"Then let me see what this unusual Martial Soul can do."
Qian Daoliu did not dwell on it. He was very confident in his own strength.
Aside from the Rakshasa God's favor, even Bibi Dong's Twin Martial Souls did not really concern Qian Daoliu.
He was an expert at the demigod level.
Even against Tang Chen back then, had Qian Daoliu not honored their agreement and refrained from using the Divine Power granted by the Angel God, he could not have lost.
However, that composure soon vanished from Qian Daoliu's face.
At that very moment, unimaginably vast fluctuations of Divine Power poured out of the Sun Disc floating above Luo Chen's palm, like towering waves in a raging sea, placing unprecedented pressure on Qian Daoliu.
"Impossible!"
Qian Daoliu was a god's high priest. He was intimately familiar with the power and presence of gods.
Yet this power seemed to be something entirely different from the Divine Power he remembered.
Powerful, majestic, sacred, magnificent, transcendent...
All manner of praises surfaced in Qian Daoliu's mind, then became a crushing weight that left him struggling to breathe.
This was not actual energy, but an intimidation of the mind.
I must not make an enemy of this!
The Divine Power bestowed upon Qian Daoliu by the Angel God kept warning him that he absolutely must not show disrespect to the master of this power.
What Qian Daoliu found even harder to believe was that his Angel Divine Power was actually afraid of that golden disc.
No, it was more than fear!
Qian Daoliu's pupils contracted slightly, and he felt his own conjecture was blasphemous. "The divine ancestor's will is submitting to this power?"
Leaving aside Qian Daoliu's shock in reality, Bibi Dong opened her mind, and her consciousness followed Luo Chen's guidance until it arrived within that dazzling, mysterious, boundless starry sky.
"Is this the Martial Soul Space Nana and Xiao Chen mentioned?"
Bibi Dong looked around and was soon captivated by this universe studded with rivers of stars.
"Teacher."
"Xiao Chen?"
Looking toward the voice, Bibi Dong saw the towering figure of The Star Forger.
She was awed by The Star Forger's magnificence, but she felt no fear.
Through the giant dragon's eyes, Bibi Dong could sense Luo Chen's emotional fluctuations.
Clearly, the cosmic dragon before her was her disciple, Luo Chen.
"Xiao Chen, shouldn't we hurry? I'm worried Qian Daoliu might do something to you."
That Bibi Dong could entrust her mind to Luo Chen was enough to show her trust in her disciple.
Moreover, even after arriving in this strange sea of stars, Luo Chen's safety remained her concern.
"Teacher, there's no need to hurry. Time flows differently here than outside."
"Even if we talk here for several hours, only an instant will pass in reality."
The Star Forger's phantom dissolved into starlight, which then coalesced into Luo Chen's figure on the golden disc where Bibi Dong stood.
"I know you're worried that performing the Ascension Ritual for you will exhaust me again, Teacher."
"Please rest assured. There really are no side effects like that."
As Luo Chen spoke, he controlled the golden discs, setting them in motion until they formed a golden stairway leading upward.
"But here, I owe you an apology, Teacher."
"I'm sorry, Teacher. I wasn't honest with you."
Luo Chen's sincere apology left Bibi Dong somewhat at a loss. She hurried forward and embraced him. "It's all right. Xiao Chen, if you hid something from me, you must have had your reasons. I don't blame you."
"Mm."
With a casual wave, Luo Chen summoned five golden discs. "There are five discs here in total, representing Innate Soul Power, Top-Level Martial Souls, Super Martial Souls, Ultimate Martial Souls, and God-Level Martial Souls."
"They require a single-digit percentage of Ascended Power, 10%, 20%, 50%, and 100%, respectively."
"I see."
Bibi Dong immediately understood what Luo Chen meant by deceiving her. "You concealed the fifth-stage Ascension Ritual-the God-Level Martial Soul stage-and doubled their costs."
"You really are a clever little fellow."
She had thought it was something serious, only to find it was this little bit of cleverness. "You were wary of strangers. How could I blame you for that?"
Besides, this was a good thing, because Chrysanthemum Ghost Douluo, Wang Sheng, and Hu Liena had all heard Luo Chen's original version.
Only Bibi Dong knew that the Sun Disc's limit was not an Ultimate Martial Soul, but a true God-Level Martial Soul.
At that thought, Bibi Dong felt inexplicably pleased. A secret only Xiao Chen and I know. Hehehe.
At that moment, Na'er, who was silently observing from the shadows, revealed a disdainful smile.
"As long as you don't blame me, Teacher."
Luo Chen said, "The Ascensions I performed for Wang Sheng and Nana previously consumed 10% and 20%, respectively. After accumulating more over these past two days, the Sun Disc now has 72% Ascended Power remaining."
