Perfectionist

Elsewhere, in the Pope's Palace.

Qian Xunji sat upon the towering papal throne, his fingers tapping rhythmically against the armrest.

The gloom in his eyes never dissipated.

Tang Hao had escaped.

He had laid three lines of defense at the edge of the Star Dou Forest, deploying three Spirit Douluo and six Spirit Sages, yet Tang Hao had still managed to slip away.

This was not the first or second time.

That brat from the Clear Sky Sect managed to slide through the grasp of Martial Soul Hall at the most critical moment every single time.

This time, he had even wounded three Spirit Sages while breaking through the encirclement.

Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan stood with his head bowed at the foot of the steps.

He had just returned and, without even changing his clothes, had rushed to report to the Pope.

Qian Xunji had always trusted him; he was a confidant hand-picked by the Pope himself.

Precisely because of this, he had to be more careful now than ever before.

"How is Bibi Dong?" Qian Xunji asked.

His tone was casual.

But Yue Guan knew that this Pope was extremely concerned with every move the Holy Maiden made.

"Reporting to the Pope," Yue Guan bowed slightly, "Bibi Dong located those three evil spirit masters and eliminated them in the wilderness north of the Star Dou Forest."

Qian Xunji raised his eyelids: "By herself?"

"Yes."

"How long did it take?"

The image of that three-breath instant kill flashed through Yue Guan's mind.

Without changing his expression, his tone remained steady and natural: "A little longer than expected. Those three possessed considerable combat power when working together; Bibi Dong had to expend quite a bit of effort to defeat them one by one.

The entire process lasted about half an incense stick of time. After killing all three, she set off on her return journey without any complications."

He had to fabricate this.

After all, he was not stupid.

If Qian Xunji were to learn that Bibi Dong had instantly killed three Spirit Douluo, the Pope would surely become extremely wary of her. If Qian Xunji were to take measures against Bibi Dong, he, Yue Guan, would be the first to be implicated.

After all, he had watched with his own eyes as Bibi Dong killed three Spirit Douluo, yet he had not reported the truth to the Pope.

Furthermore, he still had Bibi Dong's deadly poison in his body; if he dared to utter even half a word more than he should, he feared there would be no good outcome.

Qian Xunji was silent for a moment, then responded indifferently: "Understood."

He did not press further.

He was well aware that Bibi Dong was a Spirit Douluo with Twin Martial Souls and possessed great strength.

Facing the siege of one level eighty-nine and two low-level Spirit Douluo, it would indeed require some effort.

Although he did not know how much Bibi Dong had secretly cultivated over the past year, she should be approaching level eighty-five.

Being able to wipe out her opponents without sustaining injury proved her strength was indeed not bad, but that was all.

It was not enough to warrant his concern.

Qian Xunji waved his hand.

Yue Guan bowed and retreated from the hall.

The moment he turned around, a layer of cold sweat had already seeped through his back.

Thankfully, the Pope had not grown suspicious.

He walked quickly down the corridor, thinking of Bibi Dong's instructions.

From this day forward, he was the confidant of the Pope Qian Xunji and the hidden piece of the Holy Maiden Bibi Dong.

He had to carefully find a balance between the two.

One wrong step, and he would be doomed beyond redemption.

In Bibi Dong's room.

Luo Dong was already fast asleep, wrapped tightly in a Small Blanket, with only his flushed little face exposed.

Bibi Dong watched her precious son for a long while before finally shifting her gaze away from Luo Dong.

After breaking through to Titled Douluo, her train of thought had become even clearer.

The spirit rings for her second martial soul—the Soul-Eater Spider Emperor—remained empty.

If she followed the conventional method, she would need to head deep into the Star Dou Forest, hunt spirit beasts of sufficient age, and fill the spirit rings one by one.

The greatest advantage of Twin Martial Souls was that the second martial soul could be entirely augmented with high-age spirit rings.

Ten thousand years, fifty thousand years, eighty thousand years, she could even aim for all of them to be Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast level.

Once all nine soul rings were filled, with the superposition of her Twin Martial Souls, her strength would experience a terrifying leap.

Level ninety-one soul power?

By then, surging directly to level ninety-five or even higher would be no pipe dream.

This was the terrifying aspect of Twin Martial Souls.

Her original plan had been just that—to endure and cultivate, wait for the right moment, hunt soul beasts to fill her second martial soul, then break through in one fell swoop and go settle the score with Qian Xunji.

But now, she had a system.

The System Mission rewards could directly bestow soul rings.

No need to hunt, no need to search, no need to risk her life against those ten-thousand-year soul beasts in the depths of the Star Dou Forest.

Moreover, the soul rings bestowed by the system were perfectly compatible, potentially all exceeding the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast level, with Soul Skill effects that were heaven-defying.

The ninth ring of her first martial soul was just the beginning.

If in the future, all nine soul rings of her second martial soul were also bestowed by the system...

Bibi Dong imagined that scene.

Nine hundred-thousand-year soul rings, all attached to her second martial soul.

All sorts of terrifying Soul Skill effects.

What kind of power would that be?

Titled Douluo? By then, I fear even a level ninety-nine Douluo would have to give way before her.

Not to mention, she still possessed the heaven-defying technique God Spider Eight Kills, which could multiply her combat power by eight times.

If the nine soul rings of her second martial soul were all perfected, and then stacked with the eight-fold combat power of God Spider Eight Kills—who else on the entire continent could stop her?

Even gods could be fought.

Bibi Dong was an extreme perfectionist.

When it came to cultivation, she never settled for less.

The first few soul rings of her first martial soul, the Death Spider Emperor, were not of very high age, but that was limited by her strength and conditions at the time.

But her second martial soul was different.

Now that she already possessed the strength of a Titled Douluo and had the system by her side, she would strive to obtain the best for every one of the nine soul rings of her second martial soul.

Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast is the baseline. A million years is the goal.

However, the trigger conditions for the system to bestow soul rings were not yet fully clear.

Currently, the only time she had received a soul ring reward was through the combat protection-type "Mother's Responsibility".

But the appearance of a System Mission was not entirely under her control.

If the system was slow to release new soul ring missions, she could not just sit at home and wait.

After weighing her options, Bibi Dong made a decision.

If news of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast spread, it would be fine to take the initiative to hunt it.

Although Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast specimens in the depths of the Star Dou Forest were rare, they were not non-existent.

With her current strength, hunting a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast was not impossible.

And if no suitable Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast appeared, she would continue to rely on the system.

Between Daily Quest and special missions, the system would surely provide the next soul ring reward at some point.

She had plenty of patience.

She looked down at Luo Dong on the bed.

The little guy turned over in his sleep, smacking his Little Mouth twice.

Bibi Dong reached out to tuck in the corner of his blanket, then closed her eyes again.

She began to cultivate, guiding the Soul Power Liquid in her Dantian to circulate slowly.

The Soul Power Liquid flowed through her Dantian, circle after circle, in an endless cycle.