Yue Guan spoke up at the right moment to join the conversation, "Your Majesty, this matter is true. This immortal herb was indeed consumed by Ye Han. Had the Poison Douluo not been protecting this child, this subordinate would have even considered taking him as a disciple back then."
Hearing this, Dugu Bo let out a cold snort, his heart filled with disdain.
That old fellow Yue Guan was gilding his own lily once more.
Taking him as a disciple?
Given Ye Han's natural talent, regardless of whose sect he entered, it would be that person's good fortune. How could it ever be Chrysanthemum Douluo's turn to put on airs here?
"The reason my cultivation can rise so quickly is the same," Ye Han said in a steady tone. "It is entirely thanks to the assistance of this immortal herb that my accumulation of soul power far exceeds that of ordinary soul masters, and breaking through bottlenecks has also been much easier."
Without changing expression, Ye Han attributed all the reasons for his rapid growth to the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum.
It just so happened that Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan was right beside him, which could help him shoulder a portion of the attention.
The Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum was Yue Guan's own martial soul, and his understanding of this immortal treasure far surpassed that of others. With him coming forward to corroborate it, the credibility of this explanation would naturally rise by a notch.
Bibi Dong fell silent for a moment.
She knew the miraculous effects of immortal herbs, but... could a single immortal herb alone allow a twelve-year-old youth to rush into the Soul King realm?
Could it also support him in absorbing a ten-thousand-year soul ring for his fourth soul ring?
Bibi Dong did not believe it, or rather, she did not entirely believe it.
Immediately afterward, Bibi Dong slowly rose from her throne, grasped her scepter, and walked down the steps step by step.
Dugu Bo instinctively took half a step forward, shielding Ye Han behind him.
Golden Crocodile Douluo still stood quietly in place with his hands lowered, like an immovable stone statue; Qian Renxue slightly raised her eyebrows, watching the scene before her with keen interest.
Bibi Dong stopped at a distance of three steps from Ye Han.
She looked at Ye Han, a trace of imperceptible eagerness flashing deep within her purple eyes.
"Ye Han," Bibi Dong spoke, her voice several shades deeper than usual. "Can you let this sovereign take a look at that detached beast martial soul of yours?"
Unable to suppress her anticipation, her tone even trembled slightly.
Dugu Bo's brows locked even tighter.
Ye Han was quiet for a moment, lifted his eyes to look at Bibi Dong, glanced sideways at Dugu Bo beside him and Qian Renxue in the distance, and finally slowly nodded.
"Yes."
As soon as his voice fell, a thought stirred in Ye Han's mind, a red light flashed abruptly, and the Fire Qilin appeared within the great hall.
"Roar-!"
As soon as the Fire Qilin manifested in the world and sensed the presence of the various Titled Douluos in the hall, it immediately let out a low roar.
Its massive body lowered slightly, white flames continuously flowing across the surface of its body. A pair of Qilin eyes scanned everyone present vigilantly, finally locking onto Bibi Dong.
The moment the Fire Qilin appeared, everyone's gazes were firmly attracted by it.
Golden Crocodile Douluo finally raised his head, his aged eyes falling upon the Fire Qilin to examine it closely.
Qian Renxue's golden eyes lit up slightly, the corners of her mouth curling into a faint smile.
Bibi Dong's breathing quickened almost imperceptibly.
Her gaze was nailed dead to the Fire Qilin, unwilling to let go of a single detail from head to toe. Her gaze drifted downward, falling upon the five soul rings revolving slowly at the Fire Qilin's feet.
Yellow, yellow, purple, black, black.
Two hundred-year, one thousand-year, two ten-thousand-year.
This youth of only twelve years old was truly and genuinely a Soul King.
Ye Han raised a hand and gently stroked the Fire Qilin's neck, "Don't be nervous, it's fine."
The Fire Qilin let out a low growl, turned its head, and rubbed its head against Ye Han's palm, the wariness in its Qilin eyes slowly dissipating.
In its heart, the Fire Qilin still felt a bit of smug pride, thoroughly enjoying the gazes of everyone focused upon it.
Only then did the crowd notice that Ye Han's martial soul possessed a sentience that exceeded all imagination.
Gui Mei suddenly spoke in a low voice, "This martial soul... brimming with vitality, almost no different from a true living creature."
Yue Guan nodded in agreement, "Indeed so."
Bibi Dong forcefully suppressed the churning excitement in her heart.
"Ye Han, tell me in detail, why is your detached martial soul so strong? I heard that your martial soul only recently completed a true evolution, becoming an adult soul beast?"
"Yes, Your Holiness."
"I surmise it should be related to the soul rings I absorbed, especially starting from the third soul ring..."
Ye Han casually recounted it, then continued to supplement, "Of course, these are all merely my own speculations. The martial soul itself is profound and unpredictable; even until now, no one has been able to thoroughly research and understand it."
He had prepared this narrative long ago.
Naturally, the content was nine parts truth and one part fiction, paired with this explanation resembling "ninety percent effort plus one percent talent."
As for how much Bibi Dong could believe, it would depend entirely on her own judgment.
Regardless, he had already stated all the "reasons" he had deduced as they were.
