Bibi Dong stumbled forward and fell directly into Yu Xiaogang's arms.
For a brief moment, neither of them spoke.
Their eyes met, and time itself seemed to freeze.
The world around them faded into the background as they stared at one another in stunned silence.
Only after several seconds did Bibi Dong finally regain her senses.
The realization of what had just happened struck her like lightning.
Instantly, her face turned bright red.
It was as though someone had set fire to her cheeks.
"I... I couldn't control my body."
Her voice was barely audible.
Yu Xiaogang nodded calmly.
"I know."
Of course he knew.
No one understood the effects of his own Spirit Ability better than he did.
After making sure she had regained her balance, he gently helped her stand upright.
Then he scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
"Sorry about that."
"It was just a reflex."
"N-No, it's fine."
Bibi Dong lowered her head.
Her voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz.
Fortunately, Yu Xiaogang's senses were exceptionally sharp, allowing him to hear every word clearly.
"Just stay where you are for a moment," Yu Xiaogang said. "Judging from what happened earlier, the effect shouldn't last much longer."
His tone remained calm and professional.
Almost too calm.
After speaking, he turned away and walked toward the little dragon nearby, interacting with it as though nothing unusual had happened.
Seeing his reaction, Bibi Dong slowly relaxed.
The nervousness in her heart began to fade.
She secretly glanced at him.
To her surprise, he appeared completely unaffected by what had happened.
Not embarrassed.
Not flustered.
Not even slightly awkward.
It was as though catching her had been the most ordinary thing in the world.
For some reason, that realization made her feel a little dissatisfied.
"So..."
"I'm the only one embarrassed?"
Bibi Dong pouted internally.
"A genius like me just fell into your arms, and that's all the reaction you have?"
The more she thought about it, the more annoyed she became.
---
Spirit Hall — White World
"So back then..."
Bibi Dong looked directly into Yu Xiaogang's eyes.
"You really didn't feel anything at all?"
Yu Xiaogang blinked.
"Feel what?"
Bibi Dong's eyebrow twitched.
"What do you think?"
Yu Xiaogang shrugged.
"It was a sparring session."
"You lost control because of my Spirit Ability."
"I caught you before you fell."
"Isn't that completely normal?"
He sounded genuinely puzzled.
"As for anything else..."
Yu Xiaogang shook his head.
"We were both children back then."
"At that age, all I cared about was cultivation."
"Every day I was thinking about how to become stronger and how to help the little dragon evolve."
"Why would I waste time thinking about unrelated things?"
Hearing his answer, Bibi Dong crossed her arms.
Her expression immediately darkened.
The words "I'm unhappy" were practically written across her face.
For years, she had assumed that Yu Xiaogang's calmness back then was merely an act.
A disguise.
A way to hide his true feelings.
Yet now she realized something shocking.
He had actually been serious.
The man had genuinely been focused on cultivation.
Nothing more.
"Hmph."
Bibi Dong turned her head away.
"What a block of wood."
Unfortunately, what she didn't know was that Yu Xiaogang was desperately suppressing a laugh.
Hidden from everyone's sight, he quietly pinched his own thigh.
Hard.
Very hard.
Only then did he barely manage to maintain a straight face.
"Children?"
Yu Xiaogang scoffed internally.
He had long suspected that spirit rings possessed a unique effect on Spirit Masters.
Each time a Spirit Master absorbed a spirit ring, their body underwent another round of physical development.
The stronger the talent and the faster the cultivation speed, the more obvious the effect became.
On the Douluo Continent, it wasn't unusual to see a ten-year-old with the physique of a teenager.
Nor was it uncommon for a thirteen-year-old genius to possess the appearance and maturity of an adult.
This world wasn't Earth.
The rules were completely different.
Trying to apply Earth's standards here was simply foolish.
Still, none of those thoughts appeared on his face.
Instead, he maintained an innocent expression.
Seeing this scene unfold, Hu Liena could only press a hand against her forehead.
She felt speechless.
Absolutely speechless.
Ever since Bibi Dong began questioning Yu Xiaogang, Hu Liena had been secretly observing both of them.
And she had noticed something her teacher completely missed.
Yu Xiaogang's hand.
Throughout the entire conversation, he had repeatedly pinched his own thigh.
Again and again.
Clearly, he was struggling to hold back laughter.
Yet Bibi Dong hadn't noticed anything.
Not a single thing.
Teacher...
Please wake up.
Hu Liena sighed internally.
His Eminence Dragon God is practically bursting from trying not to laugh.
A man's mouth really is the greatest source of deception in the world.
Normally, Bibi Dong was incredibly intelligent.
As the leader of Spirit Hall, she could analyze complicated political situations at a glance.
Schemes.
Conspiracies.
