"Such powerful divine power!"
At the Worship Hall in Spirit City, Qian Daoliu strode outside. His gaze grave, he looked up at the stars filling the sky, then toward the statue of the Angel God standing before the hall. "Could something have happened in the Divine Realm?"
Soon, Qian Daoliu noticed the unrest within Spirit City.
The Soul Masters were frightened by this sudden celestial phenomenon, yet Bibi Dong, the Supreme Pontiff, was absent.
"At a time like this, of all times."
Helpless, Qian Daoliu could only transmit his voice to the Titled Douluos in the Elder Hall, telling them to dispatch people to reassure Spirit City's residents.
"Grandpa~~"
Just then, a petite figure darted out from behind Qian Daoliu. She had long golden hair cascading like a waterfall and wore an exquisite white-and-gold dress. She was none other than Qian Daoliu's granddaughter, the future Angel God, Qian Renxue.
"Grandpa, why did the sky suddenly go dark?"
Qian Renxue, who had yet to infiltrate Heaven Dou, was still an innocent, sheltered young girl.
She had just suffered the loss of her father and was loathed by her mother. Coupled with her identity as Spirit Hall's young master, Qian Renxue did not even have a peer she could talk to in her daily life.
Apart from her grandfather Qian Daoliu, she could only converse with the other six worshippers.
"Don't worry, Xue'er. With Grandpa here, nothing will happen."
Qian Daoliu stroked his granddaughter's little head. Although his heart was likewise filled with worry over the unknown before him, he still showed a steady, dependable side.
Before his granddaughter, Qian Daoliu had to maintain his lofty, glorious image.
"Mm!"
Qian Renxue held her grandfather's hand and gazed out over Spirit City, her heart filled with confidence in Qian Daoliu.
Yet subconsciously, the girl's gaze still strayed toward the Supreme Pontiff's Hall. Mother hasn't returned yet. I wonder if she'll encounter any danger.
"A strange phenomenon in the heavens. Could someone have become a god?"
On Sea God Island, High Priestess Bo Saixi frowned deeply, her snow-white hair fluttering in the sea breeze. She sighed softly. "Could it be you, Tang Chen?"
At that same moment, within the Lake of Life in the southern Star Dou Great Forest, a pair of purple beast eyes opened in the darkness.
"My lord?"
Di Tian, who stood guard over the Silver Dragon King, sensed her awakening and hurriedly appeared. "Why have you awakened?"
"I sensed Father God's presence."
"His Majesty the Dragon God's presence?!"
Di Tian sounded excited, but quickly calmed down. "Could it be a trap laid by those fellows in the Divine Realm?"
"No."
The Silver Dragon King perceived this presence more clearly than Di Tian. "This presence contains an immense amount of Power of the Cosmic Origin. Even Father God probably did not possess anything this pure."
"Those fellows in the Divine Realm couldn't cause a disturbance like this."
The Silver Dragon King was one half of the Dragon God after his division. Unfortunately, she had not inherited his memories.
She merely felt that this boundless Power of the Cosmic Origin resembled the Dragon God's, but could not determine where it came from.
As for whether it actually originated from the Dragon God, that was even harder to discern.
"Then we..."
"For now, do not act rashly."
The Silver Dragon King said helplessly, "My injuries are still far from fully healed."
There was no helping it. They did not even know the source of this presence. If they acted rashly and were discovered by the Divine Realm, they would be doomed beyond redemption.
But if they truly did nothing, and this presence was connected to the Dragon God, would they not miss a golden opportunity for nothing?
"I have it."
After some thought, the Silver Dragon King made her choice. "I will separate a portion of my origin. Di Tian, take it and search for the source of that presence."
As she finished speaking, a crystal-clear dragon scale slowly separated from the Silver Dragon King's body.
With this portion of her origin stripped away, the Silver Dragon King's presence immediately weakened considerably.
But it did not matter. Her injuries would take an extremely long time to heal anyway. Even if they worsened now, it would only cost her a few thousand more years.
Between a few thousand years and cosmic origin power resembling the Dragon God's, the Silver Dragon King chose the latter without question.
"My lord!"
Di Tian took the dragon scale, his eyes full of worry. "Your injuries had barely recovered, and now you've separated your origin as well. This..."
"Go."
The Silver Dragon King's tone brooked no refusal, and she did not wish to explain further.
"Alas..."
Di Tian wanted to persuade her, but ultimately chose to leave.
Meanwhile, Luo Chen had no idea just how enormous a stir his Martial Soul Awakening had caused across the Douluo Continent.
As he sensed his Martial Soul and his consciousness sank ever deeper, Luo Chen had already lost awareness of the outside world and entered the Martial Soul space within his body.
