"Xiao Chen, come. Your teacher will take you to rest."
Inside the Papal Palace, Bibi Dong dismissed the female Soul Masters attending her, then spoke to Luo Chen, who sat waiting nearby.
Though she had been pope for two months, Bibi Dong still lived in the Saintess Hall.
Because she hated the Papal Palace, hated this place that bore Qian Xunji's presence.
Bibi Dong had originally planned to have the Papal Palace redecorated and move in once all the distinctly Qian Xunji-style furnishings were gone.
But now the Saintess Hall had been damaged. How could Bibi Dong tolerate letting Luo Chen continue living there?
With no other choice, Bibi Dong first settled Luo Chen into a guest room in the Papal Palace, then spent an entire afternoon mobilizing a large number of maids and servants before finally erasing every trace of Qian Xunji she could see.
"Mm."
Luo Chen let Bibi Dong carry him into the Papal Palace, whose style had changed dramatically.
Neither lingered. They headed up from the main hall, straight to the palace's top floor.
Along the way, Bibi Dong slowed her steps, taking the opportunity to prolong her close contact with Luo Chen.
The stunning pope thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of strolling along with Luo Chen in her arms.
It was just like a mother and child from an ordinary family: tired from playing, the child nestled drowsily in his mother's arms, half asleep as she carried him home, gently laid him on the bed, and tucked him in.
"Teacher, are we there?"
"Huh?"
Immersed in her beautiful fantasy, Bibi Dong had reached their destination without realizing it.
"I, well..."
Bibi Dong's lovely face reddened, but she still feigned composure. "Yes, we're here."
As she spoke, Bibi Dong carried Luo Chen into the room, making no mention whatsoever of putting him down.
"..."
Luo Chen felt helpless. With his little arms and legs, he had no way to struggle against Bibi Dong.
As the old saying went, life was like Jingze: if you didn't want to jump, all you could do was admit it smelled really good.
"Xiao Chen, what do you think of this room?"
This was the highest point of the Papal Palace, originally a study Qian Xunji used to overlook all of Spirit City.
Though it was called a study, Qian Xunji rarely came here to read.
"Can I read all the books here?"
"Of course!"
Hearing Luo Chen's question, Bibi Dong immediately smiled proudly.
Bibi Dong had left the room's book collection untouched.
Knowing Luo Chen liked reading, she had deliberately kept it.
Of course, she had ordered everything else removed-the original golden desk, the bed, and those Soul Tools that were clearly meant for lighting yet had outrageously flashy designs.
In their place was an elegant pale purple that suited Bibi Dong's tastes.
"Xiao Chen."
Bibi Dong suddenly felt she might have gone overboard. She loved pale purple, but Luo Chen might not.
So Bibi Dong asked timidly, "Do you think this color is all right? If you don't like it, I'll have someone change it to whatever style you want right now."
"Oh, there's no need."
"I quite like this color."
Luo Chen had no particular requirements for colors, but the panoramic view overlooking Spirit City especially pleased him.
"That's good."
Hearing Luo Chen's answer, Bibi Dong was overjoyed. Xiao Chen likes pale purple, and I like pale purple too, so Xiao Chen likes me very much.
The stunning pope's entire heart now hung on Luo Chen, and she was terribly afraid of doing anything that displeased him.
Yet a single compliment from Luo Chen could keep Bibi Dong happy for half the day.
"Master."
Just then, Na'er's voice suddenly sounded in Luo Chen's heart.
"Mm."
Luo Chen and Na'er were connected in heart and mind. With just that word, he understood what she meant.
Na'er's Dawn Avatar had returned, bringing a treasure of tremendous importance to Luo Chen as he was now.
"What did you bring back?"
Luo Chen sent his consciousness into the Martial Soul Space and saw the Dawn Avatar merge with Na'er's true body.
The next moment, the girl cupped her hands before her, then slowly opened them, revealing a plant floating there, emitting a deep blue glow.
"This is..."
Luo Chen naturally recognized the plant. "Blue Silver Grass?"
A Plant-type Soul Beast found everywhere across the Douluo Continent, Blue Silver Grass was as ordinary as could be.
"This is the treasure you mentioned, Na'er? The one containing immense vitality that would be a huge help to me?"
Luo Chen did not doubt Na'er. He carefully examined this Blue Silver Grass and discovered that it differed from ordinary Blue Silver Grass: golden patterns could faintly be seen flowing across its surface.
Almost instantly, a possibility occurred to Luo Chen. "Could this... be Ah Yin?"
Ah Yin, Tang San's mother, was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, Blue Silver Grass that had transformed into a human.
Luo Chen was unfamiliar with the original story and only knew that Tang San's mother had later been resurrected.
But Luo Chen did not know where Ah Yin had been before her resurrection.
