Bibi Dong

Bibi Dong was also looking at Lu Mingfei.

It was an extraordinarily penetrating gaze, as if she wanted to strip his soul from his flesh and examine it closely before her eyes.

Lu Mingfei felt his skin prickle. The invisible pressure grew heavier, weighing down his shoulders, but he clenched his teeth and refused to lower his head.

Their eye contact lasted for roughly several breaths.

The corners of Bibi Dong's lips lifted by an almost imperceptible degree. "You're quite bold. In all my years, you're the first six-year-old child who can stand straight and not tremble under my gaze."

Lu Mingfei gave a dry laugh. "Um... maybe it's because I'm a little slow. I haven't realized I should be afraid yet."

Bibi Dong did not pursue the subject.

She extended a slender, delicate hand. Faint purple light shimmered at her fingertips as she pressed it lightly toward Lu Mingfei.

"Release your Martial Soul. Let me see it."

In that instant, Lu Mingfei felt an extremely powerful Soul Power probe into his body.

That Soul Power was like a vast net, enveloping his meridians, bones, muscles, and blood vessels. No subtle fluctuation could escape it.

With a thought, the Black Dragon King tattoo on the back of his right hand suddenly grew scorching hot.

Black light erupted from the tattoo and gathered around Lu Mingfei, forming the illusory image of a black dragon roughly ten feet long.

The black dragon phantom raised its head and silently roared.

Though it was only a phantom, the pure Dragon Might of its superior bloodline still spread like something tangible, striking every inch of the quiet chamber.

The Soul Guidance Lamps on the chamber walls swayed slightly. Their lights flickered, as if even they were trembling beneath the Dragon Might.

Bibi Dong's expression changed the instant the black dragon phantom appeared.

Her pupils contracted sharply, and a nearly imperceptible tremor flashed through the depths of her violet eyes.

She remained seated behind the wooden desk, her posture unchanged, but Lu Mingfei keenly noticed that the fingers resting on its edge had tightened slightly.

Dragon Might spread like a surging tide, and Bibi Dong sensed the suppression rising from the depths of her Martial Soul's bloodline.

It was a feeling both familiar and strange to her...

It was familiar because, as the pope of Spirit Hall, she had seen countless dragon-type Martial Souls: the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, Fire Dragon, Earth Dragon, Flying Dragon... She could face every one of them with ease.

It was strange because the pressure from the black dragon before her had actually caused her Martial Soul to tremble faintly within her body.

For the Martial Soul within her to tremble meant that the bloodline level of this black dragon was even higher, older, and purer than she had imagined.

Bibi Dong remained silent for a long time.

Her gaze settled on the coiling, roaring black dragon phantom, and thoughts churned deep within her pupils.

She recalled events from many years ago.

Back then, she had still been young—a girl struggling desperately within Spirit Hall.

She had met a man, one she both loved and hated.

That man's Martial Soul had also been a dragon-type Martial Soul, an incompletely evolved dragon...

If Luo Sanpao had successfully transformed into the Golden Holy Dragon.

If the Golden Holy Dragon had fully awakened... perhaps that man's achievements today would not have fallen short of anyone's.

Bibi Dong lightly tapped her fingers against the wooden desk.

Her gaze shifted away from the black dragon phantom and fell on Lu Mingfei. His young face held a calmness far beyond his years.

Though cold sweat rolled down his temples, his eyes were bright—bright as two freshly polished black onyxes.

What an interesting child.

Bibi Dong thought to herself.

Lu Mingfei's talent was even more outstanding than she had expected. It was not merely the combination of Innate Level 20 Soul Power and the Black Dragon King Martial Soul. More importantly, Lu Mingfei's spiritual core was extraordinarily stable.

Under the probing of her Soul Power, it had not collapsed. Instead, it faintly displayed a sense of rejection and resistance.

This showed that his soul was far stronger than those of his peers, and that his future potential was limitless.

If she could raise such a child at her side from a young age, cultivate him according to her will, and make him her most loyal right-hand man, perhaps that would not be a bad thing.

This thought surfaced in Bibi Dong's mind. She even wondered whether she should keep the child in Spirit City and personally teach him.

With her methods and resources, turning him into an unrivaled powerhouse capable of sweeping across the continent would be no difficult task. All she needed from him was loyalty.

But the thought lasted only a few breaths before she suppressed it.

The pope's schedule was too packed. She had no energy to personally teach a child.

Besides, Bibi Dong understood this clearly.

Spirit Hall had never lacked geniuses. What it lacked were powerhouses capable of fighting their way out through blood and storm.

No matter how brilliantly a flower in a greenhouse bloomed, it could not withstand the ravages of a storm.

A truly powerful Soul Master had to emerge from training and slaughter at the lowest level, tempering himself repeatedly on the edge of life and death before he could forge an unyielding Soul Core.

What this child needed was iron and blood, not her protection.

"Withdraw it."

Bibi Dong's voice returned to its earlier calm detachment.

Lu Mingfei obeyed and dispelled the black dragon phantom. The black light receded like a falling tide, returning to his body and once again becoming the quiet little dragon tattoo on the back of his right hand.

He felt that his back was already soaked with sweat.

The pressure of releasing his Martial Soul before Bibi Dong had been far greater than he had imagined.

The pope's Soul Power probe had pressed down on him like a mountain. If he had not forced himself to endure it, his legs would have given out long ago.

Bibi Dong did not speak at once. Her gaze lingered on Lu Mingfei's face for a moment, as if assessing something or making some decision.

Lu Mingfei felt his scalp crawl beneath her gaze. He could not shake the feeling that His Holiness the Pope was examining a dish that had not yet left the pot, wondering whether to steam it or braise it.

"Huang Fei."

Bibi Dong finally spoke. Her voice was neither loud nor soft, yet it carried a peculiar penetrating power.

Huang Fei, who had been standing guard outside, entered at once and bowed before Bibi Dong. "Your Holiness."

"Take him to the junior training camp. Follow the normal procedure. No special treatment."

Bibi Dong paused before adding, "Report his training progress to me every month. Submit it directly to me."

Huang Fei's pupils contracted slightly.

She had followed Bibi Dong for many years and knew exactly what this meant...

His Holiness the Pope intended to personally monitor this child's growth.

What extraordinary importance that showed. Across all of Spirit Hall, only a handful of young Soul Masters could receive such treatment.

Huang Fei bowed in acknowledgment, then turned and signaled to Lu Mingfei with her eyes.

Lu Mingfei understood. He inclined himself slightly toward Bibi Dong.

"Your Holiness, then I'll take my leave first."

Bibi Dong did not answer. She merely waved her hand lightly.