If his Ascended Power were full, Luo Chen would have been willing to perform the fifth-stage Ascension Ritual for Bibi Dong as compensation for manipulating her.
Unfortunately, there was not enough Ascended Power to accomplish it all in one go.
"Oh, you child."
Bibi Dong did not know whether to laugh or cry. She had always felt that Luo Chen was far too kind.
He was the one giving her a chance to grow stronger, yet he actually felt guilty because he could not give her the best.
If she resented him even for that, she would truly be despicable.
"Never mind a God-Level Martial Soul or a Limit Martial Soul. Xiao Chen, as long as you can condense a Natal Soul Ring for me, I'll be perfectly satisfied."
With that Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, Bibi Dong was confident she could raise her Soul Power to level 93. Combined with the Soul Power she had previously obtained by devouring Qian Xunji, she could at least become a level 96 Super Douluo.
Winning a fight was certainly out of the question.
Qian Daoliu was too strong, so strong that he drove Bibi Dong to despair.
The only thing Bibi Dong could do was give everything she had to protect her Xiao Chen from humiliation and abuse.
"I'll do my best to evolve your Martial Souls, Teacher."
Luo Chen said, "With some luck, it might even give you power that can rival that Great Enshrined."
Luo Chen truly had not anticipated Qian Daoliu's arrival.
Judging solely by the original story, siding with Qian Daoliu seemed a little better than following Bibi Dong.
But the fact was that Luo Chen knew nothing about Qian Daoliu.
What kind of person was he?
What was his attitude?
Would he exploit Luo Chen to pave the way for his granddaughter, Qian Renxue?
Luo Chen had no certainty about any of this.
By contrast, Bibi Dong had already been completely molded to his shape.
Just now, for instance, Bibi Dong had chosen to enter his Martial Soul Space as a consciousness, which was enough to demonstrate the stunning Supreme Pontiff's trust in Luo Chen.
After all, this space was incredibly close to The Star Forger's power.
Outside, Luo Chen indeed could not defeat Bibi Dong or Qian Daoliu.
But if the two dared to send their souls into this place...
Whether he squeezed them round or flattened them would depend on a single thought from Luo Chen.
Bibi Dong seemed to have sensed this, but she trusted that Luo Chen would not harm her. "What do I need to do?"
"I'll summon your Martial Souls first, Teacher."
"My Martial-"
Before Bibi Dong could finish, Luo Chen had already awakened her Martial Souls through the Sun Disc.
"Chitter, chitter, chitter."
Two terrifying spiders as massive as small hills appeared behind Bibi Dong, one on either side. They brandished their claws and limbs, eerie, horrifying screeches issuing from mouthparts that could only be described as gaping, blood-filled maws.
"This!"
Bibi Dong's face turned deathly pale. She looked at Luo Chen in alarm, deeply afraid of seeing fear on the child's face.
There was no helping it. Neither of Bibi Dong's Martial Souls, the Death Spider Emperor and the Soul-Devouring Spider Emperor, had anything to do with beauty.
Bibi Dong herself did not mind. Sometimes, she even thought her Martial Souls were rather cute.
But she also understood that, to ordinary people, spiders were synonymous with ugliness and disgust.
Never mind finding them cute; feeling one's hair stand on end was the normal reaction.
"Chitter, chitter, chitter~~"
The two giant spiders, however, were completely oblivious to their master's feelings and continued flailing about merrily.
"Oh, so these are your Martial Souls, Teacher?"
Luo Chen examined the two giant spiders closely. He felt no discomfort; instead, he commented with interest, "As expected of emperors among spiders. They're practically oozing dominance."
"You..."
Bibi Dong asked, "Xiao Chen, aren't you afraid?"
"Not really."
Luo Chen answered honestly, "They look a little frightening, but just looking at them gives me the feeling they're really powerful."
"Teacher."
"What is it?"
"I still haven't seen you use Martial Soul Possession."
Luo Chen said, "Oh, and your Martial Soul Avatar too. Could you show me sometime?"
Luo Chen knew Bibi Dong hated her Martial Soul Avatar form because it was simply too ugly.
Yet Luo Chen felt that spider women and the like possessed the beauty of monster girls.
The people of the Douluo Continent thought it ugly because they had never encountered any true perverts.
In the eyes of those who liked monster girls, Bibi Dong with her avatar activated perfectly hit their fetishes, enough to drive them wild.
"Ah, well..."
A blush rose on Bibi Dong's face. She could not refuse Luo Chen, yet she did not want her disciple to see her ugly side.
"Ahem."
Left with no choice, Bibi Dong changed the subject. "Now isn't the time to discuss that."
"Oh."
"All right."
