Chapter 7: Arrival in Nuoding City
"Tomorrow, so soon?" Bibi Dong suddenly felt a bit reluctant.
She had spent sixteen years with Ao Tian and had come to know about his Dragon Clan identity. Despite that, she had hopelessly fallen in love with him. Though Ao Tian still looked like a brat, in her heart, he was always the tall and dependable figure she had come to rely on.
Ao Tian transformed into his adult appearance and held Bibi Dong in his arms, comforting her. "Didn't I tell you before? There will be a destined child on the Douluo Continent, and if I don't intervene, the future of the Spirit Hall will be doomed at their hands."
Nestling in Ao Tian's embrace, Bibi Dong said, "Then why don't you find them and eliminate them directly? Why go to such a remote place for education?"
Ao Tian gently stroked the beautiful hair of the woman in his arms, like petting a docile kitten, and said, "I just want to see what this so-called destined child is like and what abilities they possess."
"Alright, but you have to come back to see me often," Bibi Dong pouted and coquettishly pleaded.
This ruthless and iron-willed Female Pope, who had nearly destroyed the continent's top sect, the Clear Sky Sect, displayed this girlish demeanor only in front of Ao Tian.
Ao Tian gave her a light kiss on her cherry lips and said, "Don't worry, I won't forget you."
Bibi Dong blushed, her cheeks flushed.
"By the way, I had someone investigate and found out that Yu Xiaogang is also at the Shrek Academy," Bibi Dong suddenly said.
"Do you still remember him?" Ao Tian glanced at Bibi Dong.
Bibi Dong felt a little anxious and quickly said, "Don't get me wrong. After that incident years ago, I've already moved on from him. I heard that after being expelled from the Spirit Hall, he traveled the continent and eventually met a woman named Liu Erlong. They got married, but then Yu Xiaogang suddenly found out that Liu Erlong was his cousin. So he left the deeply loving Liu Erlong and has been hiding in Nuoding City for over a decade."
"I knew about that," Ao Tian said. "If you don't love someone, you should clarify it face to face. Instead of clinging on like Yu Xiaogang did, making the other person suffer for over a decade, he's worse than a woman." (T/N: Lmao)
Bibi Dong nodded and said, "You're right. I heard that he couldn't accept the fact that his lover was his cousin. However, on the Douluo Continent, such relationships aren't considered taboo. Many powerful forces preserve their soul lineage's purity, and some royal and noble families prioritize their noble bloodlines. As long as they're not direct siblings, such relationships aren't frowned upon. Poor Liu Erlong spent years searching for Yu Xiaogang on the continent." (T/N: Damn imagine if this was the case in canon)
Ao Tian remarked, "So you mean Yu Xiaogang is quite selfish. He only thinks about his own feelings. If he truly loved Liu Erlong, he wouldn't have let her suffer for over a decade, not letting go but also not daring to love. What kind of man is he?"
"Let's not talk about him. If you're going to the Nuoding Academy, do you have a martial soul?" Bibi Dong asked.
Despite spending so many years together, she had never seen Ao Tian release his martial soul.
Nowadays, on the Douluo Continent, spirit beasts could transform into human form after 100,000 years, and their transformed martial souls remain true to their original spirit beast forms.
Although Ao Tian was an ancient Dragon Clan member, it should be the same for him.
"That's simple." Ao Tian smiled and put Bibi Dong down, standing at the bedside.
He stirred the divine power within him, and behind him, a golden divine dragon gradually materialized. The divine dragon wasn't very large, but each of its claws had nine digits, emanating a terrifying aura that made Bibi Dong's soul tremble.
"Too powerful." Bibi Dong was left speechless, rolling her eyes at Ao Tian. "If you use a martial soul like this in a junior spirit master academy, you'll scare all the teachers to death."
"Then let's make it weaker." Ao Tian laughed and, with his intention, gradually made the divine dragon behind him become faint, and its oppressive aura weakened significantly.
Bibi Dong got off the bed and curiously touched the illusory divine dragon behind Ao Tian. Because it was somewhat ethereal, the sensation was not entirely real.
"Is this really your martial soul?" she asked in amazement.
Ao Tian shook his head. "I'm not a human, so I don't have a martial soul. This is just a manifestation I created with divine power."
As he spoke, he revealed a spirit ring on his body, then two, then three...
In no time, he was surrounded by ten golden spirit rings, all of them shining brilliantly.
Bibi Dong widened her eyes, utterly astonished, and Ao Tian couldn't help but chuckle at her reaction.
"This is fake, I can have as much as I want," Ao Tian said as the number of soul rings on his body skyrocketed, dozens, hundreds... until eventually, they were too numerous to count.
"Put them away, put them away," Bibi Dong urged.
The dazzling golden light emitted by the countless soul rings made her head spin.
The two of them sat down by the bed.
"By the way, it's been a long time since we last saw Xiao Xue. If you have time, go and see her," Bibi Dong said.
"Don't worry, on her birthday, I will bring her back," Ao Tian replied.
To him, bringing someone back from Heaven Dou City was just a blink of an eye.
For the past few years that Qian Renxue had infiltrated the Heaven Dou imperial family, every time her birthday came around, Ao Tian would bring her back and celebrate with her.
Suddenly, Bibi Dong nudged Ao Tian and said, "That little girl is fifteen now. The last time you brought her back, she looked at you differently. Do you think she might have developed feelings for you? She used to see you as her older brother."
As she spoke, Bibi Dong pouted.
She had started liking Ao Tian since her teenage years, so when Qian Renxue showed a hint of interest, she felt it.
Amused, Ao Tian pointed his finger at Bibi Dong's lips and teased, "She's at that age, of course she would have adolescent feelings. I'm so handsome, it's not surprising that she likes me. Are you jealous?"
"Hmph, me jealous of a little girl?" Bibi Dong snorted and said, "Let's go to sleep!"
The two of them changed into their pajamas and lay down together.
Ao Tian reverted to his true form and comfortably rested his head on Bibi Dong's chest.
Bibi Dong said, "When you're a little older, we'll do it."
Ao Tian nuzzled against her like a little cat and closed his eyes, softly murmuring, "Mhm."
...
In the morning, a luxurious carriage set off from Spirit City towards the west.
Although Ao Tian could fly and teleport, he enjoyed traveling by carriage, experiencing human life.
He was the only one in the carriage, without any entourage.
With the speed of the carriage, it would take only five or six days to reach the small city of Nuoding in the southwest of the Heaven Dou Empire.
Ao Tian knew the plot of the Douluo Continent and had the ability to prevent anything bad from happening to Bibi Dong.
But he wanted to see what the Child of Destiny, Tang San, was capable of, and whether he truly deserved the title.
He remembered that in his previous life, when he read the novel Douluo Dalu, he didn't particularly like Tang San.
So, he took this opportunity to have an unfair competition with Tang San...
The carriage bumped along the road and on the fifth day, finally arrived in Nuoding City.
Bibi Dong had already sent a message ahead of time, and the Deputy Hall Master of the Spirit Hall in Nuoding City personally came out to welcome Ao Tian, respectfully leading him into the sub-hall.
Thanks to Bibi Dong's command, the seemingly six or seven-year-old Ao Tian had become the person in charge of the sub-hall in Nuoding City.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone