What Zhao Ling couldn't understand even more was that, aside from Xi'er, none of his other women showed any signs of pregnancy.
Whether it was Dong'er, Yin'er, Long'er, Xiao Wu, or Rou'er, none of them displayed the slightest hint of pregnancy. This left Zhao Ling questioning his life.
Was it because his strength was too overwhelming, or his physique too formidable, while their power levels lagged too far behind his, making conception difficult?
Zhao Ling consulted the system about this, and the system informed him that it was indeed because his strength had long reached the level of a Titled Douluo, and on top of that, he had acquired the BarbaricWar Body, making his physique extraordinary.
Therefore, if Zhao Ling wanted his beloved women to conceive one after another, they would at least need to reach the level of a Titled Douluo or even a Demigod. Of course, if they could ascend to godhood, the chances of pregnancy would be even higher.
Zhao Ling was speechless. It was well-known that gods had difficulty conceiving, yet the system was telling him that the best chance for his wives to get pregnant would be after they ascended to godhood.
What kind of logic was that? Was it really that hard for him to impregnate his wives now?
However, the system also mentioned that while Zhao Ling made it difficult for his wives to conceive, once they did, their children would have a high probability of inheriting the Barbaric War Body.
The inherited Barbaric War Body might not be of a high level—likely only初级 (Primary) or中级 (Intermediate), with little room for advancement—but it would still be an exceptionally rare trait.
On this day, Zhao Ling followed his monthly routine and boarded the Dimensional Shuttle to head for Spirit City.
Over the past five years, the Dimensional Shuttle had upgraded from a low-grade Profound-tier artifact to a high-grade Profound-tier one. Its speed had increased from 3,000 li per day to 7,000 li per day. However, with the increase in speed came a greater consumption of energy.
Fortunately, over the past five years, Zhao Ling had acquired a considerable number of spirit stones. He now possessed over a dozen high-grade spirit stones, more than a hundred mid-grade ones, and nearly a thousand low-grade spirit stones.
The reason he could accumulate so many was that he only needed to visit Spirit City once a month and then make a trip to Sea God Island. The rest of the time, he could stay in Heaven Dou Imperial City, living a life of utter comfort.
In less than half a day, Zhao Ling's Dimensional Shuttle landed on a secluded path about ten li outside Spirit City.
After storing the shuttle in his spatial storage, he took to the skies and flew toward Spirit City.
A few minutes later, Zhao Ling flew into Spirit City and headed straight for Spirit Hall. Those who saw him from the ground didn't even bat an eye—they were already used to it.
The locals of Spirit City had long known that, once a month, this guy would blatantly ignore the Spirit Hall's rule forbidding flight within the city.
This had first happened four years ago. Back then, the Grand Elder of Spirit Hall had even tried to teach him a lesson, but the two had ended up fighting to a standstill.
This spectacle had shocked the entire Spirit Hall—no, the entire Spirit City. As for how much strength either side had actually used, only the two involved knew the truth.
Since then, this guy would fly into Spirit Hall every month, and neither the Grand Elder nor the Pope had shown any further displeasure.
But that was only natural. After all, this guy had already matched the Grand Elder in combat four years ago. Now, after another four years, his strength was probably even more absurd.
Upon entering Spirit Hall, Zhao Ling didn't head straight to Dong'er. Instead, he went to the Pope's Hall first.
Well, he couldn't just come to see Dong'er without at least greeting Qian Xunji, right? Of course, the main reason was that Zhao Ling wanted to see Qian Renxue.
Three years ago, Qian Xunji had gotten married.
His bride, Tuoba Mei, had been personally selected for him by Qian Daoliu from one of the Lower Four Sects—the Holy Dragon Sect. She was quite beautiful and carried herself with the grace of a noble lady.
Two years ago, Qian Renxue—who had crossed over from a parallel timeline—was finally born. With her golden hair and delicate features, she looked like a porcelain doll. Her innate soul power was also a full twenty levels.
Zhao Ling strongly suspected that the damned system hadn't completely erased her memories from her past life—or at least had retained fragments of them.
When he and Dong'er had gone to see her shortly after her birth, the little girl had initially stared at them with a strange look in her eyes, as if Zhao Ling had some kind of grudge against her for stealing her mother.
However, after a few more visits, the girl gradually grew attached to Zhao Ling, often demanding to be held by him. Whenever he carried her, she would frequently use her tiny hands to poke and pinch his face, though no one knew what was going through her mind.
Zhao Ling landed at the entrance of the Pope's Hall. The guards didn't even bother stopping him when they saw who it was.
At this point, everyone in Spirit Hall tacitly acknowledged Zhao Ling as the strongest individual in the entire organization. What? You say Zhao Ling isn't a member of Spirit Hall?
Don't be ridiculous—he's at least half a member, right? He's the Holy Maiden's fiancé, after all. Doesn't that count for something?
Zhao Ling strode straight into the Pope's Hall, where he saw Qian Xunji playing with Qian Renxue.
Qian Renxue was puffing out her cheeks in displeasure, clearly conveying the message: This young lady is very angry, and the consequences will be severe.
The Ghost Douluo and Chrysanthemum Douluo stood nearby, grinning oddly, clearly enjoying the sight of the usually lofty Pope humbling himself to coax a child.
Seeing this, Zhao Ling turned to Chrysanthemum Douluo and asked, "Hey, Yueguan, what's going on here? What's got Xue'er so upset this time?"
Chrysanthemum Douluo chuckled strangely and explained, "The young lady wanted to go play with the Holy Maiden, but the Holy Maiden doesn't exactly have much free time to spare these days. She's been pushing herself hard to level up."
Zhao Ling suddenly understood. At that moment, both Qian Xunji and Qian Renxue noticed his arrival.
Qian Xunji smiled faintly and said, "You're here again? You're always so punctual every month."
"Uh…" Zhao Ling's lips twitched. Why did that comment sound so weird?
"This time, I was actually delayed by two days due to some matters on my end. Sigh… I can only come to Spirit City once a month, and each visit only lasts three to five days at most. If I don't time it carefully, what if I arrive right when Dong'er is on her period? Wouldn't that just be depressing?"
Zhao Ling grumbled irritably before turning his attention to Qian Renxue. He greeted her warmly.
"Little Xue'er, long time no see…"
The sulking Qian Renxue immediately forgot her anger and toddled over to Zhao Ling, stretching out her arms and calling out in a childish voice:
"Brother Ling, up-up…"
Naturally, Zhao Ling didn't hesitate to bend down and pick up little Qian Renxue. He gently pinched her cheek and asked tenderly:
"Little Xue'er, did you miss me?"
Little Qian Renxue nodded without hesitation. "Yes! I… and Sister Dong'er both missed you! Did you miss Xue'er?"
"Mhm…" Zhao Ling nodded as well, affectionately tweaking her tiny nose.
Meanwhile, Qian Xunji's face spasmed uncontrollably. Hey, could you at least try to save some face? You're thirty-six years old, and you still dare to call yourself 'brother'???