"Even a high-level Soul Master would need a year or so to recover, let alone a child like him."
"If you want speed, then show some sincerity."
"Sincerity? Do you take me for a three-year-old?" Golden Crocodile Douluo turned back.
"Are the things on this list something a little Soul Master's Martial Soul would need?"
"He certainly doesn't need them, but I do," Bibi Dong said.
"Does Elder Golden Crocodile think all this effort is easy for me?"
"Or has the Great Enshrined become so poor that he can't even produce these few things?"
"You!" Golden Crocodile Douluo's expression darkened.
She was opening her mouth like a lion, yet somehow she was in the right?
"If the Great Enshrined really can't afford them, Elder Golden Crocodile might as well ask our eldest prince. Perhaps he could scrape a few things out of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family's treasury to help the Great Enshrined get by," Bibi Dong said.
"Hmph!"
Golden Crocodile Douluo snorted coldly, turned, and left the Pope's Palace.
The Worship Hall could naturally provide these things, but the thought that they would be used for Bibi Dong's recovery made his entire body uncomfortable!
That woman was deliberately trying to disgust them!
Chapter 55: Winning hearts
Several more days passed. Xuan Ming remained in the Pope's Palace, rapidly restoring his damaged Martial Soul with the medicinal decoctions Bibi Dong had prepared.
Damage to a Martial Soul was extremely troublesome. Without top-tier treasures to serve as medicinal support, it would still slowly recover, but it would leave behind many dangerous aftereffects, and the process was very slow. For low-level Soul Masters in particular, a delay could easily swallow up a decade or more.
The process also required guidance from a high-level Soul Master, somewhat like rehabilitative correction after surgery.
"How do you feel?"
On the training grounds, Xuan Ming was trying to use both Martial Souls simultaneously.
Xuan Ming stopped and withdrew his domain. "It doesn't hurt anymore, but..."
"Your Soul Power feels a little chaotic?" Bibi Dong said.
"Yes." Xuan Ming nodded.
"That's normal. Activating a Martial Soul means fusing your Soul Power with it. Different Martial Souls produce different kinds of power. When you use two Martial Souls at once, two different kinds of power circulate inside you simultaneously, and they clash with each other," Bibi Dong said.
"The fact that you can use both Martial Souls at once means the nature of their powers is similar."
"As for the chaos you feel, that's because your spiritual power is too low, and your control over your own Soul Power is too weak."
"Come here."
Xuan Ming paused. "What for?"
"Just come here when I tell you to," Bibi Dong said.
"Oh." Xuan Ming put away his Blood Spear and walked over.
"Close your eyes and concentrate." Bibi Dong placed her hand on Xuan Ming's head.
"I'll give you something."
As she finished speaking, an immensely powerful surge of spiritual power poured into Xuan Ming's mind, carrying a complex passage of information with it.
"What... is this?" Xuan Ming opened his eyes, his mind somewhat muddled.
"It's a method I worked out for training and improving control over Twin Martial Souls, along with a way to control two types of Soul Power simultaneously without letting them collide chaotically," Bibi Dong said.
"Both of my Martial Souls are Beast Martial Souls, so I can't use them simultaneously. But my control over my own Soul Power is strong enough that I can switch directly between Martial Soul Possessions and Martial Soul Avatars, without withdrawing one before releasing the other."
"Your two Martial Souls don't interfere much with each other, and you have two trains of thought, allowing you to divide your attention. If you train using this method, you should be able to safely control both Martial Souls simultaneously within a few years."
"..."
"What's wrong?" Bibi Dong patted Xuan Ming's head.
"Why?" Xuan Ming asked.
"Why what?" Bibi Dong asked.
"Why... are you helping me?" Xuan Ming asked.
"Why am I helping you..." Bibi Dong thought for a moment.
"There are many reasons. The first, most immediate reason is that I was threatened."
Qian Renxue had threatened her with Hu Liena. Although the girl had most likely only spoken in anger, and Qian Daoliu would not truly stoop to attacking a child, the same could not necessarily be said of that shameless old bastard Golden Crocodile!
Although he currently held the highest seniority in Spirit Hall, Golden Crocodile Douluo's character truly left much to be desired. To put it bluntly, he and Dugu Bo were six of one and half a dozen of the other.
On other matters, the old bastard might still consider Spirit Hall's reputation and restrain himself. But if it involved the Six-Winged Angel lineage and Qian Renxue, he would not care about saving face.
Not to mention that Golden Crocodile was already at odds with her. If anything really went wrong with this matter, there was a significant chance that old bastard would strike underhandedly!
"What else?" Xuan Ming asked.
"What else?" Bibi Dong crouched down and pinched Xuan Ming's cheek.
"Take a guess."
Xuan Ming's brows drew together slightly. "Sympathy?"
"A little, but not much," Bibi Dong said.
Xuan Ming's background was indeed tragic, and she did feel some pity, but that was all.
There were countless pitiful people in the world, and there were those who had suffered even more than Xuan Ming. She did not have that much sympathy to spare.
"My talent?" Xuan Ming said.
Bibi Dong could not help laughing. "What does your talent have to do with me?"
