A Cute Baby, So Strong!

"Ma Xiaotao."

"This little guy, did you pick him up from the Star Dou Great Forest?"

Yan Shaozhe looked at the child in Ma Xiaotao's arms, who was less than half a year old, with a strange expression. Where in the Star Dou Great Forest could one pick up a child? Who would give birth in the Star Dou Great Forest?

He suspected it was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form.

Ma Xiaotao, dressed in a red dress, had her face obscured by a light red veil. Her pink eyes seemed to possess a captivating charm.

Her expression was also not good.

The child in her arms was fumbling all over her.

She had tried to hold the child further away from herself, but as soon as she moved, the unbearable crying would start, making her even more irritable.

"Yes, picked him up from the inner region of the Star Dou Great Forest with Elder Cai."

"For some reason, he crawled towards me as soon as he saw me and clung to me, refusing to leave. Even Elder Cai couldn't hold him."

"He's tormented me quite a bit on the way here."

Ma Xiaotao was about to hand the child in her arms to Yan Shaozhe, but as soon as she extended her hand, the two little hands flailed wildly and grabbed tightly onto his clothes, refusing to let go.

Yan Shaozhe glanced at the child, did not take him, but scanned the child with his spiritual power repeatedly, trying to see if a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast's soul was hidden beneath this physical body.

However, after a long time and several attempts, he found no clues.

Other than sensing a vast amount of energy contained within this physical body.

This child was almost indistinguishable from an ordinary human child!

"Not a soul beast transformed into a human?"

"Did someone really lose a child in the Star Dou Great Forest?"

Yan Shaozhe's doubts did not decrease; instead, they grew more curious. What kind of person would bring their child into the inner region of the Star Dou Great Forest and then lose them?

Ma Xiaotao awkwardly patted the child in her arms. Her manner seemed to be something she had just learned from Cai Meier, and for a child not yet twenty years old, taking care of another child was clearly difficult.

"Elder Cai has examined him several times."

"This child is indeed not a soul beast transformed into a human."

"And..."

Ma Xiaotao drew a small, exquisite nameplate from her Soul Tool. Even Yan Shaozhe couldn't identify the material, but it was clear from a glance that it was extraordinary.

The inscription on the nameplate was simple, containing only three characters.

Lu Heqiu.

Yan Shaozhe took the nameplate, his gaze swept over the three characters, silently recited them, and returned the nameplate to Ma Xiaotao. His expression relaxed considerably, and he listened as Ma Xiaotao continued.

"And... his strength is a bit great, not just ordinarily great."

"Elder Cai's suggestion is for the academy to adopt this child, saying that his parents are definitely not ordinary. Even if his parents cannot be found in the future, this child's martial soul will not be weak."

Yan Shaozhe nodded after listening. Cai Meier's statement was not wrong. When parents have powerful martial souls, their descendants' martial souls are usually not bad either. Moreover, he, Yan Shaozhe, had adopted many children, and even Ma Xiaotao was someone he had picked up.

Since this child named Lu Heqiu was picked up by Ma Xiaotao, it was fate. Even if his talent was poor in the future, they could send him away to find a way to live. The academy would not be unable to support even one child.

"Then let's take him in."

"At least let him grow a bit bigger."

Lu Heqiu, in Ma Xiaotao's arms, heard all of this and became much more settled. He fell into a deep sleep in her embrace.

He was not from this world.

In his previous life, he was an immortal official in a cultivation world. Relying on his extraordinary physique and the merits accumulated from subduing demons and monsters, he should have ascended to the immortal realm and become an immortal official. However, during his ascension, the Heavenly Dao was in turmoil, and a spatial gate opened, causing him to inexplicably arrive in this world.

His originally powerful strength was sealed by this world. His physical body transformed into an infant and fell into the forest. Not only was his power reduced to less than a tenth, but his consciousness was also interfered with by this body. Most of the time, he could only instinctively perform actions befitting an infant.

He couldn't even walk. To outsiders, apart from his astonishing strength, he was no different from an ordinary child.

Only by ascending to the local divine realm through this world's cultivation path could he possibly use the power of this divine realm to return to his original world, or even directly return to Blue Star.

For Lu Heqiu.

This was by no means something that could be accomplished in a few years.

"Well then... who will raise him?"

Ma Xiaotao nodded, looking at the sleeping Lu Heqiu in her arms, and asked the most crucial question. This child only allowed Ma Xiaotao to get close to him; he wouldn't even go to Cai Meier, who seemed gentler.

She couldn't possibly raise him herself, could she?

She was still an unmarried girl of eighteen, what was the meaning of raising a child?!

"...Let's try to see if there are any other students in the inner court who can take him."

Yan Shaozhe also showed a troubled expression at this moment. Ma Xiaotao was a top genius who appeared only once in several hundred years in Shrek. Letting such a genius take care of a child was indeed a waste.

Ma Xiaotao's expression eased slightly upon hearing this. Her gaze fell upon a few people who had just finished their duel not far away. She immediately beckoned to them, her voice slightly excited.

"Dai Yueheng, Ling Luochen!"

"Come here!"

Dai Yueheng had just finished a battle, dust still clinging to his face, his blood still hot, and seeing Ma Xiaotao wave, he walked towards her.

"You want to fight too?"

"I need time to recover my soul power."

Ma Xiaotao really wanted to spar with him, but the child she was holding tightly against her chest was still asleep, making it impossible for her to move freely. She could only curse at Dai Yueheng in a hurried tone.

"Fight my ass!"

"Don't you see I'm holding a child?"

"Come and see if he likes you. If he does, he's yours from now on!"

Dai Yueheng's face darkened, and he turned towards the soul fighting arena, giving Ma Xiaotao no chance at all.

"Not interested. Taking care of children is your business."

Ling Luochen, who was beside him, walked faster. As she spoke, her jade-like fingers were already on Lu Heqiu's face. She gently nudged him twice and said with interest.

"Where did this little guy come from? So cute!"

As soon as she finished speaking.

Lu Heqiu's hand suddenly grabbed Ling Luochen's jade-like fingers. With a gentle pinch, Ling Luochen instinctively retracted her fingers quickly, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes.

"This little guy... has so much strength!"

Her jade-like fingers trembled, as if Lu Heqiu's pinch had hurt her. Although she couldn't compare to Dai Yueheng or Ma Xiaotao, she was still a Soul King. Even if her physical strength was a bit weak, it wasn't something an infant could pinch!

But the infant in Ma Xiaotao's arms was pinching her fingers until they turned red. And it looked like the sleeping little guy wasn't doing it on purpose, but more like a casual touch!

Yan Shaozhe was also somewhat surprised to see this. He could sense the immense energy contained within Lu Heqiu, but he never expected that Lu Heqiu, being so young, could already wield this power!

His physical body is even stronger than a Soul King?

"Yueheng!"

"Come over and see if this child likes you!"

Dai Yueheng had stopped when Ling Luochen was pinched. Hearing Yan Shaozhe speak, he no longer hesitated and walked towards them, his gaze fixed on Lu Heqiu.

"So much strength?"

"How much can it be?"