"Elders, and Nana, Wang Sheng."
Bibi Dong realized this as well and instructed them again, "Xiao Chen's martial soul abilities are Spirit Hall's highest secret. Without my permission, you must never reveal them to anyone!"
Though she was only at rank 90 and had yet to break through to the Titled realm, the soul power pressure Bibi Dong released actually made both Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo feel their hearts tremble.
"Yes!"
"Teacher, I wouldn't tell even if they beat me to death!"
"Me neither!"
Only after hearing all four promise again did Bibi Dong nod in satisfaction. "Wang Sheng, I'll arrange for you to attend Spirit Hall Academy. I hope you won't let Xiao Chen's kindness go to waste."
Wang Sheng's fate had changed because of Luo Chen.
Originally, even if an exception had been made to admit him to Spirit Hall Academy, his rank 2 innate soul power would have doomed him to a limited future.
Now, however, things were different. He had innate full soul power, and his martial soul had evolved into a top-level beast martial soul.
Such talent surpassed even Hu Liena's.
Yet Wang Sheng showed no pride or complacency. He understood who had given him this opportunity. "Xiao Chen, as long as I'm alive, I won't let anyone hurt you!"
"Ahem, cough."
Luo Chen coughed lightly a few times. Why did Wang Sheng's words sound a little like a confession?
He wasn't gay, and he certainly wasn't into guys!
"Mm. Sorry for the trouble I'll be giving you from now on too, Brother Wang Sheng."
Luo Chen knew Wang Sheng well, which was also why he had performed an ascension for him.
In any world, anywhere, being able to fight wasn't enough to get by.
Strength, connections, influence.
Now that Luo Chen had awakened The Star Forger and gained the means to survive on the Douluo Continent, he naturally had to plan for the future.
Being Bibi Dong's disciple means I've officially joined the villain faction.
Luo Chen didn't particularly care about that. Whether someone was a villain was a matter of perspective to begin with.
Most importantly, The Star Forger's inheritance would never be inferior to this world's divine positions. That gave Luo Chen enough backing to face any enemy with confidence.
But when he thought carefully about the causes and consequences of Spirit Hall's destruction...
Ultimately, the problem lay with Bibi Dong, Qian Renxue, and Hu Liena.
Luo Chen had heard from a friend that, out of every ten female characters in Douluo Continent, seven had romance brains, and two were accessories to male characters.
The sole survivor was either dead or reduced completely to a background character.
So Luo Chen was somewhat worried. If he joined Spirit Hall, only for Bibi Dong and Qian Renxue to start stirring up all kinds of trouble, he truly didn't know whether he could withstand it.
As the saying went, fear not godlike opponents, but piglike teammates.
Romance brains were truly terrifying!
I don't know what kind of person Qian Renxue is yet.
But Bibi Dong...
Honestly, Luo Chen had quite a good impression of Bibi Dong. Mm, since I'm here, I'll do my best to change her.
With that thought, Luo Chen accepted his choice of Spirit Hall's faction.
But acceptance was all it was.
Luo Chen wasn't a particularly ambitious person. He wasn't really interested in conquering the world or anything like that.
In his eyes, Spirit Hall was like a company.
Since Luo Chen had chosen to join, he naturally wouldn't do anything that harmed the company's interests, and he would work hard to complete the tasks it assigned him.
But anything beyond that, such as a sense of belonging...
That would depend on Spirit Hall's attitude toward him.
Repay kindness with gratitude, and resentment with justice.
Luo Chen had never been a bleeding heart, nor would he become a bottomless simp for the so-called three beauties of Spirit Hall.
Still, I really didn't expect this. Even after transmigrating, I haven't escaped the fate of being a wage slave.
Thinking this, Luo Chen began considering what path Wang Sheng should take in the future.
Brother Wang Sheng has a top-level beast martial soul, and his innate soul power has reached rank 10.
Spirit Hall definitely won't overlook talent like that.
Luo Chen thought, Although we've only known each other briefly, judging by what I learned in my previous life, when this teacher of mine isn't being a romance brain, she's actually a very ambitious woman who's exceptionally good at biding her time.
She won't pass up a promising genius like Wang Sheng. As long as Brother Wang Sheng can seize this opportunity, he'll definitely be entrusted with important duties in Spirit Hall.
I just don't know what Brother Wang Sheng thinks.
Luo Chen had watched Wang Sheng grow up and knew his character. He was trustworthy.
In truth, Luo Chen had concealed quite a few secrets about the ascension ritual.
