Star Dou Great Forest, Welcome, You Bastards

"Busy, old man?"

Lin Chen took the initiative to speak.

"You're awake? You brat woke up pretty fast!"

"No, I've been lying in bed for a whole day." Lin Chen chuckled.

"Did you see clearly who it was?" Mu Zhen did not stop what he was doing, asking as he hammered away.

Though he kept swinging his hammer without pause, every word he spoke was exceptionally clear!

It turned out that every word he said fell precisely into the gaps between his hammer strikes.

Lin Chen secretly marveled at how terrifying that was!

Then he answered, "It was too fast. I didn't react in time, and I can't remember."

"If you can't remember, then don't dwell on it.

But what's the deal with the little girl in your room?"

"It's nothing, she's just... Huh?" Lin Chen had not expected Mu Zhen to jump straight to that topic.

This old man had actually discovered Na'er's presence?

But that made sense. The development of spiritual power in this era was no longer comparable to before; there were systematic cultivation methods now.

After all, absorbing a soul spirit required a specific spiritual level.

A powerhouse like Mu Zhen naturally possessed terrifying spiritual power. If he truly wished to investigate, a single wall would not stop him.

Luckily, Lin Chen had been clever enough to have Di Tian conceal everything downstairs. Otherwise, there really would have been a risk of exposure.

"You mean her? She's a distant cousin who came to seek refuge with me the day before yesterday.

Her parents are both dead. The poor little girl is all alone."

"A distant cousin." Mu Zhen gave him a thoughtful look. "This old man has nothing else to ask. You may leave."

"Old man, let me observe a little longer."

"Oh? That's rare.

Didn't you say you couldn't endure hardship at all?

You even said that in the future, you'd have Yaoyao become your personal blacksmith, forging metal for you while you handled the design of mechas and mecha cores."

"Uh?"

Could they even keep talking like this?

This old man was way too blunt.

Lin Chen had merely wanted to be polite, yet it turned this awkward.

Lin Chen no longer wanted to press his warm face against a cold shoulder. He swallowed the words of thanks he had intended to say. "Then stay busy, old man. This kid will be leaving first."

With that, Lin Chen slipped away without looking back.

Only then did Mu Zhen raise his head and look at Lin Chen's departing figure. "This kid has quite a few secrets. But only someone like that is worthy of catching my eye!"

After muttering that, Mu Zhen lowered his head and continued forging. He had no interest whatsoever in Lin Chen's secrets.

After leaving the mecha base, Lin Chen made a trip to the snack street before returning to his villa.

The reason he had been placed in Mu Yao's room was that no one besides him knew the password to his villa—not even his aunt.

Although Na'er had been locked in the house for a full day, there was plenty of food in the refrigerator in his room. She should not have starved.

But the moment Lin Chen opened the door, a silver-haired figure lunged toward him. "Wuwuwu, Brother Lin Chen, where did you go?

Na'er thought you didn't want me anymore!"

Looking at the adorable girl before him, Lin Chen smiled gently and rubbed her silver hair. "How could I possibly not want you?

Ta-da! Look what this is?"

Lin Chen held a bag of chicken wishbones before her.

"Is this chicken? It smells so good." For some reason, although Na'er had never seen this food before, its aroma had utterly captivated her.

"These are chicken wishbones. They're delicious. Come, have a taste."

"Chicken wishbones?" Na'er eagerly took one out and began eating. The instant it entered her mouth, her eyes lit up. This delicacy seemed as though it had been made specifically for her. It was so delicious that she nearly cried after one bite.

Watching this, Lin Chen could not help but sigh inwardly. It seems that no matter which Na'er it is, none of them can resist chicken wishbones. This little Silver Dragon King incarnation has been won over just like that!

After giving Na'er the chicken wishbones, Lin Chen sat down on the sofa and began considering his next move.

Meanwhile, Na'er hugged the bag of chicken wishbones and sat beside Lin Chen as she ate. "Brother Lin Chen, what did you do during this past day?"

"Nothing much. Something happened, and I was unconscious for a day. I only just woke up.

By the way, Na'er, you're six years old now, right?

Have you awakened your martial soul yet?"

"Martial soul awakening?" Na'er narrowed her eyes slightly. Her martial soul did not need awakening; the instant she split off, it had already appeared upon her. "I'm not really sure. I don't remember.

But my martial soul seems to be a silver spear."

As she spoke, light shone from Na'er's hand. Soon, a silver-white spear roughly seven feet long, covered in ferocious dragon patterns, appeared in her grasp.

Lin Chen's eyes immediately lit up at the sight. Her martial soul really was the Silver Dragon Spear! "That's a very good martial soul, Na'er. What is your Innate Soul Power?" Lin Chen asked smoothly.

Na'er merely shook her head. She had decided to keep pretending to the end.

Lin Chen cooperated perfectly, directly taking out a Soul Power testing crystal ball from his storage Soul Tool.

"Come on, let big brother test you. Put your hand on it."

Na'er did as instructed. In an instant, the crystal ball shone brilliantly—Innate Full Soul Power.

Lin Chen feigned surprise. "Na'er, your talent is incredibly powerful. Not only is your martial soul strong, but you also have Innate Full Soul Power.

Do you want to become a powerful Soul Master?"

"If I become a powerful Soul Master, will there be endless chicken wishbones to eat?"

"You little glutton. Forget chicken wishbones—once you become stronger, you can obtain anything you want, including finding out about your origins."

"Really?"

"Of course it's true. When have I ever lied to you?"

"But, Brother Lin Chen, Na'er seems to have heard that you can only become stronger after obtaining a soul ring."

Not bad. Lin Chen secretly thought that Na'er was indeed quite scheming, already knowing to make use of him.

However, Lin Chen was not particularly bothered by it. Then use me to your heart's content and keep growing stronger.

No matter what reasons this Na'er had for staying here, he only needed to know that she was not on Gu Yue's side—the enemy of his enemy was his friend.

"A soul ring is easy enough. Come on, big brother will take you to buy the best soul spirit right now."

With that, Lin Chen rose to his feet, took Na'er's soft, boneless hand, and headed for the door.

There was no time like the present. He happened to be going into the Spirit Ascension Platform as well, so he could take care of both matters at once.

East Sea Spirit Pagoda. Lin Chen had only been gone for a day, yet he had returned to this place again.

This time, however, he kept a relatively low profile and only brought a dozen or so lackeys.

The Spirit Pagoda master guarding the entrance recognized Lin Chen and immediately reported it to Qiangu Yunling.

The moment Qiangu Yunling heard it was Lin Chen, his head began to ache. That little bastard must be here for the Spirit Ascension Platform!

He knew Lin Chen's information well, because Lin Chen had never bothered to hide it—his martial soul was the Heavenly Eye Hand, and he possessed level-nine Innate Soul Power.

Although there was no record of Lin Chen purchasing a soul spirit from their Spirit Pagoda, Qiangu Yunling was certain that Lin Chen had already absorbed his first soul ring.

After all, as long as one had money, one could obtain any soul spirit they wanted!

He knew exactly what Lin Chen intended to do next. That little bastard had stumbled into incredible luck: his martial soul had mutated, and his spiritual power had become so strong that his first soul spirit could fully accommodate one at the thousand-year level.

So, he had come to the Spirit Ascension Platform to elevate it.