Once the black phantom took shape, its aura of death grew even more terrifying.
Wings gradually began to sprout from the back of a beautiful woman with a graceful figure and flawless features.
In the end, she too became a Twelve-Winged Angel with six pairs of wings.
But she was a Twelve-Winged Dark Angel.
A black halo coalesced above her head.
The moment she opened her eyes, she and the Twelve-Winged Angel gazed at one another.
Boom!
The instant the two angels' eyes met, a powerful aura erupted, activating two different domains.
One black, one gold; one righteous, one evil.
The sacred, auspicious aura and the terrifying aura of death began to fuse perfectly together.
It was not just the two domains that merged into one.
The Twelve-Winged Angel and the Twelve-Winged Dark Angel fused as well.
Finally, the two angels pressed beyond mere contact, each mingling within the other.
Even Zhao Su himself was bathed in half-black, half-gold light.
Righteousness and evil merged into one, one hand holding a sacred sword that shattered darkness, the other wielding a death spear that annihilated all things and embodied destruction.
The Twelve-Winged Holy Angel, one of the Divine Realm's Gods of Law Enforcement, the ruler of all angels, whether sacred or dark!
Even Zhao Su was now somewhat bewildered. Did this count as twin martial souls or a single martial soul?
Or was it a mutated martial soul?
"Little one, which sect do you belong to?"
Just as Zhao Su withdrew his martial soul and pondered what kind of martial soul it actually was,
a voice pulled him out of his thoughts.
Zhao Su looked up. The speaker was Qian Daoliu, the Great Enshrined of Spirit Hall.
"No sect. I go my own way!"
"Then would you like to join Spirit Hall and become my disciple? In the future, you'll be Spirit Hall's Great Enshrined!"
Qian Daoliu had practically thrown down his strongest trump card to invite Zhao Su into Spirit Hall.
At those words, a slight change came over Bibi Dong, who wore a brilliant gold ceremonial gown and held a scepter, her expression cold.
She knew Qian Daoliu had been searching for an opportunity to eliminate her.
If Zhao Su truly became Qian Daoliu's disciple, he would undoubtedly become a tremendous threat in the future.
Judging by Zhao Su's martial soul and powerful innate soul power,
it was only a matter of time before he became a Titled Douluo.
Even attaining godhood was hardly a far-fetched dream.
"I want to join Spirit Hall, but I don't want you as my master!"
Zhao Su's words left everyone present incredulous, as though what they had heard could not be real.
After all, Qian Daoliu was Spirit Hall's Great Enshrined, with authority even above Pope Bibi Dong's.
Spirit Hall's other enshrined elders also took orders only from the Great Enshrined.
It was no exaggeration to say that Spirit Hall's Great Enshrined could swagger across the Douluo Continent without fearing anyone.
Yet Zhao Su had refused without the slightest hesitation.
They could hardly fathom what he was thinking.
"Oh? You don't want me as your master? Why?"
"You're too old, and you can't even beat Tang Chen. There's no future in becoming your disciple!"
Zhao Su spoke very casually.
In truth, it was not that he did not want Qian Daoliu as his master; the system would not allow it.
To be honest,
he had long coveted Qian Daoliu's Angel Set, which could enable someone to attain godhood directly.
His words immediately caused an uproar. No one could believe what they had heard.
In Spirit Hall, or even across the entire Douluo Continent, very few people dared speak to Qian Daoliu that way.
Let alone a little boy of only six or seven.
Hearing this, Qian Daoliu took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed his anger.
Not only had Zhao Su refused to become his disciple in front of so many people,
he had even mocked him, leaving him struggling to save face.
His defeat at Tang Chen's hands by half a move had become a demon that forever haunted Qian Daoliu's heart.
As Qian Daoliu's expression shifted darkly,
Zhao Su paid him no heed.
Instead, he swept his gaze around and finally settled on Bibi Dong.
He hurried up to Bibi Dong and raised his head, looking at her with his large, bright eyes.
With utter innocence, he asked, "Beautiful big sister, would you take me as your disciple?"
"Hmm?"
