Douluo: The Blind Ascendant

[Check Out My P4treon For +50 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!! And get chapters before publishing them here for free on my p4treon][https://p4treon.com/roooaaa]

===

Yu Xiaogang stood at the entrance of the Great Spirit Arena, watching the two figures disappear into the distance. For a long time, he was unwilling to leave.

"How could this be? According to the data I've collected over the years, the first spirit ring should be 423 years, the second around 750 years, and the fourth spirit ring should only be around 5,000 years. That's half of what a 10,000-year spirit ring requires. Normally, only a Spirit King can absorb a 10,000-year spirit ring. How did he manage to absorb a 10,000-year spirit ring as a Spirit Ancestor?"

"No, I must figure out how he managed to absorb a spirit ring beyond his level. Once I uncover this secret, my status will become immeasurable."

Yu Xiaogang stared at Lin Yongming's departing figure, his expression firm as he secretly made up his mind.

Standing there, he began to fantasize about the countless adoring eyes that would look upon him once he published his theory on spirit rings.

Suddenly, Yu Xiaogang felt as if he were floating on air.

Meanwhile, Lin Yongming naturally didn't spare a thought for Yu Xiaogang. Not long after, he and Blue Silver Emperor returned to their hotel.

"Ah Yin, it's late. Are you hungry? How about we grab some supper before heading upstairs?" As they reached the hotel entrance, Lin Yongming heard the sizzling sounds of nearby barbecue stalls and couldn't help but ask.

"No, I'm not eating supper. It's easy to gain weight from late-night snacks, and I'm not really hungry. Xiao Ming, are you hungry? If you are, go ahead and buy something," Blue Silver Emperor shook her head and replied.

"Alright. Even though we just fought, I'm not really hungry either. Let's just go back to the room and recover our spirit power," Lin Yongming conceded.

Once back in their hotel room, they took a shower, chatted for a bit, and then each returned to their own rooms to meditate for a while before going to sleep.

At the Heaven Dou City Spirit Hall, in front of Bishop Salas's room, a shadowy figure appeared.

"Bishop, I've returned."

The door opened, revealing the thin figure of Bishop Salas. "Come in and speak."

"So, where did Lin Yongming go today?" Bishop Salas sat in his chair and asked slowly.

"Bishop, it's unbelievable! Truly unbelievable! You wouldn't believe what I saw. The moment I saw it, I was completely shocked," the black-clad man exclaimed in amazement.

"Speak clearly. What did you see?" Bishop Salas narrowed his eyes and pressed.

"Bishop, you ordered me to follow Lin Yongming and protect him in secret, right?"

"This morning, I followed him to the Treasure Pavilion. It seemed like he wanted to buy something but didn't have enough money, so in the afternoon, he went to the Great Spirit Arena to participate in a gambling match. But when he stepped onto the stage and released his spirit rings, I was utterly stunned," the shadowy figure explained, swallowing hard.

"It's just releasing spirit rings. How could that shock a speed-type Spirit Sage like you? Could his spirit rings really be that extraordinary?" Bishop Salas took a sip of water and said dismissively.

"Bishop, you wouldn't believe it, but his spirit ring configuration is something you'd never expect," the shadowy figure said with a confident smile.

"Are you saying his spirit rings aren't optimally configured?" Bishop Salas asked, puzzled.

"Exactly, they're not optimally configured," the shadowy figure nodded.

"That's impossible! If the information is correct, his second spirit ring is a thousand-year purple one. It should be one yellow and three purple. That's indeed not the optimal configuration," Bishop Salas nodded. "But what's so strange about that? I already knew that."

"No, Bishop. I don't know if Her Holiness the Pope is aware of this, but Lin Yongming's fourth spirit ring isn't a thousand-year one. It's a ten-thousand-year black spirit ring. Tonight, he effortlessly defeated a level 49 power-type Spirit Ancestor," the shadowy figure said with a serious expression.

"What did you say? A ten-thousand-year fourth spirit ring?" Bishop Salas stood up in shock, thinking he had misheard.

"Yes, I definitely didn't see wrong. And with so many people at the Great Spirit Arena, it's impossible for all of them to have seen wrong," the shadowy figure affirmed with a nod. "Bishop, should we report Lin Yongming's spirit ring situation to Her Holiness the Pope?"

Bishop Salas turned around and began pacing back and forth in front of the shadowy figure, his head slightly lowered.

"Yesterday afternoon, when he came here, he mentioned that he obtained his fourth spirit ring in the Sunset Forest, right?" Bishop Salas suddenly asked.

"Yes," the shadowy figure nodded.

