority.
Ning Rongrong choked on her words. She was just about to flare up when the aura around Lin Qiu suddenly changed.
Rumble—
A thunderous roar like a tidal wave suddenly exploded inside the room.
Ning Rongrong jumped and hurriedly covered her ears, staring at Lin Qiu in alarm.
Golden light began to surge around Lin Qiu's body. It was pure life essence, concentrated to the utmost degree.
Behind him, a vast golden ocean appeared out of thin air, its waves surging amid flashes of lightning and peals of thunder.
Within that golden Bitter Sea, a Green Lotus swayed gracefully, its chaotic energy swirling as it radiated a terrifying aura capable of suppressing the heavens.
And deep in the Bitter Sea, a ferocious giant beast was faintly visible. Its nine tails rose like pillars supporting the sky, stirring the winds and clouds.
"W-what kind of Martial Soul is that?!"
Ning Rongrong's eyes widened, her little mouth gaping so far it could fit an egg.
Born into the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, she had seen plenty and knew all about the continent's top Martial Souls.
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon was known as the strongest Beast Martial Soul under heaven, and every time it appeared, it unleashed Thunderbolt Strike.
But compared with the giant beast rolling through the golden ocean before her, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon looked like nothing more than a loach!
The pressure that seemed to come from the depths of her soul made even her Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul tremble. It was as if it had encountered a superior being and instinctively wanted to submit.
"Is... is he human or a ghost?"
Ning Rongrong huddled in the corner of her chair, not daring to breathe too loudly.
Fortunately, the strange vision came and went quickly.
A moment later, the golden light streaming across the sky withdrew into Lin Qiu's body, and the room returned to stillness.
Lin Qiu slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of turbid air.
The breath condensed without dispersing, becoming a white arrow that shot three meters away and left a shallow mark on the blue-stone floor.
"Had enough of looking?"
Lin Qiu turned his head and looked at Ning Rongrong, who was curled into a ball, with an amused smile.
Ning Rongrong swallowed and summoned her courage. "S-so what if I have? You kidnapped me. What do you want from me?
"I'm telling you, if you dare do anything to me, my father, Sword Grandpa, and Bone Grandpa will never let you get away with it!"
Though she said that, her trembling voice betrayed how nervous she was.
Lin Qiu gave a soft laugh and didn't answer.
He flipped his wrist, and an ancient-looking jade box appeared in his palm.
He gently lifted the lid.
Hum!
In an instant, a rich, intoxicating fragrance filled the entire room.
Radiant clouds billowed out, and auspicious light streamed in every direction.
Inside the jade box lay a palm-sized ganoderma.
But it was no ordinary treasure.
The ganoderma was translucent all over, as if carved from the finest agate, and it had nine leaves, each a different color: red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, blue, purple, black, and white. The nine colors flowed and shimmered with divine light.
This was the Nine Wonders Ganoderma Lin Qiu had obtained from a sign-in reward.
In the Shrouding Heavens World, it might count as a decent medicinal herb, but it didn't even come close to being an Immortal Divine Medicine. At most, it would make a snack for a cultivator in the Sea of Bitterness Realm.
But in this world of Douluo, where the standards of fantasy barely cleared the floor...
It was a divine treasure!
Something that surpassed the so-called Immortal Herbs!
"Gulp."
The clear sound of someone swallowing broke the silence.
Ning Rongrong stared fixedly at the Nine Wonders Ganoderma, her eyes wide and unblinking.
Her body, her Martial Soul, every cell in her being—all of them sent the same frenzied craving to her mind: eat it!
She had to eat it!
This instinctive temptation was hundreds, even thousands of times stronger than an addict's yearning for a high.
"Want some?"
Lin Qiu held up the jade box and waved it in front of Ning Rongrong, a teasing smile playing on his lips.
Ning Rongrong nodded unconsciously, like a chick pecking at grain. She simply couldn't tear her eyes away from the ganoderma.
"I... I want some."
As she spoke, she very ungracefully raised her sleeve to wipe the drool glistening at the corner of her mouth.
As the young lady of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, what good things hadn't she seen?
But faced with this ganoderma, she felt that all the rare treasures she'd seen before were nothing more than weeds by the roadside.
Before you continue