Douluo Continent: My Martial Soul is the Black Dragon, I am the Lord of the Gods

Chapter 355 Shameless, Greedy
……

At the foot of Poseidon Mountain.

Bibi Dong had just fully absorbed the energy of the Deep Sea Crystal and was feeling a qualitative leap in her body's resilience. She was preparing to absorb the second divinely bestowed soul ring.

Suddenly, she sensed something and looked up to see Xuanming return, carrying in his hands a... gigantic, frozen demonic orca king?!
Bibi Dong's purple eyes widened instantly.

How long has it been? And they've already...captured a 100,000-year-old soul beast alive?! And in such a way that it offered absolutely no resistance?!
Xuanming gently placed the ice sculpture of the Demon Orca King on the ground and said to Bibi Dong, "Its soul ring and soul bone are yours. Once you have absorbed the divinely bestowed soul ring and are in peak condition, then you can deal with it."

Looking at the 100,000-year-old soul beast ice sculpture in front of her, which exuded a fierce aura but was completely frozen, and feeling the increased resilience in her body due to the Deep Sea Crystal, as well as the two powerful divine soul rings in front of her, Bibi Dong felt extremely complicated.

"Does this count as me living off your money?" Bibi Dong asked strangely.

Xuanming was slightly taken aback. "We don't need to say things like that, do we?"

“We…” Bibi Dong’s eyes were filled with complicated emotions.

She really didn't know how to describe their relationship; she couldn't bear to let go, but she also couldn't cross that line.

Xuanming looked at the complex and unfathomable struggle in Bibi Dong's eyes, and at her hesitant expression. The dam of "reason" and "escape" that he had built in his heart for so long collapsed at this moment.

He understands everything.

I understand Bibi Dong's resentment and reluctance, yet she is unable to approach him openly due to past events.

I also realize that all along, I have been using "giving choices" and "not wanting to be bound" as excuses to avoid facing this heavy and complicated emotion and to avoid taking responsibility for the possible consequences.

He always felt that he wasn't strong enough, couldn't offer a definite future, and couldn't handle this complicated and tangled relationship.

But now, he doesn't want to run away anymore.

Call him a scoundrel or a shameless scoundrel, he accepts it!
Under Bibi Dong's astonished gaze, Xuan Ming stepped forward without hesitation, cupped her cheeks in his hands, lowered his head, and kissed her deeply.

Xuanming's kiss came suddenly, yet it carried an undeniable firmness.

Bibi Dong was completely stunned, her mind blank. She could clearly feel the warm touch on her lips, and the familiar yet reassuring aura emanating from Xuan Ming.

This is unlike any other time.

The first time in the secret chamber, Xuanming's consciousness was clouded; in subsequent encounters, it was more of a forced, obsessive insistence. But this time, Xuanming's eyes were clear, her actions proactive, without the slightest hesitation.

He no longer responded to her approach with silence and forbearance as he had in the past, and instead used a seemingly offering-a-choice approach to actually push away the decision-making power.

It was no longer an escape, no longer ambiguous, but a clear declaration of his choice, his...greed.

A surge of indescribable bittersweet emotion welled up inside Bibi Dong, causing her body to tremble slightly and her eyes to involuntarily well up with tears. She instinctively tried to push him away, but her arms were weak and powerless. In the end, her raised hand slowly fell, turning into a gentle grip on his collar.

The kiss lasted a long time, until both of them were a little out of breath. Xuanming slowly pulled away a little, his forehead touching hers. His icy blue eyes were as deep as the sea, clearly reflecting Bibi Dong's somewhat hazy purple eyes.

“I was wrong before.” His voice was low and steady. “I thought that not responding or making promises meant giving you the freedom to choose. But now I understand that I was just running away.”

He raised his hand and gently stroked Bibi Dong's cheek, his gesture filled with unprecedented tenderness and certainty.

“I’m greedy. I can’t bear to let go, whether it’s you, Nana, or anyone else I care about.” His words were so blunt they were almost shameless, but his eyes were open and serious. “I don’t want to pretend to be magnanimous anymore, and I don’t want you to suffer because of my running away.”

