Learning What Had Happened

Chrysanthemum Douluo was angry, naturally, because of Xiao Chen.

He had thought Xiao Chen was traveling alone, which was why he'd casually given his Second Martial Soul a Spirit Ring. But now it seemed that wasn't the case.

Chrysanthemum Douluo knew very well that ordinary forces might not know the secret of Twin Martial Souls.

But even the weakest force knew that after a Twin Martial Soul Soul Master gave one Martial Soul a Spirit Ring, giving the second Martial Soul one as well was extremely dangerous. The slightest mistake could cause the Soul Master to explode and die.

Yet Xiao Chen had not only done it—he'd succeeded.

To fail to report such a remarkably gifted talent was bad enough. But they had actually let Xiao Chen travel alone.

Chrysanthemum Douluo's gaze fell on the Fabia Academy crests on Ma Yan and the others' chests. A chill surged in his eyes, and he felt an impulse to head straight to Fabia Academy and uproot it completely.

Chu Ruolan had no idea why the senior before her had suddenly become murderous.

"Senior, that boy only just broke through to Level 20. What exactly did he do to make you so angry?" Chu Ruolan asked respectfully, bowing. She assumed Xiao Chen had offended the man before them.

At her words, the murderous look on Chrysanthemum Douluo's face grew even more pronounced. He said coldly, "He didn't anger me. You did... Hmm?"

Before he could finish, he seemed to realize something. The killing intent around him abruptly subsided, and he asked in a low voice, "You said he only just broke through to Level 20?"

"That's right." Chu Ruolan nodded.

Chrysanthemum Douluo had been enveloping Chu Ruolan in his spiritual power all along. From her reaction, he could tell she wasn't lying.

"Why did you separate from him?" Chrysanthemum Douluo continued. He felt there had to be more to the story.

Chu Ruolan immediately explained why Xiao Chen had left.

Su Qing, standing nearby, was afraid Chrysanthemum Douluo might blame Chu Ruolan for driving Xiao Chen away, so she added, "Senior, we only happened to meet Xiao Chen. Teacher Chu even wanted to help him hunt a Spirit Beast for a Spirit Ring of more than three hundred years, but he absorbed a ten-year one on his own. We couldn't stop him!"

They privately guessed that Xiao Chen might be the senior's family member or disciple.

Only after hearing Su Qing's explanation did Chrysanthemum Douluo realize that Xiao Chen wasn't wearing the Fabia Academy uniform.

"So Xiao Chen isn't a student at Fabia Academy?" Chrysanthemum Douluo wanted to make sure.

Chu Ruolan answered at once, "That's right. We met him in the small town outside the forest!"

At that, Chrysanthemum Douluo gestured for Chu Ruolan to tell him everything that had happened since she met Xiao Chen.

Chu Ruolan didn't dare hide a thing. She immediately told him the whole story.

She recounted everything, from meeting Xiao Chen and scolding him for absorbing a Ten-Year Spirit Ring before he left, to their later encounter with the Thunder Pattern Leopard and the mysterious person, and Xiao Chen's discovery of the four-hundred-year-old Soul Bone.

She knew very well that if the man before her really was one of Xiao Chen's elders, there was no way she could keep the Soul Bone a secret.

A hundred-year-old Soul Bone was rare, but Chrysanthemum Douluo didn't care about it. After hearing Chu Ruolan's account, he was certain that she and the others had no idea Xiao Chen possessed Twin Martial Souls.

So Xiao Chen gave his Second Martial Soul its Second Soul Ring only after separating from them! Chrysanthemum Douluo thought.

He could now understand why Chu Ruolan had gotten angry and sent Xiao Chen away.

Given the circumstances, Chrysanthemum Douluo felt that if he'd seen Xiao Chen give himself a White Spirit Ring, he might have wanted to slap him to death.

With that in mind, Chrysanthemum Douluo forced a smile. "I'm sorry. I misunderstood you!"

