Tuoba Yan frowned and rebuked him, "Tell me, does everything I say go in one ear and out the other? You treat all my words like wind by your ears. When a child speaks, adults should listen carefully and take it to heart."
"I've already said it N times."
"I have no interest whatsoever in Hu Liena."
"I will not take Bibi Dong as my master."
"As for my cousin Qian Ren Xue, whom I've never even met, I have even less improper interest in her."
"You're the one being self-indulgent!"
"If you remain this stubborn, I'll simply establish my own branch!"
Tuoba Xi laughed. "You want to establish your own branch?"
A child not yet seven years old was talking about establishing his own branch. Tuoba Xi merely took it as childish nonsense.
However, Tuoba Yan said seriously, "I awakened the Saint Martial Spirit and opened a separate line in the clan genealogy. That isn't excessive, is it?"
The smile on Tuoba Xi's face gradually vanished.
Tuoba Yan spoke with complete seriousness. He did not seem to be joking.
If the Saint Martial Spirit were cultivated to the level of a Title Douluo, he would indeed be qualified to establish his own branch.
"Ah..." Tuoba Xi hurriedly waved his hand, completely conceding. "Fine, fine. From now on, you'll walk your own path as a soul master. Whomever you wish to take as your master is up to you. Grandpa will no longer interfere!"
As the largest soul beast habitat on Douluo Continent, Star Dou Forest bordered the Xingluo Empire to the south and the Tiandou Empire to the north. It spanned tropical, subtropical, and temperate climates, and even had snow-covered mountains year-round that nurtured ice-attributed soul beasts.
Many soul masters liked coming to Star Dou Forest, because every visit meant they were about to advance in rank.
Tuoba Yan needed to hunt a six-thousand-year soul ring this time, something ordinary Soul Hunting Forests could not provide.
"How strange. I clearly remember this mountain being full of Chicken Soul Beasts, yet now there isn't a single one in sight. Yan'er, stay close to me. Something is wrong with the surrounding aura."
Tihun Mountain was a mountain range within Star Dou Forest where Chicken Soul Beasts gathered.
Chicken was highly nourishing.
Soul masters who frequently traveled in and out of the forest would occasionally catch one or two chickens to eat whenever they passed through Tihun Mountain.
The mountain range had given birth to a type of intelligent Chicken Soul Beast. Under their leadership, the mountain had been hollowed out, with a tangled network of passageways inside.
Under normal circumstances, whenever a powerful enemy appeared, these Chicken Soul Beasts would swiftly flee into the caves for shelter.
They only emerged to move about when searching for food.
Occasionally, soul masters who came to Tihun Mountain to catch chickens would return empty-handed.
Tuoba Xi and his grandson wandered through the mountain range for quite some time, yet they did not encounter a single chicken.
This was far too abnormal!
Tuoba Yan suddenly stopped, his nostrils twitching slightly. "There's a fragrance!"
The two exchanged a glance, circulated their Soul Power, and leaped through the forest. Before long, they arrived at a clearing.
By the campfire sat two figures, one adult and one child, roasting a soul chicken with a body as golden as gold. Its aroma filled the air.
The woman by the fire wore a plain-colored ruqun dress, her black hair loosely pinned up. Her brows and eyes were gentle, and she exuded a virtuous air. She lightly turned the roasting rack in her hands, her movements elegant and composed.
The little girl beside her appeared to be six or seven years old. Her watery blue hair cascaded like a waterfall, and her fair little face was exquisitely formed. At first glance, she was not breathtakingly beautiful, but upon closer inspection, she possessed a hazy, lively charm.
At that moment, a handsome adult man approached, carrying a heavily injured Chicken Soul Beast.
The chicken was as large as a grown dog. Five golden feathers atop its head resembled a phoenix's crown, reflecting dazzling light beneath the sun.
The little girl happily ran up to him. "Dad, you're back!"
"Mm, I got lucky. I caught a Chicken King among the flock fleeing into the cave. It'll be just right for nourishing you and your brother. Bing'er, what are you looking at?"
The little girl looked toward the woods behind the man.
"Dad, I feel like there's something there."
"You mean a soul beast?"
The man immediately became alert.
The woman roasting the chicken also quickly came to her daughter's side, warily staring into the dense shade of the trees.
Just then, two figures leaped out from the forest.
Tuoba Xi examined the Chicken King in the man's hand.
"The Golden Armor Tihun Chicken is still alive, and it's five thousand years old. Yan'er, are you satisfied?"
Tuoba Yan nodded.
In the perilous Star Dou Forest, aside from the soul beasts that could appear at any time, one also had to guard against the greedy people lurking in the shadows.
The sudden appearance of Tuoba Xi and his grandson instinctively made the three present more vigilant.
Tuoba Xi called out loudly, "I am Tuoba Xi, Platinum Bishop of Spirit Hall. My grandson urgently needs this Golden Armor Tihun Chicken's soul ring. From what I can tell from the three of your auras, you do not seem to need this soul ring. Would you be willing to part with it? I will offer a generous reward!"
As he spoke, eight soul rings descended from above Tuoba Xi's head—two yellow, two purple, and four black.
The Tuoba Clan possessed the distinctive White Armored Earth Dragon martial spirit. Combined with the eight soul rings, there was no need to question Tuoba Xi's identity.
The adult man and woman exchanged a look, hesitation appearing on their faces.
Tuoba Xi said, "Fifty thousand Gold Soul Coins. How about it?"
Fifty thousand?
Tuoba Yan was startled inwardly.
A soul beast with a thousand years of cultivation would cost no more than ten thousand Gold Soul Coins if it were to be eaten. Even a phoenix among chickens like the Golden Armor Tihun Chicken would be worth at most twenty thousand Gold Soul Coins, no matter how high the offer.
Tuoba Xi had more than doubled the price. For Tuoba Yan's sake, he was truly willing to spend lavishly.
"Let me make this clear first. We only want the soul ring. The soul beast's corpse will still belong to the two of you."
The adult man was stunned.
They would receive fifty thousand Gold Soul Coins for nothing more than allowing the other party to hunt the soul beast?
Such a good deal was truly rare.
But he could also sense the hidden pressure in Tuoba Xi's words.
Did Tuoba Xi truly think he was a fool by offering such a generous reward?
He was merely applying maximum pressure to the adult man. If the other party refused even this, Tuoba Xi would not mind dirtying his hands and using his strength to bully the weak, simply taking it by force!
The adult man sighed softly. "Fine, we'll give you this chicken. There's no need to pay us. When traveling outside, everyone should help one another!"
With that, Bing'er's father tossed the Chicken King at Tuoba Xi's feet.
Tuoba Xi took five Black Crystal Cards from his Storage Soul Guide Device. "Take them. This is a fair transaction. I, Tuoba Xi, will not take advantage of you!"
The adult man reached out and caught the crystal cards drifting toward him, then froze for a moment.
As an adult, he naturally knew that it was not that Tuoba Xi did not want to take advantage of him, but that he did not want to owe him a favor.
Then again, how could a favor from a dignified Platinum Bishop of Spirit Hall be worth only fifty thousand Gold Soul Coins?
Even if the White Armored Earth Dragon was a dragon lying prone, it was still a noble subspecies dragon.
"Yan'er," Tuoba Xi said gravely, "to avoid unforeseen complications, kill the Golden Armor Tihun Chicken and absorb the soul ring. I'll stand guard for you!"
Before you continue