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"Your Holiness, please calm your anger. Sit down—we can discuss this slowly."
Chu Chengzhou raised his hand in a gentle pressing motion and said with a smile.
"Hmph!"
Bibi Dong snorted coldly and sat back down.
"Your Holiness, this junior has come to deliver betrothal gifts! This one is for Nana, and this one is for Xue'er."
As he spoke, Chu Chengzhou took out two gift boxes from his storage soul tool. With a circulation of soul power, the two opened boxes floated through the air and landed on the table before Bibi Dong.
Looking closely, Bibi Dong saw that each box contained a limb-position soul bone—one left arm bone and one right arm bone.
Judging by the soul power fluctuations they emitted, both soul bones had cultivation years reaching one hundred thousand.
Immediately, a look of surprise appeared in Bibi Dong's beautiful eyes.
What a grand gesture from this young man! His betrothal gifts were actually one hundred thousand-year soul bones—and he had prepared separate ones!
Bibi Dong had seen one hundred thousand-year soul bones before—in fact, she possessed several herself—but this didn't mean they weren't precious treasures.
Only peerless geniuses deserved one hundred thousand-year soul bones; only continental powerhouses had the strength to obtain them.
The Spirit Hall had numerous Titled Douluos, yet among them, only she and possibly Qian Daoliu owned one hundred thousand-year soul bones. The Second Worship, Golden Crocodile, was the only other exception.
Could it be that for Chu Chengzhou, one hundred thousand-year soul bones weren't precious treasures at all?
Staring at Chu Chengzhou for a long time, Bibi Dong sighed inwardly. With a wave of her delicate hand, the gift box containing the one hundred thousand-year right arm bone floated back into Chu Chengzhou's hands.
"Why is this?"
Chu Chengzhou frowned and asked.
Bibi Dong shook her head without speaking.
Hu Liena had lost both parents and had been raised by her since childhood. As her teacher, she had the right to accept this betrothal gift.
Moreover, her precious disciple had already been thoroughly "consumed" by this fellow—if she didn't accept the betrothal gift, wouldn't her little cabbage have been taken in vain?
But Qian Renxue, though her biological daughter, had never received maternal love or care from her. Bibi Dong felt she didn't deserve to accept the betrothal gift meant for Qian Renxue.
"You're Xue'er's mother. Regardless of your relationship, you must accept this."
Guessing Bibi Dong's thoughts, Chu Chengzhou said seriously.
"What? Are you teaching this Pope how to act?"
Bibi Dong's delicate eyebrows furrowed as she spoke with an unfriendly expression.
A grown disciple no longer obeys their teacher; a grown daughter no longer obeys her mother. She had suppressed her anger and refrained from teaching Chu Chengzhou a lesson—that was already giving him face. Yet this young man didn't know his place and even dared to instruct her.
"If Mother-in-law wishes to see it that way, then so be it."
Chu Chengzhou nodded calmly.
"!!!"
Bibi Dong's beautiful eyes widened—she couldn't understand where this fellow got the nerve to speak to her like this.
"For Nana's sake, I'll forgive you this last time."
Taking a deep breath, Bibi Dong forcefully suppressed her anger and said.
If not for being her precious disciple's boyfriend—if not for considering Chu Chengzhou as half her disciple—she would have directly suppressed him without hesitation.
"Hehe~, please instruct me then, Mother-in-law!"
Smiling, Chu Chengzhou released a portion of his aura. His True Spirit Flag martial soul materialized in hand, nine brilliant red one hundred thousand-year soul rings blooming around him. He then cupped his hands toward Bibi Dong.
"What?!"
Immediately, Bibi Dong's beautiful eyes widened again, staring in disbelief at the nine one hundred thousand-year soul rings rhythmically circling Chu Chengzhou.
Nine one hundred thousand-year soul rings—their configuration was actually stronger than hers?!
Moreover, during the Spirit Master Tournament, wasn't this fellow merely a fourth-ring Soul Ancestor? How could he become a ninth-ring Titled Douluo in just two or three years? This was absurd!
