hotmtlnovel Chapter 22: Some Shocking News
Chapter 22: Some Shocking News
Inside the Papal Palace, Xiao Chen did not agree immediately, because he wanted to discuss the terms with Bibi Dong.
"Your Holiness, may I make a request?" Xiao Chen asked Bibi Dong.
Bibi Dong's gaze shifted slightly upon hearing this. She stared at Xiao Chen with great interest. As the Pope, it was already quite rare for her to take on a disciple on her own initiative, but she never expected that Xiao Chen would dare to make conditions.
"This young man shows no fear of me whatsoever," Bibi Dong thought to herself.
It should be noted that even Hu Liena, who had followed her since childhood, could not hide the deep awe she felt when standing in front of her;
Even the two titled Douluo, Chrysanthemum and Ghost, felt a bit of fear when facing her.
However, although Xiao Chen was respectful to her, his gaze was clear and steady, without fear or apprehension, as calm as if he were looking at an ordinary person.
Bibi Dong knew very well that those who could maintain a calm mind in front of her were either of equal strength or possessed the purest, most innocent hearts.
Clearly, Xiao Chen fits the latter description.
"Is this one of the reasons why this young man can freely use the Martial Soul Fusion Technique and Soul Skill Fusion?" Bibi Dong thought to herself.
Bibi Dong was secretly delighted, but her face remained completely expressionless.
Suppressing her admiration, she maintained her Pope's aloof and authoritative demeanor, and asked in a calm tone, "Tell me, what are your conditions?"
Bibi Dong was genuinely curious about what kind of conditions Xiao Chen would propose.
"From now on, I must make the decision myself when acquiring a spirit ring, and no one else can interfere!" Xiao Chen said.
Upon hearing this, Bibi Dong immediately thought of the information sent back by Chrysanthemum Douluo.
One of the points explicitly states that Xiao Chen is particularly fond of ten-year spirit rings, and he will not accept them even if others are willing to help him obtain a hundred-year spirit ring.
Upon realizing this, Bibi Dong knew what Xiao Chen wanted to achieve by making this condition.
"Xiao Chen, do you plan to hunt for ten years' worth of spirit rings in the future?" Bibi Dong asked.
"Yes!" Xiao Chen nodded seriously.
Bibi Dong was not angry when she heard this. She began to think about how to persuade Xiao Chen without affecting his state of mind.
Seeing that Bibi Dong was deep in thought, Xiao Chen knew that an opportunity had arisen. He was afraid that Bibi Dong would directly reject his request, which would make it difficult to negotiate.
After a moment, Bibi Dong spoke up, "Can you tell me the reason?"
Without hesitation, Xiao Chen replied, "Your Holiness, I feel that the most important thing in cultivation is to rely on oneself. One can improve cultivation level and strength through spirit rings, but spirit rings should never become a necessity for advancing one's realm!"
Xiao Chen knew very well that the higher-ups of the Spirit Hall were aware of the drawbacks of the Douluo Continent's cultivation system, so he took this opportunity to discuss the system's insights into the Douluo Continent with Bibi Dong.
Upon hearing Xiao Chen's words, Bibi Dong's expression immediately changed.
Xiao Chen then slowly spoke: "I firmly believe that even without hunting soul beasts, humans can condense soul rings on their own."
Bibi Dong was shocked to hear this. She never expected that Xiao Chen's ambitions were so lofty!
Seeing Bibi Dong's expression, Xiao Chen knew that it had worked, so he continued, "The law of the jungle is the law of nature. Humans hunt soul beasts for various reasons, such as to eat them, to obtain cultivation resources, or to improve their strength. None of these reasons will affect the ecological balance of the Douluo Continent."
"However, if spirit rings become a mandatory requirement for human advancement, then spirit beasts will inevitably face extinction in the near future, and spirit masters will also disappear!"
Bibi Dong was well aware of Xiao Chen's words, but she knew very well that these were the rules of this world, and no one could change them.
"Perhaps the gods in the divine realm could do it, but it would definitely be very difficult for them!" Bibi Dong added in her mind.
Xiao Chen continued, "Humans need to hunt soul beasts to obtain soul rings to advance their cultivation level, but soul beasts do not need humans to advance their cultivation level."
"Every living being has its limits, and soul beasts are no exception; if soul beasts realize that their kind will be wiped out by humans in the future, they may launch a desperate counterattack against the human world, at which point the Douluo Continent will surely be devastated!"
Bibi Dong nodded in strong agreement, knowing full well that Xiao Chen's words were not an exaggeration.
"Moreover, no one knows whether there are ancient beings among the soul beasts that have lived for hundreds of thousands of years or even close to a million years. Once such soul beasts are provoked, even a titled Douluo would find it difficult to protect himself!" Xiao Chen dropped another bombshell.
In Bibi Dong's mind, a 100,000-year-old soul beast is the ceiling of soul beasts.
Upon hearing Xiao Chen's words, she suddenly realized that when she went to the Star Dou Great Forest, she could indeed sense some subtle fluctuations of energy deep within the core of the Star Dou Great Forest.
After careful consideration, she realized that the Douluo Continent had existed for a very long time. Since there were soul beasts that were hundreds of thousands of years old, why did she think that there weren't soul beasts that were hundreds of thousands or even close to a million years old?
"Xiao Chen's concerns are not without merit. As the number of high-level human soul masters continues to increase, the living space for soul beasts will inevitably shrink. If we were to actually provoke a soul beast that is hundreds of thousands of years old, it would certainly cause a devastating blow to the human world!"
Bibi Dong pondered to herself. She knew that the gods were watching Douluo Continent, but she couldn't guarantee that the gods would be watching all the time, nor could she guarantee that the gods would descend at the first moment. Therefore, if the soul beasts revolted, the human world would suffer the most.
"I didn't expect this child to be so farsighted, but he's still too naive. To change all this, he needs strength! With this child's talent, if he can become a god, he will definitely go further than me. But the premise is that he must attach high-limit soul rings to his two martial souls. Only then can he have a say in the god realm after becoming a god!" Bibi Dong thought to herself.
Thinking of this, Bibi Dong patted Xiao Chen on the shoulder and said, "I support your idea; however, changing the cultivation system of the Douluo World requires strong support. Do you agree with that?"
Xiao Chen nodded, naturally agreeing with this point.
Then Bibi Dong continued, "To be honest, there is a God Realm on the Douluo Continent, with many gods. If they can't do it, you can imagine how difficult it is."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Chen wanted to say that it wasn't that they couldn't do it, it was just that no one wanted to.
Bibi Dong continued, "You are exceptionally talented and blessed with extraordinary abilities. A ten-year soul ring may not slow down your cultivation progress, but it will certainly restrict your true strength."
"Even if you ascend to godhood with eighteen white spirit rings, you would still be relegated to the bottom tier among the gods. What makes you think you can shake or rewrite the cultivation system of Douluo Continent?"
"Therefore, the current pursuit of high-level spirit rings is all for the sake of future aspirations and the long-term path. To achieve great things, there must be choices and sacrifices. As long as one's original intention remains unchanged and one has a clear conscience, that's enough!"
Bibi Dong's words were indeed very convincing, leaving Xiao Chen with little room for rebuttal.
However, given the system's limitations, Xiao Chen had no choice but to resort to some extreme measures.
Therefore, Xiao Chen stated directly, "I firmly believe that there are no useless spirit rings, only useless spirit masters who can't develop spirit skills!"