Bibi Dong was someone who could endure a great deal and bide her time. That much was clear from what had happened to Secret Chamber Douluo Qian Xunji.
No matter what she faced, she could remain as unruffled as drifting clouds in a light breeze.
Even with Lin Qian bad-mouthing her first love to her face, she did not slap him to death. Instead, she listened attentively and occasionally chimed in.
Had someone ignorant of the inside story assumed she was on their side and spilled everything, then, in Tang San's words, they would truly have found a path to their own death.
Lin Qian knew his limits, and he knew what he should and should not say. Within those limits, he gave Yu Xiaogang a thorough tongue-lashing.
Finally, he added, "Teacher, it's not that I have anything against Grandmaster. It's just that his soul power is weak. However knowledgeable he may be, some things simply aren't comprehensible at his level."
"Mm, go on."
"As long as my cultivation method can be spread, not just soul masters-even people with ordinary trash martial souls will be able to cultivate!"
"!!!"
Bibi Dong had been paying little attention, but at his last sentence, her eyes instantly lit up.
Trash martial souls...
Did that mean Yu Xiaogang could cultivate too?
Whatever had made her dislike Lin Qian before was now the very thing that made her like him.
"Your idea is excellent. You have my full support. Once you've finished writing it, release it... as soon as possible!"
Bibi Dong fixed him with a serious stare, stressing those last words.
"Yes!"
He had already put Yu Xiaogang on his death list. If the man could make Bibi Dong happy before he died, Lin Qian was glad to do her a favor that cost him nothing.
"Little Qian, which trial of your divine inheritance are you on now?"
Now that she found him pleasing to the eye, even Bibi Dong's way of addressing him had changed.
Lin Qian made something up. "I've just completed the first trial. My soul power has already reached level 83, and my spiritual power has improved a great deal too!"
Level 83?!
If she remembered correctly, he had only been level 80 when she first took him as her disciple!
From her own experience, a soul master's soul power advanced more slowly the further they progressed. Especially after becoming a Soul Douluo, without some fortunate opportunity, moving forward even an inch was a struggle.
A semester was only three months. How had Lin Qian gained a level every month in such a short time?
Bibi Dong asked, "May I ask... which god's position you're inheriting?"
Wasn't that far too powerful?!
With her Rakshasa God inheritance, passing a trial only rewarded her with a little affinity, or at most an increase in her soul rings' ages. That was all.
Now that she knew about Lin Qian's "rewards," she realized just how stingy the Rakshasa God was!
Rakshasa God: Thanks a lot.
I made the whole thing up. How would I know which god it is?
Meeting Bibi Dong's curious gaze, Lin Qian kept making things up. "The God of Eternity."
Eternity...
Sure enough, this was no ordinary god. Even the name sounded lofty and grand!
Whatever anyone else might think, Bibi Dong believed him.
"Teacher, if you're really curious, why don't we have a match?"
Afraid she would ask something else, Lin Qian took the initiative to suggest it.
"Are you sure?"
There was a gap of more than ten levels between them, after all. Bibi Dong grew interested.
Lin Qian took his stance. "Yes. Please instruct me, Teacher. First Soul Skill-Spiritual Lockdown!"
His first soul ring lit up, spreading outward with Lin Qian at its center and erecting an invisible curtain wall around the villa, blocking outsiders' view.
What kind of soul skill was this?
Bibi Dong extended her soul power to sense her surroundings. She discovered that even she, a level 98 Peerless Douluo with a divine inheritance, could not sense the outside world.
"Soul-Devouring Spider Emperor Possession."
After some thought, Bibi Dong released her second martial soul, the Soul-Devouring Spider Emperor.
Black, black, black, black, black, black, red!
Seven soul rings, the youngest ten thousand years old-more soul rings than Lin Qian had.
When that final hundred thousand year soul ring appeared, an intense pressure instantly swept across the entire area.
Bang!
Every window in the villa shattered.
With no time to find someone to repair them, Lin Qian focused entirely on responding. His body martial soul appeared behind him, and soul power covered his entire body.
Black, black, black, red.
With his two fake and two genuine soul rings released, he immediately stood on equal footing with her.
A hundred thousand year soul ring...
"Little Qian, how many more surprises are you hiding from your teacher?"
Bibi Dong was shocked again. She had intended to display her authority as his master and establish her might, only to discover that Lin Qian's fourth soul ring was a hundred thousand years old.
Of course, what she did not know was that this was only his first martial soul. For his remaining second martial soul, Lin Qian intended to pay tribute to a certain cheat user by adding nothing but hundred thousand year soul rings.
If Bibi Dong knew, she would probably feel even more like a clown.
"Teacher, here I come!"
Knowing she was waiting for him to strike, Lin Qian launched the attack.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Facing Bibi Dong, he dispensed with the pretentious talk and hurled all manner of self-created soul skills straight at her.
Wind and thunder raged inside the villa as dark purple and platinum light intertwined and collided.
Lin Qian knew Bibi Dong was very strong, but for the sake of his grand plans down the road, he used only seventy percent of his strength against her and held back certain moves.
At first, Bibi Dong only defended passively, driving the Soul-Devouring Spider Emperor to block from left and right while observing his fighting techniques.
Bibi Dong had an intuition that their relationship would not necessarily remain harmonious forever.
Lin Qian was guarding against her, and she was probing Lin Qian too. In that sense, they were meeting each other halfway.
Even after Bibi Dong had grown weary, Lin Qian was still unleashing moves without so much as pausing for breath. And so Bibi Dong was shocked yet again.
She felt she had become the Shock Hero today, with a fresh surprise at every moment.
What on earth had this boy grown up eating? Being a young genius was one thing, but even his use of soul skills was this proficient.
Another tea's worth of time passed.
"Teacher, this is the final strike!"
Lin Qian called out a warning, then unleashed his big move with his right hand, roaring-
"Fourth Soul Skill (actually his second), Hell Demon Flame Sky-Splitting Slash!"
Spiritual Lockdown only blocked outsiders' view; it did not sever space. So, to avoid destroying the academy, he compressed his soul power to the utmost, gathering the entirety of his attack in his palm before thrusting it forward!
"Roar-"
His soul power seemed to take solid form, rushing toward Bibi Dong with the flames of the Three-Headed Red Demon Hound and forcing her to go all out-
"Seventh Soul Skill: Soul-Devouring Spider Emperor Avatar!"
Boom!
Crash!
Amid countless thunderous crashes, the dust settled on their battle.
At the last moment, Lin Qian lowered his power in time and deliberately pretended he could not withstand her, retreating dozens of steps, his whole body drenched in sweat.
"Whew, Teacher is too strong. Your disciple still has so much to learn!"
Standing atop the villa's ruins, Bibi Dong wore a complicated expression. "Little Qian, is this your true strength?"
Of course not. This disciple you picked up is terrifyingly strong. Want to give it a try?
After indulging in his private smugness, Lin Qian remained extremely humble on the surface. "Yes, but I still lost to you, Teacher."
As he spoke, he savored the memory of Bibi Dong's martial soul avatar form.
Unlike ordinary soul masters, Bibi Dong became even more alluring after martial soul possession, carrying a hint of hazy danger and seductive charm.
If she had been dignified and elegant before, now her entire bearing had changed, moving toward another extreme of beauty.
If he absolutely had to put a label on it-how about a beast-girl hybrid~?
The only pity was that Bibi Dong seemed very conscious of this. She had withdrawn it as soon as she blocked his soul skill, and he had not gotten nearly enough of a look!