Doubt

It had been five days since they left Star Luo City, and they had been searching within this Star Forest for four of them.

Not only had they failed to find a suitable soul beast for Zhu Zhuqing, but they had actually run into an Earth King with a full eighty thousand years of cultivation!

An eighty-thousand-year Earth King—Mu Qian had never even heard of such a thing, and he had once doubted that this species of soul beast could even grow to such an age...

Yet today, it had appeared right before his eyes.

Against an eighty-thousand-year-level soul beast, even with Mu Qian's heaven-defying strength and soul skills, he was completely unable to contend.

He wasn't even a four-ringed soul master yet, and such a super soul beast could go toe-to-toe with top-tier Douluo-level experts, and wouldn't be without fighting capability even against a lone Titled Douluo.

A normal soul master's number of soul skills is determined by their soul rings, but Mu Qian was different; thanks to various fortuitous encounters and the two-hundred-thousand-year Amethyst Imperial Epiphyllum soul bone, he already possessed seven soul skills.

Even so, he could at most save his own life—as for hunting it?

Forget it... It wasn't like when he was in the Far North, where he had two top-tier fierce beasts backing him up.

Unless he was willing to exhaust all his soul power and, bearing the massive side effects, use that trump card...

A quarter of an hour later, Mu Qian and Zhu Zhuqing finally shook off the pursuit of the Earth King and found a hidden corner, intending to rest for a moment.

It was mid-morning, and the two had only just begun their search, never expecting to encounter such an unexpected situation.

"Zhuqing, are you alright?" After landing, Mu Qian ignored the injuries on his back caused by the Earth King's sneak attack and checked on Zhu Zhuqing's condition first.

Come to think of it, Mu Qian had been too lax; it was only the middle region, so there shouldn't have been any fatal danger.

But what he hadn't expected was that an eighty-thousand-year terrifying soul beast, which could dominate a region even in the Star Dou Forest, would actually appear here...

"I'm fine. How are you? Let me see." Anxiety flickered in Zhu Zhuqing's beautiful eyes.

How could she have been hurt?

The moment the accident occurred, Mu Qian had shielded her behind him; if it hadn't been for him taking the fatal blow for her, Mu Qian likely wouldn't have been injured at all.

Soon, the clothing on Mu Qian's upper body was forced to end its tragic and hasty life.

However, it did at least add a few bricks and mortar to Mu Qian's romantic prospects.

Looking at the terrifying wound running down his back, Zhu Zhuqing could no longer control her emotions, and tears slid down her face.

"It's all my fault..."

"How could it be your fault?"

"It was my carelessness. I didn't expect such a terrifying soul beast to appear in the outer reaches of the Star Forest. I've been training outside for so long—I've spent my life hunting geese, yet this is the first time I've been pecked in the eye."

Mu Qian laughed, feigning ease, but accidentally tugged at the wound on his back, causing him to wince and bare his teeth.

"Stop talking, you look like a fool." Zhu Zhuqing stroked Mu Qian's sturdy back, her voice trembling incessantly.

Mu Qian turned around and held her smooth shoulders: "Don't worry, I'm tough. But why would such a terrifying soul beast appear in this area?"

"Besides, the Earth King species shouldn't have the potential to grow to this level."

He couldn't quite figure it out.

Zhu Zhuqing was still wearing the school uniform she had left in; after several battles, it was tattered and ruined, leaving her smooth, fair skin exposed.

Through the tear in the chest area, Mu Qian could even see the soft curves hidden within...

Having grown up without any resources allocated to her, she naturally didn't have a Soul Tool to store supplies.

"Ahem."

Mu Qian coughed dryly and took a brand-new set of clothes from his Starry Sky Ring, handing them to her: "These are just my own clothes, all brand new and never worn. In an emergency, we must be practical; if you don't mind, just make do with these."

Zhu Zhuqing nodded and took them. Deep in a soul beast forest, having clothes at all was a blessing, so how could she mind? She just couldn't shake the worry in her heart.

"Go on, I'll recover my soul power first. With my physical constitution, perhaps this wound will be completely healed by tomorrow." Mu Qian urged her, not having the heart to continue taking advantage of the situation.

But his final lingering gaze still caught Zhu Zhuqing's attention.

"Hmph, pervert~"

Following his gaze, Zhu Zhuqing's face flushed red. She let out a weak, powerless rebuke and ran behind a thick tree with the clothes.

She hadn't forgotten Mu Qian's warning: in a soul beast forest, one must not run too far away from him.

Mu Qian forced himself not to listen to the rustling sounds over there, sat cross-legged on the ground, and began to recover the soul power he had consumed.

The more he thought about it, the more wrong it felt.

The Earth King couldn't have grown to this extent. Even if it had mutated, an eighty-thousand-year soul beast should never, under normal circumstances, appear in the middle region of the Star Forest, let alone near the outer zone.

Unless... there was something there...

Zhu Zhuqing soon finished changing. Although there wasn't much difference in their heights, their builds were vastly different.

Mu Qian's clothes hung on her, completely covering her alluring figure, but it had to be said, there was a unique beauty to it.

She hurried back, worried about Mu Qian's injury.

"Ah!"

Seeing the flesh at the wound on his back slowly wriggling, Zhu Zhuqing was startled at first, but after realizing what it was, she felt much more at ease.

She just hadn't expected the wound to be healing at a speed visible to the naked eye. Just how strong was this guy's physique to reach such a level?

No wonder he could possess three ten-thousand-year spirit rings.

This was still without her knowing that Mu Qian possessed Twin Martial Souls; if she were to see that fiery red hundred-thousand-year spirit ring, who knows what her reaction would be.

Time flowed on, the sun gradually shifted westward, slowly disappearing below the horizon.

Staring at Mu Qian for the entire day, Zhu Zhuqing could not help but feel a bit sleepy.

Sitting beside Mu Qian, she looked at his wounds, which had almost completely healed, and his near-perfect profile.

Setting aside her worries, Zhu Zhuqing's head leaned unconsciously onto Mu Qian's shoulder, and she slowly closed her eyes.

In just five short days, she had felt a sense of peace and happiness she had never experienced in all the years before.

With him there, she didn't have to worry about anything; the difficulties were all carried on his shoulders, and every day when he faced her, there was only a sunny smile.

"If only it could stay like this forever, how wonderful that would be..."

Zhu Zhuqing felt the warmth on her face and drifted into a deep sleep, a faint smile hanging on the corners of her lips.

In her dreams, it seemed she had found her reliance.

The next morning.

Mu Qian slowly opened his eyes, a strange glint flashing in their depths.

Zhu Zhuqing was not by his side, and Mu Qian panicked for a moment, looking around in all directions; only when he saw the graceful figure not far away on the other side did he finally feel at ease.

"You're awake, eat some wild fruit."

Zhu Zhuqing held some freshly picked fruit in her hands, her face brimming with a smile.

The nervousness Mu Qian had shown when he first woke up, and the look of relief when he saw her, were deeply imprinted in her mind.