Bibi Dong

Bibi Dong was also looking at Lu Mingfei.

Her gaze was incredibly piercing, as though she wanted to strip his soul from its flesh and examine it closely before her eyes.

Lu Mingfei felt his skin prickle. The invisible pressure grew heavier and heavier, making his shoulders sink slightly, but he gritted his teeth and did not lower his head.

Their eye contact lasted for roughly a few breaths.

The corner of Bibi Dong's lips lifted in an almost imperceptible curve. "You've got some nerve. You're the first six-year-old child who's managed to stand straight without trembling under my gaze."

Lu Mingfei gave a dry laugh. "Um... maybe I'm just slow, so I haven't realized I should be afraid yet."

Bibi Dong did not pursue the matter further.

She extended a slender, delicate hand, her fingertips glowing with a faint purple light, and pressed downward at Lu Mingfei from a distance.

"Release your martial soul. Let me see it."

In that instant, Lu Mingfei felt an immensely powerful soul force enter his body.

That soul force was like a vast net, enveloping his meridians, bones, muscles, and blood vessels. Not even the slightest fluctuation could escape its notice.

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

Black light burst from the tattoo, condensing around Lu Mingfei into the phantom image of a black dragon about ten feet long.

The black dragon phantom raised its head and let out a silent roar.

Though it was only a phantom, the pure dragon might from its superior bloodline still spread outward as if tangible, battering every inch of the quiet chamber.

The soul lamps on the chamber walls swayed faintly, their light flickering bright and dim, as though even they were trembling beneath the dragon's might.

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

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

She remained seated behind the wooden desk, her posture unchanged, but Lu Mingfei sharply noticed that the fingers resting on the desk's edge tightened slightly.

The dragon might spread like a tide, and Bibi Dong felt the suppression coming from the depths of her martial soul's bloodline.

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

Familiar because, as the Pope of Spirit Hall, she had seen countless dragon-type martial souls: Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, fire dragons, earth dragons, flying dragons. She had always faced every kind of dragon-type martial soul with ease.

Unfamiliar 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 inside her to tremble meant that this black dragon's bloodline was even higher, older, and purer than she had imagined.

Bibi Dong remained silent for a long time.

Her gaze rested on the circling, roaring black dragon phantom as thoughts churned in the depths of her eyes.

She recalled something from many years ago.

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

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

That man's martial soul had also been dragon-type, an incompletely evolved dragon...

If Luo Sanpao could successfully transform into the Golden Holy Dragon.

If the Golden Holy Dragon could fully awaken... perhaps that man's achievements today would not have been inferior to anyone's.

Bibi Dong lightly tapped her fingertips against the wooden desk.

Her gaze shifted from the black dragon phantom to Lu Mingfei. There was a trace of calmness on that youthful face that did not match his age.

Though cold sweat rolled down from his temples, his eyes were bright—bright like two freshly polished pieces of obsidian.

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 twentieth-rank soul power and the Black Dragon King martial soul; more importantly, Lu Mingfei's spiritual core was exceptionally stable.

Under her soul force probe, he had not only avoided collapse, but even faintly showed signs of rejection and resistance.

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

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

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

With her methods and resources, turning him into a peerless powerhouse capable of sweeping across the continent would not be difficult. All she needed was his loyalty.

But after only a few breaths, she suppressed the thought.

The Pope's schedule was far too full. She had no energy to personally teach a child.

Besides, Bibi Dong understood clearly.

Spirit Hall had never lacked geniuses. What it lacked were powerhouses who could carve their way out through bloody storms.

No matter how brilliantly flowers bloomed in a greenhouse, they could not withstand the devastation of a single storm.

A truly powerful soul master had to emerge from the most basic training and slaughter, tempering himself constantly at 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.

"Take it back."

Bibi Dong's voice returned to its previous calm indifference.

Lu Mingfei obeyed and dispersed the black dragon phantom. The black light receded into his body like an ebbing tide, becoming once more the quiet little dragon tattoo on the back of his right hand.

He realized that his back was already soaked with sweat.

The pressure of releasing his martial soul before Bibi Dong was far greater than he had imagined.

The Pope's soul force probe had felt like a mountain pressing down on him. If he had not held on with all his strength, his legs would have given out long ago.

Bibi Dong did not speak immediately. Her gaze lingered on Lu Mingfei's face for a moment, as though evaluating something, or perhaps making a decision.

Lu Mingfei's scalp prickled under her stare. He always felt that the way this Pope looked at him was like she was sizing up a dish that had yet to leave the pot, considering whether to steam it or braise it.

"Huang Fei."

Bibi Dong finally spoke. Her voice was neither loud nor soft, yet it carried an unusual penetrating quality.

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 usual procedures. No special treatment."

Bibi Dong paused, then added, "Report his training progress to me every month. Send it directly here."

Huang Fei's pupils contracted slightly.

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

The Pope intended to personally keep an eye on this child's growth.

Such attention was an extraordinary honor. Across all of Spirit Hall, only a handful of young soul masters received such treatment.

Huang Fei bowed in acknowledgment, then turned and gave Lu Mingfei a meaningful look.

Lu Mingfei understood and bowed slightly to Bibi Dong.

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

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