"Xiao Chen?"
Just as Luo Chen was considering how to keep a low profile, the little fox, who had been enjoying sweet dreams, woke up.
The girl smacked her lips, then suddenly realized someone was missing from her side.
Looking closely, Hu Liena spotted Luo Chen standing nearby and immediately sighed with relief. "Xiao Chen, what are you standing there for?"
"I-I got up to use the bathroom."
As he spoke, Luo Chen pushed open the door, his movements perfectly natural.
He had no intention of readily revealing the Celestial Star Crown's true power.
Na'er in particular was Luo Chen's greatest trump card until he could use The Star Forger's power.
Although he had already decided to side with Bibi Dong, until he could protect himself, Luo Chen only wanted to be an ordinary old sixth.
"Oh."
Hu Liena did not suspect anything.
Seemingly thinking of something, the girl's cheeks flushed slightly, a faint blush rising on her face. "Do you want me to come with you?"
"Uh..."
The corner of Luo Chen's mouth twitched. Am I overthinking this, or are people on the Douluo Continent all this precocious?
Right, what bad intentions could an obedient, well-behaved little fox possibly have?
She was only worried that it was so dark outside-what if her junior brother accidentally fell?
Besides, she was Xiao Chen's senior sister.
Wasn't it perfectly normal for an older sister to look after the daily needs of a sickly little brother who lacked even the strength to truss a chicken?
"Um, there's really no need."
The orphanage had communal bathrooms on every floor, and they were not far from Luo Chen's room.
Thus, Luo Chen decisively refused Hu Liena's request.
"Xiao Chen, Nana, are you all right?"
Suddenly, Bibi Dong appeared in the doorway.
Looking slightly nervous, she carefully examined the two of them, only breathing a sigh of relief when she saw nothing was wrong.
Her Holiness the Pope had awakened the instant Luo Chen summoned his Martial Soul.
Sensing the fluctuation in Soul Power, she had rushed over immediately.
People of Bibi Dong and the others' status should never have been staying at an orphanage in the first place, much less in this sort of multistory dormitory.
The three of them were staying in a separate little house off to one side.
Although it was still quite shabby and unworthy of Titled Douluos and the Pope of Spirit Hall, this little hardship meant nothing when it came to protecting Luo Chen.
Bibi Dong, in particular, had barely slept all night, her spiritual power focused entirely on Luo Chen.
Yet just now, Bibi Dong had discovered that her spiritual perception had inexplicably slipped out of her control for a moment.
It had lasted so briefly that Bibi Dong had almost thought she imagined it.
She did not know why it had happened and had simply hurried to Luo Chen and Hu Liena's side at once.
Only after seeing that both Luo Chen and Hu Liena were unharmed did Bibi Dong's heart finally settle. As long as these two children are all right.
"I'm fine."
Luo Chen said, "Teacher, what brings you here?"
After learning the truth about what happened back then, Luo Chen's attitude toward Bibi Dong had improved another notch.
If there had originally been an element of acting in it...
Now, Luo Chen genuinely wanted to change Bibi Dong and keep her from following the path to destruction she took in the original story.
"Nothing. I just sensed you suddenly summoning your Martial Soul, Xiao Chen. I thought something might be wrong, so I came to check."
Bibi Dong did not conceal anything, even though keeping a spiritual lock on Luo Chen somewhat infringed on his privacy.
But she simply wanted to protect Luo Chen and had no other intentions, so there was no need to hide anything.
"Can't you sleep, Xiao Chen?"
Bibi Dong had fully embraced her role as Luo Chen's teacher, her words and actions filled with concern and affection. "Or are you still feeling unwell?"
"It's my fault. I made you walk so far today."
Bibi Dong had wanted to be a good mother, yet she had not even noticed the child's physical condition and had instead made Luo Chen accommodate her.
"I'm much better already, Teacher."
With his misgivings gone, Luo Chen discovered many endearing things about Bibi Dong.