"If you feel disgusted, if you can't accept it, you can push me away now. But if you... still have even a little bit of reluctance..."

He didn't say anything more, but just looked at her intently, waiting for her response.

Bibi Dong's heart pounded violently, as if it would burst out of her chest. She looked at the face so close to hers, at those eyes that no longer avoided her gaze and clearly reflected her image. Past grudges, schemes, resentment, struggles... surged into her heart like a tide, but strangely, they began to subside when she touched his undisguised honesty.

She suddenly realized that what she had been waiting for all along was this unreasonable and domineering "I just want it," rather than the "reason" and "choice" that seemed to be for her sake but actually pushed her away. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and when she opened them again, her purple eyes were filled with a complex yet clear sense of relief.

“Xuanming…” she said softly, her voice trembling slightly, “You are such a… bastard.”

After saying that, instead of pushing him away, she tilted her head back and kissed him again with a force that was both vengeful and cathartic.

This time, it was no longer a one-sided demand or coercion, but a kiss that was responsive, entangled, and seemed to melt away all the repression and struggle of the past.

The barrier between Xuanming and Bibi Dong seemed to melt away completely with that kiss.

Bibi Dong said no more, closed her eyes again, but her state of mind was completely different from before, clear and calm. She began to guide the power of the Sea God's bestowed soul ring, and a golden halo enveloped her, the absorption process was exceptionally smooth.

Not far away, Gu Yuena's figure quietly disappeared behind a tree, her silver-purple eyes calmly watching everything that had just happened.

She saw that kiss, and she saw Xuanming's unwavering determination to finally stop running away.

For her, Xuanming making a clear choice was far more important than getting bogged down in formalities. The ambiguous, elusive relationship was the one that hurt everyone the most.

Since we can't let go, let's hold on tight and share the consequences.

This is a matter of mutual consent; no one needs to bear full responsibility, nor should anyone feel indebted.

She didn't show herself to disturb them; she simply watched quietly for a while before leaving.

She understood his choice and accepted the outcome. The rest, she left to time.

……

Time flies by, and a month has passed in the blink of an eye.

Over the past month, energy fluctuations have been constant beneath Mount Poseidon.

Bibi Dong spent seven whole days trying to break through to the Soul Devouring Spider King's seventh spirit ring. With the increased resilience brought by the Deep Sea Crystal and the support of the divine spirit ring borrowed from Xuanming, she finally fixed the Soul Devouring Spider King's seventh spirit ring at a terrifying age of 400,000 years, and her Martial Soul True Body received an extreme boost.

Subsequently, she absorbed the 100,000-year soul ring and soul bone of the Demon Orca King in just a few days, and her strength soared once again.

Finally, she spent nearly half a month focusing all her efforts on breaking through to the ninth spirit ring of the Soul Devouring Spider King. With her extremely solid foundation and powerful mental strength, she managed to push the age of this second divinely bestowed spirit ring to an astonishing 700,000 years!

At this point, Bibi Dong had collected all the spirit rings of her twin martial souls, completed her spirit bone set, and her mutated Killing God Domain had gained even more power. Her condition had been adjusted to an unprecedented peak.

The time has come to set off for the Killing City.

Before setting off, Xuanming thought of something.

Tang Chen.

That once invincible land-based Haotian Douluo, now fallen into the King of Slaughter. They've gone to seize the Asura God Power within him, and as a result, Tang Chen will undoubtedly die.

And Poseidon... the high priestess of Poseidon Island who waited for Tang Chen for decades on the island.

Since he arrived at Poseidon Island, Poseidon had taken care of him in every way, even exceeding the scope of her duties as high priestess in many ways. Although he didn't quite understand why Poseidon did this, he remembered her kindness.

Now, he's going to kill the man she's waited for all her life... Logically and emotionally, it seems he should tell her the truth.

Even if she hates him because of this and seeks revenge, that is her right.

With this in mind, Xuanming climbed Mount Poseidon alone once more and headed toward the magnificent Temple of the Sea God.

(End of this chapter)