"I wonder if my humble strength is worthy of Mother-in-law's approval?"
Glancing at his nine soul rings—recently upgraded to all red—Chu Chengzhou asked with a smile.
"What do you intend?"
Bibi Dong asked sternly.
"Please accept the betrothal gift, Mother-in-law."
Chu Chengzhou said seriously.
Bibi Dong's expression hardened: "And if I refuse?"
"Battle outside Spirit City—one strike determines the victor!"
Chu Chengzhou said without hesitation.
"BAM—"
Immediately, the elegant gem-encrusted scepter in her hand struck the ground heavily as Bibi Dong stood up abruptly, shouting harshly: "Young man, don't you know the limits of heaven and earth!"
Victor becomes king, defeated becomes bandit? So you've already decided I'm the bandit? Win or lose, this son-in-law is unacceptable!
"Then I shall measure how high the heavens reach and how thick the earth lies!"
Chu Chengzhou declared firmly.
It wasn't that Chu Chengzhou didn't respect his mother-in-law—she simply had mental issues. He needed to show her some real power.
Additionally, Chu Chengzhou wanted to use this battle to help Bibi Dong clear her mind. She was already over thirty years past her teenage years—she shouldn't still be acting like a love-struck fool.
He also wanted her to understand that Yu Xiaogang—the white moonlight she had turned into an obsession in her heart—wasn't as wonderful as she imagined. Caring properly for her daughter was the right path forward.
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Twenty miles outside Spirit City, in mid-air, two figures stood facing each other a hundred meters apart.
"Mother-in-law, please instruct me!"
Chu Chengzhou cupped his hands toward Bibi Dong.
"Hmph!"
Facing Chu Chengzhou's challenge, Bibi Dong's face filled with fury. She snorted coldly as her Venomous Spider Empress martial soul possessed her body. Dark green light surged around her as seven soul rings bloomed: black, black, black, black, black, black, red.
Immediately after, her one hundred thousand-year seventh soul ring lit up brightly as Bibi Dong decisively activated the Soul Devouring Spider Empress True Body.
Knowing Chu Chengzhou's strength wasn't weak, Bibi Dong didn't take him lightly. She revealed her powerful move directly, preparing to end the battle quickly and suppress Chu Chengzhou on the spot.
As an elder, Bibi Dong felt it was her duty to teach this junior what the true meaning of "heaven and earth" was—to prevent young people from becoming arrogant after gaining a bit of strength, and to help him gain some proper perspective.
"Void Illusion Realm!"
Seeing this, Chu Chengzhou—who hadn't even released his martial soul or soul rings—smiled slightly. Surging spiritual power erupted from him as he activated the Void Illusion Realm.
Worth mentioning—in the time since the Void Illusion Realm's grade had advanced to Rainbow-Tier Super God level—this was Chu Chengzhou's first time using it against another person.
Before the illusion could even reach her, Bibi Dong sensed a powerful spiritual force emerging—likely beyond her ability to resist.
Without the slightest hesitation, as surging soul power flowed through her, green light appeared on her forehead. Bibi Dong immediately activated the soul bone skill from her spirit-immunity skull bone: True World.
Soul bone skill: True World—required consuming vast amounts of spiritual power to activate. Its effect was to immunize against illusions and charms, allowing one to see the true reality. Any illusion-type skills would fail under this skill's influence.
Unfortunately, even though Bibi Dong activated the True World soul bone skill in time—when the Void Illusion Realm reached her—her consciousness was still pulled into Chu Chengzhou's illusory realm.
This was like how "Invincible Golden Body" and "Crystal Body" type invincibility skills weren't absolutely invincible—they could only block physical and energy attacks below god-level.
The True World soul bone skill could immunize against ordinary illusion and charm skills, but it also had an immunity limit. Once the illusion's strength exceeded this limit, it became ineffective.
It was impossible for a soul bone skill with cultivation years under one hundred thousand to block a super god skill activated by an opponent stronger than oneself—that simply didn't exist!
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