"Wood Release?"
Bi Bidong repeated the two words, a flicker of amusement in her eyes.
"Your Holiness, please allow me to demonstrate my Martial Soul!" Su Yu bowed slightly.
"Very well!"
Su Yu approached a pillar in the great hall, forming hand seals according to the memories in his mind:
"Wood Release: Great Forest Technique!"
Several green wooden vines unexpectedly sprouted from Su Yu's right arm.
Each was as thick as three fingers, rapidly spreading as if possessing life.
With several "swishing" sounds, they tightly wrapped around the thick white jade pillar!
Small leaves even sprouted from the vines, and a few pale purple flowers quietly bloomed.
Bi Bidong gazed at the vines coiled around the pillar, a hint of interest appearing in her eyes.
She rose from her seat, her purple long dress trailing along the floor as she moved with a cool, fragrant breeze.
Slowly walking to the vines, she extended a slender finger and gently touched the moist, glossy vine surface.
"It does seem somewhat lively," she said with slight pressure from her fingertip, her tone calm.
"Unfortunately, both toughness and hardness are somewhat lacking."
Before her words faded, a light "crack" was heard—the seemingly resilient vine shattered under her finger.
Seeing this, Su Yu showed no panic. He raised his eyes to Bi Bidong and said with certainty:
"Your Holiness, my wooden vines are not this fragile."
"Oh?"
Bi Bidong raised an eyebrow, withdrawing her hand with a bit of vine sap still on her fingertip.
"These vines can actively absorb Soul Power from a Soul Master," Su Yu explained.
"The longer one is bound by them, the more Soul Power is drained, making it increasingly difficult to break free."
A flash of surprise crossed Bi Bidong's eyes, quickly replaced by intense curiosity. She took half a step forward, her gaze fixed directly on Su Yu:
"Interesting. In that case, use it on me."
"Your Holiness!" Su Yu quickly waved his hands, his face showing some difficulty, "This... this isn't appropriate, is it?"
"What are you afraid of? You're just a small Soul Master—you don't actually think you can harm me, do you?"
"Go ahead and do it. I want to see for myself what your wooden vines are truly capable of."
With Bi Bidong having spoken to this extent, Su Yu had no choice but to comply!
"Your Holiness! I apologize for the offense!"
Su Yu formed hand seals, and the green wooden vines shot toward Bi Bidong.
In mere moments, the vines had tightly bound her.
The vines tightened slightly, their small thorns lightly pressing against her clothing without harming her skin.
"Hmm?" Bi Bidong felt it for a moment, her brow slightly raised, genuine surprise in her tone.
"Interesting. These vines really are absorbing my Soul Power."
She could clearly sense a weak but continuous suction force coming from the vines.
The Soul Power within her was flowing outward, though the loss was negligible to her.
Hu Liena stood to the side, her heart in her throat, small hands tightly clenched—Brother Su Yu had actually tied up the Pope!
Su Yu was also somewhat nervous. Though he knew Bi Bidong could break free at any time with her strength, he quickly said:
"Your Holiness, if you feel uncomfortable, I'll release you immediately!"
Seeing his tense expression, a faint smile suddenly curled at the corner of Bi Bidong's lips:
"No need. Let me observe a bit longer and see what other tricks it has."
As she spoke, she stirred her Soul Power slightly, and an invisible force spread outward.
The wooden vines entwining her suddenly trembled violently, emitting creaking sounds as if they might shatter at any moment.
But at that moment, the vines abruptly accelerated their absorption of Soul Power.
The vines visibly thickened and deepened in color, stubbornly withstanding the impact.
"Oh? You can even draw strength from pressure to grow stronger?" Bi Bidong's interest deepened.
A sharp glint flashed in Bi Bidong's eyes as her Soul Power surged dramatically, an invisible pressure washing over the vines like tidal waves.
Purple-black Soul Power condensed at her fingertips, spreading upward along the vines.
When her Soul Power output reached around level seventeen, a crisp crack echoed as the wooden vine snapped.
She withdrew her hand, looking at Su Yu with a tone of approval:
"Not bad. Your Martial Soul is quite interesting, truly living up to the reputation of Innate Full Soul Power."
Here, Bi Bidong paused slightly, her eyes gleaming.
Su Yu's Martial Soul characteristics and talent were undoubtedly a rough gem, worthy of becoming her disciple.
Because of that incident years ago, she felt a strong aversion to close contact with men.
Even in her daily interactions with Yue Guan and Gui Mei, she always maintained a distant reserve.
If she took Su Yu as her disciple, teaching and interacting with him would be unavoidable in the future.
But then it occurred to her: such a rare talent—if that old fool Qian Daoliu snatched him away, it would be a true loss!
With this thought, a resolute gleam flashed in Bi Bidong's eyes as she declared firmly:
"Su Yu, from today onward, you and Nana shall both enter my tutelage and become my disciples."
"Your Holiness! Is this true?"
"Yes. Wait here for a while; someone from the Pope's Hall will come to fetch you shortly!"
"Yes! Teacher!"
On the other side, Hu Liena, seeing Su Yu respond, quickly added her answer.
Bi Bidong nodded at both of them before leaving the hall.
That very night, the two moved into the Pope's Hall.
Having her own room for the first time, the young girl Hu Liena was so excited she rolled back and forth on the bed.
Meanwhile, Su Yu sat on his bed, beginning a heartfelt conversation with his "foster father."
"System, are you there?"
"Ding! Yes, host! I'm here!"
"System, tell me, if I absorb a soul ring, will I gain soul skills?"
"Ding, no. After absorbing a soul ring, the host will enhance the quality of their Soul Power. Moreover, after absorbing a certain number of soul rings, your Sage Body will evolve!"
"System, can I use ninjutsu of other attributes, or am I limited to Wood Release?"
"Ding, the host can only use Wood Release, earth attribute, water attribute, and non-attribute ninjutsu."
Su Yu thought about it; being able to use ninjutsu of these attributes wasn't bad.
However, water and earth releases were clearly inferior to Wood Release!
If Wood Release could solve the problem, why use water or earth release?
As for non-attribute ninjutsu, Rasengan and Flying Thunder God were quite good!
"Then, System, if I absorb the Sharingan, how will my Sharingan evolve? It won't require losing something to evolve, will it?"
"Ding, no. The evolution of the host's Sharingan is linked to the number of soul rings absorbed."
"When will my Sharingan evolve into the Mangekyo?"
"Ding, based on the system's preliminary assessment, for the host's Sharingan to evolve into the Mangekyo, you must at least reach the Soul Emperor level!"
"Great! I'll absorb the Sharingan now!"
"Ding, Sharingan has been extracted!"
As the system's voice faded, Su Yu felt a warm current flowing through his eyes.
"The Sage Body's functions appear to be super vitality, extraordinary healing, and immense energy!"