Feigning disappointment, Luo Chen waved his hand, and the two spiders floated obediently in the starry sky.
They waved their enormous pincers and chittered, as though cheering their master on.
"What should I do?"
"Teacher, please climb as high as you can."
Controlling the Sun Disc, Luo Chen formed an ascension stairway for Bibi Dong. "Reaching the fourth level will grant you Ultimate Martial Souls. As for the fifth level..."
Above Ultimate Martial Souls were God-Level Martial Souls!
"All right."
Without another word, Bibi Dong followed Luo Chen's guidance and ascended from the first step.
Soon, Bibi Dong passed the second and third levels without any pressure, then easily stepped onto the fourth level, which represented Ultimate Martial Souls.
This meant that both of Bibi Dong's Martial Souls could undergo transformation and evolve their respective Ultimate Powers.
At the same time, Luo Chen discovered that although Twin Martial Souls consisted of two Martial Souls, the number of Martial Souls did not affect the consumption of Ascended Power.
This meant that Twin Martial Souls were superior to a single Martial Soul even in the Ascension Ritual.
"Can you keep going, Teacher?"
Luo Chen returned to his dragon king form. The towering dragon looked down at Bibi Dong, his eyes filled with anticipation and encouragement. "Ultimate Martial Souls require 50% Ascended Power, leaving 22% afterward."
Theoretically, that 22% was insufficient to push Bibi Dong's Martial Souls to the God-Level.
But human effort could make the difference.
Without trying, no one would know the outcome.
"I intend to try."
Bibi Dong could already feel the resistance to moving farther forward.
Yet her subconscious told her that if she kept going, she could obtain something better.
Who had the greatest talent on the Douluo Continent?
Excluding the cheating Tang San and Qian Renxue, whom heaven spoon-fed, that position undoubtedly belonged to Bibi Dong.
Only Bibi Dong had forged a path to godhood through her own talent and hard work all along the way.
The Rakshasa God Trial, the most difficult in history, offered no benefits whatsoever and instead imposed restrictions at every turn.
She had received her God Trials twenty years before Tang San and Qian Renxue, yet became the last to attain godhood.
Looking over Bibi Dong's life, Luo Chen had nothing to say except to lament heaven's injustice.
"You can do it."
Luo Chen encouraged Bibi Dong while releasing the remaining 22% Ascended Power all at once, turning it into a propulsive force to reduce the pressure on her as much as possible.
Xiao Chen is helping me.
Feeling the assistance coming from behind her, Bibi Dong strode forward with a determined gaze.
One step, two steps, three steps...
With immense difficulty, Bibi Dong stepped onto the fifth level, the smallest yet most important of the five discs.
"Ngh!"
Bibi Dong felt excruciating pain throughout her body. The unimaginable pressure seemed intent on crushing her completely.
But she did not stop. She continued forward!
Boom!!
Vast Divine Power became a storm of blades, tearing apart the stunning Supreme Pontiff's clothes and leaving wound after wound on her snow-white skin.
Blood seeped from the corner of Bibi Dong's mouth. Her clear, beautiful eyes turned bloodshot, and two trails of bloody tears slid down her cheeks.
"Teacher..."
Even Luo Chen could not help feeling a pang of heartache at the sight.
Although only Bibi Dong's soul was here, the injuries she suffered within the Ascension Space would become real mental damage, fed back to Bibi Dong.
Fortunately, Luo Chen was the master of this world.
No matter what injuries Bibi Dong suffered, he could heal her during the Ascension Ritual.
It was precisely this assurance that gave Luo Chen the confidence to let Bibi Dong surpass her limits at this moment.
"Hum, hum, hum~~"
Meanwhile, Bibi Dong, who had officially set foot on the fifth level, saw the center of the disc.
A golden pillar stood there, with a resplendent crown encircled by a river of stars floating above it. It was none other than Luo Chen's First Martial Soul, the Celestial Star Crown.
This is it.
If I touch it, I'll get the very best!
These words echoed in Bibi Dong's heart. Enduring the excruciating pain coming from every part of her body, she forced her hand toward the Celestial Star Crown.
"Boom!!"
The instant Bibi Dong's fingers touched the crown, the originally blue Ascended Power erupted in a dazzling golden light.
[Ascension Ritual complete] [Path to Godhood unlocked] [Current Celestial Power insufficient. Opening the Path to Godhood is not recommended]
Luo Chen looked in astonishment at Bibi Dong, who had successfully broken through her own limits. The pressure surrounding her receded like the tide, and the wounds on her soul were restored to their original state as the Ascended Power transformed her.
Two rays of light, one black and one green, enveloped the Death Spider Emperor and the Soul-Devouring Spider Emperor respectively.
Martial Soul Evolution had begun...
(End of chapter)