The Qing Couple's Shock

"Mom, I just encountered a Soul Beast in that forest!"

Facing Xu Yao's question, Qing Mu spoke with a grave expression.

"What!?"

At those words, Xu Yao was immediately startled. She hurriedly rose to examine Qing Mu's body, and only breathed a sigh of relief after finding that he was uninjured.

But then, Xu Yao frowned. "Son, do you remember what species the Soul Beast you encountered in the forest was? About how old was it?"

As the lords of this region, they were responsible for protecting the safety of their territory. If they allowed that Soul Beast to run rampant within their lands, it would inevitably threaten the lives of their subjects. This was something they desperately sought to avoid.

Qing Mu replied, "It was a hundred-year-old Shadow Leopard. Bulbasaur and I already took it down, but I'm worried there may be other Soul Beasts. You and Father should go inspect the area."

"A hundred-year-old Shadow Leopard? That's good—wait! You said you already dealt with it?"

Hearing that it was a hundred-year-old Shadow Leopard, Xu Yao first felt relieved. After all, with their strength, dealing with such a Soul Beast would be effortless.

But when she heard that Qing Mu and Bulbasaur had actually defeated it, an incredulous expression immediately appeared on Xu Yao's face. She stared in shock at Qing Mu and the Bulbasaur beside him.

Qing Mu nodded. "I got lucky. That Shadow Leopard was too impatient, and its body was pierced by the Vine Whip Bulbasaur had hidden underground."

"Hiss..."

Hearing this, Xu Yao sharply sucked in a breath.

She knew Bulbasaur was strong. She often watched Qing Mu train Bulbasaur and had marveled at the abilities it displayed.

Based on Xu Yao's estimates, Bulbasaur was now even stronger than many One-Ring Soul Masters. This was one of the reasons she and Qing Tianfeng had felt comfortable allowing Qing Mu to train alone in that small forest.

Their territory had been relatively safe to begin with. Combined with such strength, even if he had the bad luck to encounter ordinary wild beasts or bandits, he could easily handle them.

The one thing they had never expected was that, despite being more than a hundred li away from the nearest Soul Hunting Forest—and despite their having thoroughly searched that forest—Qing Mu would still encounter a Soul Beast there.

But soon, an irrepressible smile surfaced on Xu Yao's face as she said,

"Good, good! Before even obtaining his First Soul Ring, he has already slain a hundred-year-old Shadow Leopard. My son has the makings of a Titled Douluo!"

After saying this, Xu Yao also noticed in surprise that Qing Mu's level seemed to have already reached level ten.

Under normal circumstances, unless a Spirit Master summoned their Martial Soul to fight, it was difficult for others to discern their level. There was only one exception: when the gap in level between the two parties was too great!

With Xu Yao's strength as a level thirty-four Soul Elder, seeing through Qing Mu, who had yet to obtain his First Soul Ring, was not difficult.

As though he had guessed Xu Yao's thoughts, Qing Mu immediately said, "During the battle with that hundred-year-old Shadow Leopard, perhaps because of the immense pressure, I broke through to level ten!"

Qing Mu chose to conceal Bulbasaur's ability to gain experience by defeating Soul Beasts. The matter was simply too shocking. His parents would gain nothing from knowing it, and it might even bring additional risks.

Breaking through during battle, on the other hand, was a perfectly normal explanation. Although such cases were relatively rare, there were no shortage of examples on Douluo Continent of people whose cultivation soared after surviving life-and-death situations.

"I see. It seems my son is quite lucky to have encountered something like this."

After hearing Qing Mu's explanation, Xu Yao immediately understood and did not dwell too much on the matter.

After all, breaking through under the pressure of life and death was a common method used by major families to train their disciples. Any somewhat larger family basically had a similar place.

The ultimate example of this method was undoubtedly the City of Slaughter. So long as one could emerge from there, one could not only obtain a Divine Slaughter's Domain, but after purging the murderous aura, one would also enter a period of explosive cultivation growth.

Xu Yao then immediately brought Qing Mu to see Qing Tianfeng and recounted everything Qing Mu had just told her, word for word.

When Qing Tianfeng heard that a Soul Beast had appeared in that forest, he was greatly alarmed. However, after Xu Yao said that Qing Mu had not only slain the hundred-year-old Shadow Leopard but had also reached level ten in Soul Power Level, his expression immediately turned grave.

"The matters of Mu'er killing the hundred-year-old Shadow Leopard and reaching level ten in Soul Power Level must not be spread. At least, not yet!"

Qing Tianfeng stared at Xu Yao and Qing Mu as he spoke.

Seeing her husband like this, Xu Yao nodded. She naturally knew what Qing Tianfeng was worried about.

If Qing Mu had merely been an ordinary genius, they would have been delighted by his talent. His future prospects would undoubtedly surpass anything they could imagine.

But Qing Mu's rate of advancement was clearly abnormal. His Innate Soul Power had obviously been level five, yet his improvement speed was not at all inferior to the legendary Innate Full Soul Power.

Moreover, if his level had merely risen quickly, that would have been one thing. Such geniuses were not unheard of; even someone with Innate Full Soul Power appeared every few years.

As for such geniuses, unless they belonged to a bitter enemy faction, most forces would not pay them much mind. After all, every family had a few similarly talented individuals, and they would not affect the larger situation.

But if someone cultivated quickly while also displaying battle talent beyond all reason, that would be troublesome.

Competition on Douluo Continent was exceedingly brutal. Once such talent was revealed, he would inevitably become a thorn in the side of those great powers. Even if he joined one of those forces, he might not be able to keep himself safe.

After all, no faction would casually stand by and watch a powerful figure capable of changing the balance rise to prominence and compete for their already limited resources.

Especially for a small family like theirs, exposing such talent too early would be a disaster, not a blessing.

There were far too many examples of small families being exterminated because they produced a peerless genius.

"Then Mu'er can't register with Spirit Hall. And now that he has reached level ten, what should we do about his Soul Ring?"

Xu Yao could not help frowning.

Not registering with Spirit Hall was no great issue. It would only mean receiving fewer Gold Soul Coins, and they were not particularly short of money at present.

But the Soul Ring issue was much more serious. Without a Soul Ring, one could not continue leveling up. This was extremely important!

Qing Tianfeng pondered for a while before speaking. "There are two solutions. One is to have Mu'er endure it for now. A year from now, we can take him to Soul Hunting Forest to obtain a Soul Ring."

Soul Hunting Forest was strictly monitored by the Empire, and one had to clearly report one's level every time one entered or left, in order to prevent people from illegally hunting Soul Beasts.

Qing Tianfeng could use other excuses to enter, but Qing Mu's level could not be concealed from the guards.

"No!"

However, the moment he voiced this method, Xu Yao rejected it outright.

Xu Yao immediately blurted out, "Although one can still accumulate Soul Power at level ten, the rate at which a Soul Warrior accumulates Soul Power is vastly different from that of a Spirit Master. Doing this would squander Mu'er's potential!"

Hearing this, Qing Tianfeng sighed. "Then there is only the other method: find a suitable small Soul Beast Forest and go there to obtain Mu'er's First Soul Ring."