What Luo Chen had never expected, however, was that Na'er would bring back the original Mother's Entanglement herself.
"Where did you find her?"
"In a pitch-black cave."
"A pitch-black... cave?"
Luo Chen failed to process that for a moment. "Why would she be somewhere like that?"
His recollection of the Blue Silver Emperor ended with her being hunted by Qian Xunji, then sacrificing herself to Tang Hao.
What happened next-what became of the Blue Silver Emperor after her death and how she was resurrected-was all outside Luo Chen's knowledge.
Yet according to Na'er's description, the Blue Silver Emperor had been planted inside a dim cave that never saw daylight.
Luo Chen could not make sense of it. "That seems unreasonable no matter how you look at it."
What plants needed most to grow were sunlight and water, yet the cavern Na'er showed Luo Chen not only never saw daylight, even its soil was excessively barren.
It was hard to imagine what the person who planted the Blue Silver Emperor had been thinking, imprisoning her in such a place.
"Forget it. Whatever happened to her has nothing much to do with me."
So Luo Chen turned his attention back to the Blue Silver Emperor. "Na'er, you said she would be a huge help to me. What should I do? Eat her?"
At the thought of consuming Ah Yin, Luo Chen's expression grew troubled.
Honestly, he found it rather unacceptable.
Setting aside eating an intelligent being whom Luo Chen regarded as human.
Even considering their relationship, Ah Yin and Luo Chen had no grudge against each other. There was truly no need to go that far.
"Of course not!"
Na'er did not care whether ordinary Soul Beasts lived or died, but this Blue Silver Emperor was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
In a sense, she counted as one of Na'er's acknowledged kin.
However, a voice in Na'er's subconscious said that once a Soul Beast chose transformation, it no longer had any connection to the Soul Beast Clan.
Whether it lived or died afterward was entirely a consequence of its own choice.
Na'er did not know where that thought came from, but she did not quite agree with it.
In Na'er's view, a Soul Beast was a Soul Beast. Even after transforming, it remained a Soul Beast.
Otherwise, try killing a human and see whether a Soul Ring dropped.
Since a Soul Beast Transformation would still produce a Soul Ring, how was she no longer a Soul Beast?
"Although she's become a blade of grass, her soul can still faintly perceive the outside world."
"That means she's still alive and hasn't completely died."
Like Luo Chen, Na'er really could not work up an appetite for a blade of grass like this. "Master, aren't you still missing two Soul Rings?"
"You want her to become my Second Soul Ring?"
Luo Chen began considering the feasibility of Na'er's proposal.
First, among the known life-forms on the Douluo Continent, the Blue Silver Emperor was the Plant-type Soul Beast with the greatest ability to survive.
So absorbing her as his Second Soul Ring would definitely produce an extremely powerful recovery-type Soul Skill.
"If it were only ordinary Blue Silver Grass, Na'er certainly wouldn't approve of Master absorbing it."
"But she's different."
Na'er said, "The Blue Silver Emperor is the sovereign of Blue Silver Grass. Even if she lost almost all her cultivation through sacrifice, the essence of her life is still there."
In other words, the Blue Silver Emperor before him was still a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. Her current miserable state did not change that.
"Master, what do you think of Na'er's suggestion?"
"All right!"
Luo Chen did not need to consider it at all. What he needed most now was an ability that could let his body recover quickly.
With the Blue Silver Emperor as his Second Soul Ring, Luo Chen could think of no better choice.
"Teacher."
Bibi Dong was just about to leave when Luo Chen called her back. She asked in puzzlement, "What is it, Xiao Chen?"
After considering it, Luo Chen ultimately decided to tell Bibi Dong that he was preparing to add his Second Soul Ring.
Aside from Na'er, Bibi Dong could now be called the person Luo Chen trusted most. She was an important safeguard that allowed him to establish himself in this world and survive his period of weakness.
With her, Luo Chen had no need to hold anything back except a few trump cards that could protect him at critical moments.
Wang Sheng: So love does disappear, then?
The absolute childhood friend was no match for the ultimate girl who fell from the sky.
"Your Second Soul Ring?"
Bibi Dong was very surprised, clearly not expecting Luo Chen to bring this up.
"Xiao Chen, what Soul Beast do you intend to choose?"
Previously, Bibi Dong had planned to delay Luo Chen's acquisition of his next two Soul Rings, hoping that once her disciple's body recovered, he could obtain the optimal age configuration, or even Soul Rings exceeding his age limit.
Luo Chen wanted to obtain a Soul Ring now. Another teacher, someone like Yu Xiaogang, would certainly question whether he distrusted them.
But Bibi Dong would not.
She felt that Luo Chen must have his reasons for thinking this way.
So as long as Luo Chen could convince her, Bibi Dong would respect her disciple's wishes.
Of course!