"Setting aside how he absorbed a ten-thousand-year spirit ring, how did he even kill a ten-thousand-year spirit beast? Did his friend help him, or did Her Holiness the Pope secretly send someone to protect him? Which do you think is more likely?" Bishop Salas voiced his doubts.

"I think it was his friend. Yesterday, when he left, didn't he say that his friend was waiting for him? Plus, with Lin Yongming's fierce attacks, if his friend is a Spirit King, it's not impossible. I saw a woman in blue by his side. It must have been her."

"Otherwise, if Her Holiness the Pope really had a method for a Spirit Ancestor to absorb a ten-thousand-year fourth spirit ring, there's no reason she would keep it from us," the shadowy figure paused for a moment, then answered after some thought.

"If he really found a method on his own, then this matter is huge. Regardless of whether the Pope knows or not, we must report his situation to Her Holiness truthfully," Bishop Salas nodded, seemingly agreeing with the shadowy figure's reasoning.

"Corroll, you've followed him for a day. Go rest now. Tomorrow morning, continue following him. Heaven Dou City isn't that big or small. Since he revealed himself at the Great Spirit Arena, those people will know about it by tomorrow at the latest," Bishop Salas instructed.

"Understood. I'll take my leave!" Corroll nodded, then vanished in a flash, leaving Bishop Salas's room.

After Corroll left, Bishop Salas immediately took out a letter from his study, wrote down Lin Yongming's situation, and sent it off through the intelligence department, ensuring it would be delivered as quickly as possible.

Meanwhile, the news of Lin Yongming's spirit ring configuration at the Great Spirit Arena had already reached some factions. After all, it had happened in public, and it was impossible to keep it completely secret.

However, Lin Yongming seemed unconcerned about the situation. The next day, he woke up as usual and went out to have breakfast.

Lin Yongming and Blue Silver Emperor sat across from each other at a small table, enjoying bowls of millet porridge.

"Ah Yin, it seems someone is really following us, but they don't seem hostile," Lin Yongming said between bites.

"Hmm, it's probably the same person from yesterday. Their aura feels the same. Who do you think it is?" Blue Silver Emperor whispered.

At first, Lin Yongming and Blue Silver Emperor thought that their spirit rings being exposed at the Great Spirit Arena had merely piqued someone's curiosity, and that the follower had left after they returned to the hotel. However, when they noticed the same presence again this morning, they realized they were being consistently followed.

"They're not hostile, huh?" Lin Yongming said softly. "I think it's someone from the Spirit Hall, probably sent by Bishop Salas."

"Why do you think that?" Blue Silver Emperor asked curiously.

Lin Yongming explained Bishop Salas's overly enthusiastic attitude during their meeting.

"Wow, your importance in the Spirit Hall is growing. A Bishop of a Holy Hall, a Spirit Douluo-level figure, actually sent someone to follow you," Blue Silver Emperor said with a light chuckle.

"I'm puzzled too. This is my first time meeting Bishop Salas. You know we've never been to Heaven Dou City before and don't know anyone here. Where did all this enthusiasm come from? Is he just a naturally enthusiastic person?" Lin Yongming frowned, unable to make sense of it.

"Haha! He's a Bishop of a Holy Hall. He probably has your records, and you also have the Golden Record Medal. That's why he sent someone to protect you. But the most likely reason is that you know that Bibi Dong. She's the Spirit Hall's Saintess! He probably thinks you have a special relationship with her. If something happened to you in Heaven Dou City, he wouldn't be able to face her, so he sent someone to protect you," Blue Silver Emperor said, her tone slightly sour.

"Uh, that's not it. I've only gone on two missions with her," Lin Yongming said helplessly.

"Hmph! Who knows what you're thinking," Blue Silver Emperor pouted.

"Sigh, should we just call him over and ask?" Lin Yongming suggested, unable to explain further.

"Let's ask," Blue Silver Emperor nodded.

Lin Yongming stood up and walked straight toward the alley where Corroll was hiding.

"Huh? Did this kid really notice me? Impossible! How could a Spirit Ancestor detect a level 72 Spirit Sage like me?" Corroll thought to himself as he saw Lin Yongming approaching.

"Hmm, he's probably just coming to this alley to relieve himself. I'll just move aside," Corroll thought, convinced of his reasoning, and lightly jumped onto the balcony of the second floor.

Lin Yongming reached the entrance of the alley and called out, "Senior, you've been here since early morning. Haven't you eaten yet? Come down and join us for breakfast."

"Huh? Is he talking to me?" Corroll looked around, but there was no one else in the alley.

"Senior, aren't you coming down? Did Bishop Salas send you?" Seeing that Corroll seemed a bit slow, Lin Yongming decided to bring up Bishop Salas's name.

