"Greetings, Your Holiness!"
Upon learning that Bibi Dong and the others had arrived, Ma Xiunuo, Su Yuntao, and Sisi hurried over to welcome them.
The three were happy that Luo Chen and Wang Sheng had encountered such opportunities, especially Luo Chen, who had actually been accepted as His Holiness the Pope's disciple, ascending to heaven in a single step.
Luo Chen had not told Brother Tao and Sisi the secret of the Sun Disc.
First, it was a Spirit Hall secret, and without the approval of Bibi Dong, the Pope, no one could disclose it at will.
Moreover, the two were somewhat old. Even if they received a chance at Ascension, they would have difficulty going far in the future.
Unless Brother Tao and Sisi were like Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo, already possessing top-level Martial Souls and needing only Luo Chen's assistance to break through their shackles.
Otherwise, even the Sun Disc could not let two people whose potential was largely exhausted, and whose capacity for development was almost zero, defy heaven and change their fates as Wang Sheng had.
I'll look after Brother Tao's career advancement in Spirit Hall more in the future.
In Luo Chen's view, rather than improving their Soul Power, it would be better to use his status as Bibi Dong's disciple to look after them.
As far as he knew, Brother Tao had always wanted a promotion and a position in a larger city, so Sisi could share in his glory.
Previously, Luo Chen had been unable to help, but now, it was merely a matter of saying the word.
"Rise."
Bibi Dong had the three stand. "You have taken very good care of these two children. I am most pleased."
Luo Chen did not need to speak. Discovering an unparalleled genius like him alone was enough for Spirit Hall to grant the three generous rewards.
"Thank you, Your Holiness!"
The three were still caught up in their excitement.
Especially Grandmaster Ma Xiunuo, who was a devout believer in Spirit Hall.
To meet the Pope in his lifetime and even receive her praise-Ma Xiunuo could die right now without a single regret.
Sisi and Brother Tao were not thinking about that.
Naturally, the two were very loyal to Spirit Hall, but they were considering the benefits this incident would bring.
Wang Sheng and Luo Chen were both good children.
They had come out of Nuoding City's orphanage and both joined Spirit Hall. Luo Chen had even become the Pope's disciple, making his future achievements impossible to measure.
"Oh, there is something you must remember."
Bibi Dong instructed them, "Wang Sheng's innate Soul Power is rank 10."
"Rank 10?"
The three exchanged glances. They knew Wang Sheng's rank perfectly well: innate Soul Power rank 2.
Yet the Pope said rank 10. What did that mean?
"This is a Spirit Hall secret. You need not ask anything. Just remember it."
Bibi Dong continued, "From now on, no matter who asks you, even if I ask you myself, you must give that answer. Do you understand?"
"Yes!"
The three hurriedly agreed.
Although they did not understand, with Bibi Dong personally giving the order, how could they dare disobey?
"Very well. In a little while, I will take these three children to the Soul Hunting Forest to hunt for Soul Rings."
"Do you have any other business?"
Bibi Dong had little interest in the three.
Luo Chen, however, exchanged a few more words with Sisi, Brother Tao, and Ma Xiunuo, since he was about to leave.
Before long, Bibi Dong led the group toward the Soul Hunting Forest.
The Soul Hunting Forest was four hundred li from Nuoding City. Traveling by carriage would probably take a full day and night.
However, with three Titled Douluos leading them, the group reached their destination in just a few hours.
"So this is the Soul Hunting Forest?"
It was Luo Chen, Hu Liena, and Wang Sheng's first time traveling far from home, as well as their first visit to the Soul Hunting Forest.
"It's so lively."
"And there are so many people."
"Are they all here to hunt for Soul Rings?"
Looking at the Soul Hunting Forest before them, the three felt as though they had walked into a vegetable market.
A large cluster of buildings stood outside the forest, each hung with wooden signs. They were clearly shops specializing in goods related to Soul Beasts.
"Permit ready! Forming a group to hunt strength-type Soul Beasts! Two more needed!"
"Hunting agility-type Soul Beasts! Seven people waiting for someone with a permit! Ten gold soul coins!"
Simple, man-made paths crisscrossed the area, with all kinds of calls rising one after another.
Luo Chen swept a casual glance around and discovered that most of the densely packed shops sold weapons, armor, and various food supplies. Only the remainder sold materials obtained from Soul Beasts.
"It's a little too noisy."
The clamorous atmosphere displeased Bibi Dong somewhat, but she did not take it to heart.
As a Pope who favored being close to the people, Bibi Dong was unlike Qian Xunji, that fellow who craved grand achievements and ostentatious displays. She would not look down on these people because of their lowly status.
"Let's get going."
Holding Luo Chen's and Hu Liena's hands, Bibi Dong led the way toward the entrance.
As they walked, the six repeatedly drew everyone's attention because of their distinguished attire.