"A god-level Martial Soul!"
Having accepted the Rakshasa God Trial, Bibi Dong could naturally sense fluctuations of divine power. "What this child has awakened is definitely a god-level Martial Soul!"
There was no mistaking it. The invisible pressure emanating from Luo Chen was precisely the presence of divine power Bibi Dong had felt in the Rakshasa Secret Realm.
However, compared with the Rakshasa God, the power awakening within Luo Chen was clearly even stronger.
"Where am I?"
Within his Martial Soul space, Luo Chen opened his eyes and discovered that he was floating in a magnificent, mysterious astral realm.
"Roar~~"
Accompanied by this ancient, majestic dragon cry, an imposing figure beyond words emerged from the fathomless starry sky.
He wore a crown of brilliant starlight, and his body resembled a miniature universe. Starlight flowed within it, while ancient, profound runes flickered faintly without end.
"The Star Forger!"
What appeared before Luo Chen was none other than the Star Forger from League of Legends-Aurelion Sol.
"My Martial Soul is the Star Forger?"
Luo Chen cried out inwardly. His original expectations for his Martial Soul had not been high. As long as he possessed innate Soul Power, he could accept an ordinary-quality one.
Yet Luo Chen had never expected happiness to arrive so suddenly.
The Star Forger was an existence akin to a God of Creation within the world of League of Legends. The sheer might of his power was beyond words.
He casually forged stars, crushed them with his bare hands, and had personally witnessed the birth and destruction of universes countless times.
Placed within the Douluo World's setting, perhaps only the legendary Dragon God, who stood above the God Kings, could barely compare to such an existence.
Well, a bargain-basement version.
"Huh?"
But before Luo Chen could enjoy his excitement for long, a piece of inherited information from the Star Forger Martial Soul doused him with a bucket of cold water.
"The Star Forger Martial Soul possesses terrifying power, but because of the restrictions imposed by this world's rules, I can't obtain that power directly."
[The Star Forger's power has been bound to the Douluo Plane. Upon the plane's destruction, the Star Forger's mighty power will be fully released.]
"What?!"
Looking at the inherited information appearing in his mind, Luo Chen stood dumbfounded within his Martial Soul space. "Leaving aside how many people destroying the plane would kill, how am I supposed to destroy an entire plane?"
With that kind of strength, wouldn't he already be invincible across the Douluo Continent himself?
Besides, destroying the Douluo Plane? His name was Luo Chen, not Bibi Chen, damn it!
Luo Chen declared that he simply could not do something like that. "Isn't there another way?"
[Enhancing the Douluo Plane's potential will gradually grant access to the Star Forger's power.]
As the inherited information appeared, the Star Forger Martial Soul slowly opened his clenched dragon claws. Above those two claws, two new Martial Souls shone with dazzling light.
"I have two more Martial Souls?!"
Luo Chen abruptly opened his eyes and instinctively raised his right hand, palm upward.
The next moment, a crown cast from gold and studded with gems resembling a multitude of stars appeared in Luo Chen's hand.
At the same time, as the Martial Soul Awakening ended, the star-filled night sky began to dissipate, finally returning to a bright, sunny morning.
"A crown!"
Before Luo Chen could examine it closely, Bibi Dong hurried forward. "Is this your Martial Soul, Xiao Chen?"
The stunningly beautiful Supreme Pontiff carefully examined the crown floating above Luo Chen's right hand. She felt only that it glittered with endless starlight and was clearly no ordinary Martial Soul.
"What Martial Soul is this?"
"I don't recognize it."
"Could it be a Martial Soul mutation?"
Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo exchanged remarks. Like Bibi Dong, they were both extremely curious about the specifics of this Martial Soul.
"It looks a little like the Star Crown Sect's Star Crown Martial Soul. Could it be a Martial Soul mutated from the Star Crown?"
Bibi Dong guessed privately that Luo Chen might be connected to that secluded sect in the Star Luo Empire, the Star Crown Sect. Perhaps one of his ancestors had come from that sect.
"But what was that phenomenon about?"
Even Qian Renxue's Martial Soul Awakening had not produced such a phenomenon defying common sense.
That scene just now, with heaven and earth reversed and the stars shifting, had been truly terrifying.
Compared with that mighty power capable of overturning day and night in an instant, Bibi Dong experienced humanity's insignificance for the first time.
Even as Titled Douluos, how were they any different from dust or ants before heaven and earth, the sun and moon, and the cosmos?
"Forget it. Let's not dwell on that."
"Let's test your innate Soul Power first."