"He really can sense my presence? How is that possible!" Hearing Lin Yongming mention Bishop Salas, Corroll realized he had indeed been exposed.

"Hey, kid, you're blind. How did you find me?" Corroll stood up on the balcony and asked in surprise.

"Haha, Senior, why don't you come down first? We can talk over breakfast," Lin Yongming smiled, then turned and walked back to Blue Silver Emperor.

"Strange, I hid myself perfectly. How did he find me?" Corroll looked down at himself. He was dressed entirely in black, with a black cloth covering the lower half of his face. His disguise was flawless.

Still puzzled, Corroll jumped down from the balcony and walked over to Lin Yongming and Blue Silver Emperor.

"Boss, another bowl of millet porridge and some pickles, please," Lin Yongming called out. "Senior, please sit."

"Hey, kid, how did you find me? I'm confident in my hiding skills," Corroll removed his black mask, revealing his face.

Corroll was a middle-aged man with a slightly sunken face, a black mustache, and a hooked nose.

"Didn't Bishop Salas tell you? Although I can't see, I'm very sensitive to the vibrations of sound. I call it vibration perception. It should be in my records, right?" Lin Yongming explained with a smile.

"Vibration perception? The Bishop didn't mention that," Corroll said, curious.

"Haha, it's like this," Lin Yongming briefly explained his vibration perception ability.

"So that's how it is. I was wondering how a Spirit Ancestor could detect a Spirit Sage like me. My spirit is the Shadow Falcon," Corroll said, finally understanding.

"Senior, hello. I'm Xiao Ming's companion," Blue Silver Emperor greeted.

"So you're the friend Lin Yongming mentioned. Are you a Spirit King?" Corroll nodded and asked.

"Senior, how did you know?" Blue Silver Emperor was startled. She had never revealed her spirit power since arriving in Heaven Dou City.

"I guessed. Last night..." Corroll then recounted his conversation with Bishop Salas.

"I see! You guessed right. I'm currently a level 56 Spirit King. Xiao Ming and I worked together to kill a slightly injured ten-thousand-year Electric Light Flying Horse spirit beast in the Sunset Forest," Blue Silver Emperor said, secretly relieved.

"I thought my aura hadn't changed. Turns out it was just a guess," Blue Silver Emperor thought to herself, feeling a bit embarrassed by her earlier assumption.

"No wonder! However, after what happened at the Great Spirit Arena yesterday, the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace and other factions will likely know about Lin Yongming's situation. You should be careful," Corroll warned.

"Senior, you've been following us since yesterday. Did Bishop Salas send you? I feel like Bishop Salas has been overly enthusiastic," Lin Yongming said, recalling the reason they had called Corroll over.

"That's because we know you're not even 11 years old yet, but you're already a Spirit Ancestor. You also have the Golden Record Medal bestowed by Her Holiness the Pope. If something happened to you in Heaven Dou City, we wouldn't be able to face Her Holiness's wrath. That's why Bishop Salas sent me," Corroll explained slowly.

"Ah Yin, see? Bishop Salas acted on his own because of the Golden Record Medal," Lin Yongming said with a shrug.

"Hmph, fine, I was wrong," Blue Silver Emperor said, her expression brightening.

"Senior, thank you for your hard work. What should we call you? I'm Lin Yongming, and she's Blue Silver," Lin Yongming introduced themselves.

"Oh, I'm Corroll, a member of the Judgment Team under Bishop Salas," Corroll said.

"As for why I'm protecting you, aside from there being nothing urgent in Heaven Dou City right now, it's also because of your talent. But now that I know about your spirit ring configuration, I can't leave. We'll have to wait and see how Her Holiness the Pope responds in a few days," Corroll explained.

"This... isn't ideal," Lin Yongming said helplessly.

He hadn't expected to be watched so closely by Bishop Salas. Although it was well-intentioned, being followed still felt a bit uncomfortable.

"By the way, what treasure did you find at the Treasure Pavilion that made you go to the Great Spirit Arena to gamble for money?" Corroll asked curiously.

"Nothing much, just a spatial spirit tool called the Ruyi Hundred Treasure Purse that can store living things. Ah Yin likes flowers and plants, so we wanted to use it to keep them fresh," Lin Yongming explained casually.

"Yes, Senior, please don't laugh at us," Blue Silver Emperor nodded in agreement.

"I see. That's indeed a rare find," Corroll nodded, not thinking too much of it.

Note: So far this story is published up to chapter 170 on my patreon, go check it out and remember that if we reach the goal of 180 power stones I will publish the next chapter.