Bibi Dong's peerless beauty caught the most eyes.
The nobility in her every movement was clearly a bearing that could only be cultivated through years in a position of power.
Unfortunately, Bibi Dong was far too cold and aloof. Anyone who wanted to look at her a second time felt an inexplicable pressure from Soul Power, and they lowered their heads, not daring to look again.
Everyone began guessing at the six people's identities, but unfortunately, they had no clues.
In a small place like Nuoding City, never mind recognizing a powerhouse like a Titled Douluo-even a random Soul Ancestor could swagger around unchallenged.
Thus, everyone merely sensed instinctively that Bibi Dong, Chrysanthemum Douluo, and Ghost Douluo were not to be trifled with. No one connected them to Spirit Hall's Pope and elders.
"Here is the permit."
Before the guards watching over the forest could speak, Chrysanthemum Douluo tossed over an elder token.
"This is?!"
The guard captain noticed the design on the token. His pupils contracted slightly, and even his gaze began trembling uncontrollably as he looked at Chrysanthemum Douluo. "Greetings, Your Excellency the Elder!"
"Your Excellency?"
"He... he called that person an elder?"
"Your Excellency" was an honorific reserved solely for Titled Douluos on the Douluo Continent.
And an elder-a Titled Douluo who was also called an elder could clearly be none other than an elder of Spirit Hall.
At that moment, even though Chrysanthemum Douluo had done nothing, a considerable stir still swept through the surrounding crowd.
"Enough. There is no need for ceremony."
Chrysanthemum Douluo waved his hand, signaling for them to clear the way rather than stand there wasting time.
"Understood!"
Seeing that the guards knew what to do, Chrysanthemum Douluo smiled charmingly. "We can go in now, children."
"Time to hunt for Soul Rings~~~"
Hu Liena was the happiest. Holding Bibi Dong's hand, the little fox skipped along merrily, completely immersed in the joy of soon obtaining her first Soul Ring.
Reality, however, was cruel.
With Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo present, the little ones had no chance to act at all.
As soon as they determined which species of Soul Beast to hunt and where they were found, Ghost Douluo immediately went to capture one.
Ghost Douluo's movement techniques were uncanny and swift, ranking among the best even among Titled Douluos.
With him there, barely a dozen minutes passed before Wang Sheng obtained the Soul Beast they wanted: a fierce, enormous scarlet tiger.
It was a 450-year-old Scarlet Flame Tiger, a fire-attribute beast whose age also approached the limit for a first Soul Ring.
"Th-this is way too fast, isn't it?"
Hu Liena felt somewhat disillusioned. This isn't the hunt I wanted!
"Ahem, stop complaining, young miss."
After spending some time with her, Wang Sheng had more or less figured out Hu Liena's personality. He waved his hand. "Move aside."
Hu Liena glared at Wang Sheng unhappily.
Unfortunately, Bibi Dong and Luo Chen merely chuckled at the side, showing no intention of speaking.
Children bickering could help them grow closer.
"Come, Wang Sheng."
Chrysanthemum Douluo handed Wang Sheng a sharp dagger. "Kill it!"
"Yes, Elder Ju."
Without the slightest hesitation, Wang Sheng stepped forward and plunged the dagger into the giant tiger's throat.
As the giant tiger died, a yellow soul ring slowly floated up.
Wang Sheng hurriedly sat cross-legged, then began absorbing his first Soul Ring according to the method the two elders had taught him.
The absorption proceeded very smoothly. About half an hour later, Wang Sheng's Soul Power rose from its original rank 10 to rank 11.
"Martial Soul Possession!"
Standing up, Wang Sheng let out a tiger's roar.
His black tiger Martial Soul appeared, with a yellow soul ring slowly revolving around it.
The next instant, Wang Sheng's body suddenly swelled. His height shot from 1.2 meters to around 1.5 meters, and even his build grew considerably larger.
Luo Chen watched this sudden transformation in amazement.
"Possession by beast Martial Souls produces all kinds of changes."
Bibi Dong explained to Hu Liena and Luo Chen at the side, "Changes like Wang Sheng's-a stronger body, a burly build, and greatly increased attack and defense-are very clear characteristics of a power attack system beast Martial Soul."
Moreover, Wang Sheng's Black Hell Demon Tiger was a top-level beast Martial Soul, only somewhat inferior to the Clear Sky Hammer and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon even among top-level Martial Souls.
Its innate black flames could cause considerable destruction through Soul Power alone, even without the support of a Soul Skill.
"Show us your first Soul Skill, Wang Sheng."
"Yes, Your Holiness!"
Without hesitation, Wang Sheng hurriedly hunched forward, then spread his hands and roared toward the sky. "First Soul Skill: Black Flame Tiger Body!"
Boom!
As Wang Sheng's words fell, blazing black flames surged from within him, then wrapped around the boy's entire body, forming the phantom of an upright tiger made of flames around him.
