"Ah?"
Hearing this, Meng Yiran could not help but freeze. There was actually such a bizarre family?
Compared to Meng Yiran's shock, Snake Dowager Chao Tianxiang was far calmer, because there were quite a few families and factions on the continent with strange rules.
The most typical example was the Star Luo Imperial Family, where every generation slaughtered one another until only one remained.
Behind these strange rules, most were safeguards established by a faction's ancestors to prevent certain bizarre incidents from happening.
As for why preventing bizarre incidents would affect reality and even lead to such absurdity, that was naturally because those bizarre incidents had truly happened before!
Just as Meng Yiran was about to ask something else, Snake Dowager suddenly reminded her:
"Yiran, if you don't hurry and kill that Thousand-Year Phoenix Tail Chicken Crown Snake, it might wake up."
The moment she said this, Meng Yiran no longer had time to worry about Qing Mu. She immediately strode over to the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent, and a snake blade extended from the Serpent Cane in her hand, plunging straight into the crest atop the serpent's head.
The next moment, purple motes drifted from the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent's body and condensed into a pale purple Soul Ring.
Without any hesitation, Meng Yiran immediately sat cross-legged and began refining the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent's Soul Ring.
Seeing Meng Yiran begin refining the Soul Ring, Snake Dowager Chao Tianxiang kept watch over their surroundings while curiously studying the Bulbasaur beside Qing Mu.
She had heard of similar Martial Souls before. Yu Xiaogang, one of the Golden Iron Triangle, possessed a purple Gong Pig that could leave his body. But this was still her first time observing one so closely in person.
At the same time, Qing Mu was somewhat stiff in the face of this unexpected situation.
Over the years, under his parents' guidance, Qing Mu had gained a decent understanding of Douluo Continent's general landscape, naturally including the long-famous Dragon Duke and Snake Dowager.
Dragon Duke and Snake Dowager did not have a particularly good reputation on the continent. Though they had not crossed into outright evil, they were still chaotic neutral.
If people like them were angered or came into conflict with someone, there was a high chance they would kill.
Fortunately, Qing Mu had not clashed with them so far. He had even helped them out, though only by coincidence.
After a brief silence, Snake Dowager Chao Tianxiang coughed and asked Qing Mu, "You said just now that you were going to Exotic Beast Academy to enroll?"
"Yes, Senior Snake Dowager."
Qing Mu nodded and replied, "My father was once a student of Exotic Beast Academy, so he gave me a letter of recommendation for enrollment there."
Qing Mu's answer made Snake Dowager Chao Tianxiang's eyes shift as she began making calculations.
This boy is going to Exotic Beast Academy, so our relationship with him won't fade in the future. It's unlikely that I can make him abandon the family that raised him, but it would still be good if I could draw him to our side. I should first build some goodwill.
Although Exotic Beast Academy did not belong to their family, they were one of its backers and had close ties with it.
Otherwise, they would not have sent Meng Yiran to Exotic Beast Academy. After all, ordinary academy teachers were only Soul Kings. How could they possibly teach better than the two of them?
Furthermore, Qing Mu had reached level twenty-three at the age of ten, making him undoubtedly a talented youngster. The faction behind him must have invested considerable effort in him, so directly poaching him into their sect was basically impossible.
Even if Qing Mu agreed, they would still have to think carefully. If someone could easily betray the faction that raised him for a few benefits, who could guarantee that he would not betray them again for some benefit in the future?
As for the possibility that Qing Mu had no faction behind him, Snake Dowager Chao Tianxiang had not considered it at all.
Setting aside the fact that, due to the nature of Martial Souls, those who awakened powerful Martial Souls were generally children of various factions and noble families, and thus already had backing, the only difference being its size.
Even among commoners, mutated geniuses would be intercepted first by Spirit Hall. It was impossible for one to reach ten years old without joining any faction.
Snake Dowager Chao Tianxiang then took something from her Storage Soul Tool and tossed it to Qing Mu.
"When you report to Exotic Beast Academy, show this to the teachers there. It will save you a lot of trouble. Consider it repayment for helping me stop that Thousand-Year Phoenix Tail Chicken Crown Snake just now."
Qing Mu looked at what she had thrown him. It was an ornament similar to her Martial Soul, likely some sort of token.
Qing Mu then cupped his hands again and bowed to Snake Dowager Chao Tianxiang. "Then thank you, Senior Snake Dowager."
Only then did Qing Mu finally let out a breath of relief. Judging from the situation, the other party had no intention of attacking him.
After all, if they truly fought, his chances of losing were indeed very high.
As a veteran Soul Emperor, Snake Dowager's Combat Power was no weaker than that of an ordinary Twenty-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. He would need ideal circumstances merely to fight her, and even then, he might not win.
And under the current circumstances, those conditions were clearly difficult to achieve. That was why, upon hearing Snake Dowager's voice, he had immediately stopped Bulbasaur from displaying its full Combat Power.
Because that would not only expose his strength, but might also disrupt the original balance and greatly increase the risk.
After all, the way one dealt with an ordinary genius, a peerless genius, and even a genius capable of directly changing the world's balance was completely different.
Seeing this, Snake Dowager Chao Tianxiang nodded in satisfaction. This little fellow was quite polite, though he was a little too young. Otherwise, she could have had Yiran try getting along with him.
At the same time, hundreds of miles away in the Star Dou Great Forest, a tall, thin old man in white robes was swiftly moving through the woods, seemingly pursuing something.
Very soon, the white-robed old man seemed to sense something, and the corners of his mouth curled upward.
"Finally found you!"
That was right. This old man was Meng Shu, the Dragon Duke of Dragon Duke and Snake Dowager, and what he was pursuing was the evil killer among Soul Beasts, the Man Faced Demon Spider!
However, when he caught up to it, the scene before him made him frown.
Not far away, a burly middle-aged man stood with his arms folded, while a group of young boys and girls surrounded and attacked the Man Faced Demon Spider.
Seeing this, Dragon Duke Meng Shu immediately roared, "Stop! You've got some nerve, trying to steal this old man's Soul Beast!"
Dragon Duke Meng Shu's furious roar made the boys and girls attacking the Man Faced Demon Spider pause at once, their faces turning pale.
Even the burly middle-aged man beside them showed a slight change in expression. Judging from that roar alone, the newcomer was even stronger than him!
Before you continue