Zhao Su's words caught even Bibi Dong by surprise.
Then Zhao Su drew a bone from inside his clothes. Though it looked completely unremarkable,
the eyes of several Titled Douluo lit up.
"A soul bone!!!"
"It's actually a soul bone!!!"
"And an external soul bone at that!!!"
"Just where did this boy come from? Not only is his innate soul power so strong and his martial soul so unusual, he even carries a soul bone around with him."
The Titled Douluo present all began privately speculating about Zhao Su's identity and origins.
Even for a Titled Douluo, obtaining a soul bone was no easy feat, much less an external soul bone.
"Beautiful big sister, if you take me as your disciple, I'll give you this bone. How about treating it as my gift for accepting you as my master?"
"Do you know what this is?"
Bibi Dong looked at Zhao Su and spoke for the first time.
Her voice was somewhat cold, but very pleasant.
"It's called a soul bone or something, right? It's worthless, and I don't like bones!"
As he spoke, Zhao Su stuffed the white soul bone into Bibi Dong's hand.
"Hmph!"
Qian Daoliu snorted coldly, then turned and left the hall without lingering.
Seeing Qian Daoliu leave, the other enshrined elders turned and followed him out.
"Very well. In that case, I'll take you as my disciple!"
Holding the soul bone, Bibi Dong could feel the powerful aura emanating from it.
She understood that its appearance, no different from an ordinary bone, was very likely a disguise.
In her view, Zhao Su was utterly unparalleled, whether in talent or in his mysterious identity and background.
She would lose nothing by taking him as her disciple.
Besides, she had already intended to recruit talented people and strengthen her own faction.
Even from another perspective, taking Zhao Su as her disciple was better than letting Qian Daoliu have him.
Then, under everyone's envious and admiring gazes, Zhao Su followed Bibi Dong back to the Pope's Palace.
"You'll live here from now on. Don't wander outside without my permission. Focus on your cultivation!"
After bringing Zhao Su back to the Pope's Palace, Bibi Dong found him a room and spoke coldly.
"Got it!"
Still wearing his seemingly innocent smile, Zhao Su nodded.
"By the way, when I have time, I'll take you to hunt soul beasts and obtain your first soul ring. Until then, don't go absorbing soul rings on your own!"
She intended to arrange the most perfect soul ring configuration for Zhao Su.
Bibi Dong knew it would be difficult to free herself completely from Qian Daoliu's restraints through her own strength.
To break free of Qian Daoliu and the other enshrined elders and take sole control of Spirit Hall,
she had to nurture someone stronger than Qian Daoliu.
Clearly, Bibi Dong had placed that hope in Zhao Su.
"Mm!"
Zhao Su nodded.
[Ding, mission completed. Reward obtained.] [First soul ring: Zhu Yan (60,000 years). Soul skill: Heaven and Earth Manifestation!]
After Bibi Dong left, the system interface appeared again, informing him that he had completed the mission to join Spirit Hall.
It also displayed the mission reward he had received.
"Sixty thousand years, Heaven and Earth Manifestation. Not bad."
As he spoke, Zhao Su closed the door and summoned his fused Twelve-Winged Holy Angel martial soul, half-black and half-gold, with holiness and death intertwined.
Then, with a thought from Zhao Su, the sixty-thousand-year black soul ring of Zhu Yan awarded by the system appeared before him.
It slowly floated toward the space above the Twelve-Winged Holy Angel's head behind Zhao Su.
The instant the black soul ring slipped into the fused black-and-gold halo,
Zhao Su felt the soul power within his body ignite.
It rapidly circulated through his meridians before returning to his dantian.
At the same time, instructions for using Heaven and Earth Manifestation, the soul skill attached to his first soul ring, appeared in his mind.
At his will, the fused Twelve-Winged Holy Angel behind him began growing rapidly.
Finally, it burst straight through the roof. The enormous Twelve-Winged Holy Angel martial soul towered there, holding a sword in one hand and a death spear in the other.
Yet that was not even the most striking part. His first soul ring, radiating black light, was more dazzling still.
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