For instance, the way Bibi Dong now looked like a foolish mother who had done something wrong and dared not face her child truly struck Luo Chen as rather funny.
"Then what are you doing now?"
"Well..."
Luo Chen scratched his head, feigning embarrassment. "I just got up to use the bathroom. It was too dark, so I summoned my Martial Soul for some light."
"Sorry for making you worry."
Luo Chen discovered that not only Bibi Dong but also Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo had stayed awake, standing guard in secret.
Actually, Luo Chen had not discovered this himself; Na'er had told him.
"I'm your teacher, after all."
Bibi Dong stroked Luo Chen's head and gave Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo a look, signaling for them to withdraw for now.
Then Bibi Dong picked Luo Chen right up and carried him to her room.
"Teacher?"
"I have a private bathroom."
"Huh?"
Luo Chen had no way to refuse Bibi Dong. Seeing this, Hu Liena hurried after them.
Bibi Dong was staying in a separate little house, whose space and furnishings were countless times better than Luo Chen's tiny room.
Even the bathroom was private, complete with a bathtub. Judging by the water marks left behind, it had clearly just been used.
"Um, Teacher, I'll head back now."
Having taken care of his personal business, Luo Chen prepared to leave.
"Just sleep here."
Who would have thought Bibi Dong had no intention of letting Luo Chen leave? She simply carried him onto the bed and tucked him in with the utmost care.
Although she did not know what had caused the earlier problem with her perception...
As long as Luo Chen and Hu Liena were beside her, Bibi Dong had no fear of schemes lurking in the shadows.
It was like a thief coveting your possessions when you already held your most valuable treasure in your arms.
Bibi Dong: If you've got what it takes, come snatch it from my arms!
"Uh, well!"
Luo Chen watched the breathtakingly beautiful Pope tuck him in, then begin taking off her clothes without a second thought. In the blink of an eye, she wore nothing but a pale purple lace nightdress.
"Haaah~~"
Turning his head, he saw Hu Liena yawning as she climbed onto his other side.
The little fox was easier to deal with. After all, she was only a little girl; even if she wore something skimpy, Luo Chen would only find her cute.
But Bibi Dong...
"Is something wrong?"
It was not that Bibi Dong had no guard against boys; she truly regarded Luo Chen as her own child. "My bed is very big. There's more than enough room for all three of us."
"..."
Luo Chen instinctively glanced around and discovered that the bed in the room the director had arranged for Bibi Dong really was quite large.
It certainly could not fit three adults, but one adult and two six-year-old children...
As long as everyone snuggled close-preferably pressed right against one another.
Is that the problem?!
Luo Chen hesitated to speak, but Bibi Dong had already lain down on her side beside him, giving him no chance to refuse.
"Good night, Xiao Chen..."
Hu Liena was genuinely sleepy. Now, tucked under the covers and breathing in Luo Chen's scent, she immediately drifted into dreamland.
Luo Chen, however, was left to suffer.
He had lived two lives, even if his body in this life had absolutely no capacity in that department.
Yet feeling Bibi Dong's soft, delicate body and the enchanting fragrance lingering at his nose, wrapped in the tenderness unique to a young married woman, Luo Chen felt only unprecedented warmth and peace.
Luo Chen: Damn it, resorting to such underhanded tactics!
"This child is so adorable."
Looking at the boy sleeping soundly in her arms, Bibi Dong unconsciously curved her lips into a smile.
Luo Chen was handsome, and paired with his sickly disposition, he was practically a special attack against older women, easily awakening their protective instincts.
Now, following his Martial Soul Awakening, Luo Chen's bearing was like the vast night sky studded with stars, full of mystery.
This quality deeply attracted Bibi Dong, making her unable to resist exploring it and doting on him.
"Tomorrow, I'll be taking this child to hunt for Soul Rings."
"With level-thirty Innate Soul Power, he can add three Soul Rings straightaway."
Bibi Dong pondered, "But with Xiao Chen's current constitution, I wonder how old a Soul Ring he can absorb."