One was that, although Luo Chen could neither control those who underwent the ascension ritual nor take back the power he had granted, they would establish a special connection with him.
This connection was somewhat like sensing affection and loyalty.
Neither increased out of nowhere; it merely allowed Luo Chen to perceive their attitudes toward him.
For instance, Wang Sheng's affection toward Luo Chen had now reached its maximum.
Luo Chen wasn't surprised by this.
After six years in this world, Luo Chen had discovered that the people of the Douluo Continent were actually very simple-minded.
By simple-minded, he didn't mean unintelligent, but rather single-minded.
Wang Sheng, for instance, would remain unwavering once he committed to something, preferring death to surrender.
His innate soul power had risen from rank 2 to rank 10, and his martial soul had gone from low-level to top-level.
For such kindness, did Wang Sheng have any choice other than to spill his lifeblood and repay it with his life?
The answer was no!
Perhaps two-faced, fickle people had been everywhere in the modern society of Luo Chen's previous life, but such people were truly rare on the Douluo Continent.
Luo Chen didn't know much about Douluo Continent, so he didn't know whether such people existed in the original story.
The only one he knew of was probably Tang San in the early stages.
In short videos, Tang San had barely finished saying that a teacher for a day was a father for life before preparing to kill Yu Xiaogang the very next moment.
Then, during his first soul hunt, he had again prepared to kill Yu Xiaogang because he feared his hidden weapons' secret would be discovered.
Luo Chen wasn't saying that being vigilant was bad.
But one moment, you were kneeling and kowtowing, declaring someone your father for life, and the next, you wanted to kill him.
That had truly shaken Luo Chen.
He wondered whether Yu Xiaogang could still say something like "My disciple Tang San is pure as ice and immaculate as jade" after learning all that.
Bibi Dong has shown me kindness, but she is indeed dangerous.
Luo Chen couldn't be certain of Bibi Dong's feelings toward him. What he could be certain of was that he had sufficient value, and Bibi Dong wouldn't harm him.
As for anything more, that would be up to Luo Chen to make happen.
"Teacher."
Luo Chen raised the Sun Disc and said, "Brother Wang Sheng's ascension ritual consumed about twenty percent of its ascended power."
Here, Luo Chen had actually lied.
Since it was merely a top-level beast martial soul with innate full soul power, it had consumed only ten percent of the Sun Disc's ascended power.
But Luo Chen didn't fully trust Bibi Dong yet.
So keeping something in reserve was truly necessary.
"Only twenty percent?!"
Yet even so, Bibi Dong harbored no doubts, because this expenditure was already beyond her expectations and left everyone present utterly shaken.
This martial soul's power is simply too terrifying.
If Bibi Dong hadn't dared be certain before, she was now one hundred percent sure that the Sun Disc, which rivaled the Celestial Star Crown and had awakened as Luo Chen's second martial soul, must also be a god-level martial soul.
The prerequisite for twin martial souls was that the two martial souls had to be of similar quality.
Bibi Dong was certain that the Celestial Star Crown was a god-level martial soul.
The sudden celestial phenomena and the twenty ranks of god-bestowed soul power were the strongest evidence.
So that's why he has twenty ranks of god-bestowed soul power-because he has two god-bestowed martial souls.
Bibi Dong felt she had discovered the reason behind Luo Chen's twenty ranks of god-bestowed soul power. Then she heard him say, "Yes, twenty percent."
"And after using the Sun Disc's ascension, I also learned how to restore ascended power."
This was important, especially since, in the eyes of Bibi Dong and the others, the effects of ascended power were far too astounding.
Twenty percent of its ascended power could create a top-level martial soul with innate full soul power.
This was innate full soul power!
Over nearly a hundred years, Spirit Hall had recorded only nineteen people with innate full soul power in total.
But that record was from ten years ago.
Four years ago, a little fellow named Feng Xiaotian had also awakened innate full soul power.
Yet even so, there were only twenty people with innate full soul power. Even her disciple Hu Liena didn't possess it.
"Teacher, the Sun Disc's power probably goes beyond this."
As Luo Chen spoke, he looked at Hu Liena and asked, "Senior Sister Nana, would you like to try?"
"I-I can too?"
Hu Liena was still reeling from the shock of Wang Sheng's martial soul evolution. She had considered herself a genius rarely seen in Spirit Hall in decades.
She had rank 9.5 innate soul power, along with the top-level beast martial soul Demon Fox.
Yet before Luo Chen, talent like hers had been left so far behind that she couldn't even see his shadow.
