The very first sight of Bibi Dong stunned Wu Ling, because this woman was absolutely the most beautiful person he had seen across both lives.
She wore a brilliant golden ceremonial gown fitted perfectly from head to toe. The magnificent dress glittered with treasure-light and was set with more than a hundred red, blue, and gold gemstones. A nine-curved purple-gold crown shone above her head, and in her hand she held a two-meter scepter inlaid with countless jewels.
Her skin was fair, and her face was nearly perfect. She looked utterly different from ordinary people. Most striking of all was the invisible nobility and sanctity flowing from her body, enough to make others feel the urge to kneel and worship.
Her beauty was astonishing. Noble, elegant, serene. Almost every beautiful word seemed suitable for this woman.
Especially according to the timeline, she was only thirty-six years old. Although she had already passed the most brilliant years of a woman's youth, time had left no trace on her. Instead, it had added a certain mature grace.
"Wu Ling, kneel!"
Beside Wu Ling, Ghost, already bowing at the waist, scolded him in a low voice as he stared blankly.
Wu Ling snapped back to himself, hurriedly dropped to one knee, and quickly explained, "I was shaken by the Pope's beauty and accidentally offended Your Holiness. I beg Your Holiness to forgive me."
If anyone else had dared to say such words, their head might have separated from their body in the next second. But the one speaking was only a six-year-old child, and everyone present could sense the sincerity in Wu Ling's words. Because of that, Bibi Dong did not punish him harshly.
"Considering this is your first arrival, I will spare you this once. If there is a next time, you will be punished."
Bibi Dong spoke sternly, but Wu Ling still heard a trace of pleasure in her tone.
"Bibi Dong is still a woman, after all. Even if she has thoughts of hating the world, she is still a woman who hates the world. And as long as she is a woman, she will care about beauty."
With that thought, Wu Ling calmed down and hurriedly replied, "Thank you, Your Holiness."
After answering, Wu Ling thought again of the original story. One reason Bibi Dong rarely displayed her Martial Soul was that it was too ugly.
Imagine a beautiful woman whose lower body transformed into a hideous spider, eight spider legs covered in dense green fuzz, with corrosive green mucus clinging to the hairs. Her upper body would be wrapped in pitch-black armor, armor would grow across her face, and two pairs of compound eyes would appear beneath her eyes.
Let alone any woman. Even Wu Ling, a man, found it hard to accept.
In FGO, the Caster class included many figures who had changed their own mode of existence. If he later summoned a Caster with research ability and repaired this flaw for Bibi Dong, her favorability should rise sharply. Even if his personal impression of Bibi Dong remained only average, as a powerful backer, she was more than qualified.
But that was only one of Wu Ling's plans. The immediate priority was still to gain Bibi Dong's recognition.
While his thoughts were wandering, Ghost had already stepped forward and reported Wu Ling's situation to Bibi Dong without holding anything back.
When she heard Ghost describe Wu Ling's technique, a ripple appeared on her otherwise calm face.
"An ordinary Proudbone Swallow. A hundred-year Spirit Ring. Yet it involved space.
"Logically, that should be impossible. But Ghost would not lie. In that case, there is only one possibility. This little one's Martial Soul is extremely special."
Sitting on her throne, Bibi Dong looked down at Wu Ling, who was still kneeling below.
"What is your Martial Soul's ability?"
Facing Bibi Dong's question, Wu Ling did not hide anything this time. Necessary adjustments, however, were still required.
"Your Holiness, my Martial Soul is called the Heroic Spirit Disc. Its ability is to summon Heroic Spirits to possess my body, allowing me to obtain their abilities."
"Heroic Spirits?" Bibi Dong frowned slightly at the unfamiliar term.
Wu Ling promptly explained, "Your Holiness, the term Heroic Spirit was passed to me by my Martial Soul when it awakened.
"As for what a Heroic Spirit is, according to the information, it roughly means the soul of a hero after death. In short, a Heroic Spirit."
"Summoning the souls of the dead. Aside from space, it even involves life and death?" Bibi Dong glanced at Ghost. Ghost shook his head slightly, indicating that this was also the first time he had heard of such a thing.
She looked back at Wu Ling and continued asking, "Then what kind of person can be called a hero?"
"Your Holiness, they must leave their name in history and possess a legend of their own through their own power or wisdom."
"A legend of their own. Then... would the founder of Spirit Hall count?"
When she asked this, Bibi Dong's expression became extremely serious. Even Ghost lowered his head and pretended not to hear anything.
Yet when Wu Ling heard the question, he showed no nervousness. Instead, he lifted his head slightly and said with some embarrassment, "Your Holiness, they must leave their name in history through their own power."
"Their own power. You value strength, then. A title is not enough?"
"No, Your Holiness. Because Spirit Masters increase their strength by killing Soul Beasts and absorbing Spirit Rings, no matter how powerful a Spirit Master is, they cannot become a Heroic Spirit."
Hearing Wu Ling's explanation, Bibi Dong's expression relaxed, but she also sounded somewhat disappointed.
"If they are not Spirit Masters, how can they leave their names in history? Are they only ordinary people who are somewhat stronger than others?"
Wu Ling shook his head.
"Your Holiness, there is something you may not know. Ordinary people can also become powerful."
"Powerful?" Bibi Dong's voice turned colder. She felt as if she were being toyed with.
"Do you know what power means? Do you understand the strength of the powerful? A person cannot be called powerful just because they have a little strength. Do you understand?"
Facing Bibi Dong's increasingly cold tone and sharp questions, Wu Ling's expression did not change. His calmness was not something a six-year-old child should have possessed.
"Your Holiness, the powerful people I speak of did possess some physical force, but they were not strong only in battle. Allow me to give an example. Paper is widely used in our daily lives. Does Your Holiness know who invented paper?"
As a Spirit Master, Bibi Dong rarely concerned herself with such things, so she had no understanding of them. After thinking carefully, she realized she had no memory of such a figure at all.
By now, Bibi Dong's quick mind had noticed something unusual. It was not only the inventor of paper. She had no impression of the inventors of many common items.
One or two cases would be acceptable. But with so many people missing from memory, Bibi Dong instantly sensed that something was wrong.
"Your Holiness likely has no impression of them. That is normal. After all, they were figures of the previous era. As someone of this era, it is natural that you would not know."
"The previous era?!" Bibi Dong's eyes widened in shock. She was about to continue asking when she seemed to think of something. Bibi Dong suddenly stood and swept her sleeve. Her spirit power wrapped the entire hall.
Then she glanced at Ghost. Ghost understood and sealed his five senses with spirit power. Once the preparations were complete, Bibi Dong looked back at Wu Ling.
Under Bibi Dong's gaze, Wu Ling slowly began to speak.
"According to the information's description, I call that era the Age of Gods."