Bibi Dong's Discovery

On the other side, Lu Chen had no idea what had happened after he left the Awakening Temple.

He only felt the scene before his eyes changing at breakneck speed.

More precisely, the gold was rushing past him.

Ghost Douluo was moving too fast.

Held aloft by him, Lu Chen had no time to make out anything along the way. He could only feel the buildings and patches of light constantly streaking past.

For a child who had just awakened his Martial Soul and was still only six years old, it was hardly a comfortable experience.

Fortunately, it didn't last long.

By the time Lu Chen finally came to his senses, Gui Mei had already stopped and set him down.

As his feet touched the ground again, Lu Chen instinctively steadied himself.

He gently rubbed the back of his neck where he'd been gripped, then looked around.

This was clearly no longer the Awakening Temple.

Everything around him was resplendent and solemn, exuding the grandeur of Spirit Hall's seat of power.

Lu Chen had never been here before, but he quickly guessed that this must be the Pope Hall.

He looked ahead.

On a raised platform sat a noble woman.

She radiated an overwhelming authority. She didn't need to do anything at all; simply sitting there was enough to make people afraid to meet her eyes.

Her presence far surpassed that of anyone Lu Chen had seen at the orphanage or in the Awakening Temple.

And there was no need to guess at her identity.

The Pope, Bibi Dong.

Lu Chen confirmed it at once.

He'd known he would meet Bibi Dong sooner or later, but he hadn't expected it to happen so soon.

He'd only just awakened his Martial Soul and hadn't even had his Innate Soul Power tested before Ghost Douluo brought him straight to the Pope Hall.

Still, it made sense.

The disturbance caused by Leugocyte's Martial Soul had been enormous.

It would have been strange if Bibi Dong hadn't reacted.

Lu Chen stood where he was, doing his best to act like a six-year-old without seeming too foolish.

He knew the woman before him was no ordinary person.

Bibi Dong was not only the Pope of Spirit Hall but also one of the most dangerous and complicated people on the continent. She had ambition, strength, cunning, and deep-seated emotional wounds.

He had to be cautious around someone like her.

As Lu Chen pondered this, Bibi Dong suddenly vanished from the platform.

In the next instant, she appeared right in front of him.

She moved so fast that Lu Chen barely saw her.

By the time he reacted, Bibi Dong was standing before him, looking down at him.

Now that she was closer, Lu Chen could see the Pope more clearly.

She really was beautiful.

Not beautiful in the ordinary, gentle sense, but with a beauty that was noble, imposing, and dangerous.

Her gaze settled on Lu Chen as if she meant to see right through him.

Lu Chen knew he couldn't act too mature just then.

If a six-year-old stayed too calm in front of the Pope, it might arouse suspicion.

He had to lower Bibi Dong's guard.

So Lu Chen raised his head, looked at the beautiful woman before him, blinked, and said, "Hello, pretty big sister."

The moment the words left his mouth, the atmosphere in the Pope Hall seemed to stiffen.

Ghost Douluo stood nearby without saying a word.

Lu Chen looked innocent on the surface, but inside, he was watching Bibi Dong's reaction.

He hadn't said it offhand.

In his view, a childish greeting like this was more fitting than a solemn bow or acting overly afraid.

It made him seem his age and might even lighten the mood a little.

Whether it would offend Bibi Dong was another matter. He'd have to take his chances.

Hearing his words, Bibi Dong was indeed taken aback.

Not because Lu Chen had called her pretty big sister.

Rather, she was surprised to find that she felt no anger at all.

Had anyone else dared speak to her in that tone, or even call her pretty big sister, she would likely have slapped them across the face.

The Pope's authority could not be treated lightly.

Yet when this child said it, she didn't feel insulted.

Perhaps it was because Lu Chen was only six.

Perhaps it was because he had just awakened a divine-grade Martial Soul.

Or perhaps it was because, although his eyes held a child's clear innocence, they lacked the fear most children felt when facing her.

Bibi Dong lowered her gaze to Lu Chen, and quickly suppressed her surprise.

She neither lost her temper nor scolded him.

She simply watched the child who had just awakened a divine-grade Martial Soul, a thoughtful look deepening in her eyes.

The Pope Hall was quiet, with a tense, oppressive air.

Sure enough, Bibi Dong spoke.

"Child, release your Martial Soul."

Her voice was not harsh, but it carried an authority that brooked no refusal.

Lu Chen did not hesitate.

"Okay."

As he spoke, he followed the sensation he'd felt during his awakening and began to draw upon the power of the Martial Soul that had just awakened within him.

The next moment, a dark purple aura slowly emerged behind Lu Chen.

The air in the Pope Hall seemed to grow heavier all at once.

At first, the aura was no more than an illusory ripple of energy. But it quickly gathered into an enormous phantom.

Its red-purple body gradually took shape, while a golden dragon head and horns radiated sacred majesty. Vast, membranous wings unfurled behind it.

A spiked tail stretched out behind, and its whole form seemed to combine a Western dragon with a humanoid figure.

It hovered silently behind Lu Chen.

The Universe Devourer, Color Dragon Rugesite.

Though it was merely the phantom of a Martial Soul, not a fully materialized being, its dreadful aura remained unmistakable.

Divinity and ferocity coexisted within it, as if destruction and order had been forcibly fused together.

It made no sound, yet instinctively filled everyone who saw it with a sense of danger.

Ghost Douluo's figure remained illusory, but the instant Rugesite's phantom appeared, his aura wavered slightly.

Bibi Dong's expression grew even more solemn.

She could feel both of her Martial Souls reacting within her.

The Death Spider Emperor and the Soul-Eater Spider Emperor were both extraordinarily powerful Martial Souls, among the very strongest on Douluo Continent.

But now, before the phantom of Rugesite behind Lu Chen, they seemed to have encountered a higher order of existence, suppressed by an innate pressure.

Bibi Dong couldn't help but marvel.

As expected of a divine-grade Martial Soul.

This oppressive force was beyond anything an ordinary top-tier Martial Soul could match.

Even though Lu Chen was only a six-year-old child who had just awakened his Martial Soul and hadn't obtained even his first Soul Ring, the very rank of his Martial Soul was enough to stir a reaction in both of hers.

But what caught Bibi Dong's attention even more was not the suppression of her Martial Souls.

She suddenly realized that the malice that had always lingered in her mind was slowly fading.

The change was extremely subtle.

If she hadn't been so sensitive to her own condition, she might not even have noticed it.

But it was happening.