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 serious expression.

"What!?"

At his words, Xu Yao was instantly startled. She hurriedly stood up and examined Qing Mu's body. Only after confirming that he was unharmed did she finally let out a sigh of relief.

But immediately afterward, Xu Yao frowned. "Son, do you remember what species of Soul Beast you encountered in the forest? 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. That was something they desperately wanted to avoid.

Qing Mu replied, "It was a Hundred-Year Shadow Leopard. Bulbasaur and I have already taken it down, but I'm worried there may be other Soul Beasts. You and Father will need to check the area."

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

Upon hearing that it was a Hundred-Year Shadow Leopard, Xu Yao initially relaxed. After all, with their strength, dealing with a mere Hundred-Year Shadow Leopard would be easy.

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

Qing Mu nodded. "It was luck. That Shadow Leopard was too hasty, and its body was pierced by the Vine Whip Bulbasaur had laid in ambush underground."

"Gasp—"

Hearing this, Xu Yao sharply sucked in a breath.

She knew Bulbasaur was strong. After all, she often watched Qing Mu train him and had marveled at the abilities Bulbasaur displayed.

By Xu Yao's estimation, Bulbasaur was now even stronger than many One-Ring Soul Masters. This was one of the reasons she and Qing Tianfeng had felt at ease letting Qing Mu train alone in that small forest.

Their territory had always been relatively safe, and with such strength, even if Qing Mu encountered ordinary wild beasts or bandits through bad luck, he would be able to deal with them easily.

The only thing they had not expected was that, despite their location being over a hundred li from the nearest Soul Hunting Forest, and despite them having thoroughly searched that forest before, Qing Mu had still encountered a Soul Beast there.

But then, a barely concealed smile appeared on Xu Yao's face as she said,

"Good, good! Before even obtaining his First Soul Ring, he killed a Hundred-Year Shadow Leopard. My son has the makings of a Titled Douluo!"

After saying this, Xu Yao noticed in surprise that Qing Mu seemed to have already reached Level Ten.

Under normal circumstances, if a Spirit Master did not summon their Martial Soul for battle, it was difficult for others to determine their level. But there was one exception: when the gap in level between the two sides was too great!

With Xu Yao's strength as a Level-Thirty-Four Soul Elder, it was not difficult for her to see through Qing Mu, who had yet to obtain even his First Soul Ring.

Seemingly guessing Xu Yao's thoughts, Qing Mu immediately said, "During the battle with that Hundred-Year Shadow Leopard, perhaps because of the immense pressure, I broke through to Level Ten!"

Qing Mu chose to conceal Bulbasaur's ability to defeat Soul Beasts and gain experience. 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. Though 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 on the matter too much.

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 similar places.

And the ultimate example of this method was undoubtedly the City of Slaughter. As long as one could emerge from it, not only could they gain a Divine Slaughter's Domain, but after cleansing away their murderous aura, they would also experience an explosive period of cultivation growth.

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

When Qing Tianfeng heard that a Soul Beast had appeared in that forest, he was immediately alarmed. However, when Xu Yao said that Qing Mu had not only killed a Hundred-Year Shadow Leopard but had also reached Level Ten in Soul Power Level, his expression immediately turned grave.

"The fact that Mu'er killed a Hundred-Year Shadow Leopard and broke through to Level Ten must not be spread outside. At least, not for now!"

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

Seeing her husband's reaction, Xu Yao nodded as well. She naturally understood what Qing Tianfeng was worried about.

If Qing Mu were merely an ordinary genius, they would be delighted that their son possessed such talent. His future would undoubtedly surpass anything they could imagine.

But Qing Mu's rate of advancement was clearly abnormal. He obviously possessed only Innate Level Five Soul Power, yet his cultivation speed was no less than 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 geniuses like that, so long as they did not belong to a mortal enemy faction, people generally would not pay them too much attention. After all, every family had a few similarly gifted talents. They would not affect the overall situation.

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

Competition on Douluo Continent was extremely cruel. Once such talent was revealed, he would inevitably become a thorn in the eyes and flesh of the great powers. Even joining one of those factions might not ensure his safety.

After all, no faction would easily stand by and watch a powerhouse capable of changing the balance of power rise to divide their already scarce resources.

Especially for a small family like theirs, exposing such talent too early would bring disaster rather than fortune.

There were far too many examples of small families being wiped out because they had produced an unrivaled genius.

"Then Mu'er can't register at 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 at Spirit Hall was no great issue. It would merely mean receiving fewer Gold Soul Coins, and they were not particularly short on money right now.

But the issue of the Soul Ring was serious. Without a Soul Ring, he could not advance any further. This was extremely important!

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

The Soul Hunting Forest was strictly monitored by the Empire. Every entry and exit required one to declare their level, in order to prevent people from illegally hunting Soul Beasts.

Although Qing Tianfeng could enter using some other excuse, Qing Mu's level could not be concealed from the guards.

"No!"

However, as soon as he voiced this method, Xu Yao immediately rejected it.

Xu Yao blurted out, "Although Soul Power can still be accumulated at Level Ten, the rate at which a Soul Warrior accumulates Soul Power is far inferior to that of a Spirit Master. Doing this would consume 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."