Much like ninety percent effort paired with one percent talent, the combination of the two created the ultimate result.
Bibi Dong calculated rapidly in her mind.
If she wanted to apply this method to Yu Xiaogang, the difficulty would probably be far from small.
Yu Xiaogang had already absorbed his first two soul rings. Restricted by his own natural talent, his cultivation was stuck at rank twenty-nine and could never break through upward again.
If she remembered correctly, Yu Xiaogang's two soul rings were also far removed from the concept of homologous reinforcement.
The first was a lightning-attribute sub-dragon soul beast his clan helped him find, and the second was obtained by himself by hunting another soul beast after he left the clan.
Yet this matter was not entirely without a turning point.
Since soul rings could nourish the martial soul origin, soul bones, which were even rarer than soul rings, ought to be able to play the exact same role.
If she could find a matching soul bone for Xiaogang... not just soul bones, some heavenly treasures with matching attributes should also work, just like the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum this youth had consumed.
Thinking to this point, hope rekindled in the depths of Bibi Dong's heart.
She looked at Ye Han, her gaze complex. "Ye Han."
Bibi Dong's tone returned to calm, "The content you mentioned just now is of great benefit to Spirit Hall's research. This sovereign will not let you make this trip in vain, nor will you be made to surrender your own secrets for nothing."
"As an exchange, whenever you encounter bottlenecks in your cultivation in the future, you may come to Spirit City to seek me. This sovereign can answer your questions once, regardless of what difficult problem it might be."
This was a promise, a pledge from the Pope of Spirit Hall.
Ye Han nodded slightly in acceptance, his expression remaining indifferent. "Many thanks, Your Holiness the Pope."
He did not utter any more polite pleasantries.
Such a promise was worth a thousand gold when useful, but if it went unused, it was ultimately nothing more than empty words.
Immediately afterward, Bibi Dong opened her mouth to question him once more.
Her gaze fell upon Ye Han, carrying scrutiny while also hiding a trace of hard-to-detect anticipation. "Ye Han, are you truly unwilling to enter Spirit Hall and become my disciple?"
"With the talent you have displayed, even succeeding to the position of Pope in the future is not without a chance. The resources Spirit Hall can give you are far beyond what the Heaven Dou Empire can compare to. Only by staying here can you receive the best cultivation."
Having finished listening to these words, Ye Han fell silent for a moment.
After a long while, he slowly raised his eyes to look at Bibi Dong, and gently shook his head. "Many thanks for the appreciation, Your Holiness the Pope."
"It's just that I have no such intentions at present. I am still a student of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy, and the academy and the three education committee members have treated me with a kindness as heavy as a mountain."
Pausing slightly, he continued, "Before the next Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament concludes and I complete my studies, I will not consider joining other factions. This is my promise to the academy, and also the bottom line of my conduct."
Ye Han looked at Bibi Dong, his tone sincere. "I ask Your Holiness the Pope to forgive me."
Facing Ye Han's refusal, there was no surprise on Bibi Dong's face, as if she had anticipated this reply long ago.
Having obtained the desired information from Ye Han's mouth, her mood at the moment was evidently quite good.
"Since that is the case, this sovereign will not force you either," Bibi Dong spoke slowly. "However, Ye Han, there are still quite a few details in the content you recounted just now that await completion."
"Next, I must trouble you to stay a few more days in Spirit City, and write down everything you said just now in as much detail as possible-the reasons for choosing your first to fifth soul rings, your personal feelings during absorption, and the specific state of every single martial soul mutation."
"This transcript is of vital importance to Spirit Hall's subsequent research," Bibi Dong added. "If it is successfully verified in the future and a feasible method for benign martial soul mutation is figured out, Spirit Hall will definitely not treat you unfairly and there will surely be heavy rewards."
Ye Han nodded gently, "This junior understands. I will stay a few more days in Spirit City and record everything I know in detail, one by one."
Ye Han stayed in Spirit City for a total of three days.
During these three days, he lived alone in a quiet room arranged by Spirit Hall, putting the explanation he had previously told Bibi Dong into writing as meticulously as possible.
This record was not entirely fabricated; a certain degree of feasibility truly existed within it.
It was just that whether this method could work when applied to Yu Xiaogang was something Ye Han held no certainty about in his heart.
Yu Xiaogang's own situation was extremely special to begin with.
His martial soul, Luo Sanpao, could not be considered a pure malignant mutation, at least not to be lumped in together.
The fact that the Golden Iron Triangle executed a Martial Soul Fusion Skill to summon the Golden Sacred Dragon revealed a faint clue.
With Yu Xiaogang as the host of Luo Sanpao, Liu Erlong providing the dragon's body, and Flender supplying soul power and the power of flight.
In other words, deduced according to theory, if Luo Sanpao could have completed a complete mutation back then, the martial soul it ultimately formed should have been the Golden Sacred Dragon.
Pity that, restricted by Yu Xiaogang's own natural talent, although his martial soul underwent mutation, it failed to complete transformation.
That was why it changed from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon into Luo Sanpao, which resembled a pig, looking precisely like a complete malignant mutation.
Before you continue