Before the ten-thousand-year mark, the age of a Soul Ring one could absorb was tied to physical fitness, and the Douluo Continent had no clear method for matching Soul Masters with Soul Ring ages.
In other words, how old a Soul Ring you could absorb depended first on your teacher's knowledge and judgment, and second on your own courage.
Some people believed they could absorb a two-hundred-year-old first Soul Ring, only to discover they could not, failing to absorb it and suffering a backlash.
"Xiao Gang worked out the maximum ages for Soul Ring absorption. He must have gained plenty of insights from his research into absorbing Soul Rings."
"Xiao Gang happens to be in Nuoding City, too," Bibi Dong said. "Perhaps I should ask his opinion tomorrow?"
The age limits for absorbing Soul Rings differed from person to person and could not be standardized at all.
Taking the maximum first Soul Ring age of 423 years as an example, this did not mean everyone's limit could reach 423 years.
The 423-year mark belonged to geniuses among geniuses-the highest first Soul Ring age recorded for Soul Masters throughout history.
With different aptitudes, each Soul Master could withstand Soul Rings of different ages.
As for a Soul Master's aptitude, it depended first on Martial Soul quality and second on Innate Soul Power.
Luo Chen's circumstances, however, were far too unusual.
His Martial Soul quality and Innate Soul Power went without saying, but his physical fitness was truly abysmal.
Logically, with level-thirty Soul Power, Luo Chen's physical fitness should at least have been at the Soul Elder level.
And yet?
"He's too frail."
Bibi Dong's fair hand gently stroked Luo Chen's shoulder. "With this body's strength, never mind reaching the limit for his first Soul Ring-even absorbing a hundred-year Soul Ring could be dangerous."
At this thought, Bibi Dong felt no dissatisfaction. Instead, intense guilt welled up within her. "It's all my fault. If it weren't for me, how could Xiao Chen's body be so fragile?"
"With a body this weak, even becoming a Battle Soul Master will be difficult for Xiao Chen."
Although becoming a support Soul Master was also an option, Bibi Dong knew the difference between Battle Soul Masters and support Soul Masters very well.
To put it harshly, support Soul Masters were merely accessories to Battle Soul Masters.
This was not to say support Soul Masters were unimportant.
Quite the opposite: support Soul Masters were very important, particularly food-type and healing-type Soul Masters, who were treasured by every faction.
But in Spirit Hall, support-type Soul Masters truly struggled to rise.
Among the elders and worshippers, for instance, not a single one was a support type. They were all Battle Soul Masters.
In Bibi Dong's eyes, this was a world where the strong devoured the weak. Without the strength to protect yourself, sooner or later someone would eat you clean, leaving not even a scrap of bone.
"Alas..."
Bibi Dong was filled with regret. "If only I'd been more careful back then."
He clearly possessed talent unlike anything seen before, yet she had reduced him to this state. Bibi Dong wished she could slap herself hard a few times.
"So be it."
Without realizing it, the stunning Pope's desire to make it up to Luo Chen grew ever stronger. "Even if Xiao Chen really can only become a support-type Soul Master, I'll do everything I can to protect him. I'll never let this child suffer the slightest grievance again."
Bibi Dong: Anyone who dares touch my Xiao Chen gets rammed straight to death!
What was that? Bibi Dong had not obtained the Soul Skill Eternal Wound yet?
Bibi Dong merely scoffed: Was Eternal Wound such an inconvenient thing?
"Wait!"
"If Xiao Chen learns tomorrow how old a first Soul Ring he can actually absorb, will he..."
Thinking of the reality Luo Chen was about to face, Bibi Dong became terribly worried, afraid the damage to his potential would deal him a blow.
At the same time, Bibi Dong also feared Luo Chen would blame her.
If it were anyone else, Bibi Dong would not care whether they suffered a blow.
In her view, if you could not do it yourself, that was your problem. What did it have to do with her?
She was Bibi Dong, a wielder of Twin Martial Souls and a Titled Douluo before thirty. Why should she take such trash to heart?
