Coincidence

Bai Yuan caught her with a beaming smile, wrapped her petite body in his coat, and slowly swam toward the shore.

"Little one, call me Master." After coming ashore, Bai Yuan smiled and pinched the girl's tiny nose.

On the Douluo Continent, ordinary soul beasts that cultivated for several hundred years were really nothing special. They had barely even developed Spiritual Intelligence.

Even Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts possessed intelligence only comparable to that of ordinary adults. They were completely incomparable to Demon Beasts.

"M-Master." The little girl's gaze was pure, without the slightest impurity in her wine-red eyes. She was like a newborn child, and even speaking seemed extremely unfamiliar to her.

"The soul beasts of the Douluo Continent are really stupid. Even after becoming a Demon Beast, they only have the intelligence of a child." Bai Yuan gave his disciple a disdainful look and flicked her forehead.

"Little one, from now on, your name is Bai Yu, understand? Remember, you must not tell anyone that you are a soul—no, you must not tell anyone that you are a Demon Beast."

Bai Yu nodded as if she only half understood.

Bai Yuan set the little girl down and dressed her in his own clothes.

However, since Bai Yuan was rather tall, his clothes practically swallowed Bai Yu whole.

"Once I have money, I'll buy her a few decent outfits."

Bai Yuan liked this disciple he had unexpectedly acquired very much. After all, without her, he likely would have found it difficult to take in a disciple for the rest of his life.

Bai Yuan took out the Azure Lotus Heavenly Heart Art again. It was not a book, nor did it contain any written records. Instead, it was an enormous mass of information.

That was because this cultivation art contained endless Dao rhymes, something words simply could not describe.

"What a biased system. This kind of thing can only be learned by one person. Until it reaches major completion, it probably can't be passed on to anyone else."

Grumbling, Bai Yuan placed the mass of information against Bai Yu's forehead. As a vast amount of information poured into her, her wine-red eyes gradually turned vacant.

Bai Yuan hurriedly stuffed a Qi Refining Pill into Bai Yu's little mouth. "System, bind her."

"Ding! Binding successful!"

[Host: Bai Yuan]

[Cultivation: Mortal]

[Items: Qi Refining Pill*2, Qi Refining Pill Recipe]

[Number of Disciples: 1]

[Bound Disciples: Bai Yu (Current Binding Limit: 1) (After binding a disciple, whenever that disciple improves, the host will also gain the same increase in cultivation.)]

[Master Virtue Points: 0]

[Shop: Click to open]

"Ding! The system has issued a mission."

[Mission Description: A master should possess ample resources]

[Mission Objective: Gather all ingredients for the Qi Refining Pill]

[Mission Reward: Beginner Alchemy, Master Virtue Points*100]

Bai Yuan ignored the system. He merely watched his surroundings quietly, remaining alert for any potential danger.

At the same time, he felt his body growing warm. Invisible energy continuously circulated within him, expelling the impurities from his body.

"Looks like the system isn't biased after all. Why would the host need to cultivate himself? Isn't it better for me to improve whenever my disciple improves?"

Bai Yuan silently apologized to the system in his heart, admitting that he had been too petty before.

Second by second, time passed. The clouds high in the sky gradually dispersed, the bright moon faded beyond the horizon, and dazzling light illuminated the world.

Bai Yu slowly opened her eyes.

"Bai Yu, find somewhere to hide for a while. Your master needs to take a bath first." Although Bai Yuan had not slept all night, he was still full of energy, and the smile on his face would not fade.

He could not help it. His cultivation had reached the Qi Refining Third Layer in just one night—how could Bai Yuan not be delighted?

The Qi Refining Third Layer might not amount to much in the cultivation world, but on the Douluo Continent, he could at least bully a one-ring Soul Master, right?

After all, a Soul Master without even a single Soul Ring was not much stronger than an ordinary person. Even a child with Innate Full Soul Power might not be able to defeat an adult.

Qi Refining Stage cultivators were completely different. As long as they reached the Qi Refining First Layer, beating ordinary people would be as easy as playing around.

If they cultivated a few powerful spells, they might even be able to go head-to-head with a two-ring Soul Grandmaster.

Bai Yu looked innocently at Bai Yuan with her big eyes. "Master, why do I need to avoid you when you bathe?"

After a night of cultivation, Bai Yu had clearly become much smarter. She now spoke human language quite fluently.

However, she still knew absolutely nothing about human society.

Bai Yuan patiently explained, "Bai Yu, men and women should keep their distance. From now on, whether bathing or relieving yourself, you must do so separately from men."

Bai Yu nodded, then asked, "Master, what does relieving yourself mean? And how do I tell men and women apart?"

Bai Yuan was speechless.

But on second thought, he understood.

Did lotuses use the toilet?

Obviously not.

Did lotus flowers have genders?

Obviously not.

"I wonder whether she'll need to use the bathroom after taking human form. If she does, wouldn't I have to treat her like a child?" Bai Yuan's mouth twitched at the thought.

Fortunately, he had not shaped her into a Mature Woman. He did not even dare imagine that scene; just thinking about it made his scalp tingle.

"Forget it, I'll just raise her like a child." Bai Yuan pressed a hand to his forehead. He did not want to explain anything right now, so he pointed toward a tree nearby.

"Go hide behind that tree."

"Okay." Bai Yu answered. She walked stiffly behind the tree, then stood there quietly without moving, like a plant.

Bai Yuan took off his pants and stepped into the water to bathe. The current washed away the impurities expelled from his body, revealing smoother, healthier skin.

Men were quick when it came to bathing. After washing himself thoroughly, Bai Yuan climbed ashore and put his pants back on.

Just then, a voice drifted over from afar on the breeze. "Teacher, how do we determine a Soul Beast's strength, or rather, its age?"

Bai Yuan's ears twitched. The voice sounded very familiar.

Its owner was likely somewhere in the forest nearby. He could hear it now only because his five senses had grown sharper.

Another familiar voice followed. "It isn't difficult to determine a Soul Beast's strength. Look at that Lone Bamboo ahead. It is also a Soul Beast, a Plant-type Soul Beast..."

Bai Yuan's gaze sharpened. He knew why those voices had sounded familiar—they belonged to two people he knew well.

Tang San and Yu Xiaogang!

They had come to hunt Tang San's first Soul Ring.

Bai Yuan silently guessed, though he was also puzzled. How had he wandered into the Soul Hunting Forest while drunk?

Fortunately, things had turned out well. Not only had nothing happened to him, but he had also encountered Bai Yu.

Without thinking further, Bai Yuan glanced in the direction of the voices, his eyes flickering slightly before he cautiously moved toward Bai Yu.

For now, Bai Yuan had no intention of confronting those two head-on. He planned to take Bai Yu away, then lie low and grow stronger.

Yu Xiaogang's voice gradually faded. Master and disciple seemed to be moving farther away.

Bai Yuan slowly approached Bai Yu step by step, not daring to make the slightest unnecessary sound for fear of drawing their attention.

But suddenly, a series of "luo luo" sounds came from the forest.

"Xiao San, something's happening!" Yu Xiaogang said.

Following the sound, Bai Yuan saw a strange creature running toward him. It looked like a dog, but was as large as a pig, over one and a half meters long, with a waistline that was probably about the same.

"Law Three Cannon!"

Bai Yuan sighed as he watched. He knew he could not avoid this.