Chrysanthemum Douluo turned to leave. Xiao Chen hadn't revealed the secret of his Twin Martial Souls to Chu Ruolan and the others, so there was no need to order them to keep it quiet.

Seeing Chrysanthemum Douluo smile, Chu Ruolan knew the misunderstanding had been cleared up. She asked, "Senior, is Xiao Chen all right?"

Chrysanthemum Douluo didn't turn around, but before leaving, he tossed them a bag of Gold Soul Coins. "Xiao Chen is fine. Take these Gold Soul Coins as payment for bringing him into Star Dou Forest!"

Before he finished speaking, Chrysanthemum Douluo vanished.

Only after he left did Chu Ruolan and the others realize they were drenched in cold sweat.

"I can't believe Xiao Chen has such a powerful force backing him. That senior must have been at least a Level 70 Spirit Saint!" Ma Yan said, looking in the direction Chrysanthemum Douluo had gone.

"Probably more than a Spirit Saint." Chu Ruolan shook her head. "He could have been a Soul Douluo—or even a Titled Douluo!"

At her words, all four of them looked shocked.

"No wonder Xiao Chen's Martial Soul and First Soul Ring were both low quality, yet he reached Level 20 at such a young age. It was because he came from a powerful background!" Lin Feng said, suddenly understanding.

In his eyes, Xiao Chen was the kind of rich second-generation kid who came from a powerful family but didn't like to cultivate. That was why he'd given his Martial Soul two ten-year Spirit Rings.

"Don't gossip. Don't bring up Xiao Chen to outsiders again. Powerful forces like his care most about their reputation. If word gets out because of us, even Fabia Academy won't be able to protect you!" Chu Ruolan cautioned them at once.

"Understood!" Ma Yan and the other three nodded firmly, then left Star Dou Forest.

Meanwhile, inside the cave, as soon as Chrysanthemum Douluo left, Hu Liena and Xie Yue approached Xiao Chen curiously.

"Brother, Grandpa Ju said his spiritual power was overtaxed. I should be able to wake him, right?" Hu Liena asked.

Xie Yue immediately stopped her. "Don't do anything reckless. Let's wait for Elder Ju to come back."

"I'll just try. Don't worry, I won't hurt him." As Hu Liena spoke, she placed her hand on Xiao Chen's forehead.

A glint flickered in her eyes. A wisp of gentle spiritual power quietly extended from her, probing toward Xiao Chen's sea of consciousness like a soft thread.

But Xiao Chen was protected by the system. The moment Hu Liena's gentle spiritual power reached the edge of his sea of consciousness, an invisible barrier blocked it.

Hu Liena's expression tightened. Her fingertip paused, and a trace of surprise flashed in her eyes.

She hadn't expected that even though Xiao Chen was unconscious, an invisible spiritual barrier would still guard his sea of consciousness. The moment her spiritual power touched it, it vanished.

Unwilling to give up, Hu Liena gathered her spiritual power again and tried to probe him, but she still couldn't penetrate the barrier. Worse, her repeated attempts had depleted quite a bit of her spiritual power.

After several tries, she looked at Xiao Chen, unconscious on the ground, and her surprise gradually turned into intense curiosity.

As she gazed at this ordinary-looking boy, her curiosity grew like a creeping vine, and she became more and more interested in him.

Meanwhile, inside the System Space, the System Spirit had just awakened Xiao Chen's consciousness.

"Host, you're in luck. A Titled Douluo saved you!" the System Spirit said with a smile.

Inside the System Space, Xiao Chen asked in surprise, "A Titled Douluo? Who was it?"

"His Martial Soul is the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum!" the System Spirit replied.

"Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan?" Xiao Chen asked in surprise. "What was Chrysanthemum Douluo doing in Star Dou Forest at a time like this?"

"He was hunting Spirit Beasts for his juniors, of course. Did you think everyone else was alone like you?" the System Spirit said.