"My first Soul Skill can form tiger-shaped flames over the surface of my body."
Wang Sheng explained the Soul Skill's details. "In this state, my strength, defense, physical fitness, and other attributes increase by thirty percent. It also provides flame defense and damage during combat."
"A fine Soul Skill!"
After hearing this, Chrysanthemum Douluo could not help praising it.
This Soul Skill was highly practical, combining offense and defense.
Its all-around enhancement in particular would provide Wang Sheng with a considerable boost even in the later stages.
In short, it was an excellent Soul Skill: powerful early on, reliable in the middle stages, and still useful in the late stages.
"Mm."
Bibi Dong nodded in satisfaction. Her focus was on Luo Chen and Hu Liena, whose Martial Soul had evolved into a super beast Martial Soul after receiving Ascension.
But Wang Sheng was also someone Bibi Dong wanted to make a priority of nurturing.
With innate full Soul Power and a top-level beast Martial Soul, once he matured, he would certainly become a great general under Spirit Hall's command.
Given Wang Sheng's current aptitude, as long as he did not perish along the way, becoming a Super Douluo above rank 95 would absolutely be no problem.
Bibi Dong wanted to destroy Spirit Hall, but her target was not Spirit Hall itself-it was the Qian Family.
To her, seizing Spirit Hall would count as taking revenge all the same.
When that time came, Bibi Dong's choice for Spirit Hall's next Pope would essentially be between Hu Liena and Luo Chen.
At the thought of taking the Qian Family's legacy and passing it to her disciple, leaving it with no further connection to the Qian Family, Bibi Dong felt an inexplicable sense of anticipation.
"Hypocritical Angel Clan, I truly want to see your faces when you lose everything."
As for which of her two disciples she would choose, Bibi Dong leaned more toward Luo Chen.
The reason was simple: Bibi Dong felt she had wronged Luo Chen and wanted to make it up to him.
As for Hu Liena, seeing how affectionate the girl was toward Luo Chen, rather than giving her the papal throne, Bibi Dong might as well think about how to bring her and Luo Chen together in the future.
Once the two became a couple, husband and wife would be one. Not only would that settle the issue of succession, it would also resolve the problem of Luo Chen's frail body and his need for protection in one stroke.
"Let's go. We'll find Nana a suitable Soul Beast."
Imagining that beautiful future, Bibi Dong led the group deeper into the Soul Hunting Forest once more.
Bibi Dong discovered that ever since meeting Luo Chen, her heart, once filled with resentment, had grown considerably lighter. She could even dream about the future now.
But her happiness lasted only a moment. Looking at Luo Chen's back, Bibi Dong felt another headache coming on. Sigh, what should we do about Xiao Chen's Soul Ring?
"Your Holiness, this is the Soul Beast you requested."
Before long, Ghost Douluo returned again, bringing with him the Soul Beast Bibi Dong had carefully selected for Hu Liena-a Crescent Moon Fox.
It was a fox Soul Beast with a silvery-white body and a crescent-shaped marking between its brows.
It was not large, but its entire body radiated a holy glow that made anyone feel an affinity for it at first sight.
"This Soul Beast is called a Crescent Moon Fox. It is an extremely rare spiritual-type Soul Beast."
Spiritual-type Soul Beasts were uncommon in the Soul Hunting Forest, but a pack of five or six Crescent Moon Foxes lived near Nuoding City.
Bibi Dong had also been surprised when she first received the information, never expecting Crescent Moon Foxes to be here. "Nana, you were born with a naturally charming physique, and your Martial Soul is the Demon Fox, a top-level spiritual-type beast Martial Soul. That is why my original plan was for you to become a spiritual control system Soul Master."
However, after Luo Chen performed the Ascension Ritual for Hu Liena, her Demon Fox Martial Soul evolved into the super Martial Soul, the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox.
An innate Passion and Desire Domain, greater spiritual potential than the Demon Fox, and Illusory Flame that could ignite an enemy's emotions.
Setting aside the first two for now, the last of these, Illusory Flame, was a rather special Martial Soul talent.
The so-called Illusory Flame was not actual fire. It was more like a manifestation of spiritual power taking physical form.
The Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's nine tails each represented a different emotion, including lust, hatred, anger, sorrow, jealousy, and so on.
Different emotions would cause different kinds of illusory flame to burn on the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's tails.
Red Illusory Flame represented anger, pink Illusory Flame represented lust, and blue Illusory Flame represented sorrow...
These flames of different colors would stir others' emotions, ultimately driving them into madness, after which they would fall under Hu Liena's control.
Moreover, because her spiritual power had taken physical form, the flames truly possessed the ability to burn external objects.
If Wang Sheng's black fire was tangible yang fire, then Hu Liena's fire was yin fire, an uncanny flame that could melt even a person's bone marrow.
(End of chapter)