Yet, just like Yu Xiaogang, Luo Chen had struck Bibi Dong's emotional weak spot.
By Bibi Dong's logic, Luo Chen had never wronged her in any way. Instead, she had nearly poisoned Luo Chen to death when he was still a baby.
After they met, not only had Luo Chen not blamed her, he had sincerely thanked her for saving his life.
As for sending Luo Chen to the orphanage, Bibi Dong dismissed that outright.
It had been a casual act, one she had forgotten immediately afterward. For six whole years, she had never once visited Luo Chen, utterly indifferent to whether he lived or died.
What kindness was there to speak of?
Luo Chen was the one who called it a life-saving kindness. Bibi Dong did not accept that.
Did saving his life mean she had done him a kindness?
Imagine if Luo Chen had not awakened a God-Level Martial Soul: he would have died before long, and the process would have been exceedingly painful and miserable.
To put it bluntly, it was like Bibi Dong saving a child's life but accidentally blinding him, then tossing him into an orphanage and never concerning herself with him again.
Until one day, Bibi Dong discovered that this child had become the world's top singer-songwriter.
As soon as the two met, the other party not only did not blame her, but instead kept talking about her saving his life.
To ask, facing such a child, could she have the nerve to accept this favor?
What a good child...
Thinking of this, Bibi Dong's heart felt a pang of sharp pain. Someone like me, do I really have the qualification for him to revere and love me, rather than hate me?
Let alone reverence and love, being able not to hate her was something Bibi Dong felt was already remarkable.
"It's all my fault, it's all my doing."
"Just what on earth should I do to make it up to Xiao Chen?"
The peerless pope felt heartache for her disciple, and could only look at the disciple's cute face, grieving to herself.
Just like this, amidst Bibi Dong's continuous self-imagined scenarios and self-conquest, time arrived at the next morning.
Whether it was because Bibi Dong's embrace was too warm or not, this time, the three of them actually slept directly until the sun was high in the sky.
"Mm..."
Opening his eyes, the first thing that entered Luo Chen's vision was a hint of soft snow-white.
Looking more closely, he saw that the extremely light and thin purple lace nightgown on Bibi Dong's body had been rolled up to the seductive pope's chest at some point, revealing a large expanse of snow-white skin.
"Hiss~~"
Luo Chen instinctively struggled, yet discovered that he was completely held in Bibi Dong's embrace.
His cheek pressed against the softness, his lips parting, a full mouthful of perks.
Added to that was the orchid-like breath, transforming into gusts of sweet and cloying, fragrant wind that rushed toward his face, making Luo Chen's mind and soul shake violently.
"So fragrant."
Bibi Dong was twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old now, and Luo Chen had lived for two lifetimes, adding together being only three or four years younger than her.
This little bit of age was simply not a problem.
Rather, a woman like Bibi Dong, thoroughly ripened like a juicy peach, better fit Luo Chen's preferences.
Pity that Luo Chen's age right now was truly too small; even with Bibi Dong delivering such perks to him, his body did not have much reaction, only feeling that it was very comfortable, with an inexplicable sense of peace of mind.
"Has Xiao Chen woken up?"
At the same time that Luo Chen struggled, Bibi Dong also woke up from her sleep.
The quiet room incident, the trials in the Slaughter City, and the malice of the Rakshasa God.
With these pressures accumulated, Bibi Dong had not slept as comfortably as she had last night for a very long time.
She gently released the hands that were holding Luo Chen in her embrace, and then put down the hiked-up nightgown.
Bibi Dong did not care at all that this child had slept for a night resting on the softness of her chest, instead having a sort of maternal instinct activated as she instinctively stroked the boy's head gently.
"Teacher?"
Luo Chen hurried to get up, during which time his knees even touched Bibi Dong's lower abdomen, making him nervous while at the same time marveling that she was indeed the most charming female pope of Douluo I.
This figure, this tactile sensation, were dreamlike and illusory!
(End of chapter)