Bibi Dong quickly recovered from her bewilderment. She took a crystal ball from her Storage Soul Tool and held it before Luo Chen. "Here, Xiao Chen. Put your hand on it."
At this moment, Bibi Dong's thoughts were completely occupied by the Martial Soul Luo Chen had awakened. Where was there any room for Yu Xiaogang?
"Mm."
Luo Chen nodded and cooperatively extended his hand.
Bibi Dong, Gui Mei, Yue Guan, Hu Liena, Wang Sheng-everyone present stared fixedly at the crystal ball beneath Luo Chen's palm, eager to learn his innate Soul Power rank.
Luo Chen's Star Crown was exquisitely designed, clearly no ordinary Martial Soul.
By quality, the Douluo Continent's Martial Souls could be divided into seven tiers, from lowest to highest: low-tier Martial Souls, intermediate Martial Souls, high-tier Martial Souls, Top-Level Martial Souls, super Martial Souls, ultimate Martial Souls, and god-bestowed Martial Souls.
Among them, super Martial Souls also belonged to the Top-Level Martial Soul tier, representing its upper limit.
Unlike Top-Level Martial Souls, however, super Martial Souls were often unique. Not only did they naturally come with a domain, but they surpassed Top-Level Martial Souls in every respect.
Beyond that, super Martial Souls had another characteristic: they were not readily passed down through bloodlines, instead requiring a special awakening ceremony to fully obtain.
Tang San's Blue Silver Emperor Martial Soul was a super Martial Soul. It was unique, came with the Blue Silver Domain, and required a special ceremony to awaken.
Next came ultimate Martial Souls, which possessed ultimate attributes, meaning they could effortlessly crush everyone else in a particular attribute.
Only the ultimate could contend with the ultimate.
It was no exaggeration to say that once a Martial Soul possessing an ultimate attribute matured, it was practically invincible.
Only god-bestowed Martial Souls could stand above ultimate Martial Souls.
"Buzz~~"
As Luo Chen's hand touched the crystal ball, dazzling light burst forth instantly.
"This is?!"
Bibi Dong's pupils contracted slightly, while the two Titled Douluos beside her, Chrysanthemum and Ghost, widened their eyes in shock. All three exclaimed inwardly at once, Rank 30 innate Soul Power!!
"His talent is actually even greater than that child's!"
Bibi Dong instinctively sucked in a cold breath. She considered herself a rare prodigy in the Douluo Continent's ten thousand years of history, possessing twin Martial Souls and having cultivated to rank 90 before turning thirty.
Yet today, she had encountered Luo Chen.
Not only her own talent, but even that of the child she hated was being pinned to the ground and rubbed into the dirt by Luo Chen.
"Your Holiness!"
Chrysanthemum Ghost Douluo were utterly excited. They could hardly imagine what rank 30 innate Soul Power meant.
Qian Renxue's rank 20 innate Soul Power was known only among Spirit Hall's elders, a top secret that only Titled Douluos could learn.
Originally, the two had thought Qian Renxue's talent was already unrivaled under heaven. They had not expected Luo Chen to be even more formidable, starting outright with rank 30 innate Soul Power.
"We must secure this child!"
Bibi Dong stared at Luo Chen with burning eyes, thinking, Whatever this child's Martial Soul is, those twenty ranks of god-bestowed Soul Power alone mean it is definitely a god-level Martial Soul!
Moreover, with Luo Chen's current talent, he had reached rank 30 upon awakening. Once he obtained three Soul Rings, he would immediately become a Soul Elder.
A six-year-old Soul Elder-even Qian Renxue had not achieved that.
This also meant that, as long as Luo Chen cultivated diligently, he would certainly become one of the Douluo Continent's greatest powerhouses in the future. Even reaching rank 100 and becoming a god was possible.
At this thought, Bibi Dong could no longer suppress her excitement.
She hated the Angel Clan, hated the Qian Family, and wished Spirit Hall would collapse sooner rather than later.
But Bibi Dong also understood that Qian Daoliu was powerful, and the strength of the Worship Hall's other six worshippers was equally unfathomable.
Although she had become Supreme Pontiff, she was merely a puppet propped up by Qian Daoliu. She held little actual authority, and even the capable people at her disposal could be counted on her fingers.
Bibi Dong could not accept it. She could not accept being controlled by the Angel Clan like this.
She had already been used as a breeding tool once. She did not want to become a marionette as well, a mascot keeping Spirit Hall's Supreme Pontiff seat warm for Qian Renxue!
"This child's talent is unprecedented throughout the ages."
Bibi Dong could hardly imagine what heights Luo Chen might reach in the future.
