"Picked up in the Star Dou Great Forest?"
Gong Changlong sent his spiritual power toward Ma Xiaotao's arms. His reaction was just like that of every Titled Douluo who heard the story for the first time: he believed that human children could not possibly appear in the Star Dou Great Forest.
If one really had, then there was a good chance it was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast that had taken human form.
For a Soul Beast like that to fall into their hands would be a gift from heaven.
Never mind the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring.
A Soul Bone alone could put a Soul Master far ahead of others of the same level. It was practically a qualitative leap.
Ma Xiaotao watched Gong Changlong's movements without stopping him.
She knew that Lu Heqiu in her arms couldn't possibly be a Soul Beast. If he really were one, Cai Mei'er and Yan Shaozhe would have discovered it long ago, and she wouldn't have been the one to bring the little fellow here.
"Not a Soul Beast?"
A trace of disappointment flashed in Gong Changlong's eyes. His perception was no different from Yan Shaozhe's: the little fellow before him did contain a powerful energy, but it didn't seem at all like a Soul Beast taking human form.
It was more like a sign that the little fellow's Martial Soul was exceptionally powerful.
"Mm. Elder Cai and my teacher have already checked."
"This little fellow really isn't a Soul Beast."
Ma Xiaotao had thought that Gong Changlong, who knew Soul Beasts best, might notice something, but his answer was the same as Yan Shaozhe's and the others'. He concluded at once that the little fellow wasn't a Soul Beast, but a genuine human child.
Gong Changlong shook his head in disappointment, then turned his gaze back to the Soul Beasts in the Beast Fighting Arena.
He certainly had plenty of female Soul Beasts here, but as for one that was nursing... he really didn't have any!
He almost never let the Soul Beasts mate. He only raised them; he didn't breed them. The time required to breed a thousand-year Soul Beast was simply too great a cost. Even Shrek Academy wouldn't do something so pointless, except for the handful of Soul Beasts on the brink of extinction.
"Finding beast milk for this little fellow... is going to be a bit difficult!"
"Let me take a look!"
Gong Changlong flew down into the Beast Fighting Arena and landed in front of an iron gate. He wasn't sure whether the Hundred-Year Soul Beast inside had started producing milk, but he reached out and grabbed it anyway, pulling out the Hundred-Year Iron Sword Tiger.
A large glass bottle appeared in his hand at some point. He gave the Iron Sword Tiger a squeeze, and beast milk streamed into the bottle.
"At least you're good for something!"
"I'll keep raising you for two more days!"
Looking at the glass bottle, only half full of milk, Gong Changlong spoke with satisfaction. It wasn't the Iron Sword Tiger's fault; the glass bottle he'd taken out was simply too big.
Half a bottle would be enough to feed the little fellow for a few days!
This wasn't cow's milk. It was a Sabertooth Tiger's beast milk!
The energy it contained wasn't something the little fellow could just absorb at will. He wouldn't even be able to stomach it!
Gong Changlong flew back up to the platform and held out the bottle of milk to Ma Xiaotao. Glancing at Lu Heqiu in his swaddling clothes, he added, "This should be enough to feed the little fellow for a few days!"
"Take it back with you. Once the little fellow awakens his Martial Soul, tell him to go easy on my Soul Beasts!"
Ma Xiaotao took the bottle and hurriedly thanked him several times before flying toward the Soul Tool Department. Now that she had beast milk, she still needed to find those clever, deft people in the Soul Tool Department to make a Milk Bottle.
Otherwise, was she supposed to feed him one spoonful at a time?
By the time Ma Xiaotao left the Soul Tool Department with the Milk Bottle, night had already fallen. Lu Heqiu was still fast asleep and showed no sign of waking. If anything, that made Ma Xiaotao a little worried.
"This little fellow slept so much during the day. What if he can't sleep tonight?"
Ma Xiaotao carried Lu Heqiu toward her dormitory, silently praying that he would sleep until morning and not interfere with her nighttime cultivation.
But the moment she landed outside her room, Lu Heqiu in her arms seemed to wake up. His eyes opened wide as he looked at Ma Xiaotao, and his hands began to wave while his whole body started squirming.
"You! Why did you wake up now!?"
Ma Xiaotao was puzzled.
He hadn't woken up amid the many Soul Beasts' growls in the Beast Fighting Arena, nor had he stirred at all amid all the noise in the Soul Tool Department. Yet the moment they reached the quiet dormitory, he woke up!?
Was this little fellow doing it on purpose to spite her!?
Ma Xiaotao suddenly looked at the still-warm beast milk in her arms. As if realizing something, she immediately soothed Lu Heqiu, "Are you hungry?"
"Just a moment, okay? Just a moment!"
"I'll get you something to eat right now!"
Ma Xiaotao quickly shut the door and poured the beast milk from the glass bottle into the Milk Bottle specially made by the Soul Tool Department. She'd also asked an elderly Soul Engineer there about it. The bottle had been specially made to order.
Each time it was filled and warmed, it held exactly one normal meal for a baby.
Though Ma Xiaotao fumbled a little, she still had the milk ready in under five minutes and placed the bottle against Lu Heqiu's mouth.
By infant instinct, Lu Heqiu took the bottle in his hands and began to drink.
His calm, well-behaved look
made Ma Xiaotao breathe a sigh of relief.
"So you really were hungry."
"Take your time. I'm going to have a bath."
Ma Xiaotao took off her red dress in the room. There was nothing difficult about looking after Lu Heqiu; the main thing was that she hadn't bathed since returning from the Star Dou Great Forest. Now that she had finally had a chance to relax, she naturally wanted to wash the dust off herself.
Lu Heqiu lay beside her, staring in a daze at her nearly perfect figure.
He couldn't completely control this body.
But he still had his spiritual power!
Was this little girl really that careless?
After getting her bathing things ready, Ma Xiaotao glanced over at Lu Heqiu. Her eyes curved into a smile, and the corners of her mouth lifted as she reassured him, "Be good and stay right there, little fellow~"
Naturally, she had no reason to be on guard around a little fellow who wasn't even half a year old.
What could someone so small possibly see?
He'd forget in no time.
Besides...
The two of them would be sleeping together tonight. Ma Xiaotao hadn't prepared a crib for him. She just hoped he wouldn't embarrass her like he had during the day.
Ma Xiaotao walked into the bathroom.
Water streamed slowly over her body with a splashing sound.
The bathroom wasn't shielded from view. From outside, Ma Xiaotao's shadow was cast on the door, and Lu Heqiu could see almost every movement clearly. He sucked even harder on the Milk Bottle in his hands.
The amount meant for an ordinary child's meal was gone in less than two minutes.
Then his whole body rolled over.
He put a hand on the edge of the bed and used the soft spot to start climbing down.
If Yan Shaozhe had seen this, he would surely have been stunned. This six-month-old infant... could already crawl on his own!?
But Yan Shaozhe wasn't there. The ones there were Ma Xiaotao in the bathroom, and...
a little fellow crawling toward the bathroom.
Before you continue