Especially when Luo Chen had casually turned Wang Sheng from an ordinary soul master with extremely poor talent into a supreme genius whose talent surpassed hers.
Hu Liena didn't voice it, but deep down, she found this disparity terribly hard to accept.
If Luo Chen could create one Wang Sheng, couldn't he create a second and a third?
What would she, Hu Liena, amount to then?
A mere rank 9.5 innate soul power would be nothing!
Hu Liena was an extremely proud person, with an intense desire to grow stronger. For that, she would even dare venture into Slaughter City to train in the future.
"I'm willing!"
The little fox wouldn't abandon a chance to grow stronger for the sake of saving face.
Besides, she already had a very favorable impression of Luo Chen, so accepting her junior brother's help placed little burden on her mind.
At worst, she could become one of Luo Chen's people, just like Wang Sheng!
Huh?
At that thought, Hu Liena suddenly realized this seemed like a pretty good idea.
"Nana, wait a moment."
Bibi Dong interrupted Hu Liena's wandering thoughts and said to Luo Chen, "Xiao Chen, can your ascension help top-level martial souls too?"
"It should."
As Luo Chen spoke, he asked Hu Liena, "Senior Sister, what rank is your innate soul power?"
"Um..."
Hu Liena said bashfully, "I-I only have rank 9.5..."
The innate soul power rank that had once filled her with pride now felt rather like a public execution when she stated it before Luo Chen and Wang Sheng.
Fortunately, Hu Liena knew Wang Sheng's talent came from Luo Chen. He had merely been lucky.
And now, it was her turn.
"If it's rank 9.5, even if I can't evolve Senior Sister's martial soul again, raising your innate soul power to rank 10 won't be a problem."
Making Hu Liena someone with innate full soul power.
There was no need to question whether Luo Chen could do it. Wang Sheng's example was right there.
"Nana, are you willing?"
If possible, Bibi Dong naturally hoped Hu Liena could receive an opportunity to ascend.
But with something this important, she couldn't simply decide for Hu Liena, so Bibi Dong wanted her to choose for herself whether to take the gamble.
"I still want to try!"
Hu Liena made her choice, not because of how much she trusted Luo Chen, but because she didn't want to lose.
Whenever she thought of those people whose talents had originally been mediocre, yet would surpass her after receiving Luo Chen's ascension, Hu Liena felt deeply uneasy.
So she couldn't fall behind. She had to keep pace with Luo Chen.
"All right. Relax, Senior Sister, and don't resist."
Luo Chen had expected Hu Liena's choice.
In the future, it was precisely because she lost to Tang San that Hu Liena chose to risk her life and head to Slaughter City.
Honestly, when she wasn't being a romance brain, Hu Liena's talent and disposition were indeed quite good.
"I'll examine you and see which stage of ascension you can accept."
There wasn't just one kind of ascension ritual, but five stages, namely:
The first stage consumed 1-9% ascended power to supplement rank 1-9 innate soul power, without exceeding innate full soul power.
The second stage consumed 10% ascended power to raise a soul master's martial soul to top-level quality while also granting innate full soul power.
"Stages?"
Seeing everyone's confusion, Luo Chen explained, "The ascension ritual can't improve a soul master's aptitude without limit."
"For instance, Brother Wang Sheng underwent the second-stage ascension ritual, which requires consuming twenty percent"-Luo Chen had deliberately doubled it-"of the ascended power at once to evolve his martial soul to top-level quality."
Wang Sheng's aptitude was limited. The second stage was his limit.
One could only say that the Douluo Continent was ultimately a world that judged aptitude. Even the ascension ritual served different dishes to different people.
"As for Senior Sister Nana..."
As Luo Chen's words fell, Hu Liena tensed all over, then waited solemnly for his judgment.
"The fourth stage?"
Luo Chen received feedback from the Sun Disc. Hu Liena's aptitude really was exceptional.
If Luo Chen was willing to expend 50% of his Ascended Power, he could evolve her Martial Soul twice in one go, from a top-level Martial Soul to a super Martial Soul, then to a limit Martial Soul.
However, Luo Chen could not trust Hu Liena the way he trusted Wang Sheng.
To prevent the little fox from becoming a love-brained fool like in the original story, Luo Chen intended to keep something in reserve.
At worst, he could perform another ascension for her once he had confirmed Hu Liena's loyalty.
Yes, as long as someone had not reached the limit of their aptitude, the Ascension Ritual could be performed one stage at a time.
"Congratulations, Senior Sister."
With that thought, Luo Chen smiled. "You can undergo the third stage of the Ascension Ritual."
