Bibi Dong was still fast asleep.
That stunningly beautiful face was right beside him, her long eyelashes fluttering faintly like butterfly wings.
One long, shapely leg was sprawled carelessly across Lin Qiu's stomach.
There was no denying it.
Her Holiness the Pope had a rather uninhibited sleeping posture.
Lin Qiu felt the weight on him and the soft, warm touch.
He carefully tried to move Bibi Dong's leg aside.
The moment he shifted,
Bibi Dong let out a soft murmur and slowly opened her eyes.
Her purple eyes were clouded with the drowsiness of someone just woken, yet they held a lazy, alluring charm.
"You little rascal, fidgeting first thing in the morning."
Bibi Dong's voice was a little hoarse, making it especially captivating.
Not only did she not pull her leg back, she squeezed him a little tighter and held Lin Qiu closer.
"I can't breathe..."
Lin Qiu protested with a long face.
Bibi Dong chuckled and ran a finger over the tip of Lin Qiu's nose.
"You're the delicate one."
Though she said that, she still loosened her embrace and sat up languidly.
The thin blanket slipped down, revealing a generous expanse of lovely spring scenery.
Bibi Dong didn't care in the least. She had never guarded herself around Lin Qiu.
Just then,
the system's notification sounded right on time.
[The host is within the restraining range of a Xiantai powerhouse. Please escape as soon as possible!]
Lin Qiu simply ignored it.
For more than two years, the system had sounded the alarm every day. He'd long since grown sick of hearing it.
He climbed out of bed and stretched his body.
His bones gave off a series of muffled cracks like rolling thunder.
Two and a half years of arduous cultivation,
combined with the Dao Scripture's refinement and the various rare treasures the system had rewarded him with,
had completely transformed Lin Qiu.
Though he still looked like a handsome, refined boy of about ten,
beneath that skin was power as terrifying as that of a primordial Ferocious Beast.
His skin had taken on a faint jade-like sheen, a sign that his body was on the verge of reaching sainthood.
The Golden Bitter Sea inside him had expanded to an unbelievable size.
He still hadn't awakened a Martial Soul,
but Lin Qiu was confident that, even against a Soul Elder-level powerhouse, he could blow them away with one punch.
"I wonder what Martial Soul I'll awaken this time."
Lin Qiu felt a little excited.
According to the rules of Douluo Continent, children awakened their Martial Souls at the age of six.
But because he was cultivating the Covering Sky Method, he'd kept suppressing the process, and Bibi Dong hadn't forced him.
Now that he'd tempered his physical foundation to its limits, it was time to awaken.
After washing up, Lin Qiu headed into the courtyard.
As soon as he stepped outside, he saw a golden figure standing beneath the old tree in the courtyard.
It was Qian Renxue.
She wore a light-gold outfit, her long hair tied high, giving her a crisp and heroic appearance.
The childishness had long since faded from her delicate little face. A hint of the Qian Family's pride now showed between her brows.
She held the familiar wooden sword in her hand.
Its blade was long and slender. Though it hadn't been sharpened, it still carried a murderous air in her grip.
Hearing footsteps, Qian Renxue turned around.
She looked at Lin Qiu as he emerged from the room and raised her chin slightly.
"Still not awake?"
"The sun's already shining on your backside."
Qian Renxue's voice was bright, touched with a hint of teasing.
Lin Qiu yawned and stretched.
His bones crackled all over.
He rubbed his bleary eyes and looked at the golden figure before him, a smile spreading across his face.
"Xue'er, up so early?"
"Did you come all this way just to wake me?"
Qian Renxue gave a soft snort.
She twirled the wooden sword in a pretty flourish and pointed it at Lin Qiu.
"Quit your nonsense."
"I'm here to see whether you've been slacking off these past two years."
"Didn't you say last time that you wanted to learn swordsmanship?"
"I'm in a good mood today, so I'll give you a few pointers."
As she said "give you a few pointers," Qian Renxue put particular emphasis on the words.
Clearly, she still remembered how she'd nearly been caught off guard by underestimating him before.
Over the past two years, she'd often come to see Lin Qiu, but they'd fought for real only a handful of times.
After all, Bibi Dong kept a close eye on him, and Qian Renxue didn't dare actually hurt Lin Qiu.
But today was different.
Bibi Dong had gone to the Pope Palace early that morning to handle official business.
There was no one around to keep them in check now.
It was the perfect opportunity to "get even."
Seeing Qian Renxue looking so eager to try, Lin Qiu couldn't help but find it amusing.
The little girl was still so competitive.
But—
he wasn't the helpless child he'd been two years ago.
The Dao Scripture: Sea of Bitterness Volume had reached its great completion.
The Golden Bitter Sea surged endlessly within him, providing an inexhaustible supply of terrifying life essence.
In terms of physical strength alone, he was confident he could punch a cow to death.
"Sure."
"Then I'll ask you to go easy on me, big sister."
Lin Qiu walked over to the weapon rack at the edge of the courtyard and casually drew out a wooden sword.
He weighed it in his hand.
Too light.
It felt like holding a stalk of straw.
But he didn't let it show. He simply lowered the tip of his sword and stood there in an apparently relaxed stance.
His whole body was riddled with openings.
Qian Renxue frowned slightly.
"Stand properly."
"Hold the sword tight."
"If you stand like that on a battlefield, you'll just be serving yourself up to the enemy."
Though she sounded disdainful, there was no contempt in her eyes.
For some reason, Lin Qiu gave her a strange feeling.
He was full of openings, yet also like a bottomless lake.
She couldn't see through him.
"Come on, big sister."
Lin Qiu beckoned to Qian Renxue with a finger.
That taunting gesture instantly lit Qian Renxue's fighting spirit.
"Arrogant."
Qian Renxue barked and tapped her toe against the ground.
She shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.
She was incredibly fast.
The air even cracked around her.
An ordinary six-year-old would probably not even have been able to see her afterimage.
But to Lin Qiu,
she was too slow.
Every one of Qian Renxue's movements, every detail of how she exerted her strength, seemed to slow endlessly in his eyes.
It was like watching a slow-motion replay.
That was the difference between a cultivator and a Soul Master.
Their senses were on completely different levels.
Lin Qiu didn't move.
He waited until the wooden sword was about to strike his chest.
Only then did he shift slightly to the side.
He didn't even move his feet.
He had only leaned his upper body.
Whoosh!
The wooden sword grazed his clothes.
The gust it brought ruffled the loose hair over his forehead.
Qian Renxue's strike missed, and a flicker of surprise crossed her eyes.
A coincidence?
She refused to believe it.
Her wrist flicked, and the wooden sword swept sideways.
This move was called Sweeping Thousand Armies, one of Spirit Hall's basic sword techniques. It was simple, but powerful and forceful.
Lin Qiu still looked utterly unconcerned.
He gently raised the wooden sword in his hand.
With an apparently casual motion, he planted it upright in front of himself.
Thunk!
A muffled impact rang out.
The two swords met.
Qian Renxue felt an enormous counterforce travel through her sword.
The web of her thumb and forefinger went numb.
How was this possible?
How had this brat gotten so strong?
Even with her Soul Power boosting her physical strength, she hadn't been able to overpower a child who hadn't even awakened a Martial Soul?
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