Power struggles.
Nothing escaped her notice.
Yet when Yu Xiaogang was involved...
All that intelligence vanished.
It was as though her brain simply stopped working.
"A love-struck person is terrifying."
Hu Liena silently made a vow.
No matter what happened in the future, she absolutely refused to become like her teacher.
Otherwise, she would end up being fooled and led around just as easily.
---
The Heavenly Screen Continues
Back in the memory, Bibi Dong carefully tested her movements.
After confirming that her body had fully recovered, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Feeling better?"
Yu Xiaogang looked over.
"Then let's test your second and third Spirit Skills."
Bibi Dong nodded.
"You'll be my test subject?"
Her tone carried a hint of dissatisfaction.
Anyone could hear it.
Unfortunately, Yu Xiaogang either didn't notice or simply chose to ignore it.
Without another word, he activated his Spirit Ability.
Spirit power gathered before him.
A humanoid figure gradually formed.
Moments later, a spirit-power clone stood in front of Bibi Dong.
"Use this."
Bibi Dong's eyes widened immediately.
The annoyance she had been feeling disappeared.
All her attention shifted to the clone.
She walked around it several times.
Observing it from every angle.
Occasionally she even poked it.
"What exactly is this?"
"My clone."
Yu Xiaogang replied.
"Another application of your First Spirit Skill?"
Bibi Dong looked surprised.
"How many variations does that ability have?"
Yu Xiaogang shrugged.
"I haven't counted."
The answer made Bibi Dong roll her eyes.
She continued examining the clone.
"What can it do?"
"It can fight."
"It can move."
"It can follow commands."
"But it doesn't possess independent intelligence."
"I have to control it myself."
"It also can't use Spirit Skills."
Bibi Dong immediately frowned.
"Then isn't it a little disappointing?"
The clone she imagined would be completely different.
Ideally, it would possess intelligence.
It would be capable of independent action.
Even better, it could use the original user's Spirit Skills.
Compared to that, Yu Xiaogang's clone seemed rather ordinary.
"Maybe."
Yu Xiaogang smiled.
"But it's useful enough for me."
After all, very few people could create a clone at all.
"Fine."
Bibi Dong stopped arguing.
"Let's begin."
She activated her martial soul.
Purple spirit power surged around her body.
"My Second Spirit Skill is called Death Poison Mist."
"It releases poisonous mist that weakens enemies while simultaneously poisoning them."
As she spoke, she exhaled a cloud of dark purple mist.
The poisonous fog drifted toward the clone.
Within seconds, the clone was completely enveloped.
Its entire body became stained with a purple-black hue.
Yu Xiaogang observed carefully.
"A large-scale control and weakening skill."
"Pretty standard."
Bibi Dong nodded.
Spirit Masters generally followed a similar development path during the early stages of cultivation.
A single-target attack skill.
An area attack skill.
A support or control skill.
Most people's first few spirit rings followed that pattern.
Of course, obtaining exactly the Spirit Skills one wanted was incredibly rare.
Spirit Skills appeared random.
Yet Yu Xiaogang wasn't convinced.
There had to be hidden rules governing them.
Patterns.
Principles.
Some deeper logic waiting to be discovered.
"I'll investigate that someday."
The thought flashed through his mind.
For now, however, he focused on Bibi Dong's next Spirit Skill.
"Let's see your third ability."
Bibi Dong nodded.
Purple spirit power surged again.
"My Third Spirit Skill is called Spider Web Restraint."
"It's a control-type ability."
"It releases a poisonous web capable of trapping opponents."
As she spoke, a large purple web shot forward.
The web expanded rapidly through the air.
By the time it reached the clone, it had grown large enough to completely envelop it.
The clone immediately became trapped.
Yu Xiaogang attempted to break free.
The clone struggled.
Pulled.
Twisted.
Yet the web remained completely intact.
Not even a single strand snapped.
Next, Yu Xiaogang condensed a sharp spirit-power sword.
The blade slashed repeatedly against the web.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
To his surprise, the web remained unbroken.
Its toughness far exceeded his expectations.
Yu Xiaogang's eyes narrowed slightly.
Interesting.
Very interesting.
"How is it?"
Seeing his failed attempts, Bibi Dong couldn't help smiling proudly.
Her earlier frustration had vanished entirely.
"As long as the opponent doesn't possess a direct counter, even Spirit Masters stronger than me will have difficulty escaping."
The pride in her voice was impossible to miss.
Yu Xiaogang looked at the resilient spider web.
Then he nodded slowly.
"I have to admit..."
"This Spirit Skill is excellent."
The smile on Bibi Dong's face immediately grew even brighter.
After all, receiving praise from Yu Xiaogang was far more satisfying than praise from anyone else.
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)
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