"What is the third stage?"
"My Sun Disc can evolve your Martial Soul once more, beyond its current Top-Level Martial Soul foundation, Senior Sister!"
"Really?!"
Hu Liena nearly jumped with excitement.
Fortunately, she had not activated Martial Soul Possession, or the fox tail behind her would definitely have been wagging joyfully, the sort of wagging she could not stop no matter what.
"How many stages does this Ascension Ritual have in total?"
"Four stages in total, Teacher."
Luo Chen used the explanation he had prepared long ago to explain to Bibi Dong, "The third stage requires 50% (20%) of my Ascended Power, while the fourth requires 100% (50%)."
Luo Chen concealed one stage: the true fifth stage, which could expend all his Ascended Power to evolve a Soul Master's Martial Soul directly to the god level.
Yes, the god level.
The Star Forger's mighty power was by no means comparable to the gods of the Douluo Continent.
Even the Angel God and the Sea God could grant god-bestowed Martial Souls. Naturally, The Star Forger could do so too, and could do even better.
Of course, the prerequisite for evolution was that the Soul Master possessed such potential.
The Sun Disc's shortcoming was that it could not raise someone's upper limit of potential out of thin air. It could only bring a Soul Master's aptitude to its limit.
"A top-level Martial Soul evolving again... could that mean a super Martial Soul?"
Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo knew the classifications of Martial Souls, and their Spirit Hall had a Titled Douluo with a super Martial Soul: the Second Worship, Golden Crocodile Douluo.
Back then, Golden Crocodile Douluo's Martial Soul had mutated into the Golden Crocodile King, awakening the innate Tyrannical Domain. Only then had he been able to absorb a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring at level 90 and subsequently break through to the realm of a level 98 Super Douluo.
The Tyrannical Domain was an innate domain that could dispel all negative effects to a great extent, keeping its user in peak condition at all times.
As long as there was no fear in his heart, this domain was the natural enemy of all negative-effect Soul Skills. The stronger his spirit, the stronger his resistance to negative-effect Soul Skills would be.
Of course, this domain also had a fatal weakness.
Once the Soul Master's heart began to waver and he no longer possessed the resolve to forge ahead without hesitation, the domain would fail.
"Wang Sheng is at the second stage, and Nana is at the third."
Bibi Dong possessed twin super Martial Souls, along with the Soul-Devouring Domain and Death Domain. Following Luo Chen's meaning, she asked, "Could your Martial Soul help me too, Xiao Chen?"
"Well, I'll need to sense it with the Sun Disc."
"All right."
Afterward, Bibi Dong, along with Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo, all underwent the Sun Disc's assessment.
Bibi Dong's aptitude really is extraordinary!
Luo Chen's expression did not change, but his heart was far from calm.
That was because, within the Sun Disc's perception, Bibi Dong possessed the aptitude to undergo the fifth stage of the Ascension Ritual.
The fifth stage meant a god-level Martial Soul.
In other words, as long as Luo Chen was willing, and Bibi Dong could open her body and mind to him...
Then, by expending 100% of his Ascended Power, Luo Chen could evolve Bibi Dong's Martial Soul into a god-level Martial Soul.
Although I already knew that neither the Sun Disc nor the Celestial Star Crown was an ordinary god-level Martial Soul, actually sensing the opportunity to evolve a god-bestowed Martial Soul is still somewhat unbelievable.
Luo Chen was secretly astonished. Should I say this is only to be expected of The Star Forger's power? Just a tiny bit leaking out casually can be this powerful.
"How is it?"
Seeing Luo Chen remain silent with his eyes closed, Bibi Dong asked softly, a little nervous.
"Your aptitude is incredible, Teacher."
Luo Chen broke into a brilliant smile and praised her. "Once my Sun Disc has recovered its full power, I'll be able to perform the fourth stage of the Ascension Ritual for you."
"Even stronger than a super Martial Soul... could it be Ultimate Power?"
Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo looked at Luo Chen again, likewise awaiting his assessment with anticipation.
And so, Luo Chen tested the two of them as well.
"Elders."
Luo Chen said, "Elder Ju's Martial Soul should have been a super Martial Soul, but for reasons unknown to me, it seems to have an innate deficiency, which caused it to fall to the top level."
"Ghost Douluo's Martial Soul evolved in the past, but the evolution was incomplete, so it has a certain defect."
Luo Chen did not know what their Martial Souls were, but as they listened to his description, Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo were both inwardly stunned, because Luo Chen was right.
