Chapter 11: Suggesting to Bibi Dong
When Luo Ling stopped speaking, Bibi Dong assumed she had frightened the boy. Her expression softened.
"Child, I didn't mean to scare you. You probably don't know who I am."
"My name is Bibi Dong, and I am the current Pope of Spirit Hall."
"Pope?" Luo Ling looked up, feigning surprise as he followed her words.
"That's right," Bibi Dong said with a slight smile. "I followed you because I found your talent impressive. I would like to invite you to join Spirit Hall."
"Or perhaps," she continued, pausing for effect, "you would like to become my disciple?"
At last, she stated her true purpose.
A twin martial soul user capable of self-initiated fusion—such talent would surely reach the peak of the continent someday.
Luo Ling didn't answer immediately. Instead, he glanced up at her and asked, "If you're the Pope, you must be strong, right?"
"I'm a level ninety-seven Title Douluo," she replied proudly. "And, like you, I possess twin martial souls. No one understands how to train them better than I do."
As she finished speaking, overwhelming pressure swept through the air.
Nine soul rings rose at her feet, radiating majestic power.
Luo Ling pretended to be stunned, then quickly bowed. "Disciple Luo Ling greets his teacher!"
It was time to accept. Keeping up an act for too long would only irritate someone like Bibi Dong—a lofty ruler of Spirit Hall.
Seeing his response, Bibi Dong smiled warmly. She wasn't upset that he agreed only after witnessing her power. Rather, she admired his intelligence.
"Good. From now on, I am your teacher. As your master, I will give you a small gift."
With a gentle flick of her wrist, a ring encrusted with a ruby appeared in her hand.
"This is a spatial soul tool. It contains twenty cubic meters of storage space—considered quite large among spatial artifacts. More importantly, it can hold living creatures."
Luo Ling's eyes widened.
So this was what heaven-sent fortune felt like.
A storage soul tool that could keep living things? Perfect for carrying immortal herbs!
"Take it," Bibi Dong said, placing it into his hand. "It's my gift to you."
"Thank you, Teacher." Luo Ling accepted it without hesitation.
"Alright," she said, nodding approvingly, "now tell your teacher about your martial souls."
Luo Ling's heart tensed. The real test had come.
She would surely want to know everything about his martial souls—and by extension, his origins. Spirit Hall always verified the background of its recruits.
After a brief pause to collect his thoughts, Luo Ling began.
"I have two martial souls. The first is called the Raven Shadow Puppet."
He released a shadowy figure that emerged silently beside him.
"The Raven Shadow Puppet is a dark-type martial soul, much like a puppeteer's construct."
"My first soul skill, Dark Weave, allows me to control it through invisible threads of darkness, as though it were an extension of myself."
"These threads can also bind and restrict enemies."
"The puppet has an innate ability to transform darkness into crows that obey me. Through their eyes, I can observe everything they see—they serve as my scouts."
Luo Ling paused deliberately, deciding not to mention its Mimicry ability. It was always wise to keep a trump card hidden.
"Your dark threads seem invisible?" Bibi Dong asked curiously.
"Yes," he replied. "They're tied to my spiritual strength. Those weaker than me can't see them at all."
"And your second martial soul?" she asked.
"The second is what I call the Soul of Desire. It's a spiritual-type martial soul," he explained.
"It should count as a variation of a body martial soul—specifically, a soul-based body martial soul."
"The Soul of Desire allows my soul to leave my body and can also induce hypnosis, though it currently has no soul rings."
"Body martial soul?" Bibi Dong raised an eyebrow, intrigued.
"Yes, Teacher." Luo Ling nodded.
"But aren't martial souls divided only into beast and tool types?" she asked, frowning.
"Why must they be limited to just those two, Teacher?" Luo Ling countered. "Have you heard of the Ten Core Theories of Martial Souls?"
"The Ten Core Theories?" she repeated, recognition flashing in her eyes.
Luo Ling's mouth curled in subtle disdain. He shook his head slightly, then looked at her with deliberate intent.
Now was the perfect time. He would begin with Yu Xiaogang's theories—plant seeds of doubt and disappointment in Bibi Dong's heart while using his Soul of Desire to influence her emotions.
It was dangerous—but worth attempting.
"Teacher, the Ten Core Theories you mentioned were proposed by Yu Xiaogang, correct?" Luo Ling said after pretending to think for a moment.
"You know him?" Bibi Dong asked with sudden interest.
"Of course I do." Luo Ling sneered faintly. "A man obsessed with perverse studies, dabbling in forbidden arts—who doesn't know of him?"
He said it bluntly, ignoring the way Bibi Dong's eyes darkened with anger. A faint red glow began to flicker within his own eyes.
"What did you just say?" she asked sharply, her temper flaring.
At the side, Chrysanthemum Douluo looked at Luo Ling in awe. He knew why they had come to Notting City—and realized this boy had just stepped directly into danger. Bold or foolish, it was hard to tell.
"Yu Xiaogang," Luo Ling continued fearlessly, "a man nearing old age yet still stuck at level twenty-nine. I've heard he turned to cultivating dark arts—and was exposed in Notting Academy!"
His heart pounded wildly. The power of the Soul of Desire was active, and he prayed that Bibi Dong wouldn't explode and crush him where he stood.
"Those claims haven't been proven," Bibi Dong snapped through gritted teeth. "Rumors shouldn't be spread so carelessly."
Had it not been for his exceptional talent, she might have slapped him dead for that comment.
"You mentioned Yu Xiaogang's theories," she said after a moment, forcing her tone calm. "What do you think of them?"
"His theories?" Luo Ling smirked faintly. "In my view, they're nothing more than fragmented, oversimplified drivel."
Bibi Dong's face stiffened. She had expected admiration, not mockery.
"What do you mean by that?" she asked tightly.
"Yu Xiaogang claims there are no useless martial souls, only useless soul masters," Luo Ling said, feigning thoughtfulness. "But tell me—what about him?"
"He's been stuck at level twenty-nine all his life. By his own logic, is he a product of a weak martial soul—or just a useless soul master?"
Bibi Dong's expression faltered, her eyes flickering with confusion.
She couldn't even refute it.
In Luo Ling's glowing crimson gaze, a faint mirror of red began to bloom in her pupils.
A thrill ran down his spine.
The Soul of Desire was working—actually influencing a Title Douluo like Bibi Dong!
"And besides," Luo Ling pressed on, "I highly doubt Yu Xiaogang even developed those theories himself."
"How could a rank-twenty-nine Soul Master possibly access so much advanced knowledge? If he gathered information from others yet failed to cite them—claiming it as his own—that's not research; that's theft."
As he continued, Bibi Dong's dazed expression deepened. The red light spread farther through her eyes.
By the side, Chrysanthemum Douluo frowned thoughtfully.
"Come to think of it," he muttered, "those theories were based on data sourced from our Spirit Hall archives... If that's true, then Yu Xiaogang really did steal from us."
Realization dawned—and with it, disgust.
Yu Xiaogang, it seemed, was nothing but a fraud.
(END CHAPTER)
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