Good Sister

"Why..."

Her vision blurred. Suffocating darkness crept in from the edges, swallowing the center. She struggled to turn her head and could only make out a golden-haired figure, roaring again and again.

What was she saying?

"Huh?"

Bibi Dong abruptly opened her eyes and jolted awake. She sprang up from the Soul Power chair and looked around. The unfamiliar Sewer and water covering her ankles brought her memories into focus.

That's right... I survived...

Pressing a hand to her forehead, Bibi Dong shook her head and sighed softly before sinking back into the soft Soul Power sofa.

Had she actually fallen asleep?

Ever since she began training as a Spirit Master at the age of six, Bibi Dong had slept very little, usually using meditation in place of sleep. But now, she could no longer meditate to cultivate.

No matter how hard she tried, the dead silent space gave no response to her Soul Power. No matter how well she could endure loneliness, it didn't change the fact that meditation had become a pointless exercise in emptying her mind. In the end, she had actually fallen asleep.

Rubbing her brow, Bibi Dong recalled the scene from her dream.

That should have been... Xiao Xue...

If I died, would Xiao Xue cry?

Bibi Dong couldn't help wondering, but she immediately frowned and stamped out the thought. She really had grown soft. How could such a naive idea even cross her mind?

She'd better focus on her current predicament.

Bibi Dong furrowed her brow in thought. Her state of mind could be summed up in one phrase: utterly baffled. That little brat had told her a whole lot of things yesterday, and not one of them was useful. What was this Uzumaki Clan?

What was a Jinchuriki?

She'd never heard of any of it!

Had that brat not even considered explaining a little? He'd said his piece, then shaken hands, and just like that, he'd fooled her into letting it go?

It had taken Bibi Dong a long while yesterday to sort through everything that had happened in the past few days before she realized she'd been played. That brat hadn't told her a single word of the information she urgently wanted. Infuriating!

But there was nothing Bibi Dong could do about it right now. She'd already experienced the power of this so-called Sealing Space firsthand. She'd even tried to escape last night.

It had all been futile. Apart from the gray-white stone walls and the rusty pipes clinging to them, there was no exit to escape through. The entire edge of the space was as if it had been cast in molten iron and left to harden.

She'd explored with her spiritual power for a long time, but it had all vanished like a stone sinking into the sea. She couldn't even understand how the seal worked, much less escape.

At the root of it, she simply didn't have enough information...

Bibi Dong tapped the armrest absently with her fingertips. For now, she had to find a way to pry some information out of that brat.

Turning her attention elsewhere, Bibi Dong saw nothing of Naruto's surroundings. That was only natural. Yesterday, when Naruto had gone to take a bath, he'd blacked out her view entirely, and it still hadn't returned.

That was also why Bibi Dong had happened to fall asleep last night. In this vast, silent space, there really was nothing to do.

Just then, bright sunlight suddenly lit up before her eyes, drowning out the damp, gloomy Sewer.

Her vision was back.

Whoosh!

In the courtyard, Naruto raised a hand. Three pitch-black chains shot out from his palm, tracing graceful arcs across the yard. With a swish, they wrapped around the stone millstone.

Gripping his Martial Soul tightly, Naruto tensed his arm. The Chains of Heaven snapped taut, but the millstone didn't budge an inch.

"Tch."

Naruto clicked his tongue and dropped the act. Grabbing his Martial Soul with both hands, his face reddened as he put his full strength into it.

Creeeak!

With all his might, he finally managed to move the solid millstone, which was as large as a bathtub, if only by a tiny bit.

That alone took everything Naruto had.

"Hah..."

The moment the breath in his chest escaped, Naruto ran out of strength. His body went limp, and he panted as he raised a hand to withdraw his Martial Soul. The Chains of Heaven slipped off the millstone and swept through the air with a clatter before wrapping around Naruto's right arm, forming a black gauntlet.

After letting out a few breaths, Naruto lowered his head to inspect his Martial Soul.

He might have given it the overbearing name "Chains of Heaven," but it clearly couldn't live up to it yet. Its overall strength was about the same as an ordinary chain, and it hadn't increased his strength at all.

In fact, since the chains made it hard to apply force, Naruto could now only shift the millstone slightly, even though he could have pushed it with his strength alone.

Which path should he take with this Martial Soul?

As he pondered, Bibi Dong's somewhat surprised voice suddenly rang in his head. "Young... young friend, your Martial Soul is rather interesting."

You were just about to call me a brat, weren't you?

Naruto's eyelids drooped, giving him a fish-eyed look of exasperation. Resisting the urge to complain, he shook his Martial Soul. "What makes it interesting?"

"The flow of Soul Power in your right hand has slowed..."