Chrysanthemum Douluo's Martial Soul was the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, an immortal-grade Martial Soul.
However, because Chrysanthemum Douluo had chosen the Power Attack System, he had selected combat-oriented Soul Rings when adding Soul Rings to his Martial Soul, leaving it with numerous hidden problems.
As for Ghost Douluo, his circumstances were extremely unusual.
Ghost Douluo had died once as a child, but through a fortuitous coincidence, his soul had possessed his body again, awakening his Martial Soul and creating an extremely unusual Martial Soul: a ghost.
In a sense, his soul was his Martial Soul, while he himself was one of the living dead.
Likewise, because of his Martial Soul's characteristics, what Ghost Douluo feared most was holy light like that released by the Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul.
That kind of light was precisely his Martial Soul's nemesis. He truly could not touch even a little of it.
"Little Luo Chen's Martial Soul really is incredible."
Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo hid nothing, telling him about their Martial Souls' circumstances.
"As expected."
After listening, Luo Chen nodded. "If my judgment is correct, both elders can undergo the second stage of the Ascension Ritual once."
"Although your Martial Souls won't evolve, you can still gain considerable benefits."
"First, Elder Ju. Your Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum Martial Soul will have the cultivation obstacles caused by the problems with its added Soul Rings eliminated."
"As for Ghost Elder, you will no longer need to fear being countered by powerful light attributes."
By the time Luo Chen had finished relating all the information fed back by the Sun Disc, along with his own analysis, Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo were completely frozen in place.
Perhaps they were too excited, but for a moment, they actually did not know how to react.
To tell the truth, if Bibi Dong, the current Supreme Pontiff, had not been present, Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo would likely have offered Luo Chen a deep ceremonial bow and asked him to help resolve their Martial Souls' drawbacks.
Unfortunately, Luo Chen was now Bibi Dong's disciple.
Without the Supreme Pontiff of Spirit Hall saying the word, how could they dare overstep?
Force Luo Chen, you say?
Hadn't they heard him say that they needed mutual trust, and that the person undergoing the Ascension Ritual had to open their body and mind to him?
"Xiao Chen, you've given your teacher another enormous surprise."
Bibi Dong had only one thought about this disciple of hers: Whoever gains Luo Chen gains the world!
The Sun Disc's strategic value simply could not be described in words.
As long as Luo Chen remained alive, he could produce Soul Masters with top-tier talent in an endless stream.
Moreover, Luo Chen had made it very clear that the Ascension Ritual was not something he could perform unilaterally. The Soul Master's closeness to him was equally crucial.
If there was any unwillingness in Luo Chen's heart, even the slightest trace, the Ascension Ritual would fail.
"Rest assured, elders. As long as you devote yourselves to serving Spirit Hall, I certainly won't treat you poorly in the future."
Bibi Dong casually wrote Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo a blank check.
She did not say whether "not treating them poorly" actually meant having Luo Chen perform an ascension for them.
After all, even Bibi Dong's relationship with Luo Chen had not yet reached that point.
She needed to carefully nurture her relationship with Luo Chen, letting him feel enough warmth until he trusted her completely.
Only then could the two of them be frank with each other, without needing to concern themselves with interests or keeping up appearances.
In the Douluo World, the relationship between master and disciple was like that between father and son, or mother and daughter, no different from family.
"Xiao Chen already made me feel close to him," Bibi Dong said. "Now he's awakened god-level Twin Martial Souls, has level 30 Innate Soul Power, and even his Second Martial Soul's abilities are this terrifying."
"Uh..."
"Thinking about it this way, my disciple's talent really is terrifying indeed."
"By comparison, the Qian Family's hypocritical Six-Winged Angel..."
The thought of the Angel Martial Soul ignited a nameless rage in Bibi Dong's heart. "What trash. It can't compare with my Xiao Chen's Martial Souls at all!"
"And they call it a god-level Martial Soul? That's it?"
Bibi Dong's demands of Luo Chen were actually not high. They amounted to just two things.
To stand on her side, and to help her destroy the Qian Family and the Angel Clan.
Other than that, whatever Luo Chen did, Bibi Dong was willing to accommodate him and dote on him.
"Yes, that's it."
Bibi Dong made up her mind. The way this child mistook me for her mother earlier... he must really yearn for familial affection.
What a pitiful child.
Bibi Dong decided that she would not only be Luo Chen's teacher, but would also care for this child like a mother.
That was right. As long as it was not that wretched spawn Qian Renxue, she was absolutely confident she could become a competent mother.
(End of chapter)