More importantly, Luo Chen had a good character. The information Gui Mei had collected clearly showed what kind of person he was.
As the saying went, a child's character at three revealed the adult to come. If a child who repaid kindness and did not curse heaven or blame others in the face of illness and pain was not worth nurturing, then Bibi Dong must truly have been blind.
"As long as I treat him well, once this child grows up, he will surely stand by me."
Apart from her biological daughter Qian Renxue, Bibi Dong could show her gentleness to any child. Hu Liena was someone she treated as her own daughter, finding emotional solace in her.
Now that she had encountered Luo Chen as well, Bibi Dong felt she could absolutely raise him as her own son.
Yes, she already had a daughter. Now for a son.
A son and a daughter-how delightful!
"That's right. That's what I'll do!"
Bibi Dong silently encouraged herself. I'm not that beast Qian Xunji. Whether it's Nana or Xiao Chen, I'll give them the very best!
On this point, the Bibi Dong of the original story had indeed delivered.
For Hu Liena's sake, she had announced a spirit skull bone as a tournament prize. Even after they lost the tournament, she still gave her disciple a skull bone from her own treasured collection.
While Hu Liena was in Slaughter City, Bibi Dong visited her several times to make sure nothing truly happened to her.
When her disciple returned from Slaughter City, she even named her Holy Maiden.
It had to be understood that Spirit Hall's Holy Maiden was not like the holy sons and holy maidens in Western fantasy novels. The title meant the heir to the Supreme Pontiff of Spirit Hall.
Bibi Dong was preparing to hand all of Spirit Hall over to Hu Liena.
Thus, whatever kind of person Bibi Dong was in the original story, however vile her personality, however blind she was, at least when it came to Hu Liena, she had truly given her whole heart.
Unfortunately, Bibi Dong passed her love-brained nature down to Hu Liena perfectly, and ended up being screwed over by her just like that.
Although Luo Chen had never read the original story, he had seen quite a few posts roasting the major female characters in Douluo I.
All he could say was that pitiable people always had something hateful about them, and vice versa.
"Ahem!"
Naturally, Bibi Dong had no idea what Luo Chen was thinking, so she cleared her throat and introduced herself. "I am Bibi Dong, Supreme Pontiff of Spirit Hall."
"Xiao Chen, are you willing to take me as your master and become my disciple?"
Having spoken, Bibi Dong waited somewhat nervously for Luo Chen's answer.
Even though everyone knew that, with Luo Chen's talent, there was no possibility other than joining Spirit Hall.
Now that Bibi Dong had encountered him, she would not let anyone else snatch him away.
But Bibi Dong wanted more than Luo Chen's body. She wanted his heart, too.
"I am!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Luo Chen made his choice. "Your disciple pays his respects, Teacher!"
One of the most dependable relationships in Douluo World was that between master and disciple.
Of course, that statement did not apply to Bibi Dong, because she had fed her own teacher, Qian Xunji, to a spider.
However, before Bibi Dong was given the secret chamber treatment, she had respected Qian Xunji from the bottom of her heart, and Qian Xunji had never treated her poorly.
So how did all of this happen?
Luo Chen did not know much about Bibi Dong's secret chamber incident. He only knew that her love brain had kicked in and she had fallen for someone called Grandmaster, and that Qian Xunji had disapproved.
For the sake of love, Bibi Dong had planned to leave Spirit Hall and elope with this Grandmaster.
Those words had thoroughly enraged Qian Xunji, giving rise to the Secret Chamber Douluo meme.
Of course, whether Qian Xunji had acted on a sudden whim or had planned it all along was unknown.
Forget it. No point thinking about this. It has nothing to do with me anyway.
Luo Chen turned his attention to Bibi Dong and saw that the gorgeous Supreme Pontiff was overjoyed. The smile she inadvertently revealed captivated even Luo Chen, who was still only a child.
"Good! Wonderful!"
Bibi Dong affectionately stroked Luo Chen's head. "Don't worry, Xiao Chen. I'll have people find the best medicine. I'll make sure you recover."
Whenever she thought of how someone as outstanding as Luo Chen might die young because of her mistake, Bibi Dong's heart ached.
Admittedly, she was reluctant to lose Luo Chen's power, but even more than that, she felt compassion for her disciple, for the tragic fate of a little child.
Whether for Xiao Chen's talent or to make up for what I owe this child, I must find a way to cure him!
Whatever her motives, at least at that moment, Bibi Dong sincerely wanted to take good care of Luo Chen.
For a moment, even Luo Chen could feel the deep care radiating from Bibi Dong.
He had to admit it: Bibi Dong really was a true-fragrance moment!
(End of chapter)