If Luo Chen's reasons were too far-fetched, Bibi Dong would still speak up to stop him.
She did indeed dote on Luo Chen beyond measure. Whatever her disciple requested, no matter what it was, Bibi Dong would do it.
But there was one prerequisite: Luo Chen could not harm himself.
Otherwise, if Luo Chen wanted to kill himself, was Bibi Dong supposed to support that too?
Absorbing a Soul Ring prematurely and wasting his talent was, in Bibi Dong's eyes, Luo Chen failing to cherish himself.
If she could still stand by and watch that happen, it would be a serious failure as a teacher!
B-but what should I do if Xiao Chen insists on obtaining his Second Soul Ring early?
Bibi Dong discovered that she seemed completely incapable of being firm with Luo Chen.
Her papal dignity, her identity as the slaughtering saintess who could massacre over a thousand people without her expression changing, was utterly useless before Luo Chen.
Luo Chen was the flesh of her heart. She could not bear to scold him, much less hit him.
Faced with her disciple's unreasonable behavior, the only thing Bibi Dong could probably do was cry and plead like parents facing a rebellious child.
A pope of her stature, yet utterly helpless against Luo Chen. How embarrassing.
"Don't worry, Teacher. I won't waste my talent."
As Luo Chen spoke, he took the Blue Silver Emperor out of the Astral Realm and used Soul Power to suspend her above his palm.
"Is this... Blue Silver Grass?"
Bibi Dong froze for a moment, seemingly not expecting Luo Chen to take out a blade of Blue Silver Grass and say this was the Soul Beast he intended to hunt for his Second Soul Ring.
Bibi Dong: Are you messing with me?!
"Xiao Chen, d-don't scare your teacher."
Bibi Dong really felt like crying. She even thought she had done something wrong, causing Luo Chen to torment her by mistreating himself.
"Ahem, Teacher, you've misunderstood."
"Look closely. Look here. Yes, right here."
Luo Chen held the Blue Silver Emperor before Bibi Dong's eyes, then pointed at the golden patterns along the leaf veins. "See these exquisitely beautiful golden veins?"
"Huh?"
Bibi Dong now noticed what was special about the Blue Silver Emperor too, but she really had never studied Blue Silver Grass.
"So this is... mutated Blue Silver Grass?"
If it was special Blue Silver Grass that offered Luo Chen some sort of benefit, Bibi Dong could barely accept it.
No!
Even mutated Blue Silver Grass was still Blue Silver Grass, wasn't it?
Bibi Dong: Don't think I won't recognize you just because you've put on a translucent robe of golden gauze!
Trying to seduce her adorable Xiao Chen? Absolutely not!
"Teacher, this isn't Blue Silver Grass."
Luo Chen did not know whether to laugh or cry. "This is the Blue Silver Emperor."
"The Blue Silver Emperor?"
Hearing that name, tremendous shock appeared in Bibi Dong's eyes. She finally remembered.
"A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, the Blue Silver Emperor? How did she end up in your hands, Xiao Chen?"
As far as Bibi Dong knew, the Blue Silver Emperor should have been Tang Hao's wife.
Back then, it was because of this Soul Beast in human form that Qian Xunji had been gravely wounded by Tang Hao, giving her the chance to take advantage of Qian Xunji's weakness and avenge herself.
"Actually, I only learned where she came from recently myself."
As Luo Chen spoke, he discussed it with Na'er in the Martial Soul Space. She released her Soul Power and condensed a little silver dragon resembling the Dawn Avatar once more.
"Look, Teacher."
Luo Chen summoned the Astral Realm Crown, then placed it on his head.
The next moment, a river of stars surged, and a little silver dragon flew out from behind Luo Chen. It circled its master once before affectionately settling on Luo Chen's shoulder.
"What is this?"
"My first Martial Soul, the Celestial Star Crown, has a special function of its own besides its original first Soul Skill."
"She has no combat power, but she can bring me heavenly treasures hidden all over the world."
Luo Chen slightly altered his account of the abilities of Na'er's Dawn Avatar and, after concealing the crucial existence of the Innate Aspects, told Bibi Dong everything else.
"What an amazing ability."
Bibi Dong had never heard of a Soul Skill that could go out on its own to hunt for treasure. It truly opened her eyes.
"So this Blue Silver Emperor is a treasure your Martial Soul found outside and brought back, one that can help you recover quickly, Xiao Chen?"
Bibi Dong asked, "Then why not just eat her?"
"!!!"
Having left the Astral Realm, the Blue Silver Emperor once again sensed what was happening outside.
Her consciousness was extremely hazy, but she still retained life's most basic instinct to seek benefit and avoid harm.
Thus, after sensing Bibi Dong's malice, the Blue Silver Emperor instinctively began to tremble.
(End of chapter)