Chapter 10: Martial Soul Exposed
"You were incredible! How did you control the Crimson Flame Lion?"
"What's your martial soul?"
"And how come there were two of you just now?"
Hu Liena, finally recovering from the chaos, bombarded Luo Ling with questions.
A one-ring Soul Master taming a thousand-year beast—it sounded absurd.
Luo Ling, pale and exhausted, didn't answer. Controlling the lion had drained nearly all his spirit power and mental energy.
"By the way, what's your name? Why are you wandering the Spirit Hunting Forest alone?" Hu Liena asked again, realizing that prying about martial souls was impolite.
"My name is Luo Ling. I came here for… hmm, for training. What about you? Why are you here on your own?" he replied casually, making up an explanation on the spot.
He didn't want his twin martial souls exposed—and thankfully, the naive girl before him didn't seem to notice anything suspicious.
"I'm traveling with my teacher to Notting City. We stopped here so I could get some training," Hu Liena said innocently.
Luo Ling's face stiffened.
Her teacher? That would mean—Bibi Dong?
If Hu Liena was here, Bibi Dong had to be nearby.
His expression darkened immediately.
The Pope of Spirit Hall might be watching from the shadows right now. If she had already seen his martial soul…
It would be disastrous. He had no illusions—fooling a Title Douluo standing atop the continent's power hierarchy was impossible.
"Your teacher just lets you train alone?" Luo Ling asked quickly to confirm his suspicion.
"Of course not! Teacher is watching from the shadows. She's very kind to me—she'd never leave me alone," Hu Liena replied proudly.
Luo Ling forced a bitter smile. And as if on cue, a gentle cough sounded nearby.
A woman in ceremonial robes slowly approached, followed by a striking blond man.
Luo Ling froze, speechless.
Though it was his first time seeing them in person, he recognized them instantly—Bibi Dong, the Pope of Spirit Hall, and Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan.
What did it feel like to meet the final boss in the starter zone?
Exactly this.
Luo Ling knew all too well what Spirit Hall was like: recruit the talented soul masters, destroy the ones who refuse.
Right now, he was only a one-ring Soul Master. If Bibi Dong had seen his abilities…
Perhaps his Soul of Desire hadn't been noticed—it was a soul-based martial soul, nearly undetectable. Maybe, just maybe, he was still safe.
"Teacher!" Hu Liena exclaimed in relief and excitement, running to greet Bibi Dong.
"You foolish girl! After all these years, that's the best you can do? You're weaker than a one-ring Soul Master!" Bibi Dong scolded sternly, her tone filled with disappointment.
Everything had unfolded right before her eyes, and Hu Liena's performance had been dismal. Clearly, she had grown too lenient with her student.
"I'm sorry, Teacher. It's my fault," Hu Liena murmured, hanging her head.
Bibi Dong sighed, softening, and embraced her disciple.
To her, Hu Liena was more than just a pupil—she was like a daughter.
She didn't press the issue further. Eleven years old was still young; there was room for growth.
Then Bibi Dong turned her gaze toward Luo Ling. "Your name is Luo Ling?"
"Yes… may I ask, uh, who are you… elder sister?" Luo Ling replied with forced gentleness. If possible, he would've preferred to avoid interacting with Bibi Dong entirely.
"Elder sister?" Bibi Dong blinked, momentarily taken aback. It had been years since anyone spoke to her so casually.
She chuckled softly, amused rather than offended. "Little one, I'm old enough to be your mother."
"But elder sister looks far too young for that," Luo Ling said, widening his eyes innocently.
Her lips curled into a smile. The hardness in her gaze softened. "Hmph, such a smooth tongue."
Maintaining his pure expression, Luo Ling continued looking at her with round, admiring eyes.
Flattery, particularly directed at mature women, was always effective.
Call them young, beautiful—nothing could go wrong with that strategy.
Besides, after his second martial soul awakening, Luo Ling possessed a near-perfect face. He was confident even Bibi Dong wouldn't bear ill will toward a sweet-talking child.
After all—who could hate a well-mannered, charming seven-year-old?
"Alright, enough chatter. I watched your battle just now," Bibi Dong said, her smile fading. "You used a martial soul fusion skill, didn't you?"
So she had been watching the entire time.
Luo Ling's expression stiffened for a brief moment before he recovered his composure.
Feigning confusion, he said playfully, "Elder sister, what are you talking about? What's a martial soul fusion skill?"
Her eyes narrowed, clearly displeased. "Don't play dumb. I saw everything. I've been following you since you snuck into the forest last night."
"You possess twin martial souls—and a fusion skill. Am I wrong?"
Luo Ling fell silent, though inwardly he was screaming.
In the middle of the night, stalking a little boy—is that proper behavior for a pope?! How utterly shameless!
"Twin martial souls? A fusion skill?" Hu Liena turned in astonishment, staring at Luo Ling up and down as if he were a rare creature. She hadn't expected the boy she'd met by chance to harbor such heaven-defying talent.
"Yesterday, weren't you wandering around town in spirit form?" Bibi Dong continued, recalling what she had seen earlier. "One martial soul is spiritual, the other dark, am I correct?"
"Your spiritual martial soul hides very well. Fooling low-level Soul Masters is one thing—but I'm a Title Douluo. The gap between us is too great for tricks to work."
Hearing this, Luo Ling felt utterly defeated.
He hadn't realized that he'd been under surveillance since yesterday.
Looks like my second awakening made me too arrogant, he thought grimly.
Confidence was good—but hubris was deadly.
"You're right," Luo Ling finally admitted with a sigh. "I do have twin martial souls."
There was no point denying it anymore.
He knew what Bibi Dong wanted—most likely to recruit him into Spirit Hall.
That wasn't necessarily a bad thing. After all, he was destined to stand against Yu Xiaogang and Tang San anyway. What bothered him was Bibi Dong's lingering obsession with Yu Xiaogang.
A lovesick woman like her was unpredictable and dangerous.
Still… maybe he could turn that weakness to his advantage.
If I use the Soul of Desire to influence her… if I can twist her feelings for Yu Xiaogang, turn that love into hatred… it might just work.
But it was risky—he wasn't even sure if the Soul of Desire had that kind of power.
Whatever. One step at a time. I already have the script of fate—could Yu Xiaogang possibly outmatch me now?
Luo Ling clenched his fists, determination flickering in his eyes. Fortune favored the bold.
Then—let it begin.
(END CHAPTER)
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