Qian Renxue's Student, Zero's Gaze (Revised)

After absorbing the Soul Ring, Lin Chen and Snake Lance Douluo did not linger in the mixed zone of the Star Dou Great Forest. They chose to leave instead.

They had come to the Star Dou Great Forest solely to hunt for Lin Chen's Second Soul Ring. Now that they had achieved their goal, there was naturally no need to stay.

After leaving the Star Dou Great Forest, Lin Chen breathed in the fresh air lazily and smiled at Snake Lance Douluo beside him.

"We should return to Heaven Dou City and report back." Snake Lance Douluo coldly turned his head away, ignoring Lin Chen.

"What a tsundere." Lin Chen curled his lip. After spending more than half a month together, he and Snake Lance Douluo had become fairly familiar with each other. Though the man was a little cold, he still cared a great deal about Lin Chen, his junior.

Four days later.

The gates of Heaven Dou City stood wide open as several dozen soldiers in silver armor, longswords in hand, escorted a carriage into the city.

The troops were none other than the Heaven Dou Royal Knights, and the carriage they surrounded and protected carried Lin Chen and Snake Lance Douluo.

"Finally back in Heaven Dou City. I didn't expect the Heaven Dou Royal Knights to have stayed within a hundred li of the city waiting for us all this time. I thought they'd gone back."

Lin Chen leaned against the carriage window and looked at the troops outside, a somewhat helpless expression on his face.

"Perhaps it was His Highness the Crown Prince's order." Once the carriage reached Heaven Dou Imperial City, Snake Lance Douluo and Lin Chen stepped out.

Inside the crown prince's residence.

After Lin Chen and Snake Lance Douluo returned to the crown prince's residence, Snake Lance Douluo disappeared, leaving Lin Chen to return to his quarters alone.

What puzzled Lin Chen was that, for some reason, everyone in the crown prince's residence looked at him with curiosity along the way, as though he were some kind of protected animal.

"What's with these people?" Lin Chen scratched his head. Just as he was about to find someone to ask, a familiar figure came striding over from a distance.

Cao Tian Heng strode over and smiled at Linlin. "Your Highness Lin Chen, please come with me. His Highness the Crown Prince wishes to see you."

"Oh... all right." Lin Chen nodded and followed Cao Tian Heng away.

Inside a grand hall in the crown prince's residence.

This was Xue Qinghe's dwelling. Lin Chen was sitting in a chair, with Xue Qinghe seated opposite him.

"Brother Xue, what did you want to see me about?" Lin Chen took a sip of tea from the table and asked curiously.

"Can't I see you if there's nothing in particular?" Xue Qinghe looked into Lin Chen's eyes and asked with a smile.

Why is Qian Renxue so wicked? She's actually teasing a six-year-old kid. Lin Chen grumbled furiously to himself, but hurriedly answered, "You can, of course you can."

"Heh..." Xue Qinghe chuckled. "All right, I'll stop teasing you. I called you here to discuss the matter of you becoming my student."

"Huh?" Lin Chen felt as though a bolt of lightning had struck his brain. He was utterly dumbfounded in an instant. "You said whaaat?"

Seeing how shocked Lin Chen was, Xue Qinghe smiled again. "Is there a problem with becoming my student?"

Only then did Lin Chen come to his senses. He hurriedly waved his hands and said, "No problem, of course there's no problem."

"Then that settles it." Xue Qinghe took a sip of tea and smiled. "So, what's your choice?"

Lin Chen scratched his head. "Before I choose, may I ask why?"

Xue Qinghe swirled his teacup and said calmly, "Naturally, it's because I think highly of your talent. I've already heard about you from Cloud Lance."

"Leaving your Martial Soul aside, the fact that you have level 29 Soul Power at the age of six already puts you above ninety-nine percent of the geniuses on the Douluo Continent."

"With talent like yours, how could I not treasure you?"

Lin Chen's heart churned. He really hadn't expected Qian Renxue to think so highly of him, though his talent really was a hundred million tiny bits stronger than most.

At that thought, Lin Chen scratched his head helplessly. He finally understood why the people in the crown prince's residence had looked at him as though he were a panda.

If he learned that the reigning crown prince wanted to take a six-year-old brat as his disciple, he would treat the kid like a protected animal too.

Still, Lin Chen understood the pros and cons. Becoming Qian Renxue's student meant he would be completely tied to her war chariot. Once Qian Renxue's identity was exposed, he certainly wouldn't have a good end. They would rise and fall together.

After a long silence, Lin Chen spoke with slight hesitation. "Brother Xue, you and I have known each other for less than a month. Isn't this a little too hasty?"

Xue Qinghe smiled and shook his head. "You're quite clever. It seems I can't fool you the way I would an ordinary child."

"Brother Xue, what you mean is..." Lin Chen said hesitantly.

Xue Qinghe smiled and looked into Lin Chen's eyes. "As the crown prince, I naturally need to nurture trusted confidants of my own. You're talented, young, and have a clean background. And after investigating you and spending these past few days together, I can also vouch for your character."

"Such a perfect candidate could probably warm even a stone, let alone a mortal of flesh and blood like me."

At that, the smile gradually faded from Xue Qinghe's face. As he looked at Lin Chen, seriousness appeared in his eyes for the first time. "I've said so much, and I believe you understand what I mean. So, what's your choice?"

Lin Chen remained silent for a long while. After weighing the pros and cons, he finally nodded. "I'm willing!"

Five hundred light-years from the Douluo galaxy.

In the vast cosmos, a gigantic vortex suddenly tore open in the blackness of space. From it emerged a 55-meter-tall Giant of Light, clad in the Ultimate Armor, with a sharp gaze and two pairs of "rabbit ears" atop his head.

"What a weak universe... Why is the presence of the Palagi Shield here?" As Zero sensed the vast cosmos around him, he suddenly seemed to detect something and turned his gaze in the direction of Douluo Star.

At the very instant Zero looked toward Douluo Star.

Within the Douluo God Realm.

Inside a palace, two figures, one in purple and one in green, were nestled together. Just as their passions were running high and they were preparing to do something they shouldn't, both shuddered and abruptly raised their heads, yet neither knew where to look.

"Little Purple, you sensed it too?" The Goddess of Life hurriedly looked at the God of Destruction.

The God of Destruction nodded solemnly. "Yes. That gaze seemed to come from beyond the Divine Realm, far beyond my range of observation."

"What on earth was that?" the Goddess of Life asked in puzzlement.

"I don't know." The Destruction God King shook his head decisively.

Inside the God Realm Committee.

The Asura God, the Godess of Kindness, and the God of Evil had been discussing the affairs of the Divine Realm when they suddenly felt a chill run through their bodies. The three of them abruptly raised their heads, and then nothing more happened.

The Asura God turned to the two God Kings beside him, his face grave. "You felt it too, didn't you? What on earth was that?"

The God of Evil shook his head. "Who knows? All I know is that whoever it was, they're definitely far stronger than us. A single gaze was enough to make the Divine Realm tremble. An existence like that is not someone we can afford to provoke."