"Besides, don't tell me you think my talent is inferior?"
She had broken every cultivation record in Spirit Hall's history. She was the first person to successfully cultivate Twin Martial Souls, as well as the youngest Titled Douluo on the Douluo Continent. Before long, she would even become the youngest level 99 Peerless Douluo, and would officially activate that thing, giving her hope of entering a realm even Qian Daoliu could not reach.
However outstanding Xuan Ming's talent was, how much better could it be than hers?
"Then why?" Xuan Ming asked.
"Because of you," Bibi Dong said.
"Because of who you are, because you interest me, and because I feel like it."
Repairing his damaged Martial Soul was not something she absolutely had to accomplish. After all, it was extremely difficult; even Qian Daoliu could not do it. She could easily have tried and then said she lacked the ability, or that Xuan Ming could not endure the pain.
In fact, she had initially only intended to give it a try. Even if she failed, it would not affect her much anyway.
After all, if a patient could not endure the treatment and chose to give up, could they blame the doctor?
To put it plainly, the only reason she had gone to so much trouble was that Xuan Ming himself had not given up.
One could say she had been moved, or that her interest had been piqued.
If this child lacked that resolve, what would it matter how talented he was?
Whether he ended up crippled or dead, it would have nothing to do with her.
"And now?" Xuan Ming asked.
"These things in my head."
"I'm winning your heart," Bibi Dong said.
"You're leaving in a few days. Shouldn't I hurry up and give you some benefits so you'll remember my kindness?"
"Aren't you... being a little too blunt?" Xuan Ming said.
"What else should I do?" Bibi Dong asked in return.
"What else could I say? Surely I can't coax you like a three-year-old?"
She understood Xuan Ming's personality. She could only boil the frog in warm water and take things slowly; winning him over in one stroke was impossible.
Because of his past experiences, this child's suspicions would be difficult to dispel-or rather, impossible to dispel at all.
But she had no time to take things slowly now. Qian Daoliu and the others would not give her that opportunity.
Besides, she did not believe Xuan Ming would truly trust her just because of this incident.
In fact, even if he truly trusted her now, once he reached Heaven Dou City and spent a long time seeing Qian Renxue day in and day out, her subtle influence would inevitably stir his suspicions of Bibi Dong again.
Thus, she had never expected to bring Xuan Ming over to her side now. All she could do was make things harder for Qian Renxue-at most, keep Xuan Ming from truly taking Qian Renxue's side.
Anything beyond that would have to wait until later.
"All right, take your time cultivating. I have other things to do."
Bibi Dong patted Xuan Ming's head, stood up, and disappeared from the training grounds.
Xuan Ming stood there silently. Suddenly, he raised his head and looked toward a certain spot in the distance. His three heads stared in that direction for quite a while, as though he had seen something, yet also as though he had seen nothing.
Frowning, Xuan Ming turned back and continued cultivating.
"..."
"Did he discover us?"
High above, Golden Crocodile Douluo's expression grew somewhat awkward, feeling as though he had met Xuan Ming's gaze.
"He doesn't know we're here. He probably just sensed someone watching him," Qian Daoliu said.
"Still, this intuition for danger is rather extraordinary."
Certain special Beast Martial Souls did indeed possess powerful Danger Perception-or rather, a premonition of danger, an instinct.
But this was his first time encountering one so keen...
Chapter 56: A fickle man
"Great Enshrined, you really aren't wasting a moment." Bibi Dong flew over.
"How is his recovery? Can he leave Spirit City?" Qian Daoliu asked.
"A full recovery will definitely take several more months. After all, he's too young, and his Martial Soul is too fragile. But if all you want is for him not to die, then naturally, he can leave whenever you like," Bibi Dong said.
"Then I'll contact Xiao Xue. She'll come personally to pick him up," Qian Daoliu said.
Xuan Ming was something of a celebrity over in Heaven Dou City. The earlier autumn hunt incident had caused such an uproar, with an imperial prince dead and a royal prince missing, that things still had not settled down.
After disappearing for several months, he would need a plausible reason for suddenly returning.
At dusk, Xuan Ming finished his day's training on the training grounds and returned to his quarters in the Pope's Palace.
However, Bibi Dong had not yet returned, and Hu Liena was nowhere to be seen either.
Rubbing his stomach, which was nearly flat with hunger, Xuan Ming began feeling his way around the Pope's Palace.
The Pope's Palace was enormous. Despite how long he had been here, Hu Liena or Bibi Dong had always led him wherever he went. The only route he remembered was the one from his quarters to the training grounds. As for any other route... he did not know his way at all!
"What are you doing here?"
A strange voice, neither male nor female, rang out. Xuan Ming turned to see Yue Guan standing at the corner in red robes and golden armor, giving him a puzzled look.
"Looking for food," Xuan Ming said.
"Food?" Yue Guan paused.
"Then what are you doing over here? This is the bishops' work area."
"I don't know the way," Xuan Ming said.
The corner of Yue Guan's eye twitched slightly. "Come with me."
Xuan Ming jogged over and quickly followed.
"You'll be returning to Heaven Dou City soon," Yue Guan said.