Bibi Dong sounded uncertain.

Naruto blinked, then suddenly realized what she meant. He focused, immediately directing his Soul Power toward his arm. The moment it touched his Martial Soul, his Soul Power, which had been flowing smoothly through his meridians, seemed to sink into a mire and slowed down...

Not only that, but the amount of Soul Power needed to manifest his Martial Soul had also started to increase.

Could this really be his Martial Soul's ability?

"This Martial Soul trait of yours is rare. It slows the flow of Soul Power. It reminds me a little of the Martial Soul Fusion Skill of Chrysanthemum Ghost Douluo." Bibi Dong grew slightly interested. Resting her chin on her hand, she added, "If your Soul Skills are any good in the future, you could become a Control-type Spirit Master or a Support-type Spirit Master."

"So I should go into control or support? I can't try to take a more domineering path, like the Power Attack System?"

Faced with Naruto's matter-of-fact question, Bibi Dong froze, her expression turning strange.

"Why are you asking me?"

The moment she said it, the spiritual power she'd extended froze in midair. She shot up from the chair. "Wait! Why hasn't your Soul Power increased at all? Didn't you cultivate yesterday?"

Naruto spread his hands and shrugged, giving her an exasperated look. "School hasn't even started. I don't even know how to meditate. How am I supposed to cultivate?"

"Huh?"

Bibi Dong finally lost her composure.

In the Sealing Space, Naruto ignored Bibi Dong's resentful gaze. His entire attention was fixed on the little booklet made of Soul Power in front of him. He'd only flipped through a few pages, but the dense, neat handwriting was enough to show that this thing was no ordinary manual!

"Dear big sister, is the Spirit Hall meditation method really that powerful?"

Naruto turned to her and asked with an obsequious grin.

Jiang Naruto's knowledge of Douluo Continent came entirely from novels and the memories of his original body. In truth, his education wasn't much better than that of an illiterate. He didn't even know the basic fact that different factions used vastly different meditation methods.

It couldn't be helped. Tang San had been a god for tens of thousands of years, and he was still using his Mysterious Heaven Skill. What was a meditation method? It had barely been mentioned...

How could anyone have such a thick skin?

Compared to yesterday, he was like a completely different person!

Under Naruto's eager gaze, Bibi Dong's eye twitched. She instinctively edged back, looking disgusted. "I really don't understand you! You don't even know a meditation method? How was I sealed in here by you?"

"Didn't I tell you?"

Naruto's eyes widened, and he spoke with righteous conviction, as if explaining an obvious fact.

"I'm just a Jinchuriki! Sealing powerful people isn't something Jinchuriki do, is it?"

Bibi Dong raised a hand to her forehead and couldn't help shaking her head. "I'll... just assume your story is true..."

From a rational perspective, whether the story was true or not was beside the point. Given her current status as a prisoner, it was already good news that this brat was willing to negotiate with her in such a friendly, reasonable manner.

But...

For some reason, this brat's words always managed to infuriate her.

"So, who placed this seal? How did I end up here? Who's the mastermind? You actually know nothing at all?"

"I can control the seal... Does that count?"

"Like hell it does!"

Bibi Dong swung her hand down. The armrest of the Soul Power sofa shattered under the blow.

Seeing the black-purple Soul Power swirling in front of him, Naruto gave an awkward laugh and raised a hand, trying to soothe the furious Bibi Dong. He was telling the truth!

He really didn't know that stubborn, confused guy!

Why did nobody believe the truth these days?

"Calm down. How about we get back to discussing this meditation method?" Naruto pointed to the meditation manual in his hand, trying to change the subject.

Bibi Dong, still furious, crooked a finger. The meditation manual, made of her Soul Power to begin with, instantly dissolved into flecks of Soul Power and slipped through Naruto's fingers.

Seeing this,

Naruto tried to stop it, but he couldn't do a thing. He could only watch as the manual appeared in Bibi Dong's hand. With a smack, it dissolved into Soul Power and vanished.

"That's too much!" Naruto sprang to his feet, having only managed to read the beginning. He opened his mouth and cursed, "At the end of the day, I'm the one who saved your life! You'd already be dead without me!"

"So what if I ask for a meditation method? I haven't even charged you rent for staying here!"

Bibi Dong ignored Naruto's fussing, tamped down her anger, and stared at him coldly.

"You want it?"

Naruto felt a chill under her stare and temporarily lowered his guard. His expression turned awkward. He tugged at his clothes with both hands and adopted a strange triangular defensive stance. "What are you planning? I'll sell my skills, but not my body!"

Crack!

Bibi Dong crushed the remaining half of the sofa